28 Dec Using GUIDES, choose a

JWI515 Managerial Economics

Week 1 Discussion

Introduction, Country Choice, and Product/Service Selection

The purpose of this discussion is to introduce yourself and make selections for Assignment 1. As explained in the instructions for Assignment 1 (link below), you will choose a target country from the list provided, as well as a product or service to analyze.

Read through the Assignment 1 instructions and then respond to the following three prompts:

Tell us a bit about yourself. State the name of your organization and describe the sector in which it does business

State the target international country you have chosen from the list in Assignment 1, and explain why this country interests you

Briefly describe the product or service provided by your organization (or an organization that is of interest) that you will analyze in this course

JWI515 Managerial Economics

Week 2 Discussion

GUIDES Worksheet Analysis

In preparation for Assignment 2, respond to the prompts below, using any of the G, U, or I indicators:

Discuss two indicators that help explain your chosen target country’s economic health

Discuss two indicators that can help you make a more informed recommendation for your chosen company

Make sure to restate your target country and your company as part of your initial post.

JWI515 Managerial Economics

Week 3 Discussion

GUIDES Worksheet Analysis

In preparation for Assignment 2, respond to the prompts below:

What stage of the Business Cycle is both your home and target country in?

What stage of the Business Cycle is your industry in, and your company in?

How can you use this data to understand your company’s prospects in your target country?

What innovations, if any, are present to help your company grow its business?

Make sure to restate your target country and your company as part of your initial post.

JWI515 Managerial Economics

Week 4 Discussion

GUIDES Worksheet Analysis

In preparation for Assignment 2, respond to the prompts below, using any of the D, E, or S indicators:

Discuss two indicators that help explain your chosen target country’s economic health

Discuss two indicators that can help you make a more informed recommendation for your chosen company

Make sure to restate your target country and your company as part of your initial post.

JWI515 Managerial Economics

Week 5 Discussion

Utility and Supply & Demand

Using the product or service that you have selected for your assignments, address each of the following prompts:

Describe the product or service in terms of its nature using the terminology and concepts learned this week. For example, is it an inferior, normal, or luxury product or service? What are its substitutes, if any? What are its complements, if any?

Describe this product/service in terms of the utility it provides to buyers and/or its users. Name one strong utility feature and one weak utility feature. Explain why you think your customers keep coming back to you and not your competitors.

Describe one factor that has shifted Demand (p. 24 in Microeconomics Made Simple) OR one factor that has shifted Supply (p. 34 in Microeconomics Made Simple) of this product/service within the last year.

JWI515 Managerial Economics

Week 6 Discussion

Product Analysis

Using a core product or service at your company, address each of the following points:

Assess your product/service in terms of price elasticity of demand. Is it elastic or inelastic (support your decision with rationale)?

Consider the product/service from its emotional perspective, using the prompts below:

What emotion does this product/service elicit from its buyers or users (if different)?

What recommendations do you have for evaluating and improving its emotional impact?

Consider the product/service from the Last Mile perspective, using the prompts below:

What does the customer experience look like?

What recommendations do you have for evaluating and improving this experience?

JWI515 Managerial Economics

Week 7 Discussion

Pricing Practices

Review the section on Price Discrimination in the Required Resources menu link.

Using a core product or service at your company, address each of the following points:

Describe at least one (1) new 2nd Degree Price Discrimination tactic that is not currently in use by the company.

What is the current price and what is your proposed new price?

Why do you believe this approach is better than other 2nd Degree options?

Describe at least one (1) new 3rd Degree Price Discrimination tactic that is not currently in use by the company.

What is the current price and what is your proposed new price?

Who is your target market and what demographic(s) are you seeking?

Is this product or service impacted by government influences, such as price ceilings, price floors, grants, tax credits, taxes, or subsidies? If so, how do they affect your pricing? If not, share how one or more of these might become an influence in the future?

JWI515 Managerial Economics

Week 8 Discussion

Market Forces Impacting Your Company

Review the section on Porter’s Five Forces in the Required Resources menu link.

As a reminder, Porter’s Five Forces are: (1) Rivalry Among Existing Competitors, (2) Threat of Substitutes, (3) Threat of New Entrants, (4) Bargaining Power of Buyers, and (5) Bargaining Power of Suppliers.

Using the company and industry you have chosen for your assignments:

From the Five Forces listed above, select one strong force and one weak force

For the strong force you selected, give one example of how you can apply your understanding of its strength to help you make better decisions for your company

For the weak force you selected, give one example of how you can apply your understanding of its weakness to help you make better decisions for your company

NOTE: You can base the examples on prior decisions and discuss how you are now better prepared when similar opportunities/situations arise again in the future.

