PBA4801 Economics for Managers January 2024 S1

PBA4801 Economics for Managers January 2024 S1

ECONOMICS FOR MANAGERS

(PBA4801)
MODULE OVERVIEW

2024
 PBA4801 Economics for Managers Jan 2024 S1

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 2
2. PURPOSE OF AND BROAD AND SPECIFIC OUTCOMES FOR THE MODULE ....... 3
2.1 Purpose .............................................................................................................................. 3
2.2 Broad and specific outcomes ............................................................................................. 3
2.3 Learning outcome............................................................................................................... 3
3. LECTURER AND CONTACT DETAILS......................................................................... 4
3.1 Lecturer .............................................................................................................................. 4
3.2 Administrative support........................................................................................................ 4
4. MODULE-RELATED RESOURCES .............................................................................. 4
4.1 Prescribed books................................................................................................................ 4
4.2 Recommended books ........................................................................................................ 4
4.3 Electronic reserves (e-reserves) ........................................................................................ 5
5. TOPICS .......................................................................................................................... 6
6. STUDY SCHOOL PLAN ................................................................................................ 7
7. MODULE PRACTICAL WORK AND WORK-INTEGRATED LEARNING ..................... 8
8. ASSESSMENT ............................................................................................................... 8
8.1 Assessment at the postgraduate level ............................................................................... 8
8.2 Assessment plan ................................................................................................................ 9
9. ASSIGNMENTS ............................................................................................................. 9
9.1 General assignment numbers ............................................................................................ 9
9.2 Submission deadlines for the assignments........................................................................ 9
9.3 Submission of assignments ............................................................................................. 10
9.4 Assessment tasks ........................................................................................................... 11
9.5 The Individual assessment tasks ..................................................................................... 11
INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT 01 ............................................................................................. 11
INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT 02 ............................................................................................. 14
10. REFERENCING ........................................................................................................... 16
11. OTHER ASSESSMENT METHODS............................................................................ 17
12. EXAMINATION............................................................................................................. 17
13. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ......................................................................... 17
14. SOURCES CONSULTED ............................................................................................ 17
15. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................. 18

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Topics........................................................................................................................... 6
Table 3: Contact session 1 (Face-to-Face)................................................................................ 7
Table 4: Contact session 2 (virtual) ........................................................................................... 7
Table 5: Examples of Critical Cross-Field Outcomes (CCFOs)................................................. 8

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1. INTRODUCTION
Managers need to respond appropriately to economic activity changes and view the economy
as part of a set of integrated systems. This implies that in this Postgraduate Diploma in
Business Administration, an economy analysis should be conducted in conjunction with other
competencies to ensure the required integration of managerial activities in workplace
situations. The module is intended for existing and up-coming managers who need to master
management practice by establishing clusters of managerial competencies guiding their
practical execution in workplace situations.
Since the onset of the global economic crisis in 2008, people have become more aware of the
importance of economic issues. However, that does not imply an understanding of what
economics is all about. In this module, you will study how economies function from
microeconomic and macroeconomic perspectives. We distinguish between microeconomics
(a study of markets and price determination for specific commodities and services) and
macroeconomics (a study of income, output, expenditure, inflation, employment, etc., for the
economy as a whole). The concepts of supply and demand form an essential part of both
microeconomic and macroeconomic theory. At the micro level, refer to market supply and
demand; at the macro level, we refer to aggregate demand and supply. The course will equip
you with the basic tools and techniques to analyse the microeconomic and macroeconomic
impact of exogenous shocks and policy changes on the economy. In addition, it should help you
analyse how exogenous shocks and policy changes affect your immediate business
environment.
Microeconomics is concerned with price determination in different market structures, which,
in turn, are subject to different degrees of competition. In this regard, we distinguish between
perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, and monopoly. At one end of the
spectrum, we have perfect competition where the market determines the price, and buyers
and sellers are price takers. This market structure is characterised by many buyers and sellers;
neither buyers nor sellers can influence the market price; firms are price takers; the product is
homogeneous; entry and exit are completely free, and information is complete. At the other
end of the spectrum, we have a monopoly where the supplier determines price. This market
structure is characterised by the existence of only one supplier, a unique product with no
substitutes; the firm has considerable influence over price (but is constrained by market
demand), there are barriers to entry, and information is incomplete. A pure monopoly is a market
in which there is only one supplier; thus, there is no competition on the supply side of the
market. When there is only a single buyer and no competition on the demand side, we refer
to this as a monopsony.
Macroeconomics is concerned with the structure, performance and behaviour of the
economy as a whole. The primary focus is on analysing and examining the underlying
determinants of the main aggregate trends in the economy with respect to the total output of
goods and services (real GDP), unemployment, inflation and international transactions.
Macroeconomic analysis attempts to explain the cause and impact of short-run fluctuations in
real GDP (the business cycle) and the major determinants of the long-run path of real GDP

