[jackweirdy]

> ... and Charlie had realized this, it would be likely to fail, because he did not have enough leverage toward the upper management to get the resources required to succeed

Not to mention, the company will be paying Alan and his team much more than they’re paying Charles.

It’s my suspicion that people will give more weight to people they’re paying more, simply because they’re perceived as more valuable - independent of any other hard data. So despite having already spent more money on Alan, they’d be likely to continue doing so, due to the perception of hard work and the perceived value to the company.

[ctchocula]

I read an study testing an idea similar to yours, but with wine. They organized a study in the guise of a wine tasting event where there were 3 bottles of wine, but 2 bottles were marked up (one from $5 -> $50 and another from $10 -> $90). Even though people didn't know they were tasting the same wine, they said the the more expensive one tasted better. The other half of the study was with the prices removed, people couldn't guess the more expensive wine. The conclusion from the study was that "Individuals who are unaware of the price do not derive more enjoyment from more expensive wine."

Source: http://www.wired.com/2011/04/should-we-buy-expensive-wine/