ECO 201 Module Seven Short Paper Guidelines and Rubric

Overview

An oligopoly is a market structure in which only a few sellers produce similar or identical products. Oligopolies are price setters and can collude to behave like a monopoly. In this short paper, you will demonstrate what you have learned about the pricing strategies and characteristics of oligopolistic companies.

Directions

Research the news for examples of an oligopolistic company. Using the template provided in the What to Submit section, write a short paper analyzing oligopolies and oligopolistic markets.

Specifically, address the following:

1. Introduction: Briefly describe the selected company, including what products or services they provide.
2. Pricing Strategies: Explain how oligopolistic companies determine their price. Refer to the Nash Equilibrium and game theory in your analysis.
3. Market Share: Explain how you determined that the company you researched is an oligopolistic company.
   • Use a pie chart or other graph to analyze the market share of the company and its competitors. See the Supporting Materials section below for help with snipping, copying, and pasting this visual into your template as Figure 1.
   • Identify the dominant firm in the oligopolistic market.
4. Conclusion: Describe how the characteristics of an oligopolistic market apply to the company you researched.

Support your claims with examples from your research or from the textbook cited in APA format.

What to Submit

Using the Module Seven Short Paper Template, create your short paper and submit it for grading. Sources should be cited according to APA style.

Supporting Materials

The following resources support your work on this assignment:

Video: How to Use the Snipping Tool (Beginner’s Guide) (for PC) (5:23)
Use this tutorial for help with snipping, copying, and pasting visuals into your template.
A captioned version of this video is available: How to Use the Snipping Tool (Beginner’s Guide) (CC).

Resource: Is There a Snipping Tool for Mac?
Use this tutorial for help with snipping, copying, and pasting visuals into your template.

Resource: APA Style Basics
Use this resource to support your in-line citations and full references in the References section of your template.

Module Seven Short Paper Rubric

CriteriaProficient (100%)Needs Improvement (55%)Not Evident (0%)ValueIntroductionBriefly describes the selected company, including what products or services they provideShows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissionsDoes not attempt criterion10Pricing StrategiesExplains how oligopolistic companies determine their price and refers to the Nash Equilibrium and game theory in their analysisShows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissionsDoes not attempt criterion30Market ShareExplains how it was determined that the firm is oligopolistic using a pie chart or other graph to analyze the market share of the company and its competitors and identifies the dominant firm in the oligopolistic marketShows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissionsDoes not attempt criterion30ConclusionDescribes how the characteristics of an oligopolistic market apply to the companyShows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissionsDoes not attempt criterion20Clear CommunicationConsistently and effectively communicates in an organized way to a specific audienceShows progress towards proficiency, but communication is inconsistent or ineffective in a way that negatively impacts understandingShows no evidence of consistent, effective, or organized communication5Citations and AttributionsUses citations for ideas requiring attribution, with consistent minor errorsUses citations for ideas requiring attribution, with major errorsDoes not use citations for ideas requiring attribution5Total:100%