Using the three characteristics of a perfectly competitive market (p. 400), analyze the market in which your company (or a company of your choice) operates. Address each characteristic.  Does it meet these requirements?  If so, how?  If not, why not? Hint:  Keep in mind the title of the Discuss question.  That should be a clue to how you will answer about your firm.  Discuss with your classmates the characteristics of their businesses that you find interesting.

Understanding Business
12th Edition
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Chapter1: Taking Risks And Making Profits Within The Dynamic Business Environment
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Using the three characteristics of a perfectly competitive market (p. 400), analyze the market in which your company (or a company of your choice) operates. Address each characteristic.  Does it meet these requirements?  If so, how?  If not, why not?

Hint:  Keep in mind the title of the Discuss question.  That should be a clue to how you will answer about your firm. 

Discuss with your classmates the characteristics of their businesses that you find interesting.

11.1
CHARACTERISTICS
OF PERFECT COMPETITION
The most important characteristic of perfectly competitive markets is that each firm in a competitive market behaves
as a price-taker: Competitive firms take the market price of the product, which is determined by the intersection of
supply and demand, as given. This price-taking behavior is the hallmark of a competitive market. In all other market
structures-monopoly, monopolistic competition, and oligopoly-firms enjoy some degree of price-setting power.
Three characteristics define perfect competition:
perfect competition
A market structure that exists when (1) firms are price-takers, (2) all firms produce a homogeneous product, and (3) entry
and exit are unrestricted.
1. Perfectly competitive firms are price-takers because each individual firm in the market is so small relative to the
total market that it cannot affect the market price of the good or service it produces by changing its output. Of
course, if all producers act together, changes in quantity will definitely affect market price. But if perfect
competition prevails, each producer is so small that individual changes will go unnoticed.
2. All firms produce a homogeneous or perfectly standardized commodity. The product of each firm in a perfectly
competitive market is identical to the product of every other firm. This condition ensures that buyers are
indifferent as to the firm from which they purchase. Product differences, whether real or imaginary, are
precluded under perfect competition.
3. Entry into and exit from perfectly competitive markets are unrestricted. There are no barriers preventing new
firms from entering the market, and nothing prevents existing firms from leaving a market.
In spite of the term competitive, perfectly competitive firms do not recognize any competitiveness among
themselves; that is, no direct competition among firms exists. The theoretical concept of perfect competition is
diametrically opposed to the generally accepted concept of competition. Because firms in perfectly competitive
< 400/730 >
Transcribed Image Text:11.1 CHARACTERISTICS OF PERFECT COMPETITION The most important characteristic of perfectly competitive markets is that each firm in a competitive market behaves as a price-taker: Competitive firms take the market price of the product, which is determined by the intersection of supply and demand, as given. This price-taking behavior is the hallmark of a competitive market. In all other market structures-monopoly, monopolistic competition, and oligopoly-firms enjoy some degree of price-setting power. Three characteristics define perfect competition: perfect competition A market structure that exists when (1) firms are price-takers, (2) all firms produce a homogeneous product, and (3) entry and exit are unrestricted. 1. Perfectly competitive firms are price-takers because each individual firm in the market is so small relative to the total market that it cannot affect the market price of the good or service it produces by changing its output. Of course, if all producers act together, changes in quantity will definitely affect market price. But if perfect competition prevails, each producer is so small that individual changes will go unnoticed. 2. All firms produce a homogeneous or perfectly standardized commodity. The product of each firm in a perfectly competitive market is identical to the product of every other firm. This condition ensures that buyers are indifferent as to the firm from which they purchase. Product differences, whether real or imaginary, are precluded under perfect competition. 3. Entry into and exit from perfectly competitive markets are unrestricted. There are no barriers preventing new firms from entering the market, and nothing prevents existing firms from leaving a market. In spite of the term competitive, perfectly competitive firms do not recognize any competitiveness among themselves; that is, no direct competition among firms exists. The theoretical concept of perfect competition is diametrically opposed to the generally accepted concept of competition. Because firms in perfectly competitive < 400/730 >
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