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Costs and Opportunity Cost Essay

Decent Essays

* Nobel Prize–winning economist Ronald Coase noted,“The cost of doing anything consists of the receipts that could have been obtained if that particular decision had not been taken.” For example, the opportunity set for this Friday night includes the movies, a concert, staying home and studying, staying home and watching television, inviting friends over, and so forth. The opportunity cost of taking job A included the forgone salary of $102,000 plus the $5,000 of intangibles from job B. Opportunity cost is the sacrifice of the best alternative for a given action. Public accounting firms confront this issue. The car’s opportunity cost in the decision to keep it for resale is $7,200, but in matching expenses to revenues, the …show more content…

On May 12, Emrich ordered a 50-gallon drum of a specialty acid known as GX-100 for use in a May 15 job. It used 25 of the 50 gallons in the drum. The 50 gallons cost $1,000. GX-100 has a shelf life of 30 days after the drum is opened before it becomes unstable and must be discarded. Because of the hazardous nature of GX-100 and the other chemicals Emrich uses, Emrich works closely with Environ Disposal, a company specializing in the disposal of hazardous wastes. At the time of ordering the GX-100, Emrich anticipated no other orders in the May–June time period that could use the remaining 25 gallons of GX-100. Knowing it would have 25 gallons remaining, it built $1,000 into the cost of the job to cover the cost of the GX-100 plus an additional $400 to cover the cost of having Environ dispose of the remaining 25 gallons. On June 1, a customer called and asked for a price bid for a rush job to be completed on June 5. This job will use 25 gallons of GX-100. Emrich is preparing to bid on this order. What cost amount for the GX-100 must be considered in preparing the bid? Justify your answer. 1000 dollars is sunk cost-no need to consider -400 dollars is depose of it-need to consider P 2–13: Volume and Profits Assuming the firm sells everything it produces and assuming that variable cost per unit does not change with volume, total profits are higher as volume

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