Course Descriptions - Curriculum After 2016 - Department of Business Economics

Course Descriptions – Curriculum After 2016

Course Descriptions of Year I (Semester I) Courses

BUS 1370: PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT

This is an elementary course which aims to provide a comprehensive introduction to the key facets of an organisation, its envi ronment, the process of Management and new trends in Business Management. Along with an introduction to historical evolution of Management, the Course will facilitate participants to gain a basic knowledge of the concepts, models, theoretical foundations of Management, and the role of Management in organisations andsociety. Thereby, the Course will provide the students with a profound knowledge and management skills vis-à-vis planning, organising, leading, controlling, organisational decision making while making them socially responsible towards the environ- ment. The knowledge gained through this course will be beneficial for participants to follow their degree programme successfully.

DSC 1370: BUSINESS MATHEMATICS

This course, as the first course in mathemat ics, introduces students to basic principles, laws and rules that are necessary to develop an overview of application capabilities of the subject matters in the field of business and economics. Business Mathematics course covers functions, differentiation of functions, maxima and minima of functions, partial derivatives, integration, and area under curve and between curves and mathematics of finance. The course also includes the applications of differentiation and integration in business and economics. Under the applications of differentiation, the topics such as profit maximizations, cost minimizations, elasticity of demand, and marginal analysis are included. The major topics covered under applications of integration include marginal revenue and marginal cost, consumer‘s surplus, producers‘ surplus, total change in revenue, etc.

ITC 1370: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR BUSINESS

Information technologies and systems are transforming the business environment, and most of us are connected to them in multiple ways. The course provides students with theoretical knowledge and practical skills relating to information technology and information systems. The theoretical module discusses the importance of information systems, elements of information systems, applications of information systems for organization effectiveness and efficiency. The practical module provides the knowledge and operational skills in word processing applications, spreadsheet applications, presentation applications and online communication technologies which are frequently required in an organizational environment.

PUB 1270: SOCIO-POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT

Socio-political environment and profit- oriented businesses are interdependent. In one hand, businesses are influenced by the social and political forces while on the other hand, socio-political environment is influenced by the businesses. Accordingly, this introductory course unit is designed for the management undergraduates to gain fundamental understanding about social and political environment in which every business operates. As prospective professionals and citizens who will interact with the social and political institutions, it is necessary for an undergraduate to learn civic, social and political dimensions. This course facilitates learners to identify and respond to various social trends and changes in the political milieu, focusing on the substance of culture, socialization, social trends, social institutions, government, democracy, and interactions between different agents in the society. Further, it discusses the government mechanism which is currently being practiced in Sri Lanka.

LAW 1270: LEGAL ENVIRONMENT

Legal Environment is a core subject offered by the Legal Studies Unit for first-year undergraduates of the Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce. Upon completing this course, undergraduates are expected to be in a position where they can appreciate the varied effects of different areas of law and be adequately prepared to face legal issues they may encounter throughout their careers. For this purpose, the course is designed under three major topics i.e. Introduction to Law, Legal System of Sri Lanka, and Law of Obligations, which together cover a spectrum of laws affecting businesses. The course incorporates new legal developments in important fields such as white-collar crimes and antibribery & corruption to train undergraduates to understand their role and responsibility within the ever-changing business environment. A sound knowledge of the legal environment is required to effectively eradicate uncertainties of conducting business and management. Arming students with the ability to manage legal risks when making decisions at different organisational levels is the main objective of this course. The course is further aimed at encouraging undergraduates to make ethical decisions in their future work environments to ensure more disciplined economic development within the country. Undergraduates will hone their skills of logical reasoning and problem-solving for better evaluation of the legal, regulatory, and ethical concerns and be able to incorporate the knowledge gained from this course into their business and managerial decision-making.

BCC 1370: BUSINESS COMMUNICATION I

This course aims to help students reach the level of Band 4/5 of the UTEL. Upon completion of the course, students should be able to construct both simple and complex sentences accurately, express their views meaningfully in brief discussions and telephone conversations, obtain required information from auditory texts, read and extract information in texts for a variety of purposes, write short texts and business letters.

PUB1370: POLITICAL SCIENCE

This course is designed to provide the students with an understanding of the political environment within which a manager/administrator works and to enable them to appreciate the various political factors affecting their behavior. The major topics covered include both general theo- retical concepts of nation, state, rights, liberty, and equality as well as the ‘political institutions’ with special reference to Sri Lanka. Attention is paid to constitutional developments in Sri Lanka as well as to the evolution of party and electoral politics.

