MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS
ECOK 508.115 64518 / FINK 508.110 – 84868
SUMMER 2013 – MW: 4:45-7:15 – FOUNDERS HALL 309
Instructor: Dr. Douglas Dyer; Accounting, Finance and Economics
Office: Founder’s Hall, 323 D
Phone: 254.519.5429
Administrative Assistant: Charlotte Wesley 254.519.5762 swesley@ct.tamus.edu
Email:
To: ddyer@ct.tamus.edu Subject: MAN ECON
Response will usually be within 36 hours. If you have not had a reply within that time please
resend your message. I have received emails 14 months after they were sent!
Office Hours: 2:30-4:30 MW or by appointment. Please schedule appointments directly with Dr. Dyer
Blackboard will be an integral part of this course: https://tamuct.blackboard.com/webapps/login/
* * * * * UNILERT * * * * *
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UNILERT is an emergency notification service that gives Texas A&M University-Central Texas the ability to
communicate health and safety emergency information quickly via email and text message. By enrolling in
UNILERT, university officials can quickly pass on safety-related information, regardless of your location.
Please enroll today at TAMUCT.org/UNILERT
BLACKBOARD INFORMATION: we will use BB primarily as a quizzing/testing and documentation
distribution platform.
URL: http://tamuct.blackboard.com
Username: Your Tarleton email address (the complete email address, e.g. john.doe@go.tarleton.edu)
Initial password: Your UID
If you do not know your Tarleton email address, you refer to:
http://www.tarleton.edu/technology/students/email.html, Your Account Information.
If you do not know your UID number, you can look it up at: www.tarleton.edu/uidlookup.
You are strongly recommended to change your initial password. Upon logging on, on the upper right hand side,
under Tools, click on Personal Information. Then click on Change Password.
In addition to the courses in which you are officially enrolled, you will also have access to a course called
Blackboard Student Orientation, which will walk you through this new platform, and give you an opportunity to
get ready for using it this semester.
For technical assistance, you can access the Texas A&M University – Central Texas Blackboard Support
Services. This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at the following contact:
Support Portal: http://www.ct.tamus.edu/bbsupport
Phone: (855)-661-7965
Online chat (through the support portal at: http://www.ct.tamus.edu/bbsupport)
Email: ddyer@ct.tamus.edu Subject: Man Eco is my regular, checked multiple times daily, email address
that should be used for ALL general communication purposes. Course specific emails should be sent within
Blackboard. It is much more cumbersome to use the Bb email (on this end) so if you need a quick response
then also use the ddyer@ct.tamus.edu address in addition to Bb. I will respond within 36 hours unless unusual
circumstances prevail. Response time will be within hours if you use ddyer@ct.tamus.edu Subject: Man Eco!
1.0
Course Overview and description: This course applies basic economic theory and applied statistical
analysis to business decision-making. Topics include the basic supply and demand model, elasticity of supply
and demand, demand and cost estimation, profit maximization, the Porter Five Forces model, game theory and
strategic behavior under different market structures. Credit cannot be earned for both ECO 508 and FIN 508.
Course Prerequisites: Principles of micro and macroeconomics or permission of instructor.
Class Format: We will typically begin each session with a quick review of the material covered in the
previous class. The majority of time will be spent covering new material and solving problems. And best of
all: Q&A! The last few minutes will be used to introduce the material to be covered in the next session. I
always assume that you have read the assigned material before coming to class, so do not expect me to recite a
definition 3 times while you copy it into your notebook. That’s the reason you bought the book!
You do not have to buy the book from the campus bookstore.
2.0
Course Objective: This course develops the underlying structures common to both successful firms and
economies and describes how successful structures can be nurtured and applied to problem-solving at all levels,
from projects to departments to firms to agencies to entire economies. A constant emphasis will be the role of
incentives in shaping the ultimate outcome and optimization under constraint will be used extensively.