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(economic growth). Macroeconomic events affect everyone’s lives and welfare, and positive,
preferably high and sustained macroeconomic performance is essential for the well-being of
all citizens of a country. A mixed economy that practices prudent and effective macroeconomic
management should experience low unemployment, low inflation, and steady and sustained
economic growth. In contrast, in a country with macroeconomic mismanagement, an adverse
impact on the living standards and employment opportunities of its citizens can be observed.
Because macroeconomic performance and policies are closely connected, major
macroeconomic issues are also the subject of constant media attention and inevitably play a
key role in political debate.

2. PURPOSE OF AND BROAD AND SPECIFIC OUTCOMES FOR THE MODULE

2.1 Purpose
This module, Economics for managers, strives to equip you with the competencies to
analyse and interpret domestic and global economic changes and trends. These
competencies should enable you to determine the most appropriate economic-related
decisions you need to make in the workplace environment when such changes occur.
2.2 Broad and specific outcomes
The module focuses on broad economic phenomena, economic theory and economic
indicators influencing decision-making in organisations, with special reference to the African
context.
The broad outcome of this module is to demonstrate high-level, sustainable decision-making
competencies and flexibility in a complex, dynamic global economic environment. The specific
outcomes of the module are to provide you with high-level economic competencies and skills
to enable you to:
• identify and explain economic phenomena that influence business organisations.
• predict the effect of changes in market conditions (including monetary and fiscal policy)
on micro- and macroeconomics.
• analyse the impact of economic changes in general on your specific business
organisations.
• analyse the economy to make informed business decisions.
• use economic indicators in the context of management decision-making.
• revise business decisions by monitoring changes in economic activity
2.3 Learning outcome
You are expected to demonstrate the knowledge and understanding of the main concepts,
principles and theories employed within the field of economics and basic methods analysis in
economics. By the end of the course you will be able to:
• understand and interpret economic information presented in textual, numerical or
graphical form

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• select and apply economic concepts and principles to explain and analyse
contemporary events at the micro and macro levels and recognise unstated
assumptions
• evaluate alternative theoretical explanations and perspectives of economic problems,
issues and decisions in a global context
• organise and communicate economic ideas and arguments in a clear, logical and
appropriate form.
Once you have completed this module, we trust that you will have an understanding of the
micro- and macroeconomic business environment in which your business/organisation
operates and how knowledge of economics per se can enhance management decision-
making.
3. LECTURER AND CONTACT DETAILS
3.1 Lecturer
The lecturer for this module is:

Dr B Muchara

Office 3-6, Unisa SBL Campus, Corner of Janadel and Alexandra Avenues,
Office:
Midrand
Telephone number: +27 11 652 0395
E-mail address: muchab@unisa.ac.za

Lecturers can assist with enquiries of an academic nature only, such as the contents of
assignments.
You must provide your student number and the course code of this module
(PBA4801) whenever you make an enquiries.

3.2 Administrative support

Mr Simeon Muladelo Tshilambavhunwa

Unisa SBL Campus, Corner of Janadel and Alexandra Avenues,

Office:
Midrand
Telephone number: +27 011 652 O219
E-mail address: tshilms@unisa.ac.za

You must provide your student number and the course code of this module
(PBA4801) whenever you make an enquiries.