Course Descriptions of Year I (Semester II) Courses

HRM 1370: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

An obvious interdependence exists between our society and organizations that produce goods and services in order to fulfil our needs. The standards of living and even survival of people in society depend on the goods and services of the organization. Thus, any society/nation wants organizations that need people to achieve organizational objectives. Human Resource Management (HRM) is managing these people in organizations. The main objective of this course is to provide a systematic and rational understanding of HRM, both conceptual understanding and job-oriented practical understanding. It focuses on a systematic and scientific approach to the analysis and handling of issues/problems in HRM with special reference to the Sri Lankan context. The main areas covered are: introduction to HRM, organization of the HR department, job design, job analysis, human resource planning, recruitment, selection, hiring and induction, performance evaluation, pay management, training and development, employee movements, management of discipline, safety, health and welfare administration, grievances handling and management of labour relations.

DSC 1371:BUSINESS STATISTICS

This course provides an introduction to the fundamental concepts, principles and methods of Business Statistics. The topics include descriptive techniques, probability theory, probability distributions, and inferential techniques. The major topics discussed under descriptive techniques include data collection, presentation of data, organization of data and statistical summary measures. Three important theoretical distributions, namely, Binomial, Poisson and Normal distributions are discussed under probability distributions. The major topics under inferential techniques include sampling, sampling distributions, estimation and hypothesis testing. Correlation and regression theories are also introduced in this course.

BEC 1370: MICROECONOMICS

This basic course is designed to introduce the microeconomic theories, tools, and methods of analysis that are useful in the study of various economic issues in micro-level decision-making. This is a compulsory course that covers the intermediate theory of demand and supply, theories of consumer behaviour, short-run and long-run cost and its behaviour, production in the short run and in the long run, market structures and competition, factor market for labour, general equilibrium, and welfare. At the end of the course, students will be able to explain microeconomic concepts and apply microeconomic principles in day to day and business decision-making. The pre-requisite for this course is Business Mathematics.

ACC 1370:FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING AND REPORTING

This course aims at developing students’ knowledge and understanding of accounting standards, and their application in the preparation and presentation of financial statements of a corporate entity. The areas covered are: overview of financial accounting; conceptual framework for financial reporting; preparation and presentation of financial statements of companies; fair value accounting; accounting for assets including property, plant and equipment, investment property, intangible assets; investment in subsidiaries, investment in associates, financial assets, right-of-use of assets and borrowing cost; impairment of assets; accounting for liabilities including leases, financial liabilities, provisions; and accounting for revenue. An understanding of the financial accounting content covered in the G. C. E. Advanced Level (A/L) Accounting subject is essential to follow this course.

BCC 1371:BUSINESS COMMUNICATION II

This course aims to help students reach the level of benchmark Band 5/6 of the UTEL. This course introduces the students to language skills required in different business situations. Upon completion of this course, students should be able to participate in business meetings confidently and effectively, communicate effectively in a variety of situations, take down notes from auditory texts, read and respond to texts for a variety of purposes, write short formal texts and business letters, and use presentation techniques effectively and make brief presentations.

Course Descriptions of Year II (Semester I) Courses

BEC 2370: MACROECONOMICS

This basic course provides students with the comprehensive understanding of the aggregate economic system. This is a compulsory course which covers the topics of concepts of aggregate demand and supply, national income and product measures, consumption and investment, supply side economics and its applications, use of fiscal, monetary, exchange rate policies to guide the economy, employment, and inflation. It also encompasses macroeconomic analysis in both closed and open economy, with income-expenditure, IS-LM and modern approaches. At the end of this course, students will be able to understand the macroeconomic concepts, measurements and issues, the sectoral composition of an economy and the interrelationships among the various macroeconomic variables in the economy. Pre-requisites for this course are Business Mathematics and Microeconomics.

FIN 2370: FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

This introductory finance course is designed to familiarize the student with the role of financial management in maximizing the value of the firm. Students will gain familiarity with the functions of finance, and the institutions and instruments that carry out these functions in the current financial marketplace. The course primarily encompasses corporate finance. This course provides a basic understanding on :the scope and environment of financial management, the time value of money, risk and return, securities valuation, capital structure and leverage, capital budgeting and working capital management.

MAR 2370: MARKETING MANAGEMENT

This is an introductory core course which aims at providing students with the knowledge on concepts, theories and applications in the area of marketing management. The areas covered are: role and importance of marketing in a business and a society; marketing philosophies; marketing environmental analysis; consumer behaviour; segmenting, targeting and positioning strategies; and marketing program development. This course requires prior knowledge on BUS 1340- Principles of Management.

DSC 2370: OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

This course introduces the students to key concepts, principles and design techniques of the uses of the field of Operations Management (OM). Interactions and relationships with parallel management activities are also demonstrated in order to cultivate a general understanding of the field as a totality. Major topics covered include operations strategy and competitiveness, product design and process selection, total quality management, capacity management, layout planning, job design, work measurements, supply chain management, inventory control, and just-in-time manufacturing.

ACC 2370: MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING

This course aims to provide students with an understanding of management accounting theory and practice under four main pillars: a) introduction to management accounting & management accounting techniques, b) decision-making, c) planning & controlling, and d) performance evaluation. The development of problem-solving, analytical and critical thinking skills relating to the application of management accounting practices are also emphasised in the course. The topics covered are: overview of management accounting; cost concepts; costing methods-job costing & process costing; cost-volume-profit analysis; pricing; budgeting; and standard costing. An understanding of the management accounting content covered in the G. C. E. Advanced Level (A/L) Accounting subject is essential to follow this course.

