Why do some business firms pursue a triple-bottom-line outcome while others focus only on profit maximization? Please, use a real company example to illustrate your points.
Guided Response:
In 300 words or more, please, provide your response to the above discussion question. Comment on how customers can influence firms to pay more attention to the preservation of the natural environment. Respond substantively to at least two of your classmates' postings. Substantive responses use theory, research, and experience or examples to support ideas and further the class knowledge on the discussion topic
What is the marginal rate of substitution (MRS) and why does it diminish as the consumer substitutes one product for another? Use examples to illustrate.
Guided Response:
In 300 words or more, please, provide your response to the above discussion question. Find two goods from your own consumption basket and explain how the MRS changes for the two products as you substitute one for the other. Respond substantively to at least two of your classmates' postings. Substantive responses use theory, research, and experience or examples to support ideas and further the class knowledge on the discussion topic.
Relevent cost
Two partners own together a small landscaping business in North Carolina, called Summer Lawn Care. They have been specializing in summer grass seeding, installation, and maintenance. Recently, the partners acquired special technology and know-how for winter grass installations and maintenance. They also added a tree cutting service as recent storms in the area had caused demand for this service to soar. One of the partners insists that the name of the business should change to Lawn and Tree Care, so that it better reflects the range of services and, thus, generates more customer interest, and thus contracts. The second partner wants to keep the old name and argues, "We have already paid for business cards, vehicle paint, signage, and ads in Yellow Pages". Evaluate the arguments of the two partners. Explain and illustrate their points by identifying the relevant and irrelevant costs for this decision.
Guided Response:
In 300 words or more, please, provide your response to the above discussion question. Identify all the costs in the decision process, including explicit costs, implicit costs and sunk costs. Respond substantively to at least two of your classmates' postings. Substantive responses use theory, research, and experience or examples to support ideas and further the class knowledge on the discussion topic.
An interesting example of strategic behavior comes from a 1997 article about Microsoft's investment in Apple (New Straits Times, 1997). The article is included in the Required Readings list. Facing tough anti-trust scrutiny from government agencies, Microsoft provided financial support to Apple in order to ensure Apple's survival and, therefore, to ensure that competitiveness in the industry remains. Moreover, the partnership with Apple provided an additional market for Microsoft's products - the MS Office and the IE products were to be bundled with the MAC OS as one of the conditions for this financing. Discuss this case in the context of market structure and strategic behavior. What market structure do these firms operate in? Why did Microsoft need to preserve competitiveness in the industry? What was Microsoft afraid of in the event that Apple did not survive?
Good will in price Bidding
Sometimes, a bidder on a work contract may bid lower than what would maximize his/her profit from the contract and the reason for that is to create goodwill (to increase expected future business from the buyer). How would you value the goodwill that is obtained in this way?
Game theory and strategic behaviour
1. Suppose that GE is trying to prevent Maytag from entering the market for high efficiency clothes dryers. Even though high efficiency dryers are more costly to produce, they are also more profitable as they command sufficiently higher prices from consumers. The following payoffs table shows the annual profits for GE and Maytag for the advertising spending and entry decisions that they are facing.