Posted: March 7th, 2014

Week 4 Discussion Questions

DQ1 – Responses to discussion questions are to reflect critical thought and be at least 300 words in length. Read and engage with two others’ posts. 1. Apple, which makes computers, smartphones, mp3 players, etc. is an oligopoly. It has a strong brand. Demand is inelastic. The news you watch [which channel, the party you vote for, organic food, etc. are brands, too.] A consumer can buy a good Dell/HP/Lenovo/Acer laptop for between $550 and $850, will spend $1,200 for a MacBook. The same for Nike, Starbucks, BMW, WholeFoods, Nordstom’s, trips to Disneyland, etc. Consumers pay a lot more above, but don’t complain. * All of these have very high profit margins. * And there are ‘substitutes’. For gasoline, medications, college tuition, car insurance, etc. there are NO SUBSTITUTES so consumers, even those studying econ and the Laws of Supply and Demand, Price and non-Price factors, and elasticity of demand STILL feel exploited. And whine a lot. They really aren’t exploited. But, they feel that way. Steve Jobs started Apple. Watch his the clip below.

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What are 3 takeaways from his speech at Stanford’s graduation [Mr. Jobs lived until 2011, and benefited from ‘the marvels of modern medicine’ we all see all around us.]? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1R-jKKp3NA [You may have to drop this into Google.] 2. See Course Materials: Radio Shack $5,000+ then, a iPhone now. Are people much better off now that we can buy so much stuff at lower prices? 3. Those getting news from TV and radio tend to be caught up in the heat [emotions] and less in the details [reason]. Lots of heat is on TV; very little illumination. Studying economics [not talking about the economy] is about reason. A few publications ‘use writers trained in economics to help those who need to understand the economy’. From England, there is the Economist, and in the U.S., the Wall Street Journal, which has been considered ‘the journal of American business’ since 1875. Many at the top of your organizations, at your customers, and at the stores you shop at read the Wall Street Journal. As management/accounting/HR/marketing majors, etc., you may want to read it to. Daily, all the lessons from your BA/BS are in each issue. Do the following steps: 1.Go to the UOPX Library. 2. Enter the Library. 3. Go to Find a Publication. 4. Enter: Wall Street Journal. 5. Go to 2 April 2012 6. Find the following: Colleges Shedding Non-Core Operations a. Why are universities in the U.S. ‘privatizing or outsourcing non-essential activities’? b. From your work, what have companies done to ‘outsource’, or ‘insource’ – bringing in-house what vendors formerly did for the company?

DQ2 – Read and engage with two others’ posts. 1. From Colander [better Colander than Investopedia or Wiki, in that, in W5 there is a test, and textbooks define terms in context; using this will help when you take the test], define the following: · externalities on market outcomes. · horizontal, vertical, and conglomerate mergers 2. Those getting news from TV and radio tend to be caught up in the heat [emotions] and less in the details [reason]. Lots of heat is on TV; very little illumination. Studying economics [not talking about the economy] is about reason. A few publications ‘use writers trained in economics to help those who need to understand the economy’. From England, there is the Economist, and in the U.S., the Wall Street Journal, which has been considered ‘the journal of American business’ since 1875. Many at the top of your organizations, at your customers, and at the stores you shop at read the Wall Street Journal. As management/accounting/HR/marketing majors, etc., you may want to read it to. Daily, all the lessons from your BA/BS are in each issue. Do the following steps: 1.Go to the UOPX Library. 2. Enter the Library. 3. Go to Find a Publication. 4. Enter: Wall Street Journal. 5. Find the following: a. Avon & Coty b. AT&T & T-Mobile c. Chrysler & Fiat Pick one of the three. 1. What kind of merger was it? 2. Was there a government role? Did it help or hurt the market for those goods and services? 3. Look up Sprint AND Softbank. What country is Softbank from? Will it buying Sprint help or hurt consumers

DQ3 – Read and engage with two others’ posts. 1. If someone was poor, it is better to: a. give them a salmon meal, with lots of fixings, or, b. teach the poor to learn how to fish. [There will be a range of opinions, but, explore with each other their points of view.] 2. Please watch the following: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFABdPOpr2A Dr. Moyo wants more entrepreneurs, more business investment and ‘letting the markets work’. Is this something that will work more? Does this also work in the US, where some states/cities are very pro-business, while others punish business? 3. Detroit just went bankrupt. Many states and cities in the U.S. are ‘in deep’ trouble. The big causes? ‘Overly generous retirement and benefits to public employee unions’. Government wants higher taxes, but it goes to these pensions. Read the following: http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21582258-it-not-just-detroit-american-cities-and-states-must-promise-less-or-face-disaster Why do states like California and Illinois, and cities like Detroit and Chicago, make such large promises to public employee unions? Is it political?

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DQ4 – Read and engage with two others’ posts. 1. Today, in the U.S., unemployment is about 7.7%. From 1983 to 2007 it was 5.5%, and went as high as 10.3%. In the U.S., some states ‘have much lower unemployment’, and some, like California, has over 20% higher, close to 8.2%. In Spain, unemployment is over 25%. In Spain, unemployment for young workers between 18 and 28 is 50%. Do government regulations and taxes have something to do with making a country/state/city more attractive for businesses to invest [when they invest, they hire more workers? 2. See the article on Spain. http://www.economist.com/node/21529096 Would you want to look for a job in Spain? Explain. 3. I work in Washington, and I live in Oregon. Washington has a sales tax, over 8%. Washington has a 0-% state income tax. Oregon has a 0-% sales tax. Oregon has an 8.9% state income tax. On high income earners, the Oregon state income tax was 12% [plus the Federal tax, now at 33%.]. a. Where would you rather be a consumer – Washington or Oregon? b. Where would you put your business — Washington or Oregon? c. Let’s say you ‘had a very successful business in Oregon, let’s say you make dietary supplements and ship them around the world and to all 50 US states. Would you stay in Oregon, or would you move to Washington [or another state with 0-income tax]? Explain your answers for 3-a, 3-b, and 3-c

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