Premium Essay

Carter Racing

In: Business and Management

Submitted By Prinz786
Words 907
Pages 4
Carter Racing*

David Eccles School of Business
University of Utah

 Jack W. Brittain, Sim Sitkin 1986, revised 2000

John Carter was not sure, but his brother and partner, Fred Carter, was on the phone and needed a decision. Should they run in the race or not? It had been a successful season so far, but the Pocono race was important because of the prize money and TV exposure it promised. This first year was hard because the team was trying to make its name and so had run in a lot of small races. A successful outing could mean more sponsors, a chance to start making some profits for a change, and the luxury of racing only the major events. But if they suffered another engine failure on national television …
“These engine failures are exasperating,” thought
John. The team’s car had failed seven times in twenty-four outings this season with various degrees of damage to the engine and car. No one could figure out why. It took a lot of sponsor money to replace a
$50,000 racing engine, and the wasted entry fees were no small matter either. John and Fred had everything they owned riding on Carter Racing. This season had to be a success.
Paul Edwards, the engine mechanic, was guessing the engine problem was related to ambient air temperature. He argued that when it was cold, the different expansion rates for the head and block were damaging the head gasket and causing the engine failures. It was below freezing last night, which meant a cold morning for starting the race.
Tom Burns, the chief mechanic, did not agree with Paul’s “gut feeling” and had data to support his position (see Exhibit 1). He pointed out that the 10 gasket failures had occurred over the entire temperature range, which meant temperature was not the issue. Tom had been racing for twenty years and believed that luck was an important element in success. “In racing,

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Carter Racing Case

...Carter Racing Case Situation Bj Carter and Chris Carter are siblings and business partners. They have to decide to run their race car in a high stakes race against tougher competition than they have seen all year. The problem being, their car has failed 7 times out of 24 this season and if it fails in this race, not only will they be out a $50,000 engine, but they will also be out a full season contract from Goodstone worth two million per year. If they decide not to race, they will be out $15,000 in entry fees and for sure lose Goodstone and end up $80,000 in debt on the season. Lastly, if they race and they do blow and engine, they will lose a sponsorship worth $80,000 from oil company because they don’t want their name on a car that is blown and smoking on the side of the track. Problem The main problem that needs to be addressed is should they race the car given the risk it blows and they lose both sponsors and parts to replace a new engine. One thought was that the temperature on race day was at fault for gaskets going bad and ultimately causing engine failure. However, there does not seem to be a strong correlation between air temperature and engine failure. Analysis When deciding to run the car in the race, the Carter brothers need to analyze several aspects of the situation to make the decision that will be most beneficial for their business. It should also be noted that even with the given information provided to them, racing is a risk and there is no guarantee...

Words: 1099 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Carter Racing

...failure) 2) 7 seven failure out of 24 races 3) For Pocono, Carter Racing received $40,000 and $2,000,000 if the team can finish in top 5. 4) $800,000 oil sponsor 5) Entry fee=$30,000 (halfway withdrawal get back 50% which is $15,000) 6) All the probability is based on past results. Decision Probability Exp/Rev Source Value Expected Value Race Finish in money (Top 5) 0.5 2,000,000 800,000 Goodstone Oil 2,800,000 1,400,000 Finish out money 0.125 800,000 Oil 800,000 100,000 Not Finish (Blown engine) 0.29 -50,000 -800,000 Engine Oil -850,000 -246,500 Not Finish (Others) 0.085 800,000 Oil 800,000 68,000 Total 1 1,321,500 Not Race Not Race 1 800,000 15,000 -25,000 Oil Entry Fee Payback Goodstone 790,000 790,000 Total 1 790,000 Based on above calculation and Robin Burns theory, there is no correlation between gasket failure and temperature. Hence, Carter Racing should proceed with the race because the gaining or benefits are greater than withdraw from race. On the other hand, taking Pat Edwards ‘s advise into consideration even without facts and figures, there is a high chances that Carter Racing will face engine blown because the temperature of the race is about 40 degrees. If Pat’s assumption is right, Carter Racing will face engine blown because the different expansion rate for the engine head and block will damage the gasket and lead to engine failure. Lastly in my opinion, Carter Racing should to go for it and trust the facts and figures instead...

