PORT 616 – Case 2

Due by the start of class on 4/7

1. What is rinse styrene? Why does CCP use it and what are the problems with its use? What happens if CCP uses more or less styrene? Are there linear results? Why or why not? (Hint – plot this.)

2. Is “by-product synergy” (BPS) a cradle-to-grave (C2G) or a cradle-to-cradle (C2C) approach to managing styrene use? Explain.

3. Mike Gromacki has three possible courses of action he could recommend to management for resolving CCP’s rinse styrene dilemma. What is/are the primary objective and the pros and cons of each course of action?

a. Continue with business as usual and send rinse styrene to cement kilns

b. Sell rinse styrene on a waste exchange

c. Proceed with developing the concrete coating that uses rinse styrene

4. Which, if any, of the three courses of action is most “ethical” in the context of sustainable operations? Why (or why not, if you choose none)? Could any (all?) option(s) be ethically/environmentally improved and if so, how?

5. How do emissions change at the cement kiln if 1 pound of rinse styrene is replaced with the equivalent amount of fossil fuels? Answering this means you will be able to complete the statement “For each pound of rinse styrene the cement kiln replaces with fossil fuel, the kiln’s emissions will increase (or decrease) by XX pounds of CO2.” Show your calculations.

6. How do emissions change if CCP produces concrete coatings using 1 pound of rinse styrene instead of the traditional method? Answering this means you will be able to complete the statement “If using one pound of rinse styrene in the concrete coating, CO2 emissions will increase (or decrease) by XX over the amount emitted by the traditional production method.” Show your calculations.

7. For the gel coat production process, does the BPS initiative change the emissions amount if CCP uses the same amount of rinse styrene per batch (550 gallons)? If so, by how much? What if CCP uses additional rinse styrene, such as to produce the global optimum of 580 pounds per batch? If so, by how much?

8. Using Exhibit 5 as your starting point, complete the following table to determine the optimal financial profit level for each course of action. Show a sample calculation for the values in each column. You are welcome to do this in Excel (see support file) and include it as an attachment to your case. (COGS = Cost of goods sold)

9. Given all this information, and evaluating each option’s alignment with CCP’s overall strategy, if you were Mike, which of the three possible courses of action would you recommend and why?

General Submission Expectations

Your submission is expected to be typed, grammatically correct, and appropriate to professional and university/graduate-level output. Justify your answers using course concepts/terminology and show your work. Submissions are expected to utilize appropriate referencing standards, including the vetting of references for quality, if applicable. Grammatical errors will be penalized, and academic integrity standards apply (see plagiarism details below). No particular formatting style (APA, MLA, 5-paragraph essay, etc.) is required. Consider these cases wonderful practice for the managerial and executive reports you may already write and will certainly write and submit in the future! All group members are to participate and contribute. A peer review must be submitted within 48 hours of submission by each student.

Select ONE representative from each group to submit your materials and be sure to include all group members’ names on the submission. Submit your case to Blackboard by the beginning of class. I will provide written feedback and run it through a plagiarism checking program. (Just to be on the safe side, I suggest you also do this yourselves before submitting a final copy to me for grading.)

You are encouraged to utilize ODU’s Writing Center for assistance in preparing your submission if desired. “The Writing Center (WC) provides free individual tutorials to undergraduates and graduates working on writing projects for any course; WC tutors are not editors or proofreaders, but they coach and encourage students to achieve independence in the composition and revision of their own work.” See details at

Definitions of and hints for avoiding plagiarism can be found at .

Group Assignments

Page 1 of 3

ABCDEFGHIJ

Pounds of

rinse

styrene

used to

clean

between

batches

%

conforming

batches

Expected

revenue

per 10

drum

batch

Rinse

styrene

material

cost

Rinse

styrene

waste

disposal

cost

COGS

excluding

styrene

procurement

(D) or

disposal (E)

costs

Contribution to

profit from

sale of by-

product

associated

with one batch

gel coat

Expected

net profit

(no

regulations,

no BPS)

Expected

net profit

(with

regulations,

no BPS)

Expected

net profit

(with

regulations,

with BPS)

50095.02%

51096.98%

52098.16%

53098.88%

54099.32%

55099.59%

56099.75%

57099.84%

58099.90%

59099.94%

60099.96%

From Exhibit 5