Managerial Economics
ECON 6100
Spring 2013 (Last revision, 12/16/2012)
Faculty Information
Instructor:
Office
Location:
Office Hours:
Voice:
E-Mail:
Webpage:
Reza Kheirandish
College of Business, Room T-237
Walk in hours: Tuesday and Thursday: 9:15AM-12:15PM, with the exceptions of Thursday, February 21
and Thursday, March 21st, 2013. Other times by appointment.
678-466-4532
[email protected], Please do NOT use the class listserv or Desire2Learn to send email to me.
http://business.clayton.edu/rkheiran/
The Mission of the College of Business
Our Mission
is to:
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Prepare a diverse student body for business and professional careers by providing a quality
education.
Provide a student-centered environment, using technology to enhance student learning.
Support faculty in applied and instructional research and service to the profession.
Serve primarily the metropolitan Atlanta area.
Course Information
General:
1) All students taking this course with this instructor should use this syllabus.
2) All of the tests in this course will be given on the days and times shown below.
3) There are two sessions of ECON 6100 and both will meet on the main campus.
Section 01, CRN 26201: 8:00AM-12:00PM, room # TBD
Section 02, CRN 26209: 1:00PM- 5:00PM, room # UC 331
Spring 2013 MBA Classes will meet on the following Saturdays:
Jan. 12, Jan. 26, Feb. 9, Feb. 23, Mar. 9, Mar. 23, Apr. 6, and Apr. 20.
Attendance is expected in all sessions. Due to the nature of the part time MBA program, you will
have substantial amount of readings outside of the class, and in each session I will cover a lot of subjects.
If you fail to attend a class you will remain responsible for all the material covered and all assignments
due that session. If you know in advance that you will miss a class, please contact me via email and let
me know.
Course
Description:
Prerequisites:
Course
Goals:
Course
Learning
Outcomes:
Required
Textbooks:
Managerial Economics is the application of economic theory and methodology to
managerial decision making problems within various organizational settings. The
emphasis in this course will be on demand analysis and estimation, production and cost
analysis under different market conditions, forecasting and decision-making under
uncertainty. Students taking this course are expected to have had a good understanding
of Principles of Microeconomics.
Admission to MBA program.
As determined by College of Business
Upon completion of this course, the students should be able to:
1. Apply economic analysis and techniques to problems facing managers.
2. Combine microeconomics and various quantitative methods in a problemsolving and decision-making context in both the private and public sectors.
3. Use economic analysis in identifying and evaluating decision alternatives,
understanding the competitive environment of firms, and examining the factors
that influence firm performance.
4. Identify profitable decisions using cost-benefit analysis and being able to
implement them within an organization—the main trust of this course.
Bundle: Managerial Economics: A Problem-Solving Approach, 2nd edition +
MBA Primer: Managerial Economics 3.0 Instructor-Led, Printed Access Card
ISBN#1133431232
By: Luke M. Froeb, Brian T. McCann
If you want to purchase from the bookstore, please call and ask them about the
availability before making the trip to the bookstore. In the past we had instances
that the book needed to be re-ordered. I think you can order the book online as
well via this link:
http://www.ishoplochshop.com/buy_book_detail.asp?pf_id=10438343
Please Notice: The book comes with MBA Primer 3 if you purchase it from the
bookstore.
If you have purchased the book before, have obtained a used book or
paperback version of the book, got the e-book, or rented the book for a
reasonable price, then you may want to only purchase the MBA Primer 3.0:
Managerial Economics directly from Cengage. Here is the information for MBA
Primer Only:
MBA Primer: Managerial Economics 3.0 Printed Access Card InstructorLed , 3rd Edition
Victor C. Tabbush; Brett Trueman; David Levine; Tim Opler; Ann Cohen
Brandwein; Mark D. Hanna; Roger J Baran
Textbook ISBN-10: 1-133-23128-4
Textbook ISBN-13: 978-1-133-23128-8
For MBA Primer, you must have an Access Code. If you bought the book from
bookstore it should come with an Access Code. Make sure that the book you
purchase at the bookstore comes with it. If you are buying the primer separately
you need to go to http://www.cengagebrain.com and buy the Access Code and
then go back to the same website and register using the Access Code. You will
be asked to enter a course key. The Course Keys for MBA primer 3.0 are as
followings, please register in the correct session otherwise I will not receive the
grades for your quizzes:
Main campus: Course key : CL-9780538477390-00122
Below, you can find the list of chapters and assignments this semester:
Week 1
Introduction, Team Project Information, Orientation.
