Managerial Economics Manual 管理经济学习题参考答案

ManagerialEconomicsandOrganizationalArchitecture-SolutionsManual

SolutionsManual

toaccompany

ManagerialEconomicsandOrganizational

Architecture,6e

Answersto“AnalyzingManagerialDecisions”DiscussionQuestions

ByJimBrickley,CliffSmith,andJerryZimmerman

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Chapter1:Introduction

ORGANIZINGXEROXSERVICECENTER

DiscussionQuestionAnswer:

Theindividualswhoanswerthe800numberhavetheincentivestoanswermany

telephonecallsbutnottospendtimeonanygivencall.Thus,theyhaveincentivesto

limitthediscussionwiththecustomerandtodispatchaservicerepresentativeevenifa

longerdiscussionwouldaddresstheissueoverthephone.Theservicerepresentatives

likethisarrangementbecausetheyarecompensatedonthenumberofservicecallsthey

make.Neitherthephonerepresentativesnortheservicerepresentativeshaveincentivestotakethefollow-upactivitiesseriously.Thephonepeopledonotwanttolearnhowto

servecustomersbetterifitmeanshandlingfewercalls.Similarly,theservicerepresentativeswanttomakeservicecalls.

SOCIETEGENERALE

DiscussionQuestionAnswers:

1.ItistruethattheSocieteGeneraleemployeetradedonbehalfofthebankandthatanyofthedirectgainsandlossesfromthetransactionswouldgotothebanknotthe

employee.Thisdoesnot,however,necessarilyimplythatthetraderwasacting

“irrationally”inplacingthebets.Itislikelythatatleastpartofhisbonuswaseither

directlyorindirectlytiedtohisperformanceasatrader.Alsohisperformancecould

affecthisprospectsforproportionstohigherlevelpositionsandcompensationatthe

bank.Whilethetrader'scompensationmaybesmallfromthestandpointofthebank,it

waslikelyimportanttohim.Clearlythetrader'sactionswereriskyandhavelegal

implications.Nevertheless,hecouldhaveconcludedthattheprospectsofahigherbonusandpromotionoutweighedthecosts.HeapparentlyhadconfidencethattheEuropean

stockmarketwouldincreaseovertime.Hisknowledgeofthecontrolsystemhelpedhimtoconcealthetransactionsandreducethelikelihoodthathisactionswouldbedetected.

Indeedhisactionswereonlydiscoveredafterahugeandratherunusualondaydropin

Europeanstockpricesofnearly6%.Whilehisactionscouldbecharacterizedasriskyandapparentlyillegal,itisnotclearthattheywerecompletely“irrational.”

2.Theexampleraisesmanagerialquestionsaboutwhetheritiswisetomovean

employeewithdetailedknowledgeoftheinternalcontrolsintoatradingpositionwithoutadditionalmonitoringorbettercontrols.WhilethedetailsofthefraudatSocieteGenerale

werestillbeinginvestigated,itisplausiblethatthebank'sorganizationalarchitecturecontributedtotheproblem-thebank'sdelegationofdecisionrightsprovidedthe

opportunitytoundertakethetrades,thebank'sincentivesystemmayhavehelpedtomotivatetheimproperactions,andthebank'smonitoringstaffpoliciescouldhaveincreasedthelikelihoodthattheywouldnotbedetected.

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3.Annualbonusesandtheprospectsforpromotionprovidedimportantincentivesin

banksandmanyotherorganizations.Asanexecutive,youshouldcarefullyconsidertheincentivesthatarecreatedbyyourbank'scompensationandpromotionpolicies.Even

welldesignedincentiveplanscanmotivateacertainamountofunproductiveandeven

illegalbehavior.Reasonablecontrolsandsafeguardsshouldbeadoptedtolimitnegativebehavior.Naivedesignofincentivesand/orpoorlydesignedcontrolscanbearecipefordisaster.Asamanageritisimportantyouconsidertheseissuesbeforetheproblemsarise.Theboxinthischapteronthesubprimemortgagecrisisemphasizesthesamepoint.A

primarypurposeofthisbookishelpmanagersbecomebetterdesignersoforganizationarchitecture.

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Chapter2:Economists'ViewofBehavior

MARGINALANALYSIS

DiscussionQuestionAnswers:

Themarginal(incremental)benefitofthistransactionisthe$600ofincreasedrevenue.

