DESCRIPTIONS AND OBJECTIVES OF MAJOR COURSES Course Title: Introduction to Money, Banking and Finance Course Description: The course gives students understanding of the essence, need for, and the functions of money in juxtaposition with the respective roles played by financial institutions. It covers background, different views and the purchasing power of money; it examines the money supply process and its determinants in view of bank credit. The course also explores the evolution of banking, its nature, classification and functions, as well as reviewing financial markets and the role of banks. This course has three credit hours. Course Objective: The main objective of the course is to familiarise the students with the aspects of money and its role in the present day economy. The course also makes the students aware of the various aspects of banking, i.e., both central and commercial banking. Moreover, the course is also intended to create awareness among the students about the operations of financial systems, which includes capital and money markets. Course Title: Risk Management and Insurance Course Description: This course attempts to give an introductory study of the risk management process and the importance of insurance as a method of handling risk. Due attention is given to risk measurement as well. This course is designed to generate an awareness of the nature of risk, its effects on individual and business decisions, and the methods available for treating risk. Besides this, it also includes insurance principles, a brief introduction to different life and nonlife insurance, reinsurance and the insurance business in Ethiopia. This course has three credit hours and business statistics is the prerequisite course. Course Objective: The course is intended to enable students to identify and measure business loss exposures. It also discusses how to select from among the major tools of risk management and equip students with ways of measuring, if not eliminating, exposure to loss or risk and the ability to analyse various types of insurance contracts. Course Title: Banking Practice & Procedures Course Description: Study focuses on the general and special relationship between banker and customer, opening and maintaining different types of accounts, negotiable instruments, duties Department of Banking and Finance Page 1
and responsibilities of collecting and paying bankers, passing various entries in the books of accounts, preparing periodical statements, inter-branch transaction, and, closing of accounts. Course Objective: Banking is the backbone of an economy and thus the primary objective of the course is to deal with the banking practice and procedures. The course is also designed to study the banking systems. Besides this, the relationship between banker and customer, negotiable instruments, lending policies and remittance of funds in the banks will be covered. This course has four credit hours and the prerequisite course is Introduction to Money, Banking and Finance. Course Title: Central Banking Course Description: This course will cover the areas such as evolution and functions of a central bank. It also deals with the organisation and functions of the National Bank of Ethiopia, licensing of banks in Ethiopia, and regulations related to capital, reserves and liquid assets. It also deals with the promotional functions of the National Bank of Ethiopia. Lastly, it covers monetary policy and its objectives. This course has three credit hours and the prerequisite course is Introduction to Money, Banking and Finance. Course Objectives: This course will enable students to: Define central bank, objective and function. Understand the process of bank credit expansion Differentiate various methods of determining total reserves Develop an appropriate knowledge of the National Bank of Ethiopia Describe the components of monetary policy and bank regulation. Course Title: Research Methods in Banking and Finance Course description: A foundation course concerned with research methods as they are applied to the business community. This course explores typical problems including identification and definition, techniques of data collection and analysis, experimental design, scientific thinking, design of research sources, data collection, statistical analysis, ethics in business research, characteristics of good research, and interpretation and reporting research results. This course has three credit hours and the prerequisite course is Business Statistics. Course Objectives: This course will enable students to: Department of Banking and Finance Page 2
Define research and problem-solving Understand the scientific method of research Contrast applied and theoretical forms of research Differentiate descriptive, historical and experimental research methods Demonstrate the ability to review appropriate literature Develop an appropriate research question/problem Demonstrate the ability to develop appropriate hypotheses Generate an appropriate research proposal Identify the advantages and disadvantages of various data collection techniques Utilize secondary data appropriately Describe the components of a research report and the factors used in the evaluation of a research report Construct an appropriate bibliography from scholarly sources of material for study and research. Course Title: Insurance Practice and Procedure Course Description: This course aims at providing an insight into the relationship between the insurer and insured, requirements of insurable risk, benefits of insurance to society, parts of an insurance contract and it also includes the types of insurance providers, operations pricing system, insurance salesmanship and other related concepts. Ethiopian cases will be discussed, where appropriate. This course has three credit hours and the prerequisite course is Risk Management and Insurance. Course Objectives: The main objective of this course is to familiarise students with insurance practice and procedure. The course also enables the students to understand the parts of insurance contract and different insurance company operations. The course is also intended to create awareness among students financial management of an insurance company. Course Title: Banking & Insurance Law Course Description: This course will discuss the historical and economic background of banking and insurance. The operation of negotiable instruments, banking transactions, and the Department of Banking and Finance Page 3