BEC 2101: ENGLISH FOR BUSINESS ECONOMICS PART I

The aim of this course is to further develop and reinforce the four basic language skills, foster students’ critical attitude towards the topics discussed and build up their competence in using English in real situations, further help students to communicate more effectively and confidently in English and improving listening comprehension skills, participating in class discussions, making group presentations, asking and answering questions. On successful completion of this course, students will be able to develop their communication skills to help them in their university studies, recognize the importance of communication in English, understand contexts of communication, communicate clearly on a variety of different contexts to a wide range of audiences, effectively formulate arguments and communicate research findings through the process of researching and confidently engage in constructive and critical dialogue.

Course Descriptions of Year II (Semester II) Courses

BEC 2371: ADVANCED ECONOMICS

This is an extended analysis of Microeconomics and Macroeconomics course. This course intends to discuss advanced topics in economics to equip students with extensive knowledge in economics necessary to make both firm level and macro level decisions. This is a compulsory course covering the concepts, theories, and applications of advanced economics. First module of the course focuses on economic models, testing the validity of models and discussion on importance of models in economics. Then the foundation of economics is discussed under economic thought in the second module. Third module focuses on the cost-benefit analysis and welfare economics. At the end of the course, students will have enhanced ability to understand and critically assess contemporary advanced economic concepts across a broad spectrum of economics. Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Business Mathematics, Business Statistics, Mathematical Methods for Economics are pre-requisites for this course.

BUS 2371: ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

Organisational Behaviour (OB) is a self-reliant discipline that encompasses the knowledge of the already established disciplines such as Psychology, Sociology, Social Psychology, Anthropology, and Political Science. With the knowledge gained from varied disciplines Organisational Behaviour provides a systematic approach to understand, predict, and manage human behaviour at work. The Course aims at developing individuals who possess knowledge and skills for their own employability either locally or globally as well as for managing people in the world of work. The course consists of major areas in OB such as individual differences in behaviour, organisational culture, motivation, managing stress, interpersonal and group behaviour, power and politics in organisations, leadership, and organisational misbehaviour. With the knowledge imparted within the course, the learners will be able to understand, predict and manage the complex human behaviour within organisations for them to become successful managers.

ITC 2372: BUSINESS ANALYTICS

Current business organizations expect their employees to master the science of analysing data to find out patterns that will help them to develop business strategies. Analytics as a decision-making approach is been used by big corporations, governments, entrepreneurs and almost everyone else to generate insights by unearthing patterns and decoding data. It is a process of transforming data into actions through analysis and insights in the context of organizational decision making and problem-solving. This course provides knowledge on Business Analytics that cover business problem formulating, analytics problem framing, data selection, methodology selection, model building, model validation and deployment. Through this course, students get theoretical knowledge and practical exposure to offer innovative solutions to business problems.

BEC 2372: MATHEMATICAL ECONOMICS

The course of Mathematical Economics extends the discussions of Business Mathematics and Business Statistics into its applications in Economics. This course consists with two modules. First module of the course discusses the applications of mathematical methods in investigating economic theories and scrutinizing issues available in economics. It covers, applications of linear and non-linear models, differential calculus, integration, differential equations, matrix algebra and continuous time models. The course permits formulation and derivation of key relationships in a theory with clarity, generality, rigor, and simplicity. Second module of the course discusses the basic econometric tools used to analyze the real-world economic activities. It focuses on applications and issues related to estimation, inference, and linear models.

**Students can select ONE course from the three courses mentioned below**

FIN 2372: ADVANCED CORPORATE FINANCE

The primary objective of this course is to deepen students’ knowledge in financial management pertaining to the investment and financing decision making domains in increasing corporate performance and value. Accordingly, this course covers advanced techniques of capital budgeting and involvement of risk, the process of going public and capital structure, working capital management and short-term financial planning, and dividend policy. This course also includes areas such as framework of corporate finance, regional and global financial markets, long-term financial planning, valuation of corporate securities, cost of capital, leverage, financial distress and restructuring, corporate mergers and acquisitions, and alternative financing options. Moreover, this course enables students test out the applicability of theoretical and conceptual knowledge by engaging in discussions of contemporary topics and issues in the area via academic oriented research papers as well as papers published by global professional associations of finance. Similarly, students get the opportunity to analyze case studies and provide recommendations for real-world corporate finance issues faced by finance managers. The delivery modes of this course mainly include student-centered lecture sessions, interactive tutorial classes, guest lectures, group discussions, presentations, study tours, and field visits.

