A few notes for the simulation. I am going to post your starting reports. I will send yours to your whole team via campus email. Your team will be able to see current levels of materials and resources, and your last financial report, and this will help you make decisions about what to do.
REMEMBER THE DECISIONS ARE DUE BY FRIDAY MIDNIGHT. One copy of sheet per team please.
Posted in Logistics
This week on Monday and Wednesday we will try to accomplish two things.
Friday we’ll continue with forecasting, and that will finish up Chapter 3. Then it is on to Chapter 4 the following week. I will pass out a small forecasting assignment you should do at home.
Also on Friday by midnight, your team should submit your decisions for the trial week of the simulation game. On Monday I will pass out your status reports that you should use to plan your decisions. Remember, this is a trial week, to get the pattern down. The real thing will start after that. More discussion during the week.
Posted in Logistics
In class we glossed over the slide which shows a typical real production possibilities curve for an economy with many workers or participants.
The basic question is
Why is the production possibilities curve bowed outward from the origin?
The explanation is important. We call such a “curve convex to the origin” in the language of calculus of two variables.
Remember that economically literate members of the economy will (or should!) switch the workers with the lowest opportunity cost on the y-axis commodity to work on production of the x-axis commodity. This means there will be at first less than average loss of production on the y-axis. later on, as more are switched, they have higher opportunity costs on the y-axis commodity. That means the reduction in production on the y-axis will be more– the slope will be smaller (well, it will be a larger number in absolute value, but more negative– we call that smaller in math!) and so the curve will drop more. finally as the last worker is moved to production of the commodity on the x-axis, he or she is the most productive (highest opportunity cost) on the y-axis, and so the slope will be steepest there.
So the shape is a direct consequence of the low-hanging fruit principle– always switch people with lowest opportunity cost first! See page 48 in your book for a complete explanation!
Posted in Macroeconomics
Supply Chain Digest Port Technology International Marine Link
Supply Chain and Logistics 