Mba 540 Midterm- Managerial Economics

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MBA 540 Mid-term Exam 1. (10 pts.) Stella Ann Freeman is having a difficult time deciding whether or not to purchase a new car. How would understanding the concept of opportunity costs help her make a decision? The text reminds us that “Economic analysis is based on the notion that individuals assign priorities to their wants and choose their most preferred options from among the available alternatives.”(Brickley et al., 2009, p.18) For Stella, she could use a little nudge into what she “ranks” is her best priority or alternative. Ultimately, for Stella what is the “trade-off”? Furthermore, “The opportunity cost of using a resource for a given purpose is its value in its best alternative use.”(Brickley et al., 2009, p.20) The opportunity cost of purchasing a new car is the value of her current situation (alternative). If her current vehicle is paid for her sunk cost has already been associated with her current vehicle if she owns one and her perspective costs would be her future payments on a new vehicle. If she spends twenty-one thousand in cash from her savings account to purchase a new car what she “could have” done with that money on an alternative solution is the opportunity cost. Likewise, if she is entering the employment market place, having a vehicle could enable her to secure a better job or role. If she does not purchase the vehicle she could lose out on an opportunity. Taking into account both the explicit (direct dollars spent on the car) and the implicit cost (what is given up) Stella should be able to itemize the opportunity and quantify the decision accurately. 2. (10 pts.) Referring to the table below, hiring a driver costs $10. Each machine costs $100. Which method should he use and why? Find cost of each method first Cost1 = 20*10 + 10*100 = 1200 Cost 2 = 50*10 + 2*100 = 700 Cost3 = 100*10 = 1000 Cost 4 = 10*10 +

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