Starbucks Canada

Instructions

Summary :

You have been hired by ABC Financial, a fictional analytical firm. ABC financial is usually hired by firms who want to have more details regarding the market in which they are operating, their consumers and their competitors so they can make sound business decisions.

Your mandate is to produce a report in which you analyze the firm, one of its products and the market in which it is operating in order to provide feedback to your superior who would later give this information to the client.

Sources:

The project must be an empirical study (using data) of a firm operating in the Canadian market.

You must use at least 6 sources, one of which should be in French (though your paper will be in English). The sources can be periodicals, newspaper articles, and books (the articles (for both English and French sources) should be recent (as much as possible)).

 Some examples for the sources are: The New York Times, National Post, The Economist, Globe and Mail, Wall Street Journal, OECD, Bank of Canada and Statistics Canada.

Some example for French sources are: La Presse, Radio-Canada, Les Affaires, Actualité and Le Devoir.

Be careful, you are not allowed to use editorials (since they are articles that state opinions)!

Format:

1500-2000 words

You must take into consideration that your employer does not have your economic expertise. Therefore, you are asked to define and explain all the terms and concepts that you use. Also, the presentation of the report must be impeccable and clear.

Definitions of simple terms (such as product, firm, industry, etc.) do not need to be defined.

More specifically, the report will include the following elements:

–Title page

APA Format

-An introduction

(Introduce your topic, What is the goal of the paper? An overview of the paper, Specify what the body will be about)

-The body of the report

Body 1: Presentation of Firm and Product

1) Presentation of the firm.

1. Historical background.
2. Geographical location of the producer.

Note: This type of information can usually be found on the firm’s website. Please cite your sources in APA Style.

2) Presentation of the product.

1. Is it a private good, a public good, a club good or a common resource? Please explain your reasoning (you must make reference to the definition of the type of product you think this is).

Body 2: Presentation of the Industry

1) To what industry does the product belong? Please also provide the NAICS number (you can also check cbr.ca)

2) What is the percentage of profitable firms in this industry?

With your NAICS number create a report to find this information (if the information is unavailable, pick a more general NAICS number)

3) Are there any government intervention, such as taxation, incentives, subsidies, laws, regulations?

Body 3: Competitors

Does this firm face competition in the regions where its product is available?

(a) If yes:

(i) Are the competitors in high numbers? Are most of them micro firms, small firms, medium firms or large firms? (You should make reference to the definitions)

(ii) Name one of the most important firms and compare their performance to the firm you are studying. (You can compare their profits, their market shares, their size, etc.)

(b) If no: Explain why there are no competitors. (What are the barriers of entry present here)

Body 4: Price Elasticity

1) Estimate the price elasticity of demand for the firm’s product (Is the demand elastic or inelastic? Please use your reasoning, make reference to the definition and avoid calculating the coefficient).

2) Based on what you answered in 1), if the firm were to increase their price, how are the consumers likely to react? Represent this situation using a graph and explain your reasoning below the graph.

Don’t forget to:

label the axes and your curve

Identify the quantity demanded before the price change

Identify the quantity demanded after the price change

Body 5: The Market Structure

1) In what kind of market structure (pure competition, monopoly, oligopoly or monopolistic competition) do you think your firm is operating? Please explain your reasoning (You must make reference to the definition of the type market structure you think this is).

2) Name a few advantages and disadvantages of this market structure for the firm you are studying. (It would be a good idea to compare it to other market structures to point out advantages and disadvantages).

-A conclusion

Synthesis of the paper. It should include the following paragraphs (you can present your conclusion in more paragraphs if you see appropriate):

A summary of the overall topic/objective of the paper

A summary of the sections of the paper (the body)

Overall conclusion (Do you think the firm is in a good position currently?)

How could your report be improved? Could you have benefited from any other in-formation that you did not find? Try to elaborate on the weaknesses and limitations of the paper (Please note that finding weaknesses will not affect your grade)

-Bibliography

APA style (Minimum 6 sources + Industry Canada Website) Sources may be articles in magazines, newspapers, research papers, internet websites, etc. One of the sources must be in French. The bibliography is NOT part of the word requirement.

Specifications and Other Requirements

• Typed: Times New Roman; 12 pt.
• Justified alignment.
• Double spaced.
• Add page numbers
• First-line indention.
• Language (spelling, grammar, fluent English). Select all of your text (press Ctrl+A) and click on Review >> Language >> Set Proofing Language… Select English (Canadian). Then run a spell-check: Review >> Spelling & Grammar. You can also get help from the Academic Skills Centre in room 6D.2. They have helpful advisors who can help you with English writing.
• No contractions (avoid don’t, won’t…). Hint: you can use Ctrl+F or Ctrl+H to facilitate your search.
• No first-person pronouns (avoid I, we, my, us…). Hint: you can use Ctrl+F or Ctrl+H to facilitate your search.
• Abbreviations can be used once the expression has been written, followed by its abbreviations in brackets
  • For example: ‘The growth rate of the real Gross Domestic Product(GDP) has been increasing in the past year. This real GDP is….’
• The paper must headings and subheadings.