2019 Semester 1 (2019.1)
MGE1108 Economics for Business
Assessment 3: Individual Assignment
ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS:
1 Submit the Assignment Cover sheet duly completed and your answers to the questions that follow. Please do NOT include the Assignment Instructions and Assignment Requirements pages (otherwise Turnitin, see below, may consider them as “plagiarised”).
2 Your assignment must be submitted as a word document through Turnitin in LMS. Turnitin is a software that indicates the extent that your assignment has been copied from elsewhere. It is normal if Turnitin indicates a percentage copied, provided you have proper in-text referencing and it is not excessive (e.g. not more than 50%). Diagrams may be hand drawn, scanned or photographed and pasted onto the word document.
3 You are not required to look up other resources except for that listed below but you can certainly do so to gain a wider general understanding. A reference list and in-text citation must be included. (Resources on how to construct your reference list and in-text citation are found in LMS under Student Support/Study Help/Study Skills and Academic Writing). You will be penalized for simply copying and pasting large sections from the text book.
Resources for this assignment are:
? Chapters 7 – 9 from the the prescribed text book A, Robinson. T, and Tucker I. (2015) Economics for Today. Copies of these chapters are on LMS.
? Videos resources for assignment on LMS.
4 You are required to use economic concepts and terms. Take care NOT to substitute words with specific economic meaning with any similar meaning words from Thesaurus (a helpful resource is Studiosity in LMS). Where economic models/diagrams are required it will be clearly indicated.
5 Marks will be deducted for late submission. If you need an extension, seek permission from your lecturer giving your reasons.
This assignment is marked out of 45 marks and contributes towards 15% of your total marks for the subject.
Due Date: 26 May 2019 (Sunday) just before midnight.

ASSIGNMENT REQUIREMENTS:
Various economic and business scenarios are assumed in some of the questions below. You are to apply your understanding of market structure and economic concepts to respond to the questions.
Question 1
Compare the market structures of Perfect Competition, Monopoly, Monopolistic Competition and Oligopoly under the following headings (About 150 words).
i. number of firms in the market
ii. similarity of the products sold
iii. barriers to entry
(12 marks)
Question 2
Coles is an Australian company providing supermarket, retail and consumer services through its chain of outlets operating throughout Australia. Its main competitors are Woolworths and Aldi. There also the many small vegetable and grocery stores but Coles, Woolworths and Aldi are believed to dominate the Australian market. Coles has over 100,000 employees across Australia.
Identify the market structure Coles operates in.
State your reason why.
(3 marks)
Question 3
Coles and its main competitors sell very similar products through their supermarket outlets. These include milk, ice cream, fruits, vegetables, nuts, eggs, frozen meat and a wide range of other products used and consumed by households. Their profit margin on products is very thin as prices are reduced to a minimum.
Discuss how Coles would consider demand for its eggs in terms of elasticity – perfectly elastic; elastic; inelastic or perfectly inelastic? Draw its demand curve to illustrate this. Explain your choice.
(3 marks)
The following extract from the New Daily is about Coles. Read it and answer the questions that follow. (https://thenewdaily.com.au/money/finance-news/2018/03/07/coles-down-down-slogan/)

“Coles shifts away from ‘annoying’ price-focused Down Down with new wholesome slogan
Mar 7, 2018
Coles appears to be finally ditching its much-derided ‘Down Down’ ad campaign in favour of a radically different marketing strategy that emphasises not rock-bottom prices but high quality, locally-sourced produce.
The new TV ads rest on the slogan ‘Good things are happening at Coles’ and cultivate an image of wholesomeness, similar to the image conjured up by rival Woolworths’ slogan ‘the fresh food people’.
The ads ... feature celebrity chef Curtis Stone, Aussie farmers, an 85-year-old checkout operator, and kids eating fresh fruit.
The decision follows months of criticism from consumers, marketing experts and financial analysts (that) …. concluded the supermarket chain had “lost its way” – largely thanks to its obsession with price.
Some examples of the ‘good things’ to feature in upcoming Coles ads include its donations to charities such as Redkite and Secondbite, the phasing out of single-use plastic bags ... and the Coles Nurture Fund which helps Australian farmers.
One of the ads also emphasises that 96 per cent of Coles’ fruit and vegetables are grown in Australia.
“Price is very black and white,” says retail expert Dr Gary Mortimer of Queensland University of Technology.
“By using storytelling and a celebrity endorser, an 80-year-old checkout operator and farmers – real people – customers will start to associate these positive feelings with the Coles brand.
“Down Down worked really well when it launched but it’s got to a point now where they can’t keep cutting prices.
“Price is also no longer a point of difference. The two big supermarkets have the same layouts, the same products, mostly the same brands and often the same prices too.” ....
A Coles spokeswoman said ... “We know our customers care about price, but they also care about where their food comes from, they care about their community and they care about the environment.”
End of extract from the New Daily

