ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW Forum Discussions During certain weeks you will identify and summarize a current event article which is relevant to the weekly learning objectives and assigned readings. Be sure to explain how the article relates to at least one of the learning objectives and why the information in the article matters in the context of economics. Your response should be insightful, thoughtful, and analytical. Your response must have a clear, well-formulated thesis, development using textual quotes and references; sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, and spelling count. Citations must be in APA format. Please be sure to use a reputable scholarly source such as Wall Street Journal, Kiplinger, Money Magazine, Forbes, The Economist, Bankrate.com, CNNMoney.com, and other relevant articles relative to economics. First post your initial response, which includes your current event summary, and then respond to at least two classmates. Your response to your classmates must be thoughtful, substantial, and polite. Additional resources brought to bear will add to the persuasion of your arguments. Please note all posts should be posted on the discussion thread. Your initial response needs to be at least 250 words using APA style and completed by Thursday before midnight. Your initial response must have a clear, well-formulated thesis, development using textual quotes and references; sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, and spelling count. It needs to be insightful, thoughtful, and analytical. Respond to minimally two of your peers' initial posts in approximately 150 words to each peer. These responses are to be thoughtful, substantive, and polite and completed by Sunday before midnight. This is to be a dialog. You are encouraged to respond to each other frequently and not wait until the due dates to post your initial or peer responses. A Discussion Rubric will be located in our course in Moodle. "MyLab" Chapter Quiz Assignments For each of the 15 Chapters we cover in this course, you are asked to log into the textbook's "MyLab System" and complete those Chapter's Chapter Quizzes. You will find the link to these Chapter Quizzes and a host of other "MyLab" learning resources at the course website. Each of these 15 Chapter Quizzes are worth 20 points each. This totals 300 possible points. You must complete each "MyLab" Chapter Quiz by the end of the week in which that chapter is assigned. You have unlimited attempts to complete each Chapter Quiz. Your highest score is what is recorded in our official Gradebook found within our Moodle course website. Pricing Paper Select a business that provides a good or service, and write a 5-6-page paper using the following questions and statements as a way to begin your analysis, offer strategies to increase total revenue. Is the business a Sole Proprietorship, a Partnership, or a Corporation? a. Describe the benefit of the good or service to the immediate consumer. What needs does the good or service provide? b. What types of substitute and complementary goods are available for the good or service? To what degree do the substitute or complementary goods influence the pricing decision? Is the good or service considered normal or inferior? c. To what degree is the good or service price elastic or price inelastic? d. Describe any issues including taxation and government intervention that affect consumer demand and price. Baker University School of Professional and Graduate Studies Copyright 2020-2021 3 Cost Paper Using the business, you selected for the Pricing paper, write a 5-6-page cost analysis paper. Consider these thoughts as you write: a. Is the business currently earning an economic profit or suffering from economic losses? b. What factors of production go in to producing the good or service, and how are these factors organized? c. Has any current change in production cost affected the firm's profitability? What future increases or decreases in production cost will affect the firm's profitability? d. What impact have economies of scale, economies of scope, or technology had on productivity and costs for the good or service? Market Paper Write a 5-6-page Market Analysis paper based on the company you selected using the following questions and statements as a way to begin your analysis, suggest non-price strategies to maintain or increase revenues and remain competitive. a. What is the market structure for your good or service? Who are some of the major competitors? Provide the two-digit sector code for your business and an approximate four-firm concentration ratio or/and the Herfindahl index. b. What are some of the implications on pricing based upon the market structure? c. To what degree does the government regulate the market, and is there any concern of future regulation?