JWI515 Managerial Economics

Week 9 Discussion

Managing Risk

Review the section on Types of Business Risk in the Required Resources menu link.

Use the prompts below to help you think about how to manage the risks you may face, as you take your company to the next level:

Share two types of risks that you are likely to encounter as your company expands

As a leader responsible for a successful outcome, what can you do to minimize the impacts of these risks?

How could the ability to assess risk and and mitigate its impact help you in your current job and/or your future career?

JWI515 Managerial Economics

Week 10 Discussion

Productivity Status and Initiatives

Reflect on your current or former company in regard to its productivity levels and initiatives; then address each of the following points:

Has productivity increased, decreased, or remained stagnant at your company?

What would you do to sustain or improve productivity, in light of the company’s factors of production?

Have you observed or participated in any initiatives to turn around a struggling business unit or division?

If Yes:

What worked well in the initiative?

What should be done differently the next time around?

If No:

What could you do to improve your own or your team’s productivity at work?

What area would you focus on first, and why?

JWI515 Managerial Economics

Week 10 Learning Journal

What are your key takeaways from this Managerial Economics course? Reflect on this question, using the prompts below:

What are the most important economic concepts you have learned this term?

Which concept in this course is the most relevant and applicable to your career?

How has this course improved your acumen and insight as a business leader?

JWI515 Managerial Economics

Assignment 1

Overview

In Assignment 1, you will learn how to collect economic data, using Economic Indicators that are readily available to consumers online. Economic Indicators are key statistics or metrics used to study the status of the overall economy, industry segments, and specific companies. To help you learn how Economic Indicators work, JWMI has created a GUIDES Worksheet, which will take you step by step through the process of collecting the data needed for both Assignment 1 and Assignment 2.

You will use the Worksheet provided in your course to research key economic information about TWO countries: a target country that you select and your home country. The target country is a potential overseas location for your current company (or a company of interest) to expand its business, either by increasing an existing division located there or by entering a new market. For most students, your home country is the United States, but for international students, it is your country of residence. Exceptions are possible if you have a unique situation – contact your Professor.

Use your current company and its industry for context. If your company is not currently operating globally, imagine that it is considering entry into one of the markets below. It is your task to assess the economic conditions in relation to your company’s unique profile and needs, so as to assess whether expansion into the potential overseas market makes sense for your business.

Choose ONE of the following countries as the target country for this assignment:

• Bahrain

• Canada

• Chile

• Ethiopia

• Germany

• Hungary

• Ireland

• Japan

• Mexico

• Russia

• South Africa

• South Korea

• Thailand

• Turkey

• United Kingdom

Instructions

Download and save your GUIDES Worksheet in Week 1. Complete the entries in the GUIDES

Worksheet during Weeks 2 and 3. All the required data can be found on the Trading Economics or Doing

Business websites (links below).

§ Access the Trading Economics website at http://www.tradingeconomics.com

§ Access the Doing Business website at http://www.doingbusiness.org

TIP: To locate Economic Indicators not found on the Trading Economics website main landing page, click the

INDICATORS drop-down menu at the top of the page, to see the full list of available Indicators.

Week 1:

Download and save your GUIDES Worksheet:

§ Review the instructions for Assignment 1

§ Download and save your GUIDES Worksheet as an MS Word document

§ Use this format for your filename: LastName_FirstName_JWI515_GUIDES_Worksheet.docx

e.g. Doe_John_JWI515_ GUIDES_Worksheet.docx

Week 2:

Complete the following sections of the GUIDES Worksheet:

o Section G (GDP & Growth)

o Section U (Unemployment & Utilization)

o Section I (Inflation & Interest rates)

Week 3:

Complete the following sections of the GUIDES Worksheet:

o Section D (Debt & Deficits)

o Section E (External balances & Exchange rates)

o Section S (Savings & Investment)

Submit your completed GUIDES Worksheet document (All Sections – G, U, I, D, E, and S) in Week 3.

JWI515 Managerial Economics

Assignment 2

Executive Brief

Instructions

In Assignment 2, you will analyze the data collected in your GUIDES Worksheet. Now that you have researched the economic conditions of the target country, using the Indicators and other resources, you are ready to make a recommendation. You will present your conclusions and proposed next steps in a 3 to 4-page Executive Brief. In this document, you summarize your key findings, recommend a course of action, and provide a rationale for your proposal. Your home country data is an important benchmark for interpreting the data on the target country which you have been researching.

