Decisions for Quarter One and Quarterly Business Review
[WLO: 3] [CLOs: 1, 3, 4]
Part I: Decisions for Quarter One. Prior to working on your Decisions for Quarter One, review the following through the Growing Your Business simulation, the “Suggestions for Quarter 1” pop-up screen, any Quarter One Internal Emails and/or Memos, and watch the Preparing Your Financial Commitments video. The pop-up will be available at the lower left (Blue Guidelines) of the Executive Summary Decisions Tab and the video, emails, and memos can be re-accessed through the Help section. Additionally, read Turning bean counters into difference makers: How corporate finance is changing with the times, Why financial dashboards matter, and Five pointers to get you started, and What are your financial statements telling you.
The Decisions for Quarter One Assignment
Must be completed through the Growing Your Business simulation.
Consider the following questions as you prepare your annual budget/plan (if the answer is “No” to any of the questions you may be at a Competitive Disadvantage and lack critical information to draw inference from):
Did you
Request/purchase the Marketing Report and Business Intelligence Dashboard (BID)?
Utilize the 3 available role plays for Qtr.1?
Consider in the R&D Projects (other than Project 2, for which you may want to complete funding in Qtr.1)?
Must use the Role Play.
It is critical you read the details of the role play very carefully and any questions should immediately be referred to the Help Desk.
You can gain differentiated competitive advantage through effective use of the role play.
Some role players only provide qualitative information, while others provide the ability to negotiate with quantitatively.
The role play is a scarce resource because of the limited number of calls per quarter.
Must submit your Quarter One Budget Plan.
Periodically, as you modify inputs to use the “Model My Plan” at the lower right to see the impact of your decisions on the Financial Metrics.
Input your financial decision and then click on the blue Submit My SRO button on the bottom right of the Quarterly Decisions screen.
You must submit your Quarter One Decisions prior to moving on this week’s Quarterly Business Review assignment.
Part II: First Quarter Quarterly Business Review (QBR). You must submit your Quarter One Decisions prior to moving on this week’s Quarterly Business Review assignment. Prior to beginning work on the First Quarter Quarterly Business Review, review the following through the Growing Your Business simulation, the Variance Analysis video and the content from the Suggestions for Quarter Two Decisions pop-up. The video will provide you with a variety of financial tools, routinely used in Financial Planning & Analysis, for planning, meeting commitments and growth purposes. These are tools any business leader, regardless of function, needs to have a working knowledge. Real world examples will be presented throughout the simulation. You can always re-watch the Variance Analysis video in the Supplementary Review Materials in the Help section. In addition, there is a TRI Corp Critical Equation in PDF format that can also be found in the same section. Additionally, read Turning bean counters into difference makers: How corporate finance is changing with the times, Why financial dashboards matter, and Five pointers to get you started, and What are your financial statements telling you.
With the completion of Q1 you are responsible for completing your first Quarterly Business Review (QBR). This is a qualitative and quantitative summary of your competitive performance for Q1. Business reviews (or Operational Reviews) are a routine part of annual corporate activities and are very cross-functional in nature. A major component of a QBR is around meeting commitments that are embedded in your budgetary planning process. Meeting commitments are seen explicitly in your Variances. These learnings are designed to enhance your performance in future Quarters.
The Quarterly Business Review Assignment
Must be completed through the Growing Your Business simulation.
After logging in, go to the Quarterly Decisions tab on the top right of the simulation site and then click on the Executive Summary tab to access the Quarterly Business Review section.
Must be completed and submitted using all of the data provided including
Quarterly Pre-Tax Net Income relative to Plan for the Quarter
Review the Pre-Tax Net Income Chart Explanation document
Cash Flow walk
Review the How to Read the Cash Flow Walk Chart document
Pre-tax Net Income in Plan
Must show that Hisco is on track to Meet/Exceed its Annual Net Income Commitment through an evaluation of both quantitative and qualitative techniques for business analysis and decision making.
Must create specific business tactics to achieve organizational survival and growth.