DSC 2371: SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

This course is an introduction to the supply chain concept and explores the management of supply chains to improve an organization’s overall supply efficiency. Further, it develops an understanding of key drivers of supply chain performance and their inter-relationships with strategy and other functions of the company such as marketing, manufacturing and accounting. Other concepts included are the definitions of supply chains, identification procedures, an overview of methods, processes, and systems used in the operation of supply chains, and the applications of methods, processes, and systems to improve supply chain performance.

ENT 2375: ENTREPRENEURSHIP

This is an introductory level course on basic concepts and theoretical foundations on the concept of Entrepreneurship. It discusses the meaning and definitions of entrepreneur, entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship, the nature characteristics and behaviour of the entrepreneur, entrepreneur’s role as a leader in an enterprise, the role of entrepreneur in the economy, and influences on entrepreneurship development.

Course Descriptions of Year III (Semester I) Courses

BEC 3370: MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS

This course is an extended analysis of Microeconomics and Macroeconomics which aims to provide students with an advanced knowledge on application of economic theory and decision science tools in in-firm managerial decision making. This is a compulsory course with the main subject areas of demand analysis, demand estimation and forecasting, advanced production and cost analysis, market structures, game theory and strategic behaviour, pricing practices and business and government decision making. At the end of the course, students will be able to comprehend the importance of economics in business decision making, explore the dynamic decision environment of a firm and apply quantitative and qualitative economic tools for decision support in order to achieve organizational objectives. Prerequisites of this course are Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Business Mathematics and Business Statistics.

BEC 3371: ECONOMETRICS

This advanced course provides students with an introduction to the theory and practice of Econometrics, and experience in estimating econometric models with actual data. This is a compulsory course which mainly focuses on techniques for estimating regression models, on problems commonly encountered in estimating such models, and on interpreting the estimates from such models. It covers the basic econometric concepts, simple and multiple regression analysis, basic econometric problems, simultaneous-equation models, panel data regression models, and time series econometrics. This course will be taught through lectures, practical sessions, and tutorials. Software packages will be used in practical sessions. At the end of the course, students will be able to define key concepts in econometrics and analyze different types of data using statistical software and interpret the results. Business Statistics, Mathematical Methods for Economics are pre-requisites for this course.

DSC 3370: OPERATIONS RESEARCH

This course introduces key concepts, principles and techniques of Operations Research that are essential to make better decisions to the students. Major topics covered in this course are Linear Programming, Transportation Model, Assignment Model, and Network Analysis. The basic objective of this course is to provide the participants with a conceptual and practical knowledge of important Operations Research (Management Science) topics and concepts that are useful for real world management decision making. This course emphasizes on the conceptual understanding and practical use of Operations Research techniques rather than memorization of the mechanics of solution procedures.

ITC3371: MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND ERP APPLICATIONS

Information technology has changed from a minor corporate support function to a primary driver of corporate profitability. Information technology is fundamentally changing the businesses and the way they operate. Production, distribution, and control of information has become the primary driver of today‘s economy where information systems play a critical role. Integrated systems such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have become the primary source of information for most of the organizations. Therefore, understanding the use of such integrated systems and the effects of information technology and information systems to individuals, businesses, and the society are of paramount importance. This course is aimed at providing hands on experience on the use of ERP systems and insight and knowledge on the effect of different technologies and systems on individuals, businesses, and the society. Special attention is drawn as to how organizations can use these technologies and systems to optimize its performance and gain competitive advantage, while mitigating the risks associated with them. The course will equip the students with essential knowledge and exposure related to the use of technologies and systems so that they would become effective business managers and leaders in today‘s technology rich organizations.

BEC 3372: INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC RELATIONS

This course is designed to give a comprehensive understanding on the international dimensions of business and economic operations mainly with respect to the global economic factors at play. This is a core-course for students specializing in International Economics and Business. The course covers operations of international economic and monetary organizations and their role in global economy, economic integration among countries and regions, operations of international business in global market and International economic policy of Sri Lanka. By the end of this course students will be able to apply their knowledge of institutions, policies, and market dynamics in global economy.

BEC 3373: INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT AND FINANCE

The objectives of this course are two-fold: to introduce and critically evaluate the main relevant economic theories, models, and empirical works in these three key areas of International Finance; and to apply these analytical tools to build an understanding of relevant economic developments and policy issues in the global markets. This is a compulsory course under International Trade and Finance specialization. The course covers the topics of balance of payments analysis, exchange rates and their determination, financial globalization, the challenges, and opportunities presented by single currency areas like the Euro area, downsides of financial globalization, how financial crises are transmitted internationally and how multinational firms use financial instruments to finance their operations and reduce risks. The course enables the students to evaluate the financial flows of the increasingly interconnected world. Pre-requisites of this course are Microeconomics, and Macroeconomics.

BEC 3102: ENGLISH FOR BUSINESS ECONOMICS PART II

This course will provide techniques, guidelines, and suggestions to improve students‘ academic written communication. It will give hands-on experience in drafting, organizing, and revising academic texts. Further introduce students to principles of effective written communication and critical reading. At the end of the course, students will be able to organize and write texts that meet the demands of specific genres, purposes and audiences, employ appropriate usage, grammar, and spelling, discover, analyse, summarize, and synthesize appropriate source material from both print and electronic environments, present focused, logical arguments that support a thesis and use reliable and varied evidence to support claims, incorporate sources from others appropriately, and acknowledge and document the works of others appropriately.