Question 4
What is the term used to describe the new strategy that Coles is adopting to increase market share?
Describe how it works.
(4 marks)
Question 5
From the same reading above, identify any two (2) methods used by Coles to compete without reducing price.
(4 marks)
Coles sells a considerable amount of vegetables every month to households. Assume that its source of vegetables is mainly from the local farms and that over the last few months these farms have been experiencing unusually dry weather.
Question 6
Use the Demand Supply model to illustrate the likely effect on the price of vegetables as a result of the weather, ceteris paribus (a diagram is expected here).
(4 marks)
Question 7
Briefly discuss any two differences in the market structure that Coles belongs to with the market structure Monopolistic Competition.
(4 marks)
Question 8
State which market structure that you think each of the following businesses best belongs to. Explain your choice.
i. the only cobbler in a country town
ii. McDonalds Restaurant in your city
iii. Metro Trains in Melbourne and Sydney Trains
iv. National Australia Bank
v. Academies Australasia Polytechnic
vi. A small stall in one of Melbourne/Sydney’s Sunday markets that sells souvenirs such as wallets, caps, tee-shirts, key chains
vii. A car workshop or hair salon in your city
viii. Iphone and Samsung in the mobile phone industry
(8 marks)
Item 9 Referencing & in-text citation
(3 marks)
TOTAL 45 marks
Assignment Coversheet
Academies Australasia Polytechnic Programs
Instructions for submission are found in the course description. Assignments with Cover Sheets not signed at the bottom will be returned unmarked and may then incur a penalty for late submission.
STUDENT INFORMATION
STUDENT ID NUMBER GIVEN NAME FAMILY NAME
ASSESSMENT INFORMATION
PROGRAM NAME Bachelor of Tourism and Hospitality Management (BTHM)
FULL COURSE /UNIT NAME Economics for Business COURSE / UNIT CODE MGE1108
ASSIGNMENT DETAILS (title) Assessment 3: Individual Written Assignment
LECTURER NAME SUBMITTED ON
DUE DATE 26 May 2019 Midnight
PLAGIARISM
Academies Australasia Polytechnic regards as a very serious matter the action of a student who acts dishonestly or improperly, including plagiarism or cheating, in connection with his or her academic work. Here “Plagiarism” is defined as “…the presentation of the works of another person / other persons as though they are one's own by failing to properly acknowledge that person / those persons”. Plagiarism may take many forms including:
• Direct copying of sentences, paragraphs or other extracts from someone else’s published work (including on the Internet and in software) without acknowledging the source;
• Paraphrasing someone else’s words without acknowledging the source;
• Using facts, information, ideas, concepts or diagrams derived from a source without acknowledging them;
• Producing assignments which should be the student’s own independent work, in unauthorised collaboration with and/or using the work of other people (e.g. a student or tutor, or working in pairs or groups and producing similar assignments on individual assessment tasks
• Not referencing accurately (e.g. not citing correctly the work you have actually read)
OTHER UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOUR
• Stealing and later using other students' work (e.g. taking discs, picking up other's marked assignments)
• Recycling your own work / assignments or “double dipping” (e.g. re-submitting whole or significant parts of assignments across units, across years or across courses)
• Assisting plagiarism – which may involve a student lending work (or by posting it on the Internet for sale) which is intended for submission for assessment, or which has already been submitted, so that it can be copied in part or whole and handed in by another student as that student’s own work.
• Students are warned against making assignments etc. available to others, as they then could be regarded as a contributor to plagiarism and may be penalised as if they themselves had committed an act of plagiarism.
Students are expected to be proficient with referencing and must always acknowledge any sources for work that is not their own.
Inadequate referencing of cited materials is considered to be plagiarism. Details of referencing can be found under the Academic Writing Skills course at the following web address: http://ami.trainingvc.com.au/course/view.php?id=169
Penalties for academic misconduct are severe. Refer AAPoly’s “Student Academic Conduct & Plagiarism Policy”
STUDENT’S STATEMENT
I/we have read and understood the information provided on this assignment cover sheet relating to plagiarism and other unacceptable behaviour and therefore declare that the attached work is entirely my/our own, except where work quoted is duly acknowledged in the text, and that this work has not been submitted for assessment in any other course or program. I/we hold a copy of this assignment, which can be produced upon request if the original is lost, damaged, or unusable.
STUDENT(S) SIGNIATURE (Type in your name)
AAPoly Student Services Original version: 22/10/2012 Academies Australasia Polytechnic Pty Limited Current version: 09/07/2015 CRICOS Provider No. 024-39G Review Date: 09/07/2017

Question 1
Compare the market structures of Perfect Competition, Monopoly, Monopolistic Competition and Oligopoly under the following headings (About 150 words).
iv. number of firms in the market
v. similarity of the products sold
vi. barriers to entry
(12 marks)
ANSWER to Q1
Question 2
Identify the market structure Coles operates in.
State your reason why.
(3 marks)
ANSWER to Q2
Question 3
Discuss how Coles would consider demand for its eggs in terms of elasticity – perfectly elastic; elastic; inelastic or perfectly inelastic? Draw its demand curve to illustrate this. Explain your choice.
(3 marks)
ANSWER to Q3
Question 4
What is the term used to describe the new strategy that Coles is adopting to increase market share?
Describe how it works.
(4 marks)
ANSWER to Q4
Question 5
From the same reading above, identify any two (2) methods used by Coles to compete without reducing price.
(4 marks)
ANSWER to Q5
Question 6
Use the Demand Supply model to illustrate the likely effect on the price of vegetables as a result of the weather, ceteris paribus (a diagram is expected here).
(4 marks)
ANSWER to Q6
Question 7
Briefly discuss any two differences in the market structure that Coles belongs to with the market structure Monopolistic Competition.
(4 marks)
ANSWER to Q7
Question 8
State which market structure that you think each of the following businesses best belongs to. Explain your choice.
ix. the only cobbler in a country town
x. McDonalds Restaurant in your city
xi. Metro Trains in Melbourne and Sydney Trains
xii. National Australia Bank
xiii. Academies Australasia Polytechnic
xiv. A small stall in one of Melbourne/Sydney’s Sunday markets that sells souvenirs such as wallets, caps, tee-shirts, key chains
xv. A car workshop or hair salon in your city
xvi. Iphone and Samsung in the mobile phone industry
(8 marks)
ANSWER to Q9
REFERENCES (in-text citations have been included in the report)
(3 marks)
TOTAL 45 marks