The Assignment is and should seem straight forward, as the Professor asked to respond to this prompt:
Imagine that the price of the iPhone 16 Pro Max is announced to retail at $1,499 prior to it being available for consumers to purchase. One week prior to the new iPhones being available in stores, Apple announces that the price of the iPhone 16 Pro Max is going to be reduced to $999. What will happen to supply and demand? Which way will the curve(s) shift? Explain why the curve(s) shift in the manner that they do. Please upload hand-drawn images of your supply and demand graph(s) being shifted with your initial post.
But I make things very complex, as I am no fool to some businesses and or their business practices. I also am very aware of the unethical sorts that enter into business, that there is competition, and that it can be worse than the dating scene, and even the social scene — when you get the approval of the queen lioness that you can join them and have a seat at their table.
Any business related issues that I have, for the most part, stem from a very strict, prudish, uptight, inflexible, moral, ethical and socially supportive approach to the way I seek a business to be and an industry. And like a U2 song on repeat to the point of a broken record, I still haven’t found what I am looking for. But I know that I am not cut for ruthless business practices, and I have a real angry edge to me when it comes to business stuff.
I can feel as inadequate as they come, unfulfilled in bank account, in lack luster monetary additions to the resume, but I am so darn proud of myself for the extent of community service, the excessive amount that I have done in my life — with no pay — through volunteering, through intrinsic motivation to help and do good through the years, and the extreme humility of volunteering, and simply being supportive to others, in need or not in need, but just needing a silent accompaniment, so that they don’t feel all alone. It may not make for me to be a viably financial independent woman, but I don’t regret any of the ‘slave work’ that some would call it, that isn’t ‘real work’ in business HR’s department guidelines if they go by the book, and can’t see the real talent, of experience, especially in soft skills acquired over the years, and random skills and tips and talents, to make life easier.
But let’s get even more real; it is so much easier to write an open public journal entry like this, and know that I am not a waste of space, time, or effort. Someone, someday, somewhere, even if it’s one person, will come across this. And even when in the eyes of so many close and extended family who cannot see past years of more psychological inclined involvements, I am exactly that — a waste of space, time, or effort, and also someone they think is naive to set ups and using of talent, the way F. Scott Fitgerald ripped off his wife Zelda’s writing, or the way Jackson Pollock was given credit for the style of drip painting that he made famous, even though as Noah Charney talks about in the book Brushed Aside — that he simply copied the idea after seeing a gallery show of a woman considered insignificant to history of art. Or the way, pharmaceutical’s exploited indigenous knowledge of healing medicines, and it eventually resulted in the cancer treatment, taxol. Do you think any of those indigenous guides and medicine men received any acknowledgment? Zelda, the woman Brushed aside, and the indigenous medicine men have worth and acknowledgment from me.
There are so many hidden figures, out shined and uncredited for their discoveries, ingenuity, contributions, and remain anonymous, which is fine with some, but for others’ it is simply disrespectful, and yet another injustice of one as they fail to recognize and flagrantly disregard, a complete original.
I have discovered that there actually are people, a created family of friends, who genuinely care and notice, and respect and acknowledge efforts, often awareness that I am learned in one too many areas of study — likely making me a candidate for an Exceptional diagnosis of something like an Asperger’s diagnosis.
But as I have come to learn that breadth and depth is exactly why I have not succeeded, and goes against Evonomic principles that promote specialization in one arena and bartering and trading with others. Still it is the reason, likely, that I have not had any success in any business longer than a season of working, that and an excessively overwhelming social anxiety.
I don’t last long in businesses because I’d actually observing and noticing. I notice the injustices, the cliques, the inner circle lingo, the scum feeling leaving a place of work, that is unethical, and just leaves me feeling more squeamish than watching, Bear Grylis, eat bugs on his hiking adventures and his shows on ultimate wilderness survival skills.
