The authors present a Web application they designed in the R programming language as an experiential learning tool for teaching production theory. The app simulates production decisions where a manager is tasked to find the optimal mixture of inputs through experimentation. Users of the application are instructed to use calculations and intuitions…

The production function explains a basic technological relationship between scarce resources, or inputs, and output. This paper offers a brief overview of the historical significance and operational role of the production function in business and economics. The origin and development of this function over time is initially explored. Several…

For the past two decades, and recently with the economic recession, the media has emphasized the decline of manufacturing in the United States and other developed countries. In the U.S., some initially blamed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) for this decline. Hearing that manufacturing is on the decline, one might reason that its…

In this article, we discuss the development of online courses in higher education in terms of the in- structional quality and economic costs. In our conceptual analysis, we point out problems in developing online courses with sufficient quality due to limited funds being made available for online course development. Moreover, economic costs exist…

Expands on an earlier article which states that economies of scale cannot exist unless the production function exhibits increasing returns to scale. Argues that this is correct only to the extent that the firm faces constant input prices as output expands. Concludes that the assumption that product and input markets are competitive may be…