Smoky Mountain Corporation makes two types of hiking boots—the Xtreme and the Pathfinder. Data concerning these two product lines appear below:

The company has a traditional costing system in which manufacturing overhead is applied to units based on direct labor-hours. Data concerning manufacturing overhead and direct labor-hours for the upcoming year appear below:

Required:

1. Compute the product margins for the Xtreme and the Pathfinder products under the company’s traditional costing system.

2. The company is considering replacing its traditional costing system with an activity-based costing system that would assign its manufacturing overhead to the following four activity cost pools (the Other cost pool includes organization-sustaining costs and idle capacity costs):

Compute the product margins for the Xtreme and the Pathfinder products under the activity-based costing system.

3. Prepare a quantitative comparison of the traditional and activity-based cost assignments.

Smoky Mountain Corporation makes two types of hiking boots—the Xtreme and the Pathfinder. Data concerning these two product lines appear below:

The company has a traditional costing system in which manufacturing overhead is applied to units based on direct labor-hours. Data concerning manufacturing overhead and direct labor-hours for the upcoming year appear below:

Required:

1. Compute the product margins for the Xtreme and the Pathfinder products under the company’s traditional costing system.

2. The company is considering replacing its traditional costing system with an activity-based costing system that would assign its manufacturing overhead to the following four activity cost pools (the Other cost pool includes organization-sustaining costs and idle capacity costs):

Compute the product margins for the Xtreme and the Pathfinder products under the activity-based costing system.

3. Prepare a quantitative comparison of the traditional and activity-based cost assignments.

Smoky Mountain Corporation makes two types of hiking boots—the Xtreme and the Pathfinder. Data concerning these two product lines appear below:

The company has a traditional costing system in which manufacturing overhead is applied to units based on direct labor-hours. Data concerning manufacturing overhead and direct labor-hours for the upcoming year appear below:

Required:

1. Compute the product margins for the Xtreme and the Pathfinder products under the company’s traditional costing system.

2. The company is considering replacing its traditional costing system with an activity-based costing system that would assign its manufacturing overhead to the following four activity cost pools (the Other cost pool includes organization-sustaining costs and idle capacity costs):

Compute the product margins for the Xtreme and the Pathfinder products under the activity-based costing system.

3. Prepare a quantitative comparison of the traditional and activity-based cost assignments.

Smoky Mountain Corporation makes two types of hiking boots—the Xtreme and the Pathfinder. Data concerning these two product lines appear below: Xtreme Pathfinder Selling price per unit $ 121.00 $ 88.00 Direct materials per unit $ 64.70 $ 54.00 Direct labor per unit $ 10.80 $ 9.00 Direct labor-hours per unit 1.2 DLHs 1.0 DLHs Estimated annual production and sales 25,000 units 71,000 units The company has a traditional costing system in which manufacturing overhead is applied to units based on direct labor-hours. Data concerning manufacturing overhead and direct labor-hours for the upcoming year appear below: Estimated total manufacturing overhead $ 2,020,000 Estimated total direct labor-hours 101,000 DLHs Required: 1. Compute the product margins for the Xtreme and the Pathfinder products under the company’s traditional costing system. 2. The company is considering replacing its traditional costing system with an activity-based costing system that would assign its manufacturing overhead to the following four activity cost pools (the Other cost pool includes organization-sustaining costs and idle capacity costs): Estimated Overhead Cost Expected Activity Activities and Activity Measures Xtreme Pathfinder Total Supporting direct labor (direct labor-hours) $ 606,000 30,000 71,000 101,000 Batch setups (setups) 693,000 360 270 630 Product sustaining (number of products) 700,000 1 1 2 Other 21,000 NA NA NA Total manufacturing overhead cost $ 2,020,000 Compute the product margins for the Xtreme and the Pathfinder products under the activity-based costing system. 3. Prepare a quantitative comparison of the traditional and activity-based cost assignments.