Youneedtocalculateyourmarginal(incremental)coststodecideifyoushouldacceptorrejecttheproposeddeal.Themonthlyleaseandinsuranceexpensesarenotincremental,butsunk(youpaythemwhetheryoutakethedealornot).Youexpectthatthetrucker

willusethe100gallonsoffuel.Thefuelcanbereplacedfor$3.25pergallonforatotal

costof$325.TheretailpriceofS4.00pergallonisirrelevantsincethetransactiondoes

notaffecttheamountoffuelthatyoucanselltoyourothercustomers.Youhavetopay

$.50totheleasecompanyforeverymilethatthecustomerdrivesthetruck.Thecustomerwillpaythiscostoncehereaches500miles.Youareresponsibleforpayingforthefirst500miles,whichhasatotalcostof$250.Youhavenootheruseforthetruckforthe

weekandthustherearenoadditionalopportunitycosts.Giventheseconsiderations,the

totalmarginalcostis$575(the$325fuelcostsplusthe$250mileagecost).Themarginalbenefitexceedsthemarginalcostsby$25andyoushouldacceptthedeal.Youroptimalcourseofactioncouldchangeifyoufacedalimitonwholesalefuelpurchases.Itdependsonwhetherthisrestrictionis"binding"inthesensethatyourallottedamountoffuel

limitstheamountoffuelyoucanselltoyourretailcustomers.Forexample,supposethattherestrictionisbindingandthatyoucouldhavesoldthe100gallonsoffuelusedbytherentalcustomertoretailcustomersforS4.00pergallon.Theopportunitycostofthefuelunderthisscenariois$400andthemarginalcostoftheproposeddealis$650.Inthis

caseitisnolongeroptimaltoaccepttheproposal.

CONSUMERCHOICEANDGRAPHICALTOOLS

DiscussionQuestionAnswers:

Apotentialeconomicexplanationforthedifferencesinwineconsumptioninthetwo

countriesisthatonecountryhasahighertaxrateonwinethantheother.Holdingincome

andpreferencesconstantacrossthetwocountries,youwouldexpecttoobservelowerwineconsumptioninthecountrywiththehighertaxrate.Thisisillustratedbythe

followinggraph:

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Budgetlineforarepresentative

OtherGoods

Priortocollectingany"realworld"datayoureconomicexplanationissimplyaplausibletheory.Beforeyoutakeanyactionyoushouldconsiderwhetherthereisanydatathatyou

couldusetohelpconfirmthevalidityofyourexplanation.Forexample,ataminimumyouwouldwanttodeterminewhetherthetaxratesareactuallydifferentinthetwo

countries.Itmightalsobeusefultoexaminedataacrossalargersampleofcountriestohelpconfirmthatthereisanegativerelationbetweentaxratesandwineconsumptionacrosscountries.Otherpossibledataandanalysiscouldbeuseful.Youshouldalso

considerwhetherthereareanyotherplausibleexplanationsthatcouldexplainthe

differencesinwineconsumption(e.g.,differencesinthelegaldrinkingages,differencesintheagecompositionofthepopulations,etc.)anddeterminewhetherthereisanydatathatyoucouldusetodistinguishamongthealternativeexplanations.Forexample,theremightbedifferencesinthelegaldrinkingagesbetweenthetwocountries,butdata

suggeststhatfewyouthfullegaldrinkersconsumerwine(forexample,theyconsume

primarilybeer).Thisbookfocusesoneconomictheory,notdataanalysis.However,itisimportanttonotethatitisusuallyimportantformanagerstorelyonboththeoryanddataindecisionmaking.Dataanalysis,whilebeyondthescopeofthisbook,istypicallyan

importantcomponentofbusinessandeconomiceducation.

1.Nowsupposethatyouhavedeterminedthatthelikelycauseisthedifferenceintax

rates,thereareatleasttwoactionsthatyoumighttaketoincreasewinesalesinthe

countrywiththehighertaxrate.First,youmightbottlethewineinlargerbottles.Thetaxisonaperbottlebasisandthusthecustomerpaysalowertaxperunitofvolumewhen

thewineissoldinlargebottles.Thisstrategyisanexampleofbeingcreativeingettingaroundconstraints.Second,perhapsyoucandeviseastrategytoinfluencetherelevant

politicians/regulatorstolowerthetaxrateonwineinthehigh-taxcountry.Aswediscusslaterinthisbook,politiciansandregulatorscanoftenbeinfluencedbylawfulactionsofpowerfulbusinessandlobbygroups.

