Refer to the HR Reports in the Inquirer

1. Refer to the HR Reports in the Inquirer. Through past investments in recruiting and training Chester has obtained a productivity index of 109.4%. This means that Chester’s labor costs would be increased by 9.4% if it did not have these productivity improvements. This is a competitive advantage that Chester can sustain or even widen further if its competitors have no HR initiatives. Now, refer to the IncomeStatement in Chester’s Annual Report. How much did Chester’s productivity improvements save it in direct labor costs (in thousands) last year?Select: 11)$3,1382)$3,0603)$8214)$29,761.Demand is created through meeting customer buying criteria, credit terms, awareness (promotion) and accessibility (distribution). According to the Thrift segment’s customers, which of these products was the most competitive at the end of last year?1) Cell2)Ant3)City4) DimBell is a product of the Baldwin company which is primarily in the Nano segment, but is also sold in another segment. Baldwin starts to create their sales forecast by assuming all policies (R&D, Marketing, and Production) for all competitors are equal this year over last. For this question assume that all 1127 of units of Bell are sold in the Nano segment. If the competitive environment remains unchanged what will be the Bell products demand next year (in 000s)?1)12842)12053)11274)2568 Looking forward to next year, if Baldwins current cash balance is $19,378 (000) and cash flows from operations next period are unchanged from this period and Baldwin takes ONLY the following actions relating to cash flows from investing and financing activities:Issues 100 (000) shares of stock at the current stock priceIssues $200 (000) of long-term debtPays $40 (000) in dividendsWhich of the following activities will expose Baldwin to the most risk of needing an emergency loan?1) Liquidates the entire inventory2) Sells $5,000 (000) of their Long-term assets3) Retires $20,000 (000) in long-term debt4) Purchases assets at a cost of $15,000 (000)Assuming Digbys current market share for its Dim product remains the same, how many units of Dim should Digby expect to sell in the primary segment for the upcoming year?1) 1506 units2) 1657 units3) 1643 units4) 1790 unitsBrand managers know that increasing promotional budgets eventually result in diminishing returns. The first one million dollars typically results in a 26% increase in awareness, while the second million results in adding another 18% and the third million in a 5% increase. Andrewss product Awe currently has an awareness level of 77% . While an important product for Andrews, Awes promotion budget will be reduced to one million dollars for the upcoming year. Assuming that Awe loses one-third of its awareness each year, what will Awes awareness level be next year?1) 78%2)57%3) 52%4)73%