Cake lady bakery is famous for its pound cakes. the main ingredient of the cakes is flour, which cake lady purchases by the pound. in addition, the production requires a certain amount of direct labor. cake lady uses a standard cost system, and at the end of the first quarter, there was an unfavorable direct labor cost variance. which of the following is a logical explanation for that variance? a. the cost of workers' medical insurance plans jumped up dramatically during the quarter. b. the production staff changed the work flow process so that production required fewer direct labor hours. c. the purchasing manager was able to secure a volume discount on flour, purchasing the flour for less than the amount set by standard. d. the factory lost two experienced workers at the beginning of the quarter, and their replacements wasted a large amount of direct materials during their training period.

He cheyenne hotel in big sky, montana, has accumulated records of the total electrical costs of the hotel and the number of occupancy-days over the last year. an occupancy-day represents a room rented out for one day. the hotel's business is highly seasonal, with peaks occurring during the ski season and in the summer. month occupancy- days electrical costs january 1,736 $ 4,127 february 1,904 $ 4,207 march 2,356 $ 5,083 april 960 $ 2,857 may 360 $ 1,871 june 744 $ 2,696 july 2,108 $ 4,670 august 2,406 $ 5,148 september 840 $ 2,691 october 124 $ 1,588 november 720 $ 2,454 december 1,364 $ 3,529 required: 1. using the high-low method, estimate the fixed cost of electricity per month and the variable cost of electricity per occupancy-day. (do not round your intermediate calculations. round your variable cost answer to 2 decimal places and fixed cost element answer to nearest whole dollar amount) 2. what other factors other than occupancy-days are likely to affect the variation in electrical costs from month to month? (you may select more than one answer. single click the box with the question mark to produce a check mark for a correct answer and double click the box with the question mark to empty the box for a wrong answer.) seasonal factors like winter or summer. systematic factors like guests, switching off fans and lights. number of days present in a month. fixed salary paid to hotel receptionist. income taxes paid on hotel income.