Reference no: EM131089280

Module 1 - Case

Assumed Certainty: Pivot Tables and Multi-Attribute Decision Making

Pivot Tables and Pivot Charts

Assignment Overview

You are the lead consultant for the Excellent Consulting Group. It is mid-October. One of your top clients, Buddy's Floor Barn, has just closed the books for the first three quarters of the year (January through September). Buddy's Floor Barn requests that you analyze the sales performance of its 5 product lines over this 3-quarter period. From past consulting work you have done for the company, you know that Buddy's Floor Barn has 4 regions and 18 total store locations.

Each Regional Manager at the company has compiled the data for his/her region. The raw data provided consists of the sales revenue for each of the 5 premium flooring lines for all 4 regions and 18 locations for the first three quarters of the current year.

Case Assignment

The data have been provided in list format. Generate a Pivot Table Report with Charts. Use the Pivot Table and Charts to analyze the data. Following your in-depth analysis of the data, write a report to Buddy's Floor Barn in which you discuss and analyze the data, and make appropriate recommendations relative to how Buddy's Floor Barn should improve its sales performance going forward.

Assignment Expectations

Data: To begin, download the list data here: Data chart for BUS520 Case 1

Excel Analysis:

• Provide accurate and complete Excel analysis (Pivot Table with Charts).

Written report:

• Length requirement: 4-5 pages minimum (not including Cover and Reference pages). NOTE: You must have 4-5 pages of written discussion and analysis. This means you should avoid use of tables and charts as "space fillers."
• Provide a brief introduction to/background of the problem.
• Using the Pivot Table and Pivot Charts, discuss and analyze the data, noting key highs and lows, trends, etc.
• Include charts from your Pivot Table to support your written analysis. (Please do not use charts as "space fillers." Instead, use them strategically to support your written analysis.)
• In a "Recommendations" section, give clear, specific, and meaningful recommendations that Buddy's Floor Barn should use to improve overall company sales.
• Be sure to consider highs, lows, and trends in the data. Which cities are the highest performers? Lowest? Which regions and quarter had the highest sales? Lowest sales? Consider what may be driving the numbers: Poor marketing? Outstanding marketing strategies? Inventory management? Seasonal sales? Other? There are innumerable possibilities. Your role is to reflect on the data, and ultimately, to use the data to give useful recommendations.