Syllabus for EIO-520



Economic Issues in Organizations explores the complex relationship of strategic economic issues within an organization and the organization's interaction with other firms in the industry. The course begins with a brief overview of the basic economics of the firm and uses those principles to drive an analysis of the firm’s assignments and interactions with other firms. The course examines different market structures to see how overall economic structure affects decision making and interactions; this basic structure will be used to analyze competition with other firms in obtaining resources, setting prices to maximize profits, and reacting to decisions of competitors. The course also examines methodologies for evaluating results and explores ways to use that analysis in making future decisions.


After completing this course, you should be able to:

  1. Discuss the concepts that underlie the economics of the firm in terms of costs, revenues, profitability, and profit maximization.
  2. Explain the effects of economies of scale in terms of the decision to add production capacity and its effects on cost structures and profit maximization.
  3. Analyze the decision making process within a firm and the sometimes adversarial interaction of senior management with the owners of a firm.
  4. Assess the vertical boundaries of the firm and evaluate make-or-buy decisions and decisions about transfer pricing mechanisms.
  5. Compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of diversification.
  6. Discuss the four market structures and how competition affects profitability and decision making in each.
  7. Evaluate market entry and exit strategies.
  8. Analyze strategic firm and product positioning, including the costs and benefits of a decision to change strategic direction.
  9. Analyze the difficulty of creating and sustaining competitive advantage.
  10. Evaluate performance measurement approaches and how best to utilize them.



Required Textbook

ISBN-13: 978-0470373606


Economic Issues in Organizations  is a three-credit online course, consisting of five modules. Modules include topics, learning objectives, study materials, and activities. Module titles are listed below.


For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in online discussion forums, complete written assignments, and complete a final paper. See below for more details.

Consult the Course Calendar for assignment due dates.

Discussion Forums

You are required to complete fourteen online discussion forums.



Online Discussions Evaluation Rubric

Written Assignments

You are required to complete five written assignments. The written assignments are on a variety of topics associated with the courses modules. In each module you analyze a question and synthesize module concepts in a paper of 2-3 pages (500-700 words). If you feel it is necessary, you may bring outside resources into these papers. If you do, be sure to cite any sources correctly in APA style.

Written Assignment Evaluation Rubric

Final Paper

You are required to write a graduate-level paper, due on the last day of the semester. The paper should cover a current event with a focus on issues relevant to course concepts. You may choose the topic on your own, but the topic and a description of proposed applications must be approved by your mentor before work begins. A reminder to obtain approval appears in Module 4.

The chosen event serves as a springboard to demonstrate an understanding of concepts and information covered in the course. The event should be broad enough to allow you to apply learning, draw reasoned conclusions, and make recommendations on best practices relative to the event.


Final Paper Evaluation Rubric

A Note About Research

The use of Wikipedia or other online encyclopedias for graduate-level papers is inappropriate. Aside from the uneven quality of the information that may be found in these sources, the real issue is that the information presented in these sources is "already digested." Use of such sources is an unacceptable shortcut for the graduate student. Students gathering information from these sites are essentially obtaining analyses done by someone else, not doing the work themselves. Rather than exploring the literature on a subject, such students are merely using the words of others who have already taken this vital step in academic research. It is imperative that graduate students be able to search the more academically-oriented literature, sift through useful (and not so useful) information, analyze, synthesize, and report the results of their assignments. All of these steps are bypassed if information is cited from an online site such as Wikipedia. To sum up: Using information summarized or annotated by someone else is an unacceptable shortcut for a graduate student.


Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:

























Below 73



First Steps to Success

To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:

Study Tips

Consider the following study tips for success:




Academic Dishonesty











Examples of Unintentional Plagiarism 

When to Quote and When to Paraphrase

Writing Assistance at Smarthinking

Originality Report Checking at Turnitin


Disciplinary Process

