Case Question 7-1 (Essay)

Primus is a firm of consultants that focuses on process reengineering and quality improvement initiatives.Northwood Industries has asked Primus to conduct a study aimed at improving on-time delivery. Normal practice for Primus is to bill for consultant time at standard rates plus actual travel costs and estimated overhead. However, Northwood has offered a flat $75,000 for the job. Currently, Primus has excess capacity so it can take on the Northwood job without turning down other business and without hiring additional staff. If normal practices were followed, the bill would be:

Classification	Hours	Rate	Amount
Partner	90	$260	$23,400
Senior consultant	125	$160	20,000
Staff consultant	160	$90	14,400
Travel costs	21,000
Overhead at $30 per nonpartner hour	8,550
Total	$87,350

Overhead (computer costs, rent, utilities, paper, copying, etc.) is determined at the start of the year by dividing estimated annual overhead costs ($2,400,000) by total estimated nonpartner hours (80,000 hours). Approximately 20 percent of the total amount is variable costs. All Primus employees receive a fixed wage (i.e., there is no compensation for overtime). Annual compensation in the previous year amounted to the following:

Per Hour
Partner	$250
Senior consultant	$150
Staff consultant	$80

What qualitative factors should be considered in the decision whether to accept the job or not?