Course Catalogue
2012/2013
Year 1
1 / Mathematics / 3 / 4,5 / A / …1
2 / Laboratory of Entrepreneurship / 4 / 6 / A / …1
3 / Financial Accounting / 3 / 4,5 / A / …2
4 / Microeconomics / 4 / 6 / A / …2
5 / Economic Statistics / 2 / 3 / A / …3
6 / Research Methods I / 2 / 3 / A / …4
7 / Managerial Economics with Production Management / 3 / 4.5 / A / …5
8 / Organization & Management / 2 / 3 / A / …5
9 / Macroeconomics / 5 / 7.5 / A / …6
10 / Management Accounting & Finance / 3 / 4.5 / A / …7
11 / Marketing / 2 / 3 / A / …8
12 / Business Law / 2 / 3 / A / …9
Year 2
14 / International Economics / 4 / 6 / A / ..10
15 / International Finance / 3 / 4,5 / A / ..11
16 / Econometrics / 4 / 6 / A / ..12
17 / Business Ethics / 2 / 3 / A / ..12
18 / Market Research / 2 / 3 / A / ..13
19 / Financial Economics / 8 / 12 / A / ..13
20 / Economic Anthropology / 2 / 3 / A / ..14
21 / European Union Issues / 2 / 3 / A / ..15
22 / Accounting & Finance / 4 / 6 / A / ..16
23 / Consumer Behaviour / 2 / 3 / A / ..16
24 / Strategy / 3 / 4.5 / A / ..17
Year 3
25 / Political Economy / 4 / 6 / A / ..18
26 / Specialization Course: Economics / 5 / 7,5 / B / ..18
27 / Specialization Course: Finance / 5 / 7,5 / B / ..19
28 / Specialization Course: Marketing / 5 / 7,5 / B / ..19
29 / Specialization Course: Entrepreneurship / 5 / 7,5 / B / ..20
30 / Research Methods II / 2 / 3 / B / ..21
1
Year 1
1. Mathematics
Lecturer: Håkan Lyckeborg, Vitālijs Jasčišens
Objectives
At SSE Riga mathematics is a tool to be used in many of the courses to come, e.g. micro- and macroeconomics, statistics, finance and market research. Among the indispensable mathematical tools students of modern business and economics need are calculus for functions of one and several variables, and optimization with or without constraints. Another important tool, in particular in econometrics, is linear algebra. The course in mathematics will present these and other topics in a way that will give the students the necessary skills to apply the mathematical tools in the courses to come.
Taking the SSE Riga students’ various backgrounds in mathematics into account, the course will start at a fairly elementary level to get those with a somewhat weaker mathematical background started. The course will then proceed with more advanced material not covered in the secondary school curriculum. After completion of the course, the students should be able to master the tools presented in the course and hence be well-prepared for the quantitative courses they will encounter at SSE Riga.
For students interested in further developing their skills in mathematics for economics and business, the Department of Economics offers the course “Advanced Mathematics” as an elective course for second and third year students.
Organization
The course comprises lectures and problem sessions/colloquia giving the students an opportunity to apply the concepts presented in the lectures. Students are supposed to solve the problems before attending the problem sessions. Since the only way to learn mathematics is through practice, students are encouraged to solve all the problems in the text book.
Examination
A written exam at the end of the course.
2. Laboratory of Entrepreneurship
Lecturer: Fionn Dobbin, Andrejs Strods
Objectives
After successful completion of this course, you will have acquired a fundamental understanding of entrepreneurship. In particular, you will be more alert to entrepreneurial opportunities and have a basic understanding of how to evaluate these opportunities, identify necessary resources and understand the basic processes at work in a business start-up. This course will also provide you with information on how a business organization functions: something, that is crucial to know not only for those who might be interested in starting their own business, but also plan their careers in international consultancy firms, take management positions in big companies, operate in the financial sector, governmental and non-governmental organizations or academic institutions. The “paramedic” approach we take in this course will help you learn the language of business, while at the same time prepare you for your future studies at SSE Riga.
Organization
The course is organized as follows:
· Lectures and Guest lectures
· Panel Discussions
· Readings
· Home assignments
· Student Lectures
· E-challenge
Grades
You will receive a grade based on the international ECTS scale. In order to collect your points, the course will have four examination elements: the E-challenge, Project work, Class involvement as well as Home Assignments mainly aiming to measure how well you have understood the assigned reading material. The evaluation is comprised of the following:
Maximum %E- challenge & Report / 40 %
Project work & Report / 20 %
Class involvement / 20 %
Home assignments / 20%
Total / 100 % = 200 points
3. Financial Accounting
Lecturer: Gunnar Lindholm
Objectives
Financial accounting course covers the three financial statement reports – income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement, financial ratio analysis and an introduction into equity valuation.
The financial accounting course takes the users´ perspective and the objective is to enable the participants:
· to understand the contents, measurement and interaction between income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement
· to analyse the financial statements
· to evaluate the performance of a company in terms of profitability, financial position and liquidity
· to develop a computer-based financial planning model for a real company to be familiar with basic equity valuation techniques.
Organization and Examination
The course will be in form of lectures, seminars and group exercises followed by a final test. The course also includes a project conducted in groups of two. The aim of the project is to create a financial planning model for a real company and with help of the model forecast and analyze the future development of the company. The participants will present their projects in the class. Skills in Excel are required.
Evaluation of the participants´ performance will be based on the final test and on the project. The final test is graded according to the grading system in the Participants´ Handbook. The project is graded Passed / Failed. Those who fail will be asked to upgrade the project.
4. Microeconomics
Lecturer: Morten Hansen
Microeconomics is the field of economics, which deals with the decisions of individual agents in the economy. “Agents” may sound like spies but it is economics speak for persons, households, firms and the government.
