Group Project Paper
Paper Due: 5/23/12
AGB 435
Dr. Hurley
This project will consist of your group choosing a case study from a myriad of textbooks Dr.
Hurley has on Management Science. It is meant to further develop your skills in linear
programming/management science by having you choose a case to examine and apply the skills
you have learned in the course. The acceptable cases available to your group are listed below in
a Table 1. You may also choose a case study from
http://cases.ivey.uwo.ca/cases/pages/home.aspx. If your group would like, you can develop your
own case.
The first step in the project is to develop your group. Each group will consist of three people
unless prior arrangements have been made with the professor. If you have any more or any less
people in your group without the professor’s permission, you will receive a zero for the project.
It is your responsibility to find members for your group. At the end of the second week of class
you will need to submit a list of your group members to the professor.
Once your group is developed, you need to obtain permission from the professor for the case
study your group will do. Since it is unlikely that the class will have covered the material for
every case before your group has to choose a particular case, it is recommended that you read the
chapter from which the case comes from before you choose.
Having established the case study you will investigate, your group will next need to work
through the case study. The tools you use to examine the case study should not be limited to the
chapter that it comes from. Your group should use all applicable tools that are developed
throughout the course. You can also use the questions given in the case study to guide how you
will examine the problem given in the case. But these questions should not be limitations on the
analysis you provide.
Paper Requirement: 20% of Overall Grade
For your group project you will need to examine a case study and write a five page business
report. It is your responsibility to find materials that explain how to write a business report.
There are numerous documents on the web. This report should summarize the following:





Background to the case study
Objectives of the study
The model and methodology
Major results and sensitivity analysis
Conclusions and recommendations
This report should be written as if you were presenting it to the board of directors or high-level
management of a company. It should have an executive summary (limited to one page, not
included in your limit). If you do not know how to write an executive summary, you can find
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information on the web. The professor prefers executive summaries that judiciously use bulleted
items.
After the report is finished, you should reread it to be sure that you thoroughly discussed each
item that you put together for the report.
The technical requirements for the group project are the following. The paper must be typed,
double-spaced with one-inch margins. Failure to follow these formatting guidelines will cause a
5% deduction in your project grade. The paper will be graded on:




Presentation (25%)
Clarity/Level of Explanation (25%)
Grammar (25%)
Thoroughness/Use of Tools (25%)
The presentation portion of the grade will be based on how well you structure the report. The
paper should flow, make sense, and be professional. You should think of this paper as something
you will provide a high level manager who is completely ignorant of what you are doing.
Professionalism is of the utmost importance. Also, do not assume any knowledge from the
reader’s standpoint.
The clarity portion of your grade will be based on how clear your writing style is and how well
you hit the key points of the case study. You should write this report so anyone could
understand it.
The grammar portion of your grade will work as follows: for each grammatical or spelling error I
find, you will lose (1  number of fully written pages submitted)*25% for each occurrence of
your final grade up to 25% of your final grade.
The thoroughness of your paper will be based on how well you were able to incorporate the tools
developed in the course. How well you design your spreadsheet model will also be a portion of
this part of your grade. The spreadsheet should be clear and documented so anyone could use it
and understand it. When your group submits the report, it should also submit by email the
spreadsheet model you used. It is your responsibility to make sure that the professor receives it.
Failure to submit the spreadsheet will be a 25% deduction on your project grade.
Everyone in your group will have the opportunity to grade everyone else in the group. The final
grade for each member in the group will be your group paper score given to you by the professor
multiplied by the average grade the other members of your team give you. Your team members
will be able to give you a score between 50 and 100 percent.
It is anticipated that this paper should be no longer than 5 pages long. This paper length is a hard
imposed limit. For each extra page that has writing on it, you will lose 5% on the final grade
percentage.
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Finally you should take note that the professor for the course can be your best resource.
Beyond what is given in this document, it is your group’s responsibility to figure out what the
professor wants. The professor is more than willing to meet with your group at anytime
during the quarter for consultations. Questions can be asked in class. Consider the professor
the consumer of your product, which is the report. It is your responsibility to figure out what
the consumer wants.
The grade for the paper will be assigned to all the people in your group whose first and last
name are on the first page of the report. Hence, if there is one person in your group that has
not participated in the project, the group can leave that person’s name off the report. Each
member in the group will also have the opportunity to grade the other members of the group.
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Table 1: Acceptable Cases for Group Project
Case
Source
Case 5-3: Farm Management
Hillier and Hillier: Introduction to
Management Science
Case 6-1: Aiding Allies
Hillier and Hillier: Introduction to
Management Science
Case 6-2: Money in Motion
Hillier and Hillier: Introduction to
Management Science
Case 3-2: Sonoma Valley Wines
Winston and Albright: Practical Management
Science
Cases 3-5, 5-4, 7-3: Assigning Students to
Hillier and Hillier: Introduction to
1
School
Management Science
Case 3-3: Fabric and Fall Fashions
Hillier and Hillier: Introduction to
Management Science
Case 2: Lake Saddleback Development
Lawrence and Pasternak: Applied Management
Corporation
Science
Case 7-2: Stocking Sets
Hillier and Hillier: Introduction to
Management Science
Cases 3-4 and 6-3: Removing Snow in
Ragsdale: Spreadsheet Modeling & Decision
Montreal2
Analysis
Case 5-3: The Major Electric Corporation
Ragsdale: Spreadsheet Modeling & Decision
Analysis
Case 4-1: AMARCO, Inc.
Winston and Albright: Practical Management
Science
Case 4-2: American Office Systems, Inc.
Winston and Albright: Practical Management
Science
Case 4-3: Lakefield Corporation’s Oil Trading Winston and Albright: Practical Management
Desk
Science
Case 5.1: International Textile Company, LTD. Winston and Albright: Practical Management
Science
Case 5-2: Optimized Motor Carrier Selection
Winston and Albright: Practical Management
at Westvaco
Science
Case 6-1: Giant Motor Company
Winston and Albright: Practical Management
Science
Chapter 5: Scheduling Television Advertising
Taylor: Introduction to Management Science
Slots at the United Broadcast Network
Chapter 6: Global Shipping at Erken Apparel
Taylor: Introduction to Management Science
International
Case 3-7: Project Pickings
Hillier and Hillier: Introduction to
Management Science
Case 5-5: Maneuvers in the Senate
Ragsdale: Spreadsheet Modeling & Decision
Analysis
1
2
All three cases must be solved as a single case.
Both cases must be solved as a single case.
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