ECON 7239 - Economics for Management

North Terrace Campus - Trimester 3 - 2020

This course provides an introduction to economic thinking and its relevance and application to managing organisations. The first part of the course deals with microeconomic issues such consumer choice and the structure of markets, including perfect competition, monopoly and oligopoly, and the competitive regulatory environment. The second part deals with macroeconomics such as 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 fundamental tenets of economics in relation to 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 3
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 for Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma in Business Administration and Masters of Business Administration, Master of Business Administration (12) students
Assessment	Typically, assignments, tests & final exam

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Mr Philip Lawn

Trimester 1 & 2
Mr David Murphy
My office is: Room 10.51, Nexus 10, 10 Pulteney Street.
Consultation times: Tuesday all day. Other times by appointment.

Email: david.g.murphy@adelaide.edu.au
Phone 8313 5757
Mobile phone: 0408 809 734

Trimester 3
Dr Philip Lawn
Email: philip.lawn@adelaide.edu.au
Telephone:

Course Timetable

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

Course Learning Outcomes

Economics is 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, firstly, at the economy as a whole, especially the behaviours of aggregate measures, such as gross domestic product (GDP); measures of economic welfare; the quantity of capital, labour, and material and energy resources used; the quantity and nature of the wastes generated; the unemployment rate; the inflation rate; exchange rates; and interest rates. Secondly, macroeconomics considers how these aggregate measures vary with the business cycle and respond to government policies, ecological disturbances, institutional changes, international trading arrangements, and society’s values and individual behavioural patterns.

The course provides an overview of both microeconomics and macroeconomics. Throughout the course, we will consider contemporary economic issues through the lens of real-world economics and their relevance to strategic decision-making, organisational management, and economic, social, and environmental policy-setting.

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1	Understand key economic concepts, principles, and analytical tools, as well as the ‘language’ and ways of thinking employed by real-world economists
2	Apply key microeconomic and macroeconomic principles and analytical tools to make better managerial decisions and communicate solutions convincingly to both economists and non-economists
3	Understand economic policy issues and their relevance to management decisions
4	Articulate economic conditions and policy issues and why they are relevant to management
5	Understand the roles that governments and markets can play in improving the welfare of our society

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

1) Kelton, S. (2020), The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and How to Build a Better Economy, John Murray.

2) Daly, H. (2007), Ecological Economics and Sustainable Development: Selected Essays of Herman Daly, Edward Elgar.

3) Hail, S. (2018), Economics for Sustainable Prosperity, Palgrave Macmillan.

4) Kahneman, D. (2011), Thinking, Fast and Slow, Penguin Books.

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

Lectures will be 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 Activities
Learning & Teaching Modes
The course will be conducted in intensive mode over Friday and Saturday sessions. Each session will begin at 9.00 am and end at 4.00 pm, with a 45-minute lunch break and two 15-minute breaks in-between. Due to the intensive nature of the course, I have divided the course into three units – Unit 1 (Days 1 and 2): The Economy and the Economic Process; Unit 2 (Days 3 and 4): Microeconomics; and Unit 3 (Days 5 and 6): Macroeconomics.
- 9.00 – 11.00 am (session 1) 2 hours
- 11.00 – 11.15 am (break) 15 minutes
- 11.15 – 12.30 pm (session 2) 1 hour + 15 minutes
- 12.30 – 1.15 pm (Lunch) 45 minutes
- 1.15 – 2.30 pm (session 3) 1 hour + 15 minutes
- 2.30 – 2.45 pm (break) 15 minutes
- 2.45 – 4.00 pm (session 4) 1 hour + 15 minutes
5 hours + 45 minutes of sessions; 1 hour + 15 minutes of breaks

Given the breadth of topics covered and the intensive nature of our course, much of our seminar time will necessarily be spent in ‘interactive lecture’ mode, with the emphasis on interactive. You are encouraged to ask questions and/or offer your perspectives and relevant examples from your own experience. We will also break up our sessions with discussions of current economic issues to help us understand and apply what we have learned.
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 an average of 12 hours per week (48 hours per 4 weeks) for our 3-unit course. Therefore, in addition to our 12 class hours (two 6-hour sessions, excluding breaks) every 4 weeks, you should expect to devote an average of 36 hours per 4-week period to your studies in this course.

Learning Activities Summary

Unit 1 – Days 1 and 2 (Friday, 11 September and Saturday, 12 September): The Economy and the Economic Process

Unit 2 – Days 3 and 4 (Friday, 9 October and Saturday, 10 October): Microeconomics and management/decision-making

Unit 3 – Days 5 and 6 (Friday, 6 November and Saturday, 7 November): Macroeconomics and management/decision-making

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
Active Participation	Individual	Awarded based on the extent and quality of your participation during the course	5%	1,3,4
Online quizzes	Individual	True/False and Multiple-Choice Question quizzes (3 × 5% each)	15%	1,3,5
Assignment 1	Individual	2,000-word assignment – Due 5.00 pm on Thursday, 8 October	20%	1-5
Assignment 2	Individual	2,000-word assignment – Due 5.00 pm on Thursday, 5 November	20%	1-5
Final Examination	Individual	End of course (3-hour exam)	40%	1-5

Assessment Detail

Further details regarding assessment will be provided on the first day of the course.

Submission

Please refer to MyUni for further instructions regarding how to submit tutorial assignments. Late submissions will not be accepted. Please retain a copy of all assignments submitted.

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