CASE STUDY

Part I

Pick a company that produces a good or service. Choose a company that:

  • Interests you. Consider companies for which you might want to work or where a family or friend works. This can be a local, national, or international company.
  • Is not too diversified. For example, Proctor and Gamble would be a bad choice because they are really several kinds of companies all operating under one name, since they produce soaps, detergents, skin care, paper products, toothpaste, etc. To determine if your company is too diversified ask yourself, “In what industry does my company compete?” If you can think of more than one industry in which your company competes, then it is too diversified.
  • Has been in existence for at least 10 years.
  1. (Page 1) Write a 200-300 word introduction of your company and what it produces. Discus the industry, if it is growing, is it a strong, long-lived industry, etc…(20 points). Proof read, plagiarism check, grammar check and spell check! Cite all sources and use either footnotes, end-notes, or parenthetical citations).
  2. (Pages 2 – 3) Describe at least two factors that may affect the demand for the goods or services. Show graphically the impact of each factor on the demand curve for the good or service. You MUST use 2 of the demand shifting factors in the chapter! (20 points for each D graph & paragraph) These do not need to be things that have happened or are happening. Feel free to make up events that would cause a shift of the demand curve. Make sure you describe in words the event that would shift the demand curve, state exactly which factor, and show the shift in a complete and correctly-labeled graph.
  3. (Pages 4 – 5) Describe at least two factors that could affect the supply curve of the goods or services. Show graphically the impact of each factor on the market for the goods or services. You MUST use the two of the factors in the chapter! (20 points for each S graph & paragraph). Again, you are free to imagine some event that would cause the shift of supply. Make sure you describe in words the event that would shift the supply curve, state exactly which factor, and show the shift in a complete and correctly-labeled graph.
  4. Page 1 has the introduction of the company and industry. 20 points
  5. Pages 2-5 – each page should have: the scenario description of the event that is making the curve shift, the statement of which factor is occurring, and a clearly drawn graph showing the initial D-curve, S-curve, Price, Quantity , and E point, and the new D-curve or S-curve, new Price, new Quantity, and new E point. And explain what the resulting shift will cause (increase in price, decrease in quantity, etc…)
  6. There should be examples of 1 D-curve moving to right, 1 D-curve moving to the left, 1 S-curve moving to the right, and 1 S-curve moving to the left.

Total length = 9 pages:

1 page for 200 word introduction

8 x 1 page with a graph showing the impact of the change in supply or demand and explanation for each shift.

Summary: The first part of your writing assignment should be:

  • 9 pages long. Submit ONLY 1 DOC., or DOCX document! Do not submit Google docs.
  • Page 1 is the brief description and history of the company.
  • Pages 2 through 5 – each page describes ONE event that would cause a shift of demand for your company’s product. Use factors in text – yes, you MUST read!
  • Pages 6 through 9 – each page describes ONE event that would cause a shift of the supply of your company’s product. Use factors in text – yes, you MUST read!
  • Make sure all your graphs are correct and complete. This means everything is labelled correctly!
  • Make sure you credit your sources correctly! See the sample if you are unsure.
  • Be clear in your writing (and in your own head!) whether you are describing something that affects YOUR company ONLY, or affects ALL companies producing the same product. (For instance, if your company is Starbuck’s – then a report linking coffee-drinking to cancer causes a shift in demand for ALL sellers of coffee. A consumer boycott of Starbucks over their employment practices affects demand for Starbucks coffee, but not the market demand for coffee.)