Phoenix Guitars is interested in pursuing backward integration to take greater ownership of the extraction of raw materials and production of components used in its signature line of guitars. Although this approach would lower the overall cost of producing a guitar, the costs associated with producing electronic pickups for sound amplification are far greater than those associated with sourcing pickups from a reliable supplier. Which of the following approaches is likely to produce superior results?
a. Abandon the idea of vertical integration entirely.
b. Introduce a budget line of guitars to diversify the firm's offerings.
c. Invest in vertical integration despite the cost of producing pickups.
d. Pursue taper integration.

crow design, inc. is a web site design and consulting firm. the firm uses a job order costing system in which each client is a different job. crow design assigns direct labor, licensing costs, and travel costs directly to each job. it allocates indirect costs to jobs based on a predetermined overhead allocation rate, computed as a percentage of direct labor costs. direct labor hours (professional) 6,250 hours direct labor costs ($1,800,000 support staff salaries ,000 computer ,000 office ,000 office ,000 in november 2012, crow design served several clients. records for two clients appear here: delicious treats mesilla chocolates direct labor 700 hours 100 hours software licensing $ 4,000 $400 travel costs 8,000 1. compute crow design’s direct labor rate and its predetermined indirect cost allocation rate for 2012. 2. compute the total cost of each job. 3. if simone wants to earn profits equal to 50% of service revenue, how much (what fee) should she charge each of these two clients? 4. why does crow design assign costs to jobs?