Petrus Framing's cost formula for its supplies cost is $1,850 per month plus $10 per frame. For the month of March, the company planned for activity of 625 frames, but the actual level of activity was 633 frames. The actual supplies cost for the month was $8,540. The activity variance for supplies cost in March would be closest to:

Garrett is an executive vice president at samm hardware. he researches a proposal by a larger company, maximum hardware, to combine the two companies. by analyzing past performance, conducting focus groups, and interviewing maximum employees, garrett concludes that maximum has poor profit margins, sells shoddy merchandise, and treats customers poorly. what actions should garrett and samm hardware take? a. turn down the acquisition offer and prepare to resist a hostile takeover. b. attempt a friendly merger and use managerial hubris to improve results at maximum. c. welcome the acquisition and use knowledge transfer to impart sam hardware's management practices. d. do nothing; the two companies cannot combine without samm hardware's explicit consent.