Houston-based Advanced Electronics manufactures audio speakers for desktop computers. The following data relate to the period just ended when the company produced and sold 40,000 speaker sets:

Management is considering relocating its manufacturing facilities to northern Mexico to reduce costs. Variable costs are expected to average $20.00 per set; annual fixed costs are anticipated to be $1,986,000. (In the following requirements, ignore income taxes.)

Required:

1. Calculate the company’s current income and determine the level of dollar sales needed to double that figure, assuming that manufacturing operations remain in the United States.
2. Determine the break-even point in speaker sets if operations are shifted to Mexico.
3. Assume that management desires to achieve the Mexican break-even point; however, operations will remain in the United States.

1. If variable costs remain constant, by how much must fixed costs change?
2. If fixed costs remain constant, by how much must unit variable cost change?

4. Determine the impact (increase, decrease, or no effect) of the following operating changes.

Req.1

Calculate the company’s current income and determine the level of dollar sales needed to double that figure, assuming that manufacturing operations remain in the United States. (Do not round intermediate calculations and round your final answers to nearest whole dollar.)

Req.2

Determine the break-even point in speaker sets if operations are shifted to Mexico. (Do not round intermediate calculationsand round your final answer up to nearest whole number.)

Req.3

Assume that management desires to achieve the Mexican break-even point; however, operations will remain in the United States.

a. If variable costs remain constant, by how much must fixed costs change? (Round your intermediate unit calculations to the nearest whole number and round your final answers to the nearest whole dollar.)

b. If fixed costs remain constant, by how much must unit variable cost change? (Round your intermediate unit calculations to the nearest whole number and round your final answer to 2 decimal places.)

Req.4

Determine the impact (increase, decrease, or no effect) of the following operating changes.

Read the PROBLEM SOLVING Case “Wanted by Honda: Engineers Who Love Small-Town Living”

Although the U.S.-based Big Three automakers General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler have announced cutbacks and layoffs recently, some auto companies are still hiring. Toyota, Nissan, Honda, and other companies have set up opera- tions in the United States. While they employ far fewer in the United States than the Big Three, their ranks are growing. Nearly one out of four jobs with auto companies in the United States are with companies other than the Big Three. Honda R&D Americas recently told a reporter that it was adding about 100 employees a year and had 50 positions it was trying to fill with engineers.
To staff those positions, Honda faces a chal- lenge: its location. The Honda research and development facility is located in an out-of-the- way spot in Ohio, the town of Raymond, located about 60 miles northwest of Columbus. Most automotive research facilities in the United States are located near Detroit, because so much of the industry talent lives and works in that area. The Honda plant sits on an 8,000- acre plot of land along with the company’s Transportation Research Center, and Honda operates two assembly plants in nearby Marysville and East Liberty. Surrounding this complex are cornfields.
Because of its location, Honda does not seek most of its recruits from other auto companies. It hires local residents to fill manufacturing jobs, and for engineers, it turns to schools in the region to find recent graduates. Carol Hadden, who
manages human resources, says one good source of engineering recruits has been Ohio State University.
Knowing that small-town life does not appeal to many recent grads, Honda requires applicants to visit the Raymond site for their first interview. Allen explains, “We make them come here to make sure they know where we are.” Those who look around and like the location have a better chance of being enthusiastic about a career at Honda R&D.

Questions –

Suggest three ways Honda R&D Americas could recruit engineers to fill jobs at its research and development facility in Raymond, Ohio.

If you were interviewing a candidate for a job at this facility, what would you ask to determine whether the candidate would be satisfied to stay at Honda?

How would Honda R&D’s emphasis on recruiting recent graduates, rather than experienced automotive engineers, affect your job if you were the supervisor of these employees? Would you want Honda to change its recruiting strategy? Why or why not?

Consumer Surplus Background: There has been a lot of talk about trade restrictions, in the hopes that such policies will encourage production and hence job growth in this country. Economists, generally, are skeptical of policies that reduce or restrict international trade. A historical example can help illustrate some, although not all, of that economic skepticism. In 1980, the United States negotiated a Voluntary Export Restraint Agreement (VER) with Japan. The VER limited Japanese automobile exports to the United States. This drop in supply caused the price of domestically (U.S.) produced autos to rise. Basic stylized data are below

• Price of a typical U.S.-produced car (pre-VER) = $6,000

• Price of a typical U.S.-produced car (post-VER) = $7,000

• Number of U.S.-produced cars sold in United States (pre-VER) = 8 million

• Price elasticity of demand for U.S. autos (pre-VER) = -1.5

Prices are loosely typical of 1980, in case you’re wondering why these cars are so inexpensive.