Words: 318 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Carter Racing

...only a few pages. Easier to read and more fun to discuss. In this case, Carter Racing was faced with a decision to race or not to race. The dilemma is that their engine has been breaking at 29% rate. We believe that the engine failure is correlated to the temperature and we have a scatterplot to help visualize this. Still, we have other pressing matters concerning our financial position. If we do not race, we lose out $85,000. If we decide to race, based on our record, we have a 50% chance of placing “in the money” and gaining a lucrative $2 million sponsorship. If we race and don’t win, there are two outcomes: just losing & engine blowout. Just losing is still a lucrative outcome since we will be keeping sponsorship, but blowing out an engine will cost us an $800,000 sponsorship. As a business student, my inclination is to valuate this decision based on monetary value and had set up a decision tree. This tree showed that the value of winning well exceeded the cost of losing or not racing. If I rely on the data, racing at 40 degrees, which is well below the temperatures my engine failures have occurred, I shouldn’t race. But in a business setting, not racing, I incur more costs and fail to take advantage of the opportunities presented to me. Race time is in one hour. Part II I need help. So I decide to get a mechanic’s opinion on why I’m experiencing engine failure. The guy has been in the racing game since he was 16, after dropping out of high school. His opinion is...

Words: 2626 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

Carter Racing

...Grace Shanae Leslie Part 1: I recommend that the Carter racing team race. If the team races and finishes in the money they are going to receive a great deal of opportunity. One of these great opportunities includes the benefit of receiving a full season contract for the upcoming year with Goodstone Tire. With the million a year plus incentives that comes with the sponsorship the team would have some money to essentially put towards bettering the engines even more for the upcoming seasons. Another opportunity the team would benefit on is that if they race and finish in the money they will get to keep the $500,000 oil sponsorship on top of the million dollar sponsorship. The good thing about the oil sponsorship is that even if they don’t finish in the money they can still keep the sponsorship. When leveling the two options of whether to race or not to race we can see that the team could keep the oil sponsorship regardless unless they race and blow an engine. However, if the team does not race they will also have other costs that will put them $50,000 in the hole. In my opinion, with the teams stats as they are so and with the data that shows that temperature may not be the reason for the engine failures in the first place, the team should race. If the team blows an engine then they will have to start over, but they won’t have to look back and think about whether or not they could have benefited from racing as a million dollar sponsorship and a $500,000 sponsorship...

Words: 966 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Standardbred Race Horse

...prospective, nonrandomized clinical trial investigating the outcome of Standardbred racehorses diagnosed with midbody suspensory ligament desmitis (MSD) and treated with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) followed by a program of gradually increasing exercise. A clear hypothesis is not evident, with the objective being to determine the outcome of the treatment in case horses. The abstract does not explain that the ‘outcome’ investigated in the study is the racing performance of the horses post treatment, evaluated by comparison of number of starts, total earnings, and earnings per start against a control group of horses. The advantage of a prospective trial is that it allows the researcher the ability to analyse currently available...

