Assignment 6A: Identifying Opportunities in Economic and Regulatory Trends
Opportunity 1: (Regulatory) Plastic Bag Ban
a). There have been a variety of different cities and states that have been trying to impose a ban on plastic items especially plastic bags. I did a research project on this in another class which is what brought the subject to my attention.
b). The thing that leads me to believe that there is an opportunity here is the fact that many companies who use plastic bags are now going to be looking for an alternative and there aren't too many on the market as of now. Also the alternatives that are on the market cost a lot more than the plastic bags these companies are used to.
c) The prototypical customer is going to be grocery stores, shops in the mall and other clothing shops, and restaurants that have takeaway styles.
d) I think the opportunity is relatively easy to exploit since these companies are being forced to look for alternatives rather than having a choice.
e). I think I can see this as a large opportunity because I know a lot about the subject and how it is going to affect certain businesses. I worked at Publix when I was younger and even then they tried to fit as many items in a bag as possible so they could cut down on costs.
Opportunity 2: (Regulatory) New regulation may allow for ability to choose electricity provider
a) As I was looking through the newspaper articles I found one that mentioned a petition to allow citizens to choose their electricity provider rather than having only one choice. This article was written in the Miami Herald.
b) This leads me to believe an opportunity exists because if the petition goes through, then citizens might start looking for new companies with better rates to provide their electricity. This would be a huge opportunity that could be exploited because everyone that has a house or business uses electricity at some point during the day.
c). The customers for this opportunity would be everyone from businesses, apartment complexes, schools, residents, or even entire cities.
d) I think this opportunity would be kind of difficult to exploit because people already have their electricity provider and are comfortable with that specific company so it might be hard to compete with the larger companies.
e). I think that I saw this opportunity because I pay my own electricity every month and if I were able to have options of which company to use, I would pick a cheaper one.
Opportunity 3: (Economic) Global warming is causing food prices to rise
a). I took a class last semester called Agricultural Economics which raised awareness to the fact that global warming is causing food prices to rise.
b). I think this brings an opportunity because farmers will be looking for new innovations which can increase their crop yields due to either better water conservation systems or genetically engineered crops which can withstand the higher temperatures and less water.
c). Although the ultimate consumer are people that buy from grocery stores, the people who will directly be affected by this opportunity would be the farmers who grow the produce. They will be looking to spend less money so that they will be able to grow their profit margins.
d). I think as time goes on and crops start yielding less and less each year, the opportunity will get easier to exploit because farmers will be backed into a corner and either have to find a way to stay in the black or sell their land and find a different job.
e). I think I was able to see this opportunity due to the extensive knowledge I have on this topic from the economics class I took last year. It showed me the impact global warming had on agricultural products and in turn how that affects the prices of the food we buy at the grocery store.
Opportunity 3: (Economic) Baby Boomers aren't retiring
a). I read an article not too long ago that talked about how the baby boomer generation was holding onto their jobs and not retiring at the age previous generation had.
b). This brings an opportunity about for the next generation to invent new jobs that haven't existed before. Although its harder to get a job that has been around for awhile since there are less positions available, it gives millennials a chance to create new jobs and careers such as social media influencers.
c). Millennials and even generations after will be the main consumers of this opportunity because the trend of not retiring or retiring at a later age is going to continue to grow as it has been in the past few decades.
d). I think this opportunity is fairly difficult to exploit because you have to think out of the box in order to come up with a new job or type of company. It takes a lot of creativity and imagination which is hard to come by. I think that is one of the hardest pieces of this opportunity.
e). I think I was able to see this information because as part of a younger generation, I see how hard it is to get a classic job coming out of college. I also have 2 grandparents that still have yet to retire at the ages of 76 and 82. I am able to see this opportunity first hand because of this.
a). There have been a variety of different cities and states that have been trying to impose a ban on plastic items especially plastic bags. I did a research project on this in another class which is what brought the subject to my attention.
b). The thing that leads me to believe that there is an opportunity here is the fact that many companies who use plastic bags are now going to be looking for an alternative and there aren't too many on the market as of now. Also the alternatives that are on the market cost a lot more than the plastic bags these companies are used to.
c) The prototypical customer is going to be grocery stores, shops in the mall and other clothing shops, and restaurants that have takeaway styles.
d) I think the opportunity is relatively easy to exploit since these companies are being forced to look for alternatives rather than having a choice.
e). I think I can see this as a large opportunity because I know a lot about the subject and how it is going to affect certain businesses. I worked at Publix when I was younger and even then they tried to fit as many items in a bag as possible so they could cut down on costs.
