Green Machine

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(Inspired by an activity created by Jacob Jacoby, NYU Stern School of Business)

You will do this exercise with a group.

Overview: Automobile manufacturers are always seeking new products to develop and market in response to changes in the industry and in the macro-environment. One major car manufacturer has decided that there is a developing market for a line of "green", hybrid gasoline-electric, environmentally friendly cars. You will participate as a member of a team of outside consultants charged with conducting background research and proposing plans and strategies for a possible "green" line of hybrid automobiles.

Objectives:

In this activity you will:

Research the current situation
Draw conclusions and make suggestions based on the data you have found
Work together to present your recommendations in a persuasive manner

Resources: A short article that gives an overview can be found at http://autos.msn.com/advice/standardart.aspx?contentid=4020586&src=404 .

Exercise: (60 minutes total)

Step One. Meet briefly with your group. Each individual should quickly choose which of these areas he/she will research. (5 minutes)

Competition
Target Market
Government Policy
Public Opinion
Market Conditions (Fuel Prices)

Step Two. Working as an individual, use the resources available on the websites below to answer the following questions in your area of research. (20 minutes)

Competition:

What manufacturers already produce environmentally-friendly/alternative-fuel cars? Are their products similar? Do they appeal to the same markets? Do these or other manufacturers have plans to develop other products?

http://www.hondacars.com (see Civic Hybrid and Insight models)
http://www.toyota.com/html/shop/vehicles/prius/
http://www.ford.com/en/vehicles/specialtyVehicles/environmental/hybridElectric/default.htm
http://www.evworld.com/databases/shownews.cfm?pageid=news080103-03
http://www.cleancarcampaign.org/alertsautoshow.shtml

Target Market:

Assume that previous research has determined that an important market for this type of car are women aged 40-60 who live in the suburbs. Will this potential market be growing or shrinking in the next five years? What other demographic trends may have an impact on how this product may be marketed?

http://www.census.gov/population/www/projections/natsum-T3.html
http://www.huduser.org/publications/polleg/tsoc98/part1-2.html
http://www.inside.com/product/product.asp?entity=AmericanDemo&pf_ID={FD94AF15-1E61-4203-9469-9159EF1A75CD}

Government Policy:

Does the government offer any support for the development or sale of hybrid cars? Are there any government programs that may have an impact on the success of such a line of cars?

www.fueleconomy.gov
http://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/index.htm

Public Opinion:

Do a search in the Usenet groups for terms like "hybrid autos" and the particular hybrid models that are already available: "Honda Insight", "Honda Civic Hybrid" and "Toyota Prius". What newsgroups did you find discussions in? Which newsgroups do you think might be useful to monitor? Have you learned anything that would be helpful to projecting the success of the proposed line of cars?

http://groups.google.com/

Market Conditions:

What is the forecast for oil supplies and prices? What other economic conditions may have an impact on the "green machine" project? (A full version of this exercise that would extend over a semester would require more detailed and broader research into these areas.)

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/gasprices/FAQ.shtml
http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/analysis_publications/primer_on_gasoline_prices/html/petbro.html
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/index.html#prices

Step Three. Pause for a moment. What else you need to find out? What additional knowledge and resources do you need? Now search the Web for more information, using Google, Lexis-Nexis, or other search engines. (15 minutes)

You may find particularly useful InfoTrac's Business and Company database (second item in the third column on the BMCC library's access page, http://lib1.bmcc.cuny.edu/lib/full.html). Once you have entered the main database, choose "Business and Company Resource Center", and then choose Articles Search. You can try terms like "automobile industry and environmental policy".

Step Four. Review your research and make a note of the information you think is important and suggestions you would make to the client. (10 minutes)

Step Five. Together with the others in your group, put your notes together to and discuss the joint presentation that you would make to your automobile manufacturer client. What would you present? What would your recommendations be? (10 minutes).

Small Group Discussion (45 minutes):

Gather with others who did this activity. Reflect on and discuss this activity with your small group, using the following sequence of questions as prompts. At the end of this time, prepare one member of the group to share key points of your discussion with the larger group.

What did you learn from this activity? What could students learn from a classroom version of it (including the sharing and exchange of presentations)? What other kinds of writing or presentation outcomes could this activity support?
What are the strengths and weaknesses of this activity? Is it a good vehicle for developing student skills in inquiry, critical thinking, and writing? How could it be improved?
How would you describe the pedagogy that informs this activity? What skills and modes of thinking does this activity support? Do the electronic materials being engaged suit the assignment's pedagogy and methodological goals? What can we learn from this activity about the kinds of inquiry assignments that work best when using new media resources?
How does the inquiry approach used in this activity compare with inquiry approaches you have used in your classes? What is similar? Different? What are the advantages and disadvantages of inquiry learning, in your experience? Where does it fit in the repertoire of teaching in your field?

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