function of a national bank will be covered. It will also discuss the contract of insurance, construction of insurance policies, insurable interest, indemnity, the obligations of the parties, representation and disclosure, claims, and arbitration. This course has three credit hours and the prerequisite courses are Insurance Practice and Procedure and Banking Practice and Procedure. Course Objective: Upon completion of the course, learners will be able to understand: The various types of banking transactions The specific legal requirements for the establishment and operation of a banking business The rights and duties of banks and their customers The concept and requisites of insurable interest Commencement and duration of insurance contracts Claims and settlements. Course Title: Bank and Insurance Marketing Course Description: This course is intended to give students an insight into the relevance of marketing to: banking and insurance, products, pricing, outlets, promotion, people and procedures. It also deals with bank marketing in rural areas and market planning in banks. This course has three credit hours and the prerequisite courses are Insurance Practice and Procedure and Banking Practice and Procedure. Course Objective: Banking is the backbone of an economy and thus the primary objective of the course is to deal with banking products, pricing and promotions. The course is also designed to study banking marketing systems. Besides this, the relationship between bank marketing in rural areas and market planning in banks is explored. Course Title: E -Commerce & Electronic Banking Course Description: This course intends to enrich students with modern e-commerce practices, such as e-marketing, electronic data interchange and other network technologies. It also deals with the e-banking concepts including automated teller machines, electronic fund transfers, interbranch connectivity, and computerisation of branches. This course has three credit hours and the prerequisite course is Introduction to Computers. Course Objective: The main objective of the course is to facilitate students learning of aspects of modern e-commerce practices and e-banking activities. The course also teaches students about Department of Banking and Finance Page 4
the various aspects of e-commerce practices, i.e., both e-marketing and electronic data interchange. Moreover, the course creates awareness among the students of e-banking concepts such as automated teller machines, electronic fund transfers, inter-branch connectivity, and computerisation of branches. Course Title: International Banking Course Description: The course will deal with the foreign exchange market and its transactions, the exchange rate system of the world, protection against exchange rates, balance of payments, methods of payments, international financial institutions and the largest international financial centres and facilities for importers and exporters. This course has three credit hours and the prerequisite course is Central Banking. Course Objective: The main objective of the course is to enhance the students understanding of international finance including institutions and centres. On completion of the course, students should be able to: Explain the different types of exchange regimes Examines the foreign exchange markets, the participants, features and the supply and demand of foreign exchange. Course Title: Financial Institutions and Financial Markets Course Description: The course examines the nature, role and operation of the financial system and major components in the system. In addition, it will provide information regarding the characteristics of various financial instruments that are created and traded on the financial market. The topic includes the commercial banks, non-banking financial institutions, financial markets, and the importance of regulations on the financial institutions and markets. It also includes a rudimentary introduction to the fanatical system in Ethiopia. This course has three credit hours and the prerequisite course is Introduction to Money, Banking and Finance. Course Objective: On completion of the course, the students should be able to: Recognise financial assets, properties of financial assets, the role of financial assets and financial markets, and classification of financial markets Understand depository financial institutions, non-depository institutions and investment banking firms Department of Banking and Finance Page 5
Recognise the organisation and structure of, money markets, derivative markets, capital markets, debt markets and the foreign exchange market Explain principles of financial regulations and arguments for and against financial system regulations Understand interest rate determinations and bond valuation Explain the development and importance of financial markets and institutions in Ethiopia. Course Title: Financing Of Foreign Trade & Foreign Exchange Course Description: This course deals with the import and exports financing, export and import procedures, and import and export documentation. Besides this, the course covers foreign exchange aspects such as fixed and floating exchange rates, participants of the foreign exchange market, supply and demand of foreign exchange, purchase and sales transactions. This course has three credit hours and the prerequisite course is International Banking. Course Objective: The main objective of the course is to enhance the students with the aspect of financing foreign trade and foreign exchange