7) Imagine that you are the very young president of Denning Potteries, Inc., having succeeded your father, who retired unexpectedly due to illness. Your feeling of insecurity (relating to youth, inexperience, and whispers of nepotism) has just been greatly increased by your election to the presidency of the Association of Pottery Manufacturers at their annual meeting. One probable determinant in the election was your statement during the campaigning that you wished to bring order to the chaotic problems that have plagued the industry. Each member characteristically makes a broad line of products ranging from fine china to decorative pieces to earthenware for the gardening industry. The allocation of fixed costs, the determination of overhead, and the isolation of variable expenses have always been problems. Consequently, prices have seldom been perceived as closely related to real costs but have fluctuated with competitive forces in a marketplace with literally hundreds of competitors. After a hastily called meeting with your executive committee, a plan evolves. You will propose that a survey be drafted that will be distributed to all member of the association. The survey will ask for specified information from each respondent on the pricing methods employed with their respective organizations. The results will then be used by a specifically formed accounting committee to devise a standardized method of computing costs, markups, and prices for the industry. When completed, it will be provided to the members, which are all in the same industry, for their own use, if they see fit, on a