Course content
The objective of this course is to provide the student with a thorough understanding of microeconomics applied to the problem of managerial decision-making. The first step in achieving this objective is to understand how to model economic behavior. The student will learn how a manager chooses production inputs based on marginal productivity, prices, and various other economic variables. The student will learn to develop an economic model through the use of algebra and basic calculus. The student will gain a feel for the art of choosing assumptions to set up and solve a meaningful problem. The second step in achieving the objective is to build an understanding of the many economic problems. The student will examine economic problems in consumer theory, production, technology, cost analysis, profit analysis, and market interactions. When the foundations of the course have been established the key concepts are applied in more complex settings like market structures, game theory, competition, pricing, and other managerial decision making models relevant to the service industry.
20 x Lecturing (L1-L20)
The course consists of 20 lectures (L1-L20) each of 3 x 45 minutes. The lectures will explore the core areas of the theory requiring a considerable amount of self-study. It is advisable with 4-6 hours of preparation for each lecture.
8x Active workshops (W1- W8)
Workshops (W1-W8) consist of 6 x 45 min each. The workshops consist of theoretical and empirical problems and cases. They are part of the curriculum. Naturally these active learning and feedback sessions will correspond to the content and headlines of the previous lectures. The workshops are very important for the learning process. The workshops can be solved individually or in groups.
3 x Technical workshops
These workshops focus on updating and developing technical skills necessary to complete the course. There will be a workshop on mathematics for economics during the beginning of the course, usually scheduled on a saturday, and workshops on optimization with MS Excel. These workshops are extremely important in order to possess the skills necessary to get optimal learning out of the course and do well in the exam.
See course description in course catalogue