2024 – Assignment You are required to construct a case study research paper using the

Assignment: You are required to construct a case study/research paper using the knowledge gaining in the MBA 502 course.You will work with a classmate on this project. The primary purpose of the paper is to:

·         Further understand the economic way of thinking

·         Give you an incentive to think critically about course information

·         Apply economic principles to analyze a firm at the microeconomic level in the U.S and utilize macroeconomic information to evaluate the firm’s potential in a specific location.

 

Goal: Construct a case study/research paper that examines a firm in the U.S. from a microeconomic standpoint, consider the impact of macroeconomic issues, and provide suggestions based on your findings.

·         Step 1: Choose a firm for your focus. In addition to picking a firm that you find interesting, you will need to pick a firm that you can examine in detail.Publicly traded companies file reports with a great deal of information, although you may have insight into specific firms. Feel free to use any firm that you want (large or small, local or international).

·         Step 2: You will need to complete an analysis of the following categories for your firm. BE SURE TO CREATE A SEPARATE SECTION WITH A HEADING FOR EACH CATEGORY BELOW!The following must be included:

·         Step 3: Construct the paper:

 

Part 1: Analyze the firm from a microeconomic perspective:

o   Introduce your firm. Feel free to provide any background information that you feel is important.

o   How have supply and demand conditions impacted the firm in recent years? Note: Be sure to examine the various factors that can shift supply and demand.

o   Examine the elasticity of demand for you firm’s product.

o   What is (are) your firm’s primary competitive advantage(s)? In other words, what does your firm do well?

o   Are there entry barriers for firms in this industry?

o   What substitutes are available for your product?

o   What is the market share for firms in the industry?

o   What market structure best describes the conditions your firm faces?

 

Part 2: Consider the impact of macroeconomic conditions on your firm:

o   How have recessions/expansions, GDP, unemployment, and inflation impacted your firm in the past?

o   How is the current macroeconomic environment impacting your firm?

 

Part 3: Given your research, provide advice for the firm

o   Choose a new location that you feel has potential for your firm to expand and explain why you think the firm may be able to expand in the location. You can use both microeconomic and macroeconomic concepts.

o   Based on the characteristics of your firm, provide advice regarding what you think the firm should do going forward.

 

Step 4: Present an overview of your research and suggestions to the class. The time requirement for the presentation is between 5 and 8 minutes in length. You should utilize PowerPoint or a similar program for your presentation.

 

Paper Requirements:

·         Be sure to include a separate section with the introduction, each category above, and the conclusion.

·         Length: I expect that paper will be approximately 13-15pages; title page and reference page do not count toward the total.

·         Title page including the name of your paper, your name, and a paper abstract (this is a brief summary of your paper; around 100).

·         Paper section:

o   An introduction that clearly introduces your firmand the goal of the paper. This is very important as it conveys the importance of your paper.

o   The main body of the paper should clearly describe your findings and your suggestions.

o   A conclusion that summarizes and emphasizes your contribution. This is also very important.

·         The paper should be double spaced with times new roman font (size 12), 1 inch margins and justified text.

·         You should cite all sources that you use for data and analysis.

·         Resources should be cited on a reference page using APA format:

• http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/10/ http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

·         Be sure to use proper spelling and grammar.

• Additional resources are available from scholarly journals (these can be found through the EconLit database through the SNHU library online resources A-Z or JSTOR), scholarly books, government publications, or business news media (for example, the Wall Street Journal).
• Thepaper is worth 50 points (25% of your course grade).

 

 

 

Writing Assessment Rubric
Category	Excellent	Achieved	Developing	Limited
Introduction (3 points)	The introduction emphasizes the importance of the paper, states the main topic, and clearly previews the structure of the paper.	The introduction states the main topic and previews the structure of the paper.	The introduction states the main topic, but does not adequately preview the structure of the paper.Main idea not clearly defined.	There is no clear introduction of the main topic or structure of the paper.
Writing (3 points)	The paper uses proper sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and writing style.	The paper attempts proper sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and writing style, but contains several minor errors.	The paper attempts proper sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and writing style, but contains numerous minor errors.	The paper does not follow proper sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and writing style at all.
Content (30 points)	The paper clearly makes a significant claim and effectively describes the findings and suggestions.	The paper presents a solid topic and adequately describes the findings and suggestions	The paper topic is weak and/or underdeveloped.Description not necessarily clear or relevant.	The paper topic is unclear.There is limited use of any relevant supporting description.
Conclusion (3 points)	The paper conclusion is strong, clear, and concise. The conclusion thoroughly summarizes the ideas in the paper and emphasizes the importance of the issue.	The paper conclusion is well organized.The conclusion summarizes some of the ideas in the paper and attempts to emphasize the importance of the topic.	The paper conclusion vaguely discusses the topic, but does not clearly summarize the ideas and importance of the paper.	There is no clear conclusion.Summary and emphasis of the importance of the topic are non-existent.
References (6 points)	Effective and appropriate use of sources.Sources are properly cited in the text and documented in the reference page.	Adequate use of sources.Sources are properly cited in the text and documented in the reference page.	While sources are used, they are not always appropriate or relevant.More sources would be helpful.Sources are cited in the text and documented in the reference page.	No use of appropriate sources.Sources are not properly cited in the text or documented in the reference page.
Presentation (5 points)	Presentation is organized and meets time requirements. Presenters are prepared. All content covered.	Presentation is generally organized and covers required content, but the presenters may lack preparation and/or miss time requirements.	Presentation covers most required content, but presenters lack preparation, presentation is unorganized, and time requirement is lacking.	Presentation is unorganized and does not meet time requirements. Presenters are unprepared. Missing required content.