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EC4003 and EC4003X: Global Business Environment
Final assessment: 2000 words coursework
Weight: 40%
Deadline: 24th May 2013
Please note that the coursework consists of 2 sections. Section A is on Economics and
Section B is on Business Law.
Each section carries equal weight.
Staple your whole coursework (Section A and Section B) together.
Please submit TWO copies of your coursework to the undergraduate centre.
On one copy, you should put the name of your Economics tutor. On the other, you
should put the name of your Law tutor.
SECTION A: Economics: please answer both questions
The word limit for Section A is 1000 words
Question 1 (50 marks)
a) Explain the concept of price elasticity of demand, and how it can be measured numerically.
b) The table below shows the quantity demanded and corresponding price for T-shirts for a
producer. Fill in the rest of the table and answer the questions.
(For the price elasticity column use the formula: Qd / mid Qd P / mid P)
c) Discuss the relationship between the price elasticity of demand and the total revenue for
the producer of T-shirts for the following:
i) When the price changes from £16 to £14 and
ii) When the price changes from £10 to £8.
Question 2 (50 marks)
Read the following quote and answer the questions below:
“After 1992, the UK economy and average household incomes enjoyed a period of unbroken
growth. But in 2008, the global financial crisis plunged the UK into its longest and deepest
recession since comparable records began in the 1950s” (BBC online, 2013)
a) Discuss the economic factors that contributed to the 2008/09 recession in the UK
economy.
b) Discuss the prospects for a stable economic recovery for the year 2013. In your answer, i)
ensure you refer to the latest quarterly figures on UK GDP and ii) compare and discuss the
growth predictions by various organisations such as the UK Office for Budget
Responsibility (OBR), the Bank of England and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Price Quantity Price Elasticity
of demand
Total consumer
expenditure / producer
revenue
Marginal
Revenue
£ per unit Units (000s) £s £s
20 300
18 380
16 460
14 540
12 620
10 700
8 780
6 860
Some sources of information:
BBC Online (2013) Economy Tracker GDP, available at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10613201
UK National Statistics: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/gva/gross-domestic-product–
preliminary-estimate/q4-2012/gdp-video-summary-q4-2012.html
BBC online (2013) IMF lowers UK growth forecast for 2013 again:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22164028
Note:
Students will be marked based on the following:
A. Content and analysis
Your answers ought to be clear, address the questions and show evidence of an understanding
of the topic. Relevant economic arguments as well as research, need to be demonstrated for
question 2.
B. Written expression
Due consideration must be given to writing style and the use of academic English. You
should avoid using slang and ensure that your answers are written in a style which has flow
and sequence.
C. Referencing (acknowledgments of sources in text) and bibliography
It is very important to refer in the main text to material written or produced by others. The
full reference should then be provided in the bibliography. Remember to use quotation marks
when providing quotes otherwise you are plagiarising the work of others.
Two guides on referencing have been provided on WebLearn and you are expected to go
through them.
D. Word count
A word count (available in Word) should be given on the title (front) page. You should
present this as a SCREEN PRINT copied into Word. Please do not exceed the word limit.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10613201
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/gva/gross-domestic-product–preliminary-estimate/q4-2012/gdp-video-summary-q4-2012.html
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/gva/gross-domestic-product–preliminary-estimate/q4-2012/gdp-video-summary-q4-2012.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22164028
SECTION B: COURSEWORK: EC4003 & EC4003X Global Business
Environment
Module Leader: K Boroch
Case Study Coursework Law Component
Submission
Date
24 May 2013
Weighting 20% weighting
Word Count: 1000 words
Font: Work must be typed: Arial or Tahoma format
Font size: 12
Line spacing: 1.5
Presentation Coursework must be accompanied by a coursework cover sheet
Referencing: You must reference sources used in the body of your answer. You
MUST use the Harvard method
Bibliography: Full bibliography at the end of the written work
Cases cited: In the body of the written work in bold with the full citation
e.g. Smith v Jones (2001) 2AER 19
Statutes cited: Use capitals for the name of the statute or legislation e.g. The
General Product Safety Regulations 2005. You may use an
abbreviated form of the title after the first citation e.g. The General
Product Safety Regulations 2005 (GPSR)
Sections of
Statutes:
Sections of a statute may be quoted as follows:
section 12 as S.12
section 12 paragraph/subsection 2 – as S.12(2)
Submission: Use a single staple, top left hand corner. Do not put sheets in
separate folders
Overall Quality:
The written work submitted should be clear and coherent, correct in spelling and
grammar, proficient in flow, and demonstrate professional academic standards of
presentation and style. Use of the first or second person will be severely penalised.
