Metalcoat Case Study

Melita Sanchez has been successfully freelancing as a software salesperson for three software companies.   Working on a commission basis, she is responsible for her own expenses.   A lack of competition for available products in Columbus, her sales region, has made her job relatively easy.   In fact, she is confident she is only working at 60% capacity and has decided to search for a new product line to supplement her current sales.   One such possibility is a software line utilized by businesses seeking to monitor employee computer usage.   However, the projected commission for this arrangement is low and, more importantly, Melinda has ethical concerns about aligning herself with a product that invades employee privacy.
Melita’s search for an additional line has yielded a considerable offer from MetalCoat Company.   They are interested in hiring her to handle the company’s marketing efforts.   The company is a small manufacturer with plenty of competition.   The offer is generous and Melita is interested and excited about the offer, but she has several concerns.   The job will require her to learn about a different type of product, will involve more than just sales, and will call for more   travel than she is accustomed.
If Melita accepts MetalCoat’s offer, she will likely be forced to abandon her former software lines, because the MetalCoat position is clearly a full-time job, including oversight of pricing, advertising and sales efforts for the company.   However, the potential commission from the MetalCoat position more than absorbs the loss of the other sales jobs -   MetalCoat is offering 12% commission, which at last year’s sales level amounts to $60,000 annually.   Moreover, the company is confident it could handle four times that volume, which would drive Melita’s potential commission total to $240,000.   In 2006, she only earned $49,000 from her current jobs, and the additional software sales job only projects earnings of $3,000.   Clearly, the additional income...