Based on the topic in the picture, what are the key points there that you think are important to analyze as a decision-maker?

Understanding Business
12th Edition
ISBN:9781259929434
Author:William Nickels
Publisher:William Nickels
Chapter1: Taking Risks And Making Profits Within The Dynamic Business Environment
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Based on the topic in the picture, what are the key points there that you think are important to analyze as a decision-maker?

Getting Divisions to Work
in the Firm's Best Interests
Dlack liquor soap is a by-product of the paper manufacturing process at
Acme's Paper Division. The Paper Division normally sold the soap to Acme's
Resins Division, which converted it into crude tall oil, an input into resin
manufacturing. Since a low transfer price increased the Resins Division's
profit, its managers spent a lot of effort lobbying for a low transfer price while
the Paper Division pushed for a high transfer price.
The Resins Division won this lobbying battle when a relatively low price
was set, but it turned out to be a hollow victory. Given the low transfer price,
the Paper Division decided to burn the soap for fuel rather than sell it to the
Resins Division, which was then forced to buy higher-priced soap on the open
market. On net, burning the soap decreased overall company profit because its
value as a fuel was below that of its value as an input into resin manufacturing.
To make matters worse, the Paper Division's burners were not designed
to handle black liquor soap, leading to a potentially explosive situation.
Fortunately, corporate headquarters recognized the danger; however, their
"solution" was to spend $5 million for a special furnace to allow the Paper
Division to safely burn the soap.
The moral of this story is that incentive conflict between divisions is costly
to control. In this case, a low transfer price not only prevented the movement
of an asset (black liquor soap) to a higher-valued use (resin manufacturing),
but the parent company compounded its mistake by building a new furnace.
In addition, lobbying by the two divisions diverted management attention
from more important issues. All these costs could have been reduced, if not
avoided, had the managers of Acme read this chapter.
ncentive Conflict between Divisions
Incentive conflicts arise in the normal course of business; however, these con-
flicts need not reduce a company's profit. With two simple modifications, we
can apply the framework set up in Chapter 21 to make sure that the incentives
283
Transcribed Image Text:Getting Divisions to Work in the Firm's Best Interests Dlack liquor soap is a by-product of the paper manufacturing process at Acme's Paper Division. The Paper Division normally sold the soap to Acme's Resins Division, which converted it into crude tall oil, an input into resin manufacturing. Since a low transfer price increased the Resins Division's profit, its managers spent a lot of effort lobbying for a low transfer price while the Paper Division pushed for a high transfer price. The Resins Division won this lobbying battle when a relatively low price was set, but it turned out to be a hollow victory. Given the low transfer price, the Paper Division decided to burn the soap for fuel rather than sell it to the Resins Division, which was then forced to buy higher-priced soap on the open market. On net, burning the soap decreased overall company profit because its value as a fuel was below that of its value as an input into resin manufacturing. To make matters worse, the Paper Division's burners were not designed to handle black liquor soap, leading to a potentially explosive situation. Fortunately, corporate headquarters recognized the danger; however, their "solution" was to spend $5 million for a special furnace to allow the Paper Division to safely burn the soap. The moral of this story is that incentive conflict between divisions is costly to control. In this case, a low transfer price not only prevented the movement of an asset (black liquor soap) to a higher-valued use (resin manufacturing), but the parent company compounded its mistake by building a new furnace. In addition, lobbying by the two divisions diverted management attention from more important issues. All these costs could have been reduced, if not avoided, had the managers of Acme read this chapter. ncentive Conflict between Divisions Incentive conflicts arise in the normal course of business; however, these con- flicts need not reduce a company's profit. With two simple modifications, we can apply the framework set up in Chapter 21 to make sure that the incentives 283
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