The sales department of a mutual fund firm sets goals for the next fiscal year to sell a certain number of mutual funds each month. The firm only sets targets, but provides no other details. These goals are goals.

Jameson manages a well-known cell phone company. this company has been voted as having the best cell-phone service. consumers appreciate the fact that they can call from almost anywhere in the world and the service still gets through. jameson knows that the company's product far surpasses that of the competition. one thing has been bothering him, though. in order to put so many resources into ensuring the best service, jameson has cut back on employees at the firm's customer call center. recently, consumers have begun complaining about long wait times when they call in with a problem or concern. although its cell phone service is still considered one of the best, customer satisfaction with the firm's customer service has plummeted. jameson does not understand why consumers are getting so upset. he believes the exceptional cell phone service more than makes up for long waiting periods and other issues with its customer service. "after all," he says, "they can't have it all. if i invest more in customer service, that means less investment on ensuring the quality of our product offering."refer to scenario. jameson has asked you, a marketing consultant, to give him advice. he cannot understand how a cell-phone company with the best product offering in the cell-phone service industry could get such low satisfaction ratings simply because the customer service is not up to par. you suggest that jameson has a narrowly defined view of the company's product offering. you tell jameson that successful marketers should define their products as what they

Which of the following statements is correct? a. two firms with identical sales and operating costs but with different amounts of debt and tax rates will have different operating incomes by definition. b. free cash flow (fcf) is, essentially, the cash flow that is available for interest and dividends after the company has made the investments in current and fixed assets that are necessary to sustain ongoing operations. c. retained earnings as reported on the balance sheet represent cash and, therefore, are available to distribute to stockholders as dividends or any other required cash payments to creditors and suppliers. d. if a firm is reporting its income in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, then its net income as reported on the income statement should be equal to its free cash flow. e. after-tax operating income is calculated as ebit(1 - t) + depreciation.

Rossdale co. stock currently sells for $68.91 per share and has a beta of 0.88. the market risk premium is 7.10 percent and the risk-free rate is 2.91 percent annually. the company just paid a dividend of $3.57 per share, which it has pledged to increase at an annual rate of 3.25 percent indefinitely. what is your best estimate of the company's cost of equity?