Assignment
Adams International has two large divisions: Oil and Chemical. Oil is in the oil-refining business and its main product is gasoline. Chemical produces and sells a variety of chemical products.
Chemical owns a polystyrene processing plant next to Oil's refinery. The polystyrene plant was built at the same time that Oil built a benzene plant at the refinery. Benzene is the raw material needed by Chemical to produce polystyrene. Chemical's managers believe they can sell 50 million kilograms of polystyrene per year, which is less than full capacity. Following are Chemical's expected revenues and costs for the polystyrene plant (volume is measured using weight in kilograms rather than a liquid measure such as litres):
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Per kilogram
|
|
Selling price
|
$0.30
|
|
Benzene (from Oil)
|
?
|
|
Variable production costs
|
0.03
|
|
Fixed production costs
|
0.05
|
Oil can operate at full capacity and sell all the gasoline it produces. Following are Oil's expected revenues and costs for the production of gasoline:
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Per kilogram
|
|
Selling price
|
$0.16
|
|
Crude oil
|
0.06
|
|
Variable production costs
|
0.02
|
|
Fixed production costs
|
0.07
|
For every kilogram of benzene that Oil produces, it will forgo selling a kilogram of gasoline. However, 50 million kilograms per year would be only a small portion of the total volume at the refinery. Following are Oil's expected revenues and costs for the production of benzene(these costs include the costs of refining the crude oil):
|
Per kilogram
|
|
Selling price(to Chemical)
|
$?
|
|
Crude oil
|
0.06
|
|
Variable production costs
|
0.04
|
|
Fixed production costs
|
0.09
|
Required:
1. On a company-wide basis, should Adams International produce polystyrene this year? Why or why not?
2. What is the maximum price that Chemical's managers would be willing to pay for benzene?
3. Would Chemical's managers be willing to pay the maximum transfer price calculated in part 2? Why or why not?
4. What is the minimum price that Oil's managers would be willing to receive for Benzene?
5. What transfer price might be fair to the managers of both divisions? Explain.