Assignment:
Reading the following chapter are given below is
Price, Output and Strategy: Pure and Monopolistic Competition
Part 1
Organizational Economics
Managerial Challenge
Read the section "Resurrecting Apple in the Tablet World" and answer the following discussion questions.
Apple tablet sales of iPads now exceed Apple's personal computer sales. Has your use for a PC changed to the point where you would consider owning just a table given its added flexibility and convenience?
What prices to charge for iMacs and iPads remains a central issue for Apple? What consideration should they address? Make a price recommendation for both products.
On what basis would anyone pay a $300 price premium for a $999 Apple iPad Pro versus a similarly equipped Microsoft Surface Pro 6 at $699 with both having the 12" display?
Submission Details:
Response should be no less than 250 words
Follow the APA style of writing with in-text citations and a reference list.
Company Name: Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM)
Part 2
Complete an outline for the final case study paper
Submission Details:
• Post your outline here (this is ungraded).
• Review the sample outline. Please use this sample as a guide for expectations in terms of writing and flow of content.
• Follow the complete APA style of writing to include title page with running head, body, conclusion and reference list.
Sample outline below:
Final Case Study Outline: Merck Pharmaceuticals (Keytruda, Pembrolizumab)
• Title Page
o Title of the Paper- Focused on Merck Pharmaceuticals, particularly their blockbuster drug Keytruda (Pembrolizumab)
o Name
o Correspondence
• Abstract
o Brief summary of key sections of the paper
o Keywords
• Introduction
o General overview of Merck Pharmaceuticals, their spectrum of pharmaceutical development
o Define what makes Merck newsworthy and their Research and Development Pipeline
o Focus on Merck's strategies, overall vision, goals, business objectives
o Overview of Blockbuster drug- Keytruda (Pembrolizumab); PD-1 inhibitor immunotherapy for treatment of various oncology indications (melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, urothelial carcinoma, metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, advanced gastric carcinoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma, solid tumors)
o Focus on Merck's Competitors with similar products:
- Roche (comparator product Tecentriq or Atezolizumab)
- Bristol Meyers Squibb (comparator product Opdivo or Nivolumab)
o Oligopoly vs. Pure Competition: what makes Merck maintain its competitive streak and what is the market structure
o Regulatory authorities: focus on Merck's compliance programs:
- Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals created by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA)
• Section 1: Demand Analysis Concepts:
o Apply the Law of Demand and Purchasing Power Effect:
Evaluate the real value and demand for Ketruda and similar new immunotherapy drugs with indications in multiple tumors to increase overall survival, improve morbidity and mortality, progression of disease, and quality of life
o Target Marketing (Oncology drugs and demand), Positioning, Subsitution
o Strategic Advertising
o Apply concepts of price elasticity of demand
• Section 2: Production and Cost Analysis Concepts:
o Assess the blend of labor vs. capital intensity in Merck Pharmaceuticals
o Assess fixed and variable costs
o Apply concepts of Returns to Scale, Diminishing Marginal Returns (if applicable)
• Section 3: Strategy Analysis Concepts:
o Value-based pricing
o Life Cycle Pricing: from clinical research with Keytruda where it is provided free of cost to research patients to the FDA approval post- marketing and group pricing to hospitals (340-B pricing, patient assistance programs)
o Niche pricing
• "What they got right" Analysis:
o CEO's vision and overall contribution to success: "The mission of Merck and other pharmaceutical companies at the time (1950s) was to take care of patients and profits would follow" to new mission statements
o Quality and consistency in delivery of products and services
• Conclusion:
o Summary of the most important concepts as applicable throughout the course/class and their applicability to Merck, with blockbuster product like- Keytruda
• References:
o All references cited throughout the paper and a complete listing with full citations at the end