Smoky Mountain Corporation makes two types of hiking boots—the Xtreme and the Pathfinder. Data concerning these two product lines appear below:

The company has a traditional costing system in which manufacturing overhead is applied to units based on direct labor-hours. Data concerning manufacturing overhead and direct labor-hours for the upcoming year appear below:

Required:

1. Compute the product margins for the Xtreme and the Pathfinder products under the company’s traditional costing system.

2. The company is considering replacing its traditional costing system with an activity-based costing system that would assign its manufacturing overhead to the following four activity cost pools (the Other cost pool includes organization-sustaining costs and idle capacity costs):

Compute the product margins for the Xtreme and the Pathfinder products under the activity-based costing system.

3. Prepare a quantitative comparison of the traditional and activity-based cost assignments.

FRED Exercise

Current Account

Since international capital flows is our topic this week, as promised, your first task is to graph the recent evolution of the quarterly U.S. Current Account Balance (National Accounts basis) as a percentage of GDP from 1980 through Q1 2019, the latest available quarter.

For this exercise, you must create the current account/GDP ratio yourselves by first accessing the quarterly, seasonally adjusted annual rate Current Account Balance (National Accounts basis) series, FRED code = NETFI.   (Make sure this is the quarterly series.) Then, while in “Edit Line 1,” type in “GDP” in the dialog box labeled “You can begin by adding a series to combine with your existing series.”   Among the available series options, scroll down to find “Gross Domestic Product Billions of Dollars Quarterly Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate.” (Careful. You do not want to upload “Real Gross Domestic Product …..”   Click on the correct series; then click on “Add.” You should now have two series, “a” and “b.” Finally, simply transform the series by computing the ratio of the Current Account Balance) to GDP, expressing it as a percentage. So if series “a” = current account; series “b,” GDP, then you’d enter “(a/b)* 100” into the series transformation box.

(i)                  Print out this graph and attach it.     (1.0 point)

(ii)                What is the Q1 2019 value of this ratio, rounded to 2 decimal places? (.2 points)

(iii)               For the most part, what happens to the Current Account Balance as a percentage of GDP during recessions? Why do you think that is the case? (.4 points)

(iv)               Is the evolution over the past few years of the U.S. current account balance as a percentage of GDP really that alarming? Why or why not? (.4 points)

A three storey structure having a square footprint of 225 m² is constructed on a clayey deposit. The structure is planned to be supported by square isolated footings having a width of 2m and spaced at 5m center to center. A typical borehole indicates that the soil consists of 2m fill layer at the top (g=17KN/m³) followed by a very stiff clay layer 2m thick (gsat=18.5KN/m³) underlain by a normally consolidated soft clay layer of 4.5m thickness (gsat=17KN/m³) followed by a rock layer extending down to the bottom of borehole. The foundations are laid on top of the stiff clay layer. Water table is located at the top of the stiff clay layer. Undisturbed samples were taken from the middle of each clay layer and consolidation tests done on undisturbed samples indicated the following:

 Stiff Clay: Cc=0.15; Cs = 0.02; P_c = 120 kPa; e₀=0.9

 Soft Normally Consolidated Clay: Cc=0.38; Cs = 0.06; e₀=1.0

a) Draw a sketch representing the various problem components.

b) The isolated foundations are subjected to a stress of 140 kPa. Calculate the consolidation settlement. Consider the very stiff clay as one layer and divide soft clay layer into two equal sub-layers. Calculate settlement under one typical foundation.

c) What would be the maximum additional stress applied on a central foundation from two neighboring foundations (situated at the left and right sides of the central foundation). Is it necessary to consider the additional stresses from neighboring foundations in the settlement calculations?

d) A concern is the differential settlement between isolated adjacent footings. It was decided to change the design to have the structure founded on a raft foundation subjected to a stress of 45 kPa. Compute the consolidation settlement and comment on the results.

