Undergraduate (BS Program)

Courses Offered

Department of agribusiness is successfully conducting different courses for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics such as:

• • • AGB 101 Principles of Management
    • AGB 131 Principles of Marketing
    • AGB 161 Agribusiness Management
    • AGB 203 Price Analysis I
    • AGB 306 Agricultural Marketing
    • AGB 333  Price Analysis II
    • AGB 361 Rural Entrepreneurship
    • AGB 366 Supply Chain Management
    • AGB 404 Managerial Economics
    • AGB 434 Operations Research

Course offered to other faculty

• AGB 501 Livestock and Poultry Marketing & Agribusiness (DVM)

Existing Syllabus for BS (Agricultural Economics)

 Year 1, Summer Term (1^st term)

Course code and title: AGB 101 Principles of Management, Credit hour: Theory (3) + practical (0)

Contents: Definition of management from different context, approaches of management, nature and functions of management, importance and process of management, levels of management, management skills, functions of management, roles performed by managers. Henri Fayol’s 14 principles of management, need of planning, importance of planning in business management, advantages and limitations of planning, steps in planning process, features of planning, planning process. importance of organizing, nature/characteristics of an organization, steps to be followed in the organizing function of management, classification of organizations, relationship between formal and informal organizations, nature of staffing function, staffing process – steps involved in staffing, importance of manpower planning (staffing), employee selection process, difference between selection and recruitment, meaning of directing, definition of controlling, relationship between planning and controlling, characteristics of control, Why are controls needed? How can good control be achieved? steps/processes involved in controlling.

Year 1, Autumn Term (2^nd term)

Course code and title: AGB 131 Principles of Marketing, Credit hour: Theory (3) + Practical (0)

Contents: Concept and definition of market, types of product demand, marketing as profitable-value addition products, values of form, time, place and possession utilities, role of marketing in agriculture, peculiarities of agricultural products marketing, marketing channels and functions, marketing research, pricing and price determination, structure, conduct and performance (SCP) paradigm, concept of inclusive market development and its application, perfectly competitive markets, imperfect competition: monopoly, monopsony, oligopoly, oligopsony, profit-maximizing conditions and pricing strategies of firms acting in markets with different structures, measures of market concentration- Gini coefficient/Lorenz curve, Herfindahl index, Herfindahlrschmann Index, marketing margin and marketing efficiency, offensive marketing strategy, defensive marketing strategy.

Year 1, Winter Term (3^rd term)

Course code and title: AGB 161 Agribusiness Management, Credit hour: Theory (3) + Practical (0)

Contents: Definition of agribusiness, objectives of agribusiness study, scope of agribusiness, agribusiness in Bangladesh- its challenge or risk, sub-sectors or basic elements of agribusiness, nature of successful agribusiness, development of agribusiness enterprises, problems in setting up of agribusiness enterprises, what is management? functions of management, roles performed by managers, skills needed for the manager, agribusiness star-up factors to be considered, applying business fundamentals, why agribusiness fail? preparing/developing a business plan, setting the agribusiness goal, reaching agribusiness goals, problem solving and decision making, skills needed in problem-solving and decision making, steps in problem-solving and decision making process, new product definition, importance of new product development, causes of new product failure, new product development process, understanding rural market, distinguishing rural and urban market, rural marketing challenges and opportunities, structure and relationships of formal and informal markets, the four “p’s” of agribusiness marketing and the marketing mix.

Year 2, Summer Term (4^th term)

Course code and title: AGB 203 Price Analysis I, Credit hour: Theory (3) + Practical (1.5)

Content: Concept, role & functions of prices, characteristics of agricultural prices, price determination process, role of government in price determination, marketing margin, market integration & spatial price variation, time series analysis, agricultural price policy in Bangladesh

Year 3, Summer Term (7^th term)

Course code and title: AGB 306 Agricultural Marketing, Credit hour: Theory (3) + Practical (1.5)

Contents: Marketing – meaning – core concepts of marketing, marketing management philosophy, demand management, managing the marketing mix, selecting target market -market segmentation, market targeting and market positioning, product life cycle strategies, strategic marketing plan- definition- characteristics, purpose and contents of strategic planning, steps of the strategic planning process- planning of inclusive market development strategy, practical experience of inclusive market development, implementing marketing strategies and controlling marketing activities, marketing of agricultural inputs: seed, fertilizer, pesticides, marketing of agricultural products: rice, potato, sugarcane, tea, fish, vegetables, marketing of livestock products: milk, cattle, poultry, broiler, hides and skins, marketing research-definition, types, steps, government intervention in agricultural marketing in Bangladesh.

Year 3, Autumn Term (8^th term)

Course code and title: AGB 333 Price Analysis II, Credit hour: Theory (3) + Practical (1.5)

Contents: Introduction, demand for agriculture products, supply of agricultural products, supply response model, price determination in a controlled and uncontrolled situation, price determination strategy for resource-poor farmers, marketing margins, price spread, spatial and temporal price relationships, price variation over time, role of government in price determination.

Year 3, Winter Term (9^th term)

Course code and title: AGB 361 Rural Entrepreneurship, Credit hour: Theory (3)

Contents: Concepts of entrepreneurship, introduction to small and medium entrepreneurship, theories assistance to entrepreneur development, production of small business, buying an existing business, starting new business, small business plan, managing SME, accounting and computerization, taxation, product and marketing, financing SME in vegetables & fruits.

Course code and title: AGB 366 Supply Chain Management, Credit hour: Theory (3) + Practical (1.5)

Contents: Goal, significance and decision phases of supply chain- cycle view, push/pull view , major drivers and participants and the roles performed in SCM, supply chain vs. value chain management, ways of achieving strategic fit, designing supply chain network and developing framework for making network design decisions, factors affecting network designing in SCM, demand forecasting in SCM, planning and managing inventories in supply chain and analyze the inventory management methodologies, managing transportation in SCM- optimal level of product availability and optimizing transportation problem using different methods.

Year 4, Summer Term (10^th term)

Course code and title: AGB 404 Managerial Economics, Credit hour: Theory (3)

Content: Business decisions and economic analysis: economic theory and managerial economics – managerial economist’s role and responsibility – risk and uncertainty – basic techniques. Demand determinants – demand distinctions – demand elasticities and demand estimates – demand forecasting. Cost function – cost-output relationship – managerial uses of cost functions – production concepts and analysis – laws of production. Pricing policies and methods – break-even analysis – pricing under different objectives – profit maximization and free pricing – government interventions and pricing – pricing in practice – economic theory of the firm. Capital budgeting – appraising project profitability – investment decision under certainty – public investment decision – profit concepts and analysis.

Year 4, Autumn Term (11^th term)

Course code and title: AGB 434 Operations Research, Credit hour: Theory (3)

Content: Review of operations research history, or process, methods and models, engineering cost estimation, decision technology software, design/development of or models, case study and team projects. Contemporary data mining approach, application of flow diagrams, data visualization, correlation and structural analysis. Review of methods, quantitative versus qualitative forecasts forecasting software, causal models, case studies. Analytical models, linear programming, sensitivity analysis of parameters, engineering and management applications. Design of model, applications to management, requirements to function shape, case studies. Model development, estimating techniques, solution methods and software. Overview of uncertainty, decision strategies. Introduction to simulation, simulation using spreadsheets, process generators. Definitions of systems, dynamic of systems parameters, system dynamics, case study. Engineering, life cycle forecasts, supply chain optimization, economic perspectives, global environmental problems

Internship: The students required to have some practical exposure to different government, non-government, and private organizations to validate their learning in the 4 year period. Therefore they need to take part in an internship program for 4 months.