Apache Corporation
Apache is an independent American oil and gas corporation that was founded in 1954 by Charles Arnao, Raymond Plank and Truman Anderson. Its headquarters are in 1 Post Oak Central in Texas. Its mission is to grow a profitable company for the benefit of its shareholders and provide a long-term growth opportunity (Apache Corporation, 2013). The main idea that dominated the minds of the founders was to exploit the oil that was in Minnesota and meet the oil demand since oil was considered to be a major source of energy that was quite necessary in steering the economy forward.
It operates in the oil and gas industry where its main products are crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids that the company feels are products whose demand is high. The industry is highly competitive and the company has always been striving to produce quality products. In the industry, the supply and demand have always not indicated a large variation and this makes it necessary for the company to be very strategic to ensure that it gains a good image and a strong customer base. It has exploration and production interests in Egypt, Canada, Argentina, UK, US and Australia. Additionally, due to its competitiveness, it has been able to operate in various global markets including Asian and African markets.
Its major competitors include Abraxas Petroleum Corporation (market capital $ 302,524,740), Advantage Oil & Gas Ltd (market capital $ 737,517,540), Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (market capital $ 39,405,806,100), Antero Resources Corporation (market capital $ 14,782,240,500), Apco Oil and Gas International Inc. (market capital $ 131,341,800) as compared to Apache Corporation whose market capital is $ 34,398,173,760. Additionally, the company has a market share of 09.56% (Apache Corporation, 2013). It provides employment to thousands of people of people in Texas and the world over.
Apache has often had to be very realistic and tactical in its activities. It sometimes experiences failure from its suppliers from US and other countries but has had to strategize on how to come cope with this test. The increase in demand of the raw materials used by the company has also posed a great danger for the company since the price of the materials has hiked (Krugman & Wells, 2005). Though the demand for oil and related products is high, there have also been many suppliers competing to meet the divergent needs, tastes and preferences of the consumers. Apache has had to be careful on seasonal changes in demand and changes in population as this potentially affects its sales revenue.
Best-serve restaurant
My business name is Best-serve restaurant. It is a business that deals with fast foods that include hamburger, pizza, French fries and soft drinks. The business will start with a starting capital of about $ 23,890 and the expected returns are expected to be high (around $ 13,000 annually). It is projected that the business will have a payback period of 2years taking into account the time value of money, inflation, taxes as well as the general prevailing economic situation (Mills, 2002). I decided to come up with this business after realizing the market niche in form of variety offered and prices charged in the fast food industry.
Currently, the demand surpasses supply in the fast foods industry. Taking this into account, Best-serve restaurant shall strive to increase the supply and meet the demand. At this point a state of market equilibrium shall be established and the consumers purchasing will increase since despite their income being constant, the supply will have increased and the prices out to reduce. They will be paying for the fast foods at the equilibrium price (Krugman & Wells, 2005). To reduce our production and operation costs both in the short run and in the long run, the business shall source for its materials from overseas markets which offers fairly priced raw materials that are necessary in the fast foods industry. Additionally, at some point, we shall merge with other fast foods companies so as to reduce the competition and market expenses as well as enable us sell as a unit for the benefit of our consumers. This will help the business reduce its production costs, marginal costs, the variable fixed cost as well as increase its profitability (Krugman & Wells, 2005).
Factors that might affect the demand and supply as far as Best-serve restaurant is concerned includes change in government policies regarding fast foods, entry of new competitors, changes in the price of factor inputs, change in population, seasonal changes and change in consumer needs, tastes and preferences (Mills, 2002). Topics of relevance to the business include demand forecasting, market structures and economic growth and development.
References
Apache Corporation | LinkedIn. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.linkedin.com/company/apache-corporation
Krugman, P. R., & Wells, R. (2005). Microeconomics. New York: Worth.
Mills, J. (2002). Creating a winning business formula. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
