2- Supply Chain Gap is Behind the Wheel

Assignment 2

Read the pages that I put on Blackboard from the case “Amgen Inc.: Pursuing Innovation and Imitation?” by Ian W. Mackenzie, Harvard Business School. Answer the following:

1. (9 Points)

a) What are generic drugs?

b) What are biosimilars?

c) How are biosimilars different from generic drugs?

2. (6 Points) Did Amgen do well during the years 2000 to 2006? Explain.

3. (6 Points) Did Amgen do well during the years 2007 to 2009? Explain.

4. (12 Points)

a) Did patents create monopoly power for Amgen? Explain.

b) What was expected to happen after Amgen’s patents expire? Explain.

c) How will the market structure (type of market) for Amgen’s product change after Amgen’s patents expire? Explain.

5. (5 Points) What argument(s) did Amgen use to defend its core business?

6. (12 Points)

a) What are the arguments for Amgen’s going into the biosimilar business?

b) What are the arguments against Amgen’s going into the biosimilar business?

7. (6 Points) If you were the CEO of Amgen, would you produce biosimilars?
What factors would influence your decision? Discuss.

Read the article “Supply Chain Gap is Behind the Wheel”, in The New York Times International Edition, November 11, 2021. Answer the following.

8. (9 Points) Draw a graph and show what happened in the market for truck drivers in U.S.A. recently?
Show what happened to the wages of truck drivers.
Explain your graph.

9. (9 Points) The article discusses two effects:

1) An increase in demand for consumer goods in U.S.A.

2) Many truck drivers are leaving their jobs in U.S.A. And not too many people in U.S.A. want to be truck drivers.

Assume any changes in supply will be larger than changes in demand.

Draw a graph and show how these two events will affect the market for consumer goods in U.S.A. Show the effects on price and quantity of consumer goods.
Explain your graph.

Read the article “The Pyjama Revolution’’, in The Economist, October 30, 2021. Answer the following.

10. (5 Points) Are studies agreed on whether working from home increases productivity? Explain.

11. (4 Points) The article gives different reasons for why working from home can make workers more productive. What are these reasons?

12. (1 Point) According to the article, you ready is working from home likely to increase innovation or reduce innovation?

13. (6 Points) Do you think working from home increases productivity?
What is your experience with working from home? Discuss.