My Experience Studying BUS208 Microeconomics for Managers
By Afra Azim
BUS208 Microeconomics for Managers was a module I choose to study as one of my options in my second year. This blog will focus on my experience during the past 12 weeks of studying this subject and my strategies of learning I applied for revision. Additionally, I will reflect upon how the module was laid out and my overall experience. I would like to thank the lecturer for giving me this opportunity to make this blog and for his excellence in teaching this subject and organising the module effectively.
For context, I have done economics in the past during A levels and during one of my modules in first year, however we went more into depth into certain parts of microeconomics rather than going broadly. I feel like my previous knowledge has helped, but this subject focused more on applying our knowledge rather than just memorising key concepts.
Firstly, I will talk about how I have revised this subject. We had two midterm multiple choice tests (MCQs) and one exam in January. The MCQs were mostly about understanding key concepts. The best way I would revise for them is through mind maps (attached below). A mind map is a visual way to connect ideas and concepts together with arrows, bubbles and drawings and is a useful way to revise. I made one big mind map about the overall subject, and I would try and remember what I have learnt each week and connect each of the concepts together. This module is not necessarily linear, since so many topics links with each other, for example, to know about market structures, you need to know about demand and supply, elasticities and all the theory of production. This has helped me link key concepts together and be able to zoom in and out of areas I want to recap with and have a summarised overview of the module, with my in-class notes as reference. As for my final exam, I would also refer to my mind map and try and remember formulas and diagrams. I have also used weekly problem sets and additional problem sets to apply my knowledge further, which I will add to later in this blog.
.png)
Secondly, the module layout was very helpful when it comes to learning this module. The lecturer has organised this module very well. This module consists of conditional access to weekly content via quiz completion, email reminders, problem sets, lecture slides, videos and having office hours for support. The problem sets have particularly been useful in applying my knowledge to some exam-style questions, with even having additional problem sets to work on. If I was struggling with a topic, I would use the lecture notes and videos to consolidate my knowledge, and having the office hours helped me clarify certain questions and topics. The most beneficial part of this module was how weekly content was locked behind quizzes, which helped me actually revise the content each week, rather than leaving it all last minute. Also, it helps me find out what areas within that topic I need to work on e.g. not knowing how to work out the price and quantity at profit maximisation. To improve though, I wish we had unlimited attempts to those quizzes, or if there were other quizzes to test overall knowledge instead of limited to 3 tries.
Finally, I have some advice for future students who will take this module or any similar microeconomics module. Firstly, stay on top of your work, this module is designed for you to recap your knowledge each week to access next week's content, which is helpful, but you should still revise and not leave it until last minute. Secondly, find people that can help you with this subject, you have your professors or even your classmates for help, use all resources available to you. And thirdly, find whatever makes you revise the best, for this module in particular, practice of problem sets is key since it is more maths based, but you should still understand the main ideas behind the question. For example, some people like blurting it out, others like to test each other, whatever way works best. For me personally, I like to do mind maps with a mix of problem sets.
Thank you for reading my blog, and good luck for your studies! If you have any questions, please email me and I will be happy to answer!
About the author
Afra Azim is a 2nd Year Business Management student studying at Queen Mary, University of London. Her interests are in microeconomics, especially market structures. She is also interested in business analytics, which she wishes to pursue in the future. Her email address is here: a.azim@hss24.qmul.ac.uk
Comments
Post a Comment