Executive Economics: Ten Tools for Business Decision Makers

As an instructor in a graduate course in managerial economics for non-economists, I have struggled to find texts which would appeal to students and professionals who are sceptical of the value of economics as a discipline which can help in solving business problems.Professor Maital's book is an exception. It speaks directly to executives by focussing on the kinds of strategic problems they face, and introducing fundamental economic concepts by illustration, not by the formalistic exposition of standard texts.I find his book as an excellent way to illustrate key concepts such as opportunity cost, marginal cost, economic versus accounting costs, and other concepts that unfortunately too often mystify students - or turn them off.Even if many of the examples now seem dated, I would heartily recommend this book to both instructors and students who seek to bridge the world of business problem-solving with the tools of theoretical microeconomics.The book is organized in ten highly readable chapters. My favorite quote from the book: "If you face no tradeoffs, your company is poorly managed."

Professor Maital is very clear in his writing style and introduction of these 10 key economic tools. He elegantly analyses series of real life examples and provides clear cut explanations. This is one of those books you cannot put down, a real page turner. The tools are real, the examples are real, and all are very intuitive and simple to implement. This book will positively impact the way you look at your company's operations and profit.

The title of the book really says for it. This is trully a book for very busy executive managers in all kind of businesses. As a senior manager in a number of businesses, I very much understand that while management is about economics of business, little knowledge about economics as a science is known to many managers. The 10 tools for managers as described in the book are almost all the "micro-economic knowledge" business managers should know. This book brings an outstanding approach to studying economics, that is most understandable, practical and effective. I got a MBA in management and am still questioning myself why this book is not yet so popular among all biz schools. It will be, and the approach of the author to "teaching economics" will be popular one day, I believe. Whether you already got MBA or don't ever consider going to study management, I recommend this book to you as a must read. Moreover, there is as much fun as enlightenment reading it.

Professor Maital's book has been used at ECU (Perth, Western Australia) on 'executive' short courses and MBA programs for several semesters. "Executive Economics" has been successfully combined with more 'conventional' or mainstream economics texts. Students have thoroughly enjoyed Maital's exposition of key economic ideas and find the blend of accessible theory backed up by real world examples very helpful in their studies. However, "Executuve Economics" is now rather 'long in the tooth'. The 1990s have provided so much new material for books of this kind. A second edition, revised and updated would be most welcome.

I not only read the book, but had the opportunity to hear Prof. Maitel teach from it, along with other topics, at the M.I.T. Executive Program referenced in the introduction. Very practical approach to everyday problems.