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Business Studies
Business offers students the opportunity to learn how to research information using quantitative skills, and then develop ideas based on that information to solve problems. The course develops independent learning, self-confidence, communication skills and lateral thinking, alongside an understanding of the role of business both in society and in driving economic and monetary prosperity. Commitment to wider reading and to the creative process when working collaboratively with others is vital. Our education in business offers an essential path for breaking into the fields of marketing, accounting, business ownership and finance.
Year 10 - Term 1
Term 1
What?Theme 1 – Enterprise and Entrepreneurship This is the first topic for our GCSE business students and it focuses on the dynamic nature of business and why/how new business ideas come about. Students learn about risk and reward in business and how important the entrepreneurs role is in building and running a successful business.
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Why?Learning about enterprise and entrepreneurship allows our students to be introduced to business by focusing on how small businesses. Students learn how business ideas come about and why entrepreneurs introduce new products or set up new businesses. They are introduced to the idea that in business there is risk taking and understand the rewards businesses can gain from taking these risks. Students are also introduced to the idea of profit and how businesses begin to add value to their products and services given them the best chance of survival and monetary success. |
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Year 10 - Term 2
Term 2
What?Theme 1 – Enterprise and Entrepreneurship – Spotting a business opportunity. The second term starts with students starting our second chapter of theme 1. This chapter is on spotting a business opportunity by understanding customers needs through different forms of market research.
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Why?Learning about how businesses spot a business opportunity is a crucial element of businesses studies. This topic falls under theme 1.2 for their theme 1 exam and teachers our students how to utilize market research and interpret the data collected to help inform the businesses. Students understand primary and secondary research and use the information gathered to judge where a gap in the market lies either with price, quality, location, product range or customer service. |
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Year 10 - Term 3
Term 3
What?Theme 1 – Enterprise and Entrepreneurship – Spotting a business opportunity. The third term starts with students starting our third chapter of theme 1. This chapter is on ‘putting a business idea into practice’. |
Why?Learning about how we now put our new found business knowledge into practice is a crucial element of businesses studies. This topic falls under theme 1.3 for their theme 1 exam and teaches our students what types of business aims and objectives businesses may have and why these are important. Students will also begin to understand the financial side of running a business including learning about break even and the importance of this, along with the importance of cash and how to predict cash flow using cash flow forecasts. |
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Year 10 - Term 4
Term 4
What?Theme 1 – Enterprise and Entrepreneurship – Making the business effective. The fourth term starts with students starting our fourth chapter of theme 1. This chapter is on ‘Making the business effective’. |
Why?Learning about how we now put our new found business knowledge into practice is a crucial element of businesses studies. This topic falls under theme 1.4 for their theme 1 exam and teaches our students what types of business ownership the students can have from franchise, sole trader and private and public limited companies. Students will also begin to understand the marketing mix where they begin to apply the 4ps which are product, price, promotion and place. |
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Year 11 - Term 1
Term 1
What?Theme 2 – Building a business – 2.1 Growing the business Year 11 begins with the students being introduced to theme 2. Our first topic for theme 2 is about how businesses begin to grow from a start up.
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Why?Students are introduced to theme 2 and begin in term 1 with one with how to grow a business. Businesses without growth will stagnate and often be overrun by growing competition. Students are taught different methods to grow a business and the impact each method can have. On top of this students will understand the difference between internal growth and external growth. Lastly students will need to understand the different sources of finance for businesses to use for growth and the pros and cons for each of these. |
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Year 11 - Term 2
Term 2
What?Theme 2 – Building a business – 2.2 Making marketing decisions As we progress further into year 11 our students begin to focus on the marketing decisions businesses need to make. |
Why?Students in this term focus on topics 2.2. This focuses on the design mix of function, aesthetics and cost. We then teach the students about the product life cycle stages and how businesses can extend the product life cycle of a product. Students understand the importance of businesses differentiating their product range and services to allow for greater growth and safety of their business. Lastly students are taught the importance of businesses understanding pricing and promotion strategies to be able to gain the greatest profit. |
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Year 11 - Term 3
Term 3
What?Theme 2 – Building a business – 2.3 Making operational decisions As we progress further into year 11 our students begin to focus on the day to day running of a business. This includes managing stock levels, quality of products and production. |
Why?Students in this term focus on topics 2.3. This focuses on the business operations. Students will be learning about how production can vary between different businesses and the impact technology can have on this. Students learn the different ways business manage stock levels and work with suppliers. Lastly students are introduced to the sales process and how business manage qualities of their products and their service. |
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Year 11 - Term 4
Term 4
What?Theme 2 – Building a business – 2.4 Making Financial decisions + 2.5 Making human resource decision As we progress further into year 11 our students begin to focus on different business calculations to understand how the business is performing to inform them of what financial decision to take. Students then are introduced to the world of HR. |
Why?Students in this term focus on topics 2.4 and 2.5. 2.4 focuses on financial decisions. Students will be learning about how to understand business performance and the next steps businesses should take. Students then move onto 2.5 which focuses on making human resource decisions. This teaches students about organizational structure and the importance of effective communication in these structures. This also looks into how to motivate your staff and the benefits of this. |
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Year 12 - Term 1
Term 1
What?Section 1 &2: What is a business/ Managers, Leadership and decision making.
