Introduction

This course introduces managers to the essence of business economics – the theories, concepts and ideas that form the economist’s tool kit encompassing both the microeconomic and macroeconomic environments. Microeconomic topics include demand and supply, elasticity, consumer choice, production, cost, profit maximization, market structure, and game theory while the Macroeconomic topics will be GDP, inflation, unemployment, aggregate demand, aggregate supply, fiscal and monetary policies, and exchange rates. In addition, basic concepts in international trade and finance will be discussed.

It is important for managers to have a solid understanding of the economic climate within which their business operates along with an understanding of the economic factors involved in internal decision making. MGT 606 covers macro and microeconomics and is one of several courses, including accounting, finance and marketing, in the MSM and MBA programs, that together constitute the fundamental business disciplines.

Course Outcomes

1. Use supply and demand to explain various economic phenomena and principles.
2. Explain the measurement and importance of GDP, inflation, unemployment, money, and trade. Explain the economic meaning of price, elasticity, and production costs. Describe the cause and effect of changes in all of these variables.
3. Draw and analyze cost and revenue curves that maximize profit. Discuss differences and critically analyze the pros and cons of different market structures, including competitive, monopolistic and oligopolistic markets.
4. Read and explain the content of economic materials from a secondary source (such as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, etc.) Relate economic concepts to these real world events and critically evaluate the impact of economic policy.

Course Format and Structure

This course is fully online. To access the course, please visit stevens.edu/canvas . For more information about course access or support, contact the Technology Resource and Assistance Center (TRAC) by calling 201-216-5500.

Course Logistics The course will employ lectures, class discussion, in-class collaborative practice problems, individual homework, student video submissions, and two exams that will test the students’ grasp of the concepts covered in the course, as well as their ability to apply those concepts. There will also be a discussion of current events in news articles to illustrate how concepts discussed in class are relevant in practice.

Instructor’s Online HoursI will be available via email and will respond as soon as I am available (generally within 24-48) hours. When emailing me, please place in the subject line the course number/section and the topic of the email (i.e. MGT606WZ– Assignment 2 Question). This will help me tremendously in locating your emails quicker when I scan the hundreds of emails that seem to make it into my box each day.*

Virtual Office HoursVirtual Office Hours are a synchronous session (through Zoom) to discuss questions related to weekly readings and/or assignments. Office hours will be held Thursdays 3-5pm EST. To connect to the weekly session, go to announcements to find the session ID.

Online Etiquette GuidelinesYour instructor and fellow students wish to foster a safe online learning environment. All opinions and experiences, no matter how different or controversial they may be perceived, must be respected in the tolerant spirit of academic discourse. You are encouraged to comment, question, or critique an idea but you are not to attack an individual. Our differences, some of which are outlined in the University's inclusion statement below, will add richness to this learning experience. Please consider that sarcasm and humor can be misconstrued in online interactions and generate unintended disruptions. Working as a community of learners, we can build a polite and respectful course ambience. Please read the Netiquette rules for this course:

• Do not dominate any discussion. Give other students the opportunity to join in the discussion.
• Do not use offensive language. Present ideas appropriately.
• Be cautious in using Internet language. For example, do not capitalize all letters since this suggests shouting.
• Avoid using vernacular and/or slang language. This could possibly lead to misinterpretation.
• Keep an “open-mind” and be willing to express even your minority opinion.
• Think and edit before you push the “Send” button.
• Do not hesitate to ask for feedback.

Textbook

Economics (5thth Edition), by Paul Krugman and Robin Wells, McMillan Publishing. Sapling Access for the textbook is required. This is the platform where homework assignments will be submitted. The Sapling site gives access to an e-book. Students can, for an additional fee, purchase a paperback or hard cover copy of the textbook.

Other Readings: Students are encouraged to read articles from The Economist, and to follow Ben Bernanke’s Blog: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/ben-bernanke/ (Links to an external site.), Gregory Mankiw’s Blog: https://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/ (Links to an external site.) and Paul Krugman’s blog : krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/