Business Studies
Business Studies is for those students who have a real interest in how businesses are managed and the internal and external factors that influence their ability to be successful. Students will be able to gain crucial management skills.
Welcome to Business Studies Department – Subject Leader: Mr P Flanagan
Curriculum intent:
Key Stage 4
Business Studies GCSE (Edexcel Specification)
Students should have completed section 1-3 of Paper 1 on the GCSE course, and will continue with sections 4 and 5 of Paper 1 in Year 10. There will be mock exams for Paper 1 covering the theory studied.
What is studied on the course?
All exams are taken at the end of Year 11 – this course is a linear course.
THEME 1
Overview
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.
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 inter-dependencies and relationships underpin business decisions. Teaching approaches to the content must reflect this.
Assessment information
- First assessment: May/June 2019.
- The assessment is 1 hour and 45 minutes.
- The assessment is out of 90 marks.
- Questions will relate to the content that appears in Theme 1 and students may draw on underpinning knowledge and understanding developed through Theme 2 as appropriate.
- The paper is divided into three sections.
Section A: 35 marks
Section B: 30 marks
Section C: 25 marks
THEME 2
Overview
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. Teaching approaches to the content must reflect this.