Problem

(a) Draw a graph showing the consumer surplus before and after the VER. Label the initial pre-VER price and quantity (using the numbers above) and the post-VER price and quantity (you do not yet know post-VER quantity but you know pre-VER quantity) and show the pre-VER consumer surplus, the post-VER consumer surplus, and the change in consumer surplus.

(b) Use the above data to calculate the change in consumer surplus that resulted from the VER. Assume a linear market demand curve. Also assume that the demand curve does not shift during the period of interest, and that cars are a sufficiently homogenous commodity that you can analyze this with one demand curve. Calculate the change in consumer surplus as a number (the units will be dollars), and show your work.

Hint: Recall the definition of elasticity, ? = %∆? %∆? = ∆? ∆? ? ?

You can calculate, from the data above, the %ΔP, and you know ε, so you can solve for %ΔQ = ε*%ΔP where the symbol * denotes multiplication. Knowing %ΔQ and initial (preVER) Q you can calculate post-VER Q. That information is enough to calculate the change in consumer surplus, in dollars. Refer to the graph from part (a) to help you see this.

(c) Based on your answer above, would consumers be better off if imports of automobiles to the United States are restricted? Why or why not? What about workers— would U.S. workers be better off if imports are restricted and international trade is reduced?

A phone company is testing a device that would allow visitors to museums, movie goers and other attractions to get information at the touch of a digital code. For example, moviegoers can listen to an announcement recorded on a microchip that provides them a preview of the movies they want to watch. It is anticipated that the device would rent for $3.00 each. The installation cost for the complete system is expected to be approximately $400,000, but movie theater owners are unsure as to whether or not to take the risk. A financial analysis of the issue indicates that if more than 10% of the movie patrons use the device the movie theater will make a profit. To help make the decision, a random sample of 400 moviegoers is given details of the system’s capabilities and cost. If 48 people say they would rent the device, can the management of the movie theater conclude at the 5% significance level that the investment would result in a profit? (The responses to the survey are: Yes, I would rent the device; and No, I would not rent the device)

The research question is: Is the product profitable? The parameter is p (the proportion of movie goers who would rent the device). Conduct a One Sample Test for Independent Proportions and accept or reject the hypothesis (show your work). Write the steps for hypotheses testing:

1. Hypotheses
2. Test statistic
3. Set up the decision rule/rejection region (i.e. reject Ho if z…..) (Draw the curve)
4. Compute test statistic.
5. Write the conclusion
6. P Value ( Show Work )

1;Two decades ago when the United States entered into the North Amerrican free trade Agreement with Canada and Maxico, there was significant opposition from organized labor and some politicians.There does not seem to be the same level of opposittion to the TTIP Why do you think this is so?

2.The trans Pacific Partnership(TTP) has met with significant political resistance in the United State (see the opening case). while the TTIP has not (at least as yet). Why do you think this is the case?

Refer http://www.chegg.com/homework-help/creating-world-s-biggest-free-trade-zone-benefits-proposed-t-chapter-6-problem-1cdq-solution-9781259578113-exc

1.Two decades ago when the United States entered into the North Amerrican free trade Agreement with Canada and Maxico, there was significant opposition from organized labor and some politicians.There does not seem to be the same level of opposittion to the TTIP Why do you think this is so?

2.The trans Pacific Partnership(TTP) has met with significant political resistance in the United State (see the opening case). while the TTIP has not (at least as yet). Why do you think this is the case?

Refer http://www.chegg.com/homework-help/creating-world-s-biggest-free-trade-zone-benefits-proposed-t-chapter-6-problem-1cdq-solution-9781259578113-exc

A random sample of ten households in College Park revealed they generated a mean of 10.91 pounds of garbage per week with a standard deviation of 4.736 pounds. Construct the 80% confidence interval to estimate the mean amount of garbage all College Park households generate per week

Describe the two procedural differences in getting a bar charge to the front-office folio if:

1. The hotel has a property management system with an interface to the bar’s POS
2. Or, the hotel does not have a property management system. In simple terms explain how each would be billed differently to the guest