Download Some Term Paper Suggestions

Some Term Paper Guidelines
You should start by providing an overview of the company which should include some
history of the company, the description of their product line, any particular market towards which
they orient themselves. Following this simple overview of the firm you should move on to the
micro environment and discuss the position of the firm within the industry. Here, I expect to see
some comparison analysis of the performance of the firm relative to its major competitors in the
industry. This can and should include comparison of the sales data for the past 10 (or so) quarters,
profitability, etc.... If you observe any deviation in the performance of this firm from the rest of
the industry then you should attempt to explain why this happened.
Then I expect you to take a look at the macro economic environment in which the firm and the
industry operate. In this section you should explain how this industry is affected by economic
fluctuations, in particular, how the events of the late part of the 1990's affected the sector and the
company. Here, you should contrast the growth of the industry with the growth of the economy
overall and address any deviations that you observe. Your discussion should include issues like
the impact of inflation, interest rates, currency exchange, fiscal and monetary stimulus and etc. on
the industry and on the company. If there is a change in the market conditions, or if this is a new
industry, then you should address the issues related to the industry development. Different sectors
are affected differently by macro events, in this section you should explain to me some of the
RELEVANT according to YOU macro factors that impacted the company during the second half
of the last decade, and in the early 2000’s.
Next, you should look into the future. Here, you should look at some economic forecasts and
based on those forecasts you should attempt to predict what the growth of the company as
measured by sales, relative market share, or whatever other measures you would like to use,
should be expected in the near future. You should also spend a brief section talking about the
impact of the current recession on the market share of the company and the industry outlook. For
instance, many companies with weak cash reserves are not able to survive a recession in tact and
either disappear, sell off some divisions of the business or merge with other companies. The
question you want to answer is: Has the structure of the industry changed during the course of
this last recession?
In the end, you can and should spend a brief space discussing your own possible
recommendations for the company. All of these must be justified.
Some general rules:
1) I would like to see some economic terminology in your report. For example, when you discuss
the structure of the industry, feel free to classify it as an oligopoly, monopoly or competitive and
explain (in simple every day terms the implication of such classification)
2) I expect to see several comparison diagrams (industry vs firm, firm growth vs economy growth
as measured by GDP). It is also nice to see some information on the relative performance of the
company's stock, since that indicates the expectations of the investor community about the
outlook for the company, but UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES do I want to see any cost or
demand diagrams that we covered in class. You should approach this not as an economics
research paper, but rather a business report with strong emphasis on economics.
3) The ultimate conclusion is to show how the company got to where it currently is, and what the
outlook for the future looks like. Should we think of investing into this company or not?
4) Your paper should be approximately between 15 and 20 pages in length. You should provide a
reference page. I prefer when all diagrams are included in the body of the text, instead of being
grouped together in the end. I need one copy of the paper to be submitted only. The submitted
copy should include the names of all individual members who worked on the project.
5) Two – three members of your team should be selected to present your finished project in class.
The presentation should not exceed 20 minutes!!!! You should make it in Power Point format.