Business Studies

Course summary

Business is front-page news. The way companies operate continues to draw attention and the levels of scrutiny remain consistently high. The Business A-Level is now more highly focused and encourages students to engage, explore and understand business behaviour whilst developing a critical understanding of what business does. Studying Business at A-Level will give students a greater commercial awareness and encourage them to have a more analytical approach to the world we live in and the environment that businesses operate within. The content of the course will examine: What is Business? Students will look at the importance of profit and the influence of objectives on a business. They will understand the different forms of business and gain an appreciation of the environment they operate in. Managers, leadership and decision making We will investigate the types of management and leadership styles in business, looking at the process of decision making in addition to the role of various stakeholders. Decisions to improve Marketing, Operations, Financial and Human Resource performance Covering a broad range of theory in each of the topics; students will gain an understanding of the importance of each area and begin to consider the factors when making focused decisions. Time is spent analysing business performance on each area so that students are able to be critical and offer improvements in each area of study. Analysing the strategic position and choosing the appropriate strategic methods and direction Students analyse the environment that businesses work in, understanding the influences of external factors such as how to respond to competitor actions. Managing strategic change Change is pivotal to modern day business and students will explore the strategies to implement change successfully whilst understanding key issues that cause change strategies to fail.