4. MODULE-RELATED RESOURCES

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4.1 Prescribed books

Parkin, M., Rhodes, B., Saayman, A., Schöer, V., Scholtz, D., Smit, C., Thompson, K.,
Antrobus, G., Bruce-Brand, J., & A (2023). Economics: Global and Southern African
Perspectives (3rd ed.). Pearson International Content.
https://online.vitalsource.com/books/9781485716808
4.2 Recommended books
Farnham (2014). Economics for Managers. Pearson.
Mankiw, NG & Taylor, MP. 2014. Economics: South African edition. Andover: Cengage
Learning.
Mohr, P. 2017. Economic indicators. 5th edition. Pretoria: Van Schaik.
4.3 Electronic reserves (e-reserves)
Updated web links for this module will be given to you at the study schools and posted on
MyUnisa Moodle. The following links will provide you with a wealth of economic data:
SOUTH AFRICAN DATA
Trading Economics
https://tradingeconomics.com/south-africa/indicators
Statistics South Africa
http://www.statssa.gov.za/
South African Reserve Bank (SARB)
https://www.resbank.co.za/Pages/default.aspx
National Treasury
http://www.treasury.gov.za/
Department of Trade Industry and Competition
(DTIC) http://www.thedtic.gov.za/
Department of Labour
http://www.labour.gov.za/
South Africa Government
www.gov.za
Bureau for Economic Research (Stellenbosch)
http://www.ber.ac.za
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU)
http://www.cosatu.org.za/
INTERNATIONAL DATA
United Nations
http://www.un.org/en/
United Nations Development Programme
http://www.undp.org/
The World Bank
http://www.worldbank.org/

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International Monetary Fund (IMF)

http://www.imf.org/external/index.htm

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Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

http://www.oecd.org/
Institute of Management Development (IMD)
http://www.imd.org/
WTO trade data
https://www.macmap.org/

5. TOPICS
When analysing the economy, we focus on the following topics discussed in Parkin et al.
(2013).

Table 1: Topics

Topic Chapters in
Number Description (Parkins et al. 2013)
Microeconomics
1 Scope of managerial economics, basic economic concepts 1, 2
and models, the economic problem-choice-PPF
2 Demand and supply Price elasticity 3, 4
3 Production Functions and Costs 11
4 Market efficiency (taxes, subsidies, quotas, etc.) 5, 6
5 Market structures (perfect competition, oligopoly, and 12,13, 14 & 15
monopoly)
6 Market failure and government 16
Macroeconomics
1 Macroeconomic concepts Economic indicators (GDP, 21, 22
unemployment, inflation, etc.)
2 Macroeconomic models (the Keynesian model) 27
3 Aggregate supply and aggregate demand 28
4 Inflation, unemployment and the business cycle 29
5 Economic policy (fiscal and monetary policy) 30, 31
6 The global economy 7

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6. STUDY SCHOOL PLAN

Before Covid-19, all study schools were held at the GSBL in Midrand, Gauteng. After
COVID-19 lockdowns and social distancing protocols, the study schools were formatted
differently and conducted online. Currently, a hybrid model (both Face-to-Face and online)
will be utilised. Attendance is compulsory for each module, and students will be advised in
advance about the scheduled dates and the platforms to be used. Contact sessions allow
students to interact with academics and other students.

Table 2: Contact session 1 (Face-to-Face)

Topic number Topic description

1 Basic economic concepts, the economic problem-choice-PPF

2 Demand and supply concepts, Price elasticities
3 Production functions and costs
4 Market Structures (Perfect competition, Monopoly, Oligopoly)
5 Market efficiency analysis: taxes, subsidies, etc., with D & S
6 Market Failure and government interventions
Table 3: Contact session 2 (virtual)

Topic number Topic description

1 Economic indicators and macroeconomic concepts

2 The Keynesian model
3 Macroeconomic models (aggregate supply & aggregate demand)
4 Economic policy (fiscal and monetary)
5 The global economy

MODULE-SPECIFIC STUDY PLAN

Use your Study @ Unisa brochure for general time management and planning skills. This
brochure is available at https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/myunisa/default/Study-@-Unisa
We strongly recommend that you set a study programme for yourself for this semester and
that you allocate sufficient time to work through the prescribed material – to study and read
the relevant sections of the prescribed books, to incorporate additional material if necessary,
to do the assignments, and to prepare for the examination. The module spans six months.
You are required to read the relevant prescribed material before the study school because
knowledge of the topics will be required for discussions. The prescribed articles should be
considered part of the theory that you must study and apply for the assessments. Use the
textbook as a basis for preparing for the assessments.

