Flowcharts

STOP! Have you read, studied, and understood all of the course materials, including the Module Home Page and the sources listed under Background Info? If you haven’t, then do so before attempting this Case.

Table of Contents

As with all Trident courses, you’re expected to provide references and citations. It’s recommended you use the sources listed in the Module. Resist the temptation to browse the Web, looking for “clues.” There’s a lot of confusing stuff out there, and much of it is irrelevant. This Module contains all the information you need. Study it – use it!

Case Assignment

You’ve been offered a job in another state, and have decided to sell your house.

First, you’ll need to decide on an asking price. You can either make this decision now, or wait until after you’ve chosen a real estate agent (if you do). If you settle on a price now, you can either base it on the appraised value of your property, which is on file at the county tax office, or set a price you’re confident is too high, but not too high to deter potential buyers who will, in turn, make counteroffers.

The next decision is whether to hire an agent. If you do, you’ll need to shop around. Begin by getting a list of agents from the Better Business Bureau (BBB). You’ll be looking for an agent who’s willing to guarantee a sale by a certain date, or take a negotiated cut in his or her commission. This is important to you, as you need to have a warm feeling that your house isn’t going to be on the market forever. Interview an agent. If the agent is willing to guarantee a sale, hire him or her. After consulting with the agent, set an asking price. This is the end of the process.

If the agent’s not willing to guarantee a sale, then interview the next one on the list. If you exhaust the list without finding an agent, then you’ll have to do without one, and list the house yourself. If you haven’t already decided on an asking price, do it now. This is the end of the process.

HINTS:

If you haven’t read and studied the Module homepage and the sources listed under Background Info, stop right here. Go back and do the reading. Otherwise, you’ll waste hours.
This Case isn’t about renting or selling houses. It’s about flowcharting. Don’t browse the Web looking for information about renting or selling property – that sort of information is irrelevant. This Case could just as easily be about diagnosing a sick lawnmower, or baking a cake. (But don’t think you can change the topic!)
Don’t browse the Web looking for information about how to create a flowchart, until you’ve read and studied the sources in the Module. The Case was designed with these sources in mind. They contain all the information you’ll need. You should reference and cite them, in accordance with the Writing Guide.
You aren’t being asked to write an essay about flowcharting, but rather to draw a flowchart. If your Case write-up doesn’t contain a flowchart, then it’s incomplete.
Despite 4 above, your Case should follow standard format, with a cover sheet and a brief discussion of the problem. Be sure to include references and citations.

Assignment Expectations

Reduce the case to a series of discrete, single activities and decisions.
Avoid clutter. In the flowchart, abbreviate the activities and decisions. If necessary, explain the abbreviations in a glossary.
Use standard flowchart symbology.
Provide a short (one or two paragraph) explanation of the chart. Include citations.
Follow the instructions in the BSBA Writing Style Guide (July 2014 edition), available online athttps://mytlc.trident.edu/files/Writing-Guide_Trident_2014.pdf.
There are no guidelines concerning length. Write what you need to write – neither more, nor less.
Clearly demonstrate your understanding of both the theory covered in the Module, and the particulars of the Case.
References and citations ARE REQUIRED. As a minimum, you should reference the course materials. To see how these should be presented, please refer to the Background Info page. For good examples of in-text citations, please refer to the Module Background Pages