Project Assignment

Overview

The project for this course is the creation of an economic analysis recommendation paper.

This course is an integral part of your journey toward a better understanding of the economy and of how the business you work for fits into it. The manager who excels at his or her job is able to make the connection between general theory and specific application. Your project provides you with the opportunity to practice and develop these skills. In this course, you will learn about economic principles-supply and demand, production and costs, market structures-and see how they apply to real-world situations. You will also learn about economic forecasting and tools used in strategic decision making. Being able to see the big picture and having the skills of economic analysis will help you become more effective as a manager. Although there are several general principles that hold in most organizations, such as trade-offs in the use of resources and customer budget constraints, the circumstances in which these principles apply are unique.

In this project, you will take on the role of an economic analyst at a company. An executive at the company has asked you to research an issue that affects your organization and recommend a solution. Choose from one of the case studies listed below and research a given issue that affects the organization, determine the issue's relationship to economics, and report on your analysis and recommendation. This assessment requires you to understand the big-picture context of a question, narrow down to a specific statement or set of statements to research, and present your findings.

You may encounter additional companies\case studies within your ECO 500 Case Study CoursePack. However, please disregard them and ONLY focus on the following:

- American Airlines
- Microsoft Corporation
- Heinz Corporation

The project is divided into three milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Three, Five, and Seven. The product will be submitted in Module Nine.

In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:

• Apply economic theory to real-world problems facing organizations for identifying relationships and root causes
• Recommend appropriate economic solutions to business problems for promoting organizational goals
• Translate economic principles and findings effectively to diverse professional audiences for promoting informed decision making
• Determine how the industry market structure and the U.S. economic system influence strategic business decision making
• Analyze economic data through application of mathematical and statistical concepts for informing economic decision making

Prompt

In your paper, you will take on the role of an economic analyst at the company in your chosen case study. You will interpret the topic presented within the context of your organization, analyze it within an economic framework, and translate the results and any recommendations in an easily presentable way.

Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:

I. Identification of the Issue: Describe the context of the issue that was presented to you and the specific statements that you will research.

II. Research: In this section, you will apply economic theory and quantitative analysis to your research topic.

A. Select an economic model to apply to the issue presented and justify why it is appropriate for the issue presented.
B. Apply the selected economic model to identify the root cause(s) of the presented issue.
C. Describe the relationship between the economic factors that you identified and the presented issue.
D. Using mathematical concepts, illustrate the relationships between economic factors and the issue.
E. Describe the market structure of your organization's industry.
F. Determine how the market structure of the industry influences the issue. Support your response with relevant examples from the case.

III. Recommendation: In this section, you will recommend an economic solution to your research topic.

A. Develop a recommendation for a logical economic solution to the presented issue.
B. Predict trends and impacts related to your recommended solution, using the quantitative relationship between economic factors.
C. Defend your predicted trends and impacts, using quantitative data to explain your logic.
D. Describe the influence of the market structure on your recommendation.
E. Present your recommendation in a way that is consumable for a diverse audience.

IV. Conclusion: In this section, you will summarize your research and recommendations.

A. Explain how your recommendation promotes the goals of your organization.
B. Predict potential implications if your recommendation is not accepted. Why is this important to your organization?
C. Summarize your research in a way that is suitable considering your intended audience.

Milestones

Milestone One: Problem Statement

In Module Three, you will begin the process of defining the scenario problem for your selected company (Microsoft, Heinz, or American Airlines). As a corporate economist in this hypothetical situation, you must understand and define the core problem at hand before beginning any kind of analysis. You will need to employ critical-thinking skills to grasp the crux of the problem. Is it a demand-side issue? Is it a supply-side issue? Or is it a mixture of both, involving production and cost concerns? Only after this consideration will you be able to map out a plan for analysis and offer recommendations for a solution.

Milestone Two: Theoretical and Quantitative Analysis

In Module Five, you will continue your analysis of the economic problem presented in the case study on your selected company (Microsoft, Heinz, or American Airlines). Using the information gathered in the problem statement, you must now frame your company's problem within the context of the appropriate market structure, conducting mathematical and/or statistical calculations that will identify significant trends and relationships to facilitate demand forecasting and potential impacts on profits. Keeping in mind that your audience of corporate decision makers may not be experts in economic theory and data analysis, you must seek to present your information in an easily accessible and understandable way.

Milestone Three: Recommendations

In Module Seven, you will conclude your analysis of the economic problem presented by the hypothetical CEO or board of directors in your selected company (Microsoft, Heinz, or American Airlines). Using the information gathered in your theoretical and quantitative analysis, you must now develop some substantiated and meaningful recommendations for the decision makers. What plan of action should they take? How are your ideas supported by the market structure? How does the data suggest relationships and trends that may point to a course of action? Does your suggested plan of action involve risk or uncertainty and, if so, what tools do you recommend decision makers use?

Submission: Economic Analysis Recommendation Paper

In Module Nine, you will first put the finishing touches on your project, by developing a conclusion section that draws from your recommendations you provided in milestone three. Identify how your recommendations promote the goals of your organization. Reiterate these objectives as identified in your initial problem statement, and explain how your proposals will accomplish the objectives.

Your project should be a complete, polished artifact of the three milestone pieces and conclusion section, containing all of the critical elements of the product. All instructor feedback gained throughout the course should be incorporated into the submission. Conclude your plan by applying the knowledge you have gained over the course of the project and sharing overall insights from your own professional experience as they relate to your company.