USD Office

Coronado 207

Office Hours:

- MW 12:00 - 1:00 PM (in OH 234),
through March 1

- MW 4:30 - 5:30 PM (in OH 234)

- TR 1:30 - 2:30 PM (in OH 234)

Phone: (858) 603-3873

FAX: (619) 260-4891

E-Mail: agin@SanDiego.edu

Syllabus

| Mission Statement | Description | Objectives | Grading | Academic Integrity | Text |

School of Business Administration Mission Statement:

"The USD School of Business mission is to develop responsible business leaders -- socially, environmentally, and professionally -- with a global mindset through academically rigorous, relevant, and values-based education and research.”

This course provides managers with an overview of the economic environment within which business must operate, and an understanding of some of the analytical tools that economists use to solve business and economic problems. The focus is to enable students to identify, understand and evaluate the domestic and global forces causing economic change. Key concepts and ideas from both microeconomics and macroeconomics are introduced. Topics relevant to real-world issues and problems provide the focus for in-class discussion. Upon completion, students are expected to be familiar with the fundamental concepts of economics, and to be able to analyze how changes in the economic environment affect business performance and future strategic options. Prerequisites: GSBA 502 and 510.

At the completion of this course, students will be able to:

• perform supply and demand analysis to analyze the impact of economic events on markets,

• utilize microeconomic concepts in making management decisions,

• analyze the factors that affect the competitive environment of firms and industries,

• compute different measures of macroeconomic activity, and evaluate the shortcomings of traditional economic measures,

• determine the forces that affect the aggregate level of economic activity and the business cycle,

• recognize how monetary and fiscal policy can be used to achieve policy goals, and

• identify the social consequences of national and international economic activity.

Grades in this class will be based on examinations (60%) and out-of-class assignments (40%):

• There will be one midterm exam (worth 30% of your grade) and a final exam (worth 25%). Each exam will have problem, short answer, and essay questions. You may use your notes and book during each exam.  Make-up exams will be given only if you have a written excuse.

• Assignments include the following:

- Homework assignments (20%)

- Team analysis of an industry  (20%)

• Grades will be assigned based on the total points earned during the term, according to the following schedule:

%	Grade
93 - 100	A
90 -92	A-
87 - 89	B+
83 - 86	B
80 - 82	B-
75 - 79	C+
70 - 74	C
65 - 69	C-

Ethical behavior is expected at all times. From the Graduate Bulletin: "Academic dishonesty is an affront to the integrity of scholarship at USD an a threat to the quality of learning. . . Violations of academic integrity include: a) unauthorized assistance on an examination; b) falsification or invention of data; c) unauthorized collaboration on an academic exercise; d) plagiarism; e) misappropriation of research materials; f) any unauthorized access to an instructor's files or computer account; or g) any other serious violation of academic integrity as established by the instructor. An act of dishonesty can lead to penalties in a course such as reduction of grade; withdrawal from the course; a requirement that all or part of a course be retaken; and a requirement that additional work be undertaken in connection with the course."