Words: 1578 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Movie Review

...2 fast 2 furious Review 2 fast 2 furious is one of the best car street racing movies to watch. The Miami police department has been tracking down a drug lord, Carter Verone, but cannot find any evidence to arrest him. The department has Monica Fuentes, an undercover agent, as Verone’s girlfriend. They need street racers in order to capture Verone, so they arrest the main actor Brian O’ Connell at the end of a street race and take him to the department. At the department, they give him the breakdown about Verone and try to assign him a partner. He does not like the partner they try to give him, so he decides to pick his own, Roman Pearce. Their main job is to work undercover and arrest Verone so that their records will get cleared and they can walk away as free men. I like this movie because of the great acting performed by the main actors and the cars. 2 fast 2 furious has great acting. Paul Walker and Tyree Gibson do an excellent job playing the parts of Brian O’ Connell and Roman Pearce. Brian, a former cop, plays a good role as an undercover cop. Roman on the other hand, plays the role of a thug. He is tattooed and dresses with baggy clothes. He uses a lot of slang and likes to use the word “bruh” a lot, which is a slang term for brother. He is a thug because he had to spend three years in jail. He blaims Brian for that and when he first sees him in the movie he punches him in the face out of anger and they begin to fight. As the movie goes on, the hate that he has for...

Words: 863 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Martin Luther King

...I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down other-centered can build up. I still believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars of God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed, and nonviolent redemptive good will proclaim the rule of the land. “And the lion and the lamb shall lie down together and every man shall sit under his own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid.” I still believe that we shall overcome. Martin Luther King Jr. stated these powerful words in his acceptance speech after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on December 10, 1964. Martin Luther King Jr. had visions of the world coming together and pushing away all selfishness. Much like King Jr., a very innovative man named Will Allen also has these high hopes for the future. Allan is an urban farmer who is boldly transforming the cultivation, production as well as delivery of healthy foods to underserved populations. Allen’s father is a sharecropper, so he may have had this culturally efficient idea from a young age watching his father in the fields. Allen is recognized as a national leader in urban agriculture and food policy. After a brief career in professional basketball, he returned to his roots as a long time farmer using his retirement package a plot of inner-city land with greenhouses...

Words: 505 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

What Is Apartheid ?

...What is apartheid? The word apartheid means ”to keep apart” in Afrikaan, which is the language, that most of the white people in South Africa speaks. Apartheid is a racist ideology, and the goal is to separate the different races, and to give the white people all the power in the society. The apartheid ideology was developed in South Africa for hundreds of years ago, but it wasn’t a part of politics before 1948. In apartheid, you split the population into four groups. The black The colored The white The Asian. And it is your appearance that decides which group you belong to. Where did it exist? Apartheid existed in South Africa from 1948-1994. And in that period, the white people had better conditions than the black, the colored and the Asian. It was especially the black people that were dealing with oppression. Apartheid didn’t only exist in South Africa. It was also introduced in Namibia and Rhodesia, in the same period as in South Africa. But even though South Africa is a democratic state today, there are still a lot of conflicts between the black and white people. Besides that, the black people still got way worse conditions than the white people, even though the two groups have the same rights. Opinions: One person, who was strongly against apartheid, is Nelson Mandela. He wanted a democratic and open society, where everyone lives together in harmony and with equal rights. Nelson Mandela was willing to do whatever he could to carry out his dreams, even...

Words: 613 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Leadership

...Billy Graham was a great communicator. This Natural preacher has taken his evangelistic message of the Gospels to the world's masses, in the most literal of senses. Dr. Graham has spoken to and influenced millions of people, of different backgrounds and faiths, of all ages and cultures. He has been friend and counselor to presidents and poor people, and has often served as a steadying, comforting influence during times of major tragedy. “Martin Luther King, Jr.. Dr. King's message of nonviolent social change brought to the American public's consciousness the pressing need for equality of all people, regardless of race. Dr. King's 1963 "I Have A Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial has been elevated to one of the great pieces of oratory in American history. His ability to articulate the desires of minorities for social and economic justice, and the rightness of the cause, became the major driver of the 1960s civil-rights movement.” (http://ezinearticles.com/?10-Great-Communicators-of-the-Modern-Era&id=6520059) Patience, practice, speech, attentiveness, and communication consistency are five things to consider when trying being an effective communicator. Some people are better at writing, like myself. An effective communicator speaks clearly, gets to the point and is very aware of his/her body positioning and tone. It involves listening almost as much as talking. Ronald Reagan was known as the great communicator. (www.cnn.com) Reagan became the great communicator because...

