Question
Warm Boots manufactures and sells a patented ski boot with 9-volt batteries designed to keep a skier's feet warm even when the outside temperature reaches
Warm Boots manufactures and sells a patented ski boot with 9-volt batteries designed to keep a skier's feet warm even when the outside temperature reaches -10 Celsius. Warm Boots is organized into three divisions: Administration (accounting, finance, human resources, CEO, and CFO), Manufacturing, and Marketing and Sales. To promote cost efficiency, Manufacturing is treated as a cost center, where its manager is evaluated and paid a bonus based on minimizing the actual average cost of manufacturing boots in the week. The manager of Manufacturing has the discretion to choose its production level. Marketing and Sales (M&S) is treated as a profit center, where its profits are computed as the sales revenue it generates less the manufacturing cost of the boots. The manufacturing cost of the boots is the number of boots sold in the week times the actual average cost of manufacturing the boots in that week. The manager of M&S has the discretion to set the price per pair of boots and is paid a bonus based on M&S reported profits. The following table summarizes how price and total cost varies with the number of boots produced and sold PER WEEK. "Total Cost" includes both fixed and variable cost where the fixed cost is the annual fixed cost divided by 52 (the number of weeks in the year).
Quantity Price Total Manufacturing Cost
20 $300 $645.00
21 290 672.30
22 280 700.20
23 270 728.70
24 260 757.80
25 250 787.50
26 240 817.80
27 230 848.70
28 220 880.20
29 210 912.30
30 200 945.00
31 190 978.30
32 180 1012.20
33 170 1046.70
34 160 1081.80
35 150 1117.50
Required:
a. As the head of Manufacturing, how many boots will you manufacture if given the discretion to set production levels? Show calculations to support your answer.
b. If you managed the M&S Division of Warm Boots, and given the production level (and its resulting average cost) chosen by the Manufacturing manager in part a, what price (and quantity level) would you choose for a pair of boots that maximizes your bonus? Show calculations to support your answer.
c.Given the decisions of the Manufacturing and M&S managers in parts (a) and (b), is the firm maximizing profits? Explain why profits are or are not being maximized.
Step by Step Solution
There are 3 Steps involved in it
Step: 1
Get Instant Access to Expert-Tailored Solutions
See step-by-step solutions with expert insights and AI powered tools for academic success
Step: 2
Step: 3
Ace Your Homework with AI
Get the answers you need in no time with our AI-driven, step-by-step assistance
Get Started