Madison Company uses the following rule to determine whether direct labor efficiency variances ought to be investigated. A direct labor efficiency variance will be investigated anytime the amount exceeds the lesser of $12,000 or 10 percent of the standard labor cost. Reports for the past five weeks provided the following information:

Required:
1. Using the rule provided, identify the cases that will be investigated.
2. Suppose that investigation reveals that the cause of an unfavorable direct labor efficiency variance is the use of lower quality direct materials than are usually used. Who is responsible? What corrective action would likely be taken?
3. Suppose that investigation reveals that the cause of a significant favorable direct labor efficiency variance is attributable to a new approach to manufacturing that takes less labor time but causes more direct materials waste. Upon examining the direct materials usage variance, it is discovered to be unfavorable, and it is larger than the favorable direct labor efficiency variance. Who is responsible? What action should be taken? How would your answer change if the unfavorable variance were smaller than the favorable?

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Week LEV S14,000 F 15,600 U 12,000 F 10,000 U 11,500 U Standard Labor Cost $160,000 175,000 160,000 170,000 110,000 4