The same cost may be direct or indirect depending on the cost object. For example, the salary of a line supervisor in a baking company making donuts is a direct cost if the cost object is the assembly line, but is an indirect cost if the finished product, a donut, is the cost object. The same cost may be fixed in the short-term, one or two years, and variable in the long-term. For example, rent is fixed for the term of the lease no matter how many units of product are made and sold each year, but rent is variable over a longer time span, perhaps five years or ten, if the company produces so many more units that it must periodically rent more space. What makes a cost direct or indirect, fixed or variable? Be sure to explain each definition and give examples, including at least one example of how money spent on the same thing can be classified as direct in one scenario and indirect in another and money spent for one thing can be classified as fixed in one scenario and variable in another.