forcing

Allocation of the costs of a sustaining activity to a cost-object when that cost-object neither consumes nor is causally related to that activity. For example, allocating the cost of maintaining a plant to output-units through a cost-driver (such as labor hours) is forcing that cost to the product.

Get this answer wrong and you could leave bags of money on the table--or worse, send customers running into the arms of the competition. When Apple sliced the price of its iPhone by a third after only two months on the market, even loyal customers screamed, forcing chief Steve Jobs to apologize and offer a partial rebate. Consultants get paid handsomely to help companies arrive at the right price.