Questions and inquiry methods in academic research

¶ … stage-Gate process & how it is used.

The stage-gate process is a highly regarded product development mechanism developed by Dr. Robert G. Cooper. The stage-gate process is used primarily for new product introduction into the market and is utilized by many companies would wide. The process claims to help improve new product launch success while minimizing failures or material setbacks. The product launch cycle is first divided into specific stages and gates. During each stage management or a cross functional team must decide to proceed with the next stage of the process. The decision is usually based on a pre-determined set of criteria or metrics. Through this process, companies can provide new products to marker faster while also optimizing performance. In essence, the stage-gate process is a roadmap that guides management from idea inception to completion. A generic model is usually comprised of the following steps:

Scoping

Build Business Case

Development

4. Testing and Validation

5. Launch

2. Define what a business plan is and what benefits it serves.

The business plan is a formal document outlining various concepts regarding the product. These concepts vary from company to company however there are fundamental requirements within the business plan. These requirements include what the actual product is, what is its intended use, assumptions made by management, potential shortfalls that could occur, etc. In addition to these requirements the business plan outlines tasks that must be completed for the success of the product launch and the time requirements for each. Usually, an individual within the company is assigned the task for completion and given a specified budget in which to abide by.

3. Define Liquidity ratio and what it can tell the manager about the organization.

Liquidity Ratios

These ratios are important in measuring the ability of a company to meet both its short-term and long-term obligations.

Current Ratio

The current ratio expresses the 'working capital' relationship of current assets available to meet the company's current obligations and debts. For example, if company "X" has a current ratio of 3.91 it means for every dollar owed it has $3.91 in assets available. From the company standpoint, it has more than enough funds to handle its short-term obligations. With this ratio being so high, the ability of management comes into the picture. Why is the company holding on to so many of its assets as oppose to using them to generate more earnings. These assets could range from inventory, to cash, to account receivable. Cash in particular is of interest in the discussion as it will only depreciate in value over time. As such cash should be appropriate used to generate more earnings in the future through various projects management deems necessary. From my personal opinion, if a company has a high current ratio and low inventory turnover indicates the inability of the company to sell its products. As such, it is forced to hold the products in inventory further increasing its holding cost. Again, from these ratios, this is a company that may need to extend favorable credit turns to sell products, which could further lead to customer defaults. However, the higher the current ratio is, the better the company's ability to succeed in the future.

Quick Ratio

. This ratio is more specific than the current ratio as it helps identify the assets which could easily and quickly be sold in case of needed funds. The ratio is regarded as an acid test of liquidity for a company. It expresses the true 'working capital' relationship of its cash, accounts receivables, prepaid and notes receivables available to meet the company's current obligations.

Debt to Equity Ratio

. The ratio measures how the company is leveraging its debt against the capital employed by its owners. For example, if the total debt to equity ratio of 0.19, that means it is positive, because the company has $0.19 of debt for every $1.00 in equity. In short it means that the shareholders have more stakes in the company than creditors.