Instructions

Answer both questions legibly.Marks allocated to each question are shown in brackets below.

QUESTION 1

To complete the rotor assembly for an experimental spacecraft, Gilbert has laid out nine major activities involved. These activities have been labelled A to I in the table below, which also shows their estimated completion times (in weeks) and their immediate predecessors.

EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES FOR ROTOR ASSEMBLY

Activities	Times (in weeks)			Preceding Event
	a	m	b
A	1	2	3	-
B	2	3	4	A
C	4	5	6	A
D	8	9	10	A
E	2	5	8	B
F	4	5	6	B, C
G	1	2	3	F, D
H	1	3	5	E, F
I	2	4	6	H, G

Key: a is optimist time, m is the most likely time and b is the pessimistic time.

i. Calculate the expected time for each activity (9)

ii. Draw a Gantt Chart from the same information above (7)

iii. State the critical path and the maximum number of weeks the project will take to be completed. (3)

iv. What are the pros and cons of using the Gantt chart as a planning and scheduling tool? (6)

(25 marks)

QUESTION 2.

a) Bweupe & Sons has fixed costs of usd 10, 000 for the period. Their direct labour cost is usd 1.50 per unit and material input cost is usd 0.75 per unit. The selling price per unit is usd 4.00.

1. Calculate the Break-Even point in units.(3)
2. What does it translate to in usd ? (3)
3. b) What are the principal uses of the Break-Even analysis as a planning tool? (4)

3. What are two advantages and two disadvantages of using the Break-Even analysis as a planning tool.(8)

4. The rules of business never changed. You have fixed costs, you have variable costs, and you have profit margin. And that is it. If you dont have a handle on that stuff, then theres nothing else to talk about. If there is no profit margin, youre in trouble. What is the connection between the above statement and the Break-Even analysis? (6)

(24 marks).