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THE UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA School of Business
Department of Marketing, Business Economics and Law
Course: BUEC 311, A2 - Business Economics, Organizations, and Management Instructor: Russ Farmer
Class: T, R 2:00 pm – 3:20 pm Location: BUS 2-09 Business Building Phone: 780-938-7877
E-Mail: [email protected]
Course Overview. Underlying economic forces often drive decision-making in business organizations. Making business decisions involves a complex interaction of business strategy, microeconomics, finance, and various interconnected organizational functions. This course considers the application of economic theory to facilitate complex decision making within organizations. Topics of the course include:
the organization of firms and industries;
meeting customer needs;
strategic decision making involving production and resource use,
dealing with risk and uncertainty,
scale and scope of operations,
competitive advantage, and
product pricing
In contrast to courses in economic theory that concentrate on public policy by governments with the objective of maximizing economic benefit for society as a whole, this course will focus on the individual business and how it can use microeconomic theory to maximize its own profits.
Course Objectives. The primary objective of this course is to develop the abilities of students to apply fundamental microeconomic concepts to a wide range of managerial decisions, as well as public policy issues. Fundamental topics include: costs and supply behavior of the firm;
consumer behavior and market demand; market forces, price formation and resource allocation;
and, market power and price setting behavior.
Textbook and course materials. There is one textbook for this course:
Robert S. Pindyck and Daniel L. Rubinfeld, Microeconomics (7th edition) MyEconLab student access kit (www.myeconlab.com)
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Evaluation. Grades for this course will be calculated as follows:
Midterm Examination #1 25 points Midterm Examination #2 25 points
5 Assignments 20 points (weighted equally) Final Examination 30 points
Marks will be assigned based on a relative ranking at the end of the term of the points achieved on course evaluations. In accordance with University of Alberta Marking and Grading
Guidelines the anticipated mean grade for this course will be between 2.9 and 3.1.
Examinations. There will be two midterms and a final exam. The midterms will be based primarily on the material covered since the previous exam. The final exam will be
comprehensive. If a midterm is missed and the student has an accompanying medical note, the midterm weight will automatically be added to the final exam.
Term Assignment. There will be five homework assignments. The assignments are organized through MyEconLab, which requires a computer and internet access. Students will be notified of assignments one week prior to the assignment’s due date. Late assignments are not accepted.
“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 Behavior (online at
www.ualberta.ca/secretariat/appeals.htm) and avoid any behavior that 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.” (GFC 29 SEP 2003)
Office Hours. As a sessional instructor (with a day job), I do not schedule regular weekly office hours. However, I am more than glad to talk to you at any time during the semester. Catch me after class or e-mail me to set up a mutually agreeable time.
*Policy about course outlines can be found in Section 23.4(2) of the University Calendar." (GFC 29 SEP 2003)
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Tentative Course Outline.
Week Starting
Topic Readings Notes
September 08 Class Cancelled
September 13 Introduction, Supply and Demand Ch 1-2 September 20 Consumer Choice Ch 3-5
September 27 Consumer Choice Ch 3-5 Assignment #1 October 04 Producer Behavior Ch 6-7 Assignment #2
October 11 Producer Behavior Ch 6-7 Midterm #1 (Oct 11th) October 18 Perfect Competition Ch 8-9
October 25 Market Power Ch 10-11, 14 Assignment #3 November 01 Monopolistic Competition Ch 12 Assignment #4 November 08 Competitive Strategy Ch 13 No Class Nov 10th November 15 Capital Investment Ch 15 Midterm #2 (Nov 15th) November 22 Asymmetric Information Ch 17
November 29 Externalities / Public Goods Ch 18
December 06 General Equilibrium / Efficiency Ch 16 Assignment #5
Final Exam: 2:00pm, Tuesday December 20th
