project management:Quantitative analysis

Assessment: Quantitative Analysis
Value:
30%
Due date:
04-May-2017
This assignment consists of 3 (three) exercises and you are requested to attempt all of them. The maximum marks for each question vary and these are provided at the end of each section.
The assignment is to be uploaded to Turnitin as a single Word or PDF file. Assignments submitted in non-printable formats such as a ZIP file or as a collection of images will not be marked. If your scanner produces separate graphics files please paste them into a Word document before submitting to Turnitin.
Please note before submitting your assignment through Turnitin, you need to scan or “copy and paste” the POM for Windows or excel reports into your MS Word document. Printouts provided with the prose solutions and explanation of the POM solutions must be originals. A maximum of 4 printout pages may be included in the form of POM reports. Students should note that the material explaining them is more important than the printouts themselves.
In any question where you are requested to establish an answer using a specific technique, all calculations must be shown. Where authors are quoted, this should be referenced. You are expected to read any additional academic material which can complement the text and reference material included in this subject.
This assignment will be marked out of 50 marks but will constitute 30% of the overall marks for the subject.
Question 1 – Project Management
Wagga Independent Groceries (WIG) is planning to network all its departments and plants within the region that it operates. As a senior manager in the organisation, you have been appointed the Project Manager for this Wide Area Network project. After completing the major planning processes, you and your project team members have drawn up the various activities involved in the project including, their duration’s and preceding activities as shown below:
1. You are requested to write a short report to senior management highlighting important planning information. Include data on project and activity times, and any other information that would be essential for planning purposes. Your report should also be accompanied with a network diagram – this should be drawn using the Precedence Diagram methodology that is offered in the Subject Outline website.
(20 marks)
2. It is estimated that for every week that the project is delayed, the company will incur a cost of $30,000 (because of disrupted operations). The Systems Manager finds out that activity H (Site Installation) can be offered to a different company for an additional cost of $80,000 but the duration of the activity can be reduced to 3 weeks (instead of 7). What action would you recommend?
(10 marks)
3. A number of analytical techniques are used in the overall project planning methodology. While the Critical Path Method is a popular technique, it is only part of an integrated approach. Prepare a report for senior management of WIG offering them advice on these techniques and how they can be implemented.
Notes :
For Part 1 of this question, the Precedence Diagram should be drawn using the methodology illustrated in the Interact site for this subject. Use the POM for Windows software only to confirm your calculations (i.e. to check your answers after you have drawn the network and calculated the activity times, project duration, etc). The diagram can be drawn manually, or by using some software such as MS PowerPoint. See the Interact resources for more information on how to draw a project network diagram in the form of a Precedence Diagram.
For Part 2 of the question, you do not need to re-draw the network, and can use POM for Windows.
Limit your answer to 800 words for Part 3.
Question 2 – Plant Location
Wagga Class Furniture is involved in manufacturing both home and office furniture. They have a limited range of products and one of these accounts for more than half their sales (in terms of revenue). The company has hired you to help them determine the best location for their plant. It believes that in order to facilitate its strategy of responsiveness to customer need and unsurpassed quality, it is essential that the new manufacturing plant be located as near to their suppliers as possible. Suppliers for the company are mainly located within the state although some material is sourced elsewhere.
As the first step to the exercise, the company has provided you the following data that offers the location of the suppliers and the number of units ordered from each of them. The 2nd and 3rd columns represent X and Y coordinates (in km) from its existing main office.
1. You are requested to write a short consultants report to the senior management of Wagga Class Furniture highlighting important plant location information relative to the suppliers. Include data on location study, and any other information that would be essential for determinning the best location of the plant. Your report should also be accompanied with a plot of the coordinates of the suppliers location and the required analysis to determine the best location for the plant.
2. Also, in your report explain the limitations of the above approach, what other factors you would consider and what technique or techniques you would use, and provide your recommendations to senior management of Wagga Class Furniture so that they can achieve their strategy of responsiveness to customer need and unsurpassed quality .
Limit your answer to 1000 words for the report, calculations and diagrams are not included in the word count.
Question 3 – Transportation problem
Enviro Cars is a multi-site car rental company in the city offering a standard compact vehicle that is powered by electricity. These cars are charged at the depots before customers rent them. They are only used within the city perimeter. The company is trying out a new ‘return the car to the location most convenient for you’ policy to improve customer service. But this means that the company has to constantly move cars around the city to maintain required levels of vehicle availability. The supply and demand for these, and the total cost of moving these vehicles between sites, are shown below.
1. Find the solution that minimizes moving costs, use the Transportation module in POM for Windows.
( 10 marks)
2. You have now been asked to act as a consultant to the company. You realise that the transportation methodology is directed only at costs, and in this case, the cost of moving cars from one depot to another. Explain what other factors you would consider to create a more realistic mathematical model. Discuss also what technique (or techniques) you would use to draw up your recommendations to senior management of the company
It is recommended that you use POM for Windows (or any other software) for the calculations in Part 1. Limit your discussion on the analysed data and implications to 350 words.
Limit your answer to 500 words for Part 2.
*Students must use the CSU American Psychological Association (APA) referencing style.
Penalties may be applied for:
10% over word limit/failure to cite sources/referencing errors/omissions/ plagiarism (see Handbook – this carries a large penalty and is to be reported if Plagiarism)
The following points are a general guide for presenting assessment items:
Assessment items should be typed
Use 1.5 spacing
Use a standard 12 point font such as Times New Roman, Calibri or Arial
Left-justify body text
A 4cm margin should be left on the left-hand side of each page for and each page should be numbered.
Most importantly, always use your spelling and grammar checker. Remember this does not pick up all errors, so you must also manually and carefully edit your work.
Always cite and reference all sources of information used in assessments.
Provide a single reference list that always starts on a new page.
Indicate the number of words (do not include what is inside citation brackets or in reference list)
Assignment should be written in a report style making use of headings and sub-headings as well as short concise paragraphs. A systematic approach should be taken in the use of headings e.g. lower case bold for section headings, lower case italics bold for sub-headings, lower case italics for further sub-divisions etc.
The style of writing should be clear and concise, paying attention to sentence structure to ensure clarity of meaning. Attention should also be paid to punctuation, including the correct use of commas and the apostrophe.