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The following applies to 12-credit modules:

You will need to spend at least 120 hours working on this module. This includes approximately
50 hours of reading and studying the learning material, 40 hours of doing activities and
assignments, and 30 hours of preparation for the examination. This includes attending study
school.

7. MODULE PRACTICAL WORK AND WORK-INTEGRATED LEARNING

This module has no practical work or work-integrated learning (WIL).

8. ASSESSMENT
The ODeL element of the SBL and the larger Unisa comprise self-tuition and individual work
in which you must do both prescribed and recommended reading, complete assignments, and
contribute to group activities. There are three assessments during the semester. Two
formative assessments in the form of a group and an individual assignment will be needed. A
final summative assessment will be in the form of a timed examination.
8.1 Assessment at the postgraduate level
This module is based on the mastery of specified learning outcomes, which, along with
assessment criteria, are included in this module overview. Standards for accrediting
qualifications are set by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), which oversees
the National Qualifications Framework (NQF).
Assessment plays an important role in the learning process. Both the group and individual
assignments form part of the formative assessment in this module. They are used to assess
your progress during the year and to provide feedback that you can use to improve your future
performance in this module. In addition to the learning outcomes of the module, the critical
cross-field outcomes (CCFOs) associated with the module, in general, will also be assessed.
These CCFOs are generic outcomes that inform all teaching and learning, and they have been
integrated with the formative and summative assessment in this module. The following table
indicates some of the CCFOs and practical examples useful in assessing them.

Table 4: Examples of Critical Cross-Field Outcomes (CCFOs)

CCFO Example

Organising and managing oneself and one’s
activities responsibly and effectively
Collecting, analysing, organising and critically
evaluating information
Submitting your completed assignment on or
before the due date indicates that you have
mastered this outcome.
Searching for other sources, incorporating
different views and forming a substantiated
opinion are indications that you have mastered
this outcome.

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Communicating effectively using language skills Adhering to the technical requirements for an
in written presentation essay assignment is an indication that you have
mastered this outcome.
For more information on the CCFOs, please visit the South African Qualifications Authority
(SAQA) website at: http://www.saqa.org.za

8.2 Assessment plan

To determine how well you have accomplished the learning outcomes for the module, you will
be assessed throughout the semester through two assignments and a timed take home
examination. To pass this module, you need to obtain a final mark of at least 50%. The final
mark is composed of a year mark and an examination mark. The first assignment
contributes 50%, and the second contributes 50% towards the year mark. The weight of the
year (semester) mark is 60% and that of the written timed take home examination is 40%. You
also need to obtain a subminimum of 40% in the timed examination for your year mark to be
considered in the calculation of the final mark

9. ASSIGNMENTS
9.1 General assignment numbers
Assignments are numbered consecutively per module, starting from 01.
• Group assignment – 01 (Formative)
• Individual assignment – 02 (Formative)
• Individual assessment – Timed online examination (Summative)
9.2 Submission deadlines for the assignments
A submission deadline is the time and last date on which the assignment should reach the
university. If your assignment is not registered on the system by the submission deadline, your
assignment will not be marked unless the required permission is obtained from the programme
administrator.
The submission deadlines for this module are:

Submission
Assignment Year mark contribution Type Marks
deadline 10:am

01 13 March 2024 50% towards year mark group 100

02 24 April 2024 50% towards year mark Individual 100

VERY IMPORTANT – EXTENSIONS

Please ensure that your assignments reach us before the submission deadline. No late
submissions will be accepted after 10:00 AM on the date of the submission deadline.
The onus and responsibility to ensure timeous submissions rests with you, the student.
Late assignments will be returned unmarked, and a mark of zero will be allocated. A student
who

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who is unable to submit by the submission deadline may apply for an extension from the
programme administrator before the actual submission deadline. Only reasons such as illness
or death of a family member will be considered. Acceptable evidence of specific
circumstances, such as medical certificates, must be submitted with the request. Extensions
will not be granted for not meeting the submission deadline due to work commitments,
technical challenges, electrical load shedding or any self-imposed travelling limitations. Your
request must clearly indicate, your name, your student number, the registered programme, the
module, the lecturer, the assignment number, reasons and evidence for the request must be
forwarded in writing to the programme administrator.