Readings:
Part I: PROBLEM SOLVING AND DECISION MAKING.
1. Introduction: What This Book Is About.
2. The One Lesson of Business.
3. Benefits, Costs, and Decisions.
Team Project Reports (the topic and main hypothesis shall
be selected and presented)
HW1 will be posted on the GA View
Week 2
Readings:
4. Extent (How Much) Decisions.
5. Investment Decisions: Look Ahead and Reason Back.
Part II: PRICE, COST, AND PROFIT.
6. Simple Pricing.
7. Economies of Scale and Scope.
8. Understanding Markets and Industry Changes.
Team Projects Reports
HW2 will be posted on the GA View
Week 3
Readings:
9. Relationships Between Industries: The Forces Moving Us
Towards Long-Run Equilibrium.
10. Strategy, the Quest to Slow Profit Erosion.
11. Using Supply and Demand: Trade, Bubble, Market
Making.
Team Projects Reports
Midterm Exam (in class, Chapters 1-11)
Week 4
Readings:
Part III: PRICING FOR GREATER PROFIT.
12. More Realistic and Complex Pricing.
13. Direct Price Discrimination.
14. Indirect Price Discrimination.
Team Projects Presentations - Round 1 (Casual or business
attire required)
All Quizzes on the MBA Primer 3.0 Modules are due
HW3 will be posted on the GA View
Week 5
Readings:
Part IV: STRATEGIC DECISION MAKING.
15. Strategic Games.
16. Bargaining.
Team Projects Reports
HW4 will be posted on the GA View
Week 6
Readings:
Part V: UNCERTAINTY.
17. Making Decisions with Uncertainty.
18. Auctions.
19. The Problem of Adverse Selection.
20. The Problem of Moral Hazard.
Team Projects Reports
Final Exam (Take home, Chapters 12-23) will be posted on
the GA View
Week 7
Week 8
Readings:
Part VI: ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN.
21. Getting Employees to Work in the Firm’s Best Interests.
22. Getting Divisions to Work in the Firm’s Best Interests.
23. Managing Vertical Relationships.
Review of the Course
Final Team Presentations (Business attire required)
Term Papers are due
Post-test on the MBA Primer 3.0 is due
Final Exam is due
Readings:
Part VII: WRAPPING UP.
Supplementar
y Materials:
I strongly recommend each 24.
student
and periodicals that report on economic issues. In
Youread
Benewspapers
the Consultant.
particular, I recommend Atlanta Journal of Constitution, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times,
Washington Post, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, The American Prospect, Fortune, The Bloomberg
Business Week and The Economist.
The motivated student may wish to read the following books:
For a fun way to learn economics, read:
The Cartoon Introduction to Economics: Volume One: Microeconomics (Paperback, 2010) By: Yoram
Bauman (Author), Grady Klein (Illustrator)
The Cartoon Introduction to Economics: Volume Two: Macroeconomics (Paperback, 2012) By: Yoram
Bauman (Author), Grady Klein (Illustrator)
For undergraduate level Economics (for review):
Economics, or equivalently, Macroeconomics, and Microeconomics, by authors like Arnold; Krugman
and Wells; Case and Fair; or any other Principle of Economics textbook authors.
These are some suggested books to read (more to be added later):
Friedman, Thomas The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century
Smith, Adam An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
Buchanan, James Cost and Choice
Friedman, Milton Capitalism and Freedom
Heilbroner, Robert The Making of Economic Society
Dixit, Avinash and Barry Nalebuff Thinking Strategically
Levitt, Steven and Dubner, Stephen Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of
Everything
Each book provides a broader view of economics than the textbook.
