Alternative Allocation Bases: Refer to your calculations for exercise 4-15. Your supervisor wants to know how much it costs to make a pair of standard boots and a pair of deluxe boots, including the cost of materials, labor and manufacturing overhead.

a. Give your supervisor five different answers, for each type of boot, to the question: "How much does it cost to make?"

b. Explain to your supervisor why there are five different cost numbers for each product. Also indicate whether total manufacturing costs are the same for Wayne's Western Co. regardless of the overhead allocation base used.