A memo to a grill maker's chief executive compares three directions on criteria set before any option appears, and for MT460 Unit 5 backs a pellet subscription over higher revenue. Searches like "mt 460 unit 5 assignment example", "mt460 unit 5 sample" and "mt460 unit 5 example" land here.
What a finished MT460 Unit 5 strategic alternatives memo looks like
Four pages in memo format, with a one-paragraph recommendation at the top. A criteria table follows: fit with the Unit 3 audit weighted at 30 percent, three-year contribution at 25, and capital required, reversibility and channel conflict at 15 each. Three directions are then described in parallel form, each with its contribution estimate and capital need. The subscription promises $31 million of contribution for $6.8 million of capital; the built-in line $24 million for $11.5 million; the sub-$400 grill $38 million for $4.2 million. A scoring matrix totals 4.15, 3.30 and 2.90 on a five-point scale. A page titled What Would Change the Answer names the conditions under which the big-box grill would win. An appendix shows the contribution arithmetic.
How a MT460 Unit 5 example is structured
The recommendation comes first because the reader is an executive, and the memo's credibility then rests on what follows it. Criteria are stated and weighted before any option appears, with a sentence explaining each weight, so the scoring cannot be accused of working backward from a favorite. Each alternative gets the same treatment in the same order: what it is, what it costs, what it earns and what it risks. The sub-$400 grill receives its strongest case, including the highest contribution figure, before the memo explains why it scores lowest: it rests on no resource the audit rated rare and deepens the chain dependence the SWOT named as a weakness. Sensitivity follows the scoring. Shifting ten points of weight from fit to contribution still leaves the subscription ahead, and the memo shows that arithmetic rather than asserting it.
Weights with reasons
Fit carries 30 percent because the audit found only two resources a rival cannot quickly copy. Each weight gets one sentence of justification, placed before the options so the order of reasoning is visible.
Three options in parallel
Every direction is described in the same four parts: cost, earnings, risk and fit. Parallel form keeps the comparison fair and exposes any option handed a thinner case than the others.
The best case for the cheap grill
At $38 million, the big-box grill leads on contribution. The memo states that plainly, then shows it scores 1 on fit and 1 on channel conflict, since dealers would lose sales to it.
Moving the weights
Shifting ten points from fit to contribution narrows the gap but leaves the subscription at 4.05 against 3.30. A reader skeptical of the weights can see that the recommendation survives them.
What would change the answer
If connected owners showed no interest in reorders during a sixty-day test, the subscription's contribution estimate would collapse. The memo names that test and the result that would reopen the choice.
Where marks go in MT460 Unit 5
Honesty of comparison decides most of the credit on an MT460 alternatives memo. Criteria introduced after the options, or weighted without explanation, suggest the favorite was picked first, and instructors often say exactly that. Strawman alternatives are the other visible problem: a rejected option described in two lines against a page for the chosen one cannot show that the choice was hard. Missing numbers weaken any memo that claims one direction earns more. Graders also check that criteria connect to earlier analysis, so fit should mean fit with specific findings rather than a general sense of alignment. Memo form counts too, and an executive reader expects the recommendation at the top. A section naming what would reverse the recommendation reads as mature judgment and often lifts an otherwise sound paper.
Get a MT460 Unit 5 example written to your instructions
Share the Unit 5 instructions, the assigned company or case study, any options your section mandates, and the rubric. The memo returned fixes weighted criteria before the options, gives each direction its strongest case with numbers, and spells out which test result would overturn its choice. First custom sample free; expect it within 24-48h.
MT460 Unit 5 questions, answered
How many alternatives should an MT460 memo compare?
Three is the common number and often the one the prompt sets. Two can make the comparison look like a yes or no decision, and more than four usually thins the analysis of each. Some sections also expect a do-nothing baseline, which is useful because every option should have to beat the cost of standing still.
Where do the criteria come from?
From the analysis already done and from the firm's own constraints. Fit with the resources your audit rated rare, capital the balance sheet can support, reversibility and risk to existing channels are typical. Stating them before describing the options, and explaining each weight, lets a reader trust that the scoring was not built around the answer you preferred.
Does the memo need financial estimates?
Usually yes, even rough ones, because a claim that one direction earns more needs a figure behind it. Put the assumptions in an appendix so a grader can follow the arithmetic line by line. Estimates that are clearly reasoned and labeled as estimates read better than precise-looking numbers with no visible source behind them.