In March 2023, two strawberry producers in Ontario, Canada had to decide how many acres to plant with each of four strawberry varieties at Xanadu Farms. They had committed to providing 275,000 pounds of berries to a local independent grocery chain and also required some of their berry crop to make strawberry preserves. Complicating this decision was the impact that weather had on the yield of each type of berry. If the weather reduced the yield, the two producers would need to make up for the loss by sourcing berries from several nearby farmers. However, if the weather was favourable, they would be able to sell any excess berries at their own storefront. What current decision should the two strawberry producers make to ensure they achieve the best outcome one year later?
In March 2023, two strawberry producers in Ontario, Canada had to decide how many acres to plant with each of four strawberry varieties at Xanadu Farms. They had committed to providing 275,000 pounds of berries to a local independent grocery chain and also required some of their berry crop to make strawberry preserves. Complicating this decision was the impact that weather had on the yield of each type of berry. If the weather reduced the yield, the two producers would need to make up for the loss by sourcing berries from several nearby farmers. However, if the weather was favourable, they would be able to sell any excess berries at their own storefront. What current decision should the two strawberry producers make to ensure they achieve the best outcome one year later?
London Hydro, Inc. (London Hydro) must forecast the electricity demand of the firm’s clients. The Ontario Energy Board had just announced the results of a pilot program to introduce a new pricing scheme to residential energy consumers in Ontario. This was the origin of tiered pricing, which was based on overall monthly energy usage. In the past, consumers had all been on a time-of-use plan where energy was more expensive during peak hours and cheaper in lower-demand hours. Thus, London Hydro had to anticipate the potential change in client behaviour and predict the effects of the pricing shift.Using data it had gathered on individual household energy consumption, London Hydro hoped that by forecasting which consumers might shift to the new tiered pricing plan it could gain key insights that would help the firm understand what effects the plan might have on its revenues and on its clients’ consumption behaviours.
London Hydro, Inc. (London Hydro) must forecast the electricity demand of the firm's clients. The Ontario Energy Board had just announced the results of a pilot program to introduce a new pricing scheme to residential energy consumers in Ontario. This was the origin of tiered pricing, which was based on overall monthly energy usage. In the past, consumers had all been on a time-of-use plan where energy was more expensive during peak hours and cheaper in lower-demand hours. Thus, London Hydro had to anticipate the potential change in client behaviour and predict the effects of the pricing shift. Using data it had gathered on individual household energy consumption, London Hydro hoped that by forecasting which consumers might shift to the new tiered pricing plan it could gain key insights that would help the firm understand what effects the plan might have on its revenues and on its clients' consumption behaviours.
As a result of recent success and rapid growth, the Skyrose Marketing Agency team was becoming overwhelmed with significant variation in workload levels. The vice-president, who was responsible for managing the company’s clients from the beverage industry, wanted to smooth the team’s workload level to improve morale. She also wanted to remain attentive to her clients’ needs, which could increase as peak holiday seasons approached. The vice-president was considering using Google Trends to predict how popular certain beverage products would be in the future so that her beverage company clients could predict future sales volumes. She hoped that by forecasting proxy sales for three specific clients she could gain key insight to help her smooth the volume levels of her team’s workload, without having a negative impact on her client relationships.
As a result of recent success and rapid growth, the Skyrose Marketing Agency team was becoming overwhelmed with significant variation in workload levels. The vice-president, who was responsible for managing the company's clients from the beverage industry, wanted to smooth the team's workload level to improve morale. She also wanted to remain attentive to her clients' needs, which could increase as peak holiday seasons approached. The vice-president was considering using Google Trends to predict how popular certain beverage products would be in the future so that her beverage company clients could predict future sales volumes. She hoped that by forecasting proxy sales for three specific clients she could gain key insight to help her smooth the volume levels of her team's workload, without having a negative impact on her client relationships.
In November 2019, Jean Matthews had to decide how to allocate CA$300,000 toward neighbourhood improvement ideas submitted by city residents. Each of the four neighbourhoods in the city could receive up to CA$75,000 in funding, and Matthews had to consider the number of votes for each idea in her analysis. How should she identify which community projects to pursue?
In November 2019, Jean Matthews had to decide how to allocate CA$300,000 toward neighbourhood improvement ideas submitted by city residents. Each of the four neighbourhoods in the city could receive up to CA$75,000 in funding, and Matthews had to consider the number of votes for each idea in her analysis. How should she identify which community projects to pursue?