Which of the following represents the first step in the decision making process?

Jade international is a highly diversified global firm with headquarters in new jersey. it manufactures a variety of products ranging from home security systems to automotive components. jade's 100,000 employees work at facilities located in more than 60 countries around the world. jade frequently sends american managers overseas to manage the firm's foreign facilities. the hr department is considering the idea of redesigning jade's expatriate support services program.which of the following, if true, best supports jade's decision to provide assistance to trailing spouses in finding jobs overseas? a) jade puts great emphasis on promoting the role of women in global management.b) the majority of jade's expatriate managers have long-term international experience.c) jade has lost a significant chunk of its global cadre in the recent past owing to its failure to offer feasible options to address the dual-career couples dilemma.d) female managers at jade have reported discriminatory treatment while on overseas assignments.

Suppose that: 1. malaysia requires 1 hour of labor to produce 1 pound of rice and 2 hours of labor to produce 1 pencil; 2. indonesia requires 2 hours of labor to produce 1 pound of rice and 4 hours of labor to produce 1 pencil; 3. each country has 10,000 hours of labor to allocate between the production of rice and pencils; and 4. in autarky, malaysia consumes 5,000 pounds of rice and 2,500 pencils. which country has an absolute advantage in rice production? in pencil production? which country has a comparative advantage in rice production? in pencil production? will trade between the two countries be mutually beneficial?

Performance bicycle company makes steel and titanium handle bars for bicycles. it requires approximately 1 hour of labor to make one handle bar of either type. during the most recent accounting period, barr company made 7,700 steel bars and 2,300 titanium bars. setup costs amounted to $35,000. one batch of each type of bar was run each month. if a single company-wide overhead rate based on direct labor hours is used to allocate overhead costs to the two products, the amount of setup cost assigned to the steel bars will be: