Assignment
Part 1
Read the following case study.
A company wishes to improve its e-mail marketing process, as measured by an increase in the response rate to e-mail advertisements. The company has decided to study the process by evaluating all combinations of two options of the three key factors: E-Mail Heading (Detailed, Generic); Email Open (No, Yes); and E-Mail Body (Text, HTML). Each of the combinations in the design was repeated on two different occasions. The factors studied and the measured response rates are summarized in the following table.
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|
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Table. Improving E-Mail Response Rate
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|
Run
|
Heading
|
Email Open
|
Body
|
Replicate
|
Response Rate
|
|
1
|
Generic
|
No
|
Text
|
1
|
46
|
|
2
|
Detailed
|
No
|
Text
|
1
|
34
|
|
3
|
Generic
|
Yes
|
Text
|
1
|
56
|
|
4
|
Detailed
|
Yes
|
Text
|
1
|
68
|
|
5
|
Generic
|
No
|
HTML
|
1
|
25
|
|
6
|
Detailed
|
No
|
HTML
|
1
|
22
|
|
7
|
Generic
|
Yes
|
HTML
|
1
|
21
|
|
8
|
Detailed
|
Yes
|
HTML
|
1
|
19
|
|
1
|
Generic
|
No
|
Text
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2
|
38
|
|
2
|
Detailed
|
No
|
Text
|
2
|
38
|
|
3
|
Generic
|
Yes
|
Text
|
2
|
59
|
|
4
|
Detailed
|
Yes
|
Text
|
2
|
80
|
|
5
|
Generic
|
No
|
HTML
|
2
|
27
|
|
6
|
Detailed
|
No
|
HTML
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2
|
32
|
|
7
|
Generic
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Yes
|
HTML
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2
|
23
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|
8
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Detailed
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Yes
|
HTML
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2
|
33
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Write a two to three page paper in which you:
1. Use the data shown in the table to conduct a design of experiment (DOE) in order to test cause-and-effect relationships in business processes for the company.
2. Determine the graphical display tool (e.g., Interaction Effects Chart, Scatter Chart, etc.) that you would use to present the results of the DOE that you conducted in Question 1. Provide a rationale for your response.
3. Recommend the main actions that the company could take in order to increase the response rate of its e-mail advertising. Provide a rationale for your response.
4. Propose one overall strategy for developing a process model for this company that will increase the response rate of its e-mail advertising and obtain effective business process. Provide a rationale for your response.
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the professor's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also Include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.
The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
• Build regression models for improving business processes.
• Design experiments to test cause-and-effect relationships in business processes.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in business process improvement.
• Write clearly and concisely about business process improvement using proper writing mechanics.
Part 2
The experiment data in below table was to evaluate the effects of three variables on invoice errors for a company. Invoice errors had been a major contributor to lengthening the time that customers took to pay their invoices and increasing the accounts receivables for a major chemical company. It was conjectured that the errors might be due to the size of the customer (larger customers have more complex orders), the customer location (foreign orders are more complicated), and the type of product. A subset of the data is summarized in the following Table.
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Customer Size
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Customer Location
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Product Type
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Number of Errors
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-
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-
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-
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15
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+
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-
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-
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18
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-
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+
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-
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6
|
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+
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+
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-
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2
|
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-
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-
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+
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19
|
|
+
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-
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+
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23
|
|
-
|
+
|
+
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16
|
|
+
|
+
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+
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21
|
Customer Size: Small (-), Large (+)
Customer Location: Foreign (-), Domestic (+)
Product Type: Commodity (-), Specialty (=)
Reference: Moen, Nolan, and Provost (R. D. Moen, T. W. Nolan and L. P. Provost. Improving Quality through Planned Experimentation.New York: McGraw-Hill, 1991)
Use the date in table above and answer the following questions in the space provided below:
1. What is the nature of the effects of the factors studied in this experiment?
2. What strategy would you use to reduce invoice errors, given the results of this experiment?