Is $80,000 Enough? You manage the sales and marketing department at a company that generates $100 million in sales—a manufacturer of fireplace inserts and related equipment. Assume you just started the job and that at the end of your second day the corporate operations officer (COO) sticks her head into your office and announces, "I’m in a rush and have to go, but I wanted to let you know that I put $80,000 in the budget for computers for your department next year. Is that OK? Unfortunately, I’ve got to know by the day after tomorrow. Thanks." How do you respond? You have 2 days to decide. If you agree to the $80,000 and it turns out to be insufficient, then sometime next year your department will lack computing resources and you’ll have a management problem. If that happens, you may have to spend over your budget. You know that cost control is important to your new employer, so you dread overspending. However, if you ask for more than $80,000, you need to justify why you need it. You will need to document the computer equipment and software your department needs, explain why you need it, and estimate how much it will cost.