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Why?These first two sections introduce students to the foundations of A Level business, and begin to develop the importance of business context in relation to decision making whilst considering aims and objectives, legal structure and profit maximisation. Students will appreciate the role of capital both financial and human in the critical role of making decisions which underpins almost all analysis and evaluation questions. |
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Where next?Students can use this initial knowledge when learning about the four functional areas of business (marketing, finance, HR and operations). |
Year 12 - Term 2
Term 2
What?Section 3: Market management Marketing can be seen either as a way of thinking or as a range of activities. For most modern businesses marketing is focusing the goals and strategies of the business on an identified market opportunity. |
Why?For this term our students focus on topic 3. This topic allows our students to understand markets and customers. Students will research and learn why businesses make certain marketing decisions and how they segment the market. Students will learn the invaluable knowledge of the marketing mix and be able to apply this to real life scenarios. |
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Year 12 - Term 3
Term 3
What?Section 4: Decision making to improve operational performance As we progress through year 12 we continue to build on our business knowledge. This term we move onto the operational side of business focusing on supply and production. |
Why?Knowledge of how successful businesses operate includes the setting of operational objectives and finding ways for to operate in the most efficient manor possible. Ways businesses do this is through lean production, capacity utilisation and the implementation of different technologies to aid production and quality. |
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Year 12 - Term 4
Term 4
What?Section 5: Decision making to improve financial performance As we progress through year 12 we continue to build on our business knowledge. This term we move onto the financial side of business focusing understanding and calculating financial performance. |
Why?To run a successful business students need to understand how to calculate revenue, costs and profits. Students will be able to apply learnt knowledge of break even analysis and cash flow management to predict the success of a business or product. Students will also learn how businesses budget and how to increase profit learning from real life scenarios to help further inform their understanding. |
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Year 13 - Term 1
Term 1
What?Section 7 Analysing the strategic position of a business
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Why?The firms mission, corporate objectives and strategy steer the entire operation and run central to everything a firm does and how well it does it. One key aspect of measuring this is using financial ratios and analysing this performance over time, inter and intra company. However, the financial ratios are just one aspect of measuring performance and further investigation on core competencies, balanced scorecard, triple bottom line, all over the short and long term to give the learners a more rounded response to assessing business performance. Coupled with an appreciation on the changing political and legal framework along with social and technological changes. A wider understanding of the macro economic environment is required as this wraps itself around significant business issues students will examine. |
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Where next?Students can use this pivotal learning to enable them to assess the strategic position of a firm before they consider future strategic directions via Ansoff and Porters Strategic direction. |
Year 13 - Term 2
Term 2
What?Section 8: Choosing strategic direction Students in this term will learn how businesses strategies their position and direction to ensure they are able to compete. |
Why?This term there is a focus on our 8th topic in A Level business out of 10. Students are taught to understand the factors that influence which markets businesses choose to compete in and which products they choose to offer. There is a focus on the strategic direction which includes Ansoff Matric and the value of market penetration, market development, new product development and diversification. Students are then taught how to compete and the importance of their strategic position including porter’s low cost, differentiation, and focus strategies. |
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Where next?Students can use this pivotal learning to enable them to progress into chapter 9: Strategic methods: how to pursue strategies. |
Year 13 - Term 3
Term 3
What?Section 9: Strategic methods: How to pursue strategies Students in this term will learn how to pursue different strategies for businesses. This focuses on growth and the attractiveness of international markets. |
Why?This term there is a focus on section 9 the biggest unit out of the 10 over the two years. Students learn about why business grow or retrench (reduce in size). The benefits of growth such as economies of scale and downsides of facing diseconomies of scale. Students will learn the different types of growth business can take and the importance of innovation and how to protect these ideas. The unit then moves onto the attractiveness of international markets and this can continue into term 4. |
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Year 13 - Term 4
Term 4
What?Section 10: Managing Strategic Change Students will begin this term finishing section 9 and then will move onto section 10 which focuses on strategic change. |
Why?This term will begin with students finishing section 9 and then we move onto section 10. Section 10 focuses on ‘change’ and the value change can have on a business. Students will learn of the importance of businesses being flexible and the potential barriers of change that they may come across. Students will also learn how to manage and create a good culture within successful businesses and some problems they may face with strategies. |
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