I have stayed to myself, not part of the labor force; and I have avoided the interpersonal conflict likely to occur, but also to the stress of money matters. Even though as wholesomely poor as a beggar, but certainly not begging, nor asking for handouts — if I don’t have to — I try to live a simpler quieter ethical life, away from the big fraudsters and big time players, running around from social scene to the next one, to keep up with the reputation of others, emulate them, and seek approval. F*ck approval.
I avoid pretentious people. And I can be overtly blunt with harsh honesty which can really rub others the wrong way. And should I say I certainly avoid unethical business practices, and those who are weaseling around and skirting around to avoid paying fair wages to workers, offer good work and life conditions, and especially the upper C-suite who keep getting richer, by using their accountant to max every loophole so as to avoid their fair share of taxes through this or that deduction or loop hole. It beyond angers me, it makes me so irate to the injustice of unethical businesses and unethical people, and I feel wholly ineffective if I report issues, with such a low tier influence. The business practices are that — business practices, and there is competition, and it can be compassionate as I see in small businesses, or a Henry Ford or Boeing manufacturing line when in a big businesses, and you do your job, even when you see faulty schitt happening, and don’t have a safe recourse for reproach and instead the issues get subjugated. Corruption is everywhere, sometimes more ubiquitous, with a constant demand for money, more constant and addictive than the addiction of an addict with a constant demand for an abused substance.
I have seemed to have ascertained, observed, witnessed, investigated, reported on, and so forth, some really bad things that have happened through the years, at ‘seasonal length’ businesses.
And I have a problem — I am too morally compassed and focused on equality, fairness, justice in cases of injustice, fighting for the little people — without fighting aggressively — but with legal book in hand, and taking appropriate recourse, even if it earns me a tough reputation for being square and by the book. I would rather be square, and respecfted for upholding values and ethics for the right reasons and by the right people, than stoop below my moral compass.
Economics is one of these business administration classes that can have me fuming, and wondering why I am putting myself through understanding the basic simple schematics and the nuisance schemes executed with malicious intent, in what is often supposed to be very broad, simple, every man for himself practice, to the newcomer of Economics and Business studies and practices.
Analyzing business classes such as this, has me smirking disdain. As it totally throws my moral compass into beyond red territory zone.
Personally there really needs to be a resurgence of ethical businesses practices and emphasis on ethics in business schools, and understanding just how bad the state of trade can get, worse than the enslavement of slaves throughout before common era and after common era history, that is plagued with so much injustice and shadiness. And I really don’t feel the need to stoop to that level, and fit in with the supposed corrupt cool kids, drinking the Kool-Aid, making money, and shutting up about indecencies, as they get an incentive here and an incentive there, for going along with the boss and crew.
I also personally think there need an entire tearing down of businesses practices and grandfathered big business practices and incentives, a total wipe out at government, federal level, all the way down to the black market deals, and a rebuilding and restructuring, even in a free market economy.
To me, a lot has gotten out of hand and so out of line that the flagrant disregard for the little people, is beyond my willingness to try to undertand. I blankly do not have compassion for these sorts of arrogant practices, and people, and if I make a few enemies, for saying that, I would rather use my first Amendment right to express my opinion, and practice my devotion to more ethical approaches. The extent of excess focus on monetary worth, is obtuse and obnoxiously ostentatious.
Some may say it is jealousy, but sorry honey, I don’t have a boat in Capri, a yacht in the Aegean Sea, a vacation tax shelter in the Caribbean, a destination home in Europe, a narcissistic statue erected in a corrupt Middle Easterner, propagandized country, to tear down like its Sadam Hussein. I don’t have a trust fund continuously rolling over through the generations, to ungrateful and antisocial heirs.
But, I do have trust-worthiness, as to being loyal, and a good person, and I certainly, in my modesty and humility, feel wealthy enough in character-building values, including excelling in excessive compassion, that I even can get fatigued from too much compassion draining activities, and loyalty to the point of following up with people I didn’t abandon, but they slowly ghosted and abandoned me years ago, for better tradeoff and opportunity costs options of someone who may not be anywhere near as loyal, or willing to be there when all hell happens, even when I don’t have a cent to maybe get there, I somehow make sure to be there in some way of support.
