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Your software company has just completed the first version of SpokenWord, a voice-activated word processor. As a marketing manager, you have to decide on the pricing of the new software. You commissioned a study to determine the potential demand for SpokenWord. From this study, you know that there are essentially two market segments of equal size, professionals, and students (one million each). Professionals would be willing to pay up to $400 and students up to $100 for the full version of the software. A substantially scaled-down version of the software would be worth $50 to consumers and worthless to professionals. It is equally costly to sell any version. In fact, other than the initial development costs, production costs are zero. Although you know there are two market segments, you cannot directly identify a consumer as belonging to a specific market segment.
 
(a) What are the optimal prices for each version of the software?
 
(b) Suppose that, instead of the scaled-down version, the firm sells an intermediate version that is valued at $200 by professionals and $75 by students. Is the firm better off by selling the intermediate version instead of the scaled-down version?

 

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Vaishali Yadav
Vaishali YadavLv10
29 Sep 2019

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Related questions

Your software company has developed Idraw, an innovative graphic-design program. As marketing manager, you have to decide on the pricing of the new software. You commissioned a study to determine the potential demand for Idraw, specifically for three different versions of the program: Idraw-max (the full version), Idraw-1 (an intermediate version), and Idraw-0 (a substantially scaled down version). From this study you learn that there are essentially two market segments of equal size, professionals and students (100,000 individuals in each segment). The willingness to pay (in $) of these two types of potential customers, for each of the versions of the software that you are considering, is summarized in the following table:

Professionals Students
Idraw-max 400 100
Idraw-1 200 75
Idraw-0 0 50

Throughout, assume that it is equally costly to sell any version. In fact, other than the initial development cost (by now a sunk cost), production costs are zero.

(a) Suppose that the company markets only Idraw-max and Idraw-0. What are the optimal prices for each of these two versions?

(b) Suppose that the company markets only Idraw-max and Idraw-1. If they are priced at $400 and $75, respectively, which version would professionals and students buy? (Hint: consumers buy the version that provides the highest net surplus). What is the profit of the firm in this case?

(c) Again assuming that only Idraw-max and Idraw-1 are being marketed, if Idraw-1 is priced at $75, what is the highest possible price for Idraw-max that still would induce professionals to buy this full version? What would the firm

1) Assume that two firms (Firm A and Firm B) operate in the U.S. steel industry. The owner of Firm A writes the following letter to the owner of Firm B:

Dear Owner of Firm B,

I have concluded that if we both restrict output such that we each produce only 3 million tons of steel per year, we can both charge a price that will allow us to effectively monopolize the steel market and to maximize our joint profits. If you would like to enter into this agreement with me, please draft a contract that specifies this agreement and I will be more than willing to meet with you and sign it.

Sincerely,

Owner of Firm A

If this letter were sent in the year 1944, the:

a) Owners of both Firm A and Firm B would not be guilty of violating antitrust laws because antitrust laws in 1944 contained exceptions for certain nationally important industries like the steel industry.

b) Owners of both Firm A and Firm B would not be guilty of anything because there were no antitrust laws in existence in 1944.

c) Owner of Firm A would be guilty of violating antitrust laws only if she met with the owner of Firm B and signed the contract, but she would not be guilty if the attempt to monopolize the market failed because the owner of Firm B never responded to the letter.

d) Owner of Firm A would be guilty of violating antitrust laws because she merely attempted to monopolize the steel industry.

e) Owners of both Firm A and Firm B would not be guilty of violating antitrust laws because antitrust laws in 1944 applied only to industries made up of three or more firms.

 

2) Entry of new firms will continue in a monopolistically competitive industry until:

a) Marginal cost = 0 (zero).

b) Economic profit is negative.

c) Marginal revenue = marginal cost.

d) Economic profit equals zero.

e) Marginal Revenue = 0 (zero).

 

3) A monopolistically competitive firm usually charges less than a monopoly firm because:

a) It is part of a group of firms that have formally agreed to control the price and the output of a product.

b) Its primary goal is to reap monopoly profits by replacing competition with cooperation.

c) It has a monopoly, but potential entrants exist in the form of contestable markets.

d) It faces some degree of competition due to low barriers to entry.

e) Producing homogenous output is more expensive than producing differentiated output.

 

4) An example of price discrimination is when:

a) A single box of Froot Loops costs $3.50, but when purchased in a case of six, it costs only $3.00 per box.

b) You can purchase a new PC for half the price of a new Mac, even though they are both computers.

c) Procter & Gamble charges $9 for a bottle of Tide laundry detergent, while the store brand costs the consumer significantly less, despite being somewhat similar products.

d) Out-of-state students pay more for the same education as in-state students.

e)Movie theaters do not allow children into R-rated movies without a parent or guardian.

 

5) The Varsity, located in downtown Atlanta, is the world's largest drive-in restaurant. Located near the Georgia Tech campus, the drive-in attracts two distinct types of customers: college students and visitors to Atlanta. The owners are considering offering a student discount of $1 off their combo meal, which is regularly priced at $9. There are 5,000 students interested in purchasing a combo meal, with a maximum willingness to pay of $8. There are 5,000 visiting customers interested in purchasing the combo meal, with a maximum willingness to pay of $9. Assume that each customer, at most, will purchase a single meal and the marginal cost is $5. What will be the amount of total revenue for the Varsity if the owners offer a single price of $8 per combo meal?

a) $65,000

b) $85,000

c) $40,000

d) $80,000

e) $90,000

 

6) A competitive firm would have:

a) More elastic demand than a monopolistically competitive firm.

b) More inelastic demand than a monopolistically competitive firm.

c) A horizontal demand curve.

d) Bowed-in or bowed-out demand.

e) An upward-sloping demand curve.

