Nobility Homes, Inc., is a small maker of manufactured homes sold

throughout the state of Florida. The following are selected financial data

for the company for the period $2012-2016.$

Source: Data from Nobility Homes $2012-2016$ annual reports

a$.$ Calculate Nobility Homes' annual sustainable growth rate for the years

$2012$ through $2016.$

b$.$ Comparing the company's sustainable growth rate with its actual growth

rate in sales, what growth management challenge did Nobility Homes

face over this period?

c$.$ How did the company cope with this challenge?