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2.Apreferences-basedexplanationforthedifferencesinconsumptionbetweenthetwocountrieswouldfocusonpotentialdifferencesintastesandpreferencesbetweenthe

citizensofthetwocountries.Forexample,onecountrymightbepopulatedbypeoplewhohavestrongculturalorreligiousconditioningagainstconsumingalcohol,while

peoplefromtheothercountryareknownto"enjoyabottleofwinewitheverydinner."

Changingpeople'spreferencescanbedifficultandsoitisoftenusefultolookat

potentialeconomicexplanationsfirst(sinceamanagertypicallyhasmorecontroloverchangingconstraintsthanpreferences).Alsoitisoftendifficulttocollectdatato

determinewhetherdifferencesinpreferencesactuallyaredrivingthedifferencesin

consumerbehavior.Thatsaid,consumerchoiceisdeterminedbybothconstraintsandpreferencesandsometimesdifferencesinbehavioraredrivenbydifferencesin

preferences(oracombinationofdifferencesinconstraintsandpreferences).Depending

onthedifferencesinpreferencesacrosspotentialcustomers,itmaybepossibleto

developproductivemanagerialresponses.Forexample,supposethatyoudeterminethattheconsumersinonecountryarenotbuyingyourredwineproductsbecausetheypreferwhitewinetoredwine(perhapsbecauseofthetypeoffoodthattheyconsume).You

mightcorrespondinglyincreasewinesalesbyexportingmorewhitewinetothecountryandchangingyouradvertisingtocorrespondwithyournewproductofferings.

INTERWESTHEALTHCARECORP

DiscussionQuestionAnswers:

Thiscaseisbasedonanactualbusiness.TherealCEOsubscribedtothe"goodcitizen

model.”Hereasonedthatthehospitaladministratorsdidnotunderstandtheimportanceofaccurateinformationreportingtothecompany.Hehadseveralmeetingsandretreatswiththerelevantemployees.Heencouragedaccuratereporting,stresseditsimportance,andmotivatedface-to-facemeetingsbetweenhospitalandcorporatepersonnel.Noneoftheseactionshadthedesiredeffect.Theeconomicviewofbehaviorsuggeststhathe

shouldhavelookedattheincentivesoftheemployees.Asitturnsout,thecorporate

financeemployeeshadstrongincentivestowantaccuratereporting.Iftheauditorsfoundflawsintheinformation/accountingsystemtheywouldreceivetheprimarycriticismandwerelikelytolosetheirjobs.Thehospitaladministratorswerenotevaluatedorrewarded

basedontheaccuracyofthesystem.Rather,theirprimaryconcernsweremeetingbudgets,keepingdoctorshappy,andavoidinglawsuitsandbadpress.

Tomotivateincreasedconcernabouttheinformationsystemamonghospital

administrators,theCEOshouldcarefullyevaluatethecurrentincentivestructureforthe

hospitaladministrationandchangeit—placingincreasedemphasison

financial/informationreporting.

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RISKAVERSIONVERSUSRISKTAKING

DiscussionQuestionAnswers:

Itisgenerallydifficulttochangeaperson'spreferencestowardrisk.Ashortexperienceingamblingisunlikelytodoso.Thetrainingprogrammightidentifyindividualswith

risktolerancesTrilogydesires.However,thepeoplearealreadyhiredandthisisunlikelytobethemajorreasonfortheprogram.Also,employeeshaveincentivestobehaveina

riskymannerintheprogramanditmightbehardtodiscernunderlyingpreferencesof

individualsfromtheiractions.Theprogramdoesarelativelyeffectivejobof

communicatingthatrisktakingisvaluedatthecompany.Inaddition,itgivestheemployeesexperienceinevaluatingriskyalternatives.

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Chapter3:ExchangeandMarkets

COMPARATIVEADVANTAGEINTHEWORKPLACE

DiscussionQuestionAnswers:

1.Withthecurrentallocationoftime,Julioisproducing98keyboardsand2modems,whileChenyuisproducing105keyboardsand3modems.Thetotalkeyboardsand

modemsbeingproducedare203and5,respectively.

