Business

Requirements

No prior knowledge of business is required

Students of this course will study business in a variety of contexts (e.g. large/small, UK-focused/global, service/manufacturing) and consider: n The importance of the context of business in relation to decision making; n The interrelated nature of business activities and how they affect competitiveness; n The competitive environment and the markets in which businesses operate; n The influences on functional decisions and plans including ethical and environmental issues; n The factors that might determine whether a decision is successful e.g. the quality of data and the degree of uncertainty; n How technology is changing the way decisions are made and how businesses operate and compete; n The impact on stakeholders of functional decisions and their response to such decisions; n Use of non-quantitative and quantitative data in decision making (including the interpretation of index numbers and calculations such as ratios and percentages).

The use of real world businesses and products will be used in how students learn about how businesses operate. This course has more focus on issues such as e-commerce to reflect the changing nature of how businesses operate and evolve.

Subject content

n What is business?; n Managers, leadership and decision making; n Decision making to improve marketing performance; n Decision making to improve operational performance; n Decision making to improve financial performance; n Decision making to improve human resource performance; n Analysing the strategic position of a business; n Choosing strategic direction; n Strategic methods: how to pursue strategies; n Managing strategic change.

Assessment

There are 3 papers of equal weighting where the skills of Knowledge and Understanding, Application and Analysis and Evaluation will be tested through multiple choice and short response questions, essays and responses to case studies and data response questions. Each paper is 2 hours long. The examinations are at the end of the two-year course.

Careers

Students will be able to apply for a variety of degrees in Business Management, Banking and Finance, combined honours courses e.g. Business with a language and Business with ICT. Degrees in Law and Planning (amongst others) will be possible with Business A Level. Some Business degree courses require A Level Mathematics whilst others do not. Students will be expected to have strong numeracy and written communication skills. A genuine interest in current affairs is always a benefit to any business student.