Assignment:
1. Answer the following questions about the production-distribution chain:
a. How do you plan to distribute your product to your target market?
b. What is the estimated delivery time between when you place an order with your supplier and when the product will be avail¬able for your customers?
2. Give an example of a business that is known internationally for the quality of its products. What defines quality for this company?
3. How does the design of a facility affect product quality and production efficiency?
4. Choose a partner in class and make a list of the technology each of you can personally access. Brainstorm how you might com¬bine your technological resources to create a successful business. Describe in detail how the partnership would work. For example, would the person contributing more technology have a larger share of the business, or would profits and expenses be split equally? Draw up a partnership agreement that specifies each partner's duties and how much money and time each will invest in the business.
5. Examine a label on either the shoes or a piece of clothing you are wearing today. Which items were made in foreign countries? How many dollars per hour do you think the people earned who made these articles of clothing? Why do you think the company that manufactured these items had them made abroad?
6. Identify two sets of business clusters in your area. Explain why they may have formed.
7. Where would you locate your business and why?
8. If you were to start a home-based business, what might it be? Why? What key factors would you consider before start-up (specific to the topics in this chapter)?
9. What is the customary role of demographic information in the selection of a retail location?
Key Concept Questions
10. Use your local telephone company's business-to-business directory, The American Wholesalers and Distributors Directory, or an online wholesaler directory to locate wholesalers you could visit or from whom you could order products for resale. Where did you find them? What did you observe about the availability of contact information?
11. Suggest at least three quality-assurance measures for the following businesses:
a. bank
b. residential cleaning service
c. commercial HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) contractor
d. computer manufacturer
e. pure play Internet shoe retailer