University of Southern C alifornia

M arshall School of Business

E C O N 251 - M icroeconomics for Business
Course Syllabus - Spring 2011

This Course Syllabus describes the content, requirements, and rules for this course.
By enrolling in the course you are committing to abide by the policies set by this Syllabus.

1. Instructor

Professor Odilon Câmara

Office: HOH 610 (Hoffman Hall)
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 10:30am to 11:30am
E-mail: [email protected]

2. T extbook and Required Readings

a. Microeconomics by Pindyck and Rubinfeld: Prentice Hall, 7th edition (2008)

(Students may also use the 6th edition).
b. Additional required material (lecture notes, sample quizzes, etc.) will be available on
Blackboard (http://blackboard.usc.edu) as Word or pdf documents. They will not be
handed out in class. You are responsible for timely download of the material.
c. It is always beneficial to do the required reading before class. Also, lecture notes are not a
complete record of what I say in class, so attending lectures, taking notes and asking
questions will be required to successfully complete the course.

3. A bout this Course

a. The main goal of this course is to show how microeconomic models can be used to guide
business decisions. We will study the behavior of consumers and firms, and their
implications to demand, supply and market equilibrium. We will analyze competitive
markets, market failures, and the role of Government. This course will also introduce
basic principles of game theory and competitive strategy.
b. More generally, this course will provide a rigorous foundation for the study of decision
making problems. The student who successfully completes this course should be able to
apply microeconomic analysis to issues of real world interest both within and beyond the
area of business.
c. Although our focus will be on the intuition behind the microeconomic models and their
real world consequences, the use of mathematics (in particular, algebra and calculus) will
be fundamental to analyze and understand such models. For example, you may be asked
to draw and interpret graphs representing demand and supply, to solve a system of
equations describing a competitive market, or to compute the derivative of a profit
ECON251_Syllabus _2011SP.pdf
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 function. MATH 118 is a prerequisite for ECON 251. Therefore, I expect students to
have a good understanding of the material covered in that class.

4. G rading

a. Grades will be assigned according to the following weights:

Quizzes (3 out of 4) 30%

Midterm 30%

Final Exam 40%

b. There will be 4 quizzes. Your lowest quiz grade will be ignored, so that each remaining
quiz corresponds to 10% of your final grade.
c. I do not assign letter grades to individual exams. I will not implement D³FXUYH´RUKDUG
target for the distribution of class grades. Your grade will reflect my best judgment of
your class performance, as indicated by your performance on the exams. However, I will
attempt to follow the 6FKRRO¶V recommended target for the mean GPA: 3.0 (B).
d. Tentative Exam Dates:

Quizzes
(1) Tuesday Feb/01, (2) Tuesday Mar/01, (3) Tuesday Apr/05, (4) Tuesday Apr/26

Midterm Tuesday, Mar/08

Section Final Exam

26377R Wednesday, May/11, 2:00pm to 4:00pm
26378R Thursday, May/05, 4:30pm to 6:30pm
26379R Thursday, May/05, 7:00pm to 9:00pm

e. In rare occasions, the dates of the exams might need to be changed. In that case I will
notify the students through Blackboard as soon as possible.
f. University policy requires the final exam to be given at the time indicated on the
8QLYHUVLW\¶VILQDOH[DPVFKHGXOH No student is allowed to take the final exam early or to
skip the final exam. Instructors do not have discretion to grant exceptions to this policy.
g. T here will be no make-up tests. By enrolling in the course you are committing to take
the tests on the scheduled dates. If a quiz is missed, it receives an automatic zero. If the
midterm is missed for an approved reason, the weight of quizzes and final exam are
increased to compensate for the missed midterm. Approval for a missed midterm will be
rare, and only with appropriate written documentation from an authoritative source
indicating why the student was unable to appear for the midterm. Normally, only a
GRFWRU¶VFHUWLILFDWLRQRIa severe medical problem will suffice.

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 h. Each quiz will address the subject matter that precedes it. The midterm covers the first
part of the course. The final exam is cumulative.
i. Regrades must be requested within one week of the day the exam was returned to the
class. The student must submit a written and precise explanation of why he/she thinks
the grade should be modified. The entire exam will be regraded and the final mark may
go up or down.
j. Returned paperwork, unclaimed by a student, will be discarded after 4 weeks and hence,
will not be available should a grade appeal be pursued by a student following receipt of
his/her course grade.

5. University Student Conduct Code (selected passages)

10.0 General Disciplinary Principles: Students are expected to make themselves aware of
DQGDELGHE\WKHXQLYHUVLW\FRPPXQLW\¶VVWDQGDUGVRIEHKDYLRUDVDUWLFXODWHGLQWKH6WXGHQW
Conduct Code and in related policy statements.

11.0 Behavior Violating University Standards and Appropriate S anctions: General

principles of academic integrity include and incorporate the concept of respect for the
intellectual property of others, the expectation that individual work will be submitted unless
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ZRUN IURP PLVXVH E\ RWKHUV DV ZHOO DV WR DYRLG XVLQJ DQRWKHU¶V ZRUN DV RQH¶V RZQ $OO
students are expected to understand and abide by these principles. F aculty members may
include additional classroom and assignment policies, as articulated on their syllabus.

The following are exa mples of violations of these and other university standards.

11.13 A. Any use of external assistance in the completion of an acade mic assignment and/or
during an exa mination shall be considered academically dishonest unless expressly
permitted by the instructor. The following are considered unacceptable exa mination
behaviors: communicating with fellow students during an exa m, copying material from
DQRWKHUVWXGHQW¶VH[DPDOORZLQJDQRWKHUVWXGHQWWRFRS\IURPDQH[DPSRVVHVVLRQRUXVH
of unauthorized notes, calculator, or other materials during exa ms and/or any behavior
that defeats the intent of an exa m or other classwork; and unauthorized removal of exam
materials.

B. Submission of altered work after grading shall be considered academically dishonest,

including but not limited to changing answers after an exa m or assignment has been
UHWXUQHGRUVXEPLWWLQJDQRWKHU¶VH[DPDVRQH¶VRZQ to gain credit.

11.80 S anctions: Sanctions for violations of the university Student Conduct Code are
assessed appropriately for the cited violation. One or more of the following sanctions may
be imposed for violations of university regulations

11.88 Grade Sanctions: Any disciplinary grade reduction including, but not limited to,
JUDGHVRI³)´IRUDFRXUVHDUHGXFHGJUDGHIRUDFRXUVHJUDGHVRI³)´RU]HURFUHGLWIRU
assignments, or reduced credit for assignments.

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 6. A cademic A ccommodations Based on a Disability

³$Q\ VWXGHQW UHTXHVWLQJ DFDGHPLF DFFRPPRGDWLRQV EDVHG RQ D GLVDELOLW\ LV UHTXLUHG WR
register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification
for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is
delivered to me or the TA as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301
and is open 8:30 a.m. ± 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is
(213) 740-´

7. O ther Policies

a. No laptops or other internet access devices may be used in class for any reason. Please
turn off your cellular phones, beepers and pagers before entering the class.
b. It is your responsibility to regularly access Blackboard (http://blackboard.usc.edu) to
receive any additional material and important announcements related to this class.
c. Students are strongly encouraged to ask questions during class and during office hours.
Most times it is not feasible to give a comprehensive answer to questions sent to me by e-
mail. If you send me a question by e-mail and I believe that it is not feasible to give a
satisfactory answer to that question by e-mail, I will ask you to come to my office hours.

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