2.1 Knowledge Outcomes
In this course you to better achieve goals by applying economic analysis to a wide array of business and nonbusiness problems. A problem-solving approach will be used to achieve this objective, encouraging us to focus
on the application of economic tools rather than allowing ourselves to settle for a purely
theoretical understanding. CLASS DISCUSSION IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THIS COURSE!
Our analytical framework will rest upon three building blocks. The first is that human behavior can consistently
be predicted by a thorough understanding of underlying incentives.. This fundamental assumption of economic
analysis states that people behave rationally, optimally(?) and (usually) self-interestedly. Secondly, economic
efficiency involves facilitating the movement of assets from lower valued uses to higher valued uses. This
promotes economic growth. Finally: “Almost all decisions must be made under conditions of incomplete
information. You have a responsibility to do your best nonetheless”. Various methods of optimization under
constraint will be employed to improve this decision-making process.
2.2 Skill Outcomes:
After completing this course you should be able to:
• Use the incentive-based analysis to predict firm and individual behavior.
• Compute the relevant costs of any decision.
• Use marginal analysis to make extent (how much) decisions.
• Make investment decisions that increase firm value.
• Set optimal prices and price discriminate.
• Predict industry-level changes using demand/supply analysis.
• Develop long-run strategies to increase firm value.
• Use game theory to predict how your actions influence those of others.
• Use calculus to solve single and multi-variable optimization problems.
• Make decisions in uncertain environments.
• Solve the problems caused by moral hazard and adverse selection.
• Align individual, project, and division incentives with the goals of the company or agency.
• Interpret multiple regression outputs.
• Describe and explain the Porter Five Forces Model.
• Identify unconsummated wealth-creating transactions and devise ways to profitably consummate them.
3.0
Required Reading and Textbook(s): The New Managerial Economics, by William Boyes, SouthWestern, Cengage Learning, 2004. Extensive use of Knowledge Wharton:
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/
You are not required to purchase the text from the TAMUCT bookstore.
Some very useful online sites.
[1] www.quickmba.com; [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economics
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supply_and_demand; [4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macroeconomics
[5] http://www.khanacademy.org/ > Finance and Economics [6] http://www.merlot.org/merlot/index.htm >
Business
4.0
Course Requirements:
Requirements for this course include at least online Quizzes, article briefings (from Knowledge Wharton,
(http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/ - an outline will be provided), and class discussion relating the text to
current events in the world of business. (Other reputable article sources are acceptable.)
Quizzes will be given/taken using Blackboard. Quizzes will contain both quantitative and conceptual multiple
choice questions and/or TF questions. Quiz questions will cover material “straight out of the textbook”. Each
Quiz is worth up to 10 points and may be taken three times; the higher score will be used for grade
computations. There will be at least 12 Quizzes and the best 10 Quiz scores will be used for grade
computations. Quizzes are open-book, open-note and are primarily intended as homework assignments that will
help you prepare for Exams.
There will be 8 “article briefings”. See template on BB for further information.
QUIZZES (100 points)
5.0 Grade Calculations:
There are 600 possible points: 10 best quiz scores @ 10 points=100 points, 8 article briefings @ 50 points
each=400 points, class participation=100 points.). Total Points = 100 + 400 + 100 = 600 possible points.
Total Points Earned
600-540
539-480
479-420
419-360
below 360
Grade
A
B
C
D
F
Your grade will be based on Total Points Earned earned.
NOTE: Requests for Incomplete Grades: Incompletes will only be given in emergency or other extreme
circumstances. Any request for an incomplete grade in this course must be approved by the professor
prior to the last week of classes. Where possible, requests should be submitted in written form and must
include an address and/or telephone number where you may be contacted throughout the following
semester. TAMU-CT uses the grade of ‘K’ on transcripts and grade reports to identify incomplete
grades.
There will also be unannounced in-class quizzes, so come to class on time and prepared!
6. Course Schedule: A weekly course schedule will be distributed as a separate document
and also posted on Blackboard.
