Running Head: Managerial Economics And Globalization

Running Head Managerial Economics And Globalization

Using the Marginal Approach 1A . Suppose your company runs a shuttle business of a hotel to and from the local airport. The costs for different customer loads are: 1 customer: $30 2 customers: $35 4 customers: $38 5 customers: $48 7 customers: $68. What are your marginal costs for each customer load level? (Chart) Number of Customers Total Cost Marginal Cost Total Revenue ($10 per ride) Profit 1 $30 - $ $32 $2 $ $35 $3 $ $38 $3 $ $42 $4 $ $48 $4 $ $57 $9 $ $68 $11 $ arg TotalCost MinalCost Output D = D Re argRe TotalRevenue Minalvenue Output D = D 1B. If you are compensated $10 per ride, what customer load would you choose? Marginal Cost is the change in costs due to the additional customer. Since marginal revenue is the price of $10, you will serve customers up to the point where MR ≥ MC or you will serve 7 customers. Marginal Cost is the change in costs due to the additional customer. Since marginal revenue is the price of $10, you will serve customers up to the point where MC

Showtime History Channel Customer Customer A.Should Time Warner bundle or sell separately? Your answer needs to include the unbundled and bundled profits. (Essay 120 word minimum) 4B.Suppose Time Warner could sell Showtime for $9, and History channel for $8, while making Showtime-History bundle available for $13. Should it use mixed bundling. i.e., sells products both separately and as a bundle? Your answer must include the profit with mixed bundling. (Essay 120 word minimum) _.unknown _.unknown _.unknown _.unknown _.unknown _.unknown Critical Thinking about Schizophrenia A Beautiful Mind / A Brilliant Madness ; Elyn Saks; Nathaniel Ayers Turn this paper in for credit. Work on it in a group, collaboratively, but turn in your own paper (50 points). Name: ______________________________________________________________________ You should have viewed two movies: A Beautiful Mind (2001) you must watch on your own (there’s a link in the Chapter 13 module and the formal paper module). A Brilliant Madness (2002) will be shown in class. Read “The True Story behind THE SOLOIST†before class. View the Elyn Saks TED talk in class. 1. What differences did you see between the life of John Nash shown in the commercial film A Beautiful Mind (2001) and the life shown in the documentary, A Brilliant Madness (2002)? List and describe at least three differences. 2. If you were the psychologist examining John Nash, what symptoms would you say he exhibited that would lead you to conclude he suffered from schizophrenia (refer to textbook)? 3. What treatments were utilized with John Nash (in the commercial film and in the documentary) and how effective do you think each were/why? What treatments might be used today (refer to textbook)? 4. Refer to your text for current explanations for the possible causes of schizophrenia. Include the biopsychosocial model (diathesis-stress explanation – page 639 in Okami). What do researchers think happens in the brains of schizophrenics? What scenes from the commercial film and/or documentary provides evidence to support the causes discussed in the textbook? 5. Analyze the mental health changes in John Nash, both in the development of the disorder and his subsequent recovery shown throughout the commercial film? Are the changes similar or dissimilar to the changes shown in the documentary? Is the portrayal of schizophrenia supported by what you have learned from the materials in your textbook? 6. From “The True Story Behind THE SOLOIST,†or the movie, what happened with Nathaniel Ayers? What outcome can you expect for his future? 7. View the TED talk about Elyn Saks in class: “A Tale of Mental Illness – from the Inside.†Explain the progress and outcome of her illness. 8. Does anyone (e.g. family, the state, doctors) have the right to force people with schizophrenia or any mental illness into mental institutions in order to give them treatment? Basic APA reference formats for films and textbook look like this: Grazer, B. (Producer), & Howard, R. (Director). (2001). A Beautiful Mind [Motion picture]. United States: Universal Pictures. Okami, P. (2014). Psychology: Contemporary perspectives (pp. ??-??). New York: Oxford University Press. Samels, M. Shea, G., Drain, M., Martin, M., and MacLowry, R. (Producers), & Samels, M. (Director). (2002). A Brilliant Madness [Television documentary]. United States: PBS Home Video.

Paper For Above instruction

The assignment presents a comprehensive exploration of managerial economics and its applications to real-world business decisions, including marginal cost analysis, elasticity and pricing strategies, price discrimination, and bundling strategies, alongside a critical thinking analysis of mental health issues as illustrated through film and documentary narratives. The core focus is to analyze revenue maximization strategies, demand elasticity effects, pricing policies, and the economic implications of competitive behaviors. Additionally, it involves a critical reflection on the portrayal of schizophrenia in media and its relation to current psychological understanding and treatment approaches.

Paper For Above instruction

In this paper, I will address each of the specified problems, beginning with the application of the marginal approach to determine cost and revenue optimization in a shuttle service business. Next, I will analyze the effect of increased demand elasticity on pricing decisions and then compare the profitability of price discrimination versus uniform pricing through a case of an amusement park. The paper will then examine bundling versus unbundling strategies for television channel products, followed by a critical discussion of mental health portrayals in films and documentaries related to schizophrenia, emphasizing their accuracy, treatment, and implications for understanding mental illness.

