PreparationTo prepare for this assignment, you must:have co
PreparationTo prepare for this assignment, you must:have completed your independent/individual tax analysisread or revisit the Executive (PDF) and Executive Summary (PDF) sections of The Engineering Communication Manual provided for youconsider all four aspects of plantlocation decision making examined throughout the semester together:social/cultural, environmental, political, and economicdetermine what your final recommendation be able to understand and clearly articulate the justifications for your recommendationPurposeThe communication assignments in this course aim to developcommunication skills that students will need in their professionallives. Students will study, analyze, and synthesize information andresearch through independent and group learning contexts, and will useboth oral and written communication to do this work. Through theseassignments, students will develop skills that will help them excel intheir professional endeavors. Targeted skills include: argumentation;analysis; organization; presentation skills; and small group andinterpersonal communication skills.GoalsThis assignment has three goals:to include tax analysis in your final recommendationsynthesize the research you and your team have conducted related to plant location decision making throughout the semestermake a case for your recommendationObjectivesThe objectives of this assignment include: organization; argument building; making a caseRequirementsFor this assignment, you must first complete your tax analysis. Then,you must synthesize the social/cultural, political, environmental, andtax analysis aspects that you and your team have researched throughoutthe semester. You will present your recommendation and overalljustifications in an Executive Summary, written for an executiveaudience.Your summary must meet the following requirements:The summary must be written to an executive audienceYour document must appear professional and be visually easy to navigate, including:headings and subheadings as appropriatebullet points as appropriate(note: bullet points are notrequired, but many students asked about whether or not they could beincluded, and my answer was, and still is, ‘yes, bullet points may beincluded as appropriate, but should never be used in place of adequate detail’)excellent organizationreasonable and thoughtful use of spacing and marginsattention to formatting that communicates professionalism, pride of work, and respect for the readerSpacing: You may use single spacing, OR you may customize yourspacing by selecting ‘Exactly’ in the line spacing drop-down menu anduse up to 16pt spacing. Use your own judgment and aesthetic preferencesto determine your spacing choices, but be consistent.You must equitably address all four factors you were asked toconsider for this assignment: cultural/social, environmental, political,and economic factors.Synthesize information for your reader; show them the connectionsyou want them to understand. Always demonstrate for your reader how theyshould connect the information you are providing for themNever assume that readers will make the same connections you have made, or that you want them to make, without your guidance.Include an appendix with a graph and explanation of your economicanalysis. The graph must be clearly labeled and include a descriptionthat will help your audience understand the significance of the graph.The appendix must be part of the document, but will appear on its own page.Use the ‘Page Break’ function to create a separate page for your appendix.Your recommendation must be clear and direct. It should appear in the introductory section of your summary. Remember, you’re not writing a mystery. Your executive audience wants you to be clear and direct, with thoughtful and well-developed justifications.Your summary must include the elements of an introduction, body, and conclusion, but must use specific, professional terminology for those sections. Remember: An executive summary is not an academic paper.Your summary should be approximately 2 – 2.5 pages of writing, not includingrelevant visual aids (such as charts, graphs, and figures that will aidyour justifications), and your appendix, which will make the page countlonger.Your submission will be at least 3 pages in total with the inclusion of your appendixYour submission might be up to 5 pages if you also include visualaids such as charts, graphs, or figures in the body of your summaryVisual aids in the body of your summary are not required. However,you may find that some charts, graphs, or figures may help clarify yourjustification, in which case you should use them. However, you must not use visual aids in place of providing sufficient explanations or justifications.Visual aids must aid your explanations and justifications, not replace them. RubricEcon Exec Summary RubricEcon Exec Summary RubricCriteriaRatingsPtsThis criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeAudienceThe student has used tone and wording in their summary that is appropriate for an executive audience.5.0ptsAudience appropriate tone and word usageThe student has successfully implemented a tone and