A level Business Years 12 & 13
Specification
AQA - The specification and assessment structure can be found at the link: https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/business-subjects/as-and-a-level/business-7131-7132
Business is about analysing and evaluating the decisions that businesses make in the real world. To be able to do this well, students must be able to use the knowledge that they learn throughout the course. They must pull apart the advantages and disadvantages of decisions, the factors effecting the decisions and be able to recommend strategies for real businesses to follow.
The Business course aims to:
- Develop an enthusiasm for studying business.
- Gain holistic understanding of business in a range of contexts.
- Develop a critical understanding of organisations and their ability to meet society’s needs and wants.
- Understand that business behaviour can be studied from a range of perspectives.
- Generate enterprising and creative approaches to business opportunities, problems and issues.
- Be aware of the ethical dilemmas and responsibilities faced by organisations and individuals.
- Acquire a range of relevant business and generic skills, including decision making, problem solving, the challenging of assumptions and critical analysis
- Apply numerical skills in a range of business contexts.
Students do not need to have studied Business before but those who have a GCSE in Business will find the approach very similar, although the content more demanding.
Topics to be covered:
- 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.
- Choosing strategic direction.
- Strategic methods: how to pursue strategies.
- Managing strategic change.
Examination Assessment Overview
| Business 1 | Business 2 | Business 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What is assessed? | All content above | All content above | All content above |
| Examination |
2 hours |
2 hours |
2 hours |
| Questions |
Three compulsory sections. Section A has 15 multiple choice questions worth 15 marks. |
Three data response compulsory questions worth approximately 33 marks each and made up of three or four part questions. | One compulsory case study followed by approximately six questions. |
Year 12
| Topic | Further details about the topic | Skills | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn Term | |||
| 1 |
What is business? Managers, leadership and decision making |
Why businesses exist, the measurement and importance of profit, reasons for choosing different forms of business, the role of shareholders, how the external environment can affect costs and demand Understanding management, leadership and decision making, understanding management decision making, understanding the role and importance of stakeholders |
Knowledge, application, analysis and evaluation |
| 2 |
Decision making to improve marketing performance Decision making to improve operational performance |
Setting marketing objectives, understanding markets and customers, making marketing decisions: segmentation, targeting, positioning, making marketing decisions: using the marketing mix Setting operational objectives, analysing operational performance, increasing efficiency and productivity, improving quality, managing inventory and supply chains |
Knowledge, application, analysis and evaluation |
| Spring Term | |||
| 1 |
Decision making to improve financial performance Decision making to improve human resource performance |
Setting financial objectives, analysing financial performance, sources of finance, improving cash flow and profits
Setting human resource objectives, improving organisational design and managing the human resource flow improving motivation and engagement, improving employer-employee relations |
Knowledge, application, analysis and evaluation |
| 2 |
Finish HR Revision for AS Business examinations |
Scrutiny of past papers and mark schemes |
Knowledge, application, analysis and evaluation |
| Summer Term | |||
| 1 | Analysing the external environment to assess opportunities and threats | Economic change, corporate objectives, financial documents | Knowledge, application, analysis and evaluation |
| 2 |
Analysing the external environment to assess opportunities and threats AS exams (internally assessed) |
Economic change, corporate objectives, financial documents | Knowledge, application, analysis and evaluation |
Year 13
| Topic | Further details about the topic | Skills | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn Term | |||
| 1 | Analysing the strategic direction of a business | Mission, corporate objectives and strategy, financial ratio analysis, SWOT analysis, political and legal change, social, economic and technological change and investment appraisal | Knowledge, application, analysis and evaluation |
| 2 |
Analysing the strategic direction of a business (continued) How to pursue strategies Choosing strategic direction Managing strategic change |
Methods of growth and economies of scale, assessing innovation, digital technology and internationalisation. Ansoff’s matrix, Porter’s generic strategy and Bowman’s strategic clock Organisational culture, managing strategic implementation, evaluating strategy and why it fails |
Knowledge, application, analysis and evaluation |
| Spring Term | |||
| 1 |
Managing strategic change (continued) Choosing strategic direction (continued) |
Organisational culture, managing strategic implementation, evaluating strategy and why it fails | Knowledge, application, analysis and evaluation |
| 2 | Revision of Year 1 and Year 2 content | Scrutiny of exemplar papers and mark schemes in preparation for the linear examinations | Knowledge, application, analysis and evaluation |
| Summer Term | |||
| 1 | Revision of Year 1 and Year 2 content | Scrutiny of exemplar papers and mark schemes in preparation for the linear examinations | Knowledge, application, analysis and evaluation |
Assessments
| Resources | Topic | Type of assessment |
|---|---|---|
| CAT 1 | All areas covered in term 1 | Exam paper |
| CAT 2 | All areas covered in Year 12 | Exam paper |
| CAT 3 | AS Business syllabus paper 1 and 2 | Mock exam |
| CAT 4 | Strategic direction | Exam paper |
| CAT 5 | Paper 1 and 2 | Exam paper |
| CAT 6 | Paper 3 | Mock exam |
Main Resources
| Resource | Details | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Text books and support materials |
AQA AS Business Studies by Wolinski – ISBN 9781471836107 AQA A2 Business Studies by Wolinski Workbooks, Tutor2u PPTs |
All |
| Recommended reading | A quality newspaper | All |
| Recommended websites | All |
Enrichment opportunities
| Activity | Day and time or term |
|---|---|
