Alberta School of Business
Department of Marketing, Business Economics and Law Syllabus
BUEC 311 A2
Business Economics, Organizations, and Management
Fall 2014 TTh 14:00-15:20 (A2) Instructor: Dr. Dorothee Feils
Office: Bus 3-40F Tel: (780) 492-0196
E-mail: [email protected] Office hours: T 12:30-1:30 and by appointment
Course Description: Business organizations as systems of mutually reinforcing functional areas where decision making is driven by underlying economic forces. Application of economic theory to facilitate complex decision making within organizations: economic models of decision making are linked directly to functional areas of management. Topics include the organization of firms and industries; meeting customer needs; and decision making involving production, resource use, dealing with risk and uncertainty, scale and scope of operations, competitive advantage, and product pricing.
Prerequisites: ECON 101, 102, and MATH 113 or equivalent. Students may receive credit for only one of BUEC 301, BUEC 311, MANEC 301 or ECON 383. Not open to students with previous credit in ECON 281.
Text: Pyndick, Robert and Rubinfeld, Daniel. Microreconomics, 8th edition. Pearson, 2013.
MyEconLab: Practice problems are available on MyEconLab. I strongly encourage you to work through these problems in preparation for the midterms and the final exam.
Evaluation: 15% Homework Assignments (5% each) 20% Midterm 1
20% Midterm 2
45% Final (comprehensive)
Final grading in this class is done on the basis of individual student achievement of the course and program outcomes.
Learning Outcomes: At the end of this course, you have the developed the following course specific skills and knowledge: knowledge of microeconomics and economic models of decision making and the ability to apply these models in various settings. This course focuses on the following Learning Goals of the BCom program:
quantitative skills and critical thinking. The homework assignments and exams are designed to assess the student’s quantitative skills, knowledge of micro-economics and economic models of decision making, the ability to apply these models in various settings and critical thinking skills: the ability to analyze the results from the quantitative analysis for decision making purposes.
In taking the exams, you are expected to use a calculator. If, however, your calculator has a programming capability or verbal memory, you are not allowed to utilize it on the exams. Sample exams will be posted on uLearn.
Homework assignments have to be handed in by 3 p.m. on the due date in the assignment box next to the elevators on the 3rd floor of the business building. If a student has a valid excuse for missing a homework assignment (e.g. illness) explained to the instructor in writing, the weight for the missed assignment will be allocated to midterm 1 for homework 1, to midterm 2 for homework 2 and to the final exam for homework 3.
The midterm exams have to be taken at the time scheduled. If a student has a valid excuse for missing a midterm (e.g. illness) explained to the instructor in writing, the weight from that midterm will be allocated to the final. If you miss the final exam, you need to get a deferred exam approved by the undergraduate office. The deferred final exam is scheduled for Friday, January 16, 2015 1:00-3:00 pm.
Make-up or extra work to improve your mark is not possible. If you feel that your midterm mark is incorrect, you must notify me in writing during the two-week period following the return of the midterm. Please note that a request to have a question on your midterm re-graded entails a request to have the entire exam re-graded. Also, any questions regarding exam coverage will ONLY be answered in class or on uLearn. Sample exams will be posted on uLearn.
Due to internet security issues, I only open e-mails from known sources. Please use your University of Alberta e- mail account when you send me e-mail messages and include the course number and section under subject.
Use of electronic devices: Students are permitted the use of laptops or tablet devices in class to take notes or access the course website or other materials relevant to the class. Other uses are disruptive to the class, the instructor and other students and are not permitted. Use of cellphones for making or receiving calls or texting is prohibited.
Cellphones should be turned off prior to class. Audio or video recording of lectures, labs, seminars or any other teaching environment by students is allowed only with the prior written consent of the instructor or as a part of an approved accommodation plan. Recorded material is to be used solely for personal study, and is not to be used or distributed for any other purpose without prior written consent from the instructor.
You need to heed the University of Alberta’s Code of Student Behaviour. In particular, I urge you to review the sections regarding plagiarism and cheating and inappropriate behaviour. If you have any questions regarding this matter, please talk to me or to the Undergraduate Office.
Tentative Course Outline
Topic Date
Introduction/ Ch. 1: Markets and Prices: Preliminaries Sep. 4
Ch. 2: The Basics of Demand and Supply Sep. 9, 11
Ch. 3: Consumer Behavior Sep. 16, 18
Ch. 4: Individual and Market Demand Sep. 23
Ch. 5: Uncertainty and Consumer Behavior Sep. 25, 30
Homework Assignment 1 due Oct. 1
Ch. 6: Production Oct. 2
Midterm 1 Oct. 7
Ch. 7: Cost of Production Oct. 9, 14
Ch. 8: Profit Maximization and Competitive Supply Oct. 16, 21
Ch. 9: The Analysis of Competitive Markets Oct. 23, 28
Homework Assignment 2 due Oct. 29
Ch. 10: Market Power: Monopoly and Monopsony Oct. 30
Midterm 2 Nov. 4
Ch. 11: Pricing with Market Power Nov. 6
Ch. 12: Monopolistic Competition and Oligopoly Nov. 13
Ch. 13: Game Theory and Competitive Strategy Nov. 18
Ch. 15: Investment, Time and Capital Markets Nov. 20, 25
Ch. 18: Externalities and Public Goods Nov. 27
Homework Assignment 3 due Dec. 1
Review Session Dec. 2
Final Exam See Beartracks for
Time and location
Note: This schedule is tentative, since some topics may take more or less time than I have allotted for them, we may deviate slightly from this schedule. Thus, the schedule needs to be somewhat flexible. However, due dates, midterm dates and the final exam date are not flexible. Course material will be posted on the course website prior to class. For pedagogical reasons only a part of the power-point presentations may be posted prior to class.
