Application of economic theory to facilitate complex decision making within organizations: economic models of decision making are linked directly to functional areas of management

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Department of Marketing, Business Economics and Law BUEC 311 B1

Business Economics, Organization and Management

Winter 2019 INSTRUCTOR: Andrew Wong

OFFICE: 7-13 Tory Building

PHONE: 780-492-2049

OFFICE HOURS: R 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. or by appointment LECTURES: MWF 11:00 – 11:50 a.m. (BUS 2 5)

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 competitive 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.

Textbook: Perloff, J. M. Microeconomics: Theory and Applications with Calculus, 4^th Edition, Pearson, 2017.

Evaluation:

10% Homework Assignments (5% each)

• HW1: due on Friday, Feb. 1

• HW2: due on Friday, Mar. 15 25% Quizzes (5% each)

• Quiz 1: Monday, Jan. 21

• Quiz 2: Friday, Feb. 1

• Quiz 3: Friday, Mar. 1

• Quiz 4: Friday, Mar. 15

• Quiz 5: Friday, Apr. 5 30% Midterms (15% each)

• Midterm 1: Friday, Feb. 8

• Midterm 2: Friday, Mar. 22

35% Final (comprehensive): April 23, 2019 (Tuesday) 9-11 am.

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Assigning Grades: “Grades reflect judgments of student achievement made by the instructors and must correspond to the associated descriptor. These judgments are based on a combination of absolute achievement and relative performance in a class.”

(University of Alberta Calendar). Final letter grades will be determined based on the above statement.

Learning Outcomes: At the end of this course, you will have developed the following 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 exams are designed to assess the student’s quantitative skills, knowledge of microeconomics 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 quantitative analysis for decision making purposes.

Homework Assignments and Quizzes: Homework assignments and quizzes are designed to help students to apply the course material and to prepare for the exams. Students may collaborate on the homework assignments. We will use MyEconLab for the homework assignments. Homework is announced in class and on eClass. Homework due time is set on MyEconLab and late homework is never accepted. If a student has a valid excuse for missing a homework assignment (e.g., incapacitating illness, severe domestic affliction or other compelling reasons, including religious conviction) explained to the instructor in writing, the weight for the missing assignment will be allocated to midterm 1 for homework 1 and to midterm 2 for homework 2.

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 available and posted on eClass. The midterms exams have to be taken at the time scheduled. If a student has a valid excuse for missing a midterm (e.g., incapacitating illness, severe domestic affliction or other compelling reasons, including religious conviction) explained to the instructor in writing, the weight from that midterm will be allocated to the final. If you miss the final exam, you will need to get a deferred exam approved by the undergraduate office.

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 midterm re-graded. Also, any questions regarding exam coverage will ONLY be answered in class or on eClass. Sample exams will be posted on eClass. In taking the exams, you are expected to use a calculator. If, however, your calculator has a programming capability or verbal memory, you will not be allowed to utilize it on the exams.

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E-mail: I only open e-mails from known sources. Please use your University of Alberta e- mail account when you send e-mail messages and include the course number and section under subject.

Use of electronic devices and recording of lectures: Students are permitted to use laptops and tablets 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 thus are not permitted. Use of cellphones is prohibited. Cellphones should be turned off prior to class. Audio or video recording of lectures by students is allowed only with the prior written consent of the instructor or as 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 written consent from the instructor.

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 (see also www.governance.ualberta.ca) and avoid any behaviour which could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participating 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

Week Content Quiz HW Exams

1 (1/7) Ch. 6 - - -

2 (1/14) Ch. 7 - - -

3 (1/21) Ch. 8 #1(M) - -

4 (1/28) Ch. 9 (9.1-9.3) & Ch. 3 (3.1-3.2) #2 (F) #1 (F) -

5 (2/4) Ch. 3 (3.3-3.4), Review & Mid 1 - - #1 (F)

6 (2/11) Ch. 10 - - -

7 (2/25) Ch. 11 #3 (F) - -

8 (3/4) Ch. 12 - - -

9 (3/11) Ch. 13 #4 (F) #2 (F) -

10 (3/18) Ch. 14 (14.1-14.2), Review & Mid 2 - - #2 (F)

11 (3/25) Ch. 14 (14.3-14.6) - - -

12 (4/1) Ch. 15 #5 (F) - -

13 (4/8) Ch. 16 - - -

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Entrepreneurship Content: The materials covered in the last week of class (week 13) focuses on important Entrepreneurship issues. Chapter 16 considers uncertainty and risk taking. Risk taking is a prerequisite for entrepreneurial activities.

BUEC 311 Coordination: All BUEC 311 sections (B1, B2 and B3) will use the same textbook, follow the course outline above in what regards the materials covered and the timing (weekly coverage). Homework assignments will be the same. Midterms, Final Exam and Quizzes will cover the same material and the questions, although not identical, will have the same degree of difficulty.

Teaching Assistants: There are 2 teaching assistants assigned to each section.

Copyright: Andrew Wong, Alberta School of Business, University of Alberta (2019)