UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON
FINA 4334. Section 22356
MANAGERIAL ANALYSIS
SPRING, 2008
Instructor: Hilda Maraachlian
Phone: (713) 743-4766
Fax: (713)743-4789
E-mail: hmaraachlian@uh.edu
Course Information: www.uh.edu/webct
Office: 230 J Melcher Hall
Hours: Tue, 5:30–6:30PM & appointments
Class Time: Tue, Thu, 4:00-5:30PM
COURSE OVERVIEW AND OBJECTIVES:
The objective of this course is to give you a working knowledge of the analytical tools
that bear most directly on the economic decisions firms must regularly make. The course
will emphasize on market structure and industrial performance, including the strategic
interaction of firms. We will examine the behavior of individual markets -- the producers
and consumers that sell and buy in those markets -- focusing on cost analysis, the
determinants of market demand, pricing strategy, market power, and the implications of
government regulatory policies.
COURSE WEB PAGE: www.uh.edu/webct
TEXTBOOKS:
Microeconomics and Behavior, 6th edition by Robert Frank,
McGraw-Hill/Irwin (Required)
Microeconomics, 6th edition by Pindyck and Rubenfield, Prentice
Hall (Recommended).
Principles of Microeconomics, 3rd edition by Robert Frank and Ben
Bernanke, McGraw-Hill/Irwin. (Recommended).
PREREQUISITES:
Junior standing, ACCT 2332, MATH 1313, MATH 1314, and
ECON 2304.
GRADING:
Midterm Exam: 35%
Homework: 25%
Class Participation: 5%
Exam II: 35%
ANY/ALL MISSING OR LATE HOMEWORK WILL RECEIVE
A ZERO. ADDITIONALLY, THERE WILL BE ABSOLUTELY
NO GRADE CHANGES, UNLESS IT IS AN INSTRUCTOR
ERROR AND IT IS ADDRESSED WITHIN TWO (2)
CALENDAR DAYS.
-1-
EXAMS:
Exams will be based on class lectures and homeworks. The
lectures will [generally] correspond to material covered in the
readings. Please note the following, (1) periodically the lectures
will encompass more material than is covered in the readings, and
(2) the lectures [often] will not cover everything that is in the
assigned readings. Hence, attending class and taking good notes is
very important. In addition, all the lectures will be made available
on the course website.
EXAM DATES:
Midterm Exam: TUESDAY, March 4, 2008 .
Exam II Exam: THURSDAY, April 24, 2008.
POLICY ON HOMEWORK SETS EXAMINATIONS AND GRADING:
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
Exams will be closed book. Absolutely no collaboration is permitted on exams.
Make-up exams will NOT be given. If an emergency arises, you should contact
me immediately, and present valid proof to take a make-up exam.
Homework will be assigned in class. Collaboration among students is not
permitted.
Handwritten homework is fine as long as it is neat and legible.
Late homework will not be accepted.
Homeworks are due at 4:00 pm (beginning of class) on the respective due date.
Any missing homework will automatically receive a grade of zero.
Grades are final and NOT subject to negotiation, unless you note a professor
error, which needs to be addressed within two (2) calendar days.
READINGS & COURSE PROCEDURE:
ƒ
ƒ
Readings (from the textbook) will be assigned before the class and posted on the
course website. These readings are mandatory and students are required to read
the material before class.
The Socratic Method will be applied in this course to develop critical thinking
skills and stimulate student participation while contemporaneously providing an
environment where students develop understanding through questioning.
Students are expected to come to class prepared by having read the topic to be
discussed before the respective class begins. Additionally, on the day of the
respective class, students will be chosen, in class, to answer questions and lead
discussions related to the day’s lecture.
-2-
STUDENT CONDUCT:
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
Late arrivals are disruptive to both the instructor and class discussion, and show
disrespect to the attendees. Class starts at 4:00 pm sharp, so please do not come
late to class. If you are more than 10 minutes late, please don’t disturb the class.
Students cannot leave the class early unless they have obtained prior permission.
All laptop computers and hand-held devices are to be turned off during class.
All cell phones and pagers are to be placed on “silent” or “vibrate” mode during
class and are to be used exclusively for emergencies or critical personal matters;
emergency cell phone conversations or pager call-backs are to be executed
outside of the classroom.
After class has begun all ancillary conversations are to cease and desist.
You should act respectfully towards all class participants.
Each student should be familiar with the “Bauer Code of Ethics and Professional
Conduct” before taking this class.
Students are expected to attend each class. Students who miss a class are
responsible for all the materials and announcements presented in class.
UNIVERSITY POLICIES:
Academic Honesty: The University of Houston Academic Honesty Policy is strictly
enforced by the C.T Bauer College of Business. No violations of this policy will be
tolerated in this course. A discussion of the policy is included in the University of
Houston Student Handbook, http://www.uh.edu/dos/hdbk/acad/achonpol.html. Students
and expected to be familiar with the policy.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: The C.T. Bauer College of Business
would like to help students who have disabilities achieve their highest potential. To this
end, in order to received academic accommodations, students must register with the
Center for Students with Disabilities (“CSD”) at (713) 743-5400, which has a wide
variety of academic support services to all currently enrolled students who have any type
of mental or physical disability of either a temporary or permanent nature. Such students
must present approved accommodation documentations to the instructor in a timely
manner.
-3-
COURSE OUTLINE AND WEEKLY SCHEDULE (Tentative):
ƒ
Weeks 1 & 2: (January 15-24)
o Course Overview.
o The Basics of Supply and Demand (Chapters 1 and 2).
ƒ
Week 3: (January 29 & 31)
o Rational Consumer Choice (Chapter 3)
ƒ
Weeks 4 & 5: (February 5-14)
o Rational Consumer Choice.
o Individual and Market Demand (Chapter 4)
ƒ
Week 6 & 7: (February 19 - 28)
o Individual and Market Demand (Chapter 4)
o Choice under Uncertainty (Chapter 6).
ƒ
Week 8: (March 4 & 6)
o Midterm Exam (March 4)
o Imperfect Competition/Game Theory (Chapter 13)
ƒ
Week 9: (March 11 & 13)
o Imperfect Competition/Game Theory (Chapter 13)
ƒ
Weeks 10 & 11: (March 18-27)
o Spring break
o Imperfect competition/Game Theory (Chapter 13)
ƒ
Weeks 12 &13: (April 1-10)
o Perfect Competition (Chapter 11)
o Monopoly (Chapter 12)
ƒ
Weeks 14: (April 15 & 17)
o Monopoly (Chapter 12)
ƒ
Week 15: (April 22 & 24)
o Review for Exam
o Exam II (April 24)
------------------------
-4-