Vernon Boot Company sells men's, women's, and children's boots. For each type of boot sold, it operates a separate department that

has its own manager. The manager of the men's department has a sales staff of nine employees, the manager of the women's

department has six employees, and the manager of the children's department has three employees. All departments are housed in a

single store. In recent years, the children's department has operated at a net loss and is expected to continue to do so$.$ Last year's

income statements follow.

Required

a$.$ Calculate the children's department's contribution to profit. Determine whether to eliminate the children's department.

b$.$ Confirm the conclusion you reached in Requirement $a$ by preparing income statements for the company as a whole with and without

the children's department.

c$.$ Eliminating the children's department would increase space available to display men's and women's boots. Suppose management

estimates that a wider selection of adult boots would increase the store's net earnings by $$49,000.$ Would this information affect the

decision that you made in Requirement $a?$