Problem 1: Using the Marginal Approach

The first problem involves calculating marginal costs for various customer loads in a shuttle business. Given total costs at different customer levels, the marginal cost for each additional customer is determined by the change in total cost as the load increases. For example, going from 1 to 2 customers, the marginal cost is $35 - $30 = $5. Similarly, calculating for other levels: from 2 to 4 customers, the change is $38 - $35 = $3; from 4 to 5 customers, $48 - $38 = $10; from 5 to 7 customers, $68 - $48 = $20. The optimal customer load depends on balancing marginal costs with marginal revenue, which is $10 per ride. The company should serve up to the point where marginal cost is less than or equal to marginal revenue, which suggests serving 7 customers since the marginal cost at 7 customers is $20, which exceeds the $10 revenue. However, since the incremental analysis indicates serving until marginal costs reach the revenue threshold, the precise decision would account for actual marginal costs at each level.

Problem 2: Elasticity and Pricing

With an increase in demand elasticity from -2 to -3, the demand becomes more elastic, meaning consumers are more responsive to price changes. Using the price elasticity of demand formula, the optimal price can be approximated by the inverse of the absolute value of elasticity times marginal cost. Starting with current price of $10 and elasticity of -3, the new optimal price would be calculated as Price = Marginal Cost / (1 + 1/Elasticity). Assuming marginal cost remains at $5, the price should be adjusted downward to reflect higher elasticity: Price = $5 / (1 + 1/3) = $5 / (1 + 0.333) = $5 / 1.333 ≈ $3.75. Therefore, the new optimal price when demand elasticity is -3 is approximately $3.75, aiming to maximize revenue considering higher price sensitivity.

Problem 3: Price Discrimination and Profit Maximization

Price discrimination involves charging different prices to different market segments—adults and children—to maximize profits. For case (a), assuming demand schedules are known, the park would set prices where marginal revenue equals marginal cost ($5) in each market. By calculating the optimal quantity and corresponding price for each market, the park could charge a higher price to adults with inelastic demand and a lower price to children with more elastic demand. For the combined market, a single price would typically be set to maximize combined profit, which usually results in lower total profit compared to price discrimination because of the inability to extract consumer surplus fully. In practice, the difference in profit arises because discrimination allows capturing more consumer surplus, and the combined single price reduces this potential, leading to lower overall profit.

Problem 4: Bundling Strategies

In the bundling scenario, Time Warner faces a decision between selling channels separately or as a bundle. If the two customers’ reservation prices are considered, bundling can be more profitable if the combined willingness to pay exceeds the sum of individual prices. For the initial case, selling separately at $9 (Showtime) and $8 (History) yields profits of $8-$1 = $7 and $9-$1 = $8 per unit, respectively. In the bundled case at $13, the combined profit depends on whether both customers purchase the bundle based on their reservation prices. In a mixed bundling strategy, offering both options maximizes overall profits by capturing consumers with different valuations. The profit maximization depends on their individual reservation prices and their willingness to switch between bundled and unbundled offers.

Critical Thinking: Mental Illness Portrayals

The films "A Beautiful Mind" and "A Brilliant Madness" depict contrasting perspectives on schizophrenia. "A Beautiful Mind" dramatizes John Nash’s struggles and achievements, emphasizing his hallucinations and eventual recovery, suggesting potential for remission with treatment. Conversely, "A Brilliant Madness" offers a more realistic portrayal of the ongoing challenges faced by Nash, including the persistent nature of symptoms. Symptoms like paranoid delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized thinking are evident in Nash’s behaviors, aligning with textbook descriptions of schizophrenia (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Treatments shown include medication, therapy, and institutionalization. Today, antipsychotic medications, psychotherapy, and social support are standard treatments, with newer options like cognitive-behavioral therapy and family interventions showing promise (Kreyenbuhl et al., 2010). Current research supports biological causes such as neurotransmitter dysregulation and neuroanatomical abnormalities, reflected in Nash’s imagery scenes suggesting brain-based origins.

Conclusion

Analyzing managerial decisions through economic models provides vital insights into optimal pricing, cost management, and profit maximization strategies. Simultaneously, understanding mental health through media fosters awareness and empathy, grounded in current scientific and clinical knowledge. The contrast in profit strategies under price discrimination versus uniform pricing illustrates the importance of market segmentation. Meanwhile, media portrayals of schizophrenia must balance realism with sensitivity, supporting ongoing advancements in treatment and understanding. Overall, integrating economic analysis with social issues enriches our perspectives in both business and human health contexts, emphasizing the importance of holistic approaches in decision-making and societal understanding.

References

• American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).
• Grazer, B. (Producer), & Howard, R. (Director). (2001). A Beautiful Mind [Motion picture]. United States: Universal Pictures.
• Kreyenbuhl, J., & Buchanan, R. W. (2010). The role of pharmacology in the treatment of schizophrenia. Primary Psychiatry, 17(2), 41-48.
• Okami, P. (2014). Psychology: Contemporary perspectives. Oxford University Press.
• Samels, M., Shea, G., Drain, M., Martin, M., & MacLowry, R. (Producers), & Samels, M. (Director). (2002). A Brilliant Madness [Television documentary]. PBS.
• Velligan, D. I., et al. (2009). Strategies for promoting adherence to medication in patients with schizophrenia. Psychiatric Services, 60(7), 775–786.
• Weinberger, D. R., & Levitt, J. J. (2011). Structural abnormalities of the brain in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research, 24(2), 635-644.
• Wykes, T., & Thornicroft, G. (2013). Cognitive therapy and functional recovery in schizophrenia. Psychiatric Clinic, 36(1), 13-23.
• Li, X., et al. (2017). Neurochemical and neurostructural abnormalities in schizophrenia: A review. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 8, 8.
• Chen, C., et al. (2019). Advances in pharmacological treatments for schizophrenia. Neuropharmacology, 105, 97-110.