Undergraduate Level Courses Research Articles

Faculty course evaluations and class size

Instructor performance plays a critical role in fostering student learning. Unlike the postsecondary level, many states in the United States, have substantially regulated class size in the p-12 education system with the aim of enhancing quality learning. Thus, the purpose of this research paper is to examine the correlation between instructor evaluations and class size in tertiary institutions as the findings can inform regulatory decisions regarding class sizes in postsecondary facilities. The study reviewed 97-course evaluations garnered in the Fall of 2019 from a Midwest University. The feedback of students, undertaking physical, and virtual classes, was considered regarding teachers’ performance. Different course evaluations included in the study were adjunct faculty, full-time faculty, graduate level, and undergraduate level course assessments. The research findings depicted a negative correlation between class size and instructor evaluation, positing that teachers teach the same way in smaller classes as they do in larger classes. Nonetheless, the study results showed that the sizes of conventional virtual classes had a lower correlation with course performances compared to traditional face-to-face classes. In the latter, there was more engagement between teachers and students, as the latter appeared to be more active than in online classes. With the technological effect that Covid-19 has brought forth in online learning, population sizes of online classes have changed. Therefore, considering the data used for the research was collected preCovid-19, it is essential that future studies pay considerable focus on the quality of evaluation of virtual classes to help with directing of school budget allocations toward online learning.

Bab Al Qasr Hotel & Residence: sustaining business while housing COVID-19 patients

Learning outcomes This case study aims to yield the following learning outcomes: understand the key performance indicators of successful human resource management (HRM) in the hospitality and tourism sector, especially during pandemics; identify the various concepts and strategies of HRM and recruitment over a short period; conceptualize the types of HRM practices such as safety and health, recruitment and promotion and rewards when facing pandemic conditions as well as the handling of hotel staff in strained times; evaluate the crisis management solutions used by human resources to lower the employee turnover rate; and develop a crisis management plan from a human resource standpoint in a pandemic situation. Case overview/synopsis A five-star hotel in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bab Al Qasr Hotel & Residence (BAQHotel) opened in October 2016. In April 2020, the hotel began accepting patients with COVID-19 in conjunction with the Abu Dhabi’s Healthcare Company (SEHA), as a support to the UAE Government, through Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi (DCTAD), to meet the local needs and sustain business during these unforeseen circumstances, which heavily impacted the whole World. Samer Majari, the Human Resource Director of BAQ hotel was responsible for recruiting and supervising delegates, while ensuring the comfort of hotel staff, arranging for their transportation, catering, safety and well-being. To combat the high staff turnover, including COVID-19-positive staff, Majari reviewed the existing staff model; divided the staff into two groups for providing services to both sides of the hotel; arranged for separate accommodations, food and transportation; and retained the existing resources and recruited new workers. This study aims to provide management solutions that concern hiring of staff from the existing UAE market and highlights ways of creating a lower staff turnover rate through incentives and compensations, while also managing staff by motivating them and also safeguarding them against COVID-19. Complexity academic level This case study intends to provide a context for creative solutions to human resource challenges facing organizations during a pandemic. It also involves swift responses to crises faced by HR managers and the immediate solutions required. Therefore, this case study can be used in undergraduate level courses for students pursuing a bachelor’s or a master’s degree in HRM, hospitality management, crisis management or international business studies. Moreover, this case study can be used for corporate training and to help hospitality industry staff, mid-level human resource managers and organizational development practitioners to better understand crisis management in their hotels. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 6: Human Resource Management