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA – Guidelines
You should consult the guidelines before submitting any written work
To achieve a D grade
Research should be conducted, which is in the main appropriate to the topic
Appropriate material should be selected
Some explanation of the legal issues
Material should have some sense of structure and be referenced
There should be some attempt at analysis of the issues raised
Conclusions should be drawn
To achieve a C grade
Appropriate research should be conducted
Appropriate material should be selected
The legal issues should be explained
Material should be structured, presented and referenced appropriately
There should be some analysis of the issued raised
Conclusions should be drawn
To achieve a B grade
Appropriate research should be conducted using a variety of sources
Appropriate material should be selected
Clear explanation and understanding of the legal issues
Well structured, arguments presented in a coherent manner
The issues raised should be critically analysed
To achieve an A grade
In addition to that outlined for B grade above students should demonstrate
Comprehensive coverage of the legal issues
Originality of thought/argument
For details of assessment criteria, plagiarism guidelines – see module booklet
(WebLearn)
CASE STUDY: “Indesit Washing Machines “explode” in several homes”
Watch the following video and answer the questions that follow
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mg74/features/indesit-
washing-machine
If you cannot access Flash etc this is a transcript of the film.
“On Watchdog we get to hear about lots of freak incidents involving
household goods. When we received a complaint from an Indesit washing
machine owner about an explosion we assumed it was a one off freak incident
– but when the number of complaints started rising we knew there had to be a
problem.
Last June Ellie Wharton from Suffolk was at home playing with her two children in
the lounge, when she heard an almighty bang from her kitchen. Her Indesit washing
machine WIXL143 had exploded.
When she went to investigate she found that the top of the machine had been raised,
the front dials had been pushed out of the machine, the door had been blown open,
and the impact of the force had lifted the top of the kitchen cabinet and moved her
oven. Inside, the drum had come loose and was left buckled and twisted.
Thankfully neither her, nor her two children were in the kitchen at the time, but they
were all shocked.
Rachel Davies also had the same problem with her washing machine, the same
model as Ellie’s.
Her family’s machine was in their utility room on spin cycle when they heard a loud
bang. They saw that the top of the machine had been pushed upwards, and the dials
and drawer on the machine had shattered and blown by force across the room and
onto the floor. Rachel told us,
“…that’s a huge hazard if you’ve got young children because they’re the height of
that washing machine and the front where the dials are and obviously that is
something that could cause a serious injury.”
The problem isn’t confined to the WIXL143 model.
Tim Cumming had the same experience with the more expensive Indesit model W1X
E167. After hearing a loud crash, he walked into his kitchen to find that it was
covered in pieces of what he describes as ‘shrapnel’.
During the spin cycle it appeared that the drum had split open and moved the
concrete balancing block inside the machine up. Tim said,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mg74/features/indesit-washing-machine
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mg74/features/indesit-washing-machine
“…it tried to fire this concrete block out of the top of the machine. Had there been no
worktop or anything above it, potentially, this concrete block could’ve gone up into
the base of the gas boiler resulting in quite a bigger bang.”
So what is happening to these washing machines?
Graham Watkinson electrical engineer explains, “I believe what happens is the seam
actually splits open then what will happen is the actual drum itself will open just like a
can, when it splits, it then hits the outer drum and breaks through the outer drum.”
Indesit has agreed with this analysis, apologised to all of our contributors and paid
for replacement machines and damage to their kitchens.
But why are Indesit not recalling these washing machine models?”
Required
As the newly appointed legal advisor, you have been asked to consider the legal
issues raised in the video and to give legal advice to the parties. Using the IRAC
system you are required to address the legal issues presented in the video. You are
reminded that you must refer to relevant legislation and case law in your answers
and to reference sources used.
Question
June Ellie Wharton, Tim Cumming and Rachel Davies are clearly concerned about
their Indesit washing machines. Advise them as to their rights regarding the Sale of
Goods Act 1979.
Additionally, you are required to explain the legal principles regarding excluding
liability in relation to the sale and subsequent use of the washing machines.
In your answer you are required to refer to the relevant sections of the Sale of Goods
Act 1979 (SOGA), Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 (UCTA) and case law.
END OF PAPER
