The Simpsons and Financial Motivation

A big Homer hat tip to Richard Ackroyd for this lesson suggestion which neatly merges The Simpsons with financial motivation

Richard just used this article in the Observer as an interesting starter with year 13 as part of the employee/employer relations topic in AQA (A2) BUSS3, but it should also fit in really well with the motivation topics in AQA BUSS2 and related units for other exam boards.. Richard suggests that he will be less of a fan of the show in future after reading how much the voice over cast get paid; talk about the bankers!

“The Simpsons pay dispute settled as cast sign on for two more seasons”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2011/oct/08/simpsons-pay-dispute-settled-cast

As the Guardian reports:

“Fans of The Simpsons can grab a doughnut and break out the Duff Beer because the venerable cartoon series is set to run for at least two more seasons after settlement of a bitter pay dispute.

The final terms of the deal have not been revealed, but the Hollywood Reporter said the cast had now taken a pay cut of about 30% and would not be getting a share of the back-end profits. However, that wages slash still means they will each receive an average of $300,000 [£193,000] for every episode.”

There’s also some interesting discussion to be had about profit sharing and the corporate image of 20th Century Fox.