OKUL ÖNCESİ EĞİTİMİ ÖĞRETMEN ADAYLARININ GİRİŞİMCİ KİŞİYE DAİR STEREOTİPİK DÜŞÜNCELERİNİN BELİRLENMESİ

Bu çalışmada, okul öncesi eğitimi öğretmen adaylarının girişimci ve girişimciliğe ait algılarını tanımlamak için “Okul öncesi eğitimi öğretmen adaylarının girişimci kişiye dair stereotipik düşünceleri nelerdir?” sorusuna cevap aranmaktadır. Araştırma, 2021- 2022 eğitim öğretim yılında Türkiye'de bir devlet üniversitesinde Okul Öncesi Eğitimi Öğretmenliği bölümünde okumakta olan 47 tane dördüncü sınıf öğrencisi ile yürütülmüştür. Katılımcılarla “Girişimci Çiz” ölçeği verilerek 15 dakika süre içerisinde bu ölçeği doldurmaları istenmiştir. Sonuçlar, “Girişimcilik Yetkinlikleri Çerçevesi” (The Entrepreneurship Competence Framework - EntreComp) rubriği ile analiz edilmiştir. Bulgular, okul öncesi öğretmen adaylarının girişimcilik algıların düşük düzeyde kaldığını göstermektedir. Katılımcıların girişimci kişiye dair steoritipik algılarında, çok yoğunluklu olarak finansal sonrasında sosyal ve en az yoğunluklu olarak da innovative girişimcilikte olduğu görülmüştür. Okul öncesi öğrencilerinin girişimciliğe dair algılarının ve farkındalıklarının arttırılması için öğretmenlerin yeterli eğitimi lisans düzeyinde almaları gerekmektedir.

A pinch of poppy seeds and a drop of secrecy

Learning outcomes The learning outcomes of this study are as follows: use advanced frameworks and tools to convey complex ideas related to corporate social responsibility and ethics; apply relevant concepts and theories of ethics and corporate governance to a practical situation while making decisions; demonstrate understanding of the importance of stakeholders when developing socially responsible thinking; and analyze ethical and legal conflicts that need to be considered by employees in situations of whistleblowing. Case overview/synopsis Sara Khan was a Pakistani-American who had moved to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2015 to pursue her Bachelor’s degree in accounting. After graduation, she started working for a baked products manufacturer, Dough Fresh, which was a business unit of Dubai-based Fresh Foods Co. Three years later, she enjoyed her work in the company that embraced strong ethical values and socially responsible practices. She was recently given the task of delivering a financial statements’, investment projections’ and cost-cutting presentation to the senior management of Dough Fresh. Her performance at completing this task was of critical importance for her obtaining the eagerly awaited promotion to the senior accountant position. One day, while Sara was looking through some files to update the financial statements’ records, she came across a deleted purchase order of poppy seeds that amounted to AED 680,000. While poppy seeds were widely used as ingredients in baked products in other countries, they were illegal in the UAE. After approaching her colleague from the purchasing department, she realized that the purchasing manager, who was the grandson of the chairman, was closely involved in the matter. Moreover, it appeared that poppy seeds were used unwashed, which triggered deleterious health consequences and made them highly dangerous to consume. As Sara spent more time researching about poppy seeds and whistleblowing laws in the UAE, she questioned whether she should divulge this information or keep it for herself. Making this decision was extremely challenging. Because the UAE laws regarding whistleblowing were not comprehensive and constantly evolving, she was not certain whether her identity and reputation would be protected in case she decided to blow the whistle. Even more, she worried immensely about the prospect of her colleagues losing their jobs if this information became public, as many of them needed the money to support their families back home and to finance expensive health-related treatments of their relatives. At the same time, she was also aware that if poppy seeds were consumed by people unknowingly, this could lead to serious and even fatal health consequences. All things considered, Sara was caught between deciding what was the right thing to do. Complexity academic level This case study can be used in a higher level undergraduate business course on Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 11: Strategy.

Driving Course Engagement Through Multimodal Strategic Technologies

This paper describes the development of a new second-year level undergraduate Physics course at the University of Newcastle, comprising three four-week modules (encompassing Special Relativity, Nuclear and Particle Physics) for a combined roster of both Newcastle and James Cook students. A series of multimodal digital learning technology platforms were employed to see if they could maximise student engagement. Specifically, a flipped classroom system was trialled whereby students were tasked with creating their own lecture notes from online videos (created using Lightboard and PowerPoint). This approach resulted in 90% of the class actively engaging with the lecture content. Weekly online tutorial workshops consistently achieved an attendance rate of approximately 85% and included an online quiz based on embedded questions within the lecture videos. In addition, innovative STEM laboratory workshops exploited active engagement strategies including purely online worksheets to blended and remote experiments. The inclusion of a Slack-based project management hub enabled students to work seamlessly under constantly changing COVID-19 restrictions while exposing them to planning, management and Python control coding, under the visage of “embracing technology and best practice to deliver the greatest possible student experience”. A review of students’ view of the Lightboard and PowerPoint lecture content was conducted with Lightboard being the student’s outright preference.

