SEMESTER 1 2017/18 Faculty of Business, Law &
Method of Submission:
Electronic via Blackboard Turnitin ONLY (You are not required to submit a hard copy)
(Please ensure that your name does not appear on any part of your work)
Any work submitted after 16:00 on the deadline date will be subject to the standard University late penalties (see
below), unless an extension has been granted, in writing by the Senior Tutor, in advance of the deadline.
University Working Days Late: Mark:
1 (final agreed mark) * 0.9
2 (final agreed mark) * 0.8
3 (final agreed mark) * 0.7
4 (final agreed mark) * 0.6
5 (final agreed mark) * 0.5
More than 5 0
This assessment relates to the following module learning outcomes:
A. Knowledge and
Understanding
A1. Model a wide range of business problems using optimisation techniques;
A2. Solve linear programming problems using different techniques;
A3. Obtain sensitive analysis reports, and understand the concept of duality;
A4. Recognise and be able to formulate and solve problems that require integer programming and goal
programming;
A5. Use a standard linear programming package.
B. Subject Specific
Intellectual and
Research Skills
B1. Apply the principles and techniques to solve practical business problems;
B2. Critically analyse and interpret the solutions of decision-making.
C. Transferable and
Generic Skills
C1. Problem structuring and solving;
C2. Decision making;
C3. Teamwork;
C4. Computer skills
Coursework Brief: You should work in a group consisting of four members (only in very exceptional cases
where 3 or 5 members are allowed, but it has to be agreed by the Module Leader) and write up a joint
report and submit it to Blackboard along with the supporting Excel files by the same deadline. Ensure that
you take frequent and multiple backups of your work, since excuses concerning lost or corrupted files will
not be treated sympathetically.
Your report should be able to stand alone and be sufficiently detailed to not require looking at the excel
models to fully understand your approach.
Guidelines:
Include a front page as a separate sheet, indicating the module title, word count, and student IDs
and programmes of all group members.
Structure your report.
Include all formulations of your models with a statement of any assumptions that are made and
clearly defining decision variables, constraints and objective functions for each scenario that is
discussed.
A brief description of how you solve the models.
A presentation of the results, analysis and recommendations based on the techniques that you learn
from this module and/or other resources.
Appendices displaying Excel models and corresponding outputs (only include the most relevant
parts).
SEMESTER 1 2017/18 Faculty of Business, Law &
Marks will be awarded on the basis of Quality of the analysis. Clarity of the presentation. Originality.
How to help the Smith Family?
The Smith family owns the 640 acre farm for several generations. However, ownership has recently passed
to the next generation of Dave and his wife Ruth, who feel there is a need for a more scientific approach to
manage their farm. They have called you in as a business analyst to advise them on the way of running the
farm.
The Smith family can produce a total of 4000 person-hours’ worth of labour during the winter and spring
months and 4500 person hours during the summer and autumn months. If they do not need all this time
they can work on neighbouring farms for £5 per hour during the winter and spring months and £5.50 during
the summer and autumn months.
The farm supports two types of livestock, dairy cows and hens and three types of cash crops – rape, corn
and wheat (All three are cash crops, but the corn also is a feed crop for the cows and the wheat also is used
for chicken feed). The crops are harvested during the late summer and fall. During the winter months, they
need to decide what mix of livestock and crops they should aim for in the coming year. Their last harvest
which was very successful has provided them with a sum of £21,000 which they feel they can use to buy
more livestock. (The cost of seed is sufficiently small to be considered part of the routine expenses). The
farm at present has 30 cows valued at £35000 and 2000 hens valued at £5000. They wish to keep all this
livestock and perhaps purchase more. Each cow bought would cost £2000 and each hen would cost £3. Over
a year the value of a herd of cows decreases by about 10% and the value of a flock of hens will decrease by
about 25% due to aging.
Each cow requires 2 acres of land for grazing and 8 person-hours of work per month while producing an
annual net cash income of £700 for the family in milk and beef. Hens do not require any acreage but need
0.05 person-hours a month and produce an annual net cash income of £4.50. The chicken house can
accommodate a maximum of 5000 hens and the milking parlour puts a limit of 42 on the number of cows.
For each acre of crops planted, the following table gives the number of person hours of work required in the
first and second halves of the year as well as an estimate of the crops net value in either income or savings
in livestock feed.
Rape Corn Wheat Winter/spring person hours 1.0 0.9 0.6 Summer/autumn person hours 1.4 1.2 0.7
Net value £70 £60 £40
To provide feed, there should be at least 1 acre of corn for each cow and at least 0.05 acres of wheat for
each hen in the next year’s flock. The Smith family estimates that they need £40,000 each year for their
living expenses and the basic running of the farm. Advise the Bowmen on how many livestock they should buy and what acreage of the different crops
they should plant so as to maximise their net wealth at the end of the next year.
SEMESTER 1 2017/18 Faculty of Business, Law &
Art There are a number of issues they are seeking advice on. For example:
o They are interested in how much they should be willing to pay for any farmland that may
become available to rent over the coming winter.
o They are concerned that the price of cows may not stay at £2000, but may vary between
£1000 and £3000. How many should they buy if the prices change in this range and what
affect will it have on their net wealth.
o It is felt that Phil Bowman, the patriarch of the family cannot go on working much longer.
