Business



Departmental Aims

The fundamental philosophy of the Business Studies department at St Alban's is that, in order to understand the nature of business; students must have an acute awareness of the issues that it faces in the 21st Century. This is built on sound foundations by the study of the theory that underpins most business activity.
The students actively experiencing the business environment balance this somewhat academic approach. This can be achieved through a variety of approaches including work experience, links with local employers, case studies and research tasks.
We deliver the subject at Key Stage 4/5 via Applied Business courses this enables students to understand business from a theoretical view and then apply their learning through engaging with business in real scenarios to underpin knowledge and understanding.
The aim of these courses is to encourage candidates to:
• Develop an understanding of the organisation of businesses;

• Develop an understanding of how businesses are financed;

• Develop an understanding of the role of business within the local, national and international community;

• Prepare for employment, or self-employment, within a business environment.

By deciding to take Business as an optional subject in Year 10 students are entering into an area that is of direct relevance to the way we live. No matter who we are we are all at some point in contact with a business. Business Studies helps us make sense of so much of what happens in everyday life. Such is its breadth that, at various points, the courses call for students to understand the part politics, economics, psychology, sociology as well as the core subject, business itself play in our day-to-day lives.

Armed with this breadth and depth of knowledge, students are particularly well informed when it comes to making decisions about careers and education routes after St Alban's as well as other choices in life.

KS4

A brief guide to the areas of study is shown below:

• Business in action. What are the different types of ownership of business? Why and how businesses start, succeed/fail. How are businesses organised? What are Aims/Objectives/Mission Statements? How do stakeholders influence business? How do employers/employees develop working relationships? Understand the economic activities that influence business.
• Organisation: How do businesses organise? Understand Marketing, Customers and Competitors. How to present data from research methods.
• Working in Business: Business structures, Job roles, Communication, Finance, Sales, Marketing, ICT, Operations, Customer Service.
• People and Business: Human Resources, The recruitment process, The selection process, Induction, Motivation, Promotion.

KS5

The 3 areas of study at AS level are; Creating a Marketing Proposal, Recruitment in the Workplace, and Understanding the Business Environment.
• Creating a Marketing Proposal: Students will investigate a well known company and introduce a new product/service using marketing techniques. They will understand and apply; Marketing objectives, Functional areas and how they support marketing, Market research, The Marketing Mix, Presentation skills, and How to judge potential success.
• Recruitment in the Workplace: Students again work with a well known company to understand and apply; Job roles, The recruitment process, The selection process, The induction process, Employee motivation, The legal dimension, Research, and How to judge effectiveness.
• Understanding the Business Environment; This module will focus on Business Finance including; Sources of finance, Budgeting and budgetary control, Break-even analysis, Cash-flow forecasts, Importance of accurate record keeping and technology, Analysis of the current marketing position, Economic conditions and market conditions, Ethical, legal, social, political and environmental factors, Stakeholders.

At full A-Level (A2) the 3 areas of study are; Strategic Decision Making, A Business Plan for the Entrepreneur, and Managerial and Supervisory Roles.

• Strategic Decision Making: Students will know and understand; Mission statements, Aims and Objectives, Business planning, Strategy and decision making, Financial business planning, Human resource planning, Integrated marketing strategy, Contingency planning and crisis management.
• A Business Plan for the Entrepreneur: Students will work on a new idea for a business showing understanding of; Reasons for constructing a business plan, Information within a business plan, Appropriate research for a business plan, Business plan templates, Constraints that impact on implementation.
• Managerial and Supervisory Roles: Students will work with a Manager/Supervisor of their choice and show knowledge and understanding of; The business context within which the report will take shape, Planning how to gather information for the report, Researching the business context and analysing the information that is collected, Producing a report, Evaluating the factors that influence the environment in which the Manager/Supervisor operates.

The emphasis on this subject is for students to learn the theoretical aspects of business and then to apply their knowledge and understanding through applied work.