English Proficiency Evaluation Model of College Students by Using Intuitive Fuzzy Information Theory

English is a required university course in China and is a long-standing and consistent undergraduate-level course in China’s universities. It uses English as the medium and language of instruction to promote general education. As the most important content of undergraduate foreign language education, college English has different characteristics from other courses. It is only when its objectives, content, teaching activities, and assessment system fully reflect its unique requirements that it can truly achieve the ultimate goal of teaching this subject. With the advent of the information age, global economic integration and international exchange are deepening in various industries and fields. It is increasingly common for countries to require professionals to have foreign language skills, especially English as an international language. As a result, the demand for deeper English proficiency has become more prominent. In international communication, the English intercultural communication ability of key personnel directly affects the process of international communication, science and technology exchange, and the smooth transition of cultural conflicts in various fields and even determines the ultimate success of project cooperation. In this context, the effective use of English and cross-cultural communication skills is very important. Therefore, our higher education institutions are mainly responsible for training foreign language talents. However, the core problem facing English teaching in Chinese universities is the teaching value orientation. In particular, it seriously restricts the effectiveness of university English teaching. First, the value orientation of university English teaching deviates from the teaching objectives. It emphasizes the basic knowledge and skills of the English language, which makes teaching mainly stay on the foundation of the language. In other words, it is still limited to learning English for the sake of learning English, and the examination-oriented education is obvious, with a preference for instrumental teaching. Secondly, university English teaching focuses too much on the accumulation of English grammar rules and imitation drills, and the teaching style is dull and the teaching context is empty. This approach deviates from the characteristics of English intercultural communication, which makes the gap between the actual university English teaching and the real intercultural communication more and more obvious. Third, university English teaching lacks integration with other teaching values, especially with the humanistic orientation of university English teaching. Nowadays, a single teaching value orientation dominates university English teaching. As a result, the teaching around various English examinations has become a strange phenomenon in college English teaching.

Being bird and sensory learning activities: Multimodal and arts-based pedagogies in the ‘Anthropocene’

There is little room left for doubt or even debate at the severity of the ecological, indeed planetary crises that we find ourselves in during this period coined the Anthropocene. As educators working in the face of these crises, we have asked ourselves the question ‘how do we carry on?’ We reflect on a set of sensory, multimodal, meditative and arts-based pedagogical activities that bridge the geographical, biological, sociological and environmental dimensions of learning using the concepts from Hannah Arendt and John Dewey, in a higher-education context in Sweden. The first-cycle (undergraduate level) course in which these activities are conducted—Teaching sustainability from a global perspective - engages students in a range of pedagogical activities designed to encourage greater awareness of sustainability issues in diverse educational settings. In this paper we reflect on pedagogical practices as praxis in a sustainability focused course, and use the theory of practice architectures to question what people do in a particular time and place. We explore how educating for the future using multimodal and arts-based pedagogies could be a strategy to support new ways for reconfiguring environmental sustainability education in the Anthropocene.

The worker bee’s dilemma: move out to move up?

Theoretical basis This case is underpinned by multiple motivational theories, including Maslow’s Hierarchy, Alderfer’s existence relatedness growth, equity theory, expectancy theory and Herzberg’s two-factor theory. Research methodology This data was gleaned from the protagonist and corporate documents. Names have been changed to conceal the identity of the firm and its employees. Case overview/synopsis Vivienne consistently earned high-performance ratings at her firm. She designed the internal firm university, a permanent learning program. She then noticed other employees being promoted based on her work. She was not offered a promotion, so she conducted a job analysis. Based on those findings, Vivienne decided to develop and present a retitling proposal for her promotion to a title better aligned with the level of work she performed. This case analyzes Vivienne’s organization, the firm university program, and her retitling proposal using management theories, human resources laws, and concepts, and it leads to an important career crossroads. Complexity academic level Undergraduate courses: organizational behavior and human resource management.

Performance measurement in a Lean organization: the case of the Wiremold company

Theoretical basis Critical analysis of observed practice. Research methodology Field study. Learning outcomes To expose accounting and MBA students to Lean management and the performance measures that support Lean management by presenting a case of a comprehensive and very successful Lean transformation; to give accounting and MBA students the opportunity to construct a strategy map and a balanced scorecard based on a rich case description; and to critically assess the suitability of balanced scorecards for a company that embraces Lean management. Case overview/synopsis The case describes a comprehensive transformation from conventional management to Lean management and business practices, with an emphasis on the largely non-financial performance measures used to support the transformation. Around the time of the Lean transformation, the balanced scorecard, a multi-dimensional measurement approach, was introduced to address the problems of excessive reliance on financial performance measures. Students are asked to compare and contrast Wiremold’s approach to the balanced scorecard. Complexity academic level Graduate or upper level undergraduate courses in cost accounting, managerial accounting and strategic management.

