ECON 7239 - Economics for Management

North Terrace Campus - Trimester 2 - 2017

This course provides an introduction to economic thinking and its relevance and application to managing organisations. The first part of the course deals with the structure of markets, including perfect competition, monopoly and oligopoly, and the competitive regulatory environment. The second part deals with the determinants of the aggregate level of output and employment, and elements in the determination of macroeconomic policy including interest rates, inflation and foreign trade and capital flows. The focus of the course is on current issues and their implications for managers and competitive organisations.

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Course Details

Course Code	ECON 7239
Course	Economics for Management
Coordinating Unit	Economics
Term	Trimester 2
Level	Postgraduate Coursework
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Up to 3 hours per week in standard trimester. More when offered in intensive mode.
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange
Restrictions	Available only to MBA & GDipBA students
Assessment	Typically, assignments, tests & final exam

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Dr Raul Barreto

Trimester 1 and Trimester 3
Professor Paul Kerin

Some background information on me is available here.
My office is: Room 3.27, Level 3, Nexus 10 Building, 10 Pulteney Street.
Consultation times: 4pm-5pm (after class) each Friday and Saturday on classes are held or or by
appointment. Please feel free to arrange appointments with me at times that suit you.

Email: paul.kerin@adelaide.edu.au
Mobile phone: 0417 240860.

Trimester 2
Dr Raul Barreto

Some background information on me is available here.
My office is: Room 426, Level 4, Nexus 10 Building, 10 Pulteney Street.
Consultation times: 2pm-3pm every Tuesday or by appointment.

Email: raul.barreto@adelaide.edu.au
Telephone: 83133240.

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

Course Learning Outcomes

Economics is often divided into two streams: microeconomics and macroeconomics. Microeconomics focuses on the behaviours and
interactions of economic agents, such as firms, households and individuals. Macroeconomics looks at the economy as a whole, especially the behaviours of aggregate measures (such as gross domestic product, economic growth the unemployment rate, the inflation rate, exchange rates and interest rates) and how they vary with the business cycle and respond to government policies.

Our course provides an overview of both microeconomics and macroeconomics. Throughout the course, we will consider contemporary economic issues – and their relevance to business operational and/or strategic decision-making, as well as economic and/or social policy – through the lens of economics.

By the time you successfully complete this course, you will have developed:

1	An understand of key economic concepts, principles and analytical tools, as well as the “language” and ways of thinking that economists employ;
2	An ability to apply key microeconomic and macroeconomic principles and analytical tools to make better managerial decisions – and communicate your solutions convincingly to both economists and non-economists;
3	An understanding of economic policy issues and their relevance to management;
4	An ability to communicate your views on economic conditions and policy issues and why they are relevant to management;
5	An understanding of the roles that governments and markets can play in improving the welfare of our society; and
6	Leadership, communication interpersonal skills and an ability to work collaboratively with your peers through group work.

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Deep discipline knowledge informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1 accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)	1,2,3,5
Critical thinking and problem solving steeped in research methods and rigor based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment	1,2,3,6
Teamwork and communication skills developed from, with, and via the SGDE honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning	1,2,4,6
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	1-6
Intercultural and ethical competency adept at operating in other cultures comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges	5,6
Self-awareness and emotional intelligence a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate	6

Learning Resources

Required Resources

Hubbard, R., Garnett, A., Lewis, P., and O’Brien, A. (2016), “Essentials of Economics 3”, Third adaptation edition (3e), Pearson Australia.

Paperback edition ISBN: 9781486022847. Both paperback and eBook editions are available (e.g., from the publisher at http://www.pearson.com.au).

Recommended Resources

As I tailor readings to each topic, no other textbook is recommended. Tailored readings will be available on MyUni well before the relevant class sessions.

Optional: I will also provide purely optional reading suggestions on MyUni well before each class. In addition, to understand the wide range of interesting issues that microeconomics can beapplied to, you may want to read “Freakonomics” and/or “SuperFreakonomics” (both by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner) and/or visit the Freakonomics blog at: www.freakonomics.com. To understand current macroeconomic conditions, you may wish to visit the Reserve Bank’s website at www.rba.gov.au. To keep up-to-date with management-relevant microeconomic and macroeconomic issues, you may wish to read the Australian Financial Review and/or The Economist.

