Kaiser Company Just Hired Its Fourth Production Manager in Three

question 183

Essay

Kaiser Company just hired its fourth production manager in three years. All three previous managers had quit because they could not get the company above the break-even point, even though sales had increased somewhat each year. The company was operating at about 60 % of plant capacity. The flatware industry was growing, so increased sales were not out of the question.
I. R. Thinking took the job as manager of the production division with a very attractive salary package. After interviewing for the position, he proposed a salary and bonus package that would give him a very small salary but a large bonus if he took the operating income (using absorption costing) above the breakeven point during his very first year.
Required:
What do you think Mr. Thinking had in mind for increasing the company's operating income?

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Definitions:

Artificially Scarce Good

A good that is excludable but nonrival in consumption.

Pay-Per-View

A type of television or internet broadcasting service by which a user pays to view a specific television program or event.

Artificially Scarce

A situation where the supply of a good is limited by factors other than its physical scarcity, often due to regulatory or monopolistic practices.

Excludable

Referring to a good, describes the case in which the supplier can prevent those who do not pay from consuming the good.