Project Homework: Organizational Sales
Overview:
Uncovering organizational inefficiencies is the first step to optimizing performance. In order to determine what inefficiencies exist, you need to perform a data analysis. A good place to start is with sales. You have to know what data to analyze as well as how to use specific tools for data analysis. Using the IF function, pivot tables, pie charts, bar charts, and histograms can help you isolate and organize specific data in a way that makes it easier to read. Studying measures of central tendency can also help reveal important information. After you discover where inefficiencies in sales exist, you need to be able to articulate the impact this has on the organization.
Prompt:
For this homework, you will use the Vinho Winery Case Study and other course resources to review raw data sets that summarize the production, sales, and distribution of wine. You will need to analyze the various types of wine and different distribution centers to determine their financial impacts on the organization's total revenue. All of your analyses need to be submitted in an annotated Excel file, and each analysis needs to include a rationale.
Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:
a. Using a pivot table, determine the percentage of wine varieties sold from each distribution center. Illustrate your results in the form of a pie chart. Hint: Create a pivot table using the data spreadsheet as its basis.
b. Generate a labeled bar chart that illustrates the sum of wine varieties sold to each distribution center.
c. Using a pivot table, calculate the total amount of revenue generated for each distribution center. Illustrate your results on a bar chart. Hints: Production cost data is provided in the Costs and Distances tab. Make sure you don't mix your units of measurement (i.e., pallets, cases, or bottles).
d. Using the IF function, calculate the central tendencies (mean, median, and mode) of shipment volume for each distribution center. Illustrate your results in a table. (Do NOT use a pivot table or manually identify each cell to be evaluated.)
e. Analyze the frequency of shipment by size using a histogram. Use the following bin sizes (number of pallets): 72, 48, 24, 18, 12, 6, 3, 1.
f. Create a shipment histogram to show the distribution of shipments for Portland and Riverside. Use the same bin sizes as you did in Part e. Hint: Use the alphabetical sort for the destination column, and select Data Analysis to plot the frequency of pallet shipments using the bin sizes listed for the two destinations separately.
g. Provide a summary statement that describes the inefficiencies in the organizational sales analysis. In your response, explain why this information is important for influencing management decisions.
Format your homework according to the give formatting requirements:
a. The answer must be double spaced, typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
b. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the homework, the course title, the student's name, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
c. Also include a reference page. The references and Citations should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.