Discussions in economics

I need 250 words Initial post for each discussion and two replies for each. I will post the replies later. 

Week 4 Discussion

For this week's discussion, the focus will be on examining Porter's Five Forces as a tool for looking at the pressures on profits. Specifically, you will be looking at defining Porter's Five Forces and applying this tool to the market structures and pressures on profits of a chosen group of firms.

Instructions

In your discussion post, address the following:

• Chose one of the following groups and use Porter's Five Forces to analyze the pressures on profits for your chosen group's firms.
  
  
  
  • Group 1: the accommodations industry (e.g., Hilton, Marriott Bonvoy, InterContintental Hotel Group).
  
  
  • Group 2: the wireless telecommunications industry (e.g., Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile).
  
  
  
  


• If you want to dig deeper into how one of the firms views the challenges it faces, you might want to look at the firm's investor page.

Week 5

The idea that transactions in a marketplace work like an invisible hand is to some extent the idea that when a person chooses to buy an item at a given price, they are happy with the deal. There is no coercion. If the person really does not like the deal, they simply walk away.

This week's discussion will give you an opportunity to explore direct and indirect price discrimination within the context of a hypothetical scenario.

Instructions

For this discussion, use the following hypothetical scenario as the basis for your response:

• Your business partner is strongly opposed to your proposal to charge your largest customers lower prices for your web-based services than what you will charge your smaller customers. She is arguing it is unethical, unfair, and possibly illegal.

Address the following in your discussion post:

• Make a case that both groups of customers will be satisfied with the deal and that this is a perfectly legal form of pricing in a business-to-customer relationship.
  
  
  
  • What degree is this type of price discrimination?
  
  
  • How will the plan increase revenue?
  
  
  • Why will both groups of customers be satisfied with the deal?
  
  
  • Why is this a legal form of pricing?
  
  
  
  


• Use evidence from your textbook or other reputable sources to support your case to your business partner