BEC 3201: PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

This is a course which provides the students with soft skills that need to be acquired by a professional. The main objective of this course is to develop an individual well-equipped with professional skills and positive attitudes. Also it aims to develop a balance personality with higher social and career prospects. Methods of instruction are mainly interactive sessions, guest lectures, discussions, lectures, and workshops covering areas of personal grooming, etiquette, planning self-presentation at different occasions, and effective interpersonal skills. The two-day Outward-Bound Training Programme is one of the main events organized under this course. This course is offered in semester I and semester II for third year undergraduates of the department.

BNK Students can select ONE course from the two courses mentioned below

FIN 3371: BUSINESS VALUATION THEORY AND APPLICATIONS

This course explores both the theoretical basis and practical applications of all major elements of discounted cash flow valuation, relative valuation and asset- based valuation. This course discusses the selection and the use of different valuation techniques in forecasting the company‘s strategic position, and economic and business values. This course focuses on corporate valuation. The topics in relation to valuation include; fundamentals of valuation, core principles of value creation, concept of conservation of value, followed by core valuation techniques both absolute and relative, and advanced issues in valuation. Key emphasis is given on restating the required financial information for corporate valuation from financial statements and other sources of information.

FIN 3372: CREDIT AND TREASURY MANAGEMENT

The credit management module of this course deals with concepts and techniques related to management of credit in institutions. This section mainly focusses on credit operations, credit policy, credit terms and conditions and credit risk assessment. The course provides necessary knowledge about sales ledger management, liquidity management and consumer credit together with export credit finance and credit insurance. The second module of the course intends to provide a comprehensive understanding on the treasury functions of corporate and financial institutions together with the rational for the availability of treasury function in corporations. The major aspects covered includes treasury functions, international borrowings, corporate ratings, foreign exchange exposure management, interest rate risk management, value based management, treasury performance measurement, liquidity management systems and controls, tax and accounting issues.

Course Descriptions of Year III (Semester II) Courses

BEC 3374: PROJECT MANAGEMENT

This advanced course provides the students with knowledge and skills on Project Management in business organizations or entirely project-based organizations. This is a compulsory course which covers the theoretical foundation of Project Management techniques, software training and practical elements of real-world projects undertaken by the students. This course studies the nine basic Project Management knowledge areas: project integration management, scope management, schedule management, cost management, quality management, human resource management, risk management, communication management and procurement management. In addition, the students undergo a thorough training of MS Project software (usually the latest accessible version) to be competent in meeting the challenges in the real business setup under project management. This course enables the students to manage a project effectively throughout its life cycle and to use MS Project software to apply those principles and techniques discussed. Prerequisites of this course are Principles of Management, Microeconomics, Human Resource Management, Financial Management and Operations Management.

BEC 3375: MONETARY ECONOMICS

This is an advanced course with the objective of analyzing the monetary theory to understand the effect of change in monetary variables on the macroeconomic system. It introduces and solves number of models allowing students to see exactly these models work and what differentiates one from another. This is a compulsory course which covers topics of money supply, money demand, monetary policy transmission mechanism, inflation and optimal inflation rate, neutrality of money, monetary policy targets and rules, monetary policy in open economies, time inconsistency of monetary policy, uncertainties of monetary policy designs and monetary policy frameworks. At the end of this course, students should be able to understand and analyse monetary links in the context of monetary policy transmission mechanism. Microeconomics and Macroeconomics are pre-requisites for this course.

BEC 3376: COMMERCIAL BANKING

The course is designed to equip students with knowledge of commercial banking practices in regulatory framework and its contribution to economic growth and development. This course examines the ways in which modern commercial banks are operating in the face of various shocks, locally or internationally such as economic and political, and how these operating practices contribute to economic growth and development of modern economies. It covers topics of commercial banks and its regulatory framework, commercial banking practices in reaching economic development and commercial banking in the global economy. To follow this course, students should complete Microeconomics and Macroeconomics courses as the prerequisites.

BEC 3377: FINANCIAL ECONOMICS

This course integrates the theory of finance and financial institutions into the main body of economic theory with the aim of providing students with an in-depth understanding of overall financial market. This is an extended analysis of Microeconomics and Macroeconomics courses with the special focus on the financial market. This compulsory course covers the areas of behavior of interest rate, the risk and term structure of interest rates, theories of the term structure of interest rates, interest rate and bond market, the efficient markets theory, economic analysis of financial structure and the foreign exchange market. This course enables the students to gain a profound knowledge of financial markets in a macro- and microeconomic context and to develop analytical skills and thinking ability to evaluate the behaviour of national and international financial markets and institutions. Business Mathematics, Business Statistics, Microeconomics and Macroeconomics courses provide the pre-requisites for this course.