I wasn’t perfect, when I was younger, and didn’t understand just how important it is better to be disliked, than to go against your own morality and ethics.
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My professor/teacher, Mr. Lewis Adams, likely will read my response, and be a little overwhelmed with the excess factors of business understanding that I provided in my response. Economics, is supposed to be broad and elusive in that and for simple minded. But I am vastly tapped into analytics, and I do not stop at basic, I don’t do basic snorkeling but dive deep into the trenches. So, basic isn’t taken into consideration and doesn’t take into factor, the sorts and range of factors, that I consider. I have had a previous excess of studies, in the depth and with brevity, that was required of me in the past ten years, in approaches to teaching, science, science technician research, nursing, and that a legal internship,. So a lot of stuff gets considered, likely more than All Things Considered takes into consideration.
In my second response, I felt a little like Will Hunting in Good Will Hunting, explaining why he wouldn’t take the job to work at the NSA, to Sean MacGuire.
First Response:
Hi Zach (Zachary Schuerbaum), I appreciated that you happened to mention a few different scenarios, in regards to the supply and demand curves, and how there were a few variations on a theme.
I thought about this one also on the notion that the supply curve could remain unchanged in the short term. And given the size of the company and the current market, Apple had likely already planned production based on forecasts at the original price.
I tried to understand if Apple decided to surge production of supply up front, so that they could decrease price. I figured they either simply dropped the price on the limited supply they already had, or they had already front loaded and increased supply production.
I agree though that in the short run, supply is likely less flexible if the scenario of front loading supply, to decrease price and increase demand wasn’t the cause, and instead there was little leeway in supply, which in that case, it wouldn’t have a large effect with this price change.
Second Response:
Hi Ava (Avarie McPhillips), it was a great point you made that had me thinking more about the implications of timing of Apple’s announcements. And how the company may have used consumer psychology to know how to maximize sales, and also, as the company likely knew their competitors release dates, and that the phone could be substituted by a competitor for non-Apple loyalists.
You mentioned that “since Apple announced the price reduction one week before the iPhone is available for purchase, consumers have time to react and adjust their buying decisions accordingly. This builds anticipation and excitement, further increasing demand before the product is officially released. As people prepare to buy the iPhone at a lower price, demand grows stronger, reinforcing the shift in the demand curve. A price drop makes the product more attractive to buyers, which increases sales volume and alters market equilibrium, showing the powerful role that price plays in shaping supply and demand dynamics.”
I agree that all of this consumer psychology increases demand. This brings to idea and thought the factors of production loop and the goods and supply services loops.
But, specifically, Apple as a business is not a very honest straight forward business.
So, I was really trying to see it more from the business strategy side of things, as opposed to the consumer side. It appears your take on the consumer side, is certainly one of thrill and delight, and so it increases demand, which I agree, but on a more modest and muted and tempered level of thrill.
There is an educated sort of skepticism about the ethics and business practices of the company, especially initially rooted in the leadership of Steve Jobs, before Cook took over. It helps to know the history of a company in which you invest and shell out money for a product, and also understand their financial and accounting, along with their business strategy and the various current economic forces. As well, it is really helpful to understand a specific business itself, instead of getting something for brand recognition.
In other words, this specific example had me overthinking just how much beyond supply and demand factor into business. It had me a little weary about the timing of the price savings, from a company that is known to not be about social entrepreneurship, but a shark of an entrepreneur only really in it for the money.
A little history on Apple, is that in Silicon Valley, there are some exceptionally bright engineers, but not bright enough. So they may naively think that Apple’s business practices are ethical and sustainable? But now their reputation in Silicon Valley is firmly known — if you have an idea, you don’t pitch it to Apple. It’s a little bit like a Watergate interference in a product’s development. The company is not all that interested in fair labor and fair business practices; they will throw mud at you, blind you, and steal your idea while you are wiping your eyes clean.
