EST392: Engineering and Managerial Economics
Credits: 3
Instructor: Anthony J. Pennings, PhD
Dates August 28 – December 20
Time: Monday and Wednesday 10:30 - 11:50 AM
Location: IGC B103
Email:
Things to think about when emailing your professor:
http://www.wellesley.edu/socialcomputing/Netiquette/netiquetteprofessor.html
Office: A309
Office Hours:
Monday, 2pm – 4pm
Tuesday, 2 pm – 4pm
Course Description
Applications of fundamental economic principles and systems analysis to problems of planning and design in financial, manufacturing, media or service sectors of industry. It combines macro and micro perspectives to help analyze business environments and to understand how decisions are made that allocate a firm’s scarce resources.
Learning Objectives
Describe the characteristics of money and banking
Understand how markets work and the importance of the price system
Learn the fundamentals of supply and demand
Recognize how inflation and deflation emerge in an economy
Critique how central banks monitor the economy and facilitate monetary policy
Discern the challenges of competing in oligopolistic and monopsonistic markets
Understand the concept of public goods and how they differ from private goods
Grasp the unique economic characteristics of media products
Analyze the "economic way of thinking"
Use economic thinking to assess individual and public choices concerning scarce resources
Understand consumer and firm behaviors
Distinguish between inverse, direct and zero relationships
Understand the conditions that give rise to the economic problem of scarcity
How Your Course Grade Will Be Determined
You can obtain a maximum of 100 points in this class.
Assignments
Note/workbook (15 points)
Fed Bio and Beige Book Presentation (5 points)
Fed Simulation Summary and Analysis (10 points) (6-10 paragraphs)
Midterm Test (15 points)
Individual “Expertise” Report on Market Structure (15) (8-12 paragraphs)
Group Report on Industry Market Structure (15 points)
(15-25 pages)
Final Presentation on Group Report (5 points)
Peer Evaluation of Group Participation (5 points)
Final Test (15 points)
Total 100 points
Attendance is required for all classes. 3 unexcused absences will result in the loss of a letter grade. 3 unexcused instances of being late will equal one absence. Missing 20 percent of the course meetings will result in an automatic F for the class in accordance with SUNY Korea policy.
Resources
Required
Pennings, A. (2015) The Fed Watcher’s Handbook. Publisher: Amazon CreateSpace Publishing Platform; 1st edition.
ISBN-13: 978-1511536400
Understanding Media Economics. Second Edition
by Gillian Doyle (2013) SAGE
ISBN-13: 978-1412930772
Blog posts will be made available to support course content.
Optional
Chatterjee, P. (2014) Economics for Engineers. Kindle edition.
Publisher: Vrinda Publications P Ltd.; 1e edition.
Grading
Notebook (15 points)
You will maintain a written notebook of ideas, lists, drawings, discussions, reflections, dialogue, mindmaps, cartoons, charts, sketches, ruminations, criticisms, goals, etc. No laptops are allowed to be used during class unless a specific assignment has been made which requires its use. Phones are allowed for limited use. 15 pages minimum.
You will paste a QR code on the front cover of the notebook that links to a webpage with your name and picture. This may be used for attendance.
Central Bank Simulation (Total 20 points)
The class starts with an analysis of money and banking and the importance of monetary policy. We will quickly begin a simulation of the Federal Reserve Bank’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to reinforce key economic ideas related to money, markets, and the role of banking in a nation’s economy. Students will take on the role of a member of the FOMC (See Fed Watcher’s Handbook) and will be assigned to play the role of an actual FOMC member or Fed Governor. Some of the members are:
Charles L. Evans, Chicago
Dennis P. Lockhart, Atlanta
John C. Williams, San Francisco
Esther L. George, Kansas City
Loretta J. Mester, Cleveland
Eric Rosengren, Boston
Christine M. Cumming, First Vice President, New York
Jerome H. Powell, Board of Governors
Bio and Beige Book Presentation
The first assignment will be a short presentation of the biography and job description of an actual FOMC member. Members from different teams who will play the same person will work together. Include the following:
Picture of the person you are representing as well as relevant background.
Map of the district
Top industries
Major cities
Major newspapers
Review of key data from the Beige Book. For example, here is the information on the Dallas Federal Reserve bank district.
http://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/beigebook/beigebook201603.htm?Dallas
Submit the PowerPoint presentation for grading.
FOMC Simulation
An in-class simulation will occur where each pair of students will represent a Fed member, report on their area, vote on Fed policy, and help construct the minutes of the meeting as well as a press release. The simulation will occur in class, a day or two before the actual FOMC simulation.
Members of the Board of Governors, who do not represent geographical areas, need to research and present other types of information depending on the BOG representative’s interest.
At the end of the simulation, each individual student will write a summary of the simulation called the Fed Summary and Analysis, see instructions in the Fed Watcher Handbook.
Tests (Total 40 = 2 x 15 points)
Two tests will be given on the texts, lectures, and class discussions. Only select portions of each chapter will be used so attendance at every class is highly recommended. The tests will be multiple choice but may contain some essay or short essay questions.
