GCSE Business

Course summary

Business 1: Business Activity, Marketing and People (50%) • Business Activity: Business enterprise and entrepreneurs, business plans, business ownership, aims and objectives, stakeholders and business growth. Students will identify the characteristics of a successful entrepreneur, analyse the best form of business ownership (e.g. Sole Trader vs Ltd), analyse what impact stakeholders can have on a business (e.g. customers, employees, government), and look at how and why businesses grow. • Marketing: Market research, market segmentation and the marketing mix (Price, Product, Promotion and Place). Students will analyse primary vs secondary market research, consider the importance of targeting specific customers, and make decisions about pricing strategies and advertising methods (e.g. TV, radio, social media). • People (Human Resources): Organisational structures, communication, recruitment, motivation, training and employment law. Students will take part in a recruitment activity - creating job adverts, completing application forms and taking part in job interviews with classmates. Business 2: Operations, Finance and Influences on Business (50%) • Operations: Production processes, quality, sales and customer service, consumer law, business location and working with suppliers. Students will choose the best place to locate a business and analyse the importance of quality to businesses. • Finance: Sources of finance, profit and loss, break-even and cash flow forecasts. Students will learn about the importance of budgeting (both personally and for businesses), and analyse different sources of finance (e.g. bank loan vs crowdfunding). • Influences on Business: Ethical and environmental considerations, the economic climate and globalisation. Students will analyse the benefits and drawbacks to businesses of being ethical & environmentally friendly, and analyse the impact of the economy on businesses (e.g. unemployment and consumer incomes). Who should I speak to about this subject? • Mr Prior - Head of Business and Economics (mgp@cleeveschool.net) • Mr Aldred, Mr Slatter, Mrs Theis, Mr Bessant and/or Mr Bragg - Business and Economics Teachers • Look at the Business & Economics page on Frog