Managerial Economics & Business Strategy 8th Edition by Michael Baye,Jeff Prince

Exercise 19

Two months ago, the owner of a car dealership (and a current football star) significantly changed his sales manager's compensation plan. Under the old plan, the manager was paid a salary of $6,000 per month; under the new plan, she receives 2 percent of the sales price of each car sold. During the past two months, the number of cars sold increased by 40 percent, but the dealership's margins (and profits) significantly declined. According to the sales manager, "Consumers are driving harder bargains and I have had to authorize significantly lower prices to remain competitive." What advice would you give the owner of the dealership?