Exercise 2: A Revised Rollback-Cost Budget — Possible Solution ==================================================================== GIVEN (REVISED DISTRIBUTION) ------------------------------ P(no rollback) = 0.85, cost $0 P(partial rollback) = 0.10, cost $3,000 P(full rollback) = 0.05, cost $40,000 STEP 1: CONFIRMING A VALID DISTRIBUTION ------------------------------ 0.85 + 0.10 + 0.05 = 1.0 STEP 2: RECOMPUTING E[X] ------------------------------ E[X] = (0)(0.85) + (3000)(0.10) + (40000)(0.05) = 0 + 300 + 2000 = $2,300 STEP 3: COMPARING TO STEP 4's ORIGINAL FIGURE ------------------------------ Original E[X] (Step 4): $1,560 Revised E[X]: $2,300 The budget should INCREASE, from $1,560 to $2,300 - an increase of $740. Even though the full-rollback probability only rose from 3% to 5% (a 2-percentage-point change), that shift was entirely funded by reducing the much cheaper partial-rollback probability, and because the full-rollback cost ($40,000) so dramatically outweighs the partial -rollback cost ($3,000), even a small probability shift toward the expensive outcome moves the expected cost substantially. WHY THIS WORKS AS AN ANSWER ------------------------------ The distribution is validated first, E[X] is recomputed using this chapter's own Step 4 formula, and the comparison against the original figure is made explicit with the exact dollar difference, explaining why a small probability shift produced a disproportionately large change in expected cost.