ECO 415 Week 3

Individual Lets Talk Money Interview Transcript

Create a 1,050- to 1,400-word fictitious dialogue that takes place during a segment of Lets Talk Money, a fictitious TV talk show that interviews prominent individuals in the business community. During the segment, the shows host, a government official, and a business savvy CEO discuss the relationship between the government, the economy, and the company selected from the following list:

Pepsi-Cola Company

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Lowes

Starbucks Coffee Company

Barnes & Noble

Amazon.com, Inc.

Hewlett Packard Development Company, L.P.

Dell, Inc.

The Walt Disney Company

Microsoft

Note: You may use a company with which you are familiar as a substitute.

Use your creativity with this dialogue and develop the points of view of the characters involved. The following questions must be addressed and serve as a basis for grading this assignment:

In what type of situations might the selected company run a high risk of violating antitrust laws? How might the government react to assure fair competition within the companys given market?

In what ways might the selected company create a benefit externality? In what ways might it create a cost externality? How might the government respond to the externalities created by the selected company?

What is the importance of the government as a buyer in a market economy? Explain from both a governmental and a business perspective.

In what ways might the selected company do business with the government? From the companys perspective, what might be the benefits and drawbacks of selling to the government? From the governments perspective, what might be the benefits and drawbacks of buying from the company?

In what situation would the selected company likely consider a merger with one of the other companies on the list? What risks and benefits would a possible merger present? How might the government respond to the merger? Would the two companies merge? Explain why or why not.

Learning Team Reflection on Weeks 1 and 2

Discuss with your team the topics from weeks one and two readings and class discussions that you are comfortable with, the topics that you struggled with, and how the weekly topics relate to your professional or personal lives.

Write a 500 - 700 word paper detailing the findings of your discussion

Discussion Questions

Although most people agree that the governments role in the free market economy should be limited, the degree of appropriate government involvement is contested. Under what circumstances should the government bailout a failing business? Explain and cite a specific example to illustrate your reasoning.

Some people might argue that the reason the government has to manage cost and benefit externalities is that people are basically selfish. Explain the reasoning of that statement. Do you agree or disagree? Explain why.