1.The installation of production improvement option D which boosts worker productivity by 50% by using robots to assist in producing footwear

a. is a more economically attractive means for reducing labor costs per pair produced at a production facility in North America than for a production facility in the Asia-Pacific.

b. is a more economically attractive means for reducing labor costs per pair produced at a production facility in the Asia-Pacific than for a recently opened production facility in Europe-Africa.

c. is a more economically attractive means for reducing labor costs per pair produced at a production facility in Latin America than for a production facility in the Asia-Pacific.

d. makes the most economic sense for production facilities in any region when a company is desirous of supplying chain retailers with 750,000 pairs or more of private-label footwear annually (because of the competitive importance of having low labor costs per pair of private-label footwear).

e. makes more economic sense for a newly established production facility in Latin America than for a production facility in North America.

2. The production benchmarks data on p. 6 of each issue of the Footwear Industry Report

a. are more useful to the managers of companies striving to compete successfully by selling below-average quality footwear at below-average prices.

b. provide solid evidence of whether a company's total production costs of branded footwear are low enough to enable the company to be attractively profitable.

c. provide solid evidence of whether a company is managing its total compensation, workforce productivity, production labor costs, total production costs and reject rates as cost-efficiently as rival companies.

d. are most useful to the managers of companies that are pursuing a strategy to produce and market top quality branded footwear sold at well above-average prices.

e. are less useful than the branded operating benchmarks shown on p. 7 of the Footwear Industry Report.

3. Which of the following actions is not one of the optional initiatives that a company can include in its social responsibility strategy to boost its image rating over the long term?

a. Developing a code of ethics and spending money annually for ethics training and enforcement of the company's ethical standards

b. Sponsoring special advertising campaigns in the communities where production facilities are located to inform and periodically remind the general public about the company's good deeds in being a good corporate citizen and the socially responsible activities it has undertaken

c. Using recycled packaging materials to box each pair of athletic footwear at the company's distribution centers

d. Investing to improve energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources at company facilities

e.Investing in and operating a cafeteria and on-site childcare facilities at each of the company's production facilities