To be negotiable, a bill or note must contain a promise by the drawer to make payment

Assume that Schmidt Machinery Company had the standard costs reflected in Exhibit 14.5. In a given month, the company used 3,470 pounds of aluminum to manufacture 935 units. The company paid $28.90 per pound during the month to purchase aluminum. At the beginning of the month, the company had 54 pounds of aluminum on hand. At the end of the month, the company had only 34 pounds of aluminum in its warehouse. Schmidt used 4,400 direct labor hours during the month, at an average cost of $41.90 per hour.

Required: Compute for the month the following variances: 1. The purchase-price variance for aluminum. Indicate whether this variance is favorable (F) or unfavorable (U). 2. The usage variance for aluminum. Indicate whether this variance is favorable (F) or unfavorable (U). 3. The direct labor rate variance. Indicate whether this variance is favorable (F) or unfavorable (U). 4. The direct labor efficiency variance. Indicate whether this variance is favorable (F) or unfavorable (U).

For a company that produces hand held calculators, the Operations Manager knows that in the early stages of production for a new product, the expenditures exceed receipts, whereas in the latter stages, the reverse is true

Give an explanation for this phenomenon.