ITP Choice:
Each CSU student is required to have ready access throughout the semester to a notebook computer that
meets faculty-approved hardware and software requirements for the student’s academic program. See
http://www.clayton.edu/hub/itpchoice for full details of this policy.
Technology
requirement:
You must have Microsoft Office Professional installed on your laptop. This is available as part of the
CSU Technology fee. Go to the following web site to schedule installation: http://www.clayton.edu/hub.
You must have access to the Internet, either through the local area network on campus, or through an
Internet Service Provider (ISP) of your choice (the costs for the ISP are your responsibility). No excuses
will be accepted for inability to access the Internet. Please note that America Online (AOL) may not
work very well with GA View (Desire2Learn). Also, be aware that Apple computer may have some
issues with GA View (Desire2Learn), too. Generally speaking, iPad tablets are not compatible with flash
players.
You must have a CSU e-mail account, which you are required to check on a regular basis (everyday).
You must also be able to access class material on the GA View (Desire2Learn). Your HW will be posted
on the GA View(Desire2Learn) as announced in class or via email. All grades will be posted on the GA
View. I make every effort to ensure that the grades are accurate; nevertheless, it is your responsibility to
check for errors. My preferred method of communication is email ([email protected]).
Assessment and Grading
Testing
Procedures:
Grading
Procedure:
There will be a mid-term exam plus a final examination. All of the exams in this course will be given on
the days and times as it is scheduled in this course syllabus. No make-up exams will be given unless it is
pre-approved by the instructor. Contact me well before the test if you will miss a test for a legitimate
reason (then I will decide if it is acceptable and what shall be done). Failure to take an exam will result in
a grade of zero for that exam.
Exams will be partly multiple-choice and may also include short answer and essay questions. Problem
solving skills will be required. Exams may include material from all reading assignments, all lectures,
and other Internet assignments including MBA Primer (see below). Important points will be emphasized
in class.
Do your own work. You may not use your book or notes during “in class” exams. If you need
assistance, talk to me. I am happy to help, even during an exam. You must have a calculator to use
during exams/quizzes. Make sure to carry your calculator and a few #2 pencils with you, everyday you
come to class and especially on exam days. Cell phones will not be accepted to be used as a calculator
and all cell phones and other electronic devices shall be off or set on silent during the class. Simple
calculators are available at most dollar stores.
HW: HW will be posted on the GA View (Desire2Learn). Points Available: 150
Quizzes on the MBA Primer 3.0 Modules and the Post-Test. Points Available: 100
Attendance and Participation. Points Available: 50
Project (Presentation and Term Paper). Points Available: 250
Midterm Exam. Points Available: 250
Final Exam, Comprehensive final exam covers all material covered through the semester. Points
Available: 250
Total 1050 points possible.
Your Percentage = (Total Points Accumulated) / 10
Mid-term
Progress
Report:
Grading
Scale:
The mid-term grade in this course, which will be issued sometime before Feb 25th, reflects your Midterm
Exam grades only. Based on this grade and your performance in the first four weeks of classes, students
may choose to withdraw from the course and receive a grade of “W.” Students pursuing this option must
fill out an official withdrawal form, available in the Office of the Registrar or online at
http://www.clayton.edu/registrar , before mid-point, which is on 3/1/2013.
90% & above A
80% to 89.99% B
70% to 79.99% C
60% to 69.99% D
Below 60% F
W: Withdrawal from the course before the withdrawal deadline
WF: Withdrawal from the course after the withdrawal deadline
Group Projects and Term paper
Team Work
Participation:
Team Paper
Format:
Sources of
data:
Students must participate in teamwork and choose an economic project to work on during the semester.
For the team building we will use GA View (Desire2Learn) Discussion. Students will present their work
and results in a midterm presentation and end of the semester presentation and they will submit a term
paper to the instructor at the end of the semester.
