BU5210: Economic Analysis Plymouth State University Winter 2012 Instructor: Dr. Daniel S.C. Lee Date: November 28, 2011 February 19, 2012 Office: HYDE 206 Office Phone: 535-2225 E-mail: sclee1@plymouth.edu Technical Support: HelpDesk at x2929 or online Textbook: Paul G. Keat & Philip K. Y. Young, Managerial Economics: Economic Tools for Today s Decision Makers, Prentice-Hall, Inc., 6 th Ed., 2006 Course Objectives This course is designed to demonstrate how to use economic theory to make business decisions. Since today s business climate demands managers who can make decisions involving the best use of an organization s scarce resources under conditions that change rapidly, emphasis will be placed on the practical application of relevant concepts. Topics to be covered include: demand estimation; forecasting techniques; production and cost analysis; optimization under various market structures; and strategic pricing decisions. Learning Outcomes This course addresses the two COBA learning outcomes as follows. Students demonstrate each in the following ways: 1) Knowledge of the fundamentals of the business functions This course explains how the firm makes pricing and output decisions. In doing so, it discusses how the firm should optimize, depending on the market structure within which it operates and changing economic conditions. 2) Quantitative analytical ability This course concentrates on primarily the development of quantitative and analytical skills. The student is expected to learn to estimate demand using regression analysis, forecast turning points in the economic cycle using the economic index approach, and to analyze contemporary economic events by applying economic theories discussed in class.
Grading Your semester grade will be based on the following weights: Eight Case Studies: 40% (50 points each) Eight Quizzes: 24% (30 points each) Two Exams: 30% (150 points each) Everyone starts with 6%. Grading scale 950-1000 A 900-949 A- 850-899 B+ 800-849 B 750-799 B- 700-749 C+ 650-699 C 600-649 C- <600 F Distribution of quiz points # of quiz questions points 1 15 30 2 15 30 3 15 30 4 15 30 5 15 30 6 15 30 7 15 30 8 15 30 total 240 Sequence of Daily Assignment Each chapter is assigned with one week, in which daily assignments are organized as follows: Day Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday-Sunday Task Power-Point Lecture / Quiz Discussion Quiz Discussion Quiz Discussion / Take the quiz Case Study (initial response) Read instructor s comment; And post final answer.
Quiz After taking Power-Point lecture on Monday, students will do exercise problems in the problem set assigned for each chapter. In doing so, students are expected to engage in quiz discussion. Students are encouraged to communicate and exchange ideas with their classmates via the discussion board from Mondays to Wednesdays. Create one thread per question so that discussion can be followed easily. In order to encourage participation in the discussion, extra-credits will be awarded for substantive posts. Refer to the Extra- Credit section below for details. After enough thoughts and communication on the problem set, students should take the quiz by Wednesday midnight each week. But the quiz will still be available by Sunday. There is no time limit for taking the quiz. The instructor will monitor student participation on this quiz discussion and may provide hints and additional guidance if necessary. The quiz comprises 15 questions (two points each), which will be randomly selected from the assigned problem set. Therefore, participating in the quiz discussion and understanding the problem set will be absolutely critical to the successful completion of the subsequent quiz and case study. Case studies By Thursday midnight, students should post an initial case study response on the discussion board. Although it is optional, submitting the initial response by Thursday is a good idea since a student will get the instructor s feedback specific to his/her post. Students can do this by replying to the post titled, Post initial response here. Case study often requires a diagram, which can be done in MS Word and be attached to a post. A student may also hand-draw, scan and attach it to his/her post. Students should review the instructor s comments before turning in the final answer by Sunday midnight. Students will post the final answer under the post titled, Case Study #. The case study will be graded based on the grading rubric provided below. Students may participate in the case study discussion by submitting posts under Participate in the discussion here between Friday and Sunday. Enter a subject of your topic in the subject line. Discussion Grading Rubric Letter grade Description Points excellent The answer is entirely correct. 50 fair The answer is mostly correct but has minor errors. 40 poor The answer is mostly incorrect; or it has less than 200 words. 30 No credit It does not contain a required diagram. 0
Extra Credit for Participating in the Discussion Board In order to encourage and motivate student participation in the quiz discussion, extra credits will be awarded each module. The number of qualifying posts will be counted for each student, and top four students in the total number of qualifying posts will get the 5 extra-credits. Each module is a fresh new round of competing for this extra-credit. A qualifying post will have at least 60 words and must be posted by 5 AM on Wednesday so that other students have chance to read them before taking the weekly quiz on Wednesday. Any post submitted past the deadline won t be considered for the extracredit purpose. A day after each exam, students may help each other understand questions in the exam by participating in online discussion. Every student who submits at least four posts with the minimum of 60 words will be rewarded with 10 points, which will count toward the exam score with the maximum score for the exam being 150. For example, a student who received 130 in an exam may raise it to 140 by engaging in this after-exam discussion. Citing the sources on the Web may be allowed; but any materials copied and pasted will not be considered for the extra-credit purposes. Exam There are two exams in this course, making up 30% of the final course grade. An exam may be taken anytime during the designated exam period (Monday Saturday). On Sunday following each exam period, we will hold an exam discussion for extra-credit on a voluntary basis. Extra-credits (10 points) will be counted toward the exam score for those who posted at least four posts with the minimum of 60 words each post. Refer to the tentative course schedule for exam periods. The exam will comprise 30 multiplechoice questions (5 points each). The total of two hours will be given for the exam. Students may prepare for the exam by reviewing the problem sets. Exams are NOT accumulative. Academic Integrity Students are encouraged to become familiar with the University s Policy on Academic Integrity found in the following webpage. http://www.plymouth.edu/registrar/policies/academic_standing.html The instructor would like to make a special note regarding case studies. Plagiarism has been noticed in case studies over the past semesters. It may be tempting to copy and paste someone else s work, especially minutes before the deadline. However, copying any portion of an existing work won't be allowed. The first time violation will result in zero for the relevant case study. The second time violation will result in F for the entire course.
Tentative Course Schedule Week Date Topic(s) Chapter(s) 1 Nov 28 - Dec 4 Introduction 1, 2 Demand & Supply 3 2 Dec 5-11 Elasticity 4 3 Dec 12-18 Demand Estimation 5 4 Jan 2-8 Forecasting 5 5 Jan 9-14 Midterm Exam Chapters 1-5 Jan 15 Exam discussion (optional) 6 Jan 16-22 Production & Cost 6, 7 7 Jan 23-29 Market Structure and 8 Output & Pricing Decisions 8 Jan 30 - Market Structure and 9 Feb 5 Output & Pricing Decisions 9 Feb 6-12 Special Pricing Practices 10 10 Feb 13 18 Final Exam Chapters 6-10 Feb 19 Exam discussion (optional)