MBA604_F15

MBA604_F15

MBA604 Fall 2015
Explanation and Disclaimer
The paper consists of three parts. The parts are only connected by the topic, not by the actual modeling results. Within Part I however, questions a) and b), build upon each other. In other words, the results from a) are inputs for b). If mistakes are made in part a), points are only reduced at this point. If part b) is solved correctly and is only leading to incorrect results because of the incorrect inputs from a), no further points are subtracted.
The questions as well as data are entirely fictitious. Furthermore, the data does not represent realistic business data; it is chosen for the purpose of showcasing the student’s ability to determine which decision-making methods should be used, so that unambiguous conclusions can be drawn.
Make sure you are showing all steps of your work. For example, in part 2b) show how you calculated total profits, this is also worth points! Conclude all of your models with a written out answer.
Part One
A) K’s Brewery is selling its famous beers (K Lager, K-IPA, and K’s Black Belt Ale) in four sales regions throughout Germany. These four regions are Northeast, Northwest, Southeast and Southwest. Due to cultural, as well as historic and political differences, demand in the four regions differs. The firm uses two general marketing tools: advertisements and promotions (determined by the marketing budget) and signing up restaurants as contract distributors that exclusively sell K beers. Regional managers are allowed to employ varying emphasis on these two strategies, depending on what they think works best in a given region. The attached file includes sales data for the past 12 months, as well as marketing budgets and number of contracted restaurants for each region (also per month). Also included is the proposed marketing budget for each region for the next month, and the number of restaurants that are expected to be under contract in the next month.
K’s brewery’s management wants...