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Task 2: Cost implications of new initiative ( 300 to 400 words excluding the equations, table, charts etc) ( 30 Marks) To comply with quality standards, the management decided to limit the number of calls that can be handled by an agent to 30 per day. This initiative will have direct cost implications as the company will end up recruiting additional agents to satisfy this rule. The agents are currently paid 12.00 per hour. Agents work from 0900 to 0500 PM - Monday to Friday. Apart from the wages, the business will incur additional costs while recruiting new agents: Training costs: During induction of new agents, the business use an external training provider who will provide one to one mandatory training costing 300. Administrative Overheads The administrative cost associated with processing payroll, insurance etc comes to 150 a month per employee. However, it decreases by 20% when the number of employees exceeds 6 . Team Leader If the team size exceeds 6 , the business should recruit a new team leader who will be paid 15 per hour. The management is interested in exploring the cost implications of the new initiative. Task: - Provide the equation that can be used to calculate the total costs the business will incur from the employment of agents for both scenarios (Team size 6) Ensure that the terminologies and variable names are displayed clearly (5 Marks) - Calculate the additional cost the business will incur due to the new initiative (hiring of agents) for the next two months by using forecasting sheet - (All three scenarios - Upper Bound, Forecast and Lower Bound) are required. (10 Marks) - Fit a trend line to the number of calls received by the call centre and display the equation. (3 Marks) - Write a short executive summary report of the findings to the management about the cost implications of the new initiative, potential limitations of your calculations and whether restricting the maximum number of calls handled by an agent is right decision or not. Appropriate references should be used while discussing the limitations. (12 Marks) The response to this task could be structured as follows: Section 1. Equation for calculating the total costs Ensure that the terminologies and variable names are displayed clearly and include all scenarios. Section 2 - Cost Estimation This section should first depict the outcome of the forecasting exercise clearly labelled both the chart and table should be included. Forecasting sheet will not work if the date range is not continuous. This can be fixed by filling it with Zeros for non working days. The generated forecast should be used to determine the number of agents required which can be used for calculating the additional costs the business will incur due to the new initiative. Section 3 - Trend Line Fit a trend line to the data, display the equation and briefly explain the interpretations you can make. For e.g. what type of relationship can be observed? Section 4 - Summary Report Using the data and calculations from previous sections, write a short executive summary (No need for intro, conclusion etc) about the implications of the new initiatives. Word count apply only for this section Marking Criteria The report will be assessed along the following lines: - Capability to convert a business scenario into a mathematical expression - Capability to execute forecast function and evaluate the findings - Calculate the cost implications for all the scenarios - Discussion on potential limitations by referring to contemporary literature Task 3 - Data Literacy (500 to 700 words) ( 35 Marks) Entrepreneurship is an important element within an economy and this business management qualification will provide you with necessary knowledge and skills to set up your business. At this stage, I want you to learn more on how people across different countries perceive entrepreneurship and the factors that enable entrepreneurial activities. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) is a non profit organization that undertakes in-depth research about the perceptions of entrepreneurship across the world. Further information about this initiative can be accessed via https://www.gemconsortium.org/ Visit https://www.gemconsortium.org/data to get access to the findings of their research. Task 2: Cost implications of new initiative ( 300 to 400 words excluding the equations, table, charts etc) ( 30 Marks) To comply with quality standards, the management decided to limit the number of calls that can be handled by an agent to 30 per day. This initiative will have direct cost implications as the company will end up recruiting additional agents to satisfy this rule. The agents are currently paid 12.00 per hour. Agents work from 0900 to 0500 PM - Monday to Friday. Apart from the wages, the business will incur additional costs while recruiting new agents: Training costs: During induction of new agents, the business use an external training provider who will provide one to one mandatory training costing 300. Administrative Overheads The administrative cost associated with processing payroll, insurance etc comes to 150 a month per employee. However, it decreases by 20% when the number of employees exceeds 6 . Team Leader If the team size exceeds 6 , the business should recruit a new team leader who will be paid 15 per hour. The management is interested in exploring the cost implications of the new initiative. Task: - Provide the equation that can be used to calculate the total costs the business will incur from the employment of agents for both scenarios (Team size 6) Ensure that the terminologies and variable names are displayed clearly (5 Marks) - Calculate the additional cost the business will incur due to the new initiative (hiring of agents) for the next two months by using forecasting sheet - (All three scenarios - Upper Bound, Forecast and Lower Bound) are required. (10 Marks) - Fit a trend line to the number of calls received by the call centre and display the equation. (3 Marks) - Write a short executive summary report of the findings to the management about the cost implications of the new initiative, potential limitations of your calculations and whether restricting the maximum number of calls handled by an agent is right decision or not. Appropriate references should be used while discussing the limitations. (12 Marks) The response to this task could be structured as follows: Section 1. Equation for calculating the total costs Ensure that the terminologies and variable names are displayed clearly and include all scenarios. Section 2 - Cost Estimation This section should first depict the outcome of the forecasting exercise clearly labelled both the chart and table should be included. Forecasting sheet will not work if the date range is not continuous. This can be fixed by filling it with Zeros for non working days. The generated forecast should be used to determine the number of agents required which can be used for calculating the additional costs the business will incur due to the new initiative. Section 3 - Trend Line Fit a trend line to the data, display the equation and briefly explain the interpretations you can make. For e.g. what type of relationship can be observed? Section 4 - Summary Report Using the data and calculations from previous sections, write a short executive summary (No need for intro, conclusion etc) about the implications of the new initiatives. Word count apply only for this section Marking Criteria The report will be assessed along the following lines: - Capability to convert a business scenario into a mathematical expression - Capability to execute forecast function and evaluate the findings - Calculate the cost implications for all the scenarios - Discussion on potential limitations by referring to contemporary literature Task 3 - Data Literacy (500 to 700 words) ( 35 Marks) Entrepreneurship is an important element within an economy and this business management qualification will provide you with necessary knowledge and skills to set up your business. At this stage, I want you to learn more on how people across different countries perceive entrepreneurship and the factors that enable entrepreneurial activities. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) is a non profit organization that undertakes in-depth research about the perceptions of entrepreneurship across the world. Further information about this initiative can be accessed via https://www.gemconsortium.org/ Visit https://www.gemconsortium.org/data to get access to the findings of their research

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