BEC 3378: ECONOMICS OF INNOVATION

This advanced course intends to discuss the economics behind innovation with the objective of illustrating incentive policy frameworks for innovations within the context of developed countries experiences. This is a compulsory course under the Development Studies specialization. The course focuses on three modules: first, innovation and intellectual property right; secondly, the innovation incentives and the positive externalities generated through firm level innovations, and thirdly, innovation as a key driver for economic growth and development are discussed. This course enables the students to recognize the importance of innovations and to perceive its economic significance. Pre-requisites of this course are Microeconomics and Macroeconomics.

BEC 3379: ECONOMICS OF LABOUR

This course is an extended analysis of microeconomics and macroeconomics with specific focus on the labour market. As an elective course under Development Studies, it aims to provide students with a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the application of microeconomic and macroeconomic theories to the labour market. The areas covered in the course include labour demand, supply and elasticities, frictions in the labour market, decision to work/leisure, compensating wage differentials, investment in human capital, worker mobility, pay and productivity, unions and the labour market, gender, race and inequality in earnings, employment and unemployment, and the impact of labour market on international trade and production sharing. At the end of this course, students will be able to analyze how individuals, families, firms, and government operate within the contemporary labour market and the impact of labour market on government policy and vice versa. The pre-requisites of this course are microeconomics and macroeconomics.

DSC 3380: INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT

This course offers a broad understanding on the key elements of logistics including inventory, warehousing and transportation with a specific emphasis on managing logistics internationally. It covers the rules and regulations applicable to international logistics operations including those that are relevant under the outsourcing options. It discusses the factors and challenges driving global logistics and supply chain management with a particular focus on developing strategies to face the challenges effectively. The group/individual assignment and case studies provide opportunities for the students to analyse various real-world logistics problems of global companies and suggest suitable solutions through the application of appropriate tools and techniques. In addition, the course extends the students understanding on the usefulness of current technologies in managing international logistics.

FIN 3376: INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

This is a specialized course to provide a clear knowledge and understanding of how the financial management principles and techniques are applied to a firm operated in an international context. This course intends to provide a basic understanding on how managers of international companies manage their finance resources via investment and finance decisions in order to maximize the wealth of the owners under the dynamic international business environment. This course basically covers international financial environment including foreign exchange markets and instruments, the behavior and determination of exchange rates, relationship among exchange rates with other macroeconomic variables, measurement and management of exchange rate risk and the long-term and short-term global investment and financing aspects. This knowledge is aimed to deliver via a comprehensively prepared set of lectures, tutorials, case studies, field visits and a series of guest lectures conducted by the experts in the industry.

BEC 3102: ENGLISH FOR BUSINESS ECONOMICS PART II

BEC 3201: PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Courses offered to the other Departments

BEC 3270: LABOUR ECONOMICS

This course is offered to BSc (Hons) Human Resource Management Degree Programme. This is an extended analysis of microeconomics and macroeconomics with specific focus on the labour market. As an elective course under Development Studies, it aims to provide students with a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the application of microeconomic and macroeconomic theories to the labour market. The areas covered in the course include labour demand, supply and elasticities, frictions in the labour market, decision to work/leisure, compensating wage differentials, investment in human capital, worker mobility, pay and productivity, unions and the labour market, gender, race and inequality in earnings, employment and unemployment, and the impact of labour market on international trade and production sharing. At the end of this course, students will be able to analyze how individuals, families, firms, and government operate within the contemporary labour market and the impact of labour market on government policy and vice versa. The pre-requisites of this course are microeconomics and macroeconomics.

BNK Students can select ONE course from the three courses mentioned below

FIN 3373: FINANCIAL MODELLING AND FORECASTING

The objective of this course is to provide undergraduates with a practical perspective of the finance theories and models using Microsoft Excel. It focuses the use of spreadsheet-based financial model designing methodology, utilization of finance theories over a wide range of applications used in the finance industry. This also emphasizes on simplicity, modularity and ease of use, while using Excel features to speed up development and reduce errors. The course provides students a carrier path in financial services including debt and equity, investment banking, portfolio optimization, corporate valuation and analysis, research and consulting.

FIN 3375: INVESTMENT AND PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT

This course is designed to provide students with basic concepts, theories, and practices in understanding, analysing, and making decisions in investment and portfolio management. The course discusses investor behaviour, capital markets, risk and return, portfolio analysis, capital asset pricing model, factor models, arbitrage pricing theory, valuation and analysis of fixed income and variable income securities and portfolio performance evaluation. It also discusses empirical findings on these topics to understand the application of them in practice.

FIN 3377: BANK MANAGEMENT

This course focuses on the management of banks as a professional function based on theories and practices. The course focuses on decision making and offers a unique approach to understanding bank management. The course begins with discussion of financial system stability in Sri Lanka and it is intended to give students a mix of essentials, credit policy, liquidity management, assets and liability management, analysis of performance and risk management in banks and opportunity to share the experiences of management practices in Sri Lankan financial institutions.

