Business

Business studies at Park View is an option in Year 10 and is delivered in two formats –GCSE and BTEC First Award.

GCSE Business

The two year GCSE course provides a broad and rigorous insight into the world and business and economics.

The two year course is broken down into two themes.

Theme 1: Investigating small business

Theme 1 concentrates on the key business concepts, issues and skills involved in starting and running a small business. It provides a framework for students to explore core concepts through the lens of an entrepreneur setting up a business. In this theme, students will be introduced to local and national business contexts and will develop an understanding of how these contexts impact business behaviour and decisions. Local contexts refer specifically to small businesses or those operating in a single UK location and national contexts relate to businesses operating in more than one location or across the UK.

1.1 Enterprise and entrepreneurship

An introduction to business, looking specifically at how new business ideas come about, what drives change in business and the role of enterprise.

1.2 Spotting a business opportunity

This unit looks at markets in more details. Particularly the differing customer needs and how businesses explore, analyse and meet those needs. Topics include market segmentation, market mapping and the role competition plays.

1.3 Putting a business idea into practice

This is the first of two financial units. This covers sources of finance, calculations on costs, revenues and profits, as well as break-even analysis and how businesses use financial information.

1.4 Making the business effective

This unit cover business planning – including ownership, franchising and location, as well an introduction to the marketing mix.

1.5 Understanding external influences on business

Student will gain an understanding of how the economy works from this unit, including an insight into monetary and fiscal policy, exchange rates, stakeholders and the impact of legislation and technology.

Theme 2: Building a business

Theme 2 examines how a business develops beyond the start-up phase. It focuses on the key business concepts, issues and decisions used to grow a business, with emphasis on aspects of marketing, operations, finance and human resources. Theme 2 also considers the impact of the wider world on the decisions a business makes as it grows. In this theme, students will be introduced to national and global business contexts and will develop an understanding of how these contexts impact business behaviour and decisions. National contexts build on those in Theme 1 and relate to businesses operating in more than one location or across the UK. Global contexts relate to non-UK or transnational businesses. Students must develop an understanding of the interdependent nature of business activity through interactions between business operations, finance, marketing and human resources, as well as the relationship between the business and the environment in which it operates. Students must understand how these functional areas influence business activity and how interdependencies and relationships between them underpin business decisions.

2.1 Growing the business

This unit builds on previous work in sources of finance and asks students to analyse sources available for expansion. It looks at methods of expansion and how ethical and environmental concerns play a role in the expansion.

2.2 Making marketing decisions

This delves into the marketing mix in much more detail – looking at place, price, promotion and product and the importance of each of these for particular businesses.

2.3 Making operational decisions

From this unit students will understand the role of procurement, managing stock, the sales process,  the production process and importance of productivity to it.

2.4 Making financial decisions

The second finance unit focuses on analysing business performance. This includes ratio, profit margins and the average rate of return, as well as looking at market data and evaluating the uses and limitations of data.

2.5 Making human resources decisions

The final unit is all about people – recruitment, motivation, training and development, communication and the management of personnel.

Assessment

Both of these themes are assessed with a 90 mark written paper at the end of the course, with each paper having a weighting of 50% of the overall grade.

The assessment is 1 hour and 30 minutes.

• Questions will relate to the content that appears in Theme 2 and students will draw on underpinning knowledge and understanding developed through Theme 1 as appropriate.

• The paper is divided into three sections.

  • Section A: 35 marks

  • Section B: 30 marks

  • Section C: 25 marks.
• Students must answer all questions.
• The paper will consist of calculations, multiple–choice, short–answer and extended–writing questions.
• The paper will include questions that target mathematics at a minimum of Key Stage 3 level.
• Questions in Sections B and C will be based on business contexts given in the paper.

The papers are identical in structure and require the same skills, as shown in the table below.

Business Curriculum Overview