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Objectives:
The objectives of this group project are
: (1) To help you bridge the gap between the economic theory and models
discussed in class and the “real world;” (2) To confront the problems of
trying to find data which are appropriate for the questions under
consideration and to deal with the problems of incomplete information;
(3) To showcase your oral and written communication skills; and (4) To
identify how the problems faced and the decisions made by other firms are
similar to your own. In the project you are asked to try to apply the
precisely defined theoretical economic concepts in situations where data
and information are imperfect and/or missing. You are then asked to
communicate your findings in a manner appropriate for your audience
(which could be your CEO, board of directors or company management
meeting). Finally, you are asked to look for similarities among the
decision making issues confronting different firms.
Choice of Industry and a firm within:
In the first class, each of the student
teams in the “Class of 2008”
will be assigned a specific industry by lottery. The teams will be
responsible for following this industry for their group presentations.
Each team will select a particular firm in this industry for their group
project. The firm may be one where one of the team members work or
otherwise. Each team will also need to immediately select a project
manager who will send me an email with your choice of industry & firm
by the third class, Friday, January 18, 2008. The project manager will
serve as the means of communication between me and the group members.
Suggested industries for group presentations for this class are as
follows:
1. Wireless Communication
2. Networking & Security
Systems
3. Oil Industry
4. Healthcare Industry
5. Hospitality Industry
6. Paper & Pulp Industry
7. Utility & Power
Industry
8. Consumer Products
9. Insurance
10. REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust)
Note: Auto and Airline
industry will be discussed in the class.
Final Oral Presentation: (PowerPoint Format: 20 mins each, 7 mins Q&A)
Each team will make a presentation of
approximately twenty minutes on their firm and industry in Lecture 6. The
presentation will be followed by a short question and answer session of 7
minutes. The presentation should be orderly (including an introduction,
discussion of all important points, and a conclusion) and well delivered
(relating the level of discussion to your audience, clearly focusing on
the subject matter, and presented without distractions). Visual materials
should be readable, understandable, and relevant to your discussion. You
should hand out either hard copies of the PowerPoint presentations or a
summary of the main points and relevant charts and tables for each member
of the class.
Suggested Outline
for Report & Presentation:
I. Introduction
A. Objective
B. Background
II. Industry
Analysis
A. Description of industry.
B. Market Structure — description of firms.
C. Size of industry relative to economy.
D. Demand factors.
E. Production and cost issues.
F. Non-economic factors.
III. Firm
Analysis
A. Demand factors.
B. Production and cost issues.
C. Market power, strategies, and goals
IV. Forecasts,
Projections, Recommendations
A. Reduce costs of production.
B. Develop a new product or expand into another area of the
market.
C. Other strategies.
V. Economic
Environment
A. Description of Current environment (2001-2005) - GDP and
components, inflation, unemployment, and interest rates and contrast with
Historical period (1996-2000).
B. Forecast of future changes.
VI. Macro
Impact on Firm and Industry -- Reaction to macro changes and effect
on industry and firm strategies.
Grading Criteria
Each of the teams would be graded on their group
presentations on four of the following criterions.
1.
Exposition of Topic: 5 points
2. Macro
Connection: 5 points
3.
Presentation Style: 5 points
4.
Research Effort: 5
points
20 points
For your better understanding I’ve uploaded the 4
presentations from last year’s classes.
The table below shows the grading of these presentations:
2007 Class
|
Presentation
|
Exposition
|
Macro
Connection
|
Presentation
|
Research
Effort
|
|
Oil Industry PPT,
PDF
|
Excellent
|
Good
|
Good
|
Excellent
|
|
Utility and Power Industry PPT, PDF
|
Excellent
|
Good
|
Good
|
Excellent
|
|
Wireless Communication PPT, PDF
|
Excellent
|
Excellent
|
Excellent
|
Excellent
|
|
Paper & Pulp PPT, PDF
|
Good
|
Okay
|
Excellent
|
Excellent
|
2006 Class
|
Presentation
|
Exposition
|
Macro
Connection
|
Presentation
|
Research
Effort
|
|
Health Care PPT, PDF
|
Excellent
|
Excellent
|
Excellent
|
Excellent
|
|
Hospitality PPT, PDF
|
Excellent
|
Excellent
|
Excellent
|
Excellent
|
|
Apparel Industry PPT, PDF
|
Excellent
|
Good
|
Good
|
Excellent
|
|
Communication PPT, PDF
|
Excellent
|
Good
|
Good
|
Excellent
|
|
Paper & Pulp PPT, PDF
|
Good
|
Okay
|
Excellent
|
Excellent
|
|
REIT PPT, PDF
|
Good
|
Good
|
Okay
|
Excellent
|
2005 Class
|
Presentation
|
Exposition
|
Macro
Connection
|
Presentation
|
Research
Effort
|
|
Utility & Power PPT, PDF
|
Excellent
|
Good
|
Good
|
Excellent
|
|
Insurance PPT, PDF
|
Excellent
|
Good
|
Good
|
Excellent
|
|
Consumer Products PPT, PDF
|
Excellent
|
Okay
|
Excellent
|
Excellent
|
|
Oil Industry PPT, PDF
|
Excellent
|
Excellent
|
Excellent
|
Excellent
|
*
Excellent: 4.5 +
Good: 3.5 to 4.5
Okay: 2.5 to 3.5
Lacks < 2.5
.
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