Business Studies
The subject content for Business is structured so that the first year of the A Level starts with a foundation topic ‘What is Business?’ and moves into decision making within the functional areas of business; marketing, operations, finance and human resources. The second year of the A Level builds on the first year by considering strategy and the impact of factors such as technology, environmental and ethical influences on strategic decision making and functional areas. The AS and A Level courses are co-teachable in that all subject content in the first year of the A Level is also all the content of the AS course. This means that both AS students and A Level year 1 students can be taught the content together with ease.
- What is business?
- Managers, leadership and decision making
- Decision making to improve marketing performance
- Decision making to improve operational performance
- Decision making to improve financial performance
- Decision making to improve human resource performance
- Analysing the strategic position of a business (A level only)
- Choosing strategic direction (A level only)
- Strategic methods: how to pursue strategies (A level only)
- Managing strategic change (A level only)
All units are assessed by external examination consisting of multiple choice, short answer and longer answer questions.
AS Level
Paper 1: Business 1 [1 hr 30mins], consisting of 10 multiple choice questions, short answer questions and two data response stimuli.
Paper 2: Business 2 [1 hr 30mins], consisting of one compulsory case study consisting of approximately seven questions.
A Level
Paper 1: Business 1 [2 hours], consisting of 15 multiple choice questions, short answer questions and two essay questions.
Paper 2: Business 2 [2 hours], consisting of three data response compulsory questions.
Paper 3: Business 2 [2 hours], consisting of one compulsory case study followed with approximately six questions.
An A Level in Business can help you get started in business and go on to start up your own new business venture. However, A Level Business is not just about teaching you how to start up a new company. It is a broad qualification which will give you the skills and knowledge to progress to a range of higher education courses. As a result Business is a useful grounding for many careers including management, accountancy, law and journalism.
All businesses (and other organisations like charities and hospitals) need sound business skills behind them. You could work for a corporation, or maybe a management consultancy. You may choose to specialise in a particular field of business, such as marketing, finance or human resources. Alternatively a wide range of professions now operate in a commercial environment including pharmaceuticals, engineering and ICT.