1) Build your team (at most 4 or 5 members depending on class size). Use GA view (Desire2Learn)
discussion for team building.
2) Find your topic for term paper. It could be related to your current job.
3) Specify your Hypothesis
4) Find the source of available data related to your project and specify the scope and range of data
(which years it covers and if it is National level, State level, County/City level, or
Household/Individual level data)
5) Search for available literature and make a list of available literature with a brief summary of their
main findings and results
A term paper must have the following section:
1. Title
2. Name, affiliation, and email address of the authors
3. Abstract
4. Keywords
5. Introduction and literature review (this literature will be listed in the reference section below)
and how your work is similar to or different from the literature
6. Your hypothesis
7. Your sources of data and its specifications
8. Your model (for example, your regression model)
9. Your main results and discussion of your results
10. Future directions to improve your work
11. References
Below you can find a list of resources for your projects (note that these are a few examples
of the publicly available data only, and there are many more sources of data that are not in
this list):
1) U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) at http://www.bls.gov/
2) U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) at http://www.bea.gov/
3) Census Bureau at http://www.census.gov/
4) Congressional Budget Office at http://www.cbo.gov/
5) US Department of Housing and Urban Development at
http://www.huduser.org/portal/index.html
6) Minnesota Population Center at http://www.ipums.org/
7) National Longitudinal Surveys at http://www.nlsinfo.org/ and
https://www.nlsinfo.org/investigator/
8) Economic Research Service in the U.S. Department of Agriculture at
http://www.ers.usda.gov/
9) Panel Study of Income Dynamics at http://www.psidonline.org
10) Geographic Federal Reserve Economic Data at http://geofred.stlouisfed.org/
11) Federal Reserve Economic Data at http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/
12) Health and Retirement Study at http://hrsonline.isr.umich.edu/index.php?p=data
13) European Commission at
http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/db_indicators/index_en.htm
14) The CESifo Group, consisting of the Center for Economic Studies (CES), the Ifo
Institute for Economic Research and the CESifo GmbH (Munich Society for the
Promotion of Economic Research), at http://www.cesifogroup.de/portal/page/portal/ifoHome
15) Economagic.com: Economic Time Series Page: http://www.economagic.com/
16) National Bureau of Economic Research at http://www.nber.org/data/
17) World Trade Organization (WTO)
at http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/statis_e/statis_e.htm
18) The World Bank at
http://econ.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTDEC/0,,menuPK:476823~p
agePK:64165236~piPK:64165141~theSitePK:469372,00.html
19) International Monetary Fund (IMF) at http://www.imf.org/external/data.htm
20) National Health Interview
Survey http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/quest_data_related_1997_forward.htm
And this list goes on ...
As for current debates in economics go to:
http://www.swlearning.com/economics/econ_debate.html
and for debates on supply and demand go to:
http://www.swlearning.com/economics/econapps/topic_supply.html
Assignments and Participation
Class
Participation:
Punctuality:
Students must participate in all interactive aspects of the course.
All assignments—including interactive and online assignments-- are due on the specified dates and time
which will be announced by the faculty during the semester in class, on the GA View (Desire2Learn), or
via email. Failure to submit an assignment on the date and time specified by the faculty will result in the
loss of the grade of that assignment and make sure to do your HW well in advance.
Course Ground Rules
Attendance at all class sessions is expected and you are responsible for knowing what transpired in every
class. Except in an unforeseen emergency, I expect to be informed beforehand if you need to miss a
class. After each exam, I post the grade on the GA View (Desire2Learn) and let you know. You can then
come and see your exam during my office hours, and review it and ask questions. I will keep your exams
in my office all the time and you can NOT take them with you. However, I will go over the test in class,
as well. You are expected to learn how to navigate in GA View (Desire2Learn), keep abreast of course
announcements in class, use the assigned university e-mail address as opposed to a personal e-mail
address, and be intellectually curious. The Academic Honor Code covers all assignments (projects)-students must abide by policies in the University Catalog, and Graduate Student Handbook. When you
are attending this class, you should turn off your beeper, cell phone, iPod, and other electronic devices
that you have with you. You may use your laptop computer or tablets, when it is required and permitted
by the instructor, in this classroom. While using your laptop to take notes or follow the power-point
notes, any web surfing, email checking, chat, etc. is strictly prohibited and observing such a behavior will
result in dismissal from class. Calculators may be usedduring the exams. Leaving the class in the middle
of a session is not allowed unless it has been authorized by me in advance.
