I have the same question. Plus, I didn't see an explanation of the formula in the textbook. Perhaps it's in the 8th or 7th edition, but not in the 9th?
Here is what I can reason so far:
1. 5 Million outstanding shares with 1 vote designated to every share.
2. There are 11 members to be elected (out of 12 people? Is this why there is a "+1" next to the 11?)
[5,000,000/(11+1)] = 416,667 votes per person (if equally distributed into a 12-way tie)
3. So for a person to be elected, they would have to get at least 1 more vote than that. Hence
[5,000,000/(11+1)]+1 = 416,668 (the minimum to guarantee a seat on the board)
What I don't understand from the homework is if the result of the equation to be explained is the amount of shares to elect 2 members or 1 to the Board of Directors. It looks to me like it's just one.
My answer would be:
416,668 * 2 = 833,336
Any suggestions are welcome. I'll read through the other forum topics for this assignment to see if I missed the explanation. To the NEAS: I've read the discussions between Rachel and Jacob, read the chapter in the 9th edition, and still don't see anything concrete on the question, although I still learned quite a bit regardless.
Cameron