MICROECONOMIC ISSUES AND THEIR IMPACTS AND RESPONSES

The selected topic is 1. The High Australian Dollar

ECONOMICS FOR MANAGERS ASSIGNMENT

TITLE: “MICROECONOMIC ISSUES AND THEIR IMPACTS AND RESPONSES”

OBJECTIVE:

To critically evaluate the effects of a contemporary microeconomic issue upon businesses and consumers. The issue could have arisen from a particular government or central bank policy decision, from an internal management policy or decision aimed at increasing the competitive capability of a firm or business organisation, or as a result of a cyclical event in the national or global economies.

The evaluation is to be written up as a business report of around eight A4 pages (excluding references and any appendices) and needs to include an evaluation of how businesses and/or consumers affected by the microeconomic issue have responded, or plan to respond.

The focus of the report has to be a specific microeconomic issue and its business and/or consumer impacts and responses, not a lengthy description of general microeconomic theory that does not relate directly to the issue itself.

STEPS IN THE ASSIGNMENT:

· Choose a particular contemporary microeconomic issue for evaluation. As mentioned above, the issue could have arisen from a particular government or central bank policy decision, from an internal management policy or decision aimed at increasing the competitive capability of a firm or business organisation, or as a result of a cyclical event in the national or global economies. However, the topic must be related to the Australian economy.

· Critically evaluate the issue in terms of its effects upon businesses, consumers or a particular firm, including how the affected parties have responded, or plan to respond.

· Write a report (in the nature of a business report) on the microeconomic issue and its effects upon businesses and/or consumers and evaluate their response to try and address the adverse impacts of the issue. The length of the report is to be around eight A4 pages, plus a list of references and any appendices at the end.

4.Structure of the reportshould be based around the following headings:

? Executive Summary- this will be the first page and will be a summary of the key points in the main body of the report that follows. Hence the Executive Summary should be written last, as it does not contain any new material but merely summarises the key points about what is already written.

? Introduction and Background– including a description of the microeconomic issue, the sectors of the economy (firms, businesses and/or consumers) impacted by the issue, how they are impacted in terms of such things as profitability, capital investment, production, consumption, risks to business operations etc.

? Evaluation of Business or Consumer Response– including a description of how the affected sectors of the economy have responded, whether or not their response has achieved the outcomes intended and whether there were any unintended consequences arising from their response.

? Conclusion– stating whether or not, on balance, the business or consumer response could be regarded as reasonable in the circumstances (include reasons), what short term benefits or harm to the business or economy resulted, and a conclusion as to whether or not longer term benefits or harm to the business or economy might be expected in future as a result of their response.

? References– include all references used for the evaluation and report, and cite them correctly using the CDU Harvard Referencing System.

? Appendices- attach any supporting tables, graphs, media releases etc. as appendices at the end. All appendices attached must be referred to somewhere in the report.

Suggested Topics

1. The High Australian Dollar:

The high Australian dollar has been the centre of much attention since 2007/2008 Global Financial Crisis (GFC). The persistently high dollar against major currencies such as the Euro, the Yen, and particularly the United States (US) dollar which has more than halved in value against the Australian dollar in the last 10 years, has put a lot of pressure on Australian exporters and manufacturers.

2. Inflated Residential Property Prices in Australia and their microeconomic impacts on households, business and government. Australia is in the midst of a property bubble, and it will keep going because the bubble is being pumped up by overseas buyers, largely Chinese and superannuation funds.

3. The Ailing Manufacturing Industry – the contribution of manufacturing to Australia’s GDP peaked in the 1960s at 25%, and has dropped to less than 10% of GDP in recent years - need for a viable export oriented manufacturing industry.

PLAGIARISM:

Students are reminded of the importance of acknowledging and correctly referencing any written material used in their reports. The report should be written in the student's own words as far as possible. Where wording from an external source is being quoted directly, it is essential that this wording be indicated by quotes (“.”) and referenced correctly so that the marker can readily locate it.

TIPS

1. Select a topic, one in which you are interested, and for which there is enough information. If your topic is too broad you will have difficulty completing your report in the time allocated. Example: 'The effects of pollution' is too broad because there are so many effects of pollution. Narrow it down to 'The effects of pollution on Kakadu National Park' which is just about the right dimension.

2. Once you have chosen your topic find sources of background information to read. These sources will help you understand the broader context of your research and tell you in general terms what is known about your topic. Use information from a variety of reference sources. These sources include, books, journals, articles, magazines, newspapers, internet and so on.

3. Organise and analyse all the information you have collected and develop an outline of your ideas. An outline shows your main ideas and the order in which you are going to discuss them.

4. Write the main body of your report from the materials and data you have collected.

5. Summary and conclusion.

6. Prepare a title page, table of contents and a bibliography. List of references – include all references used for the assignment and cite them correctly using the Harvard Referencing System. I hope the above steps are of help in writing your research report.