Which of the following statements about striving to reduce labor costs per pair produced at each of the company's plants is true?

a. A company cannot achieve labor costs per pair produced that are close to the lowest in the industry (in those geographic regions where it has plants) unless its annual total compensation of plant workers is below the average annual total compensation paid by all companies with plants in these same regions.

b. All companies, regardless of the strategy being employed, should pursue actions to manage employee compensation and labor productivity in a manner that results in labor costs per pair produced that are equal to (or very close to) the industry-low in each region where the company has plants.

c. It is very difficult for a company producing branded footwear with a high S/Q rating to achieve labor costs per pair produced that are below the industry average in each geographic region where the company has plants.
d. A company pursuing a low-cost provider strategy is better able to pursue actions aimed at achieving low labor costs per pair produced in each of its plants (as compared to the labor costs of companies with plants in the same regions) than is a company pursuing a differentiation strategy.
e. It is more cost effective for a company to compensate plant workers at levels that are close to the highest in the industry in each geographic region where it has plants than it is for a company to pursue actions to keep labor costs per pair produced below the industry average in each geographic region where it has plants.