Watch this video, Oligopolies and Monopolistic Competition, to help you prepare for this week’s discussion.

Use the company for which youcurrently work, a business with which your familiar, or a dream businessyou want to start to reply to these prompts:

• With your selected business inmind, determine if it is perfectly competitive, monopolisticcompetitive, an oligopoly, or pure monopoly. Explain how you drew yourconclusion about its market structure.
• How does the business/firm in this industry determine the price it will charge for the products or services it sells?

Discuss with your peers:

• Read one of your peer’s posts and share an insight or question you have about that business and its market structure. Answer Peers Response Below –
  Peer,I will stick to my business I talked about last week, a dentaloffice. I worked in many offices over the years, and I do not knoweverything about the costs and how to start a practice,but I am familiarenough, and my ex-husband is a dentist…This had me stumped at first. The video talked about GOODS and not somuch about SERVICES. Dentistry is a service oriented business, butafter some research, I came to the conclusion that it falls into the"Monopolistic Competitor" category. They are all highly specialized,but also very competitive. I don't know about where you live, but herein Huntsville, we have TONS of dentists. No one can just go open adental office and start charging outrageous prices, they must attend 8years of college minimum and pass the dental board exams, which makesthe field very specialized and like medical schools, dental schoolslimit the number of students and so the market does not get saturatedwith doctors or dentists.I remember just finishing school and in my first office the old guy Iworked for (he was 65, very old to a 24 year old) joked around about"getting together with the other dentists back in the day to determinewhat prices they should charge". I knew that was illegal, and I hopedhe was joking. He probably was not. I think many dentists today pricetheir services based on the amount insurance will pay. They charge acertain percentage more, knowing that they will not pay it all. But,cash patients will and they make up a bit of difference in that way.All offices know what other dentists charge, and that also is taken intoconsideration. I think the cost of materials and overhead are but asmall part when they set their fees. Most make much more than it takesto run and office and make a good living. They can charge the goingrate, and all dentists seem to be inching up the "going rate". Themajority of that decision is based on the insurance table of rates theywill pay.Reply to peer: