The memo assignment presents students with a memorandum from a relevant stakeholder in a firm (e.g., CEO, department head, business client, or business partner).

The memo assignment describes the situation and request a recommendation to the problem at hand through an assignment document.

TO: John Hencken, Regional Manager FROM: Linda Jezek, COO SUBJECT: Store Size John, I am looking into developing a new store layout to better meet demand of what the marketing department refers to as "Hipsters". They're ordering more complex drinks instead of plain coffee and seeking a relaxed atmosphere to work remotely. We have determined that the production of sophisticated drinks follows a Cobb-Douglas production function to include espresso machines (m) and baristas (b). We currently sell those drinks for $2 each. The problem is we currently only have 1 machine and 4 baristas, but I am not sure if that is the right mix. We pay our baristas $10/hour and the accounting department has determined that the hourly rental rate of the machines is $100. (Note that two small machines equal one regular machine) First, are we optimizing our resources? How many baristas should we have working? I want to consider how we can best optimize our layout to achieve 150 drinks per hour. What would the optimal combination of espresso machines and baristas for this goal? Lastly, those hipsters also happen to be politically active, and want to increase the minimum wage from $10/hour to a "living wage" of $20/hour. How would this specifically affect our store hiring decisions and production? You're the best because I certainly don't want to deal with this. I am looking for increased dividends so I can repaint my yacht. Sincerely, Linda