Assignment:
The following table represents two years of data:
| Year 1 |
Year 2 |
| 1st quarter |
242 |
1st quarter |
272 |
| 2nd quarter |
252 |
2nd quarter |
267 |
| 3rd quarter |
257 |
3rd quarter |
276 |
| 4th quarter |
267 |
4th quarter |
281 |
a. Prepare a single exponential smoothing forecast for the first quarter of year 3 using an alpha value of 0.10. Let the initial forecast value for quarter 1 of year 1 be 250.
b. Prepare a single exponential smoothing forecast for the first quarter of year 3 using an alpha value of 0.25. Let the initial forecast value for quarter 1 of year 1 be 250.
c. Calculate the MAD value for the forecasts you generated in parts a and b. Which alpha value provides the smaller MAD value at the end of the 4th quarter in year 2?
Your answer must be typed, double-spaced, Times New Roman font (size 12), one-inch margins on all sides, APA format and also include references.