GCSE Applied Business

Specification
Edexcel Applied Business GCSE (2AB01)

Course Overview
Unit 1: Investigating How Businesses Work
The learning outcomes will be need to be considered and demonstrated during a pre-researched assessed study of two businesses, one local, one national or international.

Topic 1: What is a business and what do businesses do?
Enterprise:  Understand what this means, and what skills an entrepreneur would require to be successful in business.

Business activity:  Recognise the different types of activities performed and appreciate the competitive nature of business and the impact of business on competition.

Business aims:  Examine of their use in planning, target setting, provision of goods and services, expansion, survival and maximising sales, and consideration of other aims such as environmental and charitable.

Business objectives: Understand the uses of measurable objectives in achieving business aims, and be able to evaluate a businesses performance in terms of achieving its aims.

Business ownership:  Distinction and evaluation of the different models of business ownership,  the terms ‘limited’ and ‘unlimited liability’ and their implications, types of ownership, relationships between ownership and scale and the responsibilities of owners.

The risk-reward ratio:  Appreciate the risks involved in setting up a business balanced against the rewards, understand that what happens when a business fails.
Ethical business:  Recognise that for most businesses profit is the overriding aim, but that increasingly there are political and social pressures and issues for businesses to consider wider ethical responsibilities, and be able to asses ethical standards.

Topic 2: How are Businesses Organised?
Organisational structure:  Comprehend the different structures and the impact on communications.

Functional areas:  Identify the functions a business performs in the course of providing goods / services (i.e. human resources, finance, administration), how these differ between small and large businesses, how and why they are concentrated across a business and how they integrate.

Communication between functional areas: Evaluate forms of oral, written, visual and information technology as communication methods in both internal and external communication within a business.

Topic 3: Why are Stakeholders so Important?
Stakeholders: Identify those who have an interest  / ‘stake’ in businesses, what those interests are, the tensions and conflict between differing interests and how a business is influence by and responds to its stakeholders.

Why customers are important: Appreciate why customers must be gained and kept happy and assess the difficulties of capturing and retaining customers.

The power of customers: Recognise the influence of customer service on repeat purchase, reputation, new custom, market share and the image of a business,

The needs of different customers:  Understand the needs of both internal and external customers, how to identify these needs, how they vary between businesses and how to meet these needs via customer service, employees and technology.

Employees – their rights and responsibilities:

Know that the law provides protection for both employees and employers, what the main principles behind these laws are and the areas they cover.  Establish which organisations can be used to help resolve disputes and the different means by which disputes can be resolved.

Unit 2: Financial Records
Topic 1: Investigating the flow of financial documents used in business trading.
Types of financial documents: Examine the use and usual format of the following financial  documents;

Purchase Orders
Delivery notes
Foods received notes
Invoices
Credit notes
Statements of account
Remittance advice slips
Cheques
Receipts

Identify what part each document plays in the sequence of ordering, checking, recording and paying for goods / services.

Importance of Financial documents: Ability to complete an example of each document, and interpret meaning, completeness and accuracy in completed documents, understand their importance and how they provide the basic information for accounts.

Computerised accounting systems: Understand how computerised accounting systems store and manipulate information from financial documents and examine the advantages and disadvantages of using such systems in comparison to manual systems.

Topic 2: Investigating business payment methods and costs.
Types of cash and non-cash payment methods: Identify why businesses use a variety of payment methods, the benefits, cost and time associated with each method of payment and the positives and negatives of using electronic payment methods.

Sources of revenue and costs: Assess start up and running costs for a chosen business, comparing such costs with those from the same and other industrial sectors, understanding the use that ICT plays in reducing costs.

Topic 3: Investigating the nature of financial statements in business.
Profit and loss account: Identify that a profit and loss account details financial performance over time, that a balance sheet shows performance at a point in time, and understand their use in a business.

Terminology in financial statements:  Determine the meaning of and differences between common terms used in financial statements and perform simple profit and loss calculations from these accounts in the correct format.

Balance sheet: Analyse a simple balance sheet, categorise and total assets using a balance sheet and appreciate the role that ICT can play for business in constructing financial statements.

Topic 4:Investigating the importance of financial statements to business.
Profitability ratios: Understand and comment on profit and loss and liability and asset totals for a business, liquidity and profitability.  Be able to calculate and comment on gross profit margin, net profit margin and return on capital employed from given formulae.

Liquidity ratios: Analyse and comment on liquidity ratios from given formulae (acid test ratio, current ratio).
Importance of financial statements to stakeholders: Examine how financial statements are of interest to stakeholders and the role that ICT may play in assisting with interpretation of financial statements.

Study Time
To complete this course it will take in the region of 100 study hours which can be spread over a 12 month period to suit the student.

Pre-requisites
No previous study is required to access any of our GCSE courses, but they do require basic literacy and numeracy skills.

Support and Benefits
Full tutor support is available via email by fully qualified professionals.

Exam Dates and Information
Exams are in June of each year and the latest dates for enrolment is December.

If you start your course after December then it is unlikely you can take your exam in June unless your tutor agrees and you can find a centre, they will require late registration fees.

Further Reading and Book List
Edexcel GCSE in Applied Business: Student Book

by Carol Carysforth
     Publisher: Edexcel Limited (28 April 2009)

     ISBN-10: 1846903777

     ISBN-13: 978-1846903779

Qualifications
GCSE courses are available in a variety of subjects and they are by far the most common qualification taken by students wanting to gain a firm understanding of a topic. You will also need GCSEs to progress to A Levels.

Grading
Learning at Home offers a range of GCSEs and all the course materials map to the very latest criteria laid down by the awarding bodies.

When you have taken your exams you will be awarded a grade which ranges from A – G with G being the lowest.

You will need to take GCSEs to progress onto A Levels and employers look for Maths and English as a minimum requirement for most jobs.

Taking Exams
Learning at Home in conjunction with the awarding body will give whatever help we can with examination information, finding an exam centre but entering examinations is entirely the responsibility of the student, and the contract for sitting examinations is between the student and the exam centre. We are not an exam centre so you must read all the information in your course pack carefully and be prepared to travel to a centre who is willing to accept external candidates.

Please do not ask us to provide you with a list of your nearest centres when enquiring about your course as we do not have this information available, you need to contact the awarding body.

Funding
Learning at Home does not have access to any funding so if you require a subsidised course please contact your Learn Direct Centre.

Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Do your courses meet the latest syllabus changes?
A. yes, all our course materials meet any changes and will be updated free of charge if further changes are made.

Q. Why do I have to find a centre myself?
A. We have students all over the UK and Europe and it is impossible for us to arrange dates and times for individual students.

Q. What if I cannot find an examination centre?
A. If you wish to gain the qualification then be prepared to travel it is worth it!

Q. How  much are exam fees?
A. These vary from centre to centre but as a guide they are around £50

Q. Are the courses paper based or on-line?
A. All our courses are paper based and come in attractive sturdy folders.

Q. How do I contact my tutor?
A. Tutors are all working Teachers or Lecturers so contact is by email only.

Q. Why can I not take my exams at when I have completed the course and have to wait?
A. Exams are taken at the same times as schools and colleges and are not flexible.

Q. I want to take my exams but there are only a few months to study, is this possible?
A. Depending on the time of year, it is sometimes impossible to complete your studies in a short space of time as your work has to be marked and checked. More importantly the examination boards have cut off times which are not flexible.