It is week 4 of term 2 and we continue doing our studies online for the part time MBA at Melbourne Business School.

Financial Management we have been looking at Capital Budgeting Decisions for viability of projects. In doing this we have looked at Net Present Value, Internal Rates of Return and the Payback methods. We have also been assigned our Syndicate groups and our syndicate has already begun to reach out communicate with each other on this and start to assign work on the assignment. Our lecturer has also posted a vide for us to watch as to the current economic conditions and things to watch out for. The current economic conditions are proving to be very relevant to our studies in Financial Management.

Financial Accounting we continue to look at accounting theory for recognition of assets and expenses, liabilities as well as the types of accounting adjustments that are used. This subject also has a Syndicate assignment and our syndicate have been quick to connect to begin looking at the assignment.

With this being my third term in the Melbourne Business School Part Time MBA, I have come to notice certain things about working in Syndicate groups.

• Firstly, you are working as part of a team which is not always something all of your syndicate members are used to. From doing Managing People you do need to know yourself before youn can then use this to understand your other syndicate colleagues.
• Second, you may notice some people who like to take the lead on the assignment. Again, from Managing People it is just as important for a leader to know how to be a follower then it is to just being a leader.
• Third, time management is critical as we only have so many hours in the day. We all have work, study and personal commitments that we need to prioritise at different times. It is important to manage these and to communicate this with your fellow syndicate colleagues.
• Being in 2 syndicate groups also means negotiating your available time between the groups and work as well as in addition to your existing study load

For work I can now disclose I have been working on a report on the impact of the current economic conditions on Victorian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses. I provided this to Kinaway’s management for us to use to understand the needs and how best to service our members.