Words: 374 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Hurricane

...Erika Brown Professor Mecucci Springer GEW 101 18 October 2012 Ruben “Hurricane” Carter American novelist Richard Powers once said, “We will live with racism forever but, senses of self, senses of belonging, senses of us and of others? Those are up for grabs.” What Powers is saying is racism will live among us until the end of time but, being able to have the decency to come together at a time of need is essential to our society. This reminds me of a song I once heard called Hurricane written by Bob Dylan; a 60’s American musician. Controversy in the 1960’s raised a lot of questions that influenced musicians such as Dylan to write songs regarding social and political issues; Hurricane describes the brutal story of Ruben Carter, a famous American boxer who was subjected to racism and wrongly accused of a murder crime he did not commit. Dylan told a detailed story where he used his song lyrics to take a strong stance on the case in favor of Carter’s innocence. Hurricane by Bob Dylan shows that racism in America is still in existence today. Dylan's tone of voice and its change from time to time play an outstanding effort in the conveyance of the situation at hand. The structure as well as the tone of Dylan's song is also clearly repetitive. Apart from the repetition promoting the song with rhythm it also helps with drawing the listener's attention to the parts that Dylan wants them to focus on. For example the tern 'Hurricane' which is also the title of Dylan’s song is...

Words: 401 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Greatest Leader

...Greatest Leader Introduction There have been many great leaders in our time that had a great impact on America, but today there is one person I would like to acknowledge, and that is Martin Luther King Jr. MLKJ have done so much in his lifetime to shape up this country. Just take a minute to think, what if MLKJ would’ve gave up. Ask yourself how would the world be today? That’s why MLKJ is the perfect example of a leader because he never threw in the towel and gave up. He fought to the end. Body Martin Luther king Jr. was born on January 15, 1929. Many of us should be familiar with this well-known day, January 15, known as Martin Luther King Jr. Day. King was born in Atlanta, Ga to the parents of Martin Luther King Sr. and Alberta King. As King grew older he Married Coretta Scott King and had four children. King was a well-known leader in the Civil Rights Movement. King was also known in various parts of the country for really pushing the Civil Rights. Aside from being a Civil Rights leader, King was a American Clergy leader, activist, as well as a minister. King was the youngest man to receive the Nobel Peace Prize at age thirty-five. When King was notified he was selected he donated all the prize money of $54,123 to the civil rights movement. For many of us when we hear Martin Luther King Jr.’s name the first thing that comes to mind is his “I Have A Dream” speech. King delivered this speech in front of thousands of Americans on August 28, 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial...

Words: 357 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Tutty Boy

...Tutankhamun’s tomb is the only royal tomb in Egypt to have escaped the discovery of looters and was discovered by archeologist Howard Carter. The death of Tutankhamun was a sudden tragedy that til this day has yet to be solved. The cause of the famous teenage king’s death has been a long drawn out mystery with a range of theories as to how he met his end. There are no historical records explaining the cause or circumstances of his death, nor is there no positive evidence to suggest how he died. However, there are several theories and many of which have changed over the years. One theory suggests that King Tut was murdered. During an xray of the mummy in 1968, scientists found “bone fragments in King Tut’s skull prompting this theory”. Another theory as to what caused King Tut’s death was a genetic disorder known as gynecomastia, a hormone imbalance which gives males a female appearance. The final theory was that he died from a “break in the bone just above his left knee.” Technology showed that this happened while he was still alive and was probably the result of falling from a chariot and developed an infection in the wound. Furthermore, after many speculations and testing performed on the mummy to find the cause of death, it still remains a mystery. Although there is evidence to potentially prove each of these theories to be true, I believe there are two reasons why he died. While he was alive, he fractured a thigh bone which had gotten infected. This infection spread throughout...

