Red Zone Inc has three service departments and two operating departments. The Company's operating budget information for next year is as follows:

The Company allocates the Administration cost based on the number of employees; the Janitorial cost is assigned using space occupied, while the Maintenance cost is allocated based on maintenance hours. Required: a) Calculate the overhead rate per direct labour hour for the Machining Department and the Assembly Department, according to: i. Direct method. (15 marks) ii. Sequential/step method. (15 marks) b) Describe the differences between the direct, sequential, and reciprocal methods of allocating support departments to production departments