Syllabus for Managerial Economics - Bus Adm 320

SHELDON B. LUBAR SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

Lecture 403 is on Mondays and Wednesdays at 10:00-10:50AM in Lubar Hall N140

Spring Semester 2008, 3 credits


INSTRUCTOR: Richard D. Marcus, Ph.D. Associate Professor and Chair of the Lubar School of Business Executive Committee

OFFICE: S430F in Lubar Hall. My mailbox is on the fourth floor of Lubar Hall

OFFICE HOURS: Mondays 11:00AM to 12:30 PM in S430F and by appointment.

OFFICE TELEPHONE: 229-4103

HOME TELEPHONE: 228-7731

E-MAIL: marcus@uwm.edu

HOMEPAGE: http://www.uwm.edu/~marcus

TEXTBOOK: McGuigan, Moyer, and Harris, Managerial Economics, 11th Ed., 2008 (Required).

MIDTERM TESTS: There will be two midterm examinations of 50 questions each. The midterms are scheduled below in the Schedule of Classes on Monday, February 25 for Midterm 1; and Monday, April 7 for Midterm 2, during our regular class period.

FINAL EXAMS: The final for Lecture 403 will be held on Friday, May 16, 2008 at 10:00-noon. The final will consist of 50 questions.

GRADES: Each midterm is worth 30% of the total points and the final is worth 30% of the points.  In the discussion sections associated with lecture 403, the teaching assistant, Mr. Kai Chen, will distribute a few graded problems that will be completed and turned in during the discussion section. There will be one make-up quiz available for discussion section during the stated TA office hours of 11-12:30PM on Wednesdays. The scores on discussion section of problems will amount to 10% of the course grade, or 170 total questions throughout the semester. The sum of the two midterms, the discussion problems, and the final will determine the grade in the course, with the maximum number of points being 50+50+50+17 = 167. There are no "extra credit" points available. Typically, students who amass points at (or above) the mean for the course receive a B or better. Scores will be posted by the last on Desire2Learn at: http://d2l.uwm.edu/.

TEACHING ASSISTANT:  Mr. Kai Chen (kaichen@uwm.edu) is highly knowledgeable in the field of economics, and is an teaching assistant. He is a doctoral student in finance. Discussion Sections are test-prep sections for you, he will go over questions used in recent examinations. Kai Chen is in S329 in Lubar Hall. His phone number is 414-229-2540.

TA OFFICE HOURS: Kai Chen's office hours are on Wednesday's from 11:00AM to 12:30PM and by appointment.

CLASSROOM POLICIES: UWM has long-standing policies on academic misconduct, sexual harassment, discrimination, adding, dropping, withdrawal, repeating classes, and changes of grade. These policies are available at: http://www.uwm.edu/~marcus/policies.html. Policies on disabilities, religious observances, call up to active military duty, and appeals is available at: http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/SecU/SyllabusLinks.pdf.

SPECIAL NEEDS: If anyone has a need for note-taking or testing assistance, please feel free to discuss this with me early in the semester. Paper handouts of slide presentations are available weekly in class. They are also available on Desire2Learn (D2L). In addition, answers to selected questions from the textbook are available on Desire2Learn at http://d2l.uwm.edu/ by using your UWM email name and password.

OBJECTIVE: Apply the tools of economics to managerial decisions.


Weekly Schedule of Classes and Discussion Sections

Week #1 of January 22-25: Chapter 1- Introduction to Managerial Economics and Chapter 2 - Fundamental Economic Concepts

Discussion #1 on January 24: Chapters 1 and 2. There will be ungraded questions discussed and answered in the discussion sections.


Week #2 of January 28-February 1: Appendix 2A Differentiation Used in Managerial Economics and Chapter 3 - Demand Analysis (with an emphasis on the use of elasticities)

Discussion #2 on February 1: Discussion Problems from Appendix 2A and Chapter 3, only ungraded questions will be presented this week.


Week #3 of February 4-8: Chapter 4: Estimation of Demand and Appendix 4A on Problems in Applying the Linear Regression Model

Discussion #3 on February 8: Discussion Problems in Chapter 4, both three graded and ungraded questions this week.


Week #4 of February 11-15: Chapter 5 - Business and Economic Forecasting

Valentine's Day Discussion #4 on February 14: Three graded and ungraded practice questions on Chapter 5 this week.


Week #5 of February 18-22: Chapter 6 - Managing Exports (with an emphasis on the supply and demand of foriegn exchange)

Discussion #5 on February 21: Discussion Problems from Chapter 6 will be distributed, but there will be no graded questions this week. Review of the material for midterm 1.


Midterm #1  is February 25 in class with 50 questions.

Week #6 class on February 26 Chapter 7 - Production Economics

Discussion #6 on March 1: Discussion Problems from Chapters 7, ungraded questions will be presented this week and your T.A. will return your first midterm to you and discuss what the scores mean. Midterm results will also be posted on D2L at http://d2l.uwm.edu/ by Wednesday afternoon, February 27, 2008.


Week #7 of March 3-7: Chapter 8 on Cost Analysis and Chapter 9: Application of Cost Theory

Discussion #7 on March 6: Discussion Problems from Chapters 8 and 9, both three graded and ungraded questions will be presented this week.


Week #8 of March 10-17: Chapter 10 - Pure Competition and Monopolistic Competition

Discussion #8 on March 13: Discussion Problems from Chapter 10. There will be some ungraded questions, but no graded questions distributed in class this week.


Spring Break for the Week of March 17-23, 2008. There are no classes this week!


Week #9 of March 24-28: Chapter 11 - Monopoly and Dominant Firms

Discussion #9 on March 27: Discussion Problems from Chapter 11. There will be three graded questions and other ungraded questions.


Week #10 of March 31 -April 4 Chapter 12 - Oligopoly and Cartels

Discussion #10 on April 3: Problems from Chapter 12 and review for midterm #2. No graded problems in discussion this week.


Midterm #2  is on Monday, April 7, 2008 in class (based on Chapters 7 - 12).

Week #11 class on April 10: Chapter 13 - Introduction to Game Theory Analysis

Discussion #11 on April 11: Problems from the end of Chapter 13 will be presented. Only non-graded questions this week. Your Midterm will be returned and briefly discussed. Your score will be posted on D2L at http://d2l.uwm.edu/ by Wednesday afternoon April 9, 2008.


Week #12 of April 14-170: Chapter 13: Business Strategy Games, Rivalry, and Multiperiod Games

Discussion #12 on April 17: Problems from Chapter 13, with three graded and other non-graded questions this week.


Week #13 of April 21-25: Chapter 14: Price Discrimination and the Pricing of Multiple Products

Discussion #13 on April 24: Discussion Problems from the first half of Chapter 14, both two graded and other ungraded questions this week.


Week #14 of April 28-May 2: Chapter 14 - Pricing in Practice and Revenue Managment

Discussion #14 on May 3: Discussion Problems from the second half of Chapter 14. There will only ungraded questions distributed this week.


Week #15 of May 5-9: Appendix 15A - Auction Design and Information Economics

Discussion #15 on May 8: This discussion will be a review for the final and ungraded questions from Appendix 15A..


The Final is based on Chapters 12, 13, 14 and appendices, and 16 (pages 719-735), and assigned appendices.

The final will be given on Friday, May 16, 2008 at 10:00 AM to Noon. Congratulations to those who graduate on May 18, 2008. Scores and grades will be posted on D2L at http://d2l.uwm.edu/ by Wednesday afternoon May 21, 2008.