Taken AY2014/2015 Semester 2
BSP1005: Managerial Economics
This is a compulsory module for acc/biz students. If you have taken H2 Economics before, do not rejoice just yet. Around more than half of the content is new, with a heavy emphasis on Game Theory. While there is the usual introduction of demand and supply, elasticities, taxes and subsidies etc, this course goes a lot more in depth. This module is very calculation-based, so forget about those long essays from the bygone era of H2 Econs. Brush up on your mathematics, especially differentiation and simultaneous equations. That being said, the calculations are relatively simple, understanding the concepts and formulas is key towards scoring well in this module.
The lecture is split between two lecturers, Prof Yang Nan and Prof Seunggyu Jung. The former is in charge of microeconomics, while the latter dwells on Game Theory and behavioural economics. I had a hard time understanding Prof Jung’s Korean accent, but towards the end of the course I got used to it and found him to be generally quite an engaging lecturer who focused greatly on the conceptual understanding of his topics. Prof Yang Nan is generally ok, although he can get quite monotonous at times.
The bell curve for this module is AWFUL. Despite doing very well for the group problem sets, case presentation, and class participation, my final grade was still less than desired. I suspect that in order to get a good grade, one must get full marks/close to full marks on the final examination. However, do not be too deterred from taking this module, as I found the content to be quite engaging and useful, and the professors tried very hard to make the syllabus more business-oriented. There is no need to buy the textbook (as stated explicitly by the prof), the lecture notes are more than enough to help you with your revision.
Assessment:
Problem sets – 20%
Case presentation – 10%
Class participation/attendance – 10%
Finals: 60%
Workload:
The workload for this course was moderate. Although my group of 6 people had 2 slackers, the rest of us were still quite dedicated so group work was quite painless overall. We were the first group to present (case presentation), so we got that out of our way quite early. The case presentations get harder as the weeks go by, so be sure to choose one of the earliest slots.
As for the problem sets, they were quite burdensome but on the bright side, its done together as a group. If you’re able to do these sets on your own efficiently, you probably won’t have much problem during the final exam. As such, it’s important to do the problem sets on your own and then corroborate answers with your group mates in order to get sufficient practice.
As stated earlier, the bell curve for the finals is super steep, so aim for full marks if possible.
The micro economic questions were easy, but the game theory questions were very challenging (much harder than those from the problem sets). It really tests your understanding of the concepts, so there’s no point in memorising mindlessly. In fact, a cheat sheet is allowed into the exam, so it can act as a failsafe in case you forget important formulas.
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