For courses in Engineering Economics.

Canadian engineers have a unique set of circumstances that warrant a text with a specific Canadian focus. Canadian firms make decisions according to norms and standards that reflect Canadian views on social responsibility, environmental concerns, and cultural diversity. This perspective is reflected in the content and tone of much of the material in this text.

Engineering Economics: Financial Decision Making for Engineers is designed for teaching a course on engineering economics, and intended to match engineering practiced in Canada today. It recognizes the role of the engineer as a decision maker who has to make and defend sensible recommendations. Such choices must not only take into account a correct assessment of costs and benefits, they must also reflect an understanding of the environment in which the decisions are made.

Hallmark features of this title

• Engage! boxes near the beginning and end of each chapter recount the fictional experiences of a young engineer at a Canadian company. These vignettes reflect and support the chapter material. The first box in each chapter usually portrays one of the characters trying to deal with a practical problem. The second box demonstrates how the character has solved the problem by applying material discussed in the chapter above. 
• Close-Up boxes in the chapters present additional material about concepts that are important but not essential to the chapter.
• Case in Point boxes present material relevant to the appropriate chapter. The issues raised can be difficult, curious, and possibly disquieting. There may be no obvious “right” answer or “correct” application of principles. Students are invited to challenge rigidity, and encouraged to exercise flexibility in their problem- solving approaches. 

New and Updated Features

• We have updated 5 of our Case in Point features, in Chapters 1, 3, 7, 10 and 12. Each Case in Point addresses a circumstance appropriate to the chapter material and raises difficult and sometimes unanswerable questions. They provide an opportunity for the individual student to challenge their own thinking. They also are ideal material for initiating lively class discussions intended to enhance the students’ understanding of the core topics as well as broaden their perspectives generally.
• Similarly, we have updated 4 of our Mini-Case features (Chapter 2, 6, 7, and 8) and added 7 new ones in Chapters 1, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, and 12. These end-of-chapter case studies are similar to the Case in Point features, but are deeper views of significant Canadian issues.
• Chapter 10 has been significantly updated to better reflect public policy practice in Canada and to broaden the concepts of benefit-cost analysis in practice. Minor changes to all other chapters have been made to update and improve the overall flow and presentation of the material.
• Some educators have reported that students have trouble seeing and appreciating the relevance of the content covered in the engineering economics course. We have experiential learning simulations that provide a novel way to integrate material across chapters and to help students engage more deeply with the course content. Each simulation engages the student in an activity that mimics the decision making that the student could undertake as an active engineer. The student interacts with their employer and fellow employees, or external parties, and is guided through a learning process that brings to life the academic material studied.