Use the prompts below to analyze your findings and decide on the best next steps. Make notes on your response to each prompt, so as to clarify your ideas. As an Executive Brief is a succinct business communication, it is helpful to work through your data and refine your conclusions before writing the document. When you are ready to proceed, use the Sample Outline provided at the end of the Instructions to structure your assignment document.

1. Economic Conditions in your Target Country:

o Describe the overall economic health and business trends in the target country

o What three Indicators helped most in assessing the target country’s economic health? Why?

o What stage of the business cycle is your industry in for the target country?

o What does this imply for growth opportunities for your company in the target country?

2. Recommended Option:

o Based on your research, what is the best next step for your company in the target country? Choose

ONE of the recommendations below:

? Enter new market in target country

? Do Not enter new market in target country

? Expand existing market presence in target country

? Plan for withdrawal from the market in target country

o What is the rationale for your recommendation, based on your research?

o What two Indicators helped most in assessing the business outlook for your company and its

industry in the target country? Why?

Executive Brief – Sample Outline

Use the following Outline of sections to organize the body of your Brief. Use the underlined headings as section headings in your memo. Use the prompts in each section to make sure you include the required content.

TO: Your Instructor

FROM: Your Name

DATE: Submittal Date

RE: Managerial Economics 515 – Assignment 2 – Executive Brief

Introduction (Address the following)

Specify your home country, target country, company and the industry it operates in

Give an overview of the task you have done researching Indicators and explain its purpose

Target Country Economic State (Address the following)

Describe the economic health and business trends of your target country

What three Indicators were key in assessing the target country’s economic health? Why?

What stage of the business cycle is your industry in for the target country?

What does this data imply for growth opportunities for your company in the target country?

Recommendation (Address the following)

Choose ONE of the following options to recommend:

? Enter new market in target country

? Do Not enter new market in target country

? Expand existing market presence in target country

? Plan for withdrawal from the target country’s market

Briefly explain the rationale for your recommendation, with reference to your research

What two Indicators were key in assessing the business outlook for your company and its industry in the target country? Why?

JWI515 Managerial Economics

Assignment 3

Price Discrimination Memo

Your Assignment

Your boss has just given you an important, high priority assignment. The company’s core business product has shown steadily shrinking profitability and you’ve been asked to address the problem by coming up with at least one new pricing technique. Prior to the meeting, your boss would like to see a brief Memo that outlines your proposal and explains the impact it will have on units sold and profits.

Instructions

Develop a Memo of 2 to 3 pages for your boss. As a Memo is a succinct business communication, it is helpful to work through your ideas before writing the document. When you are ready, use the Sample Outline provided at the end of the Instructions to structure your assignment document.

1. Describe the company’s product or service, using relevant economic terminology. Questions to address include, but are not limited to:

• What is the product or service? What Utility or benefit does it provide to the consumer?

• What is your company’s history with this product or service?

• What does the competition in the market look like for this product orservice?

• What actions has your company taken to remain competitive?

2. Provide at least two specific proposals for price discrimination:

• Which Price Discrimination technique(s) will you use?

• What is the current price? What will be the new price?

3. Explain how implementing your proposal is expected to impact consumer demand:

• How will your proposal impact sales in the first three months?

• How will your proposal impact sales within eighteen months?

• What would increased sales enable the company to do differently?

JWI 515: Managerial Economics

Professional Formatting Requirements

Your assignment should follow these formatting requirements:

• Typed, double-spaced, professional font (size 10-12), include headings and subheadings, with one-inch margins on all sides

• In place of a Cover Page, provide the following heading at the top of Page One of your Memo:

Ø TO: Insert Professor’s Name

Ø FROM: Insert Your Name

Ø DATE: Insert Date Submitted

Ø RE: Managerial Economics 515 – Assignment 3 –Price Discrimination Memo

• Include a References page that enables the reader to locate original sources. Application and analysis of course materials and resources are expected, and additional research is welcome

• The References page is not included in the required length

Price Discrimination Memo – Sample Outline

Use the following Outline of sections to organize the body of your Memo. Use the underlined headings as section headings in your memo. Use the prompts in each section to make sure you include the required content.

TO: Your Instructor

FROM: Your Name

DATE: Submittal Date

RE: Managerial Economics 515 – Assignment 3 – Price Discrimination Memo

Introduction

Describe the contents of the memo

Product or Service

Briefly describe your product or service. (Address the following)

What utility or benefit does it provide to consumers?

