The University of Texas at Dallas

Global Leadership Executive MBA Program

Business Economics: MECO 6303.PI1

Section: Project Management
Summer 2011: June 6 – August 10
Professor Contact Information | Course Pre‐requisites, Co‐requisites, and/or Other Restrictions |
Course Description | Course Content and Materials | Grading Policy and Evaluation |
Discussion Forum Participation | UTD Policy |

Professor Contact Information

Peter Lewin, Ph.D.

Course Instructor
Phone: (972) 883.2729

Fax: (972) 883.6164

E m a i l :
plewin@utdallas.edu
Office location. SM 3.223

Course Pre-requisites, Co-requisites, and/or Other

Restrictions Back to Top
Math 5304 or equivalent

Course Description

Economics is about the ordinary business of life and it is also the basis for many
courses in Business. It also contains much of the conceptual material necessary
for an intelligent understanding of business life. The approach in this course to the
teaching of economic principles is to try to ensure that students acquire the
necessary conceptual apparatus in a way that is both challenging and interesting.
This is done by attempting to ensure that the material is presented in a lively,
interesting and relevant fashion. We will constantly use current real world
examples to illustrate the application of concepts.

Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes

 Understand and be able to apply the concepts of supply and demand, equilibrium, and the fac
analyze the behavior of real markets when conditions change.
 Analyze the impacts of restricting markets from reaching the competitive equilibrium through pric

 Understand the difference between monopoly markets and competitive markets.

 Understand the nature of production in the modern economy. Be able to identify the profit m
between different types of cost.

In addition, I would like students to take away from this course at least the following:

I. An appreciation of the power of economic reasoning for understanding current events

II. A facility for analyzing everyday economic problems using basic economic analysis

III. An understanding of the concepts of

o supply and demand

o costs and benefits

o and their multiple applications

IV. An appreciation of the role of

o money in the economy

o the dangers of inflation

o the importance of free trade

o the limits of regulation

o the effects of taxes and subsidies of different types

o the workings of the market system is determining earnings (interest, profits, wages, salaries and re

o the modern business firm, its function and its boundaries

 o the achievements of the American economic system

Course Content and Materials:

Back to Top

Text: Economics, 4th ed., Walter Wessels, Barron’s Educational Series,

2006 + supplementary readings

Course Outline Summary

Lesson # Topic
1
Introduction to Economics ‐ assumptions and implications‐ productions possibility curves

(two parts: part A and part B)

2 Demand and Supply ‐ movements along curves vs. shifts of curves. Elasticities of demand and sup
Market Equilibrium.
(Three parts: part A, part B and part C)
3 Economic Policies ‐ Price controls, taxes and subsidies. Minimum wages, rent controls, consumer and p
(two parts: part A and part B)

Test 1 (Covering lessons 1 – 3) January 29 (12 am) – January 31 (11:59 pm) ‐ 1 hour

4 Consumer Theory ‐
The isolated consumer, the consumer in the market (two parts: part A and part B)

5 Producer Theory ‐
Monopoly, competition, production, revenue and costs
(four parts: parts A ‐ D)

Test 2 (Covering lessons 4 and 5) February 18 (12 am) – February 20 (11:59 pm) ‐ 1 hour
6 Production and Growth –
Growth accounting, the cost of living – price indexes
(three parts: part A, B and C)

7 The Financial System –

Saving, investment and financial markets (two parts: part A and part B)
Test 3 (½ comprehensive and ½ covering lessons 6 – 7) March 4 (12 am) – March 6 (11:59 p

Grading Policy and

Evaluation Back to Top

Student Assessment: Grading/Evaluation

There will be three online tests, two midterms (25%) and a semi-comprehensive
final (50%). The tests will be composed of multiple choice questions. In addition
5% can be added to your grade by participation.

