The application of Business Economics to business decision making remains the key driving force in firm profitability. This fundamental course provides a portfolio of tools from micro-economics and macroeconomics that can be used in the analysis of firm profit maximisation. It introduces participants to dealing with managerial decision-making via introductory economics.
Lecture 1 defines Business Economics and discusses the main economic systems that exist in the world today. The discipline of Economics is discussed as mainly concerned with the production & consumption of goods and services.
Lecture 2 discusses Demand as the amount customers are willing and able to buy in a given period; focus is given to understanding the relationship between price and quantity demanded – the Demand Curve. The lecture explores the concept of Elasticity of demand; that is, Identifying the influences on consumer demand and the responsiveness of consumer’s demand to changes in prices, income and the prices of other products.
Lecture 3 discusses Supply as the amount producers are willing and able to produce at each and every price. The determinants of supply and influences on supply such as the effect of subsidies and indirect taxes are explored as well as break-even analysis; this demonstrates how a business is able to work out the feasibility of its production model. The forces of demand and supply come together to create equilibrium prices and quantities.
Lecture 4 discusses the determination of the equilibrium point, exploring the application of equilibrium prices and quantities in different markets. There is also a comparison of the market system with other types of economic systems, as these all address the issues of demand and supply in different ways.
Lecture 5, our concluding session, discusses profit maximization, as well as summarises content from all sessions.
Learning outcomes
The learning outcomes for this course are:
- A clear understanding of the functioning of a free market economy
- A fundamental understanding of the forces of demand and supply
- An appreciation of the importance of profit maximisation in a business.
Classes
Session 1: What is Business Economics?
Session 2: Demand
Session 3: Supply
Session 4: Market equilibrium
Session 5: Profit Maximization
Required reading
Gregory, M, Taylor Mark P and Ashwin A (2013), Business Economics, 1st edition, United States: CENGAGE learning.
Typical week: Monday to Friday
For each week of study you select a morning (Am) and an afternoon (Pm) course, each course has five sessions, one each day Monday to Friday. The maximum class size is 25 students. Your weekly courses are complemented by a series of two daily plenary lectures, exploring new ideas in a wide range of disciplines. To add to the learning experience, we are also planning additional evening talks and events.
| c.8.00am-9.00am |
Breakfast in College (for residents) |
| 9.00am-10.30am |
Am Course |
| 11.15am-12.30pm |
Plenary Lecture |
| 12.30pm-1.45pm |
Lunch |
| 1.45pm-3.15pm |
Pm Course |
| 4.00pm-5.15pm |
Plenary Lecture |
| c.6.00/6.15pm-7.15/7.30pm |
Dinner in College (for residents) |
| c.7.30pm onwards |
Evening talk/event |
Evaluation and Academic Credit
If you are seeking to enhance your own study experience, or earn academic credit from your Cambridge Summer Programme studies at your home institution, you can submit written work for assessment for one or more of your courses.
Essay questions are set and assessed against the University of Cambridge standard by your Course Director, a list of essay questions can be found in the Course Materials. Essays are submitted two weeks after the end of each course, so those studying for multiple weeks need to plan their time accordingly. There is an evaluation fee of £65 per essay.
For more information about writing essays see Evaluation and Academic Credit.
Certificate of attendance
A certificate of attendance will be sent to you electronically within a week of your courses finishing.