DS students can select ONE course from the two courses mentioned below

LAW 3274: LABOUR LAW AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

This course provides legal aspects of employer-employee relationship to manage industrial relations in modern world of work. The course recognizes the importance of being obedient and informed about relevant labour laws by businesses for better people management at work. The objective of the course is to make undergraduates aware of the legal obligations of a manager with respect to labour and industrial relations. This course is aimed at providing the necessary knowledge and insights on labour laws and standards apply in the modern work environments and their effect on individuals, businesses, and the society. Special attention is drawn as to how organizations can use sound awareness of labour laws to manage workplace conflicts to optimize the industrial peace enabling sustainable business growth. The course will equip undergraduates with essential knowledge and exposure to the labour laws and standards to become informed decision taker in policy making, managing and leading diversified workforce in the complex and evolving organizational environments.

BEC 3377: FINANCIAL ECONOMICS

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IEB students can take ONE course from the two courses mentioned below

BEC 3377: FINANCIAL ECONOMICS

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DSC 3379: INTERNATIONAL PROCUREMENT AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

Course Descriptions of Year IV (Semester I) Courses

BEC 4370: DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS

This is an advanced course which aims to provide students a comprehensive knowledge on economic development that is useful in policy making and strategic business decisions. This compulsory course covers the areas of development theories and applications, international dependence revolution, contemporary models of development and underdevelopment, poverty, inequality, human capital: education and health in economic development, agricultural transformation, and rural development. At the end of the course, students will be able to analyze the development economics issues and to understand difficulties of development and importance of indigenous strategic thinking. Macroeconomics is a pre-requisite of this course.

BUS 4370: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

This is an advance and capstone course that draws upon knowledge of previous courses delivered at the first, second and third phases of the Degree Programme. The purpose of this Course is to deliver a holistic understanding of corporate and business strategy. As such, it ties previous disciplines together at a strategic level, in determining the strategic direction of organisations in the context of the broad general and immediate competitive environment. Thereby, the Course exemplifies how successfully these strategies could be executed to ensure long term business survival and growth. The emphasis of the Course will primarily be on the analysis of the external and internal environment of various organisations and industries using appropriate models, frameworks, theories, and approaches. Students will be provided with multiple perspectives to view organisations or industries. The students are taught to make the appropriate choice of future direction and alternative strategies to gain and retain competitive and corporate advantages.

BEC 4371: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This advanced course intends to introduce scientific methods in researching. The objective of this course is to introduce a complete set of techniques and concepts in conducting a scientific enquiry. This is a compulsory course which covers the topics of the planning of social surveys, coverage of surveys, basic ideas of sampling, type of sample design, experiments and investigations, methods of collecting information, questionnaires, scaling methods, response errors, processing of the data, analysis, interpretation, and presentation as major areas. This course provides students the basic knowledge necessary to conduct the Independent study on Business Economics at the final semester of the degree programme and at the end of this course, students will be able to develop the capability to comprehend the problems inherent in empirical research, to critically evaluate reported research results, and to appreciate the necessity and value of the scientific method. Pre-requisites of this course are Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Advanced Economics, Quantitative Techniques for Business Economics, Managerial Economics, Monetary Economics, Development Economics, Financial Economics, Economics of Labour.

BEC 4372: INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND PAYMENTS

The aim of this unit is to provide students with an understanding of the principles and applications of international economics, so that students will be prepared to face the future complexities of the world economy. The unit is divided into two parts: international trade and international finance. Part one examines reasons for, and consequences of, international trade. This will cover the law of comparative advantage, the gains from trade, the Ricardian model, the Heckscher-Ohlin theory, the standard and new trade theories, tariff and non-tariff barriers and economic integration. The part two, international finance, focuses on foreign exchange market, fixed and flexible exchange rates, balance of payments and adjustment policies, international capital mobility and international macroeconomic policy coordination.

BEC 4373: ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS

This is an extended analysis of Microeconomics and Macroeconomics in environmental aspect. This course aims to provide students with economic methods and tools to analyse basic environmental issues. This is a compulsory course under Development Studies specialization. The areas covered include market failures (particularly externalities and common property resources), and the economic valuation of environmental amenities such as clean air, wilderness, and ecological systems. It combines theoretical analysis with discussions on specific environmental policies as applied to water, air pollution, energy, climate change and human health issues. In addition, the concepts of sustainability, microeconomic analysis of environmental regulation, the problem of social cost, policy instrument choice, and estimating costs and benefits of environmental improvements will be delivered. At the end of the course, students will be able to understand fundamental theories and new development in environmental economics and to master skills in analysing data for environmental economics problems. Pre-requisites of this courses are Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Development Economics and Financial Management.

