Find the attached file.
Assignment 4: Automotive Production Levels
Due Week 10 and worth 440 points
For this assignment, choose a major publicly traded automotive producer, such as General Motors, Ford,
Toyota, or Volkswagen. Then, research this company’s production and inventory levels, and operational
cost information, along with price and sales data for the most recent quarter available.
Write a seven to nine (7-9) page paper in which you:
1. Create a demand supply analysis based on the data you collected on your chosen company’s
price and sales, which demonstrates the relationship between price and quantity demanded.
2. Determine the equilibrium price and quantity and explain its meaning to your chosen company.
Indicate how your chosen company’s management should use this information to make sound
strategic decisions.
3. Calculate the elasticity of demand for your chosen company’s automobiles (or choose a specific
make / model). Interpret what the demand tells your chosen company’s management team.
4. Speculate what may happen to your chosen company’s specifically if the elasticity of demand
calculated above represented a competitor of your choice instead. Provide support for your
response.
5. Create a cost analysis and graph. Include total cost, total variable cost, marginal cost, and fixed
costs, along with any other costs you believe are valuable to the cost analysis.
6. Create a total revenue schedule, marginal revenue schedule, and a graph representing both.
Interpret what the graph tells your chosen company’s management team.
7. Determine the profit maximizing level of output by assessing the actions your chosen company
should take if it is to continue to maximize profits.
8. Assume your chosen company wants to expand its operations which involve capital budget
decisions. Recommend two (2) different and appropriate cost-related tools. Provide support for
your recommendation.
9. Now, assume your chosen company wants to expand its operations globally into a new market.
Suggest two (2) strategies the firm should consider. Provide support for your suggestions.
10. Use at least three (3) high-quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and
other Websites do not qualify as academic resources
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all
sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your
professor for any additional instructions.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s
name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in
the required assignment page length.
The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
• Evaluate the profit-maximizing price and output level for given operating costs for monopolies and
firms in competitive industries.
• Propose how differences in demand and elasticity lead managers to develop various pricing
strategies.
• Apply the concept of how changes in the macro environment affect individual firms and industries
through the microeconomic factors of demand, production, cost, and profitability.
Assignment4: Automotive Production Levels
Due Week 10 and worth 440 points For this assignment, choose a major publicly traded automotive producer, such as General Motors, Ford, Toyota, or Volkswagen. Research the company’s production and inventory trends, operational cost information, and price and sales data for the most recent quarter available. The following is
the outline
to use for your paper. Type each heading as it appears below and provide what it states:
1. Analysis of the overall demand and supply conditions in the automotive industry and the effect it is having on prices and sales.
2. Comparison between the supply/demand conditions in the US, Europe, and Asia [if applicable for your company].
3. Production capacity [company specific] in different global regions and the effect of government regulatory constraints on adjustments, i.e. layoffs, closings.
4. Current/recent strategy to adjust production to demand both geographically and by specific model types (luxury, economy, diesel, hybrid, etc.).
5.
Effect of relative costs between global regions on strategic (long-run) decision making process.
6. Sales outlook in various global regions given possible macroeconomic scenarios (currency unions, fiscal stimulus/austerity, monetary policy, etc.).
7. Recommendations for strategic (long-run) allocation of new capital investment. This includes possible acquisitions, divestiture, plant closure, discontinuation of product lines, and direct investment in new capacity.
8. Outlook for future growth markets by global region.
9. Outlook for future growth markets by type of automotive technology (gas, electric, etc.).
10. Use at least three (3) high-quality academic and/or industry publications in this assignment. Include company specific published documents (e.g. annual reports, financial statements). Utilize
current
and
authoritative
company sources as may be reported on or quoted by major news sources. Note: Wikipedia, Answer.com, About.com, Investopedia, etc.
do not
qualify as academic resources or authoritative sources. Learning Resources has many quality sources available in various databases.
My grading rubric is based on the research and writing quality of 1 through 10.
