Case: Hind Oil Industry: Group 1 and 5: Discussion Session: 10 th Session

Topic for the Debate: Should Abhishek, on behalf of Hind Oil Industry, increase the price or maintain the
same price?

Group 1: For increase the price

Group 5: For maintaining the same price and addressing the issue from some other angle

(Time for each group: 10 mininutes each. While making your arguments you need to use the
terminology used in the CFM course and the case facts )

Assignment Questions for Group 1 & 5 (Submission date: A day prior to the date of presentation)
Q1: What are the relevant factors to be considered for modelling a demand function for Maa
mustard Oil? (Word limit: 100)
Q2: The estimated demand function for Hind Oil Industries’ Product is:
demandMaa: 3934.25 +(-121.15 x own_price) +(113.49 x compe-price) + (-0.31 x inc_per_capita)
+(7.99 x pro-exp)
(For simplicity of calculation, we have dropped the dummy variable from the equation)
From this demand function, calculate the elasticities of demand (own price elasticity, cross
price elasticity, and income elasticity) for Hind Oil Industries Product. (Word limit: 300)
(Notations: own_price: Own price of Maa Mustard Oil; compe-price: Competitors’ average
price of mustard oil; inc_per_capita: Income level of consumers, pro_exp: Promotional
expenditure of HOI.)
Q3: What would be the impact of a price change by HOI on the total revenue of Maa mustard
oil, keeping other variables constant? (Word limit: 200)
Q4: What is the optimum price at which total revenue can be maximized for Maa mustard oil if
the competitors’ price and promotional expenditure do not increase but the per capita income
of consumers increases by 1% (i.e. increases from ₹ 7,545.15 to ₹7,620.60) in Oct 2015. (Word
limit: 200)
(Hint: Take the following price values to find out the quantities from the estimated demand
function:
91.38, 92, 93, 94, 95, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105. You may try fractional values for
prices. Once you compute quantities corresponding to these price levels, calculate the
associated TR and elasticities. From these values, ascertain the price and the quantities for
which revenue is the maximum).

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Case 2: India Shedding Tears over Onion Prices: Group 2 and Group 6: Discussion Session 10 th Session

Topic for the Debate: Should the government continue to subsidize onion prices in the event of a
large supply shortage or should it incur large investment expenditures to construct scientific cold
storage facilities to provide long-run stability in onion prices?

Group 2: For: The Government Should Continue to subsidize onion prices

Group 6: For: The Government should incur investment expenditure to construct scientific cold
storage
(Time for each group: 10 minutes each. While making your arguments you need to use the
terminology used in the CFM course and the case facts )

Assignment Questions for Group 2 & 6 (Submission date: A day prior to the date of presentation)

Q.1 What factors affected the demand and supply of onions during the period of December 2010 to
January 2011? (Word limit: 100)

Q2: What perceptions have you formed regarding the supply and demand curves for onions in the
short run compared to the medium and long run? How were these curves affected by the situations
depicted in the case, and what was their impact on the market? (Word limit: 200 word)

Q3: Explain the impact of market forces and the government’s intervention in the form of a price
ceiling on the onion market using a diagram. (Hint: Draw two diagram: 1. The situation without the
government’s intervention; 2. The situation with the government’s intervention in the form of a
price ceiling – explain what happened when the government imposed price ceiling and how the
government cleared the market). (Word limit: 400)

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Case 3: Toyota Australia in Peril

Topic for the Debate: Should Toyota wait for the demand and cost conditions to improve or exist
Australia?

Group 3: For: Toyota should wait for the demand and cost conditions to improve

Group 7: Against: Toyota should exit Australia

(Time for each group: 10 minutes each. While making your arguments you need to use the
terminology used in the CFM course and the case facts )

Assignment Questions for Group 3 & 7 (Submission date: A day prior to the date of presentation)

Q1: What factors are affecting the profitability of Toyota Australia? Which side of the market are they
related to? Which of these factors can the company control to improve profitability? What strategies
would you suggest to improve profitability? (Word limit: 200 words)

Q.2: What is the market structure of Toyota Australia? Justify? (Word limit: 150 words)

Q3: Is Toyota Australia operating at the optimal scale of operation? Should Toyota expand or
contract its scale of operation? What are the associated implications? Support your answer with a
diagrammatic presentation. (Word limit: 400 words)
_____________________________________________________________________________________

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Case 4: Search Engines in Search of Fair Play

Topic for the Debate: Should Competition Commission of India (CCI) take action against Google for
pursuing anti-competitive practices or should it let Google go free?

Group 4: For: CCI should take action against Google for pursuing anti-competitive practices

Group 8: CCI should let Google go free (CCI should not penalize Google)

(Time for each group: 10 minutes each. While making your arguments you need to use the
terminology used in the CFM course and the case facts )

Assignment Questions for Group 4 & 8 (Submission date: A day prior to the date of presentation)

Q1: In your view, is Google pursuing anti-competitive (monopoly) practices? Why? (Word limit: 200)

Q2: What will be the outcome of heavy regulation of participants like Google and Microsoft on the
internet market? Show the impact diagrammatically. (Word limit: 300)

Q3: What are the possible outcomes if Google’s anti-competitive (monopoly) practices are not curbed?
(word limit 300)