| Course | GB540 Economics for Global Decision Makers |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 1 |
| Paper type | Discussion board post |
| Length | About 430 words, 2 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 discussion post |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | MBA |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for GB540 Unit 1
Two Prices, Two Shifts: A Unit 1 Supply and Demand Post on Electric Outboards
GB540 · Unit 1 Supply and Demand Discussion Post
Posted by [Student Name]
Ruddiman Marine, the market figures and the reply are composite and illustrative; the economics source cited is real.
Initial Post
I plan products for Ruddiman Marine, a Muskegon company that builds small electric outboards for fishing boats and pontoons. Our pricing team wants to use the last two seasons to tell us how buyers respond to price.
All makers together sold about 10,000 small electric outboards in the United States two seasons ago and about 13,800 last season, while the average price fell from $4,900 to $4,200.
Supply shifted right. Battery packs, which we and most rivals buy from South Korea, cost about 22 percent less in won over the period, so every maker could offer the same motor at a lower price.
Demand also shifted right. More inland lakes now restrict gasoline motors, and more marinas have added charging posts, so more boaters want an electric motor at any given price.
Here is the managerial point. A midpoint calculation on those two observations gives an elasticity of about minus 2.08: quantity rose 31.9 percent while price fell 15.4 percent. But that figure mixes a movement along demand with a shift of demand. Working (1927) showed nearly a century ago that price and quantity pairs trace a demand curve only when supply moves and demand stays put. Two points from two seasons in which both curves moved describe where the market landed, not how buyers respond to price. If we set next season's price assuming buyers are that sensitive, we would cut too deep.
What would identify demand? A price change of our own in some markets but not others, with the rest held steady. Until we have one, published averages for brand-level elasticities, near minus 1.76 in Tellis (1988) and minus 2.62 in Bijmolt et al. (2005), are a safer starting point than our two seasons.
Has anyone else had to separate a price effect from a market that was growing anyway?
Reply to Marcus
Marcus, your point that hotel room rates rose with occupancy last summer fits the same pattern in reverse. If demand shifted right with the conference schedule while capacity stayed fixed, the rates and occupancy you saw would make demand look upward sloping, which it is not. Could your group compare weeks with and without a conference at the same property? That would hold demand conditions closer to constant and show how bookings respond when only price changes.
References
Bijmolt, T. H. A., van Heerde, H. J., & Pieters, R. G. M. (2005). New empirical generalizations on the determinants of price elasticity. Journal of Marketing Research, 42(2), 141-156. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.42.2.141.62296
Tellis, G. J. (1988). The price elasticity of selective demand: A meta-analysis of econometric models of sales. Journal of Marketing Research, 25(4), 331-341. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378802500401
Working, E. J. (1927). What do statistical "demand curves" show? The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 41(2), 212-235. https://doi.org/10.2307/1883501
GB540 Unit 1 instructions, in plain terms
On the first GB540 board, you take a market you know and read it through supply and demand. Introduce your role and the product briefly. Give the market facts over two periods: price and quantity. Identify at least one factor that shifted supply and one that shifted demand, naming each cause specifically rather than in general terms. Then make a managerial point: what would go wrong if a manager treated the two observations as points on one demand curve? A simple elasticity calculation on the two points can show the problem. Say what evidence would actually reveal how buyers respond to price. Close with a question for classmates. In your reply, help a peer find a comparison that would separate a price effect from a shift. About 450 words for the post and 160 for the reply is common.
How the GB 540 Unit 1 example is put together
The sample post introduces Ruddiman Marine and the pricing team's plan to use two seasons of market data. It gives the price and quantity figures, identifies a supply shift from battery packs costing 22 percent less in won and a demand shift from lake restrictions and charging posts, with a margin note on why each shift has its own cause. It computes the midpoint elasticity of about minus 2.08, cites Working on when price and quantity pairs trace demand, and states the problem in its highlighted sentence. It proposes a price change in some markets as the identifying evidence and suggests published averages from Tellis and from Bijmolt and colleagues meanwhile. The reply helps a hotel classmate compare conference and non-conference weeks.
Where the points sit in the GB540 Unit 1 rubric
GB540 instructors grade the opening board on correct use of supply and demand and on managerial insight. Market facts should be precise and cover two periods. Credit goes to supply and demand shifts identified with specific causes rather than general labels. Distinguishing a shift of a curve from a movement along it is the central concept. A calculation that shows why the observed points mislead earns credit when it is explained. Proposing evidence that would identify demand shows understanding beyond the textbook diagram. Citing a source on identification or elasticity strengthens the post. Replies earn their marks by moving a classmate's own case forward with the same reasoning. Clear, concise writing and APA citations complete the post.
GB540 Unit 1 help from the desk
Many GB540 Unit 1 posts describe a price change and call it a movement along demand without checking whether the curves shifted. Others list shifts with generic causes, such as consumer preferences, that cannot be checked. Students often compute an elasticity from market data and present it as the demand elasticity. The managerial consequence of the mistake is rarely stated. Replies tend to agree rather than suggest a comparison. Name your market, give the figures, identify each shift with a concrete cause, show what a naive calculation would produce and why it misleads, propose evidence that would identify demand and help a classmate do the same. Send your market figures, and our team can help shape the post.
Get a GB540 Unit 1 example written to your instructions
Pick a market for the Unit 1 post, ideally one you work in, and attach the discussion prompt and rubric. The sample post returns in 24-48h with numbers first, each shift tied to a determinant, and one reply attached. The first custom sample is free, and any composite figure carries that label throughout. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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GB540 Unit 1 questions, answered
Can the Unit 1 post use my own industry?
Usually, and it tends to produce a better post because you know what actually moves prices there. Keep confidential figures out, round them, or use published industry data. If you build composite numbers to illustrate the shifts, say so. GB540 graders generally care more about correct reasoning from believable figures than about exact data.
What is the difference between a change in demand and a change in quantity demanded?
A change in quantity demanded is a movement along a fixed demand curve caused by the good's own price. A change in demand is a shift of the whole curve caused by something else: income, prices of related goods, tastes, regulation or expectations. Mixing the two is among the most common errors in first-unit posts, so name the cause every time.
Why not compute an elasticity from the two seasons?
Because when both curves shift, the two observed points do not lie on a single demand curve, so dividing their percentage changes measures a blend of shifts rather than buyers' price sensitivity. Economists call this the identification problem. It is why firms estimate demand with regression or experiments, which later GB540 units usually take up.
Where can I find a free GB540 Unit 1 sample paper?
This page holds a full GB540 Unit 1 supply and demand post on US electric outboards, showing why two seasons of prices and sales do not trace a demand curve.
What evidence would identify a demand curve?
A price change that moves only along demand, such as a firm's own price cut in some markets but not others while conditions stay the same, reveals how buyers respond.