Business Decision Making (11009.3)

Please note these are the 2028 details for this unit
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Business Decision Making
Available teaching periods Delivery mode Location
View teaching periods On-campus
Online self-paced
 Bruce, Canberra
UC College, Bruce, ACT
EFTSL Credit points Faculty
0.125 3 Faculty Of Business, Government & Law
Discipline Study level HECS Bands
Canberra Business School Level 1 - Undergraduate Introductory Unit Band 4 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan 2021)
Band 4 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan Social Work_Exclude 0905)
Band 5 2021 (Commenced Before 1 Jan 2021)
Many university graduates aim to become managers, either of their own business, or as part of the management team of other entities. A critical attribute of management is the ability to incorporate financial and non-financial data in a range of decisions, such as pricing products, setting budgets, and evaluating performance. However, many decision makers have not studied accounting or information systems. This unit aims to address this gap by showing students how to identify, obtain, manipulate and analyse data to make informed business decisions. The nature of information used to inform decisions continues to change, in that big data, artificial intelligence or automation processes, alongside other competing data sources, may contribute to the information available to managers. Decision makers must be able to weigh up competing information sources, as well as their intuition, to make business decisions in an uncertain environment.

Learning outcomes

Upon successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1. Apply cost classifications and cost behaviour to a range of decisions, including budgeting;
2. Interpret the impact a range of transactions and events will have on financial reports;
3. Develop spreadsheet models to support simple decision making in a variety of contexts;
4. Apply a systems approach to facilitate decision making;
5. Apply cost-benefit analysis concepts to various business decision making contexts; and
6. Evaluate the impact of different sources of information on business decisions and how those decisions impact on internal and external stakeholders.


Graduate attributes

1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively
1. UC graduates are professional - use creativity, critical thinking, analysis and research skills to solve theoretical and real-world problems
1. UC graduates are professional - display initiative and drive, and use their organisation skills to plan and manage their workload
2. UC graduates are global citizens - communicate effectively in diverse cultural and social settings
2. UC graduates are global citizens - make creative use of technology in their learning and professional lives
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - adapt to complexity, ambiguity and change by being flexible and keen to engage with new ideas
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - evaluate and adopt new technology


Prerequisites

None.

Corequisites

None.

Incompatible units

None.

Equivalent units

5617 Accounting for Managers

Assumed knowledge

None.
Availability for enrolment in 2027, 2028 is subject to change and may not be confirmed until closer to the teaching start date.
Year Location Teaching period Teaching start date Delivery mode Unit convener
2026 Bruce, Canberra Semester 1 16 February 2026 On-campus Dr Hao Yang
2026 Bruce, Canberra Semester 1 16 February 2026 Online self-paced Dr Hao Yang
2026 UC College, Bruce, ACT UC College Trimester 2 29 June 2026 On-campus Mr Saeed Uz Zaman Khan
2026 Bruce, Canberra Semester 2 10 August 2026 On-campus Dr Hao Yang
2026 Bruce, Canberra Semester 2 10 August 2026 Online self-paced Dr Hao Yang
2026 UC College, Bruce, ACT UC College Trimester 3 26 October 2026 On-campus Mr Saeed Uz Zaman Khan
2027 Bruce, Canberra Semester 1 15 February 2027 On-campus Dr Hao Yang
2027 Bruce, Canberra Semester 1 15 February 2027 Online self-paced Dr Hao Yang
2027 UC College, Bruce, ACT UC College Trimester 2 28 June 2027 On-campus Mr Saeed Uz Zaman Khan
2027 Bruce, Canberra Semester 2 09 August 2027 On-campus Dr Hao Yang
2027 Bruce, Canberra Semester 2 09 August 2027 Online self-paced Dr Hao Yang
2027 UC College, Bruce, ACT UC College Trimester 3 25 October 2027 On-campus Mr Saeed Uz Zaman Khan
2028 Bruce, Canberra Semester 1 14 February 2028 Online self-paced Dr Hao Yang
2028 Bruce, Canberra Semester 1 14 February 2028 On-campus Dr Hao Yang
2028 Bruce, Canberra Semester 2 07 August 2028 On-campus Dr Hao Yang
2028 Bruce, Canberra Semester 2 07 August 2028 Online self-paced Dr Hao Yang
The information provided should be used as a guide only. Timetables may not be finalised until week 2 of the teaching period and are subject to change. Search for the unit timetable.

Required texts

There is no required textbook for this unit.

