Read the final Case Report assignment.

Read the online notes linked from the syllabus for the second week.

Submit this assignment through the WebCT email system, not to my normal school email address.  (This ensures that I receive it; regular email is not reliable.)  You are encouraged to do these weekly assignments on a word processor to help ensure proper spelling, punctuation, and such.  (These are issues in your grade.)  However, cut and paste from the word processor into your plain text email submission -- do not submit in a word processor format and do not submit as an attachment. 

Cut and paste the following, what is between the lines, into your submission and answer the questions:

CASE ASSIGNMENT 2

YOUR NAME: _________________________________________________________

In the first assignment, most students indicated a presumption that the client's personal objective is to generate enough revenue to replace Mrs. Smith's income if she has to quit her job.  Of those who didn't state this specifically, most at least stated something that would hint at this objective (e.g., "they want to launch a 'successful' business" [you need to define what is meant by "successful"]). 

1. Describe the most important specific features of the product that the client would be offering.  Consider the Smith's proposal, but you might also want to first do the research of the next question before proposing specific product features.

   
   

2. Search the Web (using search engines such as Google or Yahoo) to find potential competitors of the proposed business (substitute products).  Specifically, look at prices.  Note that anything that is free is not likely to be offering the kinds of "hand holding" services that our client would be offering.  Find three competitors that offer products with features that are similar or reasonable substitutes to what you described above.  List these below, with the name of the company, the online URL, and the package price.
   1. Business Name:

      URL:

      package features:

      package price:

      
      

   2. Business Name:

      URL:

      package features:

      package price:

      
      

   3. Business Name:

      URL:

      package features:

      package price:

   
   

3. Assuming that the Smiths want to maintain parity with such competition that is offering similar or substitute features, propose a "competitive parity" price for the product package that this client would be offering:

   
   

   
   

4. Suggest the total revenue that the Smiths would have to draw from this business in order to meet their financial objectives.  Explain how you came to this assumption and cite a source of information that would back your assumption.  (Since I don't know teacher salaries, I would start looking for salaries of Texas High School [Texarkana] teachers at the TexarkanaMSA website [http://www.texarkanamsa.org/links/education.htm].)  Note that this revenue requirement is not necessarily as high as the full replacement of Mrs. Smith's current income in order for the business to be feasible. 

   
   

   
   

5. To reach this revenue level, how many packages would the Smith's have to sell?  Indicate your total annual revenue requirements, show all of your work used to estimate the number of packages that would have to be sold to meet this objective, and clearly indicate your final answer.