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Chapter 25: 6RQ (page 1406)

What is differential analysis?

Short Answer

Expert verified

Differential analysis refers to an approach used by business entities to makeshort-term decisions.

Step by step solution

01

Meaning of Short-term Decisions

Short-term decisions refer to the decisions made by the business entities associated with the optimum use of the available resources in the short term. For instance, to maximize profits, a business requires to analyze its costs, and such an analysis falls under short-term decisions.

02

The meaning of differential analysis

Differential analysis is an approach in which business concerns analyze the different alternatives available and select the most appropriate one among them.

This analysis enables the business entities to reject or leave the irrelevant information and facilitates them to make short-term decisions. Such an analysis takes the difference between the available alternatives and the existing scenario of the business.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

NaturalMaid processes organic milk into plain yogurt. NaturalMaid sells plain yogurt to hospitals, nursing homes, and restaurants in bulk, one-gallon containers. Each batch, processed at a cost of \(840, yields 300 gallons of plain yogurt. NaturalMaid sells the one-gallon tubs for \)5 each and spends \(0.14 for each plastic tub. NaturalMaid has recently begun to reconsider its strategy. NaturalMaid wonders if it would be more profitable to sell individual-size portions of fruited organic yogurt at local food stores. NaturalMaid could further process each batch of plain yogurt into 6,400 individual portions (3/4 cup each) of fruited yogurt. A recent market analysis indicates that demand for the product exists. NaturalMaid would sell each individual portion for \)0.58. Packaging would cost \(0.10 per portion, and fruit would cost \)0.11 per portion. Fixed costs would not change.

Should NaturalMaid continue to sell only the gallon-size plain yogurt (sell as is) or convert the plain yogurt into individual-size portions of fruited yogurt (process further)? Why?

Tread Light produces two types of exercise treadmills: regular and deluxe. The exercise craze is such that Tread Light could use all its available machine hours to produce either model. The two models are processed through the same production departments. Data for both models are as follows:

Per Unit

Deluxe Regular

Sales price \(1,030 \)610

Costs:

Direct materials 320 130

Direct labor 88 180

Variable manufacturing overhead 270 90

Fixed manufacturing overhead* 102 34

Variable operating expenses 121 63

Total costs 901 497

Operating income \(129 \)113

*allocated on the basis of machine hours

Requirements

1. What is the constraint?

2. Which model should Tread Light produce? (Hint: Use the allocation of fixed manufacturing overhead to determine the proportion of machine hours used by each product.)

3. If Tread Light should produce both models, compute the mix that will maximize operating income.

What are the two keys in short-term decision making?

You are trying to decide whether to trade in your inkjet printer for a more recent model. Your usage pattern will remain unchanged, but the old and new printers use different ink cartridges.

Indicate if the following items are relevant or irrelevant to your decision:

a. The price of the new printer

b. The price paid for the old printer

c. The trade-in value of the old printer

d. Paper cost

e. The difference between ink cartridges’ costs

Suppose the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, has approached Collector-Cardz with a special order. The Hall of Fame wishes to purchase 56,000 baseball card packs for a special promotional campaign and offers \(0.38 per pack, a total of \)21,280. Collector-Cardz’s total production cost is \(0.58 per pack, as follows:

Variable costs:

Direct materials \)0.11

Direct labor 0.09

Variable overhead 0.08

Fixed overhead 0.30

Total cost \(0.58

Collector-Cardz has enough excess capacity to handle the special order.

Requirements

1. Prepare a differential analysis to determine whether Collector-Cardz should accept the special sales order.

2. Now assume that the Hall of Fame wants special hologram baseball cards. Collector-Cardz will spend \)5,700 to develop this hologram, which will be useless after the special order is completed. Should Collector-Cardz accept the special order under these circumstances, assuming no change in the special pricing of $0.38 per pack?
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