Project Assignment
Overview
The project for this course is the creation of an executive brief. The final product represents an authentic demonstration of competency in utilizing data and management science techniques to provide recommendations for the managerial decision-making process. Management science techniques allow for data-driven decision making that assist an organization in making sound business decisions based on facts rather than instincts or emotion. This equips management with the tools necessary to guide the business toward growth and success while ensuring stakeholder satisfaction. Additionally, it allows organizations to become more efficient and to quickly respond to changes in the economic landscape and market.
In this assessment, you will be tasked with understanding the complexities and intricacies of a global organization that is facing numerous business challenges.
Based on the information and data presented, you will craft an executive brief stating your findings and recommended solutions to the stakeholders.
You will use the Rougir Cosmetics International: Production Optimization case study to respond to the prompt.
The project is divided into three milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Three, Five, and Seven. The final product will be submitted in Module Nine.
In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:
1: Evaluate factors associated with organizational challenges for prioritizing decision-making strategies
2: Utilize effective decision-making processes for addressing specific organizational challenges
3: Analyze appropriate data for supporting effective organizational decision making
4: Recommend approaches to addressing organizational challenges based on data for obtaining support of intended stakeholders
Prompt
Specifically, you must address the critical elements listed below. Most of the critical elements align with a particular course outcome (shown in brackets).
I. Problem Statement: To begin, you will first review a scenario about an organization that is experiencing challenges. After reading the scenario, you will then need to determine what these challenges are, consider how they should be prioritized, and devise a problem statement.
A. Compose a summary of the external problems impacting the organization, namely, what challenges are being presented by the problems.
B. Describe the internal organizational challenges identified by the stakeholders. In your response, be sure to take into consideration the vendor and supplier issues.
C. Evaluate the goals of management in order to facilitate resolutions to the organizational challenges.
D. Create a SWOT analysis in order to connect the organization's goals and strategies to approaches management and employees may take to resolve the issues impacting it.
E. Based on an evaluation of information provided in the scenario, write a problem statement that will need to be solved.
II. Data Analysis: You will now calculate and analyze data based on information provided in the scenario to inform and support the decisions necessary to resolve the organizational challenges. Your analysis will explore the production schedule and vendor optimization by running a linear programming model and sensitivity analysis. You will submit this section using the provided Excel template spreadsheet to show your programming.
A. Calculate the labor stages and material requirements for each product.
B. Based on the results of your calculation, develop a summary table for linear programming analysis.
C. Next, calculate the production schedule, determining what will be produced, the quantity, and when the output will be produced.
D. Conduct a sensitivity analysis on the cost of the products using a decision tree.
E. Generate labeled bar graphs to demonstrate changes, if any, in product cost.
III. Recommendations and Future Outcomes: Next, you will be required to make formal recommendations in order to address the organizational challenges, supporting your strategies with applicable and relevant data. You will also need to communicate your recommendations and findings to the appropriate stakeholders. Finally, you will need to consider the organization's future outcomes based on a forecasting analysis.
A. Produce a forecasting analysis in order to determine the demand of the product line.
B. Based on your problem statement and analysis of the data, recommend effective strategies that will resolve each of the organization's
challenges cited earlier.
IV. Executive Summary: In order to present your findings and recommendations in a consumable fashion to the appropriate stakeholders, you will need to compose an executive summary.
A. Write a summary of your findings for the organization's management, providing your recommendations, using appropriate language for your target audience.
B. Finally, defend your recommended strategies in order to influence agreement among the stakeholders.
Milestones
Milestone One: Draft of Problem Statement
In Module Three, you will submit a draft of the problem statement.
Milestone Two: Draft of Data Analysis
In Module Five, you will submit a draft of the data analysis section.
Milestone Three: Draft of Recommendations and Future Outcomes
In Module Seven, you will submit a draft of your recommendations and future outcomes section.
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also Include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.