1 Business Economics I Introduction Petar Balachev Office: Jaume Office hour: Friday, 11:15h.-12:15h. TAs: Niccolo Pisani, Elena Reutskaja,

2 Theme of the Course The course provides an introduction to business. It proposes to explain the behavior of actors and their interactions in a business environment.

3 Business Economics What does it mean – Business Economics? Theory about Management of the Firm a)The Firm:  What is the Firm?  Why does the Firm exist?  In what field does the Firm operate?  With whom does the Firm interact? b) The individuals: inside and outside the Firm

4 Business Economics Is this theory useful? How and for who? Future entrepreneurs and businessmen External parties

5 Recommended Literature “Managerial Economics and Organizational Architecture”, Brickley, Smith and Zimmerman, 1997 (BSZ) “Teoría Contractual de la Empresa”, Arruñada,1998 (BA)

6 1.Human Behavior and Economic Rationality. BSZ – 2 ; BA-1. 2.Markets and Organizations. BSZ-3 ; BA-2 3.Coordination through Contracts. BSZ-7 ; BA-3 4.Relations with Suppliers. BSZ-15 ; BA-4 5.Quality and Management. BSZ-17 ; BA-5 6.Labor Relations and Teams. BSZ-9, 12 ; BA-6 7.Financial Relations. BA-8 Topics

7 Teaching Methodology Each topic introduces: (Campus Global – Aula Global - MATERIALS D'ESTUDI - Materials complementaris)  Important notions and theoretical concepts  Real life and empirical Examples that illustrate the concepts  The main limitations of the concepts  Practicing your newly acquired knowledge during the Practice sessions

8 Requirements Students are required: To know the English definitions of important notions To be able to illustrate these definitions with examples To have a critical assessment of each notion

9 Objective To provide you with knowledge about the theory of the firm To motivate you to learn and consider the theory and its applications from a CRITICAL perspective To emphasize that Business and Ethics are not antonyms

10 Advice Note the English definitions. Draw the pictures and the key examples Read your notes after and/or before each class Construct your own examples Ask what you don’t understand Think by yourself

11 Evaluation The course will be graded on a final exam (85%) and on Homeworks (15%). The final exam will consist in Multiple Choice Questions and a short essay on a managerial issue. The course and the exam are in English. The exam can be answered in Catalan, Spanish, and English. The homeworks MUST be done in English.

12 Message The management of an organization is both a science and an art.  It is a science because human behavior can be understood by general laws.  It is an art because each individual, each behavior and each business is unique.