HCBE Faculty Articles

From Ford to Friedman: Teaching Microeconomics to Business Students

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

e-Journal of Business Education and Scholarship of Teaching

ISSN

1835-9132

Publication Date

2014

Abstract/Excerpt

Teaching microeconomics to MBA students offers a unique set of challenges and opportunities to instructors. That is, the process of teaching business students may differ considerably, but in predictable ways, when compared to the classroom experience commonly found in liberal arts programs. While it is certain that all students are consumers, most MBA students possess, or are in the midst of obtaining, a mindset characteristic of firms and producers. As a result, some topics can be reframed within this producer-focused mindset in order to be particularly effective. For instance, elasticity discussions can be reframed by stressing the goal of revenue generation for producers, and elasticity's role in supporting this task. Additional differences experienced when teaching MBA students include a larger variation in the skills, background and motivation of students. This note delves into some issues to be tackled by an instructor with experience teaching economics in a liberal arts setting who is then tasked with teaching MBA students, and presents some suggested solutions and teaching applications to help aid in this endeavor.

Volume

8

Issue

2

First Page

100

Last Page

111

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