All of the topics from the Quantitative Reasoning for Business Overview document are important for managers to be able to consider. It is difficult to say which one or two would be more important than all of the others. I am one that believes the sole purpose of a company is to make money so the two I pick will have to do with the measurement of profits.
The first topic I have chosen as important to understand is the question of “What price should we set to increase revenue?” This is very important to know because price setting is a balancing act. If the price that is set is too high, some people will avoid purchasing that product and therefore revenue would not increase. If a price is increased and it causes some consumers to look elsewhere, revenue could stay relatively flat or even decrease. If a price is set too low, sales could increase but it would create a shortage and there is a situation where the company left money on the table and could have made more profit on the same amount of product. In this case the company left money on the table. Careful research would have to be done in advance of price setting to make sure that the price set is right for the amount of product that can be produced and at the highest possible profit margin.
The second topic I have chosen is, “Can we make more money by adding new equipment?” This is important to be able to figure out because if more money can be made by investing in equipment then it is worthwhile to make the investment. If the increase in sales is not enough to pay for equipment then the decision to make the investment is a loser. This is important for a manager to be able to decide because if a wrong decision is made, the manager may end up looking for another place to work. Companies do not like to lose money and a poor decision can be very