Course Details & Outcomes

Course Description

This is the first course in the Integrated First Year of the Bachelor of Commerce and offers students an introduction to business decision-making. Students learn about economic, corporate responsibility and legal principles to understand what organisational actors need to consider and what actions they might take. Fundamental economic principles inform decision-makers to ask and answer questions about how the economy works, and how these principles influence the decisions that individuals and organisations make. Core legal principles guide decision-makers to protect value for owners and other stakeholders, and to protect both managers and organisations from public and private legal actions arising from their decisions.  Corporate sustainability principles direct decision-makers to meet the organisation’s responsibilities to a range of stakeholders.

Course Aims

COMM1100 gives students an understanding of the interplay of economic, legal, and corporate responsibility principles in business decisions. Students learn to identify relevant economic models and analyse how they are used in business decisions; identify legal issues that arise in commercial situations and analyse how they influence business decisions; and identify the key features of corporate (social, environmental) responsibility, and how the business world can contribute to the greater good.

Relationship to Other Courses

COMM1100 is a prerequisite for COMM1150 Global Business Environments.

Course Learning Outcomes

Course Learning Outcomes	Program learning outcomes
CLO1 : Explain the interplay of economic, legal, and corporate responsibility principles in business decisions	PLO1 : Business Knowledge
CLO2 : Identify appropriate economic models and analyse how they are used in business decisions	PLO1 : Business Knowledge PLO2 : Problem Solving
CLO3 : Identify legal issues that arise in commercial situations and analyse how they influence business decisions	PLO1 : Business Knowledge PLO2 : Problem Solving
CLO4 : Identify the key features of corporate (social, environmental) responsibility, and how the business world can contribute to the greater good	PLO1 : Business Knowledge PLO5 : Responsible Business Practice
CLO5 : Apply appropriate search strategies to research and summarise relevant and valid information from a range of suitable sources	PLO3 : Business Communication

Course Learning Outcomes	Assessment Item
CLO1 : Explain the interplay of economic, legal, and corporate responsibility principles in business decisions	Tutorial participation Problem Set Case study analysis Final exam
CLO2 : Identify appropriate economic models and analyse how they are used in business decisions	Tutorial participation Problem Set Case study analysis Final exam
CLO3 : Identify legal issues that arise in commercial situations and analyse how they influence business decisions	Tutorial participation Problem Set Case study analysis Final exam
CLO4 : Identify the key features of corporate (social, environmental) responsibility, and how the business world can contribute to the greater good	Tutorial participation Problem Set Case study analysis Final exam
CLO5 : Apply appropriate search strategies to research and summarise relevant and valid information from a range of suitable sources	Tutorial participation Case study analysis Final exam

Learning and Teaching Technologies

Moodle - Learning Management System | Zoom

Learning and Teaching in this course

The teaching strategy for this course is based on a problem and scenario-based learning model, in which students are presented with a problem or a problem set, accompanied by simulated and real-world scenarios to help address the problems. This strategy is underpinned by a constructivist approach where students undertake a series of activities to develop their own problem-solving, decision-making, collaboration, and communication.

Teachers and tutors are guides and mentors helping students to construct their own knowledge rather than reproduce a series of facts. Students will be provided with models and tools for problem-solving, which they will use to progressively formulate and test their ideas against simulated and real-world scenarios, and communicate their knowledge in a collaborative learning environment.

The student journey is based on an adaptation of the St Gallen Management Model (SGMM). The framework guides students through the course sequence of COMM1100 (focused on the centre, given the environment) and COMM1150 (focused on the complex business environment), from the starting point of an organisation's diverse stakeholders.

Additional Course Information

Communication with Course Staff

Questions about course content should be asked during live lectures, in tutorials, or via the course Moodle forum. Asking questions in these places allows other students with similar questions to benefit from the response and helps create a dynamic, supportive learning community.

For personal academic matters, please email the course email address [email protected].

When sending an email to course staff, you must use your UNSW email address and include your zID. Please be courteous and use appropriate email etiquette (i.e., no text-message short-hand). Course staff will closely monitor the course Moodle forum and email address and endeavour to respond to all enquiries received  through these channels within one business day. Emails sent to staff members' personal email addresses may be answered with a significant delay.

Use of your Webcam and Digital Devices

If you enrol in an online class, or the online stream of a hybrid class, teaching and associated activities will be conducted using Teams, Zoom, or similar technologies. Using a webcam is optional, but highly encouraged, as this will facilitate interaction with your peers and instructors. If you are worried about your personal space being observed during a class, we encourage you to blur your background or make use of a virtual background. Please contact the Lecturer-in-Charge if you have any questions or concerns.

Some courses may involve undertaking online exams for which your own computer or digital devices will be required. Monitoring of online examinations will be conducted directly by University staff and is bound by the University's privacy and security requirements. Any data collected will be handled accordance with UNSW policies and standards for data governance. For more information on how the University manages personal information please refer to the UNSW Student Privacy Statement and the UNSW Privacy Policy.

Learning Activities and Teaching Strategies

COMM1100 is delivered both on-campus and online. Each week, students will have 2 hours and 30 minutes of lecture time and 2 hours of tutorial. This lecture time is divided into 1 hour of asynchronous individual core learning and a 1 hour and 30 minute live lecture. Students must complete the individual core learning before attending the live lecture. In the tutorial, students will practice applying the principles and concepts from the individual core learning and live lecture in a small group environment.

Assessments

Assessment Details

• Final exam

  Assessment Overview

  The final exam will be administered online and will consist of two parts: Part 1 will consist of case analysis, and Part 2 will consist of a problem set.

  Assesses: PLO1, PLO2, PLO3, PLO5

  BCom students: myBCom course points for PLO2

  Course Learning Outcomes

  • CLO1 : Explain the interplay of economic, legal, and corporate responsibility principles in business decisions
  • CLO2 : Identify appropriate economic models and analyse how they are used in business decisions
  • CLO3 : Identify legal issues that arise in commercial situations and analyse how they influence business decisions
  • CLO4 : Identify the key features of corporate (social, environmental) responsibility, and how the business world can contribute to the greater good
  • CLO5 : Apply appropriate search strategies to research and summarise relevant and valid information from a range of suitable sources

  Detailed Assessment Description

  The final exam will be administered online and will consist of two parts.

  Part 1 will consist of a case analysis. Students will be required to undertake research on this case, using available resources
  through the UNSW Library catalogues, databases and collections, or other appropriate sources.

  Part 2 will consist of a problem set, which will be similar in style to Assessment 2.

  Additional details and submission instructions will be provided on the course moodle site.

  BCom students: myBCom course points for PLO2

  Submission notes

  Part 1 - PDF or Word documents only.

  Assignment submission Turnitin type

  This assignment is submitted through Turnitin and students do not see Turnitin similarity reports.

General Assessment Information

Course Schedule

Course Resources