Discussion Question
1. Let us imagine you are a consultant who has just been hired by a small business owner as an industry specialist. For this discussion you will identify one specific small business that you own, know the owner well or frequent as a customer.
• As the business consultant for this specific business exactly what would you recommend based on all the information you have just learned about monopolistic competition? Specifically include:
• product or service type
• level of competition that currently exists
• strategies for expanding market share
• short and long run goals
• how to achieve these goals
• Feel free to do additional research on this topic and post the URL along with a summary of what you found.
Question 2
In The News: Pizza, sub sandwiches, furniture, shoes, and many other products are considered to be in the monopolistic competitive market structure.
1. Use the key word ECONOMIC NEWS in an Internet search engine (Google, Bing etc.) to locate online news sources such as CNN News, the NYTimes, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, US News and World Report, or any of the various other nationally recognized news providers.
• NOTE: Make sure the story you select reflects the material covered in the chapter. This is best accomplished by using the ADVANCED SEARCH option and also choosing appropriate categories such as "Business" or "Economics" when the option exists. Also choose sort by "RELEVANCE" to further refine the search process.
Select a news provider and use their search feature to locate a news story on one of the following suggested concepts, or on a topic of interest to you that is appropriate to this chapter.
Possible search terms:
• Product differentiation
• Sales strategies
• Advertising (Purpose of)
• Brand names (or search for the news on a specific brand name you purchase)
• Trademarks
• Direct marketing
Write a 1-2 page summary of the information and also explain how it relates to what you have just learned.
Question 3
What did you learn? Why is it important? How do the Economics concepts we just covered impact the economy, you and your family, your friends and your employer?
1. Select the top ten most important ideas / concepts you learned in chapters 25 & 26 of your textbook.
2. Number your list and write a three to four sentence explanation of why each idea / concept is important to you and how it affects your life.