2.TheopportunitycostforJuliotoproduce1modemis7keyboards(thenumberof

keyboardshecouldproduceinthekhourittakeshimtoproduceamodem);his

opportunitycostforproducing1keyboardis1/7modem.Chenyu'sopportunitycostforproducingamodemisonly5keyboards(thenumberofkeyboardsshecouldproducein

the20minutesittakeshertoproduceamodem);heropportunitycostforproducing

keyboardsis1/5modem.ThusJuliohasacomparativeadvantageinproducing

keyboards(hisopportunitycostis1/7modemcomparedtoChenyu's1/5modem),andChenyuhasacomparativeadvantageinproducingmodems.

3.Chenyushouldproduceall5modems,whichwouldtake1hourand40minutes.Sheshouldproduce95keyboardswiththeremaining6hoursand20minutesofhertime.

Julioshoulduseall8hourstoproduce112keyboards.Thisallocationoftimewillkeep

modemproductionat5,butincreasekeyboardproductionfrom203to207.By

specializingintheircomparativeadvantages,thekeyboardproductionisincreasedwithoutanylossinmodemproduction.

4.Thechangeinworkassignmentsappearsoptimalfromaproductionstandpoint.

However,theremaybereasonswhyyoushouldnotadoptit.Forexample,ifChenyu

spendsall8hoursdoingthesameactivityshemightbemorelikelytostrainthetendonsinherhands,whichcouldcausehertomissworkorbelessproductive.Alsothe

monotonyofthedoingthesamethingalldaymightmakeitmorelikelythatshewillquitunlessherpayisraisedtocompensatefortheincreasedboredom.AlsoitmightbeusefulforChenyutomaintainherskillsinassemblingkeyboards,forexample,incaseJulio

quitsorisabsentfromthejob.Theseadditionalconsiderationsareexamplesofthemanykindsofcomplicationsthatcanariseinmanagerialdecisionmaking.

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ETHANOLANDPORKPRICES

DiscussionQuestionAnswers:

TheFederalactionsincreasethedemandforcorn.'Asthefollowinggraphindicatesthisisexpectedtoincreasethepriceofcorn.

D₂(afternewlegislation)

Q

CornMarket

Theincreaseincornpricesincreasesthecostsofgrowinghogs.Thisexpectedeffectisadecreaseinthesupplyofpork.Asthefollowinggraphindicatesthisisexpectedto

increasethepriceofpork.

ITheFederalactionsmightalsohaveaneffectonthesupplyofcorn.Forexample,itcouldspur

technologicalinnovationthatwouldincreasesupply.WefocusonthedemandsidebecausetheFederalactionsaremorelikelytohaveanear-termeffectondemandthanonsupply(note:thatwhilethesupply

curveisconstantinouranalysis,theincreaseindemandisassociatedwithanincreaseinthequantity

supplied).

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S₂(aftercornpriceincrease)

Priceof

Pork

P₂

P₁

Pork

Otherfactorsaffectthepriceofporkbesidescornprices.Asamanageryoushould

conductmoreresearchonthisissuebeforetakingdefinitiveaction.Alsoitisimportanttoconsiderthemagnitudeandnotjustthedirectionoftheeffect.Forexample,whilethe

legislationislikelytopromoteanincreaseinporkpricesitisimportanttoconsider

whethertheeffectislikelytobelargeorsmall.Managerscanoftenaccessresearch

papersontopicsofthistype,e.g.,overtheInternet.Givenasignificantandlikely

increaseinporkpricesthereareseveralthingsthatyoumightconsider.Afulldiscussionofthepossibleactionsisprematureandrequiresmaterialthatispresentedlaterinthe

book.However,apreliminarydiscussioniswarranted.Firstyoumightconsider

promotingorintroducingmenuitemsthatuselessporkandmoreoflessexpensive

ingredients.Whetherthismakessensedependsonwhetheryoucanremaincompetitive

withadifferentmenuemphasisgivenyourtraditionalfocus.Youmightalsowantto

increasethepriceofyourporkdishes.Youshouldthinkcarefullyaboutifandhowtodothis(pricingisatopicthatiscoveredlaterinthisbook).Anincreaseininputpricesmightaffectyourliquidityandhaveimplicationsonyourcashmanagementpolicies.Itcould

alsoaffectyourprofitabilityandhaveimplicationsonyourexpansionandconsolidationplans,

Thepointofthisapplicationisthatbasicsupplyanddemandanalysiscanhelpmanagersunderstandmarketsandtopredicthowspecificfactorsarelikelytoaffectprices.This

understandinginturncanhaveimportanteffectonmanagerialdecisionsandactions.

