Research Project

Make sure the written report (the essay) of your project is at least 4-pages in length not including the cover page, reference page, graphs, or any other appendices/schedules.

Below is a list of items that you will need to incorporate into your mass manufacturing business. You are to create a manufacturing plant with 2 separate divisions. Each division will make one type of product (i.e. Textbooks and Pens or Shoes and Purses). You will prepare a professional written report and include three different budgets. You may also include a graph which will examine the business just before the opening day.

As the CEO, you need to consider and research most of the items (especially the bolded ones):    

1.      What is (are) the equipment(s) needed in order to start the operation (make sure to include prices of the equipment(s)?

            2.  What types of products will be sold?

            3.  How many process systems will it take to make these items?

            4.  What type of management (centralized or decentralized)?

            5.  How much will your products sell for?

            6.  How are you going to set your Selling Price? (Market/Cost?)

            7.  How much will each factory worker be paid? (Provide a general annual wages).

            8.  How many hours per day will you open and how many days per week?

            9.  List and express in dollars your factory estimated variable, fixed and mixed                                   costs when applicable.  

          10. Prepare at least three different budgets and show where the numbers come from:

                        a.  Flexible division budget; b. Zero-based budget; c.  Sales budget

                        d.  Production budget; e.  DM budget; f.  COGS budget; g.  Cash payment budget

          11.  What is included in administration and selling expenses?

          12.  Calculate the Break Even Point in Unit and in Dollar.

          13.  Determine the company's Rate of Return.

          14.  Prepare a budgeted income statement or a simple income statement.

          15.  Provide a Works Cited page for your three sources.

Key for a higher grade:

Make sure to write your responses to the questions above as an Essay format; do not simply list your response(s) to the question(s). Prepare any budgets and graphs separately and include them as appendices at the end of the written report. I highly recommend to research an existing mass manufacturing business and mimic their production/systems.

Some examples may include EnerDel, Kellogg, Nestle, Vera Bradley, and GM.

This project is not intended to be completed during one evening,

so make sure to plan accordingly in order to meet the due date!

See the General Instructions and the Tips document, in Moodle, for more details.