Has your company offered this product or service in the past?

Which competitors offer the same or similar products or services in the market?

How has you company tried to stay competitive in the past?

Price Discrimination Proposals

Briefly describe one price discrimination technique that you will use. (Address the following)

What is the current price? What will the new price be?

How will this technique generate more profits?

Briefly describe a second price discrimination technique that you will use. (Address the following)

Answer the same questions as above for this technique

Impacts on Consumer Demand

Explain and quantify how your proposal will impact sales within the first three months

Explain and quantify how your proposal will impact sales within eighteen months

What could the company do differently, as a result of the increased sales?

JWI515 Managerial Economics

Assignment 4

Industry and Company Analysis

Your Assignment

Next month, you will be meeting with a group of investors to discuss the possibility of a capital investment in your current company (or a company of interest) to significantly expand operations. The company’s Board of Directors will also attend the meeting. To prepare for your presentation to these decision-makers and stakeholders, you need to conduct a thorough and honest evaluation of your company and its products or services.

Instructions

Write a paper of 5 to 7 pages in which you address the topics below. To create the structure – sections and subsections – of your paper, we recommend you to use the Sample Outline provided at the end of these Instructions. You should refer to the course content and show that you have used online resources to gather both quantitative and qualitative information related to your company.

1. Describe your company and its major products or services, using terms and concepts learned in this course. Include the following:

a. Market sector and industry

b. Market structure—pure competition, monopoly, monopsony, or oligopoly

c. Major products and/or services

2. Describe the economic environment in which your company is doing business, using terms and concepts learned in this course. Include the following:

a. Elasticity and the factors that affect product or service supply and demand

b. Other relevant economic characteristics, such as utility, type of good, etc.

c. Non-economic forces that impact sales and profitability, such as weather, business cycles, technology releases, or regulations

3. Evaluate your company’s short-term and long-term economic outlook. Include the following:

a. Using GUIDES, choose one macroeconomic indicator that poses an external concern or points to an area of risk. Explain its implications.

b. Using GUIDES, choose one macroeconomic indicator that provides reassurance or points to future growth. Explain its implications.

c. What type of outlook can investors expect over the short-term (5- 7 years)? Specify any major favorable or unfavorable elements from your research.

d. What type of outlook can investors expect over the long-term (8+ years)? Specify any major favorable or unfavorable elements from your research.

Professional Formatting Requirements

• Typed, double-spaced, professional font (size 10-12), include headings and subheadings, with one-inch margins on all sides

• Include a Cover page containing the title of the assignment, your name, your professor’s name, the course title, and the date

• Include an Abstract: a short summary of your paper that readers can use as an overview

• Utilize the Sample Outline provided on the next page, or create one of your own that mirrors the grading

Rubric’s deliverables

• Tables or graphs are encouraged as appropriate and can be embedded within the body of your paper or added in an Appendix

• Include a References page that enables the reader to locate original sources. Application and analysis of course materials and resources are expected, and additional research is welcome

• The Cover page and References page are not included in the required length Industry and Company Analysis – Sample Outline

Use the following Outline to organize your paper. Use the underlined headings as section headings. Use the prompts in each section to be sure you include the required content. When you have finished your paper, write an Abstract (summary) of one to two paragraphs. The Abstract goes on a separate page, right after the Cover Page.

Cover Page

Abstract

On a separate page, write a short summary of your overall evaluation of the company’s prospects

Introduction

Describe the structure of the report

Background and Products (Address the following)

Describe your company’s market sector and industry

Explain the market structure: is it pure competition, monopoly, monopsony, or oligopoly?

Describe your company’s major products or services

Assessment of Company and Products/Services (Address the following)

Specify the economic factors – such as elasticity – that impact supply and demand

Specify any other significant economic characteristics, such as utility, type of good, etc.

What non-economic forces – such as weather, business cycles, new technologies or changes in regulations – can impact your company’s sales and profitability?

Economic Outlook (Address the following)

Using GUIDES, choose a macroeconomic indicator that poses an external concern or points to an area of risk; explain the implication of this indicator for your company and industry

Using GUIDES, choose a macroeconomic indicator that provides some reassurance or points to future growth; explain the implication of this indicator for your company and industry

Summarize the outlook for investors in the short-term (5 to 7 years), specifying any major favorable or unfavorable elements from your research

Summarize the outlook for prospective investors in the long-term (8+ years), specifying any major favorable or unfavorable elements from your research

Conclusion

Briefly recap and summarize the major findings of your report