When high-tech start-up Minx first hit the technology scene, it created a big splash. Its music streaming and voice control technology promised to revolutionize the field. It attracted $500,000 in seed money, suggesting that it could hire the best talent and create amazing new products. But Minx quickly fell off the fast track. It spent nearly $400,000 on a Bluetooth product that sold only 28 units. In addition, a botched security update resulted in the company's having to conduct a nationwide recall of one of its smart products. Yet, other products have been successful, and the company is not facing bankruptcy. Initially, Minx offered amazing perks to attract the best and brightest talent. It provided an in-house chef with free gourmet meals, unlimited snacks, on-site acupuncture, and free yoga classes. Its offices were pet-friendly, and new employees received a $10,000 cash signing bonus. To counter the long hours that the tech world notoriously demands of its workers, Minx offered relaxation areas with table tennis and foosball tables. Unfortunately, bad times have made it necessary for Minx to pull back on its employee perks. Although no staff people are being released, the in-house chef has to go, along with on-site acupuncture, yoga classes, and the $10,000 signing bonus. However, it's still a good place to work, and camaraderie is high. Required:
As a communications trainee in the CEO's office, you have been asked to draft an intranet post or a memo to employees announcing the bad news. Explain the cutbacks that affect current employees. Employ the bad-news techniques taught in this chapter. What could soften this bad news?

Which of the following statements regarding the learning curve and economies of scale is accurate? answers: just as diseconomies of scale are presumed to exist if a firm gets too large, there is a corresponding increase in costs in the learning-curve model as the cumulative volume of production grows.where diseconomies of scale are presumed to exist if a firm gets too large, there is no corresponding increase in costs in the learning-curve model as the cumulative volume of production grows.where diseconomies of scale are presumed to exist if a firm gets too small, there is no corresponding increase in costs in the learning-curve model as the cumulative volume of production grows.just as diseconomies of scale are presumed to exist if a firm gets too small, there is a corresponding increase in costs in the learning-curve model as the cumulative volume of production grows.

Onsider the following subscription behavior information from genie, a web site that provides tools for constructing a family tree (ancestor search). subscriptions cost $9.99 per month, but you are charged for the entire year at the time of purchase. there is a one-year minimum term when you sign up for the service. once purchased, subscriptions are set to renew automatically unless the subscriber cancels them. when a membership renews, it renews for a one-year term and again you are charged for the entire year. there are no variable costs associated with providing this service to an individual customer, but genie does engage in customer relationship activities that they believe will increase customer retention. these customer relationship activities cost genie about $10 per year per customer. based on a sample of 1000 customers that joined genie five years ago, near the time when the company was founded, they were able to determine how many of those customers remained subscribers in the second year, third year etc. based on this information, genie calculated the average annual retention rate to be 20%. genie uses an annual discount rate of 8%. a. last year, genie spent $10,000 placing advertisements on google. genie management believes that these advertisements were responsible for about 300 new subscribers. would you recommend to genie management that they purchase more google ads? b. suppose a newly-introduced loyalty program increases the number of customers that remained to 30%. does this new data change your answer to 9.a? c. do you have any hesitations or concerns about making recommendations to management based on your above estimate of customer lifetime value?

Suppose farmer lane grows and sells cotton in a perfectly competitive industry. the market price of cotton is $1.64 per kilogram, and his marginal cost of production is $1.44 per kilogram, which increases with output. assume farmer lane is currently earning a profit. can farmer lane do anything to increase his profit in the short run? farmer lane: a. cannot do anything to increase his profit. b. may or may not be able to increase his profit. c. can increase his profit by raising his price. d. can increase his profit by producing more output. e. can increase his profit by shutting down.