Would you expect substantially different amounts of overhead costs to be assigned to some jobs if the company used a plantwide overhead rate based in direct labor hours rather than using departmental?

Yes, using a plantwide overhead rate based on direct labor hours could result in significantly different overhead cost allocations compared to a departmental approach. Plantwide rates average costs across the entire facility, which may not accurately reflect the overhead consumption of specific departments with varying processes and resource needs. This could lead to over- or under-costing of jobs in certain departments, affecting pricing and profitability decisions. In contrast, departmental rates provide a more tailored allocation that can better match actual resource usage.