1. Consider companies A and B. If A sells a product to B, and the cost of this product makes up a significant portion of the B’s cost of goods sold (COGS), then B is strongly incentivized to be highly informed about A’s costs and alternatives to buying from A’s. This information can contribute to B having buyer power avoiding the need to "send itself flowers." Do you agree/disagree with the statement above? Provide an example from the Crown Cork and Seal case to support/refute the statement A firm can enjoy overall cost leadership even if the source of a firm’s low-cost position is available to its rivals. Do you agree/disagree with the statement above? Please provide an example from our discussion about Toyota to support/refute the statement.

Alandowner entered into a written agreement with a real estate broker whereby the broker would receive a commission of 10% of the sale price if he procured a "ready, willing, and able buyer" for the landowner's property and if the sale actually proceeded through closing. the broker found a buyer who agreed in writing to buy the property from the landowner for $100,000, the landowner's asking price. the buyer put up $6,000 as a down payment. the agreement between the landowner and the buyer contained a liquidated damages clause providing that, if the buyer defaulted by failing to tender the balance due of $94,000 at the closing date, damages would be 10% of the purchase price. the landowner included that clause because she was counting on using the proceeds of the sale for a business venture that would likely net her at least $10,000. the buyer became seriously ill and defaulted. when he recovered, he demanded that the landowner return his $6,000, and the landowner refused. the broker also demanded the $6,000 from the landowner and was refused. the broker and the buyer filed separate suits against the landowner, with the buyer pleading impossibility of performance. the two cases are consolidated into a single case. how should the court rule as to the disposition of the $6,000?

Forecasting as a first step in the team’s decision making, it wants to forecast quarterly demand for each of the two types of containers for years 6 to 8. based on historical trends, demand is expected to continue to grow until year 8, after which it is expected to plateau. julie must select the appropriate forecasting method and estimate the likely forecast error. which method should she choose? why? using the method selected, forecast demand for years 6 to 8.

You are evaluating two different silicon wafer milling machines. the techron i costs $285,000, has a three-year life, and has pretax operating costs of $78,000 per year. the techron ii costs $495,000, has a five-year life, and has pretax operating costs of $45,000 per year. for both milling machines, use straight-line depreciation to zero over the project’s life and assume a salvage value of $55,000. if your tax rate is 24 percent and your discount rate is 11 percent, compute the eac for both machines.