In your consultant business, you engage with a wide range of clients and organizations. Recently, you gained entry as a consultant with a pet food company. The pet food client has a business objective of expanding its product line beyond its current kidney- and shrimp-based cat foods. The company developed two new products, one based on chicken livers and the other based on salmon. The company conducted an experiment to compare the two new products with its existing ones, as well as a generic beef-based product sold in a supermarket chain.

For the experiment, a sample of 50 cats from a population at a local animal shelter was selected. Ten cats were randomly assigned to each of the five products being tested. Each of the cats was then presented with 3 ounces of the selected food in a dish at feeding time. The researchers defined the variables to be measured as the number of ounces of food that the cat consumed within a 10-minute time interval beginning when the filled dish was presented. The results of the experience are summarized for you in the CatFood.xls file.

1. At the 0.05 level of significance, is there evidence of a difference in the mean amount of food eaten among the various products?
2. State the null hypothesis
3. State the alternative hypothesis
4. State the decision rule
5. Report the results and findings of your data analysis. Insert a copy of the output table in your report to the client.
6. What should the pet company conclude? Fully describe the pet food company's options with respect to the products.
7. If you were going to continue working with this client on this initiative, what additional information would you need to complete the organizational diagnosis? How would this organizational diagnosis influence your project improvement recommendations? Why is the organizational diagnostic and assessment phase important in the recommendation for an improvement process?