can anyone help with the following questions from case 20: Fort Greenwold Capital Budgetibg. Questions: 1- a & b. 2 - a. 3 - a & b and 5. Thank you

CASE 20 FORT GREENWOLD CAPITAL BUDGETING The public image of business in the latter part of the nineteenth century was hardly flattering The adventures of so-called "Robber Barons" constantly made the headlines and their exploits matched those of their contemporaries in the Wild West. For example, J.P. Morgan hired an army of toughs to literally battle for a section of railroad near Binghamton, New York. And business leaders often expressed their contempt for the public interest, exemplified by such infamous comments as W. H. Vanderbilt's "the public be damned" and J. P. Morgan's "I owe the public nothing." Recent research suggests that these individuals were probably not the villains they were portrayed to be, though it is undeniable that they wielded enormous power. It was precisely during the era of these powerful business leaders that Harold Cole founded Fort Greenwold (FG), a firm that is currently one of the largest producers of paper and pulp with annual sales of $3.5 billion. Cole located his first plant in a rural town in New England, partly to create jobs for the many unemployed workers in the area. "Having a heart does not mean you can't make a buck," Harold was fond of saying. The firm has always been active in the affairs of the community and donates generously to local civic and char- itable organizations. It also takes special pride in promoting a family atmos- phere among its employees. Personnel experts believe that these policies are largely responsible for the enviable productivity record of FG's workers. For its first 80 years FG had an impressive record of growth in earnings and sales. But as the company grew, the willingness of top-level management to decentralize and delegate authority did not. The company stagnated until the appointment of Andy Kurzer as chairman eight years ago in 1988. Kurzer was shocked at the "nickel-and-dime stuff" that reached corporate headquarters, and he moved quickly to decentralize authority. One major change involved the company's capital budgeting procedures. FG actually had no formal mechanism for capital projects. Kurzer changed this and set up a six-person expenditures committee (EC) that would decide projects costing more than $200,000. Smaller expenditures would be decided at the regional and local levels. CASE 20 FORT GREENWOLD CAPITAL BUDGETING The public image of business in the latter part of the nineteenth century was hardly flattering The adventures of so-called "Robber Barons" constantly made the headlines and their exploits matched those of their contemporaries in the Wild West. For example, J.P. Morgan hired an army of toughs to literally battle for a section of railroad near Binghamton, New York. And business leaders often expressed their contempt for the public interest, exemplified by such infamous comments as W. H. Vanderbilt's "the public be damned" and J. P. Morgan's "I owe the public nothing." Recent research suggests that these individuals were probably not the villains they were portrayed to be, though it is undeniable that they wielded enormous power. It was precisely during the era of these powerful business leaders that Harold Cole founded Fort Greenwold (FG), a firm that is currently one of the largest producers of paper and pulp with annual sales of $3.5 billion. Cole located his first plant in a rural town in New England, partly to create jobs for the many unemployed workers in the area. "Having a heart does not mean you can't make a buck," Harold was fond of saying. The firm has always been active in the affairs of the community and donates generously to local civic and char- itable organizations. It also takes special pride in promoting a family atmos- phere among its employees. Personnel experts believe that these policies are largely responsible for the enviable productivity record of FG's workers. For its first 80 years FG had an impressive record of growth in earnings and sales. But as the company grew, the willingness of top-level management to decentralize and delegate authority did not. The company stagnated until the appointment of Andy Kurzer as chairman eight years ago in 1988. Kurzer was shocked at the "nickel-and-dime stuff" that reached corporate headquarters, and he moved quickly to decentralize authority. One major change involved the company's capital budgeting procedures. FG actually had no formal mechanism for capital projects. Kurzer changed this and set up a six-person expenditures committee (EC) that would decide projects costing more than $200,000. Smaller expenditures would be decided at the regional and local levels