Reference no: EM131756026

FORECASTING MODELS Internet Case Study: Human Resources, Inc. Human Resources Inc. (HR Inc.) is a small company that conducts seminars on productivity issues for corporate executives. HR Inc. focuses on improving the quality of work and the attitude of workers in service organizations. The company tries to provide seminar participants with the tools essential for dealing with hard-to-measure issues. Originally, its seminars were geared toward hospital administration — specifically, topics included how to motivate nursing staffs and how to provide quality care for patients. Over the years, the demand for seminars has grown, as has the company's client base. Clients now include insurance executives who want to improve the quality and productivity of their claims recorders, travel agency directors who want to improve the service of their agencies, and managers of secretarial pools who wish to improve the attitudes in their offices. HR Inc. has offered one seminar each season since 1997. Each seminar lasts for one week and is typically held at a resort or spa. The location has varied over the years, but the winter seminars have tended to be in Florida, the spring seminars in Chicago, the summer seminars in the Carolinas, and the fall seminars in the northeast corridor (between Washington and Boston). The following table shows the number of persons attending seminars since HR Inc. began. Quarter Year Winter Spring Summer Fall 1997 35 44 54 49 1998 68 61 61 75 1999 70 62 70 74 2000 64 72 76 72 2001 73 62 85 72 2002 89 66 82 92 2003 96 78 95 94 2004 93 78 95 94 2005 95 82 89 87 HR Inc. is considering a major expansion program. Before committing to it, however, the company would like to be able to forecast the size of its seminars. HR Inc. is wondering if it should expand in all four seasons or if it should concentrate on one. The company would like to know if the growth has been even in all four regions or not. Find a forecasting model that best answers HR Inc.'s questions.