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Price(sMillions)

ManagerialEconomicsandOrganizationalArchitecture-SolutionsManual

NOBELPRIZE-WINNERF.A.HAYEKONTHE“MIRACLE”OFTHEPRICESYSTEM

DiscussionQuestionAnswer:

Inclassicmarketexchange,tradersowntheresourcesandbearthefullwealtheffectsoftheiractions(therearenoagencyproblems).Infirms,decisionmakersactonthebehalfofothersanddonotnecessarilyhavestrongincentivestomaximizevalue.Hence

decentralizingdecisionrightstoemployeeswillnotalwaysimproveefficiency,eveniftheseemployeeshavebetterknowledgetomakethedecisions.

LABORUNIONSANDAPROPOSEDTAXONLUXURYGOODS

DiscussionQuestionAnswers:

1.Seethediagrambelow:

QuantityofYachts

2.Placingataxonconsumerswhopurchasenewyachtsdoesnotimplythattheywill

necessarilybearmostofthetax.Thetaxwillcausethedemandcurvetoshiftdownwardbytheamountofthetax.Theresultingeffectonpriceandquantitywilldeterminehowthetaxissplitbetweenconsumersandsuppliers.Thereisalsolikelytobeadeadweightlossfromthereductionoftradeinthemarketplacethatnegativelyaffectsthewelfareofbothconsumersandproducers.

3.Laborunionsarelikelytoopposethetaxifitresultsinasubstantialreductionin

quantityofyachtspurchasedandemploymentofunionizedlaborintheindustry.Thesizeofthiseffectdependsontherelativeelasticitiesofthesupplyanddemandcurves.

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Forexampleifdemandwereperfectlyelastic,thepriceofyachtswouldfallbythefull

amountofthetaxandthequantitysoldandemploymentintheindustrywoulddecrease-theentirecostswouldbebornebysuppliers.Thepossiblenegativereactionoflabor

unionstothesetypesofconsumertaxesisnotjusthypotheticalbuthashappenedintherealworld.

SHAREHOLDERVALUEANDMARKETEFFICIENCY

DiscussionQuestionAnswers:

1.Themarketvalueislikelytobevariableoverthelifeofthebond.Thecashflowsarefixed.Themarketvalueofthebondisequaltothediscountedvalueofthecashflows.

Thisvaluewillchangeovertimeasinterestsrateschange.Itishighlyunlikelythatmarketinterestrateswillbeconstantoverthelifeofa10-yearbond.Increases

(decreases)inmarketinterestrateswilldecrease(increase)thepriceofthebond(seequestion2foranexample).

2.Thepresentvaluesare$1438.77,$1315.85and$1,581.90.

3.No.Thediscountrateforariskyinvestment,suchasastock,isequaltotheriskfreerateplusariskpremium.Thediscountratewillvaryovertimewithchangesintheriskfreerate,themarketriskpremiumand/ortheperceivedriskofthestock.

4.Thisquestioncallsforindividualstudentresearch.Answerswillvaryamongstudents.

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Chapter4:Demand

SETTINGTUITIONANDFINANCIALAIDATURSINUSCOLLEGE

DiscussionQuestionAnswer

TheLawofDemandstatesthatdemandcurvesslopedownward.Managersshouldbeveryskepticalofanalysisthatisbasedonanassumptionthatdemandcurvesslope

upward.PointouttothePresidentofthecollege,frompastexperienceyourcollegeismorelikelytoattractastudentawayfromthecompetitionbyahigherscholarshipofferthanaloweroffer.Ifaprospectivestudentischoosingbetweentwoschoolsofequal

qualityitisunlikelythathewillchooseaschoolbecauseitoffershimlessaid.

