Bunnell Company (Bunnell) uses a product differentiation strategy to compete in its industry. Developing innovative products is a key to this strategy, although management has been concerned for some time that this does not seem to be occurring. Until recently, it had used a traditional budget and planning process, whereby actual results from the previous year were adjusted to become the targets for the next year. This was recently reviewed and Bunnell's new budgeting and planning process is reected in Exhibit 1. Exhibit 1: Budget and Planning Process Stage 1 Review past performance Stage 2 Confirm strategy and strategic priorities Stage 4 Stage 3 Construct budget Profit planning phase Which of the following is least likely to be a valid action investigated as part of Stage 3 of Bunnell's planning and budgeting system: 0 An investigation of the nancial impact of deleting a small product category C) An investigation of the nancial impact of raising prices and driving up marketing campaigns An investigation of the nancial impact of a take over offer for a competitor C) An investigation of the nancial impact of negotiating new arrangements with supplychain partners