Syllabus
BUEC 311 Business Economics, Organizations and Management Fall Semester, 2016
Instructor: Hailing Zang
Office: 430H Business Building Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 1:00 – 1:50PM
Course Description
Business organizations are systems of mutually reinforcing functional areas where decision making is driven by underlying economic forces. In order to effectively organize business, to forecast and to make business decisions, one must have a thorough understanding of the underlying economic force that is driving the outcomes. This course is designed to help students understand micro principles such as consumer behaviors, producer behaviors, how markets function, etc. Application of economic theory to facilitate complex decision making within organizations: economic models of decision making are linked directly to functional areas of management. Class 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. The objectives of the course is to help students apply economic theories to the complex real world business problems, understand the problems, and being able to solve the problems.
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
Microeconomics, 8th edition. By Robert S. Pindyck and Daniel L. Rubinfeld, Prentice Hall Evaluations:
Homework 40% (5% each) Midterm I 15%
Midterm II 15%
Final 30%
Homework : We will use MyEconLab for the homework assignments. Homework is announced in class and on the Ulearn. Homework due time is set on the MyEconLab and late homework is never accepted.
If a student has a valid excuse for missing a homework assignment and explained to the instructor in writing, the homework weight is assigned to the nearest exam. (For example, if you miss the first homework assignment, your midterm weight will be increased to 20% if you have a valid excuse.) Otherwise, the homework is marked as 0 points.
Exams: Exams will be multiple choice questions. Each exam is one hour long (including the final). If a student has a valid excuse (again submit to the instructor in writing) for missing a midterm, the weight will be added to the final exam. You are allowed to bring calculator to the exams. However, if your calculator has a programming capability or verbal memory, you are not allowed to use it during the exam.
For final evaluation of the grade, it will be depending on your relative performance among the class. I will post the grade distribution after each exam. Final grade cutoff marks will be announce after the final exam outcomes. Normally, the grade distribution will be: A+ top 5% of class, A 10%, A- 15%, B+
20%, B 25%, B- 30%, C 35%, D 40% and F as Below 60 as absolute mark level.
Note: there is no makeup or extra class work to improve your mark.
The Code of Student Behavior
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
(http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/gfcpolicymanual/content.cfm?ID_page=37633) and avoid any behavior which could potentially result in suspicious 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.
Course Outline
Week 1 Chapter 1
Week 2 Chapter 1 – 2 (Homework 1) Week 3 Chapter 3 (Homework 2) Week 4 Chapter 4 (Homework 3)
Week 5 review and Midterm 1 (end of the week in class) Week 6 Chapter 6 (Homework 4)
Week 7 Chapter 7 (Homework 5) Week 8 Chapter 8 (Homework 6) Week 9 Chapter 9 (Homework 7)
Week 10 Review and Midterm 2 (end of week in class) Week 11 Reading Week
Week 12 Chapter 10
Week 13 Chapter 11 (Homework 8) Week 12 Chapter 5 and Review Week 13 Final (Last day of class)
