Assignment 2: Planning the Future at Galaxy – Due
Oct 2, 2016 11:59 PM
BMGT 364 6385 Management and Organization Theory (2168)
Assignment 2: Planning the Future at Galaxy (Week 6)
Purpose:
In the second assignment, students will create a SWOT analysis and provide a detailed
explanation of what considerations led to the determination of the SWOT components. Students
will then make recommendations and explain what factors were considered in making the
recommendations.
Outcome Met by Completing This Assignment:
integrate management theories and principles into management practices
employ effective planning processes to develop strategies, goals, and objectives in order to
enhance performance and sustainability
identify the essential characteristics of decision making and indicate the range and types of
decisions a manager makes
Instructions:
Step 1: Review “How to Analyze a Case Study” under Week 3 Content.
Step 2: Create a Word or Rich Text Format (RTF) document. This paper should be presented in
a professional manner, double-spaced with indented paragraphs. The final product will be
between 6-8 pages in length excluding the title page and reference page.
Step 3: Title page with your name, the course name, the date, and the instructor’s name.
Step 4: In writing a case study, the writing is in the third person. What this means is that there
are no words such as “I, me, my, we, or us” (first person writing), nor is there use of “you or
your” (second person writing). If uncertain how to write in the third person, view this
link: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/first-second-and-third-person. Do
not include personal commentary.
Step 5: In writing this assignment, students are expected to support the reasoning using in-text
citations and a reference list. If any material is used from a source, it must be cited and
referenced. A reference within a reference list cannot exist without an associated in-text citation
and vice versa. View the sample APA paper under Week 1 content. Step 6: In writing this assignment, students are expected to paraphrase and not use direct quotes. Learn to paraphrase
by reviewing this link: https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/QPA_paraphrase2.html
Step 6: In writing this assignment, students will use resources from the course material and no
more than 2 external source documents. NOTE: The expectation is that students provide a robust
use of the course material. This reference is not about just using the company profile.
Step 7: In completing the assignment, students are expected to use the facts from the case study
and company profile paired with the weekly courses readings to develop the analysis. View the
company profile here: Galaxy Toys, Inc. Company Profile.
Step 8: Review the grading rubric for the assignment.
Step 9: Read critically and analyze the case study provided under Week 6 content. Notate the
key points in the case study.
Step 10: Create the introductory paragraph.
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 11: Respond to the required elements of the assignment. Be clear and concise in the
writing and make sure the questions are comprehensively answered.
Review the main case study located under week 6 content.
Part One: Long Term Planning Goals and Decisions
The toy industry is very fickle and innovation is critical. Sales for January 2016 showed only a
3% rise over January 2015 leaving the company managers concerned about meeting projected
sales targets for 2016. 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:
increase sales unrelated to NASA toys by 22 percent;
reduce company-wide costs by 5 percent within 15 months and 11.2 percent by the end of the
plan;
create new technology based action toys;
use innovative technology in production to increase efficiency;
reduce carbon footprint by 5 percent. In November 2015, 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, 2016 is the final meeting of the planning team. The team will
choose between three options:
produce 1 million Payload Nine toys or MMTJE1 for Christmas 2016;
produce 1 million Payload Nine toys for Christmas 2016 and 1 million MMTJE1 for Christmas
2017;
produce 1.5 million MMTJE1 toys for Christmas 2017.
The products have different production requirements. Payload Nine is designed to complement
the International NASA Space Station series. Payload Nine is geared to the 7-10 age group and
contains building blocks to make the space shuttle with emphasis on the cargo hold and its
loading arm.
Focus group results suggest that Payload Nine will sell well but it is not a “wow” product in the
eyes of the group. It is not a trendsetting toy. The introduction of Payload Nine is 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, 2016 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 year’s budget.
The other project “Moon Mission to Jupiter’s 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 called Galileo and
move it along all terrain surfaces. Galileo takes 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,
view http://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 Jupiter’s 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 also be the first intergalactic action toy that Galaxy Toys has
ever produced. MMTJE1 is estimated to bring a 15% increase in unrelated NASA sales if rolled
out in 2016 and 21.6% increase if rolled out in 2017. However, MMTJE1 is not productionfriendly at this point.
