Bachelor of Business


General information

Course code: 1714 * Gippsland campus * HECS fees applicable * Overseas student fees: $1500 per subject (1999 fee) * Attendance optional.

Aims

This course provides an opportunity for both school leavers and those already in employment to undertake tertiary studies in a business course that is flexible and adaptable. The course is vocationally oriented. It aims to equip graduates for employment in a wide range of occupations in industry/commerce, small business, professional accounting, insurance, banking and finance, teaching, and in government and semi-government enterprises.

Professional recognition

Dependent on the completion of the appropriate subjects of study, the tertiary requirements for membership of the following may be satisfied: Australian Society of Certified Practising Accounts, Institute of Chartered Accountants, Australian Institute of Management, Australian Human Resource Institute, Australian Institute of Bankers, and Australian Marketing Institutions. Note that each professional body may have additional specific entry requirements, eg experience.

Entry requirements

All applicants should satisfy tertiary entry requirements (ENTER) as outlined in the section on entry requirements in this book. Students are required to have successfully completed any two units from General Mathematics and Mathematical Methods.

Special requirements

PC requirement

Access to an IBM-compatible computer is essential for the use of wordprocessing and other software packages.

Attendance

Weekend schools are run three times each semester for many of the business subjects. Attendance is optional for those students wishing to attend.

Course structure

The requirements for the award of the Bachelor of Business degree, normally completed over six years by distance education, are:
(a) A candidate must complete twenty-four semester subjects.
(b) A candidate must complete the following seven 'core' subjects:

(c) A candidate must complete one major study of at least six semester subjects chosen from accounting, management, marketing, economics and tourism management and two submajors of at least four semester subjects chosen from the above disciplines and law and computing; or a candidate must complete two majors of at least six semester subjects chosen from accounting, management, marketing, tourism management and economics.
(d) A candidate may include up to six semester subjects offered at degree level by other disciplines or academic units within Monash University, provided they are of equivalent academic standing.

Course plan

A typical course plan for a Bachelor of Business distance education student may be as follows:

First semester

Second semester

Year 1

ECG1101 Introduction to economics; MGG1302 Management theory and functions

AFG1001 Introductory accounting A; BTG1201 Introduction to business law

Year 2

Two of the following core subjects: GCO1851 Computing systems and applications; MKG1401 Introduction to marketing or GAS1751 Quantitative methods I

Two of the following major studies subjects: MKG1402 Consumer behaviour; MGG1303 Organisational behaviour; AFG1002 Introductory accounting B; ECG1102 Macroeconomics; ECG1103 Ethics, economy and society; GCO2852 Business systems; MGG1501 Tourism principles and practices; MGG1502 Tourism - policy and regulations


Completion of the above course plan will depend on the discipline areas chosen for a major and/or submajor. You may wish to consult a course adviser for further subject recommendations.

Major studies

Major studies are available in accounting, management, economics, marketing and tourism management. Submajors are also available in law and computing.

Accounting major

The course includes an accounting major with a minimum of six subjects. Additional accounting subjects are also available for students who wish to satisfy the educational requirement for admission to professional accounting bodies.
The following accounting subjects are available to students undertaking the Bachelor of Business degree:

*COMPULSORY IN AN ACCOUNTING MAJOR.
Students seeking membership of the professional accounting bodies in Australia must complete the Bachelor of Business degree with the eight accounting subjects specified by the professional bodies.
Successful completion of the required subjects will satisfy the tertiary requirements for admission as an associate of the Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants (ASCPA). To achieve CPA status, graduates would need to complete the society's CPA program and an experience requirement.
Graduates who take these required subjects also satisfy the tertiary requirements for admission to the Institute of Chartered Accountants. Membership may be applied for following successful completion of the institute's Professional Year program, and an experience requirement.

Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants

For associate membership

Plus one sequence of the following groups of subjects:
(i) Professional accounting (students who complete this stream will be eligible to enter the CPA program)

(ii) Finance (and the above units of study specified by the ASCPA must be completed to satisfy entry to the CPA program as listed in (i))

(ii) Information technology (and the above units of study specified by the ASCPA must be completed to satisfy entry to the CPA program as listed in (i))

Institute of Chartered Accountants

Management major

The aim of the course is to develop conceptual understanding and basic skills in a vocationally oriented academic discipline relevant to the full spectrum of professional, business and governmental occupations. Wherever possible, the course will build upon the previous experience of students, many of whom will be part-time and distance education students with a background of management skills and responsibility. The course is designed, first, to provide students with basic management skills; second, to equip students with the basic knowledge, concepts, tools and techniques necessary to appraise problems and make decisions within complex organisational contexts and to take account of a wide variety of social, economic, and political factors; third, to provide a rigorous academic framework for the development of leadership skills based upon human relations training; fourth, to establish a sound basis for the subsequent assimilation of management study and experience.
The major is designed as a broad-based course to meet the changing needs of practising professionals, as well as providing an academic framework for personnel involved in more general fields of people management and business decision making.

