UMUC WK 1 Economic Environment Supply & Demand in Your Life Discussion WEEK 1 Discussion Instructions Please refer to the Discussion Grading Rubric and D

UMUC WK 1 Economic Environment Supply & Demand in Your Life Discussion WEEK 1

Discussion Instructions

Please refer to the Discussion Grading Rubric and Discussion module for details regarding how your performance will be assessed. NOTE: Please be certain to read the entire discussion assignment since in some cases there is more than one question you need to discuss, respond to, or address. Be sure that you have answered the entire question!

Paraphrase rather than use direct quotes and provide the page or paragraph number of the resource. Review the Learn to Use APA so you understand how to cite and reference the eBook, which you are required to use to support the reasoning for what is presented in the discussion questions below. Cite the source materials used.

Create one thread and post both initial responses in this one thread.

Initial Post For Each Discussion Question

This posting should be a minimum of one short paragraph and a maximum of two paragraphs. Word totals for this post should be in the 200–350-word range. Explain ‘why’ with supporting evidence and concepts from the course materials. Include in-text citations and associated references in a reference list. Use of the course materials is required.

Responses to Classmates’ Posts for Each Discussion Question

After you have created your initial post, look over the discussion posts of your classmates and give at least two responses for each discussion question to different classmates (one per classmate) as outlined in the Discussion Grading Rubric. Four responses for this discussion question is the minimum and will not earn full credit for frequency.

A response posting should be a minimum of one short paragraph. Word totals for these posts should be in the 75–150-word range. The goal of your response posts is to extend the discussion or pose new possibilities or ideas not previously voiced using the course materials. Your goal should be to motivate the group discussion and present a creative approach to the topic. Do not merely agree or disagree, repeat what a classmate stated or what you have already stated. Explain the ‘why and how’ with supporting evidence and concepts from the course materials. Include in-text citations and associated reference within a reference list. Use of the course materials is required.

Discussion 1 – Role of Business, External Factors = Internal Pressure

Answer the following questions:

Identify one of the external force from the course materials that influences business and discuss the force.
Choose one of the following companies: Ford Motors, Anheuser-Busch, Santander Bank, Silver Airways, Scotts Miracle-Gro Co., J C Penney’s, Sanford Health, Under Armour, or that is being significantly influenced by the factor you selected.

Now that you have selected a company and identified one external force (Monsanto and GMOs, for example), the next step is to research the company’s activities during the past six to twelve months, as they relate to this external force. You will want to start at the company’s website. What are the company owners and managers doing/saying about issues related to the selected force? Identify and consider the stakeholders, as well, and look for information on how stakeholders are influencing company reaction/action.

Using the research you performed above and the course materials to craft your initial discussion posting. In this initial post you will:

Provide a brief background on the company.
Identify and discuss the external force you selected.
Identify the functional areas of a business using the course materials.
Explain how this external force is currently influencing the internal functional area(s) of the organization. For example, explain what short-term changes, actions, or decisions need to be made within the functional areas of the company as a result of the external force. Be specific.
Discuss how the company might address this external force over the long term. For example, if you selected the Ronald McDonald House and the external force is corporate citizenship (not an actual external factor), you might surmise that the slow economy and high unemployment will put additional pressure on McDonald’s to provide more assistance to families and people in need. However, in a slow economy people are less likely to make donations. McDonald’s is being asked to do more but may have less to do it with. In the long term, if donations do not increase and demand remains high, the company may have to look for other means besides donations to support its mission. Marketing may need to increase, and the finance department may start to look for ways to cut costs.
Discuss how stakeholders are influenced by or influence the decisions made by the organization.

Discussion 2 – Economic Environment – Supply and Demand in Your Life

Scenario

According to a recent article in Forbes Magazine, “The demand for additional battery life is so large Pokémon GO is already having an impact on the sales of external batteries and phone cases with extra battery capacity.” Popular portable battery makers told Forbes that the sales of certain products have grown significantly, up to double or triple just in Pokémon GO’s first week in the United States. On a less technological front, coffee prices are up by 13 percent due to increased demand, and the supply of Corvettes is not sufficient to meet the current demand. All of these statements come from headlines from the past three months, indicating that the laws of supply and demand impact everything from your phone to your car to MY coffee. This is the basis for our discussion this week!

For Discussion

Choose an article on a topic (product/good/service) that affects your daily life.
Identify the title of the article, provide a brief overview of the article and identify the product, good or service discussed in the article.
Discuss how the article relates to supply and demand.
Explain what aspect of the article’s discussion affects your daily life?
Explain what factors are influencing the supply and demand of the product/good/service that is the subject of your article?
Using APA, include the citation including the URL of the article, so your classmates can access it.

Self-Plagiarism: Self-plagiarism is the act of reusing significant, identical or nearly identical portions of one’s own work. You cannot re-use any portion of a paper or other graded work that was submitted to another class even if you are retaking this course. You also will not reuse any portion of previously submitted work in this class. A zero will be assigned to the assignment if self-plagiarized. Faculty do not have the discretion to accept self-plagiarized work.