This would cut their available labour to 3000 and 3500 hours in the winter/spring and
summer/autumn respectively. What affect will this have on their plans and should they seek
to employ someone in his place. If so what sort of hours and wage levels should they offer?
o Finally the bank is offering to lend them money at a special rate of 10% in order to purchase
more livestock beyond the £21,000 they had set aside. Should they take advantage of this?
o They could build an extension to the milking parlour at a cost of £3000 for each extra pair of
cows it can take. How large an extension, if any extension at all should be built?
The details on the above table for crops grown in an acre, reflect the situation if there are no large
scale frost to delay the spring sowing. If there are these late frosts the resultant data would be:
Rape Corn Wheat
Winter/spring person hours 1.2 1.1 0.8 Summer/autumn person hours 1.3 1.1 0.7 Net value £50 £50 £30
The Smith family are concerned about this alternative scenario. They want to know what they
should be doing if this is the situation that will arise in order to maximise their net wealth. They also
want to know what their net wealth would be if they continued using the policy suggested in a) in
this scenario.
The family are arguing how to deal with these two possible scenarios which they consider to be
equally likely. Dave suggests that they take the average of the statistics in the two tables and solve
the model using these statistics. Ruth pointed out that though they have to decide now how many
livestock to buy, they will know which scenario is occurring before they have to plant the crops and
so can plant different amounts depending on the scenarios that occur. They want you to calculate
what they should do under these two scenarios and whether they lead to the same expected net
wealth.
Marking Criteria
1. Demonstrating knowledge and understanding of key steps of modelling and problem solving techniques
(25 marks)
2. Demonstrating ability to select and use proper methodologies to analyse and interpret difference
scenarios with evidence.
Clearly presented, rigorously argued and focused analysis (60 marks), including:
Extra farmland (7 marks)
Variations in the prices of cows (7 marks)
Reduced labour hours (7 marks)
Bank loan (7 marks)
Milking parlour extension (7 marks)
Late frosts (15 marks)
Comparison of two scenarios (10 marks)
3. Well-structured and logical discussion. Overall clarity and presentation of report (15 marks)
SEMESTER 1 2017/18 Faculty of Business, Law &
Art
Nature of Assessment: This is a SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT. See ‘Weighting’ section above for the percentage that
this assignment counts towards your final module mark.
Word Limit: Your report should be typed (not handwritten) and not exceed 2000 words (this is a MAXIMUM and not
a target). +10% of the word count (see above) is deemed to be acceptable. Any text that exceeds an additional 10%
will not attract any marks. There is no minimum word count requirement. The relevant word count includes items
such as cover page, executive summary, title page, table of contents, tables, figures, in-text citations and section
headings, if used. The relevant word count excludes your list of references and any appendices at the end of your
coursework submission.
You should always include the word count (from Microsoft Word, not Turnitin), at the end of your coursework
submission, before your list of references.
Title/Cover Page: You must include a title/ cover page that includes: your Student ID, Module Code, Assignment Title,
Word Count. This assignment will be marked anonymously, please ensure that your name does not appear on any
part of your assignment.
Submission Deadline: Please note that the submission deadline for Southampton Business School is 16.00 for ALL
assessments.
Turnitin Submission: The assignment MUST be submitted electronically via Turnitin, which is accessed via the
individual module on Blackboard. Further guidance on submitting assignments is available on the Blackboard support
pages. Uploading files to Turnitin may take 30 seconds or more and you must give yourself plenty of time for the file
to be uploaded by the assignment deadline.
You are allowed to test submit your assignment via Turnitin before the due date. You can use Turnitin to check your
assignment for plagiarism before you submit your final version. See “Viewing Your Originality Report” for guidance.
Please see the Module Leader/lecturer on your module if you would like advice on the Turnitin Originality report.
Late Penalties: Further information on penalties for work submitted after the deadline can be found here.
Special Considerations: If you believe that illness or other circumstances have adversely affected your academic
performance, information regarding the regulations governing Special Considerations can be accessed via the
Calendar: http://www.calendar.soton.ac.uk/sectionIV/special-considerations.html
Extension Requests: : Extension requests along with supporting evidence should be submitted to the Student Office
as soon as possible before the submission date. Information regarding the regulations governing extension requests
can be accessed via the Calendar: http://www.calendar.soton.ac.uk/sectionIV/special-considerations.html
Academic Integrity Policy: Please note that you can access Academic Integrity Guidance for Students via the Quality
Handbook: http://www.southampton.ac.uk/quality/assessment/academic_integrity.page?. Please note any
suspected cases of Academic Integrity will be notified to the Academic Integrity Officer for investigation.
Feedback: Southampton Business School is committed to providing feedback within 4 weeks (University working
days). Once the marks are released and you have received your feedback, you can meet with your Module Leader /
Module Lecturer / Personal Academic Tutor to discuss the feedback within 4 weeks from the release of marks date.
Any additional arrangements for feedback are listed in the Module Profile.
Student Support: Study skills and language support for Southampton Business School students is available at: Further Information: Can be found in the Faculty of Business, Law and Art Handbook