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Suggested Solutions to Week 12 Self‐study Questions
20.3 The definition of the product and the market are vital to setting a price, as a company needs
to strategically position itself to appeal to the right customer group. If the strategy is to
appeal to high‐income consumers, a price noticeably lower than the competitors in that
market will suggest that this product is less desirable for one reason or another (possibly
because of the image of the consumer). On the other hand, a product that has a reputation
of being of lower quality will not sell if equivalent products in that market are lower priced.
Defining the product or market is not as simple as it sounds. A market can be defined too
narrowly or too broadly. For example, a company that produces buttons may define the
product and market as ‘buttons’ and closely watch the activities of other button
manufacturers as they are the relevant competitors. However, if the button manufacturer
believes it is operating in the ‘clothing fasteners’ market, then competitors will also include
manufacturers of zippers, Velcro® fasteners and other clothing fasteners. Selling prices and
marketing strategies will differ depending on which definition of market and product is
selected.
Discussions about this issue can consider the need to understand customer value as,
defining the product and the market are necessary when identifying who the customer is
and what it is about the product that makes it attractive to customers. It is important to
consider customer value when setting prices to ensure that the price is not higher than
customers’ perceptions of the value of the product.
20.10 Under time and material pricing, the price includes a price for labour and a price for
material. The labour price is based on time and is calculated as a cost per hour plus a
charge to cover some overheads and a profit margin. The material price is based on the
material costs incurred on the job plus a charge to cover material‐related overheads. By
separating the time‐based elements of the cost from the material costs it is possible to
use the method in industries where the material charges vary across jobs. This method
assumes that resources other than materials are consumed relatively steadily over time
and can be costed to the output on the basis of time. The need for profit to be earned
steadily over time leads to adopting the approach of marking up the hourly rate to
generate the required profit. It is used in industries such as construction, printing, repairs,
legal and accounting offices.
20.14 The decision to accept or reject a special order and the selection of a price for a special
order are similar decisions. If a price has been offered for a special order, management
can base its decision on whether or not that price covers the incremental cost of
producing the order. Another way of viewing the problem is to set the price for the
special order at a level sufficient to cover the incremental cost of producing the order.
EXERCISE 20.26
Cost‐plus pricing formulas: manufacturer
Cost‐plus pricing formula
EXERCISE 20.28
Pricing; advertising; special order decisions: manufacturer
1 Profit on sales of 60 000 units:
Sales revenue (60 000 $36.00) $2 160 000
Less: Variable costs:
Manufacturing and administrative (60 000 $18.00) 1 080 000
Sales commissions (60 000 $36.00 10%) 216 000 1 296 000
Contribution margin 864 000
Less: Fixed costs ($360 000 + $30 000) 390 000
Profit $ 474 000
2 Required price on special order:
Unit contribution margin target additional profit
=
required on special order unit sales volume in special order
$60 000 = $6.00 per unit
=
10 000
Sales price required = unit variable cost + required unit
contribution margin
= 18.00 + 6.00 = $24.00 per unit
PROBLEM 20.35
Bidding on a special order: manufacturer
1 Bid based on standard pricing policy:
Direct material $ 768 000
Direct labour (11 000 DLH @ $45) 495 000
Manufacturing overhead (11 000 DLH @ $27) 297 000
Full manufacturing costs $ 1 560 000
Markup (50% of total cost) 780 000
Standard pricing policy bid $ 2 340 000
2 Minimum bid acceptable to Ward:
Direct material $ 768 000
Direct labour (11 000 @ $45) 495 000
Variable manufacturing overhead (11 000 @ $16.20*) 178 200
Opportunity cost of lost sales † 105 600
Minimum bid $ 1 546 800
budgeted overhead
Variable overhead rate =
budgeted direct labour hours
* = 2 916 000
(12 × 15 000) DLH
= $16.20 per direct labour hour
† Selling price per unit of standard product $ 36 000
Variable costs per unit
Direct material $ 7 500
Direct labour (250 DLH @ $45) 11 250
Variable overhead (250 DLH @ $16.20) 4 050 22 800
Net contribution per unit $ 13 200
Standard product requirements (12 000 DLH 3) 36 000 DLH
Special order requirements 11 000 DLH
Total hours required 47 000 DLH
Plant capacity per quarter (15 000 DLH 3) 45 000 DLH
Shortage in hours 2 000 DLH
Lost unit sales (2 000 DLH 250 DLH) 8
Lost contribution $ 105 600
PROBLEM 20.36
Pricing of special order: manufacturer
1 The order will boost Harmon’s net profit by $27 900, as the following calculations show.
Sales revenue $82 500.00
Less sales commissions (10%) 8 250.00 $74 250.00
Less variable manufacturing costs:
Direct material $14 600.00
Direct labour 28 000.00
Variable manufacturing overhead* 8 400.00
Total variable manufacturing costs 51 000.00
Net profit (contribution) before tax $23 250.00
Income tax on additional profit (25%) 5 812.50
Net profit (contribution) after tax $17 437.50
* Based on an analysis of the year just ended, variable overhead is 30 per cent of direct labour ($1125
$3750).