Market Structure Research Project
Topic: Analyze the “market structure” of an ICT related industry in Korea (Smartphone, Automobile, Shipbuilding) Market structure is a term to describe the state of competition among firms buying or selling similar or related products. Your group should pick a particular product to study and each student will analyze one company producing that product. At the end of the semester the groups will combine the expertise papers into a final report.
Individual “Expertise” Paper (15 points) 10-12 paragraphs.
Specific topic to be worked out with group. Paper is individually graded and then returned to be integrated in with the larger group paper.
See writing criteria at: http://apennings.com/writing-criteria/ Be sure to include a Bibliography with all sources reviewed and used.
Group Project (15 points)
Combine market structure papers into a final product. Add intro and conclusion. Be sure all fonts and other styles are consistent. Endnotes are numerically sequenced and consistent. Bibliography contains all research reviewed.
Both expertise and final projects will be evaluated based on the following criteria.
Organization, Content, Research, Style, Impact (See apennings.com)
Group Presentation (5 points) 5 to10 slides using Pecha Kucha (optional), a six-minute presentation technique composed of slides that advance automatically every twenty seconds and are accompanied by a live narration. Also see “Steve Jobs Presentation Techniques”
Assignments are due on the last day of the week they are listed under.
Schedule
Fall 2017Week / Subject / Readings I / Readings II / Tasks / Due
28-Aug / Introduction / Intro
4- Sept / Money and Markets / FWH: C1-3 / ME C1: pp. 1-4 / Form Groups, Assign BOG & Presidents
11-Sept / Banking and the FOMC / FWH: C 4-6 / ME C1: pp. 5-11 / FOMC Meeting
18- Sept / Monetary Policy / FWH: C 7-8 / ME C1: pp. 12-13 / Presentations / FOMC Meeting / Simulation
25- Sept / Monetary Policy / FWH: C 9-10 / ME C1: pp. 14-15 / Presentations / Test 1 Money
2-Oct / No classes / ME: C1 / ME C1: pp. 16-18 / No classes Groups for Final Project
9- Oct / Market Structures / ME: C2 / No class on Monday
16- Oct / Market Structures: Digital Production / ME: C2 / Fed Analysis Due
23- Oct / Market Structures: The Firm / ME: C3
30- Oct / Market Structures: Networks / ME: C4 / FOMC Meeting / Simulation
6-Nov / Market Structures: / ME: C5 / Expertise Paper Due
13-Nov / Market Structures: / ME: C6
20-Nov / Intellectual Property / ME: C7 / Group Presentations
27-Nov / Social Media/Advertising / ME: C8 / Group Presentations
4-Dec / Public Policy / Group Presentations / Final Paper Due
11-Dec / Review / ME: C9 / Wed Finals start
18-Dec / Review / Test 2
Key: ME – Media Economics; FWH – Fed Watcher’s Handbook
Academic Integrity
Note that the University’s Academic Integrity Policy will be strictly enforced. Please adhere to SUNY Korea’s honor code. Infractions will be reported to the Office of Student and Academic Services.
Written Work
Assignment over six pages must conform to APA or other established guidelines and styles. Pocket Guide to APA Styleby Robert Perrin is a useful reference to check APA citations and styles. All assignments may be submitted via TurnItIn.
Electronic copies must contain appropriate metadata and file names. The file nomenclature for this class will be discussed as part of the assignment but must contain the first initial and last name, course number, assignment, and date, For example, apennings_392_Finalpaper_may5.docx. PDFs are accepted along with a Word file if you feel it will maintain the integrity of your document layout and design.
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If you have a medical, psychiatric or learning disability and require accommodations in this class, please let me know early in the semester or as soon as you are eligible.
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Guidelines for Student Success
1) Come to class on time
2) Pay attention to the lecture and your fellow students
3) Avoid distractions such as conversations with friends and cell phone or other electronic equipment.
4) Do not sleep in class.
Excessive disruption of the class or inattention may result in no credit for coming to class that day. I will allow up to three unexcused absences before subtracting a letter grade from your final grade. Please communicate in advance when you expect to miss a class.
Any student caught plagiarizing or cheating will be reprimanded and may fail the course.
Before turning in your work, please edit and proofread it. One way of not being accused of plagiarism is to cite your sources. See writing criteria
Please contact me if you have any problems related to the course.
Communications Strategy
Email is the best way to communicate with me. I will be updating you as to other types of communication throughout the semester.
Media Pledge
(Please sign and return by the third week)
I request the use of a laptop or ______in this class for note taking and research or other activities assigned by the professor. I agree to limit my media use to activities relevant to the class. I understand the use of digital media in the classroom is a privilege and not a right and I will use it primarily for note taking and some additional research on class topics. I understand that if I distract classmates or fail to respond to or participate effectively in class discussions I will be marked absent for the day. Excessive distraction of classmates will result in me not only being marked absent, I may be asked to leave for the duration of the class period. Lastly, I agree to turn off said media during times when the request is made for collaborative and/or educational purposes.
Signed ______Date ______