You are the newly appointed President of the local Chamber of Commerce. You are making your first presentation to the Chamber and want to make a good first impression.

Your presentation will be based on the following topic, purpose, and audience.

• Topic: Expected U.S. GDP growth rate going forward
• Audience: Local chamber of commerce
• Purpose: To give business leaders an idea of what the economy may look like based on recent history and expected future conditions

Part I

Write a 600-750 word research paper given the topic, purpose, and audience information above. In addressing GDP, consider the following:

• Trends, forecasts, and statistics
• How GDP is determined
• Interpreting GDP

Part II

Prepare a PowerPoint presentation, consisting of at least 15 slides, to supplement your research paper and be presented to the Chamber of Commerce of an area of your choice. As with any effective presentation, the PowerPoint should be in color, have at least one chart, and clip art on other slides.

PowerPoint – Presentation Guidelines

The following guidelines for your PowerPoint presentation will be used to grade your work as well:

• Limit the number of words on slides. Slides are designed to supplement your presentation—not to be your presentation (in this assignment, it is to supplement your research paper).
  • Avoid paragraphs
  • Use bullet points
  • Use succinct phrases instead of sentences
• Limit each slide to 6 bullet points
• Simple fonts
  • Fonts “with feet” are easier to read (in a paragraph)
  • Fonts “without feet” make nice titles
• Choose color combinations that make your presentation easy to read.
• Limit graphics to 1-3 per page. Too many graphics can be distracting.
• Bells and whistles tend to be distracting for the viewer. Make sure that special effects have a purpose. Proofread and spell check. 

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You are a marketing manager interviewing for a new job at several different firms simultaneously. You expect to be asked the same questions in each interview dealing with what you think are some good new marketing opportunities for each firm to pursue. You know that being well prepared for an interview gives you a better chance of being offered the job, so you decided to study each company where you are interviewing.

Pick any 3 firms to research. Based on Internet research on these companies, write a 500–750-word research paper proposing at least 3 marketing opportunities that you would strongly suggest that each firm pursue. In your arguments, include the following:

• Describe your reasoning for identifying them as worthy of pursuing.
• Categorize each marketing opportunity as low-hanging fruit, home runs, or singles, and discuss why (see definitions in course materials).
• Discuss the risk in pursuing each opportunity.
• Without actually trying to determine each project’s ROE, which would you most strongly recommend implementing, and why?
• Explain how the marketing opportunity would reflect upon the firm. Would it have a positive or negative public relations effect on the firm? Would it result in great financial improvements, or only a minor improvement?