17 -1

CHAPTER
Tactical
Decision
Making
 17 -2

Objectives
1. Describe theAfter
tactical decision-making
studying this model.
2. Explain howchapter,
the activity resource usage
you should
model is used inbeassessing
able to:relevancy.
3. Apply tactical decision-making concepts in a
variety of business situations.
4. Choose the optimal product mix when faced
with one constrained resource.
5. Explain the impact of cost of pricing
decisions.
 17 -3

Objectives
6. Use linear programming to find the optimal
solution to a problem of multiple constrained
resources. (Appendix)
 17 -4

Model for Making Tactical Decisions

Step 1. Recognize and define the problem.
Increase capacity for warehousing and production.
Step 2. Identify alternatives as possible solutions to
the problem; eliminate alternatives that are
clearly not feasible.
1. Build new facility
2. Lease larger facility; sublease current facility
3. Lease additional facility
4. Lease warehouse space
5. Buy shafts and brushings; free up needed space

Continued
 17 -5

Model for Making Tactical Decisions

Step 3. Identify the costs and benefits associated with
each feasible alternative. Classify costs and
benefits as relevant or irrelevant, and eliminate
irrelevant ones from consideration.
Lease warehouse space:
Variable production costs $345,000
Warehouse lease 135,000
Buy shafts and bushings externally:
Purchase price $460,000

Continued
 17 -6

Model for Making Tactical Decisions

Step 4. Total the relevant costs and benefits for each
alternative.
Lease warehouse space:
Variable production costs $345,000
Warehouse lease 135,000
Total $480,000
Buy shafts and bushings externally:
Purchase price $460,000
Differential cost $ 20,000

Continued
 17 -7

Model for Making Tactical Decisions

Step 5. Assess qualitative factors. Quality of shafts
1. Quality of external suppliers and brushing is
2. Reliability of external suppliers significantly
Not reliablelower
3. Price stability
4. Labor relations and community image
Step 6. Make the decision.
Continue to produce shafts and bushings internally;
lease warehouse
 17 -8

Relevant Costs Defined

Relevant costs are future costs that differ

across alternatives. A cost must not only
be a future cost but most also differ
between alternatives.
 17 -9

Flexible resources can be easily

purchased in the amount needed
and at the time of use… like
electricity.
 17 -10

Committed resources are

purchased before they are used,
such as salaried employees.
 17 -11

Activity Resource Usage Model and

Assessing Relevancy

Flexible Resources

a. Demand Changes Relevant

b. Demand Constant Not Relevant

 17 -12

Activity Resource Usage Model and

Assessing Relevancy
Committed Resources
(Short-Term)

Supply – Demand = Unused Capacity

a.. Demand Increased < Unused Capacity Not relevant
b. Demand Increased > Unused Capacity Relevant
c. Demand Decease (Permanent)
1. Activity Capacity Reduced Relevant
2. Activity Capacity Unchanged Not Relevant
 17 -13

Activity Resource Usage Model and

Assessing Relevancy
Committed Resources
(Multiperiod Capacity)

Supply – Demand = Unused Capacity

a.. Demand Increased < Unused Capacity Not relevant
b. Demand Decreased (Permanent) Relevant
c. Demand Increase > Unused Capacity Capital Decision
 17 -14

Illustrative Examples of
Relevant Cost Applications
 Make or Buy

 Keep or Drop

 Special Order

 Sell or Process Further

 Product Mix

Important: Short-term Perspective

 17 -15

Make or Buy
Swasey Manufacturing currently produces an
electronic component used in one of its printers.
Swasey must produce 10,000 of these parts. The
firm has been approached by a supplier who
offers to build the component to Swasey’s
specifications for $4.75 per unit.
 17 -16

Make or Buy
The full absorption cost for the 10,000 parts is
computed as follows:
Total Cost Unit Cost
Rental of equipment $12,000 $1.20
Equipment depreciation 2,000 0.20
Direct materials 10,000 1.00
Direct labor 20,000 2.00
Variable overhead 8,000 0.80
General fixed overhead 30,000 3.00
Total $82,000 $8.20
Enough material is on hand to make 5,000 parts.
 17 -17