VERY IMPORTANT - TURNITIN

Submission of assignments to Turnitin
To minimise plagiarism and improve the quality of your work, you are expected to submit your
assignment on Turnitin via Turnitin.com. This should be done before you submit your final
assignment on the myUnisa Moodle system for marking. Please note that the lecturer does
not have access to your Turnitin submission, so you must download the report and
then submit it together (as an annexure) with your assignment as a single document
file.
Turnitin Originality Check allows educators to check students' work for improper citation or
potential plagiarism by comparing it against continuously updated databases. Every originality
report provides instructors with the opportunity to teach their students proper citation methods
and safeguard their students' academic integrity.
You are currently required to log in and submit your assignments (2024) on Turnitin and check
the similarity of your text. As a guide, the assignment must be below 25% in similarity for the
whole document and below 2% for a single source you referenced. This still does not mean
that an assignment with an index below 25% does not have plagiarised work. You
should ensure that all phrases, sentences, etc., from other sources, are paraphrased in
your own words and correctly referenced.
NOTE: Should your FINAL Turnitin and myUnisa Moodle submitted document (for all
assignments) not comply, you may receive a 0% for the submission/s.
You have to conform to the Unisa Policy for Copyright Infringement and Plagiarism (available
on the Student Policies & Rules home page) at:
https://www.unisa.ac.za/static/corporate_web/Content/Apply%20for%20admission/Document
s/Policy_copyright_infringement_plagiarism_16November2005.pdf
You are kindly expected to submit your essays on Turnitin, after which you submit the revised
version on myUnisa Moodle. Unisa has zero tolerance for plagiarism.
You have already been enrolled for the module on Turnitin. Please see the guideline document
on myUnisa Moodle for guidance.

9.3 Submission of assignments

All assignments are to be submitted online using the myUnisa Moodle platform. Submissions
should not be e-mailed to programme administrators and academics. Submissions via

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e-mail will not be accepted. For detailed information on how to use the myUnisa Moodle
platform and instructions about assignment submission, please refer to myUnisa Moodle
Guide, which you received with your study package.
9.4 Assessment tasks

Please note that we adopt a very strong stance on plagiarism for all assignments and may
decide to take disciplinary steps against students who plagiarise. Plagiarism is the act of taking
the words, ideas, and thoughts of others and passing them off as one’s own. It is a form of
theft involving many dishonest academic activities. An example of plagiarism is retrieving
information from the internet, copying and pasting it into your assignment and submitting it as
your own work.
You may access the Policy for Copyright Infringement and Plagiarism from
https://www.unisa.ac.za/static/corporate_web/Content/Apply%20for%20admission/Documen
ts/Policy_copyright_infringement_plagiarism_16November2005.pdf
Your written work will be assessed on the level of communication displayed, the insights and
inferences drawn, and your ability to show the implications of the factors you assessed and
discussed. An answer that merely gives a list of events that have happened or a synopsis of
a situation without showing insight into the reasons and results will not earn good marks. Your
method of referencing must consistently follow the augmented Harvard method. Annexures
can be used to highlight additional information.

9.5 The assessment tasks

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GROUP ASSIGNMENT 01
Microeconomics
Submission Deadline: 10:00am
on 13 March 2024

Technical requirements:
Maximum length: 12 A4 pages; font type: Times New Romans; font size: 12-pt; line spacing:
1.5 (excluding appendices). Kindly note that markers will only review the first 12 pages.
Referencing: Harvard method

Please note that this assignment is relatively time intensive. Be advised to study the
relevant material and commence working on the assignment as early as possible.

QUESTION 1

Your group is expected to carry out the following activity.

• Read news or media articles from June 2023 to date and choose one which has a direct
bearing on microeconomics. Discuss the economic issues raised and how they affect the
business, society or the economy (5 Marks)
• Identify the market structure that best describes the sector being discussed and support
your selection. (10 Marks)
• Discuss the relevant economic approaches/theories that explain the issues raised in the
article. You must demonstrate your understanding of the relevant microeconomic theories,
e.g. demand theory, supply theory, market structures, elasticity theory, etc (15 Marks).
• Make a copy or Scan or paste the article as an annexure at the back of your assignment.
This allows the marker to read your article and be able to assess the accuracy of your
analysis.

