Bobble Head ProjectMath Applications
Mr. Thomas is considering opening up a store in Frankfort, IL that will strictly sell bobble head dolls of current and past Chicago White Sox players. He has hired your business consulting group of SummitHillJunior High School students to help him decide whether he should enter into the bobble head industry.
Mr. Thomas has received bids from two different bobble head manufacturing companies, American Bobble Head Inc. and Southside Bobble Head Co. American Bobble Head Company has told Mr. Thomas that they will sell each bobble head according to per unit cost break down as follows:
Selling Price Breakdown per unit:
Plastic$1.70
Metallic Spring$0.30
Labor$1.85
Packaging$0.25
Shipping$0.15
Southside Bobble Head has offered to sell Mr. Thomas bobble head dolls in bulk orders. They told him that they will sell him boxes of 250 bobble heads at $1,000.00 per box.
Mr. Thomas has found retail store space on Harlem Ave. and Route 30. At this location he will have to pay $1,150.00 per month for rent. He will also have to pay $485 a month for a license to sell major league baseball products. Additional monthly costs also include $420 for electricity and gas, $125 for water, and $100 for office supplies. Furthermore, payroll expenses will be exactly $2,400 a month.
Mr. Thomas plans on selling his bobble head dolls at a retail price of $14.00 each. In order to make his decision on whether to go into business selling bobble heads, Mr. Thomas will need to know how many bobble heads dolls he will have to sell to break even. In order for the business to be worthwhile, Mr. Thomas additionally would like to make a profit of $5,000 per month. How many bobble heads will he need to sell to make this profit?
Directions:
Mr. Thomas needs your help as business consultants. It is your job to determine which manufacturing company would be the least expensive to buy from. After choosing the least expensive manufacturer, construct two algebraic equations to find the amount of bobble head units Mr. Thomas will need to sell to break even and to make a $5,000 monthly profit.
Your group will be responsible to complete a written business letter explaining to Mr. Thomas in writing how you mathematically arrived at your answers and why you did the steps you did to solve the problem. Based on your findings, you will also need to create a PowerPoint presentation that must summarize your letter while including a recommendation with suggestions for your business plan. In your written letter to Mr. Thomas as to whether he should enter the bobble head retail industry. Your recommendation should be an opinion based on how reasonable it is for Mr. Thomas to sell his desired amount of bobble heads.
Your group is also required to make a brief 5- 6 minute presentation to the class using PowerPoint that summarizes your written letter. Your PowerPoint presentation should include an Excel graph that represents your findings. Your group of 3 to 4 students must use teamwork to complete this task. Individual responsibilities must be delegated equally and fairly. Each group member must make contributions to both the written report and oral presentation. Your final section of the written report should include the list of responsibilities of each group member.
You will be given at least 3 full class periods to work on your written report and oral presentation. During the course of these 3 days, your group will meet with me once to discuss your progress. Refer to your Math notes to help construct your algebraic equations. DO NOT HESITATE TO ASK QUESTIONS OR TO ASK FOR SUGGESTIONS.
Hint: Do not account for sales tax in your calculations.