Cousin Phil: Linear Models for Financial Analysis
How does someone like Bill Gates becomes so wealthy? We all
know that poor sales mean financial ruin, while stratospheric
sales can create similarly spectacular profits. In this
activity, you will create a quantitative model
illustrating this, and use it to analyze and forecast
An employer pays $3,000 per month for rent office space, and
pays a total of 12 employees (including yourself) $1,000 per month
plus a bonus of $10 for each unit of work completed by the worker that
month. Suppose also that your employer makes $18 (gross) per unit of
work by an employee.
- Find your monthly salary S(x) as a function of x, the
number of units of work you complete that month.
- If all of your co-workers produce/sell (on average) x units per
month, find the monthly profit P(x) of your employer Phil Bates
as a function of x.
- Suppose you complete 200 units per month. Find your monthly
paycheck.
- Suppose all of your co-workers (on average) also complete 200
units per month. Find your boss Phil Bates' profits per month.
- Suppose you complete 300 units per month. Find your monthly
paycheck. And also, supposing all of your co-workers (on average) also
complete 300 units per month, find Phil Bates'
profits on such months.
- How bad a month (how few a number of units of work completed)
does it have to be for your employer to make the same monthly salary
you do?
- Due to the his revenues from the units of work you completed
(service calls, sales, computer programs written, etc), your employer
Phil Bates (following his wealthier cousin Bill) is able to now rent a
bigger office ($10,000 per month), and employ 50 employees, each one
still getting $1,000 per month plus $10 per unit of work completed,
and again each unit of work completed makes $18 (gross) for Phil
Bates.
How many units (x) would you and your co-workers have to complete
each month before Phil's (monthly) profits are double your
monthly wage? Ten times your monthly wage?
What if you produce/sell x=200 or 300 as in the earlier scenarios?
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by Harel Barzilai. Non-profit educational use explicitly allowed and
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