The new production equipment, electronics, computer programming and trained personnel would
not see production beginning before November of 2016. Anticipated budget costs of $450,000
necessitating a budget increase of $300,000 over all five plants would be needed. In order to
meet the October deadline for Christmas 2016 sales additional manpower would be needed with
a cost increase of 20% over the projected $450,000 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.
Part One: Long Term Planning Goals and Decisions
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 Keith’s 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
company’s future objectives, the Board of Directors narrowed the choices to Payload
Nine and Moon Mission to Jupiter’s 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 Keith’s 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
Required Elements for Part One: Using the facts that have been provided, the course content and your own research on the toy
industry, students should assume the role of Itza Yu and create the SWOT analysis for Keith.
To further assist 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, it’s not enough to simply list various strengths and
weakness, but instead, Itza Yu must explain “why” these facts were included in the analysis.
Lastly, Itza Yu must select the best long term planning decision for Keith’s approval. In this
report, Itza Yu must explain the analysis and factors used in evaluating the vision, mission, longterm goals and SWOT analysis of the company that led to the conclusions that formed the basis
of the decision that Keith would recommend to the Long-term Planning Committee.
Part Two: Short Term Production Goals and Objectives
The Board of Directors has decided to accept the recommendation to roll out the “Moon Mission
to Jupiter’s Europa 1” for the holiday season of 2017. 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 company’s 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
Production of quality MMTJE1 toys must start February 20th, 2017.
Production of quality MMTJE1 toys must start by July 1, 2017.
Dates for starting production set.
Completion dates for new personnel hire set.
MMTJE1 quality toys production.
Additional personnel must be hired by February 20th 2017.
Materials must be state of the art.
Completion dates for material purchase and delivery set. 3D printers must be purchased by February 20th, 2017.
3D printers must be purchased and installed by November 1, 2016
The first MMTJE1 toys should be produced by December 1, 2016.
QC should evaluate first toys by December 31, 2016.
Completion dates for QC standards will be determined by QC.
Safety standards should be determined by QC by May 1, 2016.
Materials must be purchased by and delivered by July 1, 2016.
New packages should be palletized by May 1, 2017.
Personnel for all production functions must be organized by March 31, 2016.
Shipping should begin immediately upon the nod from Quality Control.
Shipping should begin July 1, 2017.
Shipping start dates should be determined.
IT must confirm programming for 3D printers is complete by June 1, 2016.
3D machine operators must be trained by October 31, 2016.
Completion dates for 3D programming, training and installation set.
Maintenance for 3D printers must be done daily.
Personnel must be cross trained on the 3D printers.
Training on new equipment must be done by October 31, 2016.
Marketing will determine shipping start date.
Dates for personnel hire set.
Required Elements for Part Two:
From the list above, students should generate three lists. The first list should be a selection of
“appropriate” short-term goals. The second list should be a selection of “appropriate”
objectives. The third list should be those other goals and objectives that have been abandoned.
In completing this task, students are expected to demonstrate their understanding of the
difference between “goals” and “objectives” and their choices should reflect this understanding.
Moreover, students are required to clearly explain their reasoning for the selection (of certain
goals and objectives) and the abandonment of others. This analysis will be very helpful to Keith
Wisternick and the Board of Directors of Galaxy Toys, Inc.
Step 13: Using the grading rubric as a comparison, read through the paper to ensure all required
elements are presented. Step 14: Proofread the paper for spelling and grammatical issues, and third person writing.
Use the spell and grammar check in Word as a first measure;
Have someone who has excellent English skills to proof the paper;
Consider submitting the paper to the Effective Writing Center (EWC). The EWC will provide 46 areas that may need improvement.
Step 15: Submit the paper in the Assignment Folder.
Assignment 2: Planning the Future at Galaxy