Business and Economics

RATIONALE 

This module is primarily concerned with understanding the impact that economic factors have on the decisions that businesses make. It provides students with an understanding of key economic concepts and how they affect operational and strategic decisions. Students will be encouraged to apply ideas from the module to a series of case studies and problems, building their confidence not as economists, but as future managers that require understanding of these important core concepts. Students will develop confidence in understanding and applying concepts that shape the external environment in which businesses operate. These ideas will be revisited in future modules where students will use the content from this module as background knowledge to inform discussion concerning organizational behaviour, strategy, finance, and marketing. The political nature of many economic policies is also a good way to build students’ skills in relation to critical thinking, communication and problem solving. 

AIMS 

Through the completion of this module students will: 

• Be able to demonstrate understanding of key microeconomic principles as they relate to business decision-making and planning. 
• Show an awareness of how macroeconomics can be used to describe the external environment in which businesses operate. 
• Develop an understanding of the impact of the external environment on decision-making and planning. 
• Build confidence in the application of economic concepts to tactical and strategic decision-making. 

LEARNING OUTCOMES 

On successful completion of this module, a student will be able to: 

1. Describe the nature of the UK economy, both in terms of industrial structure and government influence 
2. Outline and discuss microeconomic concepts relating to business decision making. 
3. Make use of macroeconomic concepts to explore how government intervention(s) may affect economic performance and the environment for business operations