Technical Communication in Economics

The text describes six basic economic analyses. Each is designed for undergraduate students to complete in a single semester with minimal instructor guidance. The text is highly prescriptive and guides students from the proposal stage, through each step of the analysis, and then how to compose and self-publish a high quality written report and related video summary. Each analysis require students to have at least two semesters of basic college writing. The papers and presentations are designed to provide students with pre-professional portfolio pieces that they can share with their prospective employers and graduate school interviewers.

Users of this text should be aware that the instructional approach is a bit unusual. The text focuses on learning to do successful product imitation rather than on learning a particular writing or research process that indulges lots of individual expression. As such, this text is highly prescriptive. Also, author information and instructor resources are available including draft syllabi and grading suggestions.

Basic Business Operations Analysis

This analysis requires students to visit and make non-disruptive observations at local businesses, specifically rural and ag-based tourism venues. Students must develop three hypotheses about factors that they think correlate with some measure of business success. Students must then evaluate their hypotheses using evidence they gather from field observations they make at three to seven similar businesses. This text guides students to create a highly polished written report of about 3,500 words with 16 prescribed visual aids and a 10-minute summary video presentation.

Students should have a basic conceptual knowledge of statistics (e.g., correlation) and at least two semesters of basic college writing..

Options for one, two, or three credit hours.

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Global Commodity Market Analysis

This is the simplest of the three market analyses and is ideal for students who need extra help locating relevant market data. Students must describe a global commodity market and define its current equilibrium price and quantity. Students must then identify six factors that they think will likely affect either supply or demand over the next five to fifteen years, weight each factor, assess the joint impacts, and then predict the future direction of change in the market equilibrium. This text guides students to create a highly polished written report of about 4,500 words with 15 prescribed visual aids and a 10-minute summary video presentation.

Students should have basic knowledge of microeconomic principles (e.g., supply, demand, equilibria) and at least two semesters of basic college writing.

Three credit hours.

Historical Market Analysis

This analysis requires students to locate and manipulate existing market data and introduces them to the concepts of inflation adjustment and trendlines. Students must search USDA, FAO, World Bank, or other data sources and use Excel to identify an out-of-trend historical change in a commodity market's quantity or real price. Students must define the market characteristically in time and space and then identify six supply or demand shift factors that together explain the direction of change in the market equilibrium over the defined historical period. This text guides students to create a highly polished written report of about 5,000 words with 15 prescribed visual aids and a 10-minute summary video presentation.

Students should have basic knowledge of microeconomic principles (e.g., supply, demand, equilibria) and at least two semesters of basic college writing.

Three credit hours.

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Niche Market Analysis

This analysis requires students to define ambiguous concepts (e.g., a market's spatial boundaries), gather original data (e.g., local observations and/or interviews), estimate unknown values (e.g., market prices and quantities), and recognize theoretical limitations in their conclusions (e.g., imperfect competition). Students must identify and define a market characteristically in time and space, including estimating its current equilibrium price and quantity. Students must then identify six factors that they think will likely affect either supply or demand of the next five years, assess the joint impacts, and then predict the future direction of change in the market equilibrium. This text guides students to create a highly polished written report of about 5,000 to 7,000 words with 15 prescribed visual aids and a 10-minute summary video presentation.

Students should have basic knowledge of microeconomic principles (e.g., supply, demand, equilibria) and at least two semesters of basic college writing.

Three credit hours.

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Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis

This analysis requires students to identify through personal interviews a complex decision currently facing a business manager or non-profit leader. After defining a decision task, students must identify three potential solutions (i.e., options) and four evaluation criteria. Students must weight the criteria, use the weighted criteria to score each option, and then use the scores to make a specific recommendation. This text guides students to create a highly polished written report of about 5,000 to 7,000 words with 16 prescribed visual aids and a 10-minute summary video presentation.

Students should have at least two semesters of basic college writing.

Three credit hours.

Advanced Business Operations Analysis

This analysis requires students to observe and scrutinize closely the activities and processes of a single business. Students must identify and propose to study and analyze three areas of operations (e.g., social media marketing) at a single business. Upon approval, students must conduct on-site interviews and field observations, review related digital and written business documents, and then make specific recommendations that are both innovative and evidence-based. This text guides students to create a highly polished written report of about 5,000 to 7,000 words with 12 prescribed visual aids and a 10-minute summary video presentation.

Students should have academic training in business or nonprofit operations (e.g., finance, management, accounting, marketing) and at least two semesters of basic college writing.

Three credit hours.

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