Structure of the management major

Two vocational streams are available. One is the strategic management stream and the other is the employment relations stream. To complete the major a student is required to satisfy the requirements in six of the following subjects:

Compulsory subjects

The following two subjects

Strategic management stream

Four of the following subjects:

Employment relations stream

The two compulsory subjects plus any four of the following subjects satisfying appropriate prerequisites:

To satisfy academic requirements for professional membership of the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI) students are recommended to complete all subjects in the employment relations stream as well as BTG3241 (Employment law) and ECG3141 (Labour economics).
Students completing the strategic management stream should consider application for membership of the Australian Institute of Management.
Students who plan a management major will find it useful to undertake studies in accounting, marketing and tourism whilst other subject areas such as law, economics, psychology and politics may well be complementary.

Management submajor

Students completing a submajor in management are required to complete the subjects:

plus two of the other subjects listed above.

Economics major

Students enrolling in the Bachelor of Business degree may elect to complete a major of at least six subjects of economics or may select fewer economics subjects as electives to support their other majors. Subjects available are:

Students enrolling in economics for the first time will normally take ECG1101 Introduction to economics in first semester and ECG1102 Macroeconomics in second semester of their first year, and ECG2120 Microeconomics in first semester of their second year. After passing these subjects, they will then normally progress to a selection of upper-level subjects, although students are encouraged to complete ECG2121 International trade and finance in second semester of second year.

Marketing major

The primary objective of this major is to provide students with an understanding of the role, scope, concepts and theories of advanced marketing. It also emphasises an applied approach with practical applications to give students a workable understanding of marketing principles. As future business executives and entrepreneurs, the major is designed to teach students how marketing can help meet the needs of the public and assist organisations in successfully competing in an environment of intense competition.
Students completing a major in marketing are required to complete six of the following subjects:

*COMPULSORY SUBJECTS.
Students completing a submajor in marketing would be required to complete the following subjects:

A Bachelor of Business with a major in marketing will satisfy the requirements for affiliate membership of the Australian Marketing Institute.

Tourism management major

The major in tourism management commences with a broad overview of the industry and progresses to a more detailed examination of tourism business operations management. The advanced level subjects are concerned with destination management and project development. With the compulsory core subjects, and appropriate choices in other major or submajor streams, graduates with a tourism management major will be well prepared to enter a management career path in public or private tourism-related activities, or for successful operation of their own tourism business.
The major stream of study in tourism management comprises six compulsory subjects as follows:

Law submajor

Law is offered as a submajor in the Bachelor of Business degree. Students who major in accounting will need to complete BTG1201 (Introduction to business law). Subjects BTG1202 (Contract law), BTG2220 (Corporations law and trusts) and BTG2221 (Taxation law and practice) may be taken for professional studies in accounting.
Students majoring in other areas may wish to take a law submajor or a number of law subjects which will support their area of major study. In addition to the four subjects mentioned above, a number of optional subjects are available both to internal and distance education students. Availability depends on the other commitments of the members of the staff and the number of students opting for a subject.

Law subjects

In addition to supporting areas of major studies, the law component in the business degree is designed to acquaint students with the legal problems they might encounter in their careers, and in the case of taxation, to equip accountancy students for professional practice.

Computing submajor

Business computing is offered as a submajor in the Bachelor of Business degree, and may be used to gain advanced status as a member of the Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants. A submajor will comprise at least four of the following subjects:

Banking and finance specialisation

Students wishing to satisfy the academic requirements of the Australian Institute of Banking and Finance for admittance to senior associate status must complete the following professionally accredited subjects:

In addition, although the above subjects satisfy professional entry requirements, the Australian Institute of Banking and Finance recommends the following specialised stream:

Assessment

Assessment is by a combination of assignments and final examination for each subject. Generally a pass is required in the final examination to pass the subject.

Credits/exemptions

Credits/exemptions may be considered for previous tertiary level study or post secondary study (including TAFE) and open learning in Australia and overseas. Each application is assessed on a case by case basis. It is essential that subjects submitted for credit/exemption fit the philosophy and principles of this degree course of study. Subjects studied more than ten years ago will not be considered for credit/exemption.

Further information

For more detailed information, contact a student services officer, School of Business and Electronic Commerce, telephone (03) 9902 6380 or (03) 5122 6380, fax (03) 9902 6524 or (03) 5122 6524, or email enquiries.sobec@buseco.monash.edu.au.

Completed applications

Completed applications are to be forwarded to the general office, School of Business and Electronic Commerce, Monash University Gippsland campus, Churchill, Victoria, 3842, by 24 September 1999 to be considered for a first-round offer.