Last year Swensen Corp. had sales of $303,225, operating costs of $267,500, and year-end assets of $195,000. The debt-to-total-assets ratio was 27%, the interest rate on the debt was 8.2%, and the firm's tax rate was 37%. The new CFO wants to see how the Return on Equity (ROE) would have been affected if the firm had used a 45% debt ratio. Assume that sales and total assets would not be affected, and that the interest rate and tax rate would both remain constant. By how much would the ROE change in response to the change in the capital structure?

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?