Many large, packaged goods marketers like Procter & Gamble, Kraft, and Pillsbury have used the product manager (or brand manager) system of marketing organization and implementation. Which of the following is the key advantage of this system? A. Product managers have relatively little authority
B. Product managers are short-term in their orientation
C. Product managers have direct responsibility for research and development of new products
D. Product managers can assume profit-and-loss responsibility for the performance of the product line
E. Product managers have line responsibility over sales managers

“wonderful! not only did our salespeople do a good job in meeting the sales budget this year, but our production people did a good job in controlling costs as well,” said kim clark, president of martell company. “our $11,150 overall manufacturing cost variance is only 3% of the $1,536,000 standard cost of products made during the year. that’s well within the 3% parameter set by management for acceptable variances. it looks like everyone will be in line for a bonus this year.” the company produces and sells a single product. the standard cost card for the product follows: standard cost card—per unit direct materials, 4.00 feet at $4.00 per foot $ 16.00 direct labor, 1.1 direct labor-hours at $13 per direct labor-hour 14.30 variable overhead, 1.1 direct labor-hours at $2.40 per direct labor-hour 2.64 fixed overhead, 1.1 direct labor-hours at $6.50 per direct labor-hour 7.15 standard cost per unit $ 40.09the following additional information is available for the year just completed: a. the company manufactured 20,000 units of product during the year. b. a total of 77,000 feet of material was purchased during the year at a cost of $4.25 per foot. all of this material was used to manufacture the 20,000 units. there were no beginning or ending inventories for the year. c. the company worked 24,000 direct labor-hours during the year at a direct labor cost of $12.50 per hour. d. overhead is applied to products on the basis of standard direct labor-hours. data relating to manufacturing overhead costs follow: denominator activity level (direct labor-hours) 19,000 budgeted fixed overhead costs $ 123,500 actual variable overhead costs incurred $ 64,800 actual fixed overhead costs incurred $ 120,900required: 1. compute the materials price and quantity variances for the year. (round standard price and actual price to 2 decimal places. indicate the effect of each variance by selecting "f" for favorable, "u" for unfavorable, and "none" for no effect (i. e., zero 2. compute the labor rate and efficiency variances for the year. (round standard rate and actual rate to 2 decimal places. indicate the effect of each variance by selecting "f" for favorable, "u" for unfavorable, and "none" for no effect (i. e., zero 3. for manufacturing overhead compute: a. the variable overhead rate and efficiency variances for the year. (round standard rate and actual rate to 2 decimal places. indicate the effect of each variance by selecting "f" for favorable, "u" for unfavorable, and "none" for no effect (i. e., zero b. the fixed overhead budget and volume variances for the year. (indicate the effect of each variance by selecting "f" for favorable, "u" for unfavorable, and "none" for no effect (i. e., zero

5. profit maximization and shutting down in the short run suppose that the market for polos is a competitive market. the following graph shows the daily cost curves of a firm operating in this market. 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 price (dollars per polo) quantity (thousands of polos) mc atc avc for each price in the following table, calculate the firm's optimal quantity of units to produce, and determine the profit or loss if it produces at that quantity, using the data from the previous graph to identify its total variable cost. assume that if the firm is indifferent between producing and shutting down, it will produce. (hint: you can select the purple points [diamond symbols] on the previous graph to see precise information on average variable cost.) price quantity total revenue fixed cost variable cost profit (dollars per polo) (polos) (dollars) (dollars) (dollars) (dollars) 12.50 135,000 27.50 135,000 45.00 135,000 if the firm shuts down, it must incur its fixed costs (fc) in the short run. in this case, the firm's fixed cost is $135,000 per day. in other words, if it shuts down, the firm would suffer losses of $135,000 per day until its fixed costs end (such as the expiration of a building lease). this firm's shutdown price—that is, the price below which it is optimal for the firm to shut down—is per polo.

Why is following an unrelated diversification strategy especially advantageous in an emerging economy? a. it allows the conglomerate to overcome institutional weaknesses in emerging economies. b. it allows the conglomerate to form a monopoly in emerging economies. c. it allows the conglomerate to use well-defined legal systems in emerging economies. d. it allows the conglomerate to take advantage of strong capital markets in emerging economies.