(25 marks – 1000 maximum word limit)

QUESTION 2

Using a business of your choice, discuss how price elasticity of demand and price elasticity of
supply are both important for an organisation. Explain which of the two you consider most
significant and why. Your answer must start by describing the organisation and the nature of the
business.
(25 marks – 1000 maximum word limit)

QUESTION 3

Discuss the concept of market failure and give four examples to analyse the effectiveness of
various forms of government intervention which may be used to address this economic problem.

(25 marks – 1000 maximum word limit)

References

Layout and bibliography (use the Harvard referencing system) must be consistent.

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Assignments will be penalised for poor referencing and poor presentation. Marks will be
deducted for not following the prescribed referencing style and failure to reference.

[TOTAL = 75 MARKS]

Your answers to the above are assessed in terms of the level of communication displayed, the
insights and inferences drawn, and your ability to show the implications of the factors that you
have assessed and discussed. An answer that merely gives a list of events that have
happened or a synopsis of a situation without showing insight into the reasons and results will
not earn good marks. Your referencing method must consistently follow the Harvard method,
and your layout must be neat and consistent.
Marking guidelines
See the mark allocation for each of the subsections above. The mark allocation should guide
you on the length of your answers within 12 pages.
Focus, logic, and structure are critical in answering any assignment question. Focus on
answering each question asked. Your answer should have a clear, logical structure and your
arguments should be systematically developed and presented. Sentences and paragraphs
should follow one another logically. Avoid fragmentation (a collection of disjointed comments
on the literature) and ensure that your answer contains adequate analytical content. You will
be assessed on the relevance and depth of insight reflected by your discussion, analysis,
findings, and reasoning.

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT 02
Macroeconomics

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Submission deadline: 10:00am

on 24 April 2024

Technical requirements:
Maximum length: 12 A4 pages; font type: Times New Roman; font size: 12-pt; line spacing:
1.5 (excluding appendices). Kindly note that markers will only review the first 12 pages.
Referencing: Harvard method

QUESTION 1

Fiscal policy has been used extensively by governments to address the coronavirus pandemic.
Examine the impact of fiscal policy on aggregate demand conditions, and hence on individual firms
and industries, and discuss the effectiveness of fiscal policy in enabling firms to continue trading
since March 2020.
Note: You can draw examples from any country of your choice, not just South Africa

(25 marks – 1000 maximum word limit)

QUESTION 2

Using relevant examples, outline the impact of both inflation and unemployment on businesses and
the wider economy. Evaluate the effectiveness of monetary policy in controlling them both.

(25 marks – 1000 maximum word limit)

QUESTION 3

Globalisation has created a worldwide market for business and increased consumer choice. Write
a detail critique of the concept of globalisation and predict how it may influence changes on how
companies and national economies will operate in future.

(25 marks – 1000 maximum word limit)

References

Layout and bibliography (use the Harvard referencing system) must be consistent.
Assignments will be penalised for poor referencing and poor presentation. Marks will be
deducted for not following the prescribed referencing style and failure to reference.

[TOTAL = 75 MARKS]

Your answers to the above will be assessed in terms of the level of communication displayed,
the insights and inferences drawn, and your ability to show the implications of the factors that
you have assessed and discussed. An answer that merely gives a list of events that have
happened or a synopsis of a situation without showing insight into the reasons and results will
not earn good marks. Your referencing method must consistently follow the Harvard method
and your layout must be neat and consistent.
Marking guidelines
Please pay attention to the mark allocation for each of the subsections above.

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Focus, logic, and structure are critical in answering any assignment question. Your assignment
should be focused on answering each question asked. Your answer should have a clear,
logical structure, and your arguments should be systematically developed and presented.
Sentences and paragraphs should follow one another logically. A collection of more or less
disjointed comments on the literature is commonly referred to as “fragmentation”. Avoid
fragmentation and ensure that your answer contains adequate analytical content. You will be
assessed on the relevance, depth and insight that your discussion, analysis, findings and
reasoning reflected.

