Some researchers have argued that alliances can be used to help firms evaluate the economic potential of entering into a new industry or market. a. Under what conditions will a firm seeking to evaluate these opportunities, need to invest in an alliance to accomplish this evaluation? b. Why couldn’t such a firm simply hire some smart managers, consultants, and industry experts to evaluate the economic potential of entering into a new industry?

You are the manager of the packaging department in a cookie factory. (obviously, the packaging employees cannot eat the cookies that are transferred in during the period.) after your employees insert cookies into colorful packages (step 1) for display on store shelves, the packages of cookies are then boxed using cardboard cartons (step 2) for shipment to stores. each unit of product is represented by a carton of packaged cookies. the packaging department began the period with 1,000 units of cookies. during the period, 5,000 units of cookies were transferred in from the baking department and 5,500 units of cookies were transferred out to the finished goods department. the number of units of cookies in the ending inventory of the packaging department equals:

Yael decides that she no longer enjoys her job, and she quits to open a gluten-free, dairy-free kosher bakery. she pays a monthly rent for her store of $2,000. her labor costs for one month are $4,500, and she spends $6,000 a month on nut flours, sugar, and other supplies. yael was earning $2,500 a month working as a bank teller. these are her only costs. her monthly revenue is $14,000. which of the following statements about yael’s costs and profit are correct? correct answer(s) an accountant would say she is earning a monthly profit of $1,500. her implicit costs are $2,500 a month. an economist would tell her that she is experiencing a loss. her total costs are $12,500 a month. her explicit costs include the labor, rent, and supplies for her store. her economic profit is $1,500 a month.

T-comm makes a variety of products. it is organized in two divisions, north and south. the managers for each division are paid, in part, based on the financial performance of their divisions. the south division normally sells to outside customers but, on occasion, also sells to the north division. when it does, corporate policy states that the price must be cost plus 20 percent to ensure a "fair" return to the selling division. south received an order from north for 300 units. south's planned output for the year had been 1,200 units before north's order. south's capacity is 1,500 units per year. the costs for producing those 1,200 units follow