including documents, procedures, demand and supply of foreign exchange Course Title: Cooperative and Rural Banking Course Description: This course intends to enrich students with the basic principles of cooperation, the evolution and development of cooperative banking and cooperative credit in Ethiopia, and, the legal framework for cooperative banking and its administration. This course has three credit hours and the prerequisite course is Central Banking. Course Objective: The main objective of the course is to familiarise the students with aspects of basic principles of cooperative banking. The course also teaches students about the various aspects of cooperative banking, mentioned in the Course Description. Course Title: Project Finance and Management Course Description: This course discusses project planning, project cycle, project identification, feasibility study, financial analysis, economic analysis, appraisal criteria and project management. The course has three credit hours and the prerequisite course is Financial Management. Department of Banking and Finance Page 6
Course Objective: This course aims at familiarizing students with feasibility studies and at enabling them to understand how investors and appraisers make decisions affecting the profitability of a venture and a project s viability in economic and social terms. Course Title: Micro-Finance Course Description: This course deals with the legal framework of micro-finance organisations in Ethiopia, which includes the licensing of micro-finance institutions, the principles and practices of micro-finance, emerging challenges in micro-finance, micro-finance experiences, and self-help groups. This course has three credit hours and the prerequisite course is Central Banking. Course Objective: This course aims at familiarising students with micro-finance and enabling them to understand products, services, objectives, risk management, as well as methods of monitoring and evaluating micro-finance institutions to make decisions and understanding the legal frameworks and the development of micro-finance in Ethiopia. Course Title: Commercial Banking Course Description: The course provides a solid foundation in the general principles of the financial management of commercial banks. It focus on practices, policies, and problems of commercial bank management and operations, especially capital adequacy, loan and investment policies, liquidity management with the primary objective 0of maximizing value. Completion of the course will provide the student with understanding of the key elements that needs to be closely monitored for the successful management of depository institutions in the new environment of deregulation and accelerating technological change. This course has three credit hours and the prerequisite course is Introduction to Money, Banking and Finance. Course objectives: On completion of the course, students should be able to: Prepare and evaluate current and pro-forma financial statements Make inferences about a bank s financial performance from its financial statement Assess appropriate measures of key risks faced by commercial banks In the context of a bank s management, develop and implement commercial bank policies and principles, credit procedures, and risk management strategies to create value Understand the overall activity of a commercial bank in Ethiopia. Course Title: Real Estate Finance and Investment Analysis Department of Banking and Finance Page 7
Course Description: This course is about the application of financial tools for the analysis of real estate income property, mortgages, and real estate investment from several points of view including those of individuals, partnerships, institutional investors, financial institutions, appraisers and corporations. This course has three credit hours. Course objectives: On completion of the course, the students should be able to: Understand how to analyse the real estate market in general Explain how to finance real estate investment Explain risk and return in real estate investment Understand real estate investment from different points of view and the development of real estate investment in Ethiopia. Course Title: Financial Management Course Description: This course focuses on the acquisition of financial resources and their effective utilisation in running a business organisation. It also tries to highlight the way effective financial decisions are made. This course has three credit hours and the prerequisite is Principles of Accounting II. Course objectives: On completion of the course, the student should be able to: Recognize financial analyses and financial planning Understand the concepts of time value of money and interest rates Explain stock and bond valuation Understand how to make investment decisions. Course title: Auditing Principles and Practice Course Objective: This course is an introduction to the theoretical and practical knowledge of the concepts and principles of auditing. The course covers the nature and concepts of auditing, the auditor s report, internal control, and audit programs and procedures. Besides this, the course is designed to introduce students to the Ethiopian law and its effects on accounting in the economy and development of auditing techniques. This course has four credit hours and the prerequisite is Principles of Accounting II. Course Description: The principal objective of the course is to introduce the theory and principles of auditing. Hence this course: Department of Banking and Finance Page 8