Guidelines for Communications
Email:
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Always include a subject line with ECON6100 at the beginning, for example: “ECON6100 - a
question about HW1”.
Remember without facial expressions some comments may be taken the wrong way. Be careful
in wording your emails.
Use standard fonts.
Do not send very large attachments.
Special formatting such as centering, audio messages, tables, html, etc. should be avoided unless
necessary to complete an assignment (or project) or other communication.
Respect the privacy of other class members.
Use my e-mail address [email protected] to communicate with me--NOT the class e-mail
(listserv), or GA View (Desire2Learn) email, please! I do not check my GA View
(Desire2Learn) email, regularly.
General Expectations
I expect students to:
Attend all scheduled classes. Always be on time.
UNIVERSITY ATTENDANCE POLICY
Students are expected to attend and participate in every class meeting. Instructors establish specific
policies relating to absences in their courses and communicate these policies to the students through the
course syllabi. Individual instructors, based upon the nature of the course, determine what effect excused
and unexcused absences have in determining grades and upon students’ ability to remain enrolled in their
courses. The university reserves the right to determine that excessive absences, whether justified or not,
are sufficient cause for institutional withdrawals or failing grades.
have read the textbook and required supplemental readings before class
turn in assignments when due including the online MBA Primer
check your CSU email on a regular basis
ask questions and participate in class discussion and answer my questions
be intellectually curious
The Academic Honor Code covers all assignments and tests--students must abide by policies in the
University Catalog, and Graduate Student Handbook
For the University's "Graduate Student Responsibilities," go to the following address and check
student code of conduct and policies and procedures. Please familiarize yourself with these
responsibilities as part of your contractual relationship with Clayton State University.
CSU Policy Concerning Children in Classes and On-campus
 Children are not permitted in classrooms.
 Faculty will not allow children to be present in their classrooms. If a student brings children to class,
the student and children must be told to leave the classroom.
 Unattended children will not be permitted on-campus (in hallways, the gym, the library, outside of
buildings, etc.).
 Public Safety (770-961-3540) will be notified if unattended children are observed on campus. If faculty
or staff observe unattended children on-campus, they are responsible for informing Public Safety. The
campus police will take any unattended children to the classroom of the parent, and will get the parent
out of class. The parent will not be permitted to bring such children into the classroom.
 Parents are referred to Student Life (U-258, 678-466-5432) for information concerning childcare
facilities off-campus.
Alternative Format/Disabilities Service
Individuals with disabilities, who need to request accommodations or obtain this document (or any
document in the College of Business) in an alternative format, please contact Disability Service
Coordinator at 678-466-5448 or e-mail [email protected] or visit the website at:
www.clayton.edu/disability. Contact me before the end of first week of classes and let me know about
your situation.
Course Changes
This course syllabus provides a general plan for the course. The instructor reserves the right to make
changes to the syllabus; including: assignments (projects), timetable, and examinations, etc., in order to
accommodate the needs of the class as a whole and fulfill the goals and objectives of the course. If
changes are necessitated during the term of the course, the instructor will immediately notify students of
such changes by e-mail communication and/or announcement in class.
Center For Academic Success
Center for Academic Success (CAS) offers a variety of personalized academic services to all Clayton
State University students, including staff and peer tutoring and multimedia instruction. The CAS
develops and facilitates instructional resources, workshops, and courses to support all students’ academic
success. The Learning Support Program and Supplemental Instruction courses as well as Writing and
Reading Handouts are coordinated by the CAS. Take advantage of their services.