Words: 345 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

New Narcissism

...New Narcissism 1. "New Narcissism" is a modern phenomenon, text 1 gives a very detailed description of the phenomenon. The author of text 1 presents Britney Spears as a self-destructive individual, who is a victim of the paradoxical development of our modern culture. But Britney isn’t the main focus point in this matter. It’s the Britney-obsessive Chris Crocker who draws his attention. Chris Crocker is known for crying like a mentally sick baby and howling: “leave Britney alone”, into a camera. He’s known for this particular quote, because he uploaded his video on the popular website, YouTube. The video has been watched more than 12 million times, by people from all over the world. But Chris didn't feel sorry for Britney, what so ever, he just wanted to obtain a lot of attention and become a celebrity. Chris got his 15 minutes of fame and a few days later Chris Crocker announced, he was in the process of making a new reality show on national television. This is a great example of new narcissism, Chris intentionally tries to get attention on Britney’s account, a very selfish and egocentric act and that is what new narcissism is all about. Narcissism is when you only think of yourself and your own needs exclusively. It’s when your self-esteem becomes a burden for others, it’s when you’re so self obsessed that you’re unable to see anything else but your own reflection. 2. Text 2 is written by Janice McDuffee, she begins her article by categorizing the college students as...

Words: 848 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Vince Carter Biography

...Though he prefers the name "Vince", he was born Vincent Lamar Carter in Daytona Beach, FL at Halifax Hospital on January 26, 1977. He attended public and private schools, beginning at age 4, in Deland, South Miami and Daytona Beach. He was the only seventh grader to ever play on Campbell Junior High School's varsity basketball team as a starter. In addition to being captain of Mainland High School's volleyball team, he is said to be the most gifted and decorated basketball player to grace the court at Mainland High School where he graduated with honors in 1995. Other high school honors included USA Today, Parade, and McDonald's All-America and was voted Florida's 1995 Basketball Player-of-the-Year. Vince provided lots of musical excitement when he played baritone and saxophone in the marching and jazz bands, respectively, at Mainland and was voted head drum major for his senior year. In 1995, Vince was voted to the USA Junior National Team where he played in the World Championships. As a Tarheel at the University of North Carolina from 1995 through 1998, Vince garnered, for two consecutive years, the statistical leader award. In addition, he earned the best field goal percentage and the defensive player of the year awards in 1998. Vince helped the Tarheels make it to the final four in 1997 and 1998. In both of these games, he was the leading scorer. His outstanding college play propelled him to the five (5) finalists for the prestigious "John Wooden Award" and the national...

Words: 828 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Ronald Reagan

...Ronald Reagan Rob Holmes HIS/145 November 14, 2013 Professor Pass Ronald Reagan Ronald W. Reagan was born February 6, 1911, and died June 5, 2004; Severed two terms as the 40th President of the United States of America from 1981 to 1989, succeeding President Jimmy Carter. Know as conservative Republican, hard-line anticommunist and skilled orator that earned him the nickname “the Great Communicator” (Ronald W. Reagan, 2013). Remembered for his foreign policies and is credited with the demise of the Soviet Union and ending the cold war and the Iran-Contra affair. Reagan is often credited with the release the remaining 51 American hostages that had been held captive in Iran for 444 days. During the Jimmy Carter administration on November 4, 1979 Islamic revolutionaries stormed the United States Embassy in Tehran and captured 66 American hostages. The hostage crisis the most significant issue facing Americans in the final year of Carters final year as president and played a crucial roll in Carter not winning re-election (Iran hostage crisis. 2013). A political war was taking place in Iran with the left and right wing revolutionaries and their new leader, the Ayatollah Khomeini. The hostages were caught in the middle of the struggle. Iran issued the demand that as a condition of the hostage’s release, the shah who had entered the United States to seek medical treatment be extradited back to Iran. Iran also insisted that the United States stopped interfering in Iranian affairs...

Words: 1275 - Pages: 6