In early April 2008, economic conditions in Europe appeared to be deteriorating on almost all fronts: sales figures were falling, business and consumer confidence were slumping, forecasts for European growth were being revised downward, and inflation was rising. In fact, figures for the month of March revealed that inflation had reached an annualized rate of 3.5%, Europe's highest level since 1992. On top of these broad economic problems, the European financial sector-indeed, the financial sector worldwide-was in turmoil. By April 2008, global financial institutions had written down the value of their mortgage-related investments and other assets by at least $230 billion, and businesses around the world were complaining that it was ever more difficult to secure credit. In America, meanwhile, consumer confidence was falling, consumer spending had slowed to a near halt, and inflation had crept above 4%. In reaction to these dismal economic conditions, the Federal Reserve had steadily cut interest rates over a seven-month period, most recently lowering its key rate to 2.25% on March18. In sharp contrast to the Fed, the European Central Bank (ECB) had long held its key rate at 4%, where it stood when the ECB's Governing Council reconvened on April 10, 2008. Given both the market turmoil and the evident inflationary pressure, members of the ECB's Governing Council would have to weigh the available data extremely carefully as they decided whether to raise, lower, or maintain their benchmark interest rate. The significance of this decision could hardly be overstated, since it had the potential to send a strong signal about the nature of European monetary policy and the priorities of the ECB going forward.
By the summer of 2009, many observers concluded that a catastrophic financial collapse- which seemed all but imminent the previous fall and winter - had been averted. Although the recession had still yet to be declared over and the economy's footing remained far from solid, many believed that the worst of the crisis was over. With the global financial system no longer spiraling into an abyss, government officials, business leaders, and American taxpayers could now take stock of where they had been and where they should be headed. In particular, many wondered how the disaster had happened in the first place: what exactly had caused the brutal financial crisis of 2007-2009?
In 2011, the European Commission was deciding on how to best modify the existing European Union policy on corporate disclosure of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information. Previous directives had recommended that European companies report ESG information, but now the EC was deciding if organizations should be required to disclose nonfinancial information. The EC had to determine what types of organizations would be required to disclose, which international framework would serve as a standard reporting guideline, and if ESG disclosure would be integrated with financial material in one annual report. This case outlines the history and trends of corporate social responsibility reporting to encourage a discussion around the decision points and implications of reporting regulations.
In 2011, Walmart was the world's largest company, with $420 billion in sales and operations in 14 countries. Yet it found itself searching for the right growth strategy moving forward. U.S. same-store sales had declined for eight consecutive quarters, and Walmart was increasingly becoming dependent on international sales. Meanwhile, intense competition came from various players, ranging from general discounters to dollar stores to online retailers. What should Walmart do as its traditional markets and core competencies no longer ensure the kind of growth that it had enjoyed for decades in the past?
Managerial Economics: Concepts and Principles, written by Donald N. Stengel of California State University, Fresno, is an eight-chapter book published by Business Expert Press. The text addresses the core of managerial economics, which is the application of microeconomics to business decisions. Key relationships among price, quantity, cost, revenue, and profit for an individual firm are discussed, as are elements from the economics of consumer demand and production. The economics of organization, market price, quantity equilibrium, competitive behavior, and the role of market structure in market equilibrium and competition are addressed. Finally, the text considers market regulation in terms of generic problems that create the need for regulation, as well as possible remedies for those problems. Chapter 1 introduces the concept of managerial economics at a broad level. The vital relationship between economics and business management is addressed.
Managerial Economics: Concepts and Principles, written by Donald N. Stengel of the California State University, Fresno, is an eight-chapter book published by Business Expert Press. The text addresses the core of managerial economics, which is the application of microeconomics to business decisions. Key relationships between price, quantity, cost, revenue, and profit for an individual firm are discussed, as are elements from the economics of consumer demand and production. The economics of organization, market price, quantity equilibrium, competitive behavior, and the role of market structure in market equilibrium and competition are addressed. Finally, the text considers market regulation in terms of generic problems that create the need for regulation, as well as possible remedies for those problems. Chapter 2 explores the key measures and economic relationships of a business operation. Revenue, cost, and profit functions are discussed, as are the differences between economic and accounting measures of cost and profit. Breakeven analysis, the effects of price changes, the relationship between supply and demand, marginal analysis, and the principles of the shutdown rule, are also explained.
