3 pages due in 3 hours-to cover:Merger Between Heinz and Beech-Nut Scrutinized

ECO 500 Milestone One Guidelines and Rubric Overview: In this first milestone assignment for the final project , you will begin the process of defining the scenario problem for your selected company (Microsoft, Heinz, or American Airlines) . As author and businessma n Stephen Covey once said, you must begin with the end in mind. As a corporate economist in this hypothetical situation, you too must understand and define the core problem at hand before beginning any kind of analysis. You will need to employ critical - thinking skills to grasp the crux of the problem. Is it a demand -side issue? I s it a supply -side issue? Or is it a mixture of both, involving production and cost concerns? Only after this consideration will you be able to map out a plan for analysis and offer recommendations for a solution. You may encounter additional companies \case studies within your ECO 500 Case Study CoursePack. However, please disregard them and ONLY focus on the follow ing : - American Airlines - Microsoft Corporation - Heinz Corporation Prompt: To complete the first step of this final project , you will submit a statement that identifies and assesses the context of the problem present ed in your selected company’s case study . In this statement, articulate the root cause of this problem and how it impacts company objectives (profita bility, sustainability, etc.). Some questions you might consider include the following :  Why is the profit margin dropping?  Is the company failing to control costs?  Are there inefficiencies in production?  Are prices properly determined? Also, b e sure to i dentify the economic model (demand - vs. supply -side analysis) that best applies to the problem and clearly explain why it is appropriate for this scenario. In business scenarios such as this one, problem statements are needed to describe the problem in a concise way. These stateme nts prov ide clear and focused analysis objectives and offer a method that will be followed to find possible solutions. To help you craft your problem statement, see the follow ing resource: What Is an Effe ctive Problem Statement? Once the problem and its impact are defined, outline a plan for how you will go about collecting useful data. What kinds of i nformation will you need to locate? Once collected, what kinds of analyses and computations will be necessary to arrive at meaningf ul conclusions? Use the feedback provided to you by your instructor on the journal assignment in Module One to guide your thought process . These comments were designed to set you on the right research path. To begin this process, you will need to gather i nformation about the organization or company’s current initiatives and processes, general policies, and stated goals. Information can generally be found in the organization’s main website, annual report and mission statement, and articles authored by the c ompany or by outside analysts . Additionally, you might consider accessing relevant company and market information on the following sites:  U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics This is a good source for costs information (i.e. , producer price index [ PPI ]), labor market conditions (i.e. , employment and unemployment by industry), and prices of various goods (i.e. , consumer price index [CPI ]).  Electroni c Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) This is the database compiled by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) .  U.S. Census Bureau This site houses useful business and industry data programs . The course textbook will also be useful. As a managerial economics student and professional , you are encouraged to use your own experience, understanding, and knowledge of business and industry structure to drive your analysis. Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed: I. Identification of the Issue : In this section of your presentation, you will identify the issue that your executive has inquired about. A. Describe the context of the issue that was presented to you and the specific statement s that you will research . II. Research : In this section, you will apply economic theory and quantitative analysis to your research topic. A. Select an economic model to apply to the issue presented and justify why it is appro priate for the issue presented. B. Apply the selected economic model to identify the root cause(s) of the presented issue. This problem statement assignment will be incorporated into the final economic analysis recommendation paper . Rubric Guidelines for Submission : This milestone assignment should be written in essay format and submitted as a Microsoft Word document. The submission should be 3 to 4 pages in length with double spacing, 12 -point Times New Roman font, and one -inch margins. You should use cur rent APA style guidelines for your citations and reference list. Note that at least five outside information sources are required overall for this project, although you might find that more are necessary to satisfy the requirements of the final presentatio n. As necessary, c opy and paste any data analyse s and/or graphics from Excel into your Word document for submission. You may include your original Excel documents as supplementary material if you believe this will strengthen your contribution. Instructor Feedback : This activity uses an integrated rubric in Blackboard. Students can view instructor feedback in the Grade Center. For more in formation, review these instructions . Note that the grading rubric s for the milestone submission s are not identical to that of the final project. The Final Project Rubric will include an additional “Exemplary” category that provides guidance as to how you can go above and beyond “Profi cient” in your final submission. Critical Elements Proficient (100 %) Needs Improvement (80 %) Not Evident (0%) Value Identification of the Issue Describes the context of the issue that was prese nted and the specific statements that were researched Describes the context of the issue that was presented and the statements that were researched but description lacks detail or is unclear Does not describe the context of the issue that was presented and the statements that were researched 30 Research: Economic Model Selects an economic model to apply to the issue presented and justifies why it is appropriate for the issue presented Selects an economic model to apply to the issue presented but does not justify why it is appropriate for the issue, explanation is cursory, or the model is inappropriate for the issue Does not select an economic model to apply to the issue presen ted 30 Research: Root Cause(s) Identifies the root cause(s) of the presented issue, using the chosen economic model Identifies the root cause(s) of the presented issue, using the chosen economic model, but the caus es are incomplete or inaccurate or economic model is applied inaccurately Does not identify the root cause(s) of the presented issue 30 Articulation of Response Submission has no major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization Submission has major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact readability and articulation of main ideas Submission has critical errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that prevent understanding of ideas 10 Total 100%