This has important implications for how you study. This is a unit that expects you to engage with the lecture materials, the module exercises and to actively participate and prepare for your tutorials. Each of these elements will help you succeed in the assessment. This is not a unit where you should focus on 'learning what the textbook says'

As you work through the Modules, you will see that we have suggested you access, read and consider a range of materials, including a series of websites, short academic and professional articles and other information. 

We do not require you to purchase a textbook. Note, though, that we have made use of certain chapters from textbooks that are available through the library website and especially those books and chapters from these available as e-books.

You can access these e-books for free from the University's library website. https://www.canberra.edu.au/library

You will likely need your student ID number and your University password to access the book. Note also that you are able to download chapters from the e-book should you wish to consult a copy at a later point in time.

There are a large number of business decision-making and introductory accounting texts targeted towards managers and non-accountants. Some of those textbooks may be useful for your study and development, but we have not prescribed any particular book:

Textbooks that you may find useful:

Kourdi, J. (2015). Business strategy: a guide to effective decision making. London: Profile (available online and in print)

Birt, J. et al. (2023). Accounting: business reporting for decision making (Eighth Edition). Wiley. (available online)

Ugarte, R. (2022) Bulletproof Decisions: How Executives Can Get It Right, Every Time. New York: Routledge (available online)

Drascek, M., Mesner-Andolsek, D. and Rejc, A. (2023). Ethical Decision-Making in Management: Perspectives of the Philosopher, the Sociologist and the Manager. New York, NY: Routledge (available online).

Atrill, P. (2021) Accounting: An Introduction Ebook. Edition 8, [Australian version]. Melbourne: Pearson Education Australia (available online). 

Atrill, P., McLaney, E. J., & Harvey, D. (2018). Accounting for non-specialists (7th edition). Melbourne: Pearson Australia (available online). 

Robbins, S. (2014). Decide and Conquer: The Ultimate Guide for Improving Your Decision Making. (2nd ed.). Melbourne: Pearson Education Limited (available online)

Winston, W. (2022). Microsoft Excel Data Analysis and Business Modelling (Office 2021 and Microsoft 365). (7th edition). Microsoft Corporation (available online)

There are many other books and articles that you may wish to consult. If you are unsure or need assistance, please reach out to the UC librarians, your tutor or your unit convener. 

Submission of assessment items

Special assessment requirements

To pass the unit, you must:

a) Submit Part 3 of the Case Study and complete the Final Exam (as these are mandatory assessment items); 

b) Score at least 50% across the assessment items in the unit. 

Students must apply academic integrity in their learning and research activities at UC. This includes submitting authentic and original work for assessments and properly acknowledging any sources used.

Academic integrity involves the ethical, honest and responsible use, creation and sharing of information. It is critical to the quality of higher education. Our academic integrity values are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage.

UC students have to complete the Academic Integrity Module annually to learn about academic integrity and to understand the consequences of academic integrity breaches (or academic misconduct).

UC uses various strategies and systems, including detection software, to identify potential breaches of academic integrity. Suspected breaches may be investigated, and action can be taken when misconduct is found to have occurred.

Information is provided in the Academic Integrity Policy, Academic Integrity Procedure, and University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. For further advice, visit Study Skills.

Learner engagement

There are five types of work that you need to consider in the unit. You are expected to organise your schedule effectively to support your success.

a) Lectures.Lecture material is delivered in person on a weekly basis. This provides you with the opportunity to ask questions and receive immediate clarification during class. Lectures are also recorded and made available through Canvas, allowing students who miss a class to catch up at a later time.

b) Online Module Activities: There is a set of prompt activities online for you to develop your understanding and work on developing relevant skills. Some of these activities require you to read and reflect on stimulus material, watch a video or complete an activity or calculation. Some of this will be familiar to you, but we encourage you to set time aside to complete these activities;

c) Tutorials/workshops: Tutorials/workshops are an opportunity to perfect your knowledge and skills and are essential for your success in the unit. We would expect and encourage you to attend each tutorial/workshop. They are two and a half hours long and focus on skill and knowledge relevant to the unit, opportunities to reflect on lecture material and also to prepare for assessment work and success. 

d) Further reading and practice: We do not know what you do not know. Thus, you may be expected to read further and complete more study. We have provided links to further materail to support your learning should you want more reinforcement;

e) Assignment preparation: You will need to set aside time for assignment work. Success will come to those who take initiative, reach out to your tutors or the unit convener when you are unsure and be prepared to put in the requisite effort. 

Participation requirements

Please see above, but it is absolutely essential that students attend tutorials.

Required IT skills

Students need to know how to access the University of Canberra's UCLearn (Canvas) system. Students need to know how to use Microsoft Word. We will demonstrate introductory level Microsoft Excel techniques.

Work placement, internships or practicums

None

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