After completing, check the box and submit in the lower right.
After completing the simulation, students must save the provided pdf from the pdf found within the Executive Summary tab of the Quarterly Decisions page and submit it through Waypoint. Verify your submission was successful.
To access the PDF for submission, click on the QTRLY Decisions tab from the simulation home page and then go to the Executive Summary tab. Within the Executive Summary page, you will find a Download link associated with each quarterly decision you completed.
Remember, you will be receiving feedback on your QBR each quarter. You should review the feedback prior to submitting next quarter’s decisions, as there may be some critical learning that can help your performance in the next quarter.
Must use scholarly sources in addition to the course text.
The Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.
Must document any information used from sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.)
Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. See the Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.) resource in the Ashford Writing Center for specifications.
Carefully review the Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.) for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.
Running Head: BUSINESS 2
Week 2 Assignment
Week 2 Assignment
Q1-21 QBR
5 Key Learnings from Quarter
One of the principal elements I learned from this quarter is how to prepare and plan a quarterly budget. Companies must be ready to adapt rapidly to developments to succeed and flourish. Carefully handling cash is essential. Strategic planning is a long-term strategy that determines the organization’s purpose, the long-term priorities, and a strategic plan. The annual strategic plan must be produced to evaluate the organization’s capabilities, limitations, possibilities, and strategies to develop firm goals for the next year (Smith, 2017). Each manager often creates an individual set of priorities and a strategy aligned with the organization’s strategic plan. When the process is underway, budgets are submitted, and budgets checked and accepted at different levels of management —who does what, when. I was able to minimize expenses by adjusting some numbers in the marketing and advertisement sector but somewhat passed the credit cap.
I also learned about expenses, another significant factor. The underlying explanation for risk and ambiguity is due to an inadequate source of information. We don’t know the potential outcomes or the exact probability of alternatives since we don’t know enough about the “system,” which contributes to the outcome of the decision. I was so worried that Mr. Slaone set ($300 000 – $400 000) the annual net income goal for Hisco that when I made my change, I could not see other places, for example, my credit line, impacted. I could finish the year with just over $300,000 with a net gain. My problem is that the debt is already rising and that the net income doesn’t offset this debt. (Harmon, 2019)
Thirdly, I appreciate what the Dashboard is all about. Oft dashboards reflect critical data that must be checked, presented, and evaluated as visual representations. Dashboards give a summary of crucial variances. The Dashboard is also seen on a web page linked to a database that allows a continuous updating of the report. A dashboard for production can, for example, display productivity-related figures, such as the number of parts produced or the number of periodic inspections missed every hour.
Fourthly another element which I learned was about accounts receivables. Some businesses will raise more cash “since they don’t see their financial statements, they don’t know about it. The report on cash flow accounts in a manner that reconciles starting and ending cash flows on cash transactions and cash transfers arising from operations, acquisition, and funding activities over a period. Minimal volumes of cash flow information are available from the balance sheet, revenue statements, and the retained income statement. The comparable balance sheets, for example, reflect the rise in land, plant, and machinery over the year. But they don’t reveal the money for the additions. (Thuis & Stuive, 2019, P. 8)
Finally, I got to comprehend projects. Both organizations are subject to restrictions. Business executives may launch an unlimited number of initiatives to create multiple outcomes. A few top products on a lengthy list of restricted market tools include time, finance, human resources, materials, and expertise—the limits of executive power options in all operating fields, including project selection. The aim should be to choose tasks to the most significant advantage for the organization and make the most effective services. Exactly the definition for each company would be different (Thuis & Stuive, 2019). We are in a better place to pick the right projects with various assessment methods and techniques at our disposal.
