You must evaluate the purchase of a proposed spectrometer for the R&D department. The base price is $260,000, and it would cost another $65,000 to modify the equipment for special use by the firm. The equipment falls into the MACRS 3-year class and would be sold after 3 years for $78,000. The applicable depreciation rates are 33%, 45%, 15%, and 7%. The equipment would require a $14,000 increase in net operating working capital (spare parts inventory). The project would have no effect on revenues, but it should save the firm $52,000 per year in before-tax labor costs. The firm's marginal federal-plus-state tax rate is 40%. What is the initial investment outlay for the spectrometer, that is, what is the Year 0 project cash flow? Round your answer to the nearest cent. Negative amount should be indicated by a minus sign.

Jameson manages a well-known cell phone company. this company has been voted as having the best cell-phone service. consumers appreciate the fact that they can call from almost anywhere in the world and the service still gets through. jameson knows that the company's product far surpasses that of the competition. one thing has been bothering him, though. in order to put so many resources into ensuring the best service, jameson has cut back on employees at the firm's customer call center. recently, consumers have begun complaining about long wait times when they call in with a problem or concern. although its cell phone service is still considered one of the best, customer satisfaction with the firm's customer service has plummeted. jameson does not understand why consumers are getting so upset. he believes the exceptional cell phone service more than makes up for long waiting periods and other issues with its customer service. "after all," he says, "they can't have it all. if i invest more in customer service, that means less investment on ensuring the quality of our product offering."refer to scenario. jameson has asked you, a marketing consultant, to give him advice. he cannot understand how a cell-phone company with the best product offering in the cell-phone service industry could get such low satisfaction ratings simply because the customer service is not up to par. you suggest that jameson has a narrowly defined view of the company's product offering. you tell jameson that successful marketers should define their products as what they

Greater concern for innovation and quality has shifted the job trend to using more broadly defined jobs. t/f

Match the steps for conducting an informational interview with the tasks in each step.