SophiaPretty
$14/per page/Negotiable
Looking for help on my paper. Micro economics is not my strong suit and currently getting burned out between my job, home and school.
Attached is the rubric, my paper thus far and the template that the instructor uses to grade.
Below is a comment from the instructor about this weeks paper.
This module we are studying fixed and variable costs. So what we want to see is identifying what the costs of the company are (in total and can be found in the Income Statement on the Annual Report of your firm) and then I want you to analyze the various costs the firm faces such as some examples of fixed costs and some examples of variable costs. You will most likely not find specifics but use your understanding of what your firm does and make some assumptions. Define what fixed and variable costs are and how they apply to your firm. It is not necessary to list EVERY cost of your firm (we certainly don’t have THAT much time!!:)) but mention a few you could anticipate. So discuss briefly, for example, that one major cost is labor. Is that a fixed cost or variable cost? Why? How does it fit the definition of fixed or variable cost? Then mention, for example, shipping costs (if applicable). Is that a fixed cost or variable cost? Why? Or maybe your firm is a retailer so a cost you could anticipate is their lease for a particular location. Is that a fixed cost or a variable cost? Why? I would like to see 2 or 3 fixed costs listed and 2 or 3 variable costs listed and an explanation of what they are (fixed or variable) and why. I just want to make sure you know the difference between a fixed and variable cost. Also what are the trends of costs (in total) over the last 3 to 5 years and how have they impacted profitability (i.e. what is the percentage of costs to revenues). Remember you SHOULD have already briefly described your Annual Revenue over the last 3-5 years in Milestone Two. Now briefly describe the costs and relate to revenues. Are the percentages of costs increasing at the same pace as revenue increases? Or are costs as a percentage of revenue increasing meaning profits are declining? Why? In other words maybe costs are rising BUT so are revenues so the percentage of costs to revenues are staying about the same. Or maybe costs are rising but the percentage of costs to revenues are FALLING. Why might that be? (Hint: might be that their firm has a lot of fixed costs so as revenues rise there are not many variable costs to add so the percentage of costs to revenue are falling).
Then take some time telling me about the primary costs and how they are affecting output. BTW, most of this information you should be able to get fairly easily from the Annual Report but this Milestone is not just LISTING the revenue and cost information but tell me what it is telling you. Sales increasing? Profits increasing? In other words say I was the CEO of your firm and want you to summarize for me the costs and revenues for our firm, tell me a little about the costs (and whether most are fixed or variable), and give me some feedback on what you see. Also, don’t just say “X, Y, and Z are fixed costs and A, B, and C are variable costs”. Tell me WHY they meet the definition of a fixed or variable cost. And only a couple examples of each is fine and I just want to make sure you know the difference:).
Then tell me about the market. Who are the primary competitors and how much of the market (both in dollar amount and percentage if possible) does your firm have and what does your major competitors have in market share. You might say your firm has XX% of the market share and your three primary competitors are A, B, and C and A has AA%, B has BB%, and C has CC% of the market share. BTW, sometimes it is difficult to find EXACT percentages of the market but that is fine. Try to find a fairly reliable source or two that might be estimating the market share and just use that. I find typing your firm’s name with the words “market share” in a search engine can usually find some reliable estimates you can use.
Then the rubric asks about Market Structure and Barriers to Entry. I have to admit I am concerned here and it is because we have not covered all Market Structures yet (next module will complete market structures) and the rubric is asking about Barriers to Entry which also are not covered until next module. So these two areas read ahead and apply as best you can with the expectation you will expand it further for Milestone Four. I’ll grade the market structure and barriers to entry very leniently for Milestone Three and make some comments and suggestions just to help but keep in mind it will need to be expanded for Milestone Four (the Final Paper) once we cover that material.
One last comment, and I see this frequently and also try to comment on individual papers but want to stress this in advance, when you write a paper you must assume the reader doesn’t know what you are talking about. To say “the product of this firm is elastic” means nothing to a reader. They do not know what elastic means. They do not know what Price Elasticity of Demand means. So you the writer must at least briefly explain. I tend to see too many papers with comments like “that increases demand”. However, you must EXPLAIN why it increases demand and which way is demand shifting!! Remember to assume the reader does not know what you are talking about. Do not assume the reader knows what terms mean like demand, elastic, fixed costs, variable costs, etc. mean. Do not say “X is a fixed cost and Y is a variable cost”. You need to tell the reader “X is a fixed cost because a fixed cost is……………..and since X ………………….. that makes it a fixed cost”.
Again, do not assume the reader knows what all your economic terms mean. You must define, explain, and apply.
Lastly, don’t make Milestone Three more difficult than it needs to be!! This is not a competition of how much you can write and hopefully if you write enough pages not answering the rubric I won’t realize and give you full credit. Sorry, but I DO read these:)!! And I DO grade as to what is requested and expected in the rubric. However, Milestone Three should only take 2-4 pages (plus any images or charts included) to complete. Just focus on the concepts we are looking for in the rubric and cover what is asked for in the rubric. Let me give you an example, the second element of the rubric asks about the Costs of Production and the Proficient category says “Accurately applies the concepts of variable and fixed costs to the firm for informing its output decisions”. I have received papers in the past for Milestone Three that do not even contain the word variable cost or fixed cost in the entire paper!! If the rubric question is asking about fixed and variable costs make sure you are covering fixed and variable costs. I think you get my point:)
Review the rubric (below) and make sure each element is covered and answered. Also refer to the Milestone Three Template (below) and of course if there are any questions do not hesitate to ask!!
Attachments: