Sixth Form Entry Booklet

17 BUSINESS STUDIES Examining Board: AQA GCSE requirement: 6/7 in Mathematics and 6/7 in English Language or English Literature with a minimum total of 13 This course examines all aspects of business, including marketing, accounting and finance, internal organisation, human resources and operations management. It explores how an individual business is affected by and adapts to changes in government policy and economic and social changes. Although the course does involve a theoretical approach to business, the emphasis is always on how theory can be applied to realistic business situations, with the focus on providing solutions supported by evidence and analysis. You will be required to apply your knowledge and understanding to analyse and solve current business problems and issues, using case studies, videos and similar materials. The subject provides a solid foundation for any career in Accountancy, Law, Finance, Human Resources, or indeed a wide variety of jobs in the City, business or the media, and the skills of analysis and evaluation which are developed are useful in any career. For the A Level, you will study the following topics: • 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. • The A level assesses quantitative skills, making up a minimum of 10% of the overall marks. The skills tested include ratios, averages, fractions, percentages and calculation of profit and loss. The course involves, in all sections, a considerable amount of both written and numerical work, and you will have to be prepared and able to read and understand written, graphical and numerical data. The A-level is assessed by three two hour written exams at the end of the course. Paper 1: Multiple-choice questions, short answer and two essays. Paper 2: Three compulsory data response questions. Paper 3: One compulsory case study consisting of six questions. Mr A Newton