March 18th, 2019 
adminAssignment 2:Planning the Future at Galaxy
Purpose:
In the secondassignment within a report you will create a SWOT analysis discuss a SWOT analysis and provide a detailed explanation of what considerations led to the determination of the SWOT components. You will then make recommendations and explain what factors were considered in making the recommendations.
Note: Not all critical company information is provided so it is impossible to complete a financial analysis but instead students will focus on the first elements of the P-O-L-C planning.
Outcome Met by Completing This Assignment:
Instructions:
Step 1: Preparation for the Assignment
Before you begin writing the report you will read the following requirements that will help you meet the writing and APA requirements. Not reading this information will lead to a lower grade:
Review How to Analyze a Case Study under Week 6Content. You are expected to use the facts from the case scenario focusing on using this information to determine opportunities and solve problems.
Read the grading rubric for the assignment. Use the grading rubric while writing the report to ensure all requirements are met that will lead to the highest possible grade.
In writing this assignment you will read and following these tasks:
Step 2: How to Set Up thePaper
Create a Word or Rich Text Format (RTF) document that is double-spaced 12-point font.The final product will be between 6-8pages in length excluding the title page and reference page and appendix. You may not exceed eight (8) pages so it is important to write clearly and concisely.
Use the following format:
Step 3: Part One:Read critically and analyze the following scenario:
The toy industry is very fickle and innovation is critical. Sales for January 2017 showed only a 3% rise over January 2016 leaving the company managers concerned about meeting projected sales targets for 2017. In a 30-month plan George Jepson Jr. as CEO together with Edward Mercury CFO set long-term goals for the company to include the following:
In November 2016 the long term planning team began to select the newest Galaxy product line. The choice of the right product design will hopefully stop the slump in sales and jump start growth. Tomorrow February 4 2017 is the final meeting of the planning team. The team will choose between three options:
The products have different production requirements.Payload Nineis designed to complement theInternational NASA Space Stationseries.Payload Nineis geared to the 7-10 age groups and contains building blocks to make the space shuttle with emphasis on the cargo hold and its loading arm.
Focus group results suggest thatPayload Ninewill sell well but it is not a wow product in the eyes of the group. It is not a trendsetting toy. The introduction ofPayload Nineis estimated to jump NASA sales by 6.8%. Payload Nine requires little change on the production floor and supplies are easily obtainable. Production could begin May 1 2017 and completed in time for the Christmas toy market. No additional personnel would be needed and existing production would not be delayed. Production costs would fit within the current years budget.
The other project Moon Mission to Jupiters Europa (MMTJE1)is a 3D engineered of the Curiosity vehicle used to. explore Mars. The toy is operated remotely allowing a child and parent to launch the capsule Juno 1 craft 500 ft. in the air unload the rover calledGalileoand move it along all terrain surfaces.Galileotakes pictures remotely and sends them to a cell phone. The toy is geared for the age 11-15 market but can be used with younger children as long as there is adult supervision. The toy is made from a 3D printer and consists of a plastic capsule and rover base with electronics added separately in production. [Not sure what 3D printing is viewhttp://3dprinting.com/what-is-3d-printing/]
Focus group results suggest that it is a wow product and would also encourage sales of related toys and books as Jupiters Moon Europa has been deemed by scientists as the most accessible and likely place to support habitable life as we know it to be. Children can view pictures and imagine a Moon currently covered in ice as a new space frontier adventure. An interactive video game is also envisioned. It will be the first intergalactic action toy that Galaxy Toys has ever produced.MMTJE1is estimated to bring a 15% increase in unrelated NASA sales if rolled out in 2017 and 21.6% increase if rolled out in 2018. HoweverMMTJE1is not production-friendly at this point.
The new production equipment electronics computer programming and trained personnel would not see production beginning before November of 2017. Anticipated budget costs of $450000 necessitating a budget increase of $300000 over all five plants would be needed. In order to meet the October deadline for Christmas 2017 sales additional labor would be needed with a cost increase of 20% over the projected $450000 budget costs. In addition the push would necessitate significant rescheduling of current production and likely require factory workers to put in overtime. Finally the rush would be predicated on the assumption that production problems would not occur.
Keith Wisternick VP of Production has the job of aligning all the production teams for Galaxy Toys and more specifically he is the person that ensures that each of the plants are capable of producing toys that meet the quality standards of Galaxy Toys in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Also part of Keiths job is to provide valuable input into the long-term planning process of the company. Every two years Keith and his counterparts in the other departments meet to determine the new product line for the upcoming two years. They are presented with new ideas that have been developed by the Design and Engineering Department.
