Which of the following trends is not part of the exciting OM challanges facing operations Managers ?

Annuity payments are assumed to come at the end of each payment period (termed an ordinary annuity). however, an exception occurs when the annuity payments come at the beginning of each period (termed an annuity due). what is the future value of a 13-year annuity of $2,800 per period where payments come at the beginning of each period? the interest rate is 9 percent. use appendix c for an approximate answer, but calculate your final answer using the formula and financial calculator methods. to find the future value of an annuity due when using the appendix tables, add 1 to n and subtract 1 from the tabular value. for example, to find the future value of a $100 payment at the beginning of each period for five periods at 10 percent, go to appendix c for n = 6 and i = 10 percent. look up the value of 7.716 and subtract 1 from it for an answer of 6.716 or $671.60 ($100 × 6.716)

Suppose you hold a portfolio consisting of a $10,000 investment in each of 8 different common stocks. the portfolio's beta is 1.25. now suppose you decided to sell one of your stocks that has a beta of 1.00 and to use the proceeds to buy a replacement stock with a beta of 1.55. what would the portfolio's new beta be? do not round your intermediate calculations.

White truffles are a very prized and rare edible fungus that grow naturally in the countryside near alba, italy. suppose that it costs $200 per day to search for white truffles. on an average day, the total number of white truffles (t) found in alba is t = 20x − x 2 , where x is the number of people searching for white truffles on that day. white truffles can be sold for $100 each. if there is no regulation, how many more people will be searching for white truffles than the socially optimal number?