LAW 4370 – INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND INVESTMENT LAW

The course “International Trade and Investment Law” is designed to improve legal knowledge of management undergraduates who encounter with growing trans-national business ventures in Sri Lanka. Vibrant and vigilant employees with adequate awareness with international economic affairs from different angles are welcomed by many organizations that interested to expand their businesses towards international level. Therefore, this course focuses the principles of International Trade Law and International Investment Law to facilitate the most appropriate investment decision making within globalized business environment. This course provides comprehensive legal background on state activities in international trade and investments. International Trade Law regulates transnational trade between countries, whilst, International Investment Law realizes how the host state should treat foreign investors. International Trade Law focus at relevant treaties on international trade and relevant customary international law awell as structural aspects such as role of international organizations such as of United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, and World Bank. The latter part of international Investment Law focus at sources international investment law; key actors in international investments; the settlement of disputes between the host state and the foreign investor, with special reference to the role of International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes; and the relevance of non-investment concerns, such as the environment and human rights, and the goals of sustainable development, within the international and Sri Lankan legal framework on investment. The course will provide a general introduction to the international legal framework on trade and investment as it emerges from international conventions, bilateral /multilateral investment treaties and international arbitral case-law.

BNK Students can select ONE course from the two courses mentioned below

FIN 4372: FINANCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT

This course focuses on risk management in business organizations by identifying, measuring, and managing risk within it‘s risk appetite to maximize investment returns. The objective of this course is to introduce the fundamental concepts, principles, and practices of financial risk management by focusing on a variety of financial risks including market risk, credit risk and liquidity risk. This course will also address basic financial and risk assessment techniques that would enhance the risk management decision-making allowing to construct a robust risk management system. Moreover, the course intends to target the student population who aim to join the financial services industry, while keeping the other options open.

FIN 4374: INSURANCE AND ACTUARIAL FINANCE

This course focuses on both insurance and actuarial science which are integral part of insurance business. It covers various types of life insurance, health benefits, and features of insurance contracts, while it covers four areas in actuarial; investments, life insurance and annuities, retirement benefits, and health benefits. Actuarial science provides students and finance professionals the ability to excel in many sectors including insurance, banking and investments which are highly volatile, unpredictable and dealt with lot of risks.

Course Descriptions of Year IV (Semester II) Courses

BEC 4375: MONEY AND BANKING

The course is designed to provide an advance knowledge of monetary policy designs and central bank practices. It examines monetary policy implementation process with special reference to Sri Lanka. This course is an extended analysis of Monetary Economics with the special focus on practical aspect of monetary theories. This is a compulsory course under the Banking Studies specialization. It covers topics of historical role and functions of central banks, international monetary system, modern role and functions of central banks, modern central bank mandates, future challenges for central banks, future central banking strategies and central banking in a systematic crisis. At the end of this course, students should have a practical understanding of the process of monetary policy implementation and its effect on macro economy. Microeconomics, Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics are pre-requisites for this course.

BEC 4376: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN GLOBAL ECONOMY

This advanced course addresses some of the most important contemporary issues confronting the global economy and examines them both theoretically and empirically. This is a compulsory course under the Development Studies and International Trade and Finance specializations. The emphasis of the course will be on issues of contemporary relevance, rather than on historical evolution, including the environment, the process of economic development, poverty and inequality, free trade, and gender issues. The focus will be on the nature of these problems, potential solutions, and an exploration of the dimensions of these issues in the future. At the end of the course students will be able to gain profound knowledge of contemporary global economic issues and potential solutions. The pre-requisite required for this course is International Economics.

BEC 4670: INTERNSHIP TRAINING

This advanced course intends to equip the undergraduates with the employability skills required for the graduation. This is a compulsory course which provides the students experience in employment throughout the study period. The objective of the course is to expose the students to real organizational work environment in an operation. They are expected to obtain a high quality industrial or public sectorial training which will assist in building up the level of confidence prior to graduation and to improve the employability of the graduates. Then, they are guided to present it competitively with well-recognized employers such as Government institutes, Multinational corporate establishments, Private firms, International organizations, and NGOs as per their career progression plans. Special English Programme of the Department and Carrier Development Training courses are the pre-requisites of this course.

BEC 4671: INDEPENDENT STUDY IN BUSINESS ECONOMICS

This is an extended analysis of Research Methodology course which synthesizes the theories and applications the undergraduates have learnt in the previous semesters and the concurrent semester. The student has the autonomy to select a convenient research area and conduct a research study under the supervision of an appointed research supervisor(s). Through this course, the undergraduates are motivated to undertake independent learning. The objective of this compulsory course is to guide the students to apply the underlying principles in research methodology in Business Economics at individual, group, and institutional levels. This course enables the student‘s capability to comprehend the problems inherent in empirical research, to critically evaluate reported research results, and to appreciate the necessity and value of the scientific method. Research Methodology, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Advanced Economics, Quantitative Techniques for Business Economics, Managerial Economics, Monetary Economics, Development Economics, Financial Economics, Economics of Labour, Econometrics, International Economics and Environmental Economics are pre-requisites of this course.