• Due Date
• Friday, September 17, 20215:00 PM
• Points Possible
• 200
• Please upload your paper here by 5:00 PM ET Friday September 17. Your paper is worth 200 points. The guidelines are below and are also on the syllabus.
• You will be expected to write one paper, due the last Friday of the class. Papers will be applied to a business problem of your choice that you have experienced or witnessed in some way. Business situations that have been presented in the media are not permitted. Papers will be submitted using Microsoft Word and will be uploaded through the assignment in Blackboard. Papers will be typed, double-spaced, Times New Roman or Calbri, font size 11pt, with 1” margins all around, and should be around 1000 words, or roughly four to five double spaced pages, with a firm limit of 1250 words, with the above requirements. Please spell check and proof read your paper. Please note that a shorter paper is absolutely fine as long as you address the required components outlined below. A poorly written paper will not score as well as a well-written, error-free paper. Cover pages, references, and graphs do not count toward length. Please do not eat space with headings–all that is needed is your name at the top. Think of this as an executive memo of sorts within your business! Papers must be submitted to Blackboard no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on the posted due date. Again, you must upload your paper through Blackboard through the assignment tab. The paper will count toward your grade for 200 points. Early papers are definitely welcome!
• Papers will be graded with a list of criteria as a guideline for consistency but with any written work, there is not a complete formula. Your ability to follow instructions, write clearly and concisely, and apply economic concepts and the paradigm we are using are all factors that will be incorporated in the grading rubric. Please note we will not be able to read drafts of your papers. The discussion board posts will serve as your primary mechanism of feedback as you work on your paper. You are encouraged to work with a classmate to share drafts /proof read each other’s papers. Your instructor will not read drafts of your paper.
The paper components and guidelines are as follows:
Paper Components:
o Introduction: Identification of the components of the problem-solving paradigm as it applies to your chosen business problem and identification of the three economic theories you will use in your paper. (125 – word guideline/max, 25 points). Your week 1 discussion board ties to this component.
o Economic theory 1: Application of your first chosen theory to your problem and analysis of the theory in context of the problem and paradigm. (250 – word guideline/max, 50 points). Your week 2 discussion board ties to this component.
o Economic theory 2: Application of your second chosen theory to your problem and analysis of the theory in context of the problem and paradigm. (250 – word guideline/max, 50 points). Your week 3 discussion board ties to this component.
o Economic theory 3: Application of your third chosen theory to your problem and analysis of the theory in context of the problem and paradigm. (250 – word guideline/max, 50 points). Your week 4 discussion board ties to this component.
o Conclusion and recommendations: Tie your recommendations that flow from you economic applications and analysis together to present a remedy/remedies to the problem(s) identified in the problem-solving paradigm in your introduction. Be sure to clearly tie you recommendation back to the decision maker you identified in your paradigm! (125 – word guideline.max, 25 points). Your week 5 discusison board ties to this component.
• Paper Guidelines
• Part 1: Introduction
Your introduction should follow this format:
Introduce the topic in a few sentences, present the problem clearly by including all three question components of the Problem-Solving Paradigm presented on pages 4-5 in Chapter 1 as they relate to your topic. Identify your three economic theories you will be using in the paper.
o Include: WHO made the BAD decision. In a sentence. (ex: The purchasing manager made the bad decision to sign a contract with a suppplier despite the slowdown in orders over the past year).
o Include: Did the decision maker have enough information to make a good decision? YES/NO, within a one sentence explanation. (ex: Yes, the purchasing manager had enough information to make a good decision.)
o Include: Did the decision maker have the incentive to make a good decision? YES/NO, within a one sentence explanation. (ex: No, the purchasing manager did not have an incentive to make a good decision because her salary was not tied to profit.)
o List which economic THEORIES (at least 3 from the list below) you will use to discuss the problem identified (In this example, it would be either the incentive problem or that you have the wrong decision maker, or both).
o The quality of your writing will be evaluated (complete sentences, no grammatical or typographical errors, flow of writing, ability to follow instructions).
• Parts 2-4: Three Economic Theories and Analysis
Present your case. Expand upon your identified paradigm components from the introduction using your chosen theories to analyze the problem(s) that will lead to your recommended remedy.
o Analyze the problem by applying your FIRST stated theory. Explain how it applies to the problem in your paradigm. Use the first theory correctly in your explanation.
o Analyze the problem by applying your SECOND stated theory. Explain how it applies to the problem in your praadigm. Use the second theory correctly in your explanation.
o Analyze the problem by applying your THIRD stated theory. Explain how it applies to the problem in your paradigm. Use the third theory correctly in your explanation.
o The quality of your writing will be evaluated as explained above.
o You may use other theories as part of your analysis, but you must pick three main theories from the list below. For example, you might use marginal analysis as part of your application/discussion but it is not one of the three required theories.
• For your economic theories, please choose three theories to apply from among the following topics:
•
• 1. Shifts in Demand or Supply and impact on market equilibirum
• 2. Shortages and/or surpluses
• 3. Price Controls-Price ceilings or Price floors
• 4. Elasticity: Price elasticity of demand, cross price elasticity, or income elasticity
• 5. Cost factors-fixed and/or variable costs, productivity
• 6. Cost Factors-economies and/or diseconomies of scale or scope
• 7. Cost factors-productivity/diminishing marginal returns
• 8. Competetive industires versus monopoly
• 9. Pricing decisions with commonly owned products (substitutes or complements)
• 10. Pricing decisions with promotional pricing and/or psychological pricing
• 11. Direct price discrimination
• 12. Indirect price discrimination-Volume discounts or bundling
• 13.Adverse selection-risk, screening, signaling
• 14. Moral Hazard
•
• Part 5: Conclusion
Present recommendations and concluding remarks that connect to your paradigm components.
o State and explain your recommendation(s) to RESOLVE the problem(s) identified in your paradigm, and/or what you would do differently to resolve the problem. This recommendation/resolution must be tied to the decision-maker identified in your paradigm-in the above example, it is the purchasing manager.
o Your recommendations are logically connected to and flow from your economic analysis using your three chosen theories.
o Provide concluding remarks to wrap things up.
o The quality of your writing will be evaluated as explained above.
• Please note that you are expected to show a clear understanding of the theories you choose by correctly explaining their application to your problem. Restating theory definitons is not needed and should not be done-we know the theories and this eats your space. Avoid using technical jargon that is not widely known to someone not familiar with your industry or situation. Any graphs, table, or numerical examples that are stand alone should be put in an appendix that will not count in your word count but an explanation should be in the body of the paper.
