Jay White works for Nelson Design Paperworks Limited, as a marketing manager for a division that produces a variety of paper products.  He is considering the divisional manager’s request for a sales forecast for a new line of paper napkins. The divisional  manager  has  been  gathering  data  so  that  he  can  choose  between  two  different  production processes. The first process would have a variable cost of $10 per case produced and total fixed cost of $100,000. The second process would have a variable cost of $6 per case and total fixed cost of $200,000. The selling price would be $30 per case. Ron had just completed a marketing analysis that projects annual sales of 30,000 cases. Jay is reluctant to report the 30,000 forecasts to the divisional manager. He knows that  the first process would be labor intensive, whereas the second would be largely automated with  little  labor  and  no  requirement  for  an  additional  production  supervisor.  If  the  first  process  is chosen,  Ken,  a  good  friend,  will  be  appointed  as  the  line  supervisor.  If  the  second process is chosen, Ken and an entire line of laborers will be laid off. After some consideration, Jay revises the projected sales downward to 22,000 cases. He believes that the revision downward is justified. Since it will lead the divisional manager  to choose the manual system, it shows a sensitivity to the needs of current employees—a sensitivity that he is afraid his divisional manager does not possess. He is too focused on quantitative factors in his decision making and usually ignores the qualitative aspects.   Identify the range of sales for which the manual process and the automated process is more profitable. Why does the divisional manager want the sales forecast?

FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING
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ISBN:9781259964947
Author:Libby
Publisher:Libby
Chapter1: Financial Statements And Business Decisions
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Jay White works for Nelson Design Paperworks Limited, as a marketing manager for a division that produces a variety of paper products.  He is considering the divisional manager’s request for a sales forecast for a new line of paper napkins. The divisional  manager  has  been  gathering  data  so  that  he  can  choose  between  two  different  production processes. The first process would have a variable cost of $10 per case produced and total fixed cost of $100,000. The second process would have a variable cost of $6 per case and total fixed cost of $200,000. The selling price would be $30 per case. Ron had just completed a marketing analysis that projects annual sales of 30,000 cases.

Jay is reluctant to report the 30,000 forecasts to the divisional manager. He knows that  the first process would be labor intensive, whereas the second would be largely automated with  little  labor  and  no  requirement  for  an  additional  production 

supervisor.  If  the  first  process  is chosen,  Ken,  a  good  friend,  will  be  appointed  as  the  line  supervisor.  If  the  second process is chosen, Ken and an entire line of laborers will be laid off.

After some consideration, Jay revises the projected sales downward to 22,000 cases.

He believes that the revision downward is justified. Since it will lead the divisional manager  to choose the manual system, it shows a sensitivity to the needs of current employees—a sensitivity that he is afraid his divisional manager does not possess. He is too focused on quantitative factors in his decision making and usually ignores the qualitative aspects.

 

Identify the range of sales for which the manual process and the automated process is more profitable. Why does the divisional manager want the sales forecast?

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