88888 To Be Posted in Blackboard
Complete Course Calendar: Like all schedules the one below is tentative. If changes are
required they will be announced in class and posted on Blackboard. In my 25+ years teaching
courses have been canceled because of: illness, floods, ice storms, power outages, chemical
spills, bomb threats, etc. If a class is canceled KEEP READING! We will go double-time until
we catch-up with this schedule.
Remember to use ddyer@ct.tamus.edu Subject: Man Eco to contact Prof. Dyer.
7. Drop Policy: If you discover that you need to drop this class, you must go to the Records Office and ask
for the necessary paperwork. Professors cannot drop students; this is always the responsibility of the student.
The record’s office will give a deadline for which the form must be returned, completed and signed. Once you
return the signed form to the records office and wait 24 hours, you must go into Duck Trax and confirm that you
are no longer enrolled. If you are still enrolled, FOLLOW-UP with the records office immediately. You are to
attend class until the procedure is complete to avoid penalty for absence. Should you miss the deadline or fail to
follow the procedure, you will receive an F in the course.
8. Academic Integrity Statement
Texas A&M University - Central Texas expects all students to maintain high standards of personal and
scholarly conduct. Students found responsible of academic dishonestly are subject to disciplinary action.
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating on an examination or other academic work,
plagiarism, collusion, and the abuse of resource materials. The faculty member is responsible for initiating
action for each case of academic dishonesty and report the incident to the Director of Student Affairs. More
information can be found atwww.ct.tamus.edu/StudentConduct.
9. Disability Support and Access
If you have or believe you have a disability and wish to self-identify, you can do so by providing documentation
to the Disability Support Coordinator. Students are encouraged to seek information about accommodations to
help assure success in their courses. Please contact Gail Johnson at (254) 519-5831 or visit Founder's Hall 114.
Additional information can be found at www.ct.tamus.edu/AcademicSupport .
10. Tutoring
Tutoring is available to all TAMUCT students, both on-campus and online. Subjects tutored include
Accounting, Finance, Statistics, Mathematics, and Writing (APA). Tutors are available at the Tutoring Center in
Founder's Hall, Room 204, and in the Library in the North
Building. Visit www.ct.tamus.edu/AcademicSupport and click "Tutoring Support" for tutor schedules and
contact info. If you have questions or if you are interested in becoming a tutor, contact Academic Support
Programs at 254-519-5830 or by emailing gnichols@ct.tamus.edu.
Tutor.com is an online tutoring platform that enables TAMU-CT students to login and receive FREE online
tutoring and writing support. This tool provides tutoring in Mathematics, Writing, Career Writing, Chemistry,
Physics, Biology, Spanish, Calculus, and Statistics. Chat live with a tutor 24/7 for any subject on your
computer. To access Tutor.com, click on www.tutor.com/tamuct.
11.
Library Services
INFORMATION LITERACY focuses on research skills, which prepare individuals to live and work in an
information-centered society. Librarians will work with students in the development of critical reasoning,
ethical use of information, and the appropriate use of secondary research techniques. Help may include, yet is
not limited to: exploration of information resources such as library collections and services, identification of
subject databases and scholarly journals, and execution of effective search strategies. Library Resources are
outlined and accessed at: http://www.tarleton.edu/centraltexas/departments/library/
12. Changes to Syllabus
A syllabus serves as an instructional and study planning document. It may become necessary to
make changes during the course of this semester. If changes are necessary, they will be
announced in class and posted on Blackboard.
13. Expectations
It is extremely difficult to “play catch-up” in this course because every chapter uses the jargon/concepts/tools
developed in previous chapters. So start reading and studying immediately.
What I Expect From You
Respect - This includes be seated and ready to go at the beginning of class!
Regular Class Attendance – This is a discussion-based course!
That You Read and Follow Instructions
That You Use ddyer@ct.tamus.edu with Man Eco in the Subject line to contact me via email
What You Can Expect From Me
Respect
Exams That Cover the Material emphasized in class, On Quizzes, And Covered in Handouts
Exams Returned Promptly and Discussed Thoroughly