Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Economy

Strategic planning setting long-term goals that may extend 5 to 10 years into the future. Long-term loosely detailed budgets are often created to reflect expectations for these long-term goals. After the goals are set, management designs key strategies for attaining these goals. Companies usually prepare a budget for every month of the fiscal year.

·A rolling budget is a budget that is continuously updated so that the next 12 months of operations are always budgeted.

Who is Involved in the Budgeting Process?

·Participative budgeting involves the participation of many levels of management. It helps create more realistic budgets and it has more acceptance by managers. It also has some disadvantages, such as higher complexity and it involves more... Continue reading "Strategic Planning and Budgeting Process" »

International Marketing Concepts

Sovereignty

Sovereignty refers to the powers exercised by a state in relation to other countries and the supreme powers exercised over its own members.

Conciliation

Conciliation is a nonbinding agreement between parties to resolve disputes.

Ownership Under Common Law

Under common law, ownership is established by use and registration.

Litigation in International Disputes

When all else fails in an international commercial dispute, litigation is the final recourse.

Cybersquatting

Cybersquatters buy and register descriptive nouns, geographic names, names of ethnic groups and pharmaceutical substances, and other similar descriptors and hold them until they can be sold at an inflated price.

Islamic Law

Islamic law is known as... Continue reading "International Marketing Strategies: A Comprehensive Guide" »

The elasticity of demand refers to the degree of responsiveness of quantity demanded of a commodity to a change in its price or any other factor).
The concept of elasticity of demand is of great importance to producers, farmers, workers, and the Government. Lord Keynes considered this concept to be the most important contribution of Alfred Marshall.
The importance of elasticity of demand can be explained with the help of the following points:
1. Importance to a Producer: Every producer has to decide the price of his product at which he has to sell it. The concept of elasticity of demand becomes important for this purpose. If the producer is producing a commodity whose demand is relatively inelastic, then he can set a high price for it. Similarly,... Continue reading "Importance of Elasticity of Demand in Economics" »

Vertical Integration

The process in which several steps in the production and/or distribution of a product or service are controlled by a single company or entity, in order to increase that company's or entity's power in the marketplace.

Horizontal Integration

Much more common and simpler than vertical integration, Horizontal integration (also known as lateral integration) simply means a strategy to increase your market share by taking over a similar company. This take over / merger / buyout can be done in the same geography or probably in other countries to increase your reach.

Merger

An agreement by shareholders and managers of two businesses to bring both firms together under a common board of directors with shareholders in both businesses owning... Continue reading "Business Strategies: Integration, Mergers, Acquisitions & More" »

Network Economics and the Information Sector

Network Effects

Network effects occur when the value of a network increases as the number of users increases. A prime example is Facebook. Networks consist of nodes (e.g., firms, individuals) connected by links (e.g., roads, railway lines, cables).

Network Externalities

Network externalities arise when a decision-maker doesn't bear the full cost or receive the full benefit of their actions within a network. This leads to sub-optimal market outcomes.

The Choice of Standards

Autarky Value

Autarky value refers to the value a customer derives from a product when no one else uses it, meaning there's no network effect.

Synchronization Value

Synchronization value is the additional value gained when a product format... Continue reading "Network Economics and the Information Sector: A Comprehensive Guide" »

Marketing functions

Searching for business opportunities

The first function of marketing is to search for, identify and analyze business opportunities that may exist in the market. This search for business opportunities is generally carried out through market research to identify and analyze needs, problems, desires, changes and trends in the market that may represent an opportunity.

Market targeting and segmentation:

The second function of marketing is to segment and select markets. Firstly, the total market that exists for the product to be offered is segmented or divided into different homogeneous markets (groups of consumers with similar characteristics), taking into account variables such as location, age range, gender, socio-economic level,... Continue reading "Marketing Functions: Business Opportunities and Market Segmentation" »

The Gold Standard: A Historical Overview

The gold standard is a monetary system in which money is freely convertible into a fixed amount of gold. It evolved from the variety of commodity money there was before the development of paper money and fractional reserves banking. It started to function in 1871. As we know, this century was characterized by globalization and an increase in international trade. Therefore, all trade imbalances between nations were settled with gold. The main priorities of the government were to maintain gold reserves and exchange rate stability.

The Trilemma of the Open Economy

If you had the Gold Standard you had fixed exchange rates and unrestricted capital mobility but Not Monetary Autonomy. As a result, countries always... Continue reading "The Gold Standard: History, Impact, and Challenges" »

Policy as Institutional Output

• Governments bestow legitimacy, universality, and mandatory policies.
• The characteristics of government organizations and institutions influence the types of public policies embraced by officials.
• Certain issues, problems, and interest groups have more weight than others in government.

Process Model

• It conceives the political process as a series of political activities: identification of the problem, establishment of the agenda, formulation, legitimation, implementation, and evaluation.

Group Theory Model

• Policies are the efforts of groups to influence and modify public policies.

Theory of the Elite

• Public policy reflects the interests and values of the elite rather than the demands of the people.
• Change in public policy

• Finding and Satisfying Customer Needs and Wants

• Converting Customer Needs into Wants

• Advertising Promotional Activities (50% off, 2x1)

• Maintaining Loyal Customers

• Persuading Customers

Promotional Activities

Businesses use promotional activities to inform customers (potential) especially advertising, and intend to persuade them that something they want is a need. (Turning wants into needs)

• Customer Base: Group of customers that companies sell to.

• Market: All customers and consumers who are interested in buying a product and have the financial resources to do so.

• Target Market: A particular group of consumers at which a product or service is aimed. It is identified by the company to be potential clients and consumers can be individuals or businesses.