Homework
Case: High-low method and regression analysis. Mars Co., a cooperative of organic family owned farms, has recently started a fresh produce club to provide support to the group's member farms and to promote the benefits of eating organic, locally produced food. Families pay a seasonal membership fee of $100 and place their orders a week in advance for a price of $40 per order. In turn, Mars Co. delivers fresh-picked seasonal local produce to several neighborhood distribution points. Five hundred families joined the club for the first season, but the number of orders varied from week to week.
Pam Luck has run the produce club for the first season. Pam is now a farmer but remembers a few things about cost analysis from college. In planning for next year, she wants to know how many orders will be needed each week for the club to break even, but first she must estimate the club's fixed and variable costs. She has collected the following data over the club's first 12 weeks of operation:
|
Week
|
Number of Orders per Week
|
Weekly Total Costs
|
|
1
|
380
|
26,425
|
|
2
|
385
|
26,600
|
|
3
|
285
|
24,700
|
|
4
|
325
|
25,200
|
|
5
|
350
|
25,750
|
|
6
|
420
|
27,000
|
|
7
|
360
|
25,900
|
|
8
|
435
|
27,200
|
|
9
|
415
|
26,900
|
|
10
|
450
|
27,995
|
|
11
|
390
|
26,750
|
|
12
|
460
|
28,315
|
Required:
I. Plot the relationship between number of orders per week and weekly total costs.
II. Estimate the cost equation using the high-low method, and draw this line on your graph.
III. Estimate the cost equation using the regression analysis, and provide the regression equation formula such as:
Weekly total costs = A + ($B x Number of orders per week)
IV. Did Mars Co. break even this season? Remember that each of the families paid a seasonal membership fee of $100.
V. Assume that 500 families join the club next year and that prices and costs do not change. How many orders, on average, must Mars Co. receive each of 12 weeks next season to break even?
VI. 6 (For presentation only). Draw the regression line on your graph. Use your graph to evaluate the regression line using
a. the criteria of economic plausibility,
b. goodness of fit, and
c. significance of the independent variable.
Is the cost function estimated using the high-low method a close approximation of the cost function estimated using the regression method? Explain briefly.
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.