Homework: Managerial Decision Making Research and Analysis
Focus of the Final Paper
Research a specific company of your choice and identify some of the managerial decisions that were made over time and in response to changes in its market or competitive environment. Use the Ashford University Library and web-based sources for your research. At least three external scholarly sources must be used in addition to the textbook.
Address all of the following areas:
i. Describe the company and provide a brief history of its operations. Find or use graphs to illustrate its financial performance over the years.
ii. Describe any sources of risk or uncertainty in its operations. Do the financial reports indicate risky or uncertain activities or changes to the economic environment that ultimately appear to have affected the company's financial outcomes? Be specific.
iii. Are there any government regulations that have affected this company's operations domestically or abroad? Explain.
iv. Describe the inputs that are used in this company's production function and identify any challenges to securing these inputs.
v. Determine if the company has introduced new products in existing markets or created new markets over time. What is the impact on its finances?
vi. Determine if the price of its products increased or declined over time and analyze the reasons for price fluctuations. Study the demand elasticity for its products and discuss the availability of close substitutes for its products. How does that affect pricing decisions?
vii. Analyze the company's profitability. Identify the economy or industry influences on its costs, operations, and profitability.
viii. Describe the competitive environment in which the firm operates, the distribution of market power, and the strategic behavior of the firm and its competitors. Apply your knowledge of the theory of this company's market structure. How does the company make pricing and production decisions? Is your observation supported by the theoretical models? Refer to the financial reports for illustration.
Describe any non-price competitive strategies that the company might be engaging in. Provide specific examples.
ix. Evaluate if the company made any mistakes in its decisions over time, and recommend any changes or improvements for future operations. Refer to the financial reports when making specific observations or recommendations..
Format your homework according to the following formatting requirements:
i) The answer should be typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), double spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides.
ii) The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the homework, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
iii) Also include a reference page. The Citations and references must follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.