ECO2004S 2016

GROUP ESSAY – please consult Vula regularly

 P.O.A.
 Learning outcomes

 Group essay topic

 The assessment process

 Group members

 Relevant policies

 Q&A
 Learning outcomes
 Promotion of peer learning

 Encouragement of critical thinking

 Introduction of comparative analysis technique

 Development of research ability

 Development of soft skills

 Promotion of writing skills

 Group essay topic
PART A (50%): “Many authors claim that the traditional banking
business of accepting deposits and making loans has declined
significantly in recent years. Various forces have reshaped the banking
industry, and today, the banking sector is undergoing a revolution…”

Critically evaluate the above statement in relation to the CHANGES that

have taken place in the banking industry paying particular attention to
the MAIN FORCES that led to these changes.

PART B (50%): Compare and contrast the South African and the
Kenyan banking industries focusing on the ownership structure, asset size,
market share, financial development and non-performing loans.
 Word count
 Part A is limited to 1500 and part B is limited to 1000
(including in text citations and excluding the words used
in your reference list).

 Please note that you are allowed a 10% leeway therefore

you can write to a maximum of 1650 for part A and
1100 for part B.

 Further, please note that you are required to compile a

reference list (using the UCT Author Date referencing
method) and not a bibliography.
 Group essay topic (cont.)
• Part A:

Critically evaluate the above statement in relation to the CHANGES that have taken place
in the banking industry paying particular attention to the MAIN FORCES that led to these
changes.

 Critically evaluate: “Give your verdict as to what extent a statement or findings within a piece of
research are true, or to what extent you agree with them. Provide evidence taken from a wide
range of sources which both agree with and contradict an argument. Come to a final conclusion,
basing your decision on what you judge to be the most important factors and justify how you have
made your choice.” - Student Learning Development, University of Leicester 2009
• What are the changes that have taken place in the banking industry?

• What were the driving forces behind these changes?

• A is where the sector was, X is the force, Y is the change, and B is where the sector is now –
you would need to link the ‘letters’
 Group essay topic (cont.)
 The literature review:

“ (1)What has already been written on the topic (2) What has not been written on that topic (or is written in
such a way that it is conceptually or methodologically inadequate) (3) How the researcher's proposal addresses
the 'gap', silence or weakness in the existing knowledge base.” – UCT Writing Centre

 The abstract:

“ (1) Introduction. Describe what topic your paper covers. Provide the reader with a background to the study.
Avoid unnecessary content. (2) State the problem. What is the key research question? Again, in one sentence.
(3) Summarize why nobody else has adequately answered the research question yet. (4) Emphasize the gap in
the literature. You could use a phrase such as “Previous work has failed to address...”. (5) Explain how you have
approached the research question. What’s your big new idea? (6) In one sentence, describe how you went about
doing the research? Provide an outline of the methods you used. Did you run experiments? Carry out case
studies? Interviews? (7) What is the key impact of your research? What conclusions did you draw and what are
the implications? (8) What is the primary take-home message?” – UCT Writing Centre

Note: These are not set “must-dos” but rather are a guide and to be relied upon as relevant
 Group essay topic (cont.)
 Review changes that have taken place over the past 30 – 35
years
 Potential considerations
 Change in product selection
 Change in consumers and consumer needs
 Technological changes
 R&D
 Management of risk
 Legislative changes
 Globalisation
 Group essay topic (cont.)
• Part B

PART B (50%): Compare and contrast the South African and the
Kenyan banking industries focusing on the ownership structure, asset
size, market share, financial development and non-performing loans.

Compare – “Identify the similarities and differences between two or more

phenomena. Say if any of the shared similarities or differences are more
important than others.”

Contrast – “Similar to compare but concentrate on the dissimilarities between

two or more phenomena, or what sets them apart. Point out any differences
which are particularly significant.”

- Student Learning Development, University of Leicester 2009

 Group essay topic (cont.)
 Data for the top 5/6 banks in each jurisdiction
 Use of table to capture the categories identified in the question
 Interrogation of results
 Look at the websites of each country’s central bank
 Two graphs required per country for the period 2001 - 2015
(1) The financial development indicator (standard proxy is the ratio of domestic credit to
private sector by bank to GDP) – these links are for Brazil (i.e. do not rely on)
(2) Non-performing loans (a loan where the borrower is not making any interest payments
or repaying any principal) as a share of total loans – these links are for Brazil (i.e. do
not rely on)
 Data – World Bank
 Line graphs
 Clearly labeled

Interpret
 The assessment process
 There are two assessments that form part of the group essay

 The interim assessment (5%) – during week 5

 Individual assessment
 Online timed Vula assessment
 Provides a forum for peer assessment
 Everyone should be familiar with the research content
 The final assessment (10%) - due date is 12 September 10h00

 Group leader (please inform your tutor in week 3 who the group leader is)
 Group assessment
 Online hand in only via Vula (only the submission by the group leader is marked)
 One hand in per group submitted by the group leader (must be a single word document that contains
both Part A and Part B)
 The hand in MUST include the GROUP NUMBER
 The assignment is marked on Vula. Feedback will be returned via Vula and marks posted under
PostEm
 The group leader is required to distribute the returned feedback to students
 The assessment process
(cont.)
 What is being graded in the final submission:

 Broadly

 Comprehensive review of the changing nature of banking

 Critical review of the forces of changes
 Discussion of the graphs and tables relied upon
 Specifically

 Use of literature (what is a literature review?)

 Critical analysis
 Evaluation and synthesis of evidence
 Abstract and conclusion (what is an abstract?)
 Overall structure
 Group members
 Your assigned group is indicated to you under PostEm
 The average group size is 4 members
 Members are randomly allocated from within the tutorial
 By the end of week 3 the group is to inform their tutor of who their
group leader is
 You cannot change your group
 The workload must be equally distributed among group members
 If you are not assigned a group then you are to contact Richard –
bryce.bryce@uct.ac.za before the end of week 2
 Relevant policies
 Referencing
 You are required to use the UCT Author Date referencing method
for your reference list and your in-text citations. Failure to use the
correct referencing method or incorrect referencing will result in a
penalty of up to 15%.
 Plagiarism

 Late hand ins

 Please note that should you hand in after the deadline a late hand
in penalty will be applied. A penalty of 10% will be applied for the first
day late and 5% for everyday thereafter for a period of 7 days. Thereafter,
no submission will be graded. For example: If your task is due on 10
March 10h00, if you hand in after 10h00 on 17 March the task will
not be graded however the submission will count for DP. If you
hand in on 13 March at 10h30 you will receive a penalty of 25%.
Q&A
MPESA