Imparts knowledge of the philosophy, nature and importance of auditing Establishes an understanding of and regard for the generally accepted auditing standards Conveys ethical principles and a framework for practicing auditing Discusses the tools and techniques to be used by auditors for accumulating and evaluating audits Dwells on the audit communication medium used in audit reports. Besides this, students should demonstrate their understanding of basic auditing concepts by presenting a term paper on any relevant topic through a fieldwork assignment. DESCRIPTIONS AND OBJECTIVES OF SUPPORTIVE COURSES Course Title: Principles of Accounting I Course Description: This course focuses on accounting evaluation of basic accounting systems and procedures used in: giving services and merchandising for business enterprises, and accounting for accruals and deferrals, receivables and short-term investments, and payables. Moreover, it deals with accounting system designs and internal control over cash. This course has three credit hours. Course Objectives: The general objectives of this course are: to provide students with the basic knowledge of accounting principles, concepts and practices by different types of business organisations, to prepare students for the next higher accounting courses. Course Title: - Principles of Accounting II Course Description: This course deals with: accounting for plant assets and depreciationacquisition-disposal; accounting for receivables and payables; valuation of accounts receivable, and, accounting for notes receivables. This course has three credit hours and the prerequisite is Principle of Accounting I. Course Objectives: On completion of this course, students are expected to: Describe accounting for inventories, non-current assets and payroll related liabilities Distinguish and illustrate basic accounting concepts and principles Explain how managerial accounting concepts and principles are applied to manufacturing firms Department of Banking and Finance Page 9
Describe and illustrate accounting for departments and branches. Furthermore, this course makes students eligible for subsequent higher accounting courses. Course Title: Micro Economics I Course Description: The course covers: neoclassical theory of consumer demand; consumer choice models; derivation and properties of individual demand and Engel curves; properties of market demand curves; laws of production and costs; returns to scale; the law of variable proportions; choice of technique; short-run and long-run cost; theory of the firm and market equilibrium under perfect competition; price determination under market imperfection; models of pure monopoly; and, monopolistic competition. This course has three credit hours. Course Objectives: The course, in its two parts, is designed to introduce students to a fundamental concept of the economic behavior of individual decision-making units such as consumers, business firms and resource owners. Essentially, the course deals with the quantity and price determination in different market structures (both output and factor markets). It also introduces the concept of general equilibrium, welfare economics, and economics of information. Course Title: Micro-economics II Course description: The course covers: price determination under market imperfection; models of oligopoly; neoclassical models of factor demand and income determination; introduction to general equilibrium and welfare economics; and, introduction to the economics of information, transaction costs and uncertainty. This course has three credit hours and the prerequisite is Micro-Economics I. Course Objective: The course, in its two parts, is designed to introduce students to fundamental concepts of the economic behavior of individual decision-making units such as consumers, business firms and resource owners. Essentially, the course deals with the quantity and price determination in different market structures (both output and factor markets). It also introduces the concept of general equilibrium and welfare economics. Course Title: Macro-economics Course Description: This course begins by introducing students to the concept of national income accounting. This will be followed by a brief review of controversies in macroeconomics. Department of Banking and Finance Page 10
The rest of this course will be divided into two sections. In the first section, the basics of the new classical macroeconomics will be discussed. The latter is designed to address two issues. First, macroeconomics in such a set-up is based on micro-foundation and second adjustment to disequilibrium is reached through price-clearing. In this regard, the issue of inter-temporal substitution, micro-based money demands formulation, micro-based labor market and a complete market clearing model, as well as inflation in a market clearing model, will be discussed. This will be followed by Section Two where some basic issues in macroeconomics will be explored. The latter includes issues of consumption (simple Keynesian, life-cycle and permanent income hypothesis). This course has three credit hours and the prerequisite is Micro Economics II. Course Objective: The objective of this course is introducing students with the basic macroeconomic concepts. At the end of the course, students will be familiar with the basic national income identities and their accountings using different approaches Know how closed and open economies clear Understand the effects of fiscal and monetary policies. Course Title: Entrepreneurship and small business management Course Description: This interdisciplinary course is designed to introduce students to the concept of sustainable entrepreneurship, a manageable process that can be applied across careers and work settings. It focuses on building entrepreneurial attitudes and behaviour that will lead to creative solutions within community and organizational environments. Course topics include the history of entrepreneurship, the role of entrepreneurs in the 21 st century global economy, and the identification of entrepreneurial opportunities. The elements of creative problem-solving, the development of a business concept/ model, the examination of feasibility studies, and the social, moral and ethical implications of entrepreneurship will be incorporated. This course is directed toward forging views of entrepreneurship as they operate in today s world. This course has three credit hours. Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to: Define entrepreneurship within the context of society, organisations and individuals Demonstrate an understanding of the impact of entrepreneurship on the economy Recognise entrepreneurial attitudes and behaviour within themselves and others Distinguish between an entrepreneurial and a conventional approach to management Department of Banking and Finance Page 11