Managerial Economics: Concepts and Principles, written by Donald N. Stengel of the California State University, Fresno, is an eight-chapter book published by Business Expert Press. The text addresses the core of managerial economics, which is the application of microeconomics to business decisions. Key relationships between price, quantity, cost, revenue, and profit for an individual firm are discussed, as are elements from the economics of consumer demand and production. The economics of organization, market price, quantity equilibrium, competitive behavior, and the role of market structure in market equilibrium and competition are addressed. Finally, the text considers market regulation in terms of generic problems that create the need for regulation, as well as possible remedies for those problems. Chapter 3 explores the economic reasoning and concepts which make up the theoretical foundations of the marketing function. Consumer behavior and its implications on demand and pricing are addressed. The determinants of demand, modeling consumer demand, forecasting demand, the elasticity of demand, and price discrimination are also discussed.
Managerial Economics: Concepts and Principles, written by Donald N. Stengel of the California State University, Fresno, is an eight-chapter book published by Business Expert Press. The text addresses the core of managerial economics, which is the application of microeconomics to business decisions. Key relationships between price, quantity, cost, revenue, and profit for an individual firm are discussed, as are elements from the economics of consumer demand and production. The economics of organization, market price, quantity equilibrium, competitive behavior, and the role of market structure in market equilibrium and competition are addressed. Finally, the text considers market regulation in terms of generic problems that create the need for regulation, as well as possible remedies for those problems. Chapter 4 explores the concepts and principles of microeconomics that guide management's organization and production activities to improve profitability and efficiency. Economies of scale and both short-run and long-run average cost curves are addressed at length. Economies of scope and joint products are discussed. The author compares the cost approach and the resource approach to production planning. Marginal revenues and cost, the law of diminishing marginal returns, and derived demand curves, as well as productivity and learning curves, are briefly discussed.
Managerial Economics: Concepts and Principles, written by Donald N. Stengel of the California State University, Fresno, is an eight-chapter book published by Business Expert Press. The text addresses the core of managerial economics, which is the application of microeconomics to business decisions. Key relationships between price, quantity, cost, revenue, and profit for an individual firm are discussed, as are elements from the economics of consumer demand and production. The economics of organization, market price, quantity equilibrium, competitive behavior, and the role of market structure in market equilibrium and competition are addressed. Finally, the text considers market regulation in terms of generic problems that create the need for regulation, as well as possible remedies for those problems. Chapter 5 explores applied and developed economic principles that inform a better understanding of activity inside the firm. The aspects of business expansion are addressed, including value chains, horizontal and vertical integration, and conglomerate mergers. Transaction cost economies, the Coase hypothesis, and boundaries for business expansion are also discussed. Other topics include: a comparison between cost centers and profit centers, transfer pricing, and techniques for incentivizing employee, manager, and executive performance.
Managerial Economics: Concepts and Principles, written by Donald N. Stengel of the California State University, Fresno, is an eight-chapter book published by Business Expert Press. The text addresses the core of managerial economics, which is the application of microeconomics to business decisions. Key relationships between price, quantity, cost, revenue, and profit for an individual firm are discussed, as are elements from the economics of consumer demand and production. The economics of organization, market price, quantity equilibrium, competitive behavior, and the role of market structure in market equilibrium and competition are addressed. Finally, the text considers market regulation in terms of generic problems that create the need for regulation, as well as possible remedies for those problems. Chapter 6 explores the operations of markets with a focus on the perfect competition model. The assumptions underlying that model, market behavior in both the short and long runs, and the concept of market equilibrium are discussed. Shifts in supply and demand curves, elasticity, surpluses, and deadweight loss are also addressed.
Managerial Economics: Concepts and Principles, written by Donald N. Stengel of the California State University, Fresno, is an eight-chapter book published by Business Expert Press. The text addresses the core of managerial economics, which is the application of microeconomics to business decisions. Key relationships between price, quantity, cost, revenue, and profit for an individual firm are discussed, as are elements from the economics of consumer demand and production. The economics of organization, market price, quantity equilibrium, competitive behavior, and the role of market structure in market equilibrium and competition are addressed. Finally, the text considers market regulation in terms of generic problems that create the need for regulation, as well as possible remedies for those problems. Chapter 7 further explores the operations of markets. Different market structures, including monopolies and oligopolies, are discussed at length, as are strategies for competing in such markets.
Managerial Economics: Concepts and Principles, written by Donald N. Stengel of the California State University, Fresno, is an eight-chapter book published by Business Expert Press. The text addresses the core of managerial economics, which is the application of microeconomics to business decisions. Key relationships between price, quantity, cost, revenue, and profit for an individual firm are discussed, as are elements from the economics of consumer demand and production. The economics of organization, market price, quantity equilibrium, competitive behavior, and the role of market structure in market equilibrium and competition are addressed. Finally, the text considers market regulation in terms of generic problems that create the need for regulation, as well as possible remedies for those problems. Chapter 8 further explores the operations of markets with a focus on market regulation. The author discusses instances where intervention may be considered necessary and identifies regulatory measures that can be taken.