Make or Buy
The cost to make or buy 5,000 units follows:
Alternatives Differential
Make Buy Cost to Make
Rental of equipment $12,000 ------- $12,000
Direct materials 5,000 ------- 5,000
Direct labor 20,000 ------- 20,000
Variable overhead 8,000 ------- 8,000
Purchase cost ------- $47,500 -47,500
Receiving Dept. labor ------- 8,500 - 8,500
Total $45,000 $56,000 $-11,000

Make
 17 -18

Keep-or-Drop Decisions
Norton Materials, Inc. produces concrete blocks, bricks, and roofing
tile. The controller prepared the following income statements:
Blocks Bricks Tile Total
Sales revenue $500 $800 $150 $1,450
Less: Variable expenses 250 480 140 870
Contribution margin $250 $320 $ 30 $ 580
Less direct fixed expenses:
Advertising $ 10 $ 10 $ 10 $ 30
Salaries 37 40 35 112
Depreciation 53 40 10 103
Total $100 $ 90 $ 55 $ 245
Segment margin $150 $230 $- 45 $ 335
Less: Common fixed exp. 125
Operating income $ 210
 17 -19

Keep-or-Drop Decisions
Differential
Keep Drop Amount to Keep
Sales $150 ---- $150
Less: Variable expenses 140 ---- 140
Contribution margin $ 10 ---- $ 10
Less: Advertising -10 ---- -10
Cost of supervision -35 ---- -35
Total relevant benefit
(loss) $- 35 $ 0 $- 35

Preliminary figures indicate that the tile

segment should be dropped!
 17 -20

Keep-or-Drop Decisions
Tom Blackburn determines that dropping the tile section will
reduce sales in all sections as follows: $50,000 for blocks,
$64,000 for bricks, and $150,000 for roofing tile. His
summary in thousands is shown below:
Differential
Keep Drop Amount to Keep
Sales $1,450 $1,186.0 $264.0
Less: Variable expenses 870 666.6 203.4
Contribution margin $ 580 $ 519.4 $ 60.6
Less: Advertising -30 -20.0 -10.0
Cost of supervision -112 -77.0 -35.0
Total $ 438 $ 422.4 $ 15.6

Keep roofing tile segment!

 17 -21

Keep-or-Drop Decisions
Alternate Use of Facilities

The marketing manager sees the market for floor tile as

stronger and less competitive than roof tile. He submits the
following figures for floor tile sales:
Sales $100,000
Less: Variable expenses 40,000
Contribution margin $ 60,000
Less: Direct fixed expenses 55,000
Segment margin $ 5,000
 17 -22

Keep-or-Drop Decisions
Alternate Use of Facilities

Drop and Differential

Keep Replace Amount to Keep
Sales $1,450 $1,286.00 $164.00
Less: Variable expenses 870 706.60 163.40
Contribution margin $ 580$1,450
$ 579.40
– $150 $ 0.60
–$50 –– $140
$870 $64 +–
$25 –$100
$38.40 +
Decision: Continue making
$40 roof tile!
 17 -23

Special-Order Decisions

An ice cream company is

operating at 80 percent of its
productive capacity (20 million
half gallon units). The unit costs
associated with producing and
selling 16 million units are shown
on the next slide.
 17 -24

Special-Order Decisions
Variable costs:
Dairy ingredients $ 0.70
Sugar 0.10
Flavoring 0.15
Direct labor 0.25
Packaging 0.20
Commissions 0.02
Distribution 0.03
Other 0.05
Wholesale Total variable costs $ 1.50
price = Total fixed costs 0.097
$2.00 Total costs $1.597
 17 -25

Special-Order Decisions

An ice cream distributor from a

geographic region not normally
served by the company has offered
to buy two million units at $1.55 per
unit, provided its own label can be
attached to the product. The
distributor has agreed to pay the
transportation cost.
 17 -26