Alikelyexplanationforthedatapresentedaboutpriceanddemandforcollegesisthatthestatedpriceconveysinformationaboutqualitytoprospectivestudents.Forexample,a

customerwithlittleknowledgeofwineislikelytobecorrectininferringthataS100

bottleofwineisofbetterqualitythanthe$5.00bottleofwine.Holdingtheassessed

qualityofthewineconstant,however,thecustomer'sdemandcurveforawineislikelytobedownwardsloping.Winestoresplacewineonsaletosellmorebottles,notless.

Similarlyaprospectivestudentmightinferthatacollegewithastatedtuitionof$15,000islessprestigiousthanacollegewithstatedtuitionof$25,000.Nevertheless,once

studentsnarrowtheirsearchesandbecomebetterinformedaboutthequalityofacollege(e.g.,throughcampusvisitsandmediarankings)theirdemandcurvesforthecollegearelikelytobedownwardsloping,i.e.,theyarelikelytobeattractedbymorefinancialaid,notless.

Uponcloserinspectionofthedata,thePresidentandtheDirectorofAdmissionswouldfindthatthecollegesthatraisedtheirtuitioninthisexample(e.g.,UniversityofNotre

Dame)correspondinglyincreasedfinancialaid.Administratorsfromthesecolleges

concludedthat“familiesassociatepricewithquality,andatuitionrise,accompaniedbydiscountscanluremoreapplicantsandrevenue"thanbysimplychargingalowerstatedtuition.

Therefore,thePresidentshouldnotexpectthatanincreaseinpriceandareductionandaidwillincreasethequantitydemandedforyourcollege.Thedatasuggests,however,thatthePresidentmightwanttoconsiderastatedtuitionthatisonparwiththecollege'sprimaryrivalsandwhereappropriatetousefinancialaidtoreducetheactualpricepaidbystudents.[ThispolicyalsogivestheCollegemoreflexibilitytoengageinprice

discrimination-atopicthatwewillcoverinChapter7.]Ultimately,thePresidentshouldexpectthatmanyprospectivestudentswillbecomerelativelywellinformedaboutthe

college'squalitybeforeenrollment.However,theCollegedoesnotwanttobedroppedduringtheinitialsearchesofprospectivestudentsbecauseourstatedtuitionistoolow.

Economistshaveshownthatitistheoreticallypossiblefordemandcurvestoslope

upwardoversomerange.However,inactualitythiseventisunlikely,ifever,tooccur.Ifmanagersassumethattheirdemandcurvesslopeupwardtheyarelikelytobemakingabigmistake.Thereisareasonwhyeconomistshavelabeledtheconceptofdownward

slopingdemandcurvesastheLawofDemand.

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DEMANDCURVEFORANELECTRONICSPRODUCT

DiscussionQuestionAnswers

1.AlineardemandcurvetakesthegeneralformP=a-bQ.Beginbycalculatingthe

slope(riseoverrun)fromthetwopoints:(3,000-4,000)/(150,000-100,000)=-.02.

Nowcalculatetheintercept(a)byinsertingoneoftheprice/salespointsintothegeneralequationwiththecalculatedslope:3,000=a-(.02x150,000);soa=6,000.ThereforetheestimateddemandcurveisP=6,000-.02Q.

2.Demandiselasticuptothemidpointofalineardemandcurveandinelasticbeyondthatpoint.Ithasunitaryelasticityatthemidpoint.Themidpointofyourdemandcurveoccursatthepriceof3,000INRandquantityof150,000.Thusyourcurrentpriceof

4,000andquantityof100,000isintheelasticportionofthedemandcurve.

3.Yourcompensationplanrewardsyoubasedonrevenue(notprofits,whichareequaltototalrevenueminustotalcosts).Youmaximizeyourbonusbymaximizingrevenue

whichoccursatthemidpointofthedemandcurve.Thusyouwouldliketochargeapriceof3,000INR.Maximizingrevenue,however,isnotthesameasmaximizingprofits.Tomaximizeprofit,youneedtoconsideryourincrementalproductioncosts.Wewill

analyzeprofitmaximizationinChapters5through7.However,wecansayatthispointthatthefirm'spricingobjectiveandyourpricingobjectiveconflict.Sinceyourincentiveschememotivatesyoutofocusentirelyonrevenueandtoignoreproductioncosts,you

favoralowerpricethanthefirm'soptimalprice.

4.Yourcompanywouldbeill-advisedtocompensateyouthroughasalescommissionandsimultaneouslygrantyouth