A district magistrate’s call on a disaster warning: paranoid or pragmatic?

Theoretical basis This case uses two key theoretical notions for discussion and analysis: Policy-trade off model by Deborah Stone is adapted to the context of decision-making during the cyclone warning [Stone, Deborah. Policy Paradox: The Art of Political Decision-Making. Third, New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 2012.]. The critical success factors in disaster response- John R. Harrald’s five-stage framework is applied to analyse Case B. [Harrald, John R. “Agility and Discipline: Critical Success Factors for Disaster Response:” The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 8 September 2016. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716205285404.]. Research methodology This case is written with the information collected through interviews, over three months from March 2020, with Ms Ranjana Chopra (Indian Administrative Services), a senior civil servant working for the Government of Odisha, who was associated with the event in the case. Secondary sources, including newspaper reports and meteorological bulletins from the Indian Meteorological Department, is also made use of. Case overview/synopsis Anupama Gowda was the District Magistrate of Kalinga in the state of Odisha, in the Eastern coast of the Indian peninsula. In April 2019, when the meteorological department issued a cyclone warning, she had to take a call on how to go ahead. Her team did not seem too enthused as Kalinga was away from the coast and meteorological warnings were taken as routine. The case discusses Gowda’s dilemma on whether to push for full-fledged preparations or a limited preparation at least or leave it laissez-faire. She made the decision by 24th April and “what happened” serve as Case B. Complexity academic level This case is intended to cover two key competencies: decision-making in ambiguity for public service professionals or bureaucrats and disaster response within a limited time period and resources. This case is useful for undergraduate-level foundational courses with decision-making under ambiguity as a component; in management, public policy and public administration disciplines. Executive training or short-term courses for early-career public service professionals (with no solid background in management/policy theory) on decision-making at the local administration level.

The Brinkmanship Game: Bargaining Under the Mutual Risk of Escalation

This article describes a simple two-player game which illustrates basic concepts of brinkmanship, to include calculations of probability and expected outcomes, and risk-taking profiles. The game befits a single 50-minute class period with introduction, gameplay, and discussion. The game can supplement the study of conflict from classic Cold War case studies of crisis bargaining, to arms control, or negotiating international protocols for global climate change such as the Paris Agreement. The Brinkmanship Game was developed for the seventh week of a 10-week graduate course called Game Theory and Decisionmaking: Exploring Strategic Situations. The course features a flipped classroom with class time devoted to experimentation, gameplay, and discussion of readings and games; lectures are online. The Brinkmanship Game would be appropriate for students in any advanced undergraduate or graduate level course in international relations, security studies, negotiation, or game theory. The Brinkmanship Game provides an active learning opportunity that can be valuable for encouraging students to come to their own understanding of concepts of mutual risk-taking. The authors have found the game to be effective in the classroom and hope it may prove valuable to those searching for ways to motivate students and to help them learn.

Alfa pineapple: an entrepreneur’s dilemma

Learning outcomes The case depicts an opportunity for students to be exposed to the decision theory concept. The study aims to encourage them to use the data given in the case and exhibits to explore as follows: decision-making under uncertainty; decision-making under risk; compare and contrast uncertainty and risk; and evaluate the value of perfect information EVPI and understand its application in decision-making. Case overview/synopsis Vikas Teerth, a budding entrepreneur, wanted to venture out into the pineapple business. He had three land plots available, but he would like to take up a single plot after analyzing the possible returns factoring the volatile prices and other impending constraints. He wanted to use the decision-making approaches with the aid of probability to arrive at the best decision. This case helps the instructors to introduce the concept of decision-making under risk and under uncertainty which comes under the preview of decision theory. Students can use the data given in the case and exhibits to do the necessary calculations required and thereby get an insight into the process of calculated decision-making. Complexity academic level This case can teach decision theory in undergraduate-level and graduate-level courses in operations research, decision-making and industrial engineering. It can also be used to discuss issues and challenges faced in start-ups or SME entrepreneurship. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 7: Management Science.

