1. Companies are beginning to create products for groups of people instead of trying to find the best product. They are realizing not everyone likes the same thing or that they don't really mean what they say the want. As Malcolm Gladwell said something about their brain not knowing what the tongue wants.
2. When prices between two products are close I choose the one I enjoy more. Whether it is a product that tastes better or something that is more useful. Take soda for example, some people are die hart Pepsi fans where others are all for Coke. Personally it doesn't matter to me, I do not see that much of a taste difference and usually go with the label I like better.
3. Monopolistic Competition occurs when many companies make similar products. Gas is an example of monopolistic competition because the product is the same but many companies compete for the right to sell it. It may be price, or convenience, or maybe the gas station just happens to be on the same side of the road but for whatever reason people choose one gas station over the other.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Friday, December 10, 2010
Post 7: 4 Monopolies
Natural Monopoly: The most common example of a natural monopoly is water. It would not be practical to create a competitive market for water because of all the necessities that come with owning a water company. It would cost way more money to install pipes running to individual costumers and such than the company would make.
Government Monopoly: The United State Postal Service is prime example of government monopoly. No other company ships first and third class mail, they are not allowed to. Although other companies compete in shipping packages or overnight delivery, good old "snail mail" is a government monopoly.
Geographic Monopoly: A geographic monopoly example is a small town store in Northern Alaska with no other stores around to compete. In Alaska, shopping malls are not popular so many times there is just a single store every hundred miles or so to buy everything you need.
Technological Monopoly: The John Deere plow is an example of a technological monopoly because John Deere has a patent on it. He advanced the world of farming through technology and received his credit through a patent.
Government Monopoly: The United State Postal Service is prime example of government monopoly. No other company ships first and third class mail, they are not allowed to. Although other companies compete in shipping packages or overnight delivery, good old "snail mail" is a government monopoly.
Geographic Monopoly: A geographic monopoly example is a small town store in Northern Alaska with no other stores around to compete. In Alaska, shopping malls are not popular so many times there is just a single store every hundred miles or so to buy everything you need.
Technological Monopoly: The John Deere plow is an example of a technological monopoly because John Deere has a patent on it. He advanced the world of farming through technology and received his credit through a patent.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Post 5: Cattle Feed
My daddy pays thousands of dollars each year to feed my cattle. Because my dairy cows are show cattle the feed they eat has a higher amount of protein in order to get them to grow faster and place higher in their classes. Unfortunately there are not many feed companies that offer a feed with that amount of protein limiting me to just one option, Blue Seal. It costs me $13.99 to buy one bag of feed and between my 5 heifers that eat it, I go through about 2 bags a week. If the company were to break up into smaller companies it would be much more beneficial to me because they would have to compete for prices. The way it is now with Blue Seal feed company being the only one to sell that high protein feed they have complete control over the price and can charge me an outrageous amount of money. Whereas, if there were multiple companies they could not charge that much or they would lose their business.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
Post 4: 8 Things Learned from Quizzes
1. Consumers benefit the most from highly competitive markets because producers do not want to lose their businesses.
2. Sellers try to point out differences in their products from other companies in order to persuade consumers to purchase their product.
3. Breakfast cereals are a good example of an oligopoly in the United States because three companies account for $80 of all cereal sales.
4. The most common form of interdependent pricing is price leadership when one of the larger companies takes control of setting prices.
5. Cartells are illegal in the United States.
6. Trusts were prevalent in post Civil-War America.
7. Laissez-faire means "let the people do as they will do" in French.
8. The Federal Trade Commission Act was passed in 1914 to investigate charges of unfair methods of competition.
2. Sellers try to point out differences in their products from other companies in order to persuade consumers to purchase their product.
3. Breakfast cereals are a good example of an oligopoly in the United States because three companies account for $80 of all cereal sales.
4. The most common form of interdependent pricing is price leadership when one of the larger companies takes control of setting prices.
5. Cartells are illegal in the United States.
6. Trusts were prevalent in post Civil-War America.
7. Laissez-faire means "let the people do as they will do" in French.
8. The Federal Trade Commission Act was passed in 1914 to investigate charges of unfair methods of competition.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Post 3: 5 Recent Purchases
National 4-H Congress Hooded Sweatshirt: This is an example of Pure Monopoly because there is only one National 4-H Congress and they have a license that forbids anyone else from using the 4-H clover. Due to their trademark of that clover it makes them the only source for buying a National 4-H Congress hooded sweatshirt. This gives them the power to make the price extremely high but 4-Hers will still pay because you only have the opportunity to buy the sweatshirt at this conference.
Airport Baggage Fee: Monopolistic Competition is airport baggage fee because there are many airline companies to choose but most have a fee to check baggage. They have some control of prices but not complete control because they must compete with other companies. However if Continental were charged an excessive amount of money to check one page, consumers may switch to Delta who charges a lower amount.
Yellow Lab Puppy: Puppies are an example of Pure Competition because there are many places to get puppies. They are almost at a constant supply which means individual dog breeders do not have control over the price they charge. In order to assume business their prices can not be higher than a certain price.
Gas: Gas is considered Oligopoly because of the low amounts of gas companies. Because of their competitive nature and need to make profits individual companies can not knock their prices up too high or their costumers will go elsewhere so they really don't have much control over the prices. Gas is also a very standard product, there is not one company that has a unique gas that would make the value go up, they are all equal.
WaWa Breakfast Sandwich: Although there are close substitutes such as McDonald's breakfast sandwiches or 7-Eleven sandwiches there is no other "WaWa breakfast sandwich." There are small differences that separate WaWa from other companies making this is an example of Monopolistic Competition. There are many substitutes to WaWa's breakfast sandwiches but none of them are exactly like WaWa's.
Airport Baggage Fee: Monopolistic Competition is airport baggage fee because there are many airline companies to choose but most have a fee to check baggage. They have some control of prices but not complete control because they must compete with other companies. However if Continental were charged an excessive amount of money to check one page, consumers may switch to Delta who charges a lower amount.
Yellow Lab Puppy: Puppies are an example of Pure Competition because there are many places to get puppies. They are almost at a constant supply which means individual dog breeders do not have control over the price they charge. In order to assume business their prices can not be higher than a certain price.
Gas: Gas is considered Oligopoly because of the low amounts of gas companies. Because of their competitive nature and need to make profits individual companies can not knock their prices up too high or their costumers will go elsewhere so they really don't have much control over the prices. Gas is also a very standard product, there is not one company that has a unique gas that would make the value go up, they are all equal.
WaWa Breakfast Sandwich: Although there are close substitutes such as McDonald's breakfast sandwiches or 7-Eleven sandwiches there is no other "WaWa breakfast sandwich." There are small differences that separate WaWa from other companies making this is an example of Monopolistic Competition. There are many substitutes to WaWa's breakfast sandwiches but none of them are exactly like WaWa's.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Post 1: Intro
Hey my name is Heather Shinn. I am 17 years old and a senior at Northern Burlington. I am very involved in FFA and 4-H at the national level. Twice have I attended the National FFA Convention and have been selected to represent New Jersey at three National 4-H Conferances. Most people know me for my love of agriculture, especially cows. Personally I own 11 Holstein dairy cows which I take care of everyday and show at various fairs throughout the summer. Mr. Reising's favorite was my bull calf Chase Utley ("Steak Utley" according to him). I currently serve as the Burlington County Dairy Princess as well as an officer in numerous extracurricular clubs. Recently I was voted a captain of the varsity bowling team and will play varsity softball in the spring.
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