To answer, "b. offer rebates and incentives for customers who purchase washing machines." Increasing a company's productivity must be strategically planned, ensuring there is demand in line with economic expectations. If a firm expands its capacity without sufficient demand, the outcome can be detrimental, especially during economic downturns. The described firm faces idle capacity and, thus, it is prudent to provide price incentives like discounts to encourage demand for washing machines, allowing the business to maintain operations until the economy rebounds.
a. The break-even point equals Fixed Cost divided by Contribution per unit. This results in a break-even point of $1,500,000 divided by $19.95, which equals 75,188 subscribers. b. The new break-even point would be calculated by $1,500,000 divided by $24.95, yielding 60,120 subscribers. c. Currently, the subscriber base consists of 73,000, and after accounting for a loss of 10,000 subscribers, the adjusted total is 63,000. Since 60,120 subscribers are required to break even, the company remains profitable with 2,880 extra subscribers exceeding the break-even number.
