EC203 Term Paper- Company Analysis
This paper provides the opportunity to apply Microeconomic concepts to the analysis of a company of your choice.
Paper Guidelines
1
. Company selection. Choose a company that interests you. To ensure that you have sufficient data for analysis, choose a publicly traded company (Fortune 500).
2. Paper Structure
I.
Introduction/Company Background:
· Introduce the company you have chosen to analyze.
· Provide a brief overview of the company’s history, products/services, and position in its industry.
II.
Market Structure:
· Identify the market structure in which the company operates (e.g., perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, monopoly).
· Explain the characteristics of this market structure and how they apply to the company.
III.
Market Competition
· Discuss the level of competition the company faces and its market share.
· Identify the company’s major competitors and their market shares.
· Discuss the key challenges facing the firm and industry.
· Identify the primary dimensions on which the company competes (what is its competitive advantage) cost, innovation, quality, distribution network, etc.
IV.
Involvement in Global Trade
· Discuss the company’s degree of globalization
· Countries and markets where the company operates
· The nature of the company’s foreign operations (exports, licensing, partnerships, factories overseas, etc.)
V.
Demand and Supply Analysis:
· Discuss the firm’s engagement in global trade
· Analyze the demand for the company’s products/services.
· Discuss factors that influence demand (e.g., consumer preferences, income levels, price of substitutes/complements).
· Discuss the elasticity of demand for the company’s product
· Examine the supply side, including production capacity, costs, and factors that affect supply as well as the elasticity of supply for its products/services
VI.
Market Performance:
· Evaluate the company’s overall economic performance.
· Discuss key financial indicators such as revenue, profit margins, and market share.
· Discuss key challenges facing the company
VII.
Government Regulations and Policies.
· Discuss government regulations or policies affecting the company and its industry.
VIII.
Conclusion:
· Summarize the key findings of your analysis.
· Provide recommendations for the company based on your microeconomic analysis.
3. Formatting:
· The paper should be 6-8 pages long, double-spaced, with 1-inch margins.
· Use APA citation style for references.
· Include graphs, charts, and tables where appropriate to support your analysis.
4. Submission:
· Submit your paper electronically via the Blackboard dropbox by the end of week 12.
5. Grading Criteria:
You will be graded on:
· Clarity and coherence of the analysis.
· Application of microeconomic concepts.
· Use of data and evidence to support arguments.
· Quality of writing and adherence to formatting guidelines.
6. Selected Resources:
Below is a list of resources that you may find valuable.
1.
Company Provided Sources
The company’s annual report, which you can access by going to the company’s website is an important source of information. The annual report is found under the investor relation link.
You can also download the annual report from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) database:
2.
Online resources
I.
Government Resources
II.
Financial Websites
barrons.com/GS/financials/annual/income-statement
bloomberg.com/profiles/companies/DOW:US-dow-chemical-co/the