10. REFERENCING
It is customary in academic discourse to acknowledge the work that you have drawn from.
Although quotations have their role, and a few well-chosen quotations may enhance your
analysis, they should never replace your own explanation. We are primarily interested in
establishing if you can present the ideas in your own words. If you cite a quotation, use
quotation marks, make sure that it appears exactly as in its original state and provide a
reference in the way indicated below.
Whenever you mention someone else's ideas or directly quote their words, you should
provide a reference. There are various ways of doing this, but it is recommended that you
acquaint yourself with the Harvard method as it is the most widely used in academic circles.
According to this reference system, footnotes are not used to provide the full bibliographical
particulars of the referred source, as is customary in other systems. Instead, the bare
essentials to identify the source, such as the name of the author, the year of publication and
the page reference (where appropriate), are given in the text itself, making use of brackets.
Consider the following example:
Keynes (1936:129) believes that unemployment is caused by insufficient demand.
Another example:
Unemployment is caused by insufficient demand (Keynes, 1936:129).
Snowdon and Vane (2005:70-75) distinguish between three important interpretations of
Keynes.
The reader is, thus, referred to the bibliography (which should appear at the end of the
document) for the full particulars of Keynes (1936) or Snowdon and Vane (2005), should they
wish to consult the source.
Note that it is not necessary to give all the authors' names in the text when there are more
than two authors. The abbreviation et al. indicates that there are also other authors. The
important point here is that the Harvard method requires you to add a detailed bibliography
at the end of the document. In this bibliography, all the authors' names will be listed. The
precise rules of how to present a bibliography are below.
Basic rules for presenting a bibliography
The bibliography must be arranged alphabetically according to author's surname. The date
of publication appears immediately after the author's name. If the bibliographical entry is a
book, the name of the book must be underlined or italicised. The publisher's name must be
specified. If the entry is a journal article, the title of the article shouldbe included, and the name
of the journal must be provided. The name of the journal must be underlined or italicised. The
volume and issue of the journal and the page numbers must also be provided.
The following are examples of bibliographical entries. We have used italics instead of
underlining the names of books and journals - you may use either system.

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Bibliography
Keynes, JM. l936. The general theory of employment, interest and money. London: Macmillan.
Snowdon, B & Vane, H. 2005. Modern macroeconomics. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Solow, RM. 1975. The intelligent citizen's guide to inflation. The Public Interest 38:30-66.

Although numerous variations are currently in academic literature, we recommend that you
present your bibliography in exactly the way given by these examples.

11. OTHER ASSESSMENT METHODS

More information about the form and scope of other assessment methods as well as the dates,
will be supplied well in advance by the lecturer if needed.

12. EXAMINATION
A timed examination will be written at the end of the semester. The examination will cover all
the themes of this module. It will require the student to apply conceptual knowledge gained
from academic papers and the prescribed book to one or more case studies and specific
questions related to the case(s). Note that you may also be required to undertake additional
research and find some new papers of your own choice via the electronic resources of the
library to support your content and arguments in your answers. All reading material set out in
this module overview, together with all material covered at the study schools, should be studied
for the examination. The assessment of the examination will cover both microeconomics and
macroeconomics with equal weight (50:50). Examination eligibility will be determined
according to the rules and procedures applicable to PGD.

13. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The Studies @ Unisa brochure contains an A-Z guide of the most relevant study information.
As previously indicated, refer to https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/myunisa/default/Study-@-
Unisa.

14. SOURCES CONSULTED

Mohr, P. 2017. Economic indicators. 4th edition. Pretoria: Unisa Press.
Mohr, P. 2011. Understanding the economy. Pretoria: Van Schaik.
Parkin. M, Anthrobus. G, Kohler. M, Neethling. L, Rhodes. B, Saayman. A, Schoer. V, Scholtz.
D, & Thompson. K and Van der Merwe. J, 2013. Economics: global and Southern
African perspectives. 2nd edition. African edition. Cape Town: Pearson Education
South Africa.

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15. CONCLUSION
In conclusion, I wish you a pleasant and rewarding period of study. You are welcome to contact
us if you experience any problems with your studies.

Best wishes!

Dr B Muchara
Senior Lecturer
GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS LEADERSHIP (SBL)
UNISA

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