References
Harmon, P. (2019). Managing and measuring a specific business process. Business Process Change, 267-282. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-815847-0.00011-x
Smith, R. D. (2017). Evaluating the strategic plan. Strategic Planning for Public Relations, 365-394. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315270876-14
Thuis, P., & Stuive, R. (2019). Business administration methods and techniques. Business Administration, 385-427. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003022213-13
Pre-tax NI Walk: Plan to Actual
Observing the chart, (216.1K) dollars was the plan, and (87.2K) dollars was the real. Something I didn’t consider was Hisco’s base expense. Base cost is the cost of the investment to which all proceeds (price) on disposition (sale) are contrasted to assess whether an investment income (yield) or forfeiture has been attained. Base cost refers to the amount of the optional expenses of the expenditures. A discretionary expense includes a capital or cost investment that can be minimized or just avoided in the short term with no immediate impact on a company’s short-term performance. Management can reduce spending costs when cash flow problems occur or if it needs to show improved immediate incomes expressed in financial statements. Study and advancement, selling and advertisement expenses, Lean Sigma six, and house tenancy and services are some of Hisco’s discretionary costs. The costs of the property lease and utilities and additional investments were overstated, which can lead to Hisco surpassing its credit line. (Grit, 2019)
Reference.
Grit, R. (2019). Arranging your finances. Making a business plan, 76-90. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003022107-7
Cash Flow Work for this Quarter
Net income was positively influenced by the decision I made regarding the sales. The decision I made was to increase the company’s sales. The effect of this is that the company will get a lot of profits. Sales volumes impact cash flow in two different ways, including the growth effect and its effects on management’s decision to manage it. Sales increase has an impact proportional to the other revenue-generating operations within the company that occur on the financial statement. The cash flow statement is among the investors’ financial statements who rely on it to assess the financial strength of a firm (BONDARENKO, & VERESOTSKYI, 2019). A substantial cash flow places a corporation in a decent situation to grow the company, capitalize on new ventures, and handle investor dividend payouts. The cash flow statement expresses the money receipts and dividends earned from running, spending, and funding operations during the year.
Reference.
BONDARENKO, O., & VERESOTSKYI, B. (2019). Organization and methods of accounting, the audit of cash funds, and analysis of cash flow at aviation enterprises. Economics. Finances. Law, (12/3), 6-10. https://doi.org/10.37634/efp.2019.12(3).1
3 Toughest Decisions Made and Why
The decision to commence establishing Project 1 was one of the most significant vital choices I had to make this specific quarter. Funding and timing are the reasons why this decision was complicated. Presently, Hisco has a very tight schedule. I wanted to build Project 1 because it can decrease the total development cycles for this project. That means it will take a shorter period for every reader to finish. I would also reduce labor by minimizing time. It would require fewer workers to generate a similar quantity of readers; it would save the company’s work expenses and minimize the labor force. The earlier the project’s initiation, the sooner the business will profit from its progress. When it comes to launching Project 3, timing becomes crucial, expanding the future demand for readers. The intention was to refine the venture before the reader, developing a large market far past the capability of Hisco. (Bridge & Dodds, 2018)
One more tough choice was to minimize the expenses of marketing and advertisement. With an increasingly tight budget, constant business advancement, and future market growth (because of the third project’s development and execution), I decided it was better to lessen some expenses and launch Hisco’s expansion at the earliest time thinkable. It was because the market world is always evolving. The budget reduction for the divisions would have a detrimental effect on potential revenue. Still, cuts have to be made to raise money for R&D, new workers (when the third project begins), and extra checkup lines. The purchase value for each reader may have increased, but I worried that if the reader’s skills were not improved, Hisco’s market share would not develop in the future. I was not comfortable with losing quarter one because I decided to reduce the expense of potential earnings. Instead, to stick under the budget limits, I decreased the advertisement and marketing costs as far as possible (Rajagopal, 2019). Lastly, the other decision that was hard to make depended on only the sales to fund the project. This decision is hard to make as in times of crisis or other constraints, the sales decrease, meaning that there will be no money to fund the project. It can lead to project failure.
References.
