Patel Manufacturing sold 300,000 units of its product for $50 per unit. Variable cost per unit is $35, and total fixed costs are $1,800,000.

Required

1. Calculate (a) total contribution margin and (b) operating income.

2. Patel's current manufacturing process is labour intensive. Kate Schoen en, Patel's production manager, has proposed investing in state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment, which will increase the annual fixed costs to $3,400,000. The variable costs are expected to decrease to $23 per unit. Patel expects to maintain the same sales volume and selling price next year. How would acceptance of Schoenen's proposal affect your answers to (a) and (b) in requirement 1?

3. Should Patel accept Schoenen's proposal? Explain.