Teaching critical infrastructure protection and resilience using exercises and WebEOC: An examination of UAE undergraduate students’ after-action reports

Resilience for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was part of His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the nation's founder, vision for the UAE when it was formed in 1971. Consequently, national, and local (Emirate) level governments adopt established standards and regulations and work with institutions that integrate robust training, testing, and exercises, to enhance their response capabilities in protecting Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources (CIKR). Rabdan Academy (RA) is an academic institution established in 2015 to train the next generation of Emiratis in safety, security, defense, emergency, and crisis management (SSDEC) disciplines. Most RA students are employed and sponsored by local and national level agencies that contribute to Critical Infrastructure Protection and Resilience (CIPR) efforts in the UAE.This paper aims at providing the reader with a brief overview of UAE's CIPR policies and efforts, followed by an examination of how RA faculty have integrated the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) methods and CIPR concepts into various undergraduate level courses to enhance practical learning. Specifically, it details the creation and implementation of a simulated operational exercise using WebEOC a crisis management software (CMS). It demonstrates the advantages and limitations for student learning through role-playing in a virtual emergency operations center (EOC) exercise.Sixty-five after action reports (AARs) submitted by students are examined and highlight that most of the students felt the scenario(s), the injects, and the WebEOC platform, added realism and provided an authentic learning environment, communicating between players was easy, and this was a good preparation for their careers. Limitations included information communications technology (ICT) issues, and a sense of isolation from peers due to COVID-19 enforced distance learning. The article concludes with future directions for research and the implications of using such tools for teaching CIPR, business continuity management, emergency management, and homeland security management. Suggestions are made to create communities of practice with the help of the alumni network, to practice innovative technologies and exercise and evaluation skills.

An Undergraduate Course in the Intersection of Computer Science and Economics

In recent years, major research advances have taken place in the intersection of computer science and economics, but this material has so far been taught primarily at the graduate level. This paper describes a novel semester-long undergraduate-level course in the intersection of computer science and economics at Duke University, titled “CPS 173: Computational Microeconomics.”

Review: Hungry Listening: Resonant Theory for Indigenous Sound Studies, by Dylan Robinson

Review: <i>Hungry Listening: Resonant Theory for Indigenous Sound Studies</i>, by Dylan Robinson

Governing changes in government: the water story of Mahabubnagar

Theoretical basis Kotter’s framework of change management adapted to the situation of public policy implementation under the leadership of a civil service officer in the rural areas of a developing economy in South Asia. Research methodology This case has been written using the primary data collected from the protagonist through personal and computer-based interviews. Some of the documents associated with the event shared by the protagonist are also reproduced as case exhibits. Secondary data from government official websites were also used to enrich the case. Case overview/synopsis Mahbubnagar, an arid agricultural district in central India faced the threat of a water crisis owing to the unscientific water extraction by the resident farmers. The government appointed a task force to investigate the problem. The team executed the idea to harvest excess water from the fields through a cheap and efficient method. Though it showed spectacular results in the initial months, the farmers gave up the innovation soon. When the team met two years later, they were shocked by the unenthusiastic response of the farmers. This case pertains to the failure of policy innovations and change management in government. Complexity academic level This case is useful for undergraduate-level courses in public management, public policy and governance with modules in change management, innovation management, rural development and programme implementation. Training modules for novice public service professionals and programme management personnel in government organisations. Elective courses on public policy, government relations and public sector management for undergraduate students of business administration.

Cash: never leave home with it?