Recognise and overcome obstacles to creative problem-solving Describe the element of an effective business model/plan Develop a concept for an innovative product or service in their areas of interest Recognise that entrepreneurial success in the 21 st century depends on teamwork and diversity Develop a personal framework for managing the ethical dilemmas and social responsibilities facing entrepreneurs Describe the leadership studies of entrepreneurs who have been successful in different sectors (e.g., start-ups, corporations, community, public sector Identify characteristics of an entrepreneur as exhibited in behaviour Analyse elements of the entrepreneurial mind-set and discuss the implications for functioning as a successful entrepreneur. Course Title: Business Mathematics Course Description: This course is designed to expose business students to the basic concept and areas of business application of mathematics. Topics include: matrix theory and application, mathematical functions and their use as models, mathematics of finance, linear programming, exponential and logarithmic functions and elements and application of calculus. Course Objective: The study of quantitative techniques has become increasingly important in the face of fast-moving technology and increasing complexities in business and industry. These techniques constitute an important segment of any curriculum in management education and are now considered as effective tools towards solving business problems. They can, however, never be substituted for human skills, experience and judgment. Many activities that are previously handled by verbal analysis and description have proved to be more easily dealt with by mathematical techniques. Mathematical formulation of problems can give clarity and certainty in handling complex problems and enforce a precision in stating the fact of a situation where these would otherwise be lost in emotion and argument. We should use mathematical methods where they can give clear solutions to business problems because by doing so we can use the limited resources of a business more efficiently. The course Business Mathematics is addressed to the needs of students to get acquainted with the basic concepts and managerial applications of mathematics. Department of Banking and Finance Page 12
Course Title: Business Statistics Course Description: The use of statistical knowledge in the field of business aid dates many years back. In recent years, an understanding of statistical methods, techniques, and the skills to make use of them has been widely recognized more than before. It is essential for anyone making business decisions on the basis of data to possess a clear understanding of statistics. Among other things, the vast and fast-changing technological, financial and economic setting has necessitated an organised use and extensive application of statistical tools in business decisionmaking. Statistics has proved useful in many ways such as in establishing relationships, making predications, and providing solutions to the many problems of business operations and managerial decisions. Statistics is widely applied in production and quality control, marketing research, manpower planning and finance. This course has three credit hours and the prerequisite is Business Mathematics. Course Objectives: The objective of this course is to discuss the theoretical aspects of statistics and then focus on its practical applications in business decision-making, which modern managers and decision makers are expected to be armed with in the face of considerable uncertainty. Besides this, the objective is also to create know-how for students in various areas of application and show the benefit of statistic in business. Course Title: Business Law Course Description: The students will be introduced to concepts of law, legal personality, and business from the viewpoint of business entities, contracts, agencies, insurance, negotiable instruments and banking transactions. In general, the course will give highlights of the laws regarding business transactions in the country. This course has three credit hours. Course Objective: The primary objectives of this courses is to introduce students to the concept, principles, and legal framework governing business transactions, negotiations, undertakings, and contracts. The course will take a closer look at the labour law, taxation law, and the commercial code of Ethiopia. It is aimed at exposing students to the law of contract (such as the contract of sale, insurance, and agency), commercial, instruments, and commercial undertakings. Department of Banking and Finance Page 13
Course Title: Introduction to Computer Course Description: The course will acquaint students with the concepts of information technology, components of computer systems, data representation and computer mathematics, data communication and computer networking, information systems and programming languages. In addition, the course will introduce artificial intelligence and applications of computers. This course has three credit hours. Course objective: On completion of the course, students will be able to: Have a good understanding of PC functions and their basic components Understand data representation in computer memory, computer arithmetic and computer system architecture Understand basic concepts in data communication and computer networking Work with Windows Operating System and its environment Develop basic skills in application packages (MS-Word, MS-Excel, MS-Access, MS- Power point, MS-Internet Explorer/Mozilla Firefox) Know what Linux