BSc (Hons) Business Management

Assignment Brief

Module Title Business Management and Macro-Economic Policy

Module Credit
20
Value
Module Level 4 (Foundation) Group 1
Module Code
Academic Year 2019-2020/ Term 3
Lecturer Harsha Subashana
On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

1. Understand and explain the principal economic factors that can affect the
business environment
2. Demonstrate an understanding of how monetary policy affects the real
Learning
economy
Outcomes
3. Demonstrate an understanding of how fiscal policy affects the real
economy
4. Discuss the role of capital markets in financing long term investment

Submission Project Report: 20-05-2020 4PM

Issue Date 19-03-2020
Deadline
Signature of
Assessor

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Module Description
Business enterprises are strongly influenced by the economic environment in which they
operate. An understanding of how government economic policies can affect the business
environment is therefore essential for the effective management of organisations. This
module considers some of the principal economic influences on the business environment
before examining the specific role of government monetary and fiscal policy. The module
concludes by examining the role of capital markets in raising finance for investment.
Assessment Task
Project Report 3000 words +/- 10%
The word count excludes references, bibliography, images, diagrams, table and appendices.
Total Weighting: 100%
Intended Learning Outcomes: 1,2,3 and 4

In this assignment, you are required to write a project report demonstrating knowledge and
understanding of principal economic factors that can affect the business environment.
Further, the report should demonstrate the understanding of the impact of monetary and
fiscal policy on the economy. The report should then extend to discuss the role of capital
markets in raising finances for long term investment.
The report should broadly evidence the following:
• Understanding of economic issues such as government policies, labour markets, income
distribution and employment, and their impact on the business environment.
25 Marks
• Understanding of monetary policy and supply and demand for money. Implications of
different aspects of the demand for money.
25 Marks
• Understanding of fiscal policies focussing on taxation and its macro-economic effects,
social security contribution, pensions, and benefits. As part of the explanation of fiscal
policies, the report should also evidence an understanding of public expenditure deficits
and the sustainability of public debt.
25 Marks
• Discussion on the role of various primary and secondary capital markets such as stock
markets and bond markets in raising money for investment. The report should also
include a discussion on crowdfunding and cryptocurrencies.
25 Marks
[Total= 100 Marks]

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Grading Criteria

Project Report
A* 80%+ An excellent answer will have the following attributes:
High First • An excellent understanding of economic issues and their impact on the
business environment.
• An excellent understanding of monetary policy and its impact on the
economy
• An excellent understanding of fiscal policy and its impact on the
economy
• An excellent account of capital markets explaining their role in raising
the long term finance.
• Exceptionally well-structured and well-presented report
• Full reference accurately in the Harvard style of referencing.

A 70 - 79% All components will have been submitted, and the remaining criteria will be as
First Class noted for the 80%+ marking band. However, in one or two areas student may
not have demonstrated the skills as noted in band 80%+

B 60 - 69 % The answer in this band of marks will have the following attributes:
Upper Second • A very good understanding of economic issues and their impact on the
business environment.
• A very good understanding of monetary policy and its impact on the
economy
• A very good understanding of fiscal policy and its impact on the
economy
• A very good account of capital markets explaining their role in raising
the long term finance.
• A well-structured and coherent work written in correct English with
some minor errors
• Full reference accurately in the Harvard style of referencing with some
minor omissions

C 50 - 59% • All components will have been submitted, and the remaining criteria
Lower Second will be as noted for the 60-69% marking band. However, there will be
some gaps in knowledge and analysis.

D 40 – 49% The answer in this band of marks will have the following attributes:
Third Class • A satisfactory understanding of economic issues with a limited
understanding of the impact of economic issues on the business
environment.
• A satisfactory understanding of monetary policy with a limited
understanding of its impact on the economy

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 • A satisfactory understanding of fiscal policy with a limited
understanding of its impact on the economy
• An adequate level of understanding of capital markets with a limited
understanding of their role in raising the long term finance.
• The work will have some noticeable errors in the English Language.
• References and citation of all the sources not included

F 30 - 39% The answer in this band of marks will have the following attributes:
Fail • An insufficient understanding of economic issues with a very limited
understanding of the impact of economic issues on the business
environment.
• An insufficient understanding of monetary policy with a very limited
understanding of its impact on the economy
• An insufficient understanding of fiscal policy with a very limited
understanding of its impact on the economy
• An inadequate level of understanding of capital markets with a very
limited understanding of their role in raising the long term finance.
• Many mistakes in grammar or sentence construction.
• The references list not complete and not in the Harvard referencing
style.

