Verified Document

Economics Discussions Production Costs Postal Service USPS  Essay

Economics Discussions Production Costs

Postal Service (USPS) operates at a loss but its closest competitors -- UPS and FedEx -- both operate at a profit. Suggest how fixed costs have contributed to the situation of the USPS. Provide support for your response.

I would suspect that the fixed costs of contributing to employee's retirement funds (Risk Analysis Research Center, 2009, p. 4) and also their restriction from closing local offices (Slentz and McCann, 2009, p. 12) contributes to higher fixed cost at USPS than FedEx because FedEx is not unionized and while UPS is unionized, and thus experiences a fixed cost that is incurred to the level of union contracts, those contracts are more negotiable for UPS than USPS, and nonexistent or fluid for FedEx. Furthermore while union contracts probably affect the rate of closure for physical facilities for UPS, this would probably be more negotiable than for USPS and FedEx especially if FedEx operates totally under 'right to work' management structures. The fixed cost USPS inherits from its special status as an 'off-budget' but still in some ways regulated recipient of federal transfers mandates it upholds these precedents from an era without UPS or FedEx.

2. You are the owner of a manufacturer of widgets. You experience additional demand for the product...

Propose three methods to take advantage of the demand using your existing facility while minimizing costs. Analyze the advantages and disadvantages of each method. Provide support for your response.
The first method would be to run the plant at overtime. If there is a union contract, this may not be possible; likewise, if that produces more than the demand, then this may result in excess inventory. The second method would be to add shifts to the existing plant, which may result in excess inventory if not forecast precisely, and may also be prohibited by union contract if that is a factor. The third method would be to purchase bulk product at wholesale and sell that at retail to the demand. This would not involve running plant at overtime or on second shift, and may very well minimize cost. Without either adding production, or purchasing additional inventory outside the plant, the final way would be to 'produce twice as much using the same input costs.' If we could do that, we would do that all the time, and increases in demand would not be a problem, we could just magically create more using the existing plant, which we could have done before, but decided not to for some reason.

Sunk Costs and Perfect Competition

3. Suggest a case in which a sunk cost would…

Sources used in this document:
Lemon Law

5. From the e-Activity, compare and contrast the lemon law in two different states and analyze which offers the best protection for the consumer. Suggest what both states could do to improve their laws. Provide support for your response.

The California and Alaska Lemon Laws are largely the same except the California law (State of California Department of Justice 2012) restricts replacement / compensation to vehicles driven under 18,000 miles within the warranty period but the Alaska law (Carlemon.com, n.d.) does not restrict the warranty period by number of miles driven. All states could benefit from a uniform definition of "reasonable attempt" to replace or refund, which depends upon, and thus also entails, a standardization
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Economics Theory Popular Concept That
Words: 2089 Length: 5 Document Type: Term Paper

He would be faced with deciding whether he must spend all his available resources on goods or services, or whether he must save some of his income so that he would be able to finance some of his needs of his future. When he is taken as a labor resource, he must make the decision whether he must use his time in working for his pay, or whether he

Economic Theories Marx Viewed Capital
Words: 1511 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

Both Keynes and Kalecki use Marx's theories as a starting point but quickly moved into new ways of thinking, particularly with regard to effective demand being oriented toward the demand-side. Marx had remained rooted in supply-side demand function, rejecting Say's Law only to note that demand did not necessarily meet supply. Works Cited: Marx, K. (1867). Das kapital: A critique of political economy. Mandel, E. (1995). Marx's theory of crises. International Viewpoint.

Economic Theory Since the Great Depression, Many
Words: 1748 Length: 5 Document Type: Research Paper

Economic Theory Since the Great Depression, many Keynesian economists have been arguing that their basic approach is the best way to deal with issues that could have a long-term impact on the economy. At the heart of this basic philosophy, is the belief that when spending in the private sector is stagnant, the public segment can be able to deal with these challenges. The reason why, is because the government

Economic Theory Deep Thoughts
Words: 565 Length: 2 Document Type: Book Report

Economics One of the most fascinating aspects of Chapter 4 is how the Marxists theories provide insights into how tightly economic, geopolitical and societal forces interact to redefine the foundational definition of value in a society. What's most fascinating about Marxism relative to capitalism is that fact that the former tends to see economic ecosystems as manageable and even predictable. Capitalism shows that economic ecosystems, while defined through constructs and

Economic Theory and Money
Words: 1075 Length: 2 Document Type: Research Proposal

edit this based on what I have. Please do not change the paragraph. You can edit by each paragraph. A more stable gold standard monetary system can be one of the solutions used to help the economy. However, given the lack of gold during the Opium War and the shortage of silver, the Qing government was not able to import gold at the time. Even so, the stable gold standard is

Economic Theory of Criminology
Words: 575 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

Criminology Theory: Economic Theory of CriminologyCriminology and the thought processes of criminals have long been a point of contention for society. Here, the need to identify why and how criminal behave the way they do ultimately provides a means of maintaining the integrity of society. In addition, the need for continual research in the field is required as criminals continue to develop new and unique methods in which to disrupt

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now