On the demand side of the economy we have individual consumers: Which are the driving forces behind their choices on:
· how much to work to obtain income?
· how much to spend and to save from this income?
· which goods and services to buy?
On the supply side we have individual firms: What determines:
· how much labour and other inputs they will employ to produce goods and services?
· which goods they will provide?
· and in which quantities?
The interaction between demand and supply will be a central issue; so will a third agent’s (the government) attempt to influence demand and supply.
Put together, these questions are supposed to answer the fundamental question of economics, which may be formulated as:
· how to allocate efficiently scarce resources among alternative uses in order to satisfy (optimally) unlimited human wants
Objectives
To answer this essential question (which may sound very strange first time you see it) we need to define precisely what is meant by allocate, efficient, scarce, resources, alternative uses, satisfy, optimal, human wants – and this we shall do.
At first glance, and perhaps as it is described here, microeconomics may look confusing and perhaps even uninteresting (!). When people think of topics of an economic nature they usually name inflation, unemployment, budget deficits, exchange rates etc – and all of these phenomena are certainly interesting – but they belong to macroeconomics.
The understanding of microeconomics is, however, fundamental to the understanding of all other economic phenomena – and to understand economics in general.
And by the way, it is microeconomics that influences your everyday life. You make several decisions every day, which can be explained by microeconomics!
Organization
Only the first 7-8 weeks are for lectures, however, the remainder is for writing a report.
The amount of lectures is equivalent to app. 60 academic hours. In addition, there will be some 10-12 problem sessions where you will be split up in four groups. These sessions will be run by student TAs.
Course evaluation:
Mid term exam, written, 2 hours, no books: 25%
Paper, written by a group of typically four: 25%
Final exam, written, 3 hours, no books: 50%
5. Economic Statistics
Lecturer: Morten Hansen
Economic Statistics is best seen as a course, which provides tools to solve issues in other courses but the course certainly also has merit on its own.
Some examples:
· Microeconomics: Is a particular good income elastic?
· Microeconomics: Is a particular good price elastic?
· Macroeconomics: Does money demand depend on the interest rate?
· Marketing: Does a particular advertising campaign raise sales?
· Medicine: Does a new headache pill work better than previous products?
· Production: Is the weight of boxes of chocolate within acceptable limits?
Etc. etc.
Objectives
Statistical methods can provide the answers!
Much of statistics deals with making inference about a population using a sample from this population. Is a particular good income elastic? It would be cumbersome and very expensive to ask all Balts about this – but asking a small subset, a sample, may provide very useful answers about the whole population. This requires the use of various techniques relying on different distributions of so-called random variables.
Topics to be covered are:
· Probability theory
· Random variables
· Discrete probability distributions: Binomial, Hypergeometric, Poisson
· Continuous probability distributions: Exponential, Normal
· Sampling
· Sampling distributions: Student’s t, χ2, F
· Point estimation
· Interval estimation/Confidence intervals
· Hypothesis testing
Organization
The amount of lectures is equivalent to app. 45 academic hours. In addition, there will be some 10 problem sessions where you will be split up in four groups. These sessions will be run by student TAs.
Course evaluation:
Final exam, written, 3 hours. Weight in overall grade: 100%
Books allowed, notes allowed, calculators allowed
6. Research Methods I
Lecturer: Dr. Ivars Austers, Dr. Rita Kaša
In this course we explore the connections between epistemology, methodology and methods in qualitative and quantitative social scientific research. The course will ask us to think critically about the ways in which we produce knowledge claims, about the ethics and impacts of our research practices, and to reflect on the practice of “making meaning” through research. There will also be an emphasis on understanding and experiencing various stages of a research project, from conception and planning to analysis and reporting.
This course serves as an introduction to the theories, practices and methods of scientific research. It aims
· To introduce students to key debates about knowledge and method within social science research.
· To examine the implications of these debates for specific research strategies and methodologies.
· To critically examine how knowledge is produced within social research by looking at specific research areas (e.g. research into the household behaviour, consumption, labour market) and key issues within the research process (e.g. objectivity, empiricism, ethics).
· To facilitate an understanding and an ability to apply the key methodological principles in the design of different types of research.
· To be able to specify the key features of research design.
Organization:
There are three main strands of the course, each designed to equip students with the skills necessary to start their own independent research, and to complete the tasks in other courses. The first strand is lectures. The second – intensive seminars in smaller groups. The third is a project work – critical evaluation of one of the most commonly used research methods in economic and business studies.
Course evaluation:
· Seminar participation: 60 points (4 seminars 15 points each)
· Assignment: 30 points (linked to OM)
· Quizzes: 30 points (2 quizzes 15 points each)
· Final test: 80 points
7. Managerial Economics with Production Management
Lecturer: Andris Strazds, Dr. Ingolf Ståhl
Objectives:
The course is oriented towards two different, but nevertheless related, areas. The first area may be labelled as traditional cost accounting topics in managerial economics. The second area is oriented towards planning methods and process management.
Already at this point we would like to say a word of warning about this course. Managerial economics is a difficult topic, since it is a curious mixture of technical terminology, a number of rather trivial ideas, but also economic ideas that are rather deep and therefore not so simple. In particular, the foundations of what may be called "economic thinking" partially come from managerial economics. Further, managerial economics is an important topic, in that it deals with concrete decision problems that every one of you will later on encounter in real-world firms.
Organization:
Practically, the course will be divided into two parts. During weeks 2 and 3, the management accounting topics will be covered by Andris Strazds. Planning methods and process management issues will be covered by Ingolf Ståhl during weeks 4 and 5.
Course evaluation:
There will be a single grade for the course, which is based on the average numerical score obtained in both parts of the course (Managerial Economics and Simulation of Business Processes), each part accounting for 50% of the total score.