Group Presentations

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Objectives:

The objectives of this group project are : (1) To help you bridge the gap between the economic theory and models discussed in class and the “real world;” (2) To confront the problems of trying to find data which are appropriate for the questions under consideration and to deal with the problems of incomplete information; (3) To showcase your oral and written communication skills; and (4) To identify how the problems faced and the decisions made by other firms are similar to your own. In the project you are asked to try to apply the precisely defined theoretical economic concepts in situations where data and information are imperfect and/or missing. You are then asked to communicate your findings in a manner appropriate for your audience (which could be your CEO, board of directors or company management meeting). Finally, you are asked to look for similarities among the decision making issues confronting different firms.

Choice of Industry and a firm within:

In the first class, each of the student teams in the “Class of 2009” will be assigned a specific industry by lottery. The teams will be responsible for following this industry for their group presentations. Each team will select a particular firm in this industry for their group project. The firm may be one where one of the team members work or otherwise. Each team will also need to immediately select a project manager who will send me an email with your choice of industry & firm by the third class, Saturday, March 21, 2009. The project manager will serve as the means of communication between me and the group members. Suggested industries for group presentations for this class are as follows:

1.   Wireless Communications

2.   Networking & Security Systems

3.   Aerospace Industry

4.   Healthcare Industry

5.   Hospitality Industry

6.   Heavy equipment

7.   Banking

8.   Consumer Products

9.   Online / E-commerce

10.  Real Estate (any topic)

11.  Entertainment Industry

12.  Shipping Industry

Note:  Auto industry will be discussed in the class.

Final Oral Presentation: (PowerPoint Format: 15 mins each, 5 mins Q&A)

Each team will make a presentation of approximately fifteen minutes on their firm and industry in Lecture 7. The presentation will be followed by a short question and answer session of 5 minutes. The presentation should be orderly (including an introduction, discussion of all important points, and a conclusion) and well delivered (relating the level of discussion to your audience, clearly focusing on the subject matter, and presented without distractions). Visual materials should be readable, understandable, and relevant to your discussion. You should hand out either hard copies of the PowerPoint presentations or a summary of the main points and relevant charts and tables for each member of the class.

Suggested Outline for Report & Presentation:  

I. Introduction

            A. Objective

            B. Background  

II. Industry Analysis

A. Description of industry.

B. Market Structure — description of firms.

C. Size of industry relative to economy.

D. Demand factors.

E. Production and cost issues.

F. Non-economic factors.  

III. Firm Analysis

A. Demand factors.

B. Production and cost issues.

C. Market power, strategies, and goals  

IV. Forecasts, Projections, Recommendations

A. Reduce costs of production.

B. Develop a new product or expand into another area of the market.

C. Other strategies.  

 V. Economic Environment

A. Description of Current environment (2004-2008) - GDP and components, inflation, unemployment, and interest rates and contrast with Historical period (1996-2004).

B. Forecast of future changes.  

VI. Macro Impact on Firm and Industry -- Reaction to macro changes and effect on industry and firm strategies.  

Grading Criteria

Each of the teams would be graded on their group presentations on four of the following criterions.

1.      Exposition of Topic:     5 points

2.      Macro Connection:      5 points

3.      Presentation Style:      5 points

4.      Research Effort:          5 points

           20 points

For your better understanding I’ve uploaded the 5 presentations from last year’s classes.  The table below

shows the grading of these presentations:    

2008 Class

2007 Class

2006 Class

2005 Class

*

Excellent: 4.5 +

Good:  3.5 to 4.5

Okay:  2.5 to 3.5

Lacks < 2.5