Critical Thinking Questions 1. Which do you think creates more of a challenge for marketers, multiculturalism or

multigenerationalism? Explain.

2. Why do you think brand advocates willingly promote companies via social media? Explain.

3. Do you agree that our society is more of a melting pot where our cultures influence and

change one another or are we more of a tossed salad where different cultures coexist but

remain independent from one another? How does this affect the job of a marketer or

advertiser? Explain

4. Do you think business practices will become standardized across cultures as the global

marketplace continues to flourish? Why or why not?

5. Describe a generation gap that affects you personally.

while setting up his new office, an attorney ordered thick, frieze carpets for the floor. however, the building inspector had him remove the expensive carpeting. the building inspector stated that according to federal regulations, the office must be wheelchair accessible as it is a public area. he further explained that since wheelchairs do not maneuver well in thick, frieze carpeting, the carpets had to be removed and be replaced with smooth-textured carpets that do not restrict wheelchair maneuverability. this scenario illustrates how a company is influenced by the component of its specific environment.

“wonderful! not only did our salespeople do a good job in meeting the sales budget this year, but our production people did a good job in controlling costs as well,” said kim clark, president of martell company. “our $11,150 overall manufacturing cost variance is only 3% of the $1,536,000 standard cost of products made during the year. that’s well within the 3% parameter set by management for acceptable variances. it looks like everyone will be in line for a bonus this year.” the company produces and sells a single product. the standard cost card for the product follows: standard cost card—per unit direct materials, 4.00 feet at $4.00 per foot $ 16.00 direct labor, 1.1 direct labor-hours at $13 per direct labor-hour 14.30 variable overhead, 1.1 direct labor-hours at $2.40 per direct labor-hour 2.64 fixed overhead, 1.1 direct labor-hours at $6.50 per direct labor-hour 7.15 standard cost per unit $ 40.09the following additional information is available for the year just completed: a. the company manufactured 20,000 units of product during the year.b. a total of 77,000 feet of material was purchased during the year at a cost of $4.25 per foot. all of this material was used to manufacture the 20,000 units. there were no beginning or ending inventories for the year.c. the company worked 24,000 direct labor-hours during the year at a direct labor cost of $12.50 per hour.d. overhead is applied to products on the basis of standard direct labor-hours. data relating to manufacturing overhead costs follow: denominator activity level (direct labor-hours) 19,000 budgeted fixed overhead costs $ 123,500 actual variable overhead costs incurred $ 64,800 actual fixed overhead costs incurred $ 120,900required: 1. compute the materials price and quantity variances for the year. (round standard price and actual price to 2 decimal places. indicate the effect of each variance by selecting "f" for favorable, "u" for unfavorable, and "none" for no effect (i.e., zero 2. compute the labor rate and efficiency variances for the year. (round standard rate and actual rate to 2 decimal places. indicate the effect of each variance by selecting "f" for favorable, "u" for unfavorable, and "none" for no effect (i.e., zero 3. for manufacturing overhead compute: a. the variable overhead rate and efficiency variances for the year. (round standard rate and actual rate to 2 decimal places. indicate the effect of each variance by selecting "f" for favorable, "u" for unfavorable, and "none" for no effect (i.e., zero b. the fixed overhead budget and volume variances for the year. (indicate the effect of each variance by selecting "f" for favorable, "u" for unfavorable, and "none" for no effect (i.e., zero

In a macroeconomic context, what are implicit liabilities? money owed to people possessing government issued bonds. the amount of money that firms collectively owe to shareholders. money that the government has promised to pay in the future. payments that the federal government undertakes only during periods of recession. which of the choices is a significant implicit liability in the united states? military spending education spending national science foundation spending social security