Kitchenthings inc. is a company that manufactures plastic kitchenware. it operates at an output level that allows it to keep its unit cost per output to the lowest in the industry. this in turn allows kitchenthings to be the price leader. other competing companies cannot operate at the same level due to a lack of consumer demand for their products. this puts them at a competitive disadvantage. in this scenario, the cost driver behind kitchenthings's strategic position is superior customer service. availability of complements. learning-curve effects. economies of scale.

If a team of three workers, each making the u. s. federal minimum wage, produced these 12 rugs, what would the total labor cost be? don't forget that these workers would be working overtime.

Simon, aged 10, is invited to a classmate's birthday party at an exclusive ski resort on march 15th. the day will include 4 hours of snowboarding, lunch and birthday cake. simon's mother checks a box on the invitation that says "yes, we will attend" and returns it to the classmate's address. unfortunately, they later don't attend the party when simon comes down with the flu. on march 17th, simon's mother receives an invoice in the mail from simon's classmate for $35 that says, "party no-show fee." can simon's classmate collect the fee?

Costco wholesale corporation operates membership warehouses selling food, appliances, consumer electronics, apparel and other household goods at 471 locations across the u. s. as well as in canada, mexico and puerto rico. as of its fiscal year-end 2005, costco had approximately 21.2 million members. selected fiscal-year information from the company's balance sheets follows. ($ millions). selected balance sheet data 2005 2004 merchandise inventories $4,015 $3,644 deferred membership income (liability) 501 454 (a) during fiscal 2005, costco collected $1,120 cash for membership fees. use the financial statement effectstemplate to record the cash collected for membership fees. (b) in 2005, costco recorded $46,347 million in merchandise costs (that is, cost of goods sold). record thistransaction in the financial statement effects template. (c) determine the value of merchandise that costco purchased during fiscal-year 2005. use the financial statementeffects template to record these merchandise purchases. assume all of costco's purchases are on credit.