F 0 – 29% The answer in this band of marks will have the following attributes:
Poor Fail • Largely inaccurate with a very limited or no understanding of economic
issues
• Very limited or no understanding of monetary policy
• Very limited or no understanding of fiscal policy
• Very limited or no understanding of capital markets with no discussion
on the role in raising the long term finance
• Many mistakes in grammar or sentence construction.
• Citations and bibliography are incorrect or missing.
• The work may be incomplete or too brief

Completing the tasks

In order to complete the Assignments, you will need to research different information sources
such as textbooks, journals, articles, and the Internet. You are also required to develop skills
in the analysis of information. Analysis requires you to critically examine different aspects of
a topic and identify relevant issues. Discussions with your peers and friends will also help you
to understand the relevant data analysis and presentation techniques that can be applied to
different perspectives of the collated data provided.
Please Note: Make use of information on assignment preparation and command verb usage
in your Moodle Platform.

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Helpful information
Core Texts
• Dastidar, S.G. (2017), Capital Markets and Investments: Essential Insights and Concepts for
Professionals. New York, Reading Light Publication
• Gillespie, A. (2019), Economics for Business. Oxford, OUP
• Peto, R. (2014), An Introduction to Monetary Theory. Nordenstedt, GRIN Verlag
• Rinaldi, G. (2019), Economics for Policy Makers: A guide for Non-Economists. London,
Routledge
• Ward, D., Begg, D. (2016), Economics for Business. Maidenhead, Mc Graw Hill Education
Additional texts
• John Sloman, Dean Garratt, Jon Guest, Elizabeth Jones (2019) Economics for Business
8th Edition, Pearson Higher Education, Pearson UK
• Moore McDowell (2012) Principles of Economics, (UK Higher Education Business
Economics), McGraw-Hill Education – Europe
• Mankiw Gregory. N., Taylor, Mark. P. and Ashwin Andrew (2017) Business Economics,
Centage Learning

Referencing your work

References to relevant academic theory and research findings should be provided and cited
appropriately using the Harvard system of referencing. Example of this referencing style is as
follows:
Sillah, D. (2007). 'Screening of TB in the Gambia'. Journal of Epidemiology, 1 (2), pp.34-56
Author/s name and initials are listed first, followed by the year of publication in brackets. Then
there is the title of the article and the journal where the article appears, which is in italics.
Finally, state the volume and issue number (in brackets) along with the pages where the article
can be located. Include at least two in-text citations and references in each assessment
criterion. Further information on the Harvard System of referencing is on your Moodle
Platform.
Note: Do not use Wikipedia as a source of reference.

Academic Malpractice
You are required to independently work on the tasks when preparing this assignment, and
you are reminded of the need to avoid the risk (intentionally or unintentionally) of committing
academic malpractice. In particular, presenting another learner’s work as yours or taking
information from any sources without correctly acknowledging the source can constitute
academic malpractice. You are expected to submit your work using the Turnitin software that
is provided by the school. Please note that your work may be subject to penalties and/or
cancellation if academic malpractice has taken place. The Turnitin similarity report can
highlight where academic sources have not been referenced appropriately/effectively, and
this could result in a concern being highlighted around possible plagiarism (one form of
academic malpractice where sources have been used without proper acknowledgment).
Make sure you read over your work carefully and ensure that all sources of information have
been acknowledged to avoid any untoward investigations that would result in a delay in your
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achievement of the module. Further information on academic malpractice (including
plagiarism) and potential consequences are available in your student handbooks.

Presentation
Present a document with a word count of 3000 words (+/- 10%) excluding references,
bibliography, images, diagrams, table, and appendices. The word count should be stated in
the assignment cover sheet and please note you will be penalised for exceeding the word
limit. Work must be submitted in a folder, word-processed in a suitable format of 12-point
font, 1.5-line spacing and pages numbered.

Submission
When submitting your assignment, you must include:
• An Assignment Submission Sheet/ Assignment Front Cover
• Other documents required by your lecturer as evidence of achievement.
• All assignments should be submitted via Turnitin
Submission deadlines must be strictly observed. Therefore, disciplined time management is
essential when producing this assignment. Failure to meet deadlines will be considered as a
failure by non-submission. You will only have the opportunity for one resubmission of a
different assignment. Refer to the Student Handbook for more information