Jimena works for a small company that makes nut butters from ingredients like cashews and macadamia nuts, and jams from mixtures of tropical fruits. She reports to the CFO. It is her job to predict the costs of raw materials for the next five years. She uses various research sources, including the news, to learn who the competitors are and what they have been doing. In fact, she subscribes to an analyst e-newsletter that tells her about crop availability and weather conditions all around the globe. Every month she develops a spreadsheet for her boss indicating the likely costs of fruits and nuts given the type of weather conditions expected in each area of the world and thus the availability of particular crops. She is also involved in a team that is investigating how to cut production costs. They have recently met with Spicy Sides, a company that produces jars of condiments. Spicy Sides is considered the top company in the condiment industry, especially in its knowledge of how to pack food products in jars. Jimena's team is comparing their processes to those of Spicy Sides to see how they might improve.When predicting the costs for her company, Jimena is engaging in
A)forecasting.
B)competitive intelligence.
C)environmental scanning.
D)benchmarking.
E)scenario development.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Jimena's job involves predicting the costs of raw materials for the next five years, which is a form of forecasting. While she does use competitive intelligence and environmental scanning methods to inform her predictions, ultimately her main job function is forecasting. Benchmarking involves comparing one's own processes to those of competitors, which Jimena's team is doing with Spicy Sides, but this is not the focus of her individual job responsibility. Scenario development involves creating potential future scenarios and planning for them, which is not mentioned as a part of Jimena's job duties.

Jimena Works for a Small Company That Makes Nut Butters