A startup firm in a perfectly competitive market finds that its average total cost is higher than the market price. Since the firm is incurring short-run losses, the management is debating whether to continue operations. Alex Ferguson, a senior manager, feels that this is a temporary phase and the firm should continue operations. Which of the following, if true, would support Alex's argument?
a. The managers of the firm have worked for other firms that produced products with an even greater difference between average total cost and market price.
b. Other firms in the same industry have higher labor costs but lower raw material costs.
c. The current price of the product covers the variable cost of production.
d. Economic activity in recent months has been sluggish.
e. The price of the product is expected to remain stable over the coming months.

Captain john's yachts, inc., located in fort lauderdale, florida, rents three types of ocean-going boats: sailboats, cabin cruisers, and captain john's favorite, the luxury yachts. captain john advertises his boats with his famous "you rent"we pilot" slogan, which means that the company supplies the captain and crew for each rented boat. each rented boat has one captain, of course, but the crew sizes (deck hands, galley hands, etc.) differ. the crew requirements, in addition to a captain, are one for sailboats, two for cabin cruisers, and three for yachts. ten employees are captains, and an additional 18 employees fill the various crew positions. currently, captain john has rental requests for all his boats: four sailboats, eight cabin cruisers, and three luxury yachts. if captain john's daily profit contribution is $50 for sailboats, $70 for cruisers, and $100 for luxury yachts, how many boats of each type should he rent?

What is marketing’s contribution to the new product development team? a. technical expertise needed to translate designs into an actual product/service. b. deep customer insight that leads to product ideas. c. ability to assess financial viability d. feedback on design as well as how customers will actually use the product e. technical expertise needed to translate concepts into product/service designs.

Differentiate between the trait, behavioral, and results-based performance appraisal systems, providing an example where each would be most applicable.