word usage appropriate for an executive audience.3.5ptsInadequate tone and word usageThestudent did not implement an offensive tone or word usage, but the toneand word usage were not appropriate for an executive audience. The toneand word usage lacked professionalism in some way. Unprofessional toneand word usage includes, but is not limited to: slang; overuse ofcontractions; misspelled words; casual language; situationallyinappropriate punctuation, such as exclamation points; use ofsituationally inappropriate figures, such as memes or cartoons; etc.0.0ptsOpinionated, emotional, or otherwise inappropriate tone or word usageAlthoughstudents are being asked to provide a recommendation, therecommendation must be clearly founded on evidence. The student shouldnot provide an opinionated recommendation, and all claims made by thestudent must be justifiable and founded on evidence. Furthermore,students must not focus their argument on emotional appeals. Whileappeals to ethics and responsibility make sense and can be backed byevidence, students should avoid emotional language and instead focus onthe evidence they have collected and research they have conductedthroughout the semester.5.0 ptsThis criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeVisual OrganizationThe student has developed a well organized and visually easy to navigate document appropriate for a busy executive audience.5.0ptsWell organized and professional looking documentThestudent has created a well organized and visually easy to navigatedocument. The student has implemented headings (and subheadings asappropriate), bullet points as appropriate, excellent organization, andattention to spacing, margins, and formatting that communicatesprofessionalism and pride of work.3.0ptsOverall good visual organizationThevisual organization of the document is generally good and includesheadings, but may not achieve excellent visual organization in some way.The issue may be small, but detracts from the document in some way. Forexample, bullet points may be malaligned or of an inconsistent style,which detracts from the professionalism of the document as a whole.0.0ptsInadequate visual organizationThestudent has not organized the document well visually, making itdifficult to scan and read through. This may include inappropriateheadings (such as ‘Introduction,’ ‘Body,’ and ‘Conclusion’ instead ofheadings appropriate for an Executive Summary), inconsistent linespacing, inconsistent spacing between paragraphs, maligned images, orformatting other formatting issues that make scanning the documentdifficult, etc.5.0 ptsThis criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeTopicsThe studenthas addressed all four factors studied throughout the semester:cultural/social, environmental, political, and tax analysis. The factorsare given more or less equitable attention, with the understanding thatone or two factors may be of more importance to the decision and thusrequire a little more space.5.0ptsAll factors are clearly addressedThestudent has addressed all four factors studied throughout the semester.The four factors are given reasonably equitable space in the document.2.5ptsFactors are not equitably addressedAllfour factors are addressed, but the student has given one or twofactors either significantly more, or significantly less attention inthe main body of the summary, making the student’s assessment andjustifications seem lopsided and ill-conceived. (Note: Students areexpected to address only the tax analysis in the appendix, and theappendix will not be included in this part of the assessment.)0.0ptsFactors are either not all addressed, or one or more factors are dismissedThestudent may have omitted factors from their summary, or addressed oneor more factors so minimally that they may as well have been missing.5.0 ptsThis criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeTax Analysis Appendix and GraphsThe studenthas included an appendix or appendices with their tax analysis,including graphs and an explanation of the significance of theirfindings.10.0ptsAppendix or appendices with tax analysis graph and explanation is includedThestudent has included an appendix or appendices that are titled andinclude a graph or graphs with titles and descriptions. Additionaldescription is included on the page as necessary to explain the methodof analysis and significance of findings. The description of thesignificance of the graph is appropriate for an executive audience thatmay not be familiar with tax analysis processes or jargon.6.5ptsAppendix or appendices with graphs are included, but something is missing or wrongThestudent has included an appendix or appendices, but something ismissing or wrong. This may include, but is not limited to: the appendixor appendices do not appear on their own pages; the appendix orappendices appear on their own pages, but the pages are not titled; thetax analysis graphs are not titled, labeled, or described; any issuesthat makes it difficult for the reader to understand what they arelooking at; etc.3.0ptsGraphs were included, but do not communicate the significance; OR are not as an appendix or appendicesThestudent has either failed to