 

7) It is unrealistic to regulate a natural monopoly at marginal cost pricing because:

a) The government is not allowed to regulate markets.

b) With this type of regulation, the firm will want to shut down, and that outcome is not desirable for society.

c) Firms do not need to follow regulations from the government.

d) Regulating a market causes more deadweight loss.

e) Marginal cost pricing ends up having the natural monopoly firm earn zero economic profits.

 

8) Price discrimination allows businesses to make additional profits and allows markets to work more:

a) Efficiently

b) Unfairly

c) Realistically

d) Equitably

e) Independently

 

9) Antitrust laws are designed to:

a) Increase prices.

b) Promote monopoly practices.

c) Promote awareness of government programs.

d) Promote competition.

e) Decrease output.

 

10) Barriers to entry:

a) Do not exist for monopolies.

b) Exist for perfectly competitive firms.

c) Restrict the entry of new firms into the market.

d) Always lead to profits.

e) Measure the ability of firms to set the price for a good.

(Please Summerize the work down below, thank you)

Political

Economic

Growing political influences on healthcare advances

Cost of living increases

Global government influence on healthcare cost

Cost of insurance prices

Government control of Medicaid, Medicare funding

Rise of forecasted interest rates

Social/Cultural

Technical or Technology

Increase average age of population

Demand on new medical treatments

Patient expectations increase

Customize treatments

Demographics are in constant change

More advance service facilities

Environmental

Legal

Growing need for green business

Constant change of government drug

Regulations

Environmental agenda and community awareness

Consumer laws

Health and safety regulations

Porters 5 forces of business model

Competitive Rivalry

Growth opportunity for healthcare companies are expected to growing the next few years

Increase in new revolutionary drugs both in and outside of the US

Threat if New Entrants

Strict government regulations

Difficult to keep up due to constant change

Huge startup cost

Substitute Products

Threat of other substituting product and service at lower cost

Bargaining Power of Customers

Generic drugs offered at large discount to consumer

Larger less customized healthcare facility with lower housing costs

Several facilities offering similar services.

Bargaining power of supplier

Medical suppliers have a large pricing power

Bargaining power of physicians and nurses is huge because of large hospital benefits

Swot Analysis

Strengths

Highly trained and capable employees

Market experience

Strong leadership

High level of organizational efficiency

Excellent facilities

Strong commitment to bettering the community

Weaknesses

Increased cost of healthcare could lower our clientele

Limited staff resources

Limited cash flow to hire and train new employees

Lack of resources

Opportunities

Fast growing technology opens new doors for using state of the art equipment to better serve the patients.

Nursing and residential care is one of the fastest growing industries

Aging population

Threats

Uncertainty in political and economic climate causes hesitation for receiving new patients.

Funding constraints

Highly competitive market

Product or Service Analysis

Our services will be used by patients who cannot afford experimental treatments and patients who have been abandoned by the system because hospitals can no longer provide medical assistance. At our facility, we will be able to work with the families and provide them with different payments options, such as low monthly payment plans. Our main goal is to be able to treat the patient at a very affordable cost; however, if any patient does not possess the means to pay for treatment, he or she would not be turned away; our facility will tap into government and private funding to cover treatment cost.

The beauty of this service is that there isn’t a charge of any kind to take part in our program because it is completely funded by government grants. Individuals that would take part would more than likely not have the means to pay a monthly deductible. Due to the nature of the business listed as a non-profit agency, there is no way to make a profit of any kind, as it would jeopardize the business in its entirety.

Some of the market factors that create a demand for our services include the need of medical care after having maximized all resources, the number of low income families, and the number of patients facing health issues needed extended medical care.

Opportunities that may derive from this business is the opportunity to expand and open multiple facilities, while extending a helping hand to many more in need. The risk, however, is the unstable funds deriving from grants. This can pose a huge treat to the business, as grants often times come and go and cannot be counted on as a constant income.

After studying the healthcare system and current policies in place, data shows many individuals facing severe health issues usually go untreated and uncared for due to the outrageous cost of medical care. It is devastating to see how often people, especially the elderly, are sent home and forgotten for the mere reason that hospitals and doctors are not willing to care for patients without financial means. In fact, in 2009 Harvard news reported 45,000 annual deaths due to lack of health coverage in the U.S. alone, which is significantly higher than the 18,000 reported by USA Today in 2002.

Financial Analysis

Clermont will be a nonprofit organization, dedicated to help the most needed. To open the facility fully operational we must take in consideration some fixed expenses like the land acquisition, permits, interest, brokers, administration fees, professionals (facility setup), staff, reports (environmental, occupational, fire, FDA), electricity, water, phone, water & sewer , connections, taxes, insurance, management, security, advertising, accountants, food, lawn mowers, bank fees, etc.

The facility will need have a total value of approximately three million dollars, but if we break the price of the land acquisition in to a thirty (30) year mortgage we can star up the business with an investment of approximately $ 233,944.61 USD to cover the first month of operation including all the startup permits and connections. After the first month the fixed expenses will be $184,444.00 USD with the exception of the months were taxes are due; taxes are around $ 43,000.00 USD paid quarterly will increase the tax month (depending on the facility fiscal year) for $ 10,750.00 USD approximately. We will fund all the costs with private and public funding, fundraiser, events, raffles, and most important with the help of the community.

As we mentioned before, Clermont is a nonprofit organization and we will do everything in our power to give the relief to the families in need. No one will be rejected because they do not have the money or the insurance cannot help. No money will be required from patient and every single dollar received will be spent in the patients, and in improving our facility and our service every day.

We believe our financial even breaking point will be a year after we begin operations, and be profitable soon after. There are many patients in need, and with the government and public grants each person will receive the treatment they need, and we will become the hope of many.

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