Newcastle International College NIC-ECON1001: Microeconomics for Business Decisions

Newcastle International College

NICECON1001

Microeconomics for Business Decisions

Course Outline
Course Code: NICECON1001
Course Name: Microeconomics for Business Decisions
Semester: Trimester 3, 2020
Program: Diploma of Business and Commerce
Credit Points: 10 units
Course Coordinator: Paul Morris
Document modified: 10 June 2020

Teaching Team
Your lecturer can be contacted via the messaging system on Blackboard.
Name Email
Paul Morris [email protected]

Staff Consultation
Your lecturer is available each week for consultation outside of normal class times. Times that
your lecturer will be available for consultation will be given in the first week of lectures and
displayed on Blackboard under ‘Staff Information’.

Brief Course Description

NICECON1001 examines and applies microeconomic principles and concepts in the context of
business management within a capitalist market economy. Students will examine consumer
behaviour, firms’ production process, pricing strategies, decision-making under uncertainty,
industry competition and market failure. The course will advance students’ understanding of the
economic and political environment in which firms operate and foster their comprehension of a
firm’s interaction with its consumers, other firms and government.

NICECON1001 also addresses contemporary public policy issues that impact firms and their
customers such as pollution, resource depletion, provision of public goods and services,
minimum wages and taxes and subsidies.

Designed for students from varied academic backgrounds, NICECON1001 develops skills of
communication and critical analysis. It also allows students to evaluate contemporary economic
events on a local, national and international scale.

Prerequisites
Nil

Course Objectives
Upon successful completion of NIC-ECON1001 you will be able to:
1. Use microeconomic theory and models to critically assess a firm’s performance;
2. Apply microeconomic concepts to business decisions in the workplace and develop an
integrated understanding of other business orientated subjects;
3. Assess public policy relating to market transactions;
4. Integrate the study of economics within global, political, social and environmental contexts;
5. Employ both numerical and graphical techniques to support economic analysis; and
Newcastle International College NIC-ECON1001: Microeconomics for Business Decisions

6. Engage effectively in oral and written communication appropriate to both context and
audience.

In addition, NIC aims to develop graduates who have an open and critical approach to learning
and a capacity for lifelong learning. To this end, NIC aims for graduates to be able to demonstrate
progress toward the development of a number of generic skills such as:
• Written communication;
• Oral communication;
• Secondary research;
• Critical evaluation; and
• Creativity and innovation.

Course Content
The topics in this course include the following:
1. Comparative Advantage and Trade
2. Market Structure
3. Market Failure

Texts and Supporting Materials

UoNline Site (Blackboard Site)
Students enrolled in this course can login http://uonline.newcastle.edu.au/ to access the
UoNline site used to support this course. You need to visit the UoNline site on a regular basis
as it contains additional announcements, course materials and information which is updated
throughout the course.

Prescribed Textbook
Arnold, Roger A. (2016), Microeconomics (12th Edition), Cengage Learning, Boston, USA.

Organisation and Teaching Strategies

Teaching Methods
Lectures are used to discuss and demonstrate the application of concepts and principles. They
supplement and complement, but do not replace, the prescribed textbook.

Generally, each lecture topic builds on knowledge and skills developed earlier. As a result,
students are strongly advised to attend all lectures. Students should read all relevant textbook
chapters in advance of the lecture to reinforce the concepts explained in each lecture.

Contact Hours
Teaching will be 4 hours per week consisting of:
• Lecture: 2 hours per week for the full trimester
• Workshop: 1 hour per week.
• Tutorial: 1 hour per week.
All classes begin in Week 1 of trimester.

Mode of Delivery
Internal

Course Workload
Students are required to spend on average 120 – 140 hours of effort or total load (contact and
non-contact) including assessments per 10-unit course.

You are expected to reinforce your learning gained during class time by studying and working
through the lectures, text and activities, that is, undertake independent study. For this 10 unit
course, you will need to spend at least 10 hours per week engaged in activities that will help
your learning and fulfill the course objectives. This includes, but is not limited to, reading the
textbook and lecture material, doing the assigned weekly tutorial assignments, in-class
activities, and completing the assignment. Thus, provided you have well used the 4 hours per
week of formal contact, you would then complete at least 6 hours per week of independent
Newcastle International College NIC-ECON1001: Microeconomics for Business Decisions

study. The amount of time you need to spend will vary depending on your background and
knowledge.

Attendance
All students are expected to attend 100% of all lectures, tutorials and workshops. You are also
reminded that your attendance in class will be marked twice during any session longer than 2
hours. To receive full attendance, you must be present in the classroom on both occasions.

Course Materials
Course information will be found on the Blackboard Site. You are responsible for consulting this
regularly. Notes for the lectures will be posted here and should be printed and brought to the
lecture

Program Progression
You are reminded that satisfactory Program Progression requires that attendance in classes is
maintained at equal to or greater than 80%.

