ECO 365 week 4 Differentiating Between Market structures
Differentiating Between Market Structures
Leslie Maxwell
ECO 365/Principles of Microeconomics
May 25, 2015
Ronald Merchant
Differentiating Between Market Structures
Microsoft is the software giant responsible for bringing Windows operating system to the PC (personal computer). Microsoft is also a known and well respected company in the global market. The tech giant has dominated the computer industry since 1981. Due to the nature of such a huge company, Microsoft has its hands in multiple markets. Microsoft currently competes in file hosting, software, operating systems, and gaming consoles. Unfortunately, each of the afore-mentioned markets differ from one another. For the purpose of this paper, the market that is being chosen concerns the evolvement of Microsoft’s operating systems (OS). Microsoft is the undisputed leader in the market for operating systems. The Microsoft Corporation has produced the majority of operating systems for all PC’s (“Microsoft.com”, n.d.).
Market Structures
There are four types of market structures, Monopoly, Perfect Competition, Monopolistic Competition, and Oligopoly. They are differentiated by the number of firms in the industry, barriers to entry, pricing power of the firm, output decisions interdependence, and whether products are homogeneous (Colander, 2013).
Monopoly
A monopoly is a situation in which there is a single producer or seller of a product for which there are not close substitutes. The most common example of a natural monopoly would be an Electric (power) company. Power companies are characterized by very large costs for their infrastructure making it inefficient to have more than a single firm in a region because of the high cost of duplicating facilities needed to (Colander, 2013).
Perfect Competition Perfect competition is described as a market structure where competition us at its greatest possible level. The four key characteristics of perfect competition are multiple firms in
Leslie Maxwell
ECO 365/Principles of Microeconomics
May 25, 2015
Ronald Merchant
Differentiating Between Market Structures
Microsoft is the software giant responsible for bringing Windows operating system to the PC (personal computer). Microsoft is also a known and well respected company in the global market. The tech giant has dominated the computer industry since 1981. Due to the nature of such a huge company, Microsoft has its hands in multiple markets. Microsoft currently competes in file hosting, software, operating systems, and gaming consoles. Unfortunately, each of the afore-mentioned markets differ from one another. For the purpose of this paper, the market that is being chosen concerns the evolvement of Microsoft’s operating systems (OS). Microsoft is the undisputed leader in the market for operating systems. The Microsoft Corporation has produced the majority of operating systems for all PC’s (“Microsoft.com”, n.d.).
Market Structures
There are four types of market structures, Monopoly, Perfect Competition, Monopolistic Competition, and Oligopoly. They are differentiated by the number of firms in the industry, barriers to entry, pricing power of the firm, output decisions interdependence, and whether products are homogeneous (Colander, 2013).
Monopoly
A monopoly is a situation in which there is a single producer or seller of a product for which there are not close substitutes. The most common example of a natural monopoly would be an Electric (power) company. Power companies are characterized by very large costs for their infrastructure making it inefficient to have more than a single firm in a region because of the high cost of duplicating facilities needed to (Colander, 2013).
Perfect Competition Perfect competition is described as a market structure where competition us at its greatest possible level. The four key characteristics of perfect competition are multiple firms in
References: From Internet on May 24, 2015. Colander, D.C., (2013) Huges, N. (2011). Schools expect to have more iPads than computers in next 5 years. Retrieved from http://appleinsider.com/articles/11/10/31/schools_expect_to_have_more_ ipads_than_computers_in_next_5_years/ Retrieved from Internet on May 24, 2015. Microsoft timeline, (n.d.) Retrieved from www.microsoft.com/about/companyinformation/ visitorcenter/timeline Retrieved from Internet on May 24, 2015 NetMarketShare,(2006-2015). Retrieved from http://www.netmarketshare.com/operating-system- Market-share.aspx?qprid=10&qpcustomd=0 Retrieved from Internet on May 24, 2015.