Business Research Method, Part III

Applied Business Research and Statistics

QNT/561

August 2, 2010

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Business Research Method, Part III

"Makes My Mouth Water" (MMMW) candy factory in Kansas manufactures caramel candies that it ships to 1,400 "Mega-Store" outlets nationwide to be sold. MMMW is having difficulties distributing products to the stores on time. The CEO and founder, Polly Purebred, feels this is because of outdated ovens that frequently break down and are difficult to repair. Mrs. Purebred has hired Quantitative Research Solutions (QRS) to assemble a comprehensive research proposal to help investigate the rough period in the production line that Mrs. Purebred says MMMW is currently experiencing.

Part I

Dilemma

In business for more than 35 years, MMMW is beginning to see the impact of inefficient machinery on their production lines.

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With a business that needs to reach well over 1,400 outlets that sell the company's candy, it is easy to see the importance of having a candy factory that consistently produces the amount of candy needed to reach the consumer.

The management dilemma that MMMW has is simple: The company is falling behind in producing enough candy to ship to the "Mega-Store" outlets nationwide.

The management question is: What should MMMW do to increase their supply as a means of consistently matching the current demand? After talking to Mrs. Purebred, QRS determined that with a staff total of 350 employees, MMMW's manual labor alone will not help the organization produce what is needed to keep up with the demand, thus placing the company in a unique position in considering replacing their outdated equipment, also difficult to repair.

After doing...