Refer to NIC Policy Library (Program Progression Policy) for more information.

Content Schedule
WEEK LECTURE CONTENT OTHER
Introduction to Microeconomics TUTORIAL 1: Introduction to
1 Chs.1 & 2 Microeconomics
Comparative Advantage and Trade TUTORIAL 2: Comparative Advantage and
2 Ch.2, pp.56-58 & Ch.20 Trade
Demand and Supply
3 Chs.3, 4 & 5 TUTORIAL 3: Demand and Supply
Welfare Economics
ONLINE QUIZ 1
4 Ch.3, pp.88-91, ch.6, pp.168-172 & ch.20,
TUTORIAL 4: Welfare Economics
pp.510-518
Elasticity
5 Ch.6 TUTORIAL 5: Elasticity
TUTORIAL ASSIGNMENT 1 DUE
Revenue, Production and Costs
6 Ch.8
TUTORIAL 6: Revenue, Production and
Costs
Market Structure and Perfect
7 Competition TUTORIAL 7: Market Structure and Perfect
Ch.9 Competition
ONLINE QUIZ 2
Monopoly and Monopolistic Competition
8 Chs.10 & 11, pp.303-308
TUTORIAL 8: Monopoly and Monopolistic
Competition
Oligopoly and Competitive Advantage
9 Ch.11, pp.308-316 TUTORIAL 9: Oligopoly and Competitive
Blackboard reading Advantage
Factor Markets TUTORIAL ASSIGNMENT 2 DUE
10 Chs.13 & 16 TUTORIAL 10: Factor Markets
The Distribution of Income and Poverty TUTORIAL 11: The Distribution of Income
11 Ch.15 and Poverty
Market Failure ONLINE QUIZ 3
12 Ch.17 TUTORIAL 12: Market Failure

Assessment Items
Essential Criteria:
The pass mark for this course is 50%. There is no requirement to pass each individual
assessment item, provided the resulting sum of these items is equal to or greater than 50%.
Newcastle International College NIC-ECON1001: Microeconomics for Business Decisions

Summary of Assessment
Related
Method of
Assessment Item Learning Weighting Due Date
Submission
Outcomes
1. Tutorial Assignments 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 20% Weeks 6 & 10 MOODLE
2. Online Quizzes 1, 3 & 4 30% Weeks 4, 8 & 12 MOODLE
Examination
3. Final Examination 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 50% Examination
Period

Assessment Details
1. TUTORIAL ASSIGNMENTS (20% of the subject mark)
This assessment component comprises TWO tutorial assignments.
Weekly tutorial classes will be used to discuss weekly tutorial questions posted on the MOODLE
(under the ‘Tutorial Questions’ link). Students are to prepare answers for each week’s tutorial
questions to contribute to class discussion.

On 2 occasions students must submit word-processed answers to the MOODLE for assessment.
These 2 assessable tutorial assignments are located under the ‘Tutorial Questions’ link on the
MOODLE. Each assignment will have 10 questions respectively based on questions contained in
the previous 5 weekly tutorial exercises. The weeks in which you must submit tutorial
assignments are Week 6 and Week 10. Each assignment will be awarded a mark out of 10.
This will provide you with a total score of 20 which will then form the 20% weighting for this part
of the course assessment.

Work submitted should not exceed 500 words in total and, where appropriate, should include
a diagram to support your answer.

Each of the 2 assessable tutorial assignments must be uploaded to the MOODLE. The
submission cut-off time is midnight Sunday of the week in which the assignment is
due.

Tutorial assignments MUST NOT BE EMAILED or submitted in any way other than that
specified in this course outline.

Special consideration will NOT be given for submission of tutorial assignments.

Late/backdated answers will not be accepted.

2. ONLINE QUIZZES (30% of the subject mark)

This assessment component comprises THREE online quizzes.
On 3 occasions, students are to complete an online quiz comprising 20 questions. These
questions will be a combination of multiple choice and true/false. The online quizzes are located
on the MOODLE under the heading ‘Online Quizzes’.

The online quizzes will be available from 5pm Tuesday of weeks 4, 8 and 12 and remain open
for 1 week (closing at midnight the following Tuesday). Each online quiz constitutes 10% of the
total subject assessment, making up 30% of the final grade for the subject.

3. FINAL EXAMINATION (50% of the subject mark)

This assessment component comprises one written formal exam.
The Final Examination will be held in the formal examination period and is of 2 hours’ duration
(with an additional 10 minutes of reading time). It will cover the whole of the semester’s work.
The examination is based on material from the textbook, lectures, workshops and tutorial work.
The exam will consist of:
• PART A: 10 multiple choice questions; and
• PART B: 4 short-answer questions.
Newcastle International College NIC-ECON1001: Microeconomics for Business Decisions

Students will be allowed 1 A4-sized page of word-processed or hand-written study

notes (double-sided) for the exam. You should also bring a non-programmable calculator.

