Course Title: Economic Analysis for Business

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Economic Analysis for Business

Credit Points: 12

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
ECON1113	City Campus	Postgraduate	625H Economics, Finance & Marketing	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2006, Sem 2 2006, Sem 1 2007, Sem 2 2007, Sem 1 2008, Sem 2 2008, Sem 1 2009, Sem 2 2009, Sem 1 2010

Course Coordinator: Dr Steven Kates

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 5878

Course Coordinator Email:steve.kates@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: 108.12

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

There are no prerequisites for this course. The course will require an ability to read graphs, charts and tables. There are no mathematical requirements for this course beyond basic arithmetic.

Course Description

Economic Analysis for Business is a course designed to help you understand the structure of the economy, how an economy operates, why economic problems occur and the reasons why policy makers make the decisions they do. The course is also designed to give you an understanding of economic concepts and how to apply them in “real world” situations. Business people must make decisions whose outcomes will be influenced by the state of the surrounding economy. This course is designed to provide a deeper understanding of the economic issues that will need to be taken into consideration when such decisions are made.

This course aims to introduce you to:
• Factors that influence the behaviour of firms and consumers and the impact of such behaviour on industry performance.
• Models of pricing and output decisions as well as the non-pricing behaviour of firms with varying degrees of market concentration.
• Necessary conditions to achieve the desired economic outcomes in markets and also to provide a basis for understanding and evaluating market strategies of firms.
• Necessary skills needed to understand aspects of the Australian macroeconomy.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

The very essence of the course will be to acquire analytical techniques that will allow you to attain a deeper understanding of the economic environment in which you live and in which the businesses you are associated with must operate. Economics is itself a theory that systematically takes a number of premises and builds from it a logical theoretical structure. It is this framework that is used to draw insights on economic developments and to assist in the formation of economic policies.
The course is designed to enable you to make sense of the often confusing array of economic data and events you are surrounded by and to place those into a logical and consistent framework. It is to allow you to make your own judgements about the likely consequences of various economic events, including the likely policy response of decision makers.
Successful completion of this course means that you should have developed the following capabilities:
Research and analytical skills
You will acquire analytical techniques that will contribute to a deeper understanding of the economic environment. You will apply theory to analyse and form an opinion on real world situations
Problem identification and solving skills
You will develop an understanding of and be able to recognise economic problems and understand the nature of the solutions that economists have identified to rectify these problems
Interpersonal skills
A major team assignment requires you to work effectively as part of a team to present and defend your views in the development of your team project
Communication skills
The various communication techniques of economics, oral, written and graphical presentation are an integral part of the learning program. Communication is fostered through group assignments leading to a written business report
Collaboration in an effective team environment
Group assessment where you are required to participate in, and contribute to an effective team is an integral part of the course

At the end of this course students should be able to:

* understand some of the basic economic problems facing society.
* understand the interaction of demand and supply in the marketplace.
* understand how economists characterise the nature and relevance of the costs facing firms.
* understand the characteristics, pricing policies, and profit maximizing conditions relevant to various industry structures (i.e., “competitive” , “ monopolistic” ).
* understand how economists typically characterise “market failure” and the role that governments play.
* understand how economists characterise “government failure” , or how (and why) government errors are an important part of understanding market outcomes.
* apply simple microeconomic theory to some practical problems.
* understand the major economic aggregates and how they are measured.
* identify the major economic problems that affect (or may affect) the Australian economy.
* use the appropriate economic tools to conduct a meaningful analysis of the economy and economic policy.
* understand the interrelationships between economic variables, and the interrelationships between separate economies, particularly the impact of the global economy on Australia.

Overview of Learning Activities

The course will be presented as a series of lectures.
The basic approach will be problem-based learning, in which economic theory is used to explain and analyse real world economic circumstances.
The course may require you to participate in a joint project in which you will be asked to work in groups. As part of such a grouping, you will be required to research specific topics, to analyse the results you and your colleagues have gathered, to reach conclusions on the policy implications associated with your work. You will then be asked to present your material in a convincing manner both in written form and as part of a class presentation.

PLANNED STUDENT LEARNING EXPERIENCE:

To achieve the objectives listed above, this course requires students to participate in various learning activities. These activities comprise the following:

• Attendance at scheduled classes.
• Reading of prescribed and recommended books and other references, as necessary.
• Participation in individual learning activities, including regular access to RMIT Online information.
• Completion of the assessment tasks that are assigned.
• Maintaining some familarity with contemporary economic issues that are being discussed in the news and are being debated in the press.

Overview of Learning Resources

You will be advised of the prescribed text for this course and other reading materials upon enrolment.
Information will also be provided online using the Learning Hub of the Distributed Learning System (DLS). The DLS gives access to important announcements, staff contact details, the teaching schedule, assessment timelines and a variety of important teaching and learning materials. The Learning Hub of the DLS can be found at http://www.rmit.edu.au/online.

Overview of Assessment

Assessment may involve a combination of a final examination, in-class tests, group projects, class presentations.
As part of any group presentations that are assigned, you will be asked to work together with others to assess in a comprehensive form a practical issue of economic importance. It will provide you with the scope to employ the tools that have been developed during the course to examine particular issues in detail. It will also help you to develop the ability to analyse economic circumstances and make judgements based about those analyses.