Special-Order Decisions
Variable costs:
Dairy ingredients $0.70
Sugar 0.10
Flavoring 0.15
Direct labor 0.25
Packaging 0.20
Commissions 0.02
Distribution 0.03
Other 0.05
Which costs Total variable costs $1.50
$1.45
are irrelevant? Total fixed costs 0.097
Total costs $1.597
$1.45
 17 -27

Special-Order Decisions
Accept the
Variable offer ($0.10 x
costs:
2,000,000 = $200,000
Dairy ingredients $ 0.70
Sugarmore profit). 0.10
Flavoring 0.15
Direct labor 0.25
Packaging 0.20
Commissions 0.02
Distribution 0.03
Other 0.05
Which costs Total variable costs $$1.45
1.50
are irrelevant? Total fixed costs 0.097
Total cost $1.597
$1.45
 17 -28

Sell or Further Process

Yield at Split-Off Further Processing
Grade A
800 lb
Sell for $0.40 lb

Bagged
Joint Cost
Grade B 120 Bags
$300
600 lb Cost $0.05/Bag
Sell for $1.30/Bag

Applesauce
Grade C 500 16-oz Cans
600 lb Cost $0.10/lb
Sell for $0.75 can
 17 -29

Sell or Further Process

Process Differential Amount

Further Sell to Process Further
Revenues $450 $150 $300
Processing cost 120 ---- 120
Total $330 $150 $180

Further process!
 17 -30
Two Approaches to Pricing

1. Cost-Based Pricing
2. Target Costing and
Pricing
 17 -31
Cost-Based Pricing

Revenues $856,500
Cost of goods sold:
Direct materials $489,750
Direct labor 140,000
Overhead 84,000 713,750
Gross profit $142,750
Selling and administrative expenses 25,000
Operating income $117,750
 17 -32
Determining Markup Percentages
Markup on COGS =
(S & A expenses + Operating income) ÷ COGS
= ($25,000 + $117,750) ÷ $713,750
= 0.20
Markup on direct materials =
(DL + OH + S & A expenses + Oper. income) ÷ Direct mater. =
($140,000 + $84,000 + $25,000 + $117,750) ÷$489,750 = 0.749
 17 -33
Determining Markup Percentages
Direct materials (computer components, etc.) $100,000
Direct labor (100 x 6 hours x $15) 9,000
Overhead (60 percent of direct labor cost) 5,400
Estimated cost of goods sold $114,400
Plus 20 percent markup of COGS 22,880
Bid price $137,280
 17 -34
Target Costing and Pricing
Target costing is a method of determining the cost of a
product or service based on the price (target price) that
customers are willing to pay.

This is referred to as price-driven costing.

 17 -35

Legal Aspects of Pricing

Predatory pricing. The practice of setting prices
below cost for the purpose of injuring or
eliminating competitors.
Price discrimination. Charging different prices to
different customers for essentially the same
product.
The Robinson-Patman Act is the most potent
weapon against price discrimination, but it doesn’t
cover services and intangibles.
 17 -36

Linear Programming

The maximum demand for Gear X is 15,000 units and

the maximum demand for Gear Y is 40,000 units. The
contribution margin for X is $25 and for Y is $10.
Z = $25X x $10Y
Two machine hours are used for each unit of Gear X,
and 0.5 machine hour is used for a unit of Gear Y.

2X + 0.5Y  40,000
 17 -37

Linear Programming

Max. Z = $25X x $10Y

Subject to:
2X + 0.5Y  40,000
X  15,000
Y  40,000
X0
Y0
 17 -38

80 –
75 – Machine Hours Constraint
70 – 2X + 0.5Y  40,000
65 –
60 – Demand Constraint
55 – X  15,000
50 –
45 –
E D
40 –
35 – Demand Constraint
30 – Y  40,000
25 –
C
20 – Feasibility
15 – Region
10 –
5–
A | | B
| | |
0–
5 10 15 20 25
 17 -39

Linear Programming

Corner Point X-Value Y-Value Z = $25X + $10Y

A 0 0 $ 0
B 15 0 375
C 15 20 575
D 10 40 650
E 0 40 400

Manufacture 10,000 units of Gear X and 40,000 of

Gear Y.
 17 -40

Chapter Seventeen

The End
17 -41