Course Description
Decision making within firms and public organizations, using standard microeconomic tools. Transaction costs and the size of the firm, the compensation and motivation of workers, mergers and corporate control, team production, and the theory of bureaucracy.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
A course project or additional exam will be required of graduate students.
Athena Title
ECN OF ORG/MGMT
Prerequisite
ECON 4010
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Economic activity is guided not only by the "invisible hand" of the market, but also by the "visible hand" of management. This class uses microeconomic tools and concepts to understand organizations. The course begins with a general study of markets versus central planning, focusing on the roles of information, property rights, and incentives, and then turns to the nature and the limits of the firm. A series of problems in management organization are then studied.
Topical Outline
Introduction and the Economic Way of Thinking Markets, Organizations, and Knowledge The Nature of the Firm: Transaction Costs and the "Make-or-Buy" Decision Contracting Costs and Economic Organization: Agency, Adverse Selection Decision Rights and the Boundaries of the Firm Compensation and Motivation Performance Evaluation Information Technology and Economic Organization Mergers and the Market for Corporate Control Public and Non-Profit Organizations
Syllabus