Business
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Business Information
GCSE Business is a qualification that is engaging and inspiring, and which reflects the demands of a truly modern and evolving business environment – a qualification that enables students to develop as commercially minded and enterprising individuals and helps them to succeed in their chosen pathway.
The aims and objectives of this qualification are to enable students to:
- Know and understand business concepts, business terminology, business objectives, the Integrated nature of business activity and the impact of business on individuals and wider Society
- Apply knowledge and understanding to contemporary business issues and to different types and sizes of businesses in local, national and global contexts
- Develop as enterprising individuals with the ability to think commercially and creatively to demonstrate business acumen, and draw on
- evidence to make informed business decisions and solve business problems
- Develop as effective and independent students, and as critical and reflective thinkers with enquiring minds
- Use an enquiring, critical approach to make informed judgements
- Investigate and analyse real business opportunities and issues to construct well-argued, well-evidenced, balanced and structured arguments, demonstrating their depth and breadth of understanding of business
- Develop and apply quantitative skills relevant to business, including using and interpreting data.
Students consider the practical application of business concepts and have opportunities to explore theories and concepts in the most relevant way, through the context of events in the business and economic world.
The knowledge and skills gained from this specification will provide students with a firm foundation for further study.
The course is divided into 6 units, giving students a firm grounding in Business theory which will enable them to progress to A level business before specialising at degree level.
The 6 units are
- Business in the real world
- Influences on business
- Business operations
- Human resources
- Marketing
- Finance
These are assessed with 2 written exam papers at the end of Year 11. Both exams are 1 hour and 45 minutes long and consist of 90 marks.
- Section A has multiple choice questions and short answer questions worth 20 marks.
- Section B has one case study/data response stimuli with questions worth approximately 34 marks.
- Section C has one case study/data response stimuli with questions worth approximately 36 marks.
Edexcel A Level Business
The Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Advanced GCE in Business is structured into four themes and consists of three externally examined papers. Students are introduced to business in Themes 1 and 2 through building knowledge of core business concepts and applying them to business contexts to develop a broad understanding of how businesses work. Breadth and depth of knowledge and understanding, with applications to a wider range of contexts and more complex business information, are developed in Themes 3 and 4, requiring students to take a more strategic view of business opportunities and issues. Students are encouraged to use an enquiring, critical and thoughtful approach to the study of business, to understand that business behaviour can be studied from a range of perspectives and to challenge assumptions.
The 4 themes are:
Theme 1 – Marketing & People
- meeting customer needs
- the market
- marketing mix and strategy
- managing people
- entrepreneurs and leaders
Theme 2 – Managing Business Activities
- raising finance
- financial planning
- managing finance
- resource management
- external influences
Theme 3 – Business Decisions & Strategy
- business objectives and strategy
- business growth
- decision-making techniques
- influences on business decisions
- assessing competitiveness
- managing change
Theme 4 – Global Business
- globalisation
- global markets and business expansion
- global marketing
- global industries and companies (multinational corporations)
