Swifty corporation's accounting records reflect the following inventories: dec. 31, 2017 dec. 31, 2016 raw materials inventory $31 $26 work in process inventory 3 16 finished goods inventory 19 15 during 2017, $86 of raw materials were purchased, direct labor costs amounted to $851700, and manufacturing overhead incurred was $752000. if swifty corporation's cost of goods manufactured for 2017 amounted to $2273700, its cost of goods sold for the year is

You work as the sales manager for a company that sells office supplies to businesses of all sizes. because the profit margins are razor-thin, you need to ensure that you are getting the very best prices on paper, pencils, pens, post-it notes, and other office supplies from the manufacturers. when reviewing the quarterly profit statement, you realize that your costs are higher than they should be, and you trace the higher costs back to an employee who has been lax about getting competitive bids to ensure the lowest prices. when you conduct your research to determine the reason for the higher costs, and take action to bring those costs back down, in which of the key management processes are you taking part?