What do I mean by this, because there are many people who have engineered ideas and pitched them to Apple, without having previously patented the ideas or legally protected themselves so that they can get a good merging deal. Without the patent certificate that gives an engineer, themselves, the birth rights and thus royalty rights to the invention of the technology from concept to cradle to mock up production (and eventually to grave), many know or have found out later that Apple is cradle robber.
They are known for it.
And it isn’t just technological innovations, but also they rob young start ups of their talented engineers with excessive swooning, romancing, incentives, and likely an under the table bribe or kick back that can’t be traced back to them. It’s in your face in Silicon alley, and I saw it, as a student at Stanford, when Apple was just starting to make a name and was more in its toddlerhood.
They hire engineers from small start ups and overpay them and offer way too many incentives, or they simply make sure to patent a concept of idea that they may have illegal gotten their hands on through a very well known issue and problem in businesses called corporate espionage. And if you don’t already have a patent or legal protection, they will patent it before the original engineer can, because of their legal team being able to fast track these things.
So knowing the back wheelings and dealings and ruthlessness of this specific company, even if I do own one or more of their products, they are a huge litigation nightmare and will impoverish a small start up one man company, if that small single llc is not exceptional astute and learned, and protective. And if you try to take them to court, they will swamp a small llc with so much legal fees, worse than a case against an insurance company or hospital for an insurance claim, or for injury, damage and suffering, that they either settle out of court, or they simply bankrupt and get away with stealing a concept.
In 2016 during the Obama administration, there were certain laws put in place to protect companies from robbery by employees. And often in higher ranks, when transitioning from one job to another, there is often an NDA, upon leaving, and they have a two or three year gap before they can join another company in a similar area of work, and if hired, it cannot be for the exact same job as their previous employer. Also, when working under a company, an employee really does not have any recourse. Anything designed or engineered under the term of employment, the big business owns the idea, often not recognizing the one with the actual ideas. And if there is a stealing of intellectual property, and there is no RICO recourse course of action against stealing of an idea, you usually are in schitt’s creek and out of luck.
I was more cautious in the approach to the company. It uses a whole lot of tricks up its sleeve, and knows how to do a three card monty, and completely divert attention from the fact that labor to make a product, likely was very inexpensive sweat shop labor, and that is a whole different side of economics, that I feel doesn’t get talked about enough, and it appears the governments really don’t step in to protect property rights.
As I said, the company is kind of known for excessive stealth, and a very high degree of deception, they may have more stealth than the NSA, especially with their engineer brainiacs and their technology. The company is not transparent with their intentions, which delves into yet another of the more ethical issues of economics and the running of companies.
So I was really kind of over thinking this question, because its not just a price drop from any old company, but understanding the quarterly reports and financial statements of this specific company as well as their business practices, having attended school in Silicon Valley, Apple is a bit like a candidate in politics, where a politician will lie, deceive, and maybe even flatter you, while they swindle you for campaign contributions, or in this case, Apple makes you pay a grand or more for a phone that likely didn’t cost that much to make, especially since it is not made in America where there are higher governmental standards and interventions that promote fair labor, fair wage, the power of unions, and fair business practices.
And often, these phones use rare earths. In other words, they have slave laborers in third world countries extracting and basically raping the earth of its rare earth raw materials, in such countries as Myanmar, which is a hot spot for unfair labor practices and other areas for mining of rare earths such as cobalt. Also, if phones are not recycled for their rare metals and rare earths, so that they can be recycled into new products, it can exacerbate the unsustainable issue of their business practices from concept, to mock ups, to design, to raw materials, to production, and then into the stores for the hands of consumers to grace and to rebirth.
It’s really important to know that business is not simple economics as economists would want. There is a lot more under the tip of the iceberg, and the ins and outs, have had me trying to avoid business and markets where criminal and cutthroat and non ethical or sustainable practices happen regularly.