Situation 1:In bygone days, company officials often made a concerted effort to keep fixed costs as low as possible.In today's world, where there is an emphasis on robotics and computerization to increase productivity and decrease the number of employees needed, fixed costs have increased at an exponential rate.What danger or dangers does higher overhead pose to these companies?How is this related to financial leverage?

Situation 2:What is the key element in determining whether to accept or reject a special order?

Situation 3:What has this situation taught you about contribution margins and their relative importance in determining the hierarchy in producing products?

Situation 4:Do workers, management, and company owners all have ethical responsibilities?What are the ethical responsibilities of each?How much loyalty do each of these three groups owe to each other and how should that loyalty be shown?