Alberta School of Business
Department of Marketing, Business Economics and Law Syllabus
BUEC 311 A1
Business Economics, Organizations, and Management
Fall 2017
Instructor: Dr. Dorothee Feils
Office: Bus 3-40F Tel: (780) 492-0196
E-mail: [email protected] Office hours: TW 11:00-12:00 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: Pindyck, Robert and Rubinfeld, Daniel. Microreconomics, 9th edition. Pearson, 2018.
Course website: Class announcements and materials will be posted on uLearn.
Evaluation: 10% Presentation (individual)
Pick your presentation date: September 22, 2017, 5pm.
22% Midterm 1 (in class): Wednesday, Oct 4, 2017 22% Midterm 2 (in class): Wednesday, Nov 8, 2017
46% Final (comprehensive): see bear tracks for time and location
Assigning Grades: “Grades reflect judgements of student achievement made by instructors and must correspond to the associated descriptor. These judgements are based on a combination of absolute achievement and relative performance in a class.” Final letter grades will be determined based on the above statement. Historical mean grades are available here. Note that the “Policy about course outlines can be found in Course Requirements, Evaluation Procedures and Grading of the University Calendar".
Learning Outcomes: At the end of this course, you have 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, critical thinking and oral communication. The 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. The presentation assesses oral communication skills, critical thinking and the ability to analyze the economic environment.
Presentation: You need to make an individual presentation on a current topic related to business economics. A detailed description of the presentation and a marking key will be provided on uLearn.
Exams: There will be two midterms and a final exam. The midterms will be primarily based on the material covered since the previous exam. The final exam will be comprehensive. Sample exams will be posted on uLearn.
The midterm exams have to be taken at the time scheduled. If a student has a valid excuse for missing a midterm (see the information about attendance in the University Calendar) 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, Jan 12, 2018 1:00- 3:00 pm. Note that any questions regarding exam coverage will ONLY be answered in class or on uLearn.
Calculator: 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.
E-mail: 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 and recording of lectures: 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, digital or otherwise, 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. Student or instructor content, digital or otherwise, created and/or used within the context of the course 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 content author(s).” (University of Alberta Calendar)
Academic Integrity: "The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with these standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the University in this respect. Students are particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of Student Behaviour (online at www.governance.ualberta.ca) and avoid any behaviour which could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence. Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University." (University of Alberta Calendar). If you have any questions regarding this matter, please talk to me or to the Undergraduate Office.
Student Accessibility Services (SAS): If you require some classroom or exam modifications, please contact SAS (www.ssds.ualberta.ca) to obtain a determination as to what accommodations should be made. Students registered with SAS should provide the instructor with a “Letter of Accommodation” as soon as possible.
Course Outline
Topics Covered Recommended Questions for Review and Exercises
1. Introduction
Ch. 1: Markets and Prices: Preliminaries QR: 3,4,5 E:1,2
Ch. 2: The Basics of Demand and Supply QR: 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,10,11,13 E:1,2,4,10 2. Producers, Consumers, and Competitive Markets
Ch. 3: Consumer Behaviour QR: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,9 E:1,2,7,11,12,16
Ch. 4: Individual and Market Demand QR: 1, 2,5,6,7,8,9,10,11 E:1,2,4,7,9,10,12,13 Ch. 5: Uncertainty and Consumer Behaviour QR: 1,3,4,5,6, E:1,4
Ch. 6: Production QR: 1,2,3,4,6,8,9,10 E:2,3
Ch. 7: Cost of Production QR: 1,2,4,7,8,10,12,13,14 E:1,3,4,9
Ch. 8: Profit Maximization and Competitive Supply QR: 1,3,4,5,9,11 E:4,5,6,7,13 Ch. 9: The Analysis of Competitive Markets QR: 1,2,3,6,7 E:1,2,7
3. Market Structure and Competitive Strategy
Ch. 10: Market Power: Monopoly and Monopsony QR: 1,2,3,4,5,6,8, E:3,4,7 Ch. 11: Pricing with Market Power QR: 1,2,3,4,6,7,9,10 E:1,4,6,7
4. Other Advanced Topics
Ch. 19: Behavioral Economics QR: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 E:3,6,7,8
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.