Bridge, J., & Dodds, J. C. (2018). The firm and managerial decisions. Managerial Decision Making, 1-23. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351200479-1
Rajagopal. (, 2019). Marketing research. Contemporary Marketing Strategy, 245-272. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11911-9_9
Competitor Analysis
The strength of Redex was production, according to the Welcome E-mail. I agree that the business is starting to concentrate on engineering. Although their power is in engineering, this will affect Hisco. Customers perceive the Redex reader as providing additional expertise. It has resulted in the rise of the corporation’s market share, decreasing the market share of Hisco. As per the Welcome e-mail, the strong point of Matek was marketing. It seems that, at the time of advancing its Lean Sigma Six, the corporation (Matek) did not focus on marketing. It proposes that Matek is seeking to emphasize decreasing manufacturing costs. To a considerable degree, the strengths and vulnerabilities of competitors both identify and restrict their competitive alternatives. When evaluating competitors’ capacities, four vital measurements should be considered: innovative ability, operational power, marketing potential, and financial strength. (Alsem, 2019)
Reference.
Alsem, K. J. (2019). Competitor analysis. Applied Strategic Marketing, 171-195. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429823374-9
Use of Role Play for Information and Negotiation
In my opinion, I did not exploit my role-play calls to my satisfaction. Stall Brick was my first call. He presented me with details concerning his engineering competency strategies and the quantities planned by Lean Sigma Six. This information was not of much assistance in the first quarter since I had insufficient money to utilize. I expect to use Mr. Brick’s advice to drive probable capitalizing in the given fields because they play a significant part in the superiority and processing of goods. Because of connection difficulties, I didn’t get through the calls. The reason for reaching out to Charlie Chipmaker (my second call) was to know more about sales since he is much experienced in sales. Lastly, my last call was to Ms. buy it. The essence of my calls in this quarter is that they will impact my choices in the next quarter.
After changing other areas of the budget, I will raise the engineering budget and Lean Sigma Six with all accessible surplus resources. I will try to utilize my role-play calls appropriately upon re-reading organization e-mails and checking all obtainable material. I felt as if my calls for this quarter had been wasted.
Is your Original Strategy Working as you Planned?
The choices that I made in Q1 have, to some extent, helped my first plan. My first approach was to employ the engineering strength of Hisco so that the organization would continue to deliver a premium commodity at a fair price. I think I might have endangered that part of my plan if I reduced promotion expenses and slashed advertising costs. But the project completed should yield revenue generated by Hisco. The way I treated budgeting was some of the restriction. Instead of minimizing them, I believe I would have worked to complete project three as well, position more funds in the promotion and advertisement, and pay attention to the development lease. In this area, I may be overwhelmed. I am looking forward to the next quarter to fix these problems.
Are we on track to meet Annual Net Income Commitment? Provide explanation
Hisco is currently on target to reach its annual net revenue goal, while Quarter 1 was not as profitable as I anticipated. My initial strategy placed Hisco at the end of the year at a total sale of just over $300,000. The underestimation of the first quarter’s expenses was of great concern to me. I had to go over the accounting report to see where I was mistaken. My key issues are underestimating development leasing and energy expenses and the sluggish rise in revenue attributable to my decrease in publicity and advertisement financing. Also, reflecting on Hisco’s vulnerabilities while retaining and using its strengths more efficiently is necessary. It needs to force our workers to sustain and continue to increase its net profits in terms of efficiency and effectiveness
Instructions:
Since I am having trouble with the simulation here is how to navigate to find information that is important.
Here is where all of the information is to generate the questions below. Don’t pay attention to the quarter summary for Q2, Q3, and the AOR they are not complete, and this is where I am having the issue.
I will provide the other weeks assignment so you can have a guide.
Here is the questions
1. Key Learnings from Quarter
2.Pre-tax NI Walk: Plan to Actual
3. Cash Flow Work for this Quarter
4. 3 Toughest Decisions Made and Why
5. Competitor Analysis
6. Use of Role Play for Information and Negotiation
7. Is your Original Strategy Working as you Planned?
8.Are we on track to meet Annual Net Income Commitment? Provide explanation