This case presents a way to test the efficacy of a firm's corporate diversification strategy or its corporate advantage. In this context, the performance of several lines of business is considered simultaneously within a corporate family; comparisons are made with other diversified firms that compete with the firm for capital. This case expands upon the corporate advantage paradigm of Collis & Montgomery through six tests that consider the underlying and moderating forces of fit and intervention in operations in order to arrive at a corporate strategy which is balanced on all dimensions and creates the desirable outcomes of superior competitive advantage.
This technical note accompanies the case/class on "The Lady Tasting Tea" (LTT). It describes how a Bayesian would update his or her prior probability for the probability the LTT can correctly distinguish cups of tea based on whether the milk was added first or last. The long-form note (UVA-QA-0769) describes both a discrete model (LTT has p of 0.5 or 0.8) and a more complicated continuous model (p is beta distributed). This abridged note describes only the discrete model. The case/class itself provides a very useful analogy with which students can explore the elements of statistical inference.
This technical note accompanies the case/class on "The Lady Tasting Tea" (LTT). It describes how a Bayesian would update his or her prior probability for the probability the LTT can correctly distinguish cups of tea based on whether the milk was added first or last. This long-form note describes both a discrete model (LTT has p of 0.5 or 0.8) and a more complicated continuous model (p is beta distributed). The abridged note (UVA-QA-0768) describes only the discrete model. The case/class itself provides a very useful analogy with which students can explore the elements of statistical inference.
John Pinkerton, CEO of natural gas company Range Resources, must consider supporting or condemning a new bill passed by Congress that could add more regulations to one of Range's most effective mining methods: fracking. Pinkerton must consider the benefits and costs of supporting or condemning the new legislation and how it will impact his company.
The case narrates how A.P.V.N. Sarma, chairman and managing director of Singareni Collieries Company (SCCL) since 1997, realized the need for change to rescue the company from impending bankruptcy. SCCL, a supplier of coal to the power and energy sectors, had been declared bankrupt by the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction twice, in 1992 and 1996, and had accumulated losses of 12.19 billion rupees. As it provided direct and indirect employment to people residing in the region around SCCL, the health of the organization was critical not only to the massive workforce, but also to the state of Andhra Pradesh. The power generation units of the state relied significantly on the coal supplied by SCCL. <br><br>The case captures various initiatives undertaken by Sarma to bridge the trust deficit between management and blue-collar workers with low literacy and income levels. It discusses the novel communication strategies to connect with workers. The case describes how numerous strikes plaguing SCCL were curbed and order was restored to allow productivity to rise. Under Sarma’s leadership, SCCL achieved a net profit of 894 million rupees for the fourth consecutive year in 2001. Sarma had a fixed tenure of five years, ending in 2001. The task for the new leader was to build on the foundations laid by Sarma and take SCCL to new heights.
Sumeru Software Solutions was a software development consultancy firm headquartered in Bangalore, India, with offices in Washington, D.C., Dubai, and London. It began operations in July 2001 as a single project with two employees, and grew over 10 years into an organization with approximately 200 employees. The founding objective of Sumeru Software Solutions was to support Art of Living’s social development initiatives through profits earned from delivering high-quality services. Art of Living (AOL) was founded in 1981 by Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji as a not-for-profit, educational, humanitarian non-governmental organization engaged in stress-management programs, including yoga and meditation. Sumeru had developed a unique culture that combined corporate culture with the Art of Living principles of Seva, Satsang, Sadhana, and positivity even in the face of adversity. In line with the AOL principles, the four pillars of Sumeru culture were ethics, caring, sharing and trust. It purported to follow a peaceful yet aggressive way of doing business called “Serene Dynamism.” Harish Ramachandran, CEO of Sumeru Software Solutions, had created an enterprise that was different from other IT organizations. He was wondering how he would sustain the culture of the organization and make Sumeru a high-performing company over the next 10 years as it expanded its business and hired new employees.
The China national image film “People Chapter” — officially a sub-series of the “Experience China” campaign — was launched by the Chinese government to coincide with President Hu Jintao’s visit to the United States in mid-January 2011. The one-minute promotional video was played on six giant electronic screens about 300 times per day, and had appeared approximately 8,400 times when the broadcast ended on February 14, 2011. The video showed a series of Chinese people, ranging from ordinary citizens to celebrities. It was a publicity effort aimed at promoting a truer image of China abroad, and signalling that China was opening to embrace the world. However, reactions from both Chinese and overseas audiences had been fairly mixed since the initial release of the promotional film. Experts from China and abroad were skeptical of the effectiveness of the campaign in promoting the national image of modern China to the world. This case presents the opportunity to examine the basic elements in the marketing communication process, analyze how decisions in marketing design affect outcomes, and understand the differences between nation and product promotion.