After soliciting input for recommendations on the toys that would most likely meet the companys future objectives the Board of Directors narrowed the choices toPayload NineandMoon Mission to Jupiters Europa 1 (MMTJE1).
As VP of Production Keith is very aware that his recommendation and vote lends great influence to the outcome. Lucky for Keith he is not expected to provide his recommendation without first delegating some researching responsibilities to others. One person that he relies upon for research and analysis is Itza Yu who is a Production Manager. Yu has been tasked with creating a SWOT analysis for Keiths review. However Yu has not had any prior experience with creating this type of information. Keith has provided the following source to help him:
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_05.htm
Step 4:Create the introductory paragraph. Within this paragraph provide a brief overview of the scenario. Then provide a thesis statement and tell the reader the main topics covered in the paper. The introductory paragraph is the first paragraph of the paper but is typically written after writing the body of the paper (Questions students responded to above). View this website to learn how to write an introductory paragraph:http://www.writing.ucsb.edu/faculty/donelan/intro.html
Step 5:SWOT Analysis
Assume the role of Itza Yu. Using the facts that have been provided in the case scenario and the Company Profile as well as your own research on the toy industry create aSWOT analysis table for Keith. If you need to know howto create a table view:How to Insert a Table in a Microsoft Word Document.
Important note:To be clear the SWOT analysis must be focused on the company as a whole and must not be transformed into a method of evaluating the pros and cons of the Payload Nine or the MMTJE1. This analysis (the pros and cons) will be included later in your analysis.
Step 6: Strengths & Weaknesses
Task 1: To assist further Keith Itza Yu must also provide a detailed explanation as to what considerations led to the determination that certain facts should be classified as strengths while others were classified as weaknesses. In other words its not enough to list various strengths and weaknesses but instead Itza Yu must explain why these facts were included in the analysis.
Step 7: Recommendation
Lastly Itza Yu must recommendthe best long-term planning decision for Keith’s approval. In this report Yu must explain the analysis and factors used in evaluating the vision mission long-term goals and SWOT analysis of the company that led to the conclusions that formed the basis of the decision. Here is where you will make the decision as to which toy(s) will be manufactured and when they will be produced/sold. Remember that you will use the information contained in your SWOT analysis to identify and evaluate the pros and cons of the alternatives before selecting thebestchoice. Remember what Yu present has to be accurate and well supported since Keith will make thisrecommendation to the Long-term Planning Committee.
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Step 8: Part Two:Short Term Production Goals and Objectives
Read critically and analyze the following scenario:
The Board of Directors has decided to accept the recommendation to roll out the Moon Mission to Jupiters Europa 1 for the holiday season of 2018. In a virtual meeting led by Itza Yu the production managers have had a brainstorming session and have created a list of short-term goals and objectives.
In reviewing the list Itza Yu noted that some of the items on the list are sound short-term goals and objectives while others are not and therefore should be removed. He also noted that some of the items do not fit well with the companys vision and mission and will need to be eliminated.
Assuming the role of Itza Yu students must determine whether the items on the list are goals or objectives and whether they should be adopted or abandoned. The list is as follows:
Short Term Goals and Objectives List
Task 1:Answer the following required elements for Part Twomaking sure that the facts of the scenario and the course readings support the reasoning of the answers provided.
From the list above students should generate a table with three sections. Label the first section Appropriate Short-term Goals. Label the second section appropriate objectives. The third sectionshould be those other goals and objectives that have to be abandoned.
Task 2: Take each item from the list above and place the item into the appropriate column. In completing this task Yu isexpected to demonstrate an understanding of the difference between goals and objectives and their choices should reflect this understanding.
Task 3: Yu willclearly explain the reasoning for the categorization of the goals and objectives as thisanalysis will be very helpful to Keith Wisternick and the Board of Directors of Galaxy Toys Inc.
Step9: Write the summary paragraph
Write the summary paragraph. A summary paragraph restates the main topics of the paper.Make sure to leave a reader with a sense that the paperis complete.The summary paragraph is the last paragraph of a paper and does not need a heading.
Step10:Proofread the reportfor spelling and grammatical issues and third person writing.
Step 11: Submit the reportin the Assignment Folder.
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