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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2015/2016

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : Business School : Common Courses (Management School)

Postgraduate Course: Case Studies in Finance and Investment (CMSE11157)

Course Outline
SchoolBusiness School CollegeCollege of Humanities and Social Science
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits15 ECTS Credits7.5
SummaryThe course is designed to extend and deepen an understanding of a range of topics in finance and investment. It makes use of a case study approach, uses report-based assessments and invites student presentations.
Course description The course draws upon material introduced and developed in other courses, especially Financial Markets, The Analysis of Corporate Financial Information and Corporate Finance. Class participants are expected to apply the knowledge and understanding gained on other courses of the MSc programme, and their general insights into business problems.

Syllabus

* Encourage participation in discussion and analysis of real investment problems
* Ascertain the risks and validity of a particular investment strategy
* Apply judgement and creative thinking to business problems
* Develop evaluative tools to support investment decisions
* Allow students to relate capital markets theories to practical examples
* Recognise the particular issues and problems arising in finance and investment
* Apply judgement and evaluative techniques to problems in finance and investment
* Make use of analytic skills that are specific to finance and investment
* Apply a logical decision-making process to an investment problem

Student Learning Experience:

The course is structured around the cases for analysis (details of which are given later in this course book). The course features a combination of taught material designed to clarify and explain the background ideas relating to a particular case. The learning elements include the case itself, participation in group work and evaluation of the set problems. This analysis at its simplest features the elements of problem definition, problem analysis, and policy recommendation. Other elements include presentations of one group's collective approach, discussion of the solutions presented and exploration of alternative solutions in a particular case as well as the case instructor's interpretation of the case. In addition, class participants can develop their report writing ability through the assessed reports.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Students MUST have passed:
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements For Business School PG students only, or by special permission of the School. Please contact the course secretary.
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  None
Course Start Semester 2
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 150 ( Lecture Hours 20, Summative Assessment Hours 110, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 3, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 17 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Students are to submit 4 reports based on 4 cases.

Each report accounts for 25% of the overall mark - with 20% of this mark given to the report itself and 5% to the presentation of the report to the class.
Feedback There will be open discussion of ideas and proposals in class and immediate feedback on the presentations.

There will be written feedback on the group report.
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Apply the case study method to discussion and analysis of real investment problems, where there is a range of alternative ways of solving a problem
  2. Understand and critically discuss the key assumptions required in deriving a solution to an open-ended problem
  3. Critically discuss the barriers to implementation of particular courses of action
  4. Critically discuss how many management decisions rest on interpretation and judgments about inexact data and forecasts
Reading List
There is no required text for this course. For each case students will be referred to specific research articles and will also be expected to seek out up to date financial media and professional journals.

For prior reading for the first case study please review ¿Valuation Ratios and the Long-Run Stock Market Outlook¿, J. Campell and R. Shiller, Journal of Portfolio Management, winter 1998.

The Library subscribes to Science Direct, through which students can download full-text copies of papers published since 1 January 1995 in most major finance journals. The Economist and Financial Times are also available.
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Cognitive Skills:

On completion of the course students should have demonstrated that they are able to:
* Identify the key aspects of a problem.
* Formulate an approach to investigating the issue
* Interpret the evidence
* Formulate clear evidence-based conclusions.

Intellectual Skills and Personal Development:

Key Skills:

Upon completing the course class participants should be able to:
* Apply analytic and interpretative skills in decision making
* Compensate in decision-making for incomplete information
* Show improved presentations skills
* Identify and use relevant facts in a given problem
* Use available information to interpret and model a problem
* Make judgements and apply criteria between different courses of action in a given Management situation
* Point to improved team working skills
* Demonstrate better decision-making ability
*Understand and internalise their approach to tackling complex problems.
KeywordsfinCaseStudiesinFinanceandInvestment
Contacts
Course organiserProf William Rees
Tel:
Email: bill.rees@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMiss Rachel Allan
Tel: (0131 6)51 3757
Email: Rachel.Allan@ed.ac.uk
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