Sharon wishes to identify the food items that are purchased most frequently in the student cafeteria, and, for the purpose, she observes the students' purchasing patterns. This scenario exemplifies the goal of science to:

Which of the following best explains why a large company can undersell small retailers? a. large companies can offer workers lower wages because they provide more jobs. b. large companies can pay their employees less because they do unskilled jobs. c. large companies can negotiate better prices with wholesalers. d. large companies have fewer expenses associated with overhead.

Shrieves casting company is considering adding a new line to its product mix, and the capital budgeting analysis is being conducted by sidney johnson, a recently graduated mba. the production line would be set up in unused space in the main plant. the machinery’s invoice price would be approximately $200,000, another $10,000 in shipping charges would be required, and it would cost an additional $30,000 to install the equipment. the machinery has an economic life of 4 years, and shrieves has obtained a special tax ruling that places the equipment in the macrs 3-year class. the machinery is expected to have a salvage value of $25,000 after 4 years of use. the new line would generate incremental sales of 1,250 units per year for 4 years at an incremental cost of $100 per unit in the first year, excluding depreciation. each unit can be sold for $200 in the first year. the sales price and cost are both expected to increase by 3% per year due to inflation. further, to handle the new line, the firm’s net working capital would have to increase by an amount equal to 12% of sales revenues. the firm’s tax rate is 40%, and its overall weighted average cost of capital, which is the risk-adjusted cost of capital for an average project (r), is 10%. define “incremental cash flow.” (1) should you subtract interest expense or dividends when calculating project cash flow?

M. cotteleer electronics supplies microcomputer circuitry to a company that incorporates microprocessors into refrigerators and other home appliances. one of the components has an annual demand of 235 units, and this is constant throughout the year. carrying cost is estimated to be $1.25 per unit per year, and the ordering (setup) cost is $21 per order. a) to minimize cost, how many units should be ordered each time an order is placed? b) how many orders per year are needed with the optimal policy? c) what is the average inventory if costs are minimized? d) suppose that the ordering cost is not $21, and cotteleer has been ordering 125 units each time an order is placed. for this order policy (of q = 125) to be optimal, determine what the ordering cost would have to be.