TR1: Technology Transitions
In this assignment, you will complete a technical report about the financial consequences of one of the following technology transitions (or a tech transition of your own, subject to approval):

Electric vs. hybrid vs. natural gas vs. conventional cars
LED vs. CFL vs. incandescent bulbs
Natural gas vs. electric appliances
Streaming vs. DVD-by-mail video
More detail on these transitions can be found on the blog post located here: http://sustainableengineeringsystems.com/2013/02/20/technology-transitions/ .
The blog post also contains useful information regarding ways to assess the technologies and how to structure your reports.

Context:

Regardless of whichever technology transition your group decides to explore, it is important for you to understand the context surrounding your technical report. First, as writers, you need to pay attention to the persona you adopt in this report. Remember, though you are writing this report for a class, you are not writing the report from the perspective of a student. In other words, as your group works on this report, I’d like you to think of yourselves as part of a consulting firm who has been hired by different businesses. It might be helpful for you to briefly familiarize yourself with some consulting firms such as McKinsey and Company, The Boston Consulting Group, Bain and Company, and Accenture, just to name a few.

Audience:

In many ways, your tech report’s success will weigh heavily on the extent to which your report keeps the appropriate audience in mind. In any professional writing situation, audience awareness is one of the most fundamental aspects of the writing process. Businesses have a lot to gain and lose if the writing they produce does not take into account the needs and concerns of their appropriate audience. With this in mind, your technical report’s audience will depend primarily on which technology transition you choose. Below you will find the technology transitions mentioned above with their appropriate audience for you to consider.

LED vs. CFL vs. incandescent bulbs
A family owned hardware store is revising their budget for the upcoming fiscal year. As they check their inventory, they would like to make an informed decision on which lighting (LED, CFL, incandescent bulbs) might better fit the needs of their rural community. Though they plan to offer all three options for their customers, as their budget does not allow them to stock a uniform amount of all three options. Instead, they are looking for your firm to advise them on which lighting option they should invest in in order to meet the needs of their customers in their small, middle-class community.
Streaming vs. DVD-by-mail video
An investment group is looking to open a start-up company in the media rental industry. The investment group is split on whether the company should invest in streaming technology (such as iTunes) or in infrastructure to deliver media by mail. Though the company headquarters will be based in New York, they are looking to expand to other national and perhaps international markets. Ultimately, they would like for your consulting firm to advise them on national and global trends relating to media rental services as well as a financial comparative analysis of each option described above.
Electric vs. hybrid vs. natural gas vs. conventional cars
A well known but struggling car manufacturer is looking to invest in alternative energy technology for its new line of automobiles that it’s looking to release in the next 5-10 years. The purpose of this new line of cars in the short-term is to boost its stagnant sales that have plagued the company for the past three years. However, the company is looking for this new line to perhaps ultimately replace its current line of diesel automobiles that has experienced a steady decline in sales for the past ten years. In light of this, they have hired your firm to advise them on these emerging technologies as they look to once again be a competitive car manufacturer in the next several years.
Natural gas vs. electric appliances
An environmentally friendly new home builder is planning on opening a master-planned community in the East Valley. They are looking to attract middle-class homebuyers, as their homes’ starting prices will range between $200,000 – $350,000. In order to keep building costs low, they have decided to offer less design options. One design feature that they are looking to simplify is their appliances, as they would like to either offer all gas or all electric appliance options. In this vein, they have hired your company to advise them on which option might best align with their company values as well as meet the needs of this new community.
With any of these transitions, there are going to be things that your audience knows and/or does not know about them, and as a writer, it is your responsibility to determine or approximate what your audience’s information needs are regarding the transition—“What does my audience need to know in order to understand the transition as well as to take a recommend course of action?”

Purpose:

Using the above question as your initial guide, you will design and write your report in a manner that facilitates decision-making and subsequent action. Accordingly, when writing the technical report, you are to imagine that you are opening or beginning a conversation about the financial implications of the technology transition you selected and how those implications affect future action.

Report Structure

Remember that your reports are supposed to follow a certain structure and include at least the following sections:

Executive summary (less than one page)
Introduction (including background material on technologies and problem statement)
Investigative method
Results and discussion (including sample calculations, sensitivity analyses, and graphical representation of the comparison)
Recommendations
References Cited
Due Date

“Technology Transitions” will be assigned on 2/12/15. Submit your technical report to Critviz by 2/28/15.

Note: Submission via e-mail will not be accepted. Submit only through CritViz. If CritViz experiences technical difficulties during submission, upload to shared folder on Box.com, then continue attempting to upload to CritVIz.

Grading Rubric

Your Tech Report will be graded on the following criteria:

Audience Awareness
Is your recommendation geared to the specific audience assigned?
Are your visuals properly, clearly, and fully explained?
Competency of economic principles
Have you applied the economic/business formulas in an appropriate and correct manner?
Professionalism
Does your technical report appear more like a “student” essay or a “professional” report?
Is the report written with authority?
To what extent does the design of the report reflect professional standards?
Organizational clarity
Has your report thoroughly discussed every required section for the report?
Is the report’s organization user-centered?
Thorough research
To what extent does your final recommendation reflect research-based information?
Have your provided appropriate citation?