For Holistic Pizza’s order: Direct labour cost 0.30 = $28 000 0.30 = $8400.
2 Yes. Although this amount is below the $82 500 full‐cost price, the order is still profitable.
Harmon can afford to pick up some additional business, because the company is operating
at 75 per cent of practical capacity.
Sales revenue $63 500.00
Less sales commissions (10%) 6 350.00 $57 150.00
Less variable manufacturing costs:
Direct material $14 600.00
Direct labour 28 000.00
Variable manufacturing overhead* 8 400.00
Total variable manufacturing costs 51 000.00
Net profit before tax $ 6 150.00
Income tax on additional profit (25%) 1 537.50
Net profit (contribution) after tax $ 4 612.50
Note that the fixed manufacturing overhead and fixed corporate administration costs are not relevant in this
decision, because these amounts will remain the same regardless of whether the order proceeds.
3 The break‐even price is $56 667, computed as follows:
Let P = break‐even bid price
Note: Total variable manufacturing costs = $51 000 (calculated above)
(P – 0.1P) – $51 000 = 0 [deducts commission from price]
0.9P = $51 000
P = $56 667 (rounded)
Income taxes can be ignored, because there is no tax at the break‐even point.
4 Profits will probably decline. Harmon originally used a full‐cost pricing formula to derive an
$82 500 bid price. A drop in the selling price to $63 500 signifies that the firm is now pricing
all its orders at less than full cost, which would decrease profitability.
Reduced prices could lead to an increase in profit if the company were able to generate
additional volume. This situation will not occur here, because the problem states that
Harmon has operated, and will continue to operate, at 75 per cent of practical capacity.
PROBLEM 20.37
Make or buy; use of limited resources: manufacturer
1 The incremental cost of producing one unit of component B18 is calculated as follows:
Direct material $ 7.50
Direct labour 9.00
Variable overhead 4.50
Total variable cost per unit $ 21.00
Purchase price quoted for component B18 $27 00
Incremental cost of production per unit 21.00
Net loss per unit if purchased from the supplier $ 6.00
Net loss per machine hour if component B18 is purchased = $6.00/3 machine hours = $2.00
per machine hour
2 B12 $ B18 $
Purchase price quoted 22.50 27.00
Direct material 4.50 7.50
Direct labour 8.00 9.00
Variable overhead 4.00 4.50
Total variable cost 16.50 21.00
Net benefit per unit of making component 6.00 6.00
Machine hours required per unit 2.5 3
Net benefit per machine hour of making component 2.40 2.00
Machine hours available 41 000
Best use of machine time: produce 8000 units of component
B12
[8000 (2.5 hrs. per unit)] 20 000
Machine hours remaining for production of component B18 21 000
Machine hours required per unit of component B18 3
Feasible production of component B18 (21 000/3) 7 000 units
Required quantity of component B18 11 000 units
Feasible production of component B18 7 000 units
Quantity of component B18 to be purchased from the supplier 4 000 units
Conclusion: purchase 4 000 units of component B18 and manufacture the remaining
bearings. The answer to requirement 2 is d.
3 Variable cost per unit of component B18 $21.00
Traceable, avoidable, fixed cost per unit of component B18 ($88 000/11 000 units) 8.00
Maximum price Brighton Industries should pay for component B18 $29.00
PROBLEM 20.38
Limited capacity; production planning: manufacturer
1 Machine hour requirements:
Department
Product 1 2 3 4
Direct labour hour requirements:
Department
Product 1 2 3 4
The monthly sales demand cannot be met for all three products as a result of the labour
shortage in Department 3.
2 The goal is to maximise contribution margin. Fixed costs are not relevant. The scarce
resource is direct labour hours (DLH) in Department 3.
EFM should first produce the product that maximizes contribution margin per unit of the
scarce resource (DLH). In this case two products, M07 and B19, require direct labour hours
in Department 3.
Product
Contribution
Contribution Department 3 margin
Product margin DLH per DLH
Department 3
DLH
Units required Balance (DLH)
Maximum DLH available
in Department 3 2750
Product B19 first 1000 2000 750
Product M07 second 250 750 ‐0‐
Resulting production schedule
Schedule of contribution margin by product
3 To supply the additional quantities of M07 that are required, EFM should consider:
subcontracting the additional units
operating on an overtime basis
acquiring labour from outside the community.