BUSINESS STUDIES

How do businesses persuade us to pay so much for their products? How do you motivate your workforce? Is this business as financially successful as we think? What is the best method of production a business should use? How can taxes affect a business? These are but a few of the questions we will be answering in GCSE Business Studies.

GCSE Business Studies is accepted by universities and employers as proof of an understanding of business concepts and techniques across a range of different types of businesses. Students will be able to: n understand different forms of business organisations, the environments in which businesses operate and business functions such as marketing, operations and finance n appreciate the role of successful people in business.

Students will also gain lifelong skills, including: n the ability to calculate and interpret business data; n communication skills needed to support arguments with reasons; n the ability to analyse business situations and reach decisions or judgements.

The course is divided into 2 Themes:

Theme 1 (studied in Year 10) – Investigating small businesses n enterprise and entrepreneurship n spotting a business opportunity n putting a business idea in to practice n making the business effective n understanding external influences on business

Theme 2 (Studied in Year 11) – Building a business n growing the business n making marketing decisions n making operational decisions n making financial decisions n making human resource decisions

Students who are beginning to show an interest in current affairs and real business activity will enjoy the course more. Students need to have some basic numeracy skills and good communication skills to be able to answer the questions in the exam papers.

Assessment (both papers are worth 50% of the final mark and are each 1h 45m minutes long). There is no coursework component. Paper 1 – Theme 1. Paper 2 – Theme 2