Theoretical basis The learning objectives aim to provide an understanding of the changing nature of consumer payments and the impact upon both businesses and consumers. This can be achieved by examining the case through the lens of stakeholder theory, which posits that businesses are “responsible … to ‘those groups and individuals who can affect or be affected by their actions.’” Collectively, those groups and individuals are known as stakeholders and they commonly include “customers, employees, suppliers, communities and financiers.” In addition to creating value for the owners, businesses should also consider how they can create value for each of their other stakeholders (Freeman et al., 2010, p. 9). In addition, consistent with the theory of management control systems (Chenhall, 2003), the automatic processing of cashless transactions enables businesses to more efficiently record their earnings, commission payments (if applicable) and monitor cash collections. As all data are captured in an electronic format, they can easily understand their sales and profitability through user-friendly and visually appealing dashboards. This, in turn, enables them to obtain a more accurate and timely view of their business and they can appropriately adjust their operations and strategy as a result of this information. Finally, cashless payments enable more accurate and efficient reporting of information to taxing authorities, which decreases the possibility that the affected parties would underreport income and underpay taxes. This is similarly consistent with the theory of management control systems (Chenhall, 2003) because the improved systems of financial reporting assure compliance with tax laws and regulations. Research methodology This case was developed using both primary and secondary data sources. The authors interviewed the participants in London and the secondary data collection used relevant sources from appropriate literature and the popular press. Case overview/synopsis In London, consumer transactions were as plentiful as the eight million people who lived there. While cash was considered “king” in retail, cash payments dropped by 15% across the UK in 2017, and debit and credit cards became the predominant payment method (Kollewe, 2018). Cash represented only 40% of customer payments and was expected to drop to 21% by 2026 (Lyons et al., 2018). This was likely driven by contactless payments whereby consumers preferred the speed and ease of being able to “tap and go.” As businesses were charged fees to accept credit card payments, many expected that small businesses would insist on cash for small transactions. Instead, some banished cash completely. Insights from two London businesses helped explain why some were dropping cash and completely embracing cards. Complexity academic level This case can be used in a variety of undergraduate level courses to discuss trends in customer payment methods and the decisions of some businesses to completely abandon cash. Some example courses and suggested supporting materials include the following: • Consumer behavior • Entrepreneurial finance • Survey of accounting • Introduction to financial accounting.

The Pedagogical Impact of Board Games in Public Health Biology Education: The Bioracer Board Game

ABSTRACT We developed an analog board game, BioRacer to further student learning in the field of public health biology and assessed its impact on learning by conducting a mixed method study. The purpose was to ascertain whether and how gaming could be a valuable learning experience for students in a lower year level undergraduate course in public health biology. The quantitative data were collected through pre- and post-tests in class sessions, which were analysed through a mixed-design Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) conducted in R (version 3.3.1). Qualitative data was gathered through six focus groups where an inductive coding strategy was used to analyse the transcriptions. The result of mixed-design ANOVA revealed slightly significant improvement in students’ post-test scores in the teaching intervention group that incorporated the use of the board game. Three major key themes emerged from the focus group interviews: engagement; memory retention; and teamwork. Overall, the results of this study showed that students found the board game helpful in facilitating their learning of course content. Based on the results of the study, we discuss the implications of utilising educational analog board games in public health biology pedagogy to enhance the learning experience of students.

Liquid oscillating in a U-tube of variable cross section

A liquid is set into oscillations in a vertical manometer of smoothly varying cross-sectional area open at both ends to the atmosphere. Ignoring viscous damping, the displacement of either free surface and the pressure at any point in the liquid can be calculated using the unsteady Bernoulli equation which is shown to be consistent with conservation of mechanical energy. If the cross section is constant, the equations are analytically solvable; simple harmonic motion is found for the surface displacement as a function of time, and the pressure variation as a function of depth is in accordance with Newton’s second law. More generally, however, numerical solution of the equations is necessary, as illustrated for the example of a U-tube whose radius is linearly tapered from one end to the other. The level of presentation is appropriate for an upper level undergraduate course in fluid mechanics.

The South African public service wage bill deadlock in 2021: living on the edge

Subject area Macro-Economics. Study level/applicability Undergraduate and MBA. Case overview The COVID 19 pandemic-related restrictions devastated South Africa’s economy in 2020 and although the restrictions were generally less damaging than in 2020, the government had to budget for vaccinations and rebuild the economy. Public service unions had just announced that they were demanding an increase of 4% above inflation for their members and that they were preparing for a strike. They were bitter about the fact that the South African Government had withdrawn from the last year of a three-year wage agreement in February 2020 and their members had not received an increase for the two years. These demands and Finance Minister Mboweni’s response to them had to consider the structural and cyclical impact on the fiscus and economy. Expected learning outcomes The learning outcomes are as follows: understand the general objectives of fiscal policy and stakeholders’ interests; understand the tradeoffs in fiscal policy and the implications of taking a position; and make recommendations based on reasoned judgements about those recommendations. Complexity academic level Undergraduate and MBA level courses on Macro Economics. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 10: Public Sector Management.