Online Learning

I will post course materials, assessment tasks and important announcements in MyUni. Please check both our MyUni course website and your university email account regularly.

https://myuni.adelaide.edu.au/webapps/login/

http://www.adelaide.edu.au/its/webmail/

Lectures will be automatically recorded (whenever possible) and made available in the Echo 360 folder on MyUni. Please note that there may be occasions when the recording fails for technical reasons.

Learning & Teaching Modes

The class is divided in to 11 topics covering the various key aspects of microeconomics and macroeconomics. As the classes are small and our time together quite intensive, the lectures / tutorials are generally informal to promote as much participation in the discussion as possible. Each topic will have a lecture component, a tutorial excercise and an online assessment. The lectures will consist of a powerpoint presentation. The tutorials will consist of discussion questions similar to those you would face during examinations. The online assessment consists of 10 timed multiple choice questions, again similar to those you will face on your exam.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

The University of Adelaide expects full-time students (i.e., those taking four 3-unit course at a time) to devote a total of 48 hours per week to their studies. This translates to 12 hours per week for our 3-unit course. That is, in addition to our 3 hours of class time per week, you should expect to devote 9 hours per week to your studies in this course.

Learning Activities Summary

Session	Topic	Readings
1	Introduction, The Economic Problem	Hubbard Ch 1 & 2
2	Demand and Supply	Hubbard Ch 3
3	Elasticity / Applications of Demand & Supply	Hubbard Ch 4
4	Firms, Production and Costs	Hubbard Ch 6
5	Perfect Competition / Monopoly	Hubbard Ch 7 & 8
6	Monopolistic Competition	Hubbard Ch 9
7	In Class Test	Covering Sessions 1-6
8	The Role of Government	Hubbard Ch 11
9	Aggregate Demand & Aggregate Supply	Hubbard Ch 14
10	Labour, Unemployment, Inflation and Money	Hubbard Ch 13 & Appendix Ch 15
11	Monetary Policy & Fiscal Policy	Hubbard Ch 16 & 17
12	The Exchange Rate and International Trade	Hubbard Ch 18 & Appendix Ch 19

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Assessment Task	Task Type	Due	Weighting	Learning Outcome
Topic Assessment	Online quiz X 12	Topic 1-6: 9am Saturday, 8 July 2017 Topic 7-12: 9am Saturday, 19 August 2017	20%	1,2,3
Mid Semester Test	In Class Test	Session 7 (9am-12pm, Saturday 8 July 2017)	35%	1,2,3,4,6
Final Examination	Exam	9am-12pm Saturday, 19 August 2017	45%	1,2

Assessment Detail

Online Assessment

There will be a total of 11 online quizzes. Each quiz will consist of 10 multiple choice questions. The quizzes are timed; you have 45 minutes to complete each quiz. Your grade will be the average of your 8 best scores.

Quizzes 1 2 3 4 5 & 6 must be completed by Saturday 8 July 9am
Quizzes 7 8 9 10 11 & 12 must be completed by Saturday 19 August 9am

Important - You must find a reliable internet connection to compete each quiz. You have 45 minutes to complete the quiz. You may complete each quiz as often as you like prior to the due date. Only your HIGHEST mark will be recorded.

Mid Semester Test

The mid semester test will be held during session number 7 on Saturday morning July 2 from 9am until 12pm. It will cover topics 1 through 6. The test will consist of 40 multiple choice questions and 2 essays. The 40 multiple choice questions will be similar to the ones from the online quizzes. The essays will be similar to the tutorial questions discussed in class. You will have 3 hours to complete the test.

Final Examination

The final exam will be in the same format as the midterm: 40 multiple choice plus 2 essays. While the multiple choice questions will cover the entire semester, the essays will cover only topics 7 through 11.

Submission

No late subamissions are accepted.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Additional Assessment
If a student receives 45-49 for their final mark for the course they will automatically be granted an additional assessment. This will most likely be in the form of a new exam (Additional Assessment) and will have the same weight as the original exam unless an alternative requirement (for example a hurdle requirement) is stated in this semester’s Course Outline. If, after replacing the original exam mark with the new exam mark, it is calculated that the student has passed the course, they will receive 50 Pass as their final result for the course (no higher) but if the calculation totals less than 50, their grade will be Fail and the higher of the original mark or the mark following the Additional Assessment will be recorded as the final result.

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

The University of Adelaide is committed to regular reviews of the courses and programs it offers to students. The University of Adelaide therefore reserves the right to discontinue or vary programs and courses without notice. Please read the important information contained in the disclaimer.

Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator