Switching to AQA: from Edexcel

The subject content is divided into six sections:

• Business in the real world
• Influences on business
• Business operations
• Human resources
• Marketing
• Finance

The subject content is divided into ten sections:

• Enterprise and entrepreneurship
• Spotting a business opportunity
• Putting business ideas into practice
• Making the business practice   effective
• Understanding external influences on business
• Growing the business
• Making marketing decisions
• Making operational decisions
• Making financial decisions
• Making human resources decisions

Two papers, covering:

• Influence of operations and HRM on business activity
  • Business in the real world
  • Influences on business
  • Business operations
  • Human resources
• Influence of marketing and finance on business activity
  • Business in the real world
  • Influences on business
  • Marketing
  • Finance

Two papers, covering:

• Investigation small business
  • Enterprise and entrepreneurship
  • Spotting a business opportunity
  • Making the business practice effective
  • Understanding external influences on business
• Building a business
  • Growing the business
  • Making marketing decisions
  • Making operational decisions
  • Making financial decisions
  • Making human resources decisions

Each paper is worth 90 marks

Each paper is worth 90 marks

Each paper allows 1 hour 45 minutes

Each paper allows 1 hour 30 minutes

Both papers have two sections:

• Section A – 20 marks
• Section B and C – total 70 marks, approximately 35 marks each, with one business context in each section

Both papers have three sections:

• Section A – 35 marks
• Section B – 30 marks
• Section C – 25 marks

with one business context in each section.

• Purpose of business
• Reasons for starting a business
• Basic functions and types of business
• Business enterprise and entrepreneurship
• Dynamic nature of business

• The role of business enterprise, also includes adding value
• The dynamic nature of business

• Sole traders
• Partnerships
• Private limited companies (ltd)
• Public limited companies (plc)
• Not-for-profit organisations

• The options for start-up and small business
  • sole trader
  • partnership
  • private limited company
  • franchise
• Public limited company

• What are business aims and objectives
• Purpose of setting objectives
• Role of objectives in running a business
• Changing objectives
• Use of objectives in judging success

• Business stakeholders: objectives related to stakeholders
• Changes in business aims and objectives: why and how business aims and objectives change as businesses evolve

• Main stakeholders of businesses
• Objectives of stakeholders
• Impact of business activity on stakeholders
• Impact and influence stakeholders have on businesses

Business stakeholders

Factors influencing the location decision of a business

• Factors influencing the location decision of a business
• Also included: the impact of the internet on location decisions
• Not included: costs of location

• The purpose of business planning
• The main sections within a business plan
• Basic financial terms
• Basic financial calculations

• The role and importance of a business plan
• The purpose of planning business activity

• Methods of expansion
• Benefits and drawbacks of expansion
• Economies of scale
• Diseconomies of scale

• Methods of business growth and their impact
• Types of ownership for growing business
• Sources of finance for growing and established businesses

• E-commerce
• Digital communication

• Different types of technology used by business
• Also includes payment systems and social media
• How technology influences business activity

• Ethical considerations
• Environmental considerations
• Sustainability

Ethics, the environment and business

• the impact of ethical and environmental considerations of business
• also includes the effect of pressure group activity on the marketing mix

• Interest rates
• Levels of employment
• Consumer spending

The economy and business, also includes inflation, government taxation and exchange rates

• How UK businesses compete internationally
• Exchange rates

• Business and globalisation
  • the impact of globