A severe drought has devastated cocoa plants, causing an increase in the price of chocolate. In the market for chocolate chip cookies,
a. supply has decreased and the price has increased.
b. the quantity has decreased and the price has decreased.
c. quantity demanded has increased.
d. a surplus will arise.

This problem has been solved! see the answerchapter 19 problem #8. quality and financial control (connect, perform)part one: geometrica designs and builds domes and space frames for large buildings. while the company had developed quality standards over time to respond to different client problems and training needs, it lacked a unified quality system, and its global client base wanted assurance that geometrica met an established international standard for quality. which of the following was an appropriate step for this company to take? a) reform its accounting and financial reporting systems to comply with sarbanes-oxleyb) establish and document a quality management system to comply with iso 9000management at workyou are the new fleet manager at xpressship, a package delivery company. as your first project, your boss has asked that you to look into implementing an electronic monitoring system for the fleet of 2,000 trucks your company owns. a recent internal audit on maintenance and repair costs on the company’s vehicles revealed while maintenance was performed regularly on the trucks, mileage or use had not been taken into account. this resulted in approximately $20,000 of unneeded repairs. you know that telematics have been used by other companies with fleets of cars or trucks and it will allow your company to not only track mileage and use, but also part replacement needs, vehicle oil pressure, and drivers’ speed and real time location. tracking these items can reduce maintenance costs while improving efficiency. you find that a simple computer can be installed in each vehicle. when the drivers return at the end of the day, the telematics information from each vehicle will be uploaded to a master computer where a software program will generate a report with results on the variables you have selected. early one morning as you are getting a cup of coffee, a few drivers that have been with the company for many years approach you with some concerns. eldon, the most senior driver says, “i heard you’re installing some type of computer to track our driving. my buddy works over at parcel and post package delivery and he said they’ve got these computers, too. he said managers are writing people up and firing drivers for speeding or not wearing seat belts. are you going to do that to us, too? ”part two: as a manager, which of the following statements would be effective in maintaining a positive relationship with company drivers? check all that apply. a) at this time, xpressship will be using telematics to monitor maintenance and repair needs, not drivers’ motoring habitsb) although the company isn’t doing so now, when xpressship begins to monitor driver motoring habits, the company will encourage them to keep a separate daily log where they can document any unusual circumstancesc) while xpressship could monitor things like speed, location, and idle time, the company trusts their drivers and will not be using that data in disciplinary decisionsd) xpressship executives are happy with their technology and believe that implementation is ideal for your organization

The amberssen specialty company is a chain of twelve retail stores that sell a variety of imported gift items, gourmet chocolates, cheeses, and wines in the toronto area. amberssen has an is staff of three people who have created a simple but effective information system of networked point-of-sale registers at the stores and a centralized accounting system at the company head- quarters. harry hilman, the head of amberssens is group, has just received the following memo from bill amberssen, sales director (and son of amberssen’s founder). harry—it’s time amberssen specialty launched itself on the internet. many of our competitors are already there, selling to customers without the expense of a retail storefront, and we should be there too. i project that we could double or triple our annual revenues by selling our products on the internet. i’d like to have this ready by - giving, in time for the prime holiday gift-shopping season. bill after pondering this memo for several days, harry scheduled a meeting with bill so that he could clarify bill’s vision of this venture. using the standard con- tent of a system request as your guide, prepare a list of questions that harry needs to have answered about this project.

Google started as one of many internet search engines, amazon started as an online book seller, and ebay began as a site where people could sell used personal items in auctions. these firms have grown to be so large and dominant that they are facing antitrust scrutiny from competition regulators in the us and elsewhere. did these online giants grow by fairly beating competition, or did they use unfair advantages? are there any clouds on the horizon for these firms -- could they face diseconomies of scale or diseconomies of scope as they continue to grow? if so, what factors may limit their continued growth?