Activity-Based Management - Talbot Partners is a consulting firm with clients across the nation. Within the company is a travel group that arranges flights and hotel accommodations for its over 1,000 consultants. The cost of operating the travel group (excluding the costs associated with actual travel such as hotel cost and air fare) amounts to approximately $800,000. Recently, Talbot Partners has conducted an ABM study that has determined the following:

a. Each conultant takes aproximately 20 business trips per year.
b. On average, 30 percent of trips are rescheduled due to conflicts and poor planning.
c. The travel group employes 14 individual s at $45,0000 each to book travel. In addition, there is a travel manager and an assistant travel manager.
d. Benchmarkign with a Talbot Partners' client indicates that the client incurs $30 cost per completed trip to book travel

Required:

a. Evaluate the cost incurred by Talbot Partners compared to the benchmark cost.
b. Talbot Parners is planning to process improvement initiative aimed at reducing scheduling conflicts. What would be the savings if rescheduling could be reduced by 50 percent? Assume that the only variable cost in travel services is the wages paid to employees who book travel.