Smoky Mountain Corporation makes two types of hiking boots—the Xtreme and the Pathfinder. Data concerning these two product lines appear below:

The company has a traditional costing system in which manufacturing overhead is applied to units based on direct labor-hours. Data concerning manufacturing overhead and direct labor-hours for the upcoming year appear below:

Required:

1. Compute the product margins for the Xtreme and the Pathfinder products under the company’s traditional costing system.

2. The company is considering replacing its traditional costing system with an activity-based costing system that would assign its manufacturing overhead to the following four activity cost pools (the Other cost pool includes organization-sustaining costs and idle capacity costs):

Compute the product margins for the Xtreme and the Pathfinder products under the activity-based costing system.

3. Prepare a quantitative comparison of the traditional and activity-based cost assignments.

Design a concrete mix by using ACI Method of Mix Design having 28-day characteristic mean strength of 28 MPa for a deck of a residential building at Nebraska. Dry weather and gradually warming temperatures may be expected throughout the working week. Fresh concrete composed of a slump of 90 mm and maximum aggregate size of 25 mm. Determine the amount of water reducing admixture to be used for 0.24 % and 0.35 %. Deck is a flat surface capable of supporting weight, similar to a floor, but typically constructed outdoors, often elevated from the ground, and usually connected to a building. Decks that need piers or footings must have them installed below the frost line. This will keep the piers from heaving up out of the ground from the strength of the freeze. Reinforcing steel will help keep the piers from cracking.  The freeze or frost line is the depth to which the soil freezes or has been known to freeze at some point in the past. It is absolutely critical that the foundations of buildings extend below this point in a soil profile. Except for a few arid locations, soils typically contain water and this water expands approximately nine percent in volume when it freezes. The frost line depth is not consistent around the nation because there is such a dramatic difference in climate from state to state. Deck is composed of 2.5 cm reinforcement and there is no need for piers. The material properties are as follows:

For Coarse aggregate: SSD bulk specific gravity: 2.75, absorption capacity = 1.5 %, total moisture: 2.5 %, Dry-rodded unit weight: 1587 kg/m³.

For Fine aggregate: SSD bulk specific gravity: 2.65, absorption capacity = 1.0 %, surface moisture: 3 %, F.M: 2.6.

Cement: Type V, Sp.Gravity: 3.23

Probability constant: 1.22 and standard deviation: 2 MPa

4. Spartan Inc. (a US based MNC) is planning to open a subsidiary in Switzerland to manufacture shoes. The new plant will cost SF 1.0 billion. The salvage value of the plant at the end of the 4 yr economic life is estimated to be SF 200 million net of any tax effects. This plant will also call for extra inventory holding of SF 300 million, and extra accounts payables of SF 200 million. Projected sales from this new plant are SF 800 million per year. The fixed costs are estimated to be SF 300 million per year, and the variable costs are estimated to be SF 100 million per year. Depreciation on the new plant after accounting for the salvage value will be SF 300 million per year. The Swiss government will impose a 40 % tax on the earnings. US govt. will not impose any taxes. 100 % of the cash flows will be remitted to the parent. The exchange rate is expected to be stable at $ 0.80 per SF. Spartan requires 15 % return on its capital investments.

Please compute:

a) Net Investment Cost of the plant

b) Cash flows in years 1 through 4 of the project

c) Net Present Value of the project

d) Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of the project

e) Should the project be accepted or rejected? Why or why not?

f) If the exchange rate scenario unfolds as follows

t = time 0 1 2 3 4

$0.80/SF $0.70/SF $0.70/SF $0.65/SF $0.55/SF

Re-compute the NPV. Is the project still acceptable? Why or why not?

g) If the exchange rate scenario were to unfold as follows,

t=time 0 1 2 3   4

$0.80/SF $0.80/SF $0.90/SF $0.95/SF $1.00/SF

Re-compute the NPV. Is the project still acceptable? Why or why not?