Module ECOS2121: MICROECONOMICS

Department: Business School (Economics and Finance) [Queen's Campus, Stockton]

ECOS2121: MICROECONOMICS

Tied To

• N102: Business with Placement Year (see Undergraduate Handbook 2014-2015 for details)
• N200: Business (see Undergraduate Handbook 2014-2015 for details)
• N300: Business Finance with Placement Year (see Undergraduate Handbook 2012-2013 for details)
• N402: Financial Accounting
• N420: Business Finance
• NN34: Accounting and Finance with Placement Year (see Undergraduate Handbook 2012-2013 for details)
• NN43: Accounting and Finance

Pre-requisites

Corequisites

Excluded Combinations

Aims

• By the end of the module students should:
• understand the nature of 'business organisation': why firms exist and how internal structure determines efficiency.
• appreciate the application of microeconomic theories to business decision making.
• evaluate managerial and behavioural models of the firm.
• understand how businesses acquire and process information.
• appreciate the role of elementary game theory.

Content

• The module draws upon: intermediate microeconomic theory and applications.
• rational behaviour of consumers and suppliers.
• cost analysis and its role in decision-making.
• profit-related objectives and the consequences of non-profit making objectives.
• market failure and externalities.
• the organisational context of decisions.
• competition and decision-making.
• uncertainty and imperfect information.
• decision matrices, decision criteria and decision trees.
• utility theory and its limitations.
• the nature of co-operative and non-co-operative solutions.

Learning Outcomes

• Be familiar with the basics of utility theory, profit maximisation and price theory
• Have an appreciation of important aspects of business behaviour, market structure and competitive policy

• Be able to use models to analyse microeconomic behaviour

• Written communication - writing clearly and concisely, setting down precisely the justification for any statement you make. This is developed through work submitted for formative and summative assignments
• Planning and time management through meeting strict deadlines for the submission of summative work
• Computer literacy and information retrieval by word-processing the summative assignment

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Teaching is by lectures, seminars, and revision lectures. Learning takes place through attendance at lectures, preparation for and participation in tutorial classes, and private study. Formative assessment is by means of an essay and an optional on-line multi-choice test. Summative assessment is by means of a written examination plus a written assignment.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment

A compulsory 1000 word essay. An optional on-line multi-choice test.