Rusty Thompson operates a real estate service business that provides rental management services, real estate appraisal, and a variety of other services. Rusty is successful because of his knowledge and experience and the reliability of his service which has gained him the trust of his customers, many of whom have been with him for several years. One of the key items in his office is a printer that prints copies of photos from his digital camera. The photos are used in appraisals and in other services. His copier was relatively inexpensive to buy ($99) but the ink cartridges are expensivedepending on the capacity of the cartridge, the cost is from $37.50 for a capacity of 500 copies to $80 for a capacity for 2,000 copies. Rusty prints about 1,000 photos a month.

• What is the problem?
• What are some strategic issues surrounding the problem?
• What are the alternative actions?
• What action should Rusty take and why?