Opportunity 2: (Regulatory) New regulation may allow for ability to choose electricity provider
a) As I was looking through the newspaper articles I found one that mentioned a petition to allow citizens to choose their electricity provider rather than having only one choice. This article was written in the Miami Herald.
b) This leads me to believe an opportunity exists because if the petition goes through, then citizens might start looking for new companies with better rates to provide their electricity. This would be a huge opportunity that could be exploited because everyone that has a house or business uses electricity at some point during the day.
c). The customers for this opportunity would be everyone from businesses, apartment complexes, schools, residents, or even entire cities.
d) I think this opportunity would be kind of difficult to exploit because people already have their electricity provider and are comfortable with that specific company so it might be hard to compete with the larger companies.
e). I think that I saw this opportunity because I pay my own electricity every month and if I were able to have options of which company to use, I would pick a cheaper one.
Opportunity 3: (Economic) Global warming is causing food prices to rise
a). I took a class last semester called Agricultural Economics which raised awareness to the fact that global warming is causing food prices to rise.
b). I think this brings an opportunity because farmers will be looking for new innovations which can increase their crop yields due to either better water conservation systems or genetically engineered crops which can withstand the higher temperatures and less water.
c). Although the ultimate consumer are people that buy from grocery stores, the people who will directly be affected by this opportunity would be the farmers who grow the produce. They will be looking to spend less money so that they will be able to grow their profit margins.
d). I think as time goes on and crops start yielding less and less each year, the opportunity will get easier to exploit because farmers will be backed into a corner and either have to find a way to stay in the black or sell their land and find a different job.
e). I think I was able to see this opportunity due to the extensive knowledge I have on this topic from the economics class I took last year. It showed me the impact global warming had on agricultural products and in turn how that affects the prices of the food we buy at the grocery store.
Opportunity 3: (Economic) Baby Boomers aren't retiring
a). I read an article not too long ago that talked about how the baby boomer generation was holding onto their jobs and not retiring at the age previous generation had.
b). This brings an opportunity about for the next generation to invent new jobs that haven't existed before. Although its harder to get a job that has been around for awhile since there are less positions available, it gives millennials a chance to create new jobs and careers such as social media influencers.
c). Millennials and even generations after will be the main consumers of this opportunity because the trend of not retiring or retiring at a later age is going to continue to grow as it has been in the past few decades.
d). I think this opportunity is fairly difficult to exploit because you have to think out of the box in order to come up with a new job or type of company. It takes a lot of creativity and imagination which is hard to come by. I think that is one of the hardest pieces of this opportunity.
e). I think I was able to see this information because as part of a younger generation, I see how hard it is to get a classic job coming out of college. I also have 2 grandparents that still have yet to retire at the ages of 76 and 82. I am able to see this opportunity first hand because of this.
The story about plastic bags could also be seen as an opportunity for a societal shift towards reusable bags. Customers bringing their own bags could completely cut out the cost of bags for stores. There seems to be a lot of electric company monopolies throughout the States, which definitely isn't good for consumers without significant regulation. Good job on the post. I think you covered the issues and 'who is effected' pretty well.
ReplyDeleteHi, I think that you are spot on about the plastic bag thing. People are moving towards a greener lifestyle and with that change there is going to be a serious demand for cheap, eco-friendly alternatives to thing like plastic bags and straws. Also I agree that it may be hard to find an opportunity to fulfill the baby boomers need to work. Older people in general are not as good at picking up new skills, especially technological ones and this could pose an issue.
ReplyDeleteI found the plastic bag story interesting. I have always thought how much int cost for stores like public to purchase these bags and how much material they are using. A good alternative for this could be to sell sell cloth bags and make it a requirement for people to bring them in. Or something along those lines. Stores could save a lot of money and not use as many recourses.
ReplyDelete