Test 1 (covers lessons 1-3) 25% June 24 (12 am) ‐ 26 (11:59 pm) ‐ 1 hour
Test 2 (covers lesson 4-5) 25% July 15 (12 am) ‐17 (11:59 pm) ‐ 1 hour
Test 3 (final, lesson 6-7, and comprehensive) 50% August 5 (12 am) ‐7 (11:59 pm) – 2 hour
Bonus for class participation 5%

I do not use the traditional grading cutoffs. I use ones that are more generous,
based on the whole class performance.

Tests

There are three exams for this course. Anyone missing an exam will
automatically receive a grade of zero for that test. Exceptions for documented
medical or family reasons may be permitted. Where possible, either the course
manager or I should be contacted prior to the time of the exam. At my discretion,
either a make-up exam will be scheduled or a reallocation of the weight to
remaining examinations will be made. Exams will be based on the assigned
reading material and class lectures.

The timed examinations are located on Blackboard. You can take the exam at any
time during the three day interval. Once you begin, you have a set time to
complete the exam. You can only take the examination once. Examinations are to
be done individually. Evaluation is based on the correctness of the response.

The following are the grades that are possible to earn in this class.

A, A‐, B+, B, B‐, C+, C, C‐, and F, X.

Discussion Forum

There is a possible maximum bonus of 5% for participation in the discussions –

found on the Discussion Board. Pay attention to when they come online and when
they expire. Even if you don’t post it is a good idea to read the discussions.

UTD Policy on Cheating: Back to Top

Students in this class will be held to the standards established by Regents’ Rules
and Regulations (Part One, Chapter VI, Section 3, Subsection 3.2, Subdivision
3.22) which states: Candidates are expected to be above reproach in scholastic
activities. Candidates who engage in scholastic dishonesty are subject to
disciplinary penalties, including the possibility of failure in the course and
dismissal from the University. “Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited
to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, the submission for credit of any work or
materials that are attributable in whole or in part to another person, taking an
examination for another person, any act designed to give unfair advantage to a
student or the attempt to commit such acts.” Professors randomly use
“Turnitin.com” to screen papers against other published works on the web to
insure against plagiarism.

eLearning Information:
Technical Information
In addition to a confident level of computer and Internet literacy, certain
minimum technical requirement must be met to enable a successful learning
experience. Please review the important technical requirements and the web
browser configuration information.

Course Access and Navigation

This course was developed using a web course tool called eLearning. It is to be
delivered entirely online. Students will use their UTD NetID account to login to
the course at: http://eLearning.utdallas.edu. Please see the course access and
navigation information. To get started with an eLearning course, please see the
Getting Started: Student eLearning Orientation. UTD provides eLearning
technical support 24 hours a day/7 days a week. The services include a toll free
telephone number for immediate assistance (1‐866‐588‐3192), email request
service, and an online chat service. The UTD user community can also access the
support resources such as self‐help resources and a Knowledge Base. Please use
this link to access the UTD eLearning Support Center:
http://www.utdallas.edu/elearninghelp.

Communications
This eLearning course has built‐in communication tools which will be used for
interaction and communication. Some external communication tools such as
regular UTD email and a web conferencing tool may also be used during the
semester. Please see more details about communication tool information.

Interaction with Instructor

I will communicate with students mainly through the Discussion Boards and
Course Announcements. Students may send personal concerns or questions
to me using my personal email, plewin@utdallas.edu tool. I will reply to student
emails or Discussion Board messages within 3 working days under normal
circumstances. Interaction with other students: You may communicate and
interact with other students using either email, discussion board or the
Collaboration tool shown on the course menu.

Student Resources
The following university resources are available to students:
UTD Distance Learning:
http://www.utdallas.edu/oee/distance/students/cstudents.htm

McDermott Library: Distance Learners (UTD students who live outside the
boundaries of Collin, Dallas, Denton, Rockwall, or Tarrant counties) will need a
UTD‐ID number to access all of the library’s electronic resources (reserves,
journal articles, ebooks, interlibrary loan) from off campus. For UTD students
living within those counties who are taking online courses, a Comet Card is
required to check out materials at the McDermott Library. For more information
on library resources go to http://www.utdallas.edu/library/distlearn/disted.htm.