include the graphs and accompanyingexplanations as an appendix or appendices, or has not adequatelycommunicated the significance of the graph(s) and findings to thereader. The student may have omitted any explanation at all, may haveprovided an inadequate explanation, may have described only the analysismethod (but not the significance of the findings), etc. The failure tocommunicate the significance of the graphs and findings rendered thegraphs meaningless to the intended audience.0.0ptsThere are no graphs.There are no graphs.10.0 ptsThis criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeContent OrganizationThe student has organized their work logically.5.0ptsExcellent organizationThecontent of the summary is well organized, offering the reader contextand making the recommendation first, then providing some detail andjustifications, followed by a concise wrap-up and reconnection to therecommendation.3.5ptsFair organization Itis possible to understand the content of the document, but it is not aneasy task. The student did not seem to understand their ownrecommendation or reasoning, or were perhaps torn. In any case, thereader is not convinced.1.0ptsPoor OrganizationThecontent is poorly organized. It is extremely difficult to discern thepoint, justifications, reasoning, etc., and it appears as though theauthor did little to no research prior to writing down these thoughts.0.0ptsThere is no written contentThestudent did not provide written content for organization. This may meanthat the student submitted only a tax analysis graph with no ‘summary’preceding it, or something else.5.0 ptsThis criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeRecommendationYour recommendation is clear and direct, and is offered toward the beginning of the document.10.0ptsThe recommendation is clear, direct, and promptly offered with contextTherecommendation is clear and direct, and offered toward the beginning ofthe document. The recommendation is also contextualized appropriatelyfor an executive audience.6.5ptsThe recommendation is included, but not well contextualizedThestudent included a recommendation, but it is not contextualized wellfor an executive audience, forcing the audience to seek further contextbefore they can understand the recommendation being made.3.0ptsThe recommendation is included, but it is not clearTherecommendation is included, but the student did not make a clearargument. This could be because the student was undecided and did notmake a strong recommendation one way or the other, because therecommendation was poorly stated, etc.1.0ptsA recommendation was included, but it was only included at the endThe recommendation must be included at the beginning, and also reinforced at the end. This is not a mystery novel.0.0ptsThere was no direct recommendation, or the recommendation was based on or included opinionated or emotional languageThere was no direct recommendation, or the recommendation was based on or included opinionated or emotional language10.0 ptsTotal Points:40.0Problem Description Your client, Heidari, Incorporated, is going to build a new wind turbine manufacturing facility. Heidari, Inc. is a multinational corporationbased in Des Moines, Iowa United States. The budget for completing thefacility and purchasing and installing the machinery is estimated to be$3.9 million (assume $3 million for the facility and $900,000 for machinery).It will have a net annual income cash flow of $850,000 for the next 10years (gross income before taxes). Initially, they were planning tolocate the facility near their US headquarters location where theirtotal incremental tax rate would be 33% (21% Federal and 12% State).However, they have been approached by the Danish government and want toevaluate the option of building the facility in Denmark against theiroriginal plan of building in the US. Assumethat the interest rate is 8% per year (or MARR for both countries). Youwill need to research tax methods and depreciation rules in Denmark andcompare with those of the US.Your consulting firm, [Your name] Consulting, has been hired tocomplete an evaluation and make a recommendation for where to build theplant. As part of your initial engineering economic analysis for thisproblem, you must examine global political, environmental, and socialconsiderations that contribute to responsible and ethical engineeringproblem-solving, and that might affect Heidari’s reputation and theoperation and profitability of the plant.Additionally, you will complete a financial analysis using acalculation of the after-tax present worth of adding the newmanufacturing facility in each of the two countries (Denmark and theUnited States). You will need to research tax methods and depreciationrules in Denmark and compare what you find with those of the US. Usethese results to recommend where to make the investment.The final step of your project will be to write an Executive Summary.You will make a recommendation for plant location, and you will justifyyour recommendation using the cultural/social, political,environmental, and economic research and analysis that you conductedthroughout the semester.
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