Requirements for a Grade of Pass or Higher

The pass mark for this course is 50% overall for all assessments (including the exam).

In circumstances where supplementary or deferred final examinations are granted, the

supplementary or deferred exam will be held prior to the commencement of the following
trimester.

Submission and Return of Assessment Items

Information about submission of assessment items will be given to you when you receive
project details in your tutorial class.

Please note: You may be required to submit assignments electronically to a collusion detection
tool to allow the detection of possible instances of collusion/plagiarism. This will also involve
NIC or its nominee storing your work on a secure database for use in testing assessment
submitted by others in the future. For further information on NIC's Academic Integrity Policy
refer to NIC's online Policy Library.

Normally you will be able to collect your assignments in class within fourteen (14) days of the
due date for submission of the assignment.

Retention of Originals
You must be able to produce a copy of all work submitted if so requested. Copies should be
retained until after the release of final results for the course.

Assignment Extensions and Penalties for Late Submission

Extensions
To apply for an extension of time for an assessment item you must submit a written request to
your lecturer at least 48 hours before the date the assessment item is due. Grounds for
extensions are usually: serious illness, accident, disability, bereavement or other
compassionate circumstances and must be able to be substantiated with relevant
documentation (e.g. medical certificate). Please refer to the NIC website - Policy Library - for
guidelines regarding extensions and deferred assessment.

Late Penalty
The mark for an assessment item submitted after the designated time on the due date,
without an approved extension of time, will be reduced by 10% of the possible maximum mark
for that assessment item for each day or part day that the assessment item is late. Note: this
applies equally to week and weekend days. The Late Penalty policy applies only to
assignments.

Other assessment items (quizzes) are expected to be completed by the due date. As
described in the above, late attempts will not be accepted and so the policy on Late Penalties
will not apply to these assessment items.

Marking and Grading for Undergraduate and Postgraduate Courses & Programs *
Range Grade Long Description
of
marks

85- High Outstanding standard indicating comprehensive knowledge and

100 Distinction understanding of the relevant materials; demonstration of an
(HD) outstanding level of academic ability; mastery of skills*; and
achievement of all assessment objectives.

75-84 Distinction Excellent standard indicating a very high level of knowledge and
(D) understanding of the relevant materials; demonstration of a very
Newcastle International College NIC-ECON1001: Microeconomics for Business Decisions

high level of academic ability; sound development of skills*; and

achievement of all assessment objectives.

65-74 Credit (C) Very Good standard indicating a high level of knowledge and
understanding of the relevant materials; demonstration of a high
level of academic ability; reasonable development of skills*; and
achievement of all assessment objectives.

50-64 Pass (P) Satisfactory standard indicating an adequate knowledge and

understanding of the relevant materials; demonstration of an
adequate level of academic ability; satisfactory development of
skills*; and achievement of most assessment objectives.

0-49 Fail (FF) Failure to satisfactorily achieve assessment objectives or

compulsory course components. A fail grade may also be awarded
following disciplinary action.

S– A grade awarded in a course for which only a pass or fail is

Satisfactory available
F - Fail
*Skills are those identified for the purposes of assessment task(s).
*Adapted from the University of Newcastle Workload Assessment Marking and Grading Policy
(Policy 000649).

Academic Misconduct
Academic misconduct covers, but is not limited to, acts of plagiarism, cheating, fabrication of
data or research, unauthorised collaboration (e.g. collusion), misrepresentation of student
status, and academic qualifications falsification.

The College Academic Committee is responsible for investigating reports of academic

misconduct and, where a student has been found to have engaged in a form of academic
misconduct, may apply one or more of the following penalties:

o A formal warning to the student;

o Requirement to attend compulsory academic skills workshop prior to resubmission of
the assessment in which the academic misconduct occurred;
o A mark reduction or a mark of zero (0) awarded for the assessment in which the
academic misconduct occurred;
o A Fail (F) grade for the course in which the academic misconduct occurred;
o Exclusion from enrolling in the program of study for a specified period of time;
o Expulsion from the College;
o Any other academic penalty as decided by the Academic Director.

For further information please refer to the Academic Honesty Policy on the NIC website (Policy
Library).

Additional Course Information

Special Requirements for this course.
There are no special requirements for this course.
Teacher and Course Evaluation
Your feedback is respected and valued by your lecturers and tutors. You are encouraged to
provide your thoughts on the course and teaching, both positive and critical, directly to your
lecturer and tutor. You are also encouraged to complete course and lecturer evaluations on
the NIC portal or in class whenever these are available.

Risk Assessment Statement

There are no out of the ordinary risks associated with this course.
Newcastle International College NIC-ECON1001: Microeconomics for Business Decisions

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Note: For all Diploma level programs, NIC acknowledges content derived from the University of
Newcastle.