is and its basic use Course Title: Communicative English Skills Course Description: Basic functions of English are covered, including: introducing oneself and giving others advice; expressing opinions; describing; showing probability and certainty; interpreting oral figures, charts, maps, graphs, tables; summarizing and reviewing; critiquing; debating; and, public speaking. The course also helps to practices the skills of listening for gist and details, discriminating major and minor ideas, taking notes, active listening and others. This course has three credit hours. Course Objectives: During and by the end of the course, students will: Acquire the listening and note-taking competence necessary in university contexts Master the vocabulary learning skills that enable them develop their vocabulary repertoire, targeting various themes Use English grammar relevant to research Department of Banking and Finance Page 14
Develop their interpretative and evaluative reading competence Increase their speaking competence and confidence which enables them to interact in discussion and debating groups Write various short to long sized texts to acquire the competence that enable them write various academic reports independently. Course title: Basic Writing Skills Course Description: This course will focus on writing strategies. Emphasis will be on the development of sentence structure and sentence variety at paragraph level. The sentence level writing includes writing accurate sentences i.e. avoiding fragments, run-on sentences, agreement faults, faulty parallelism and dangling constructions. Besides this, it emphasises the basics of paragraph writing, i.e. coherence, unity, completeness, topic sentences; statement of main ideas, writing support and appropriate emphasis. This course has three credit hours and the prerequisite is Communicative English Skills. Course Objectives: Upon completing the course, students will be able to: Construct meaningful sentences in English Learn to compose a paragraph that has a clearly stated topic sentence and details Use appropriate coordination and subordination to relate ideas Identify and correct sentence structure problems: fragments, comma splices, and run-on sentences Identify and correct subject and verb agreement problems Identify and correct pronoun case and pronoun agreement and reference problems. Course Title: General Psychology Course Description: As long as a person exists in this world, there are inevitable parts of his emotions (happiness, sadness, and grief), thought, interpersonal relations, and some other psychosocial phenomena. Psychology is a broad field, which is primarily concerned with various aspects of human behavior and mental processes. This introductory course is designed to introduce students to the major psychological issues. With the aid of the course the students will be familiar with the definition of psychology. The course will briefly touch the biological basis of behavior and the major perspectives in psychology along with its historical development. It Department of Banking and Finance Page 15
will also focus on how human beings sense, perceive and learn their environment. Moreover, the course is highly concerned with memory and forgetting, motivation, personality development, emotion and stress, and the major abnormal behaviors. This course has three credit hours. Course Objective: By the end of this introductory course, students will be able to: Clearly define psychology Understand and compare the major perspectives in psychology Describe different research methods in psychology with their benefits and drawbacks Recognize how people sense and give meaning to their environment Understand and appreciate learning new behavior from different theoretical bases. Recognize memory processes Explain motivational and emotional processes Comprehend the development of personality Describe the characteristics of major psychological disorders. Course Title: Introduction to Management Course Description: This course on management aims to impart a working knowledge of the basic functional areas of management and its historical development. Awareness of the important concepts and principles is sought to be created in the student. Course Objective: After completing the course, the students should be able to: Explain the significance of management, managerial functions, levels of management and types of managers, managerial roles and skills and universality of management Explain the evolution of management thought Identify and explain managerial functions (planning, organisation, staffing, leading, controlling and decision-making). Course Title: Business Communication Course Description: Communication is the lifeblood of business. However, communication is not the free flow of ideas from one person to another. In the process, the sender, message, media, receiver, and feedback are involved. Nevertheless, all the variables mentioned and other factors can influence communication either positively or negatively. Thus, this course will handle the Department of Banking and Finance Page 16
communication process, communication barriers, types of communication channels (speech, interview, meeting, report writing, nonverbal communication, active listening, telephoning), business communication principles and types of communication in organisations. This course has three credit hours and the prerequisite is Introduction to Management. Course Objectives: After completing the course, it should: Enable students to understand the importance of effective communication in the real world of business Help students identify problems of effective communication and its impact on the overall organizational goal achievements Introduce students to the basic skills and ways of improving communication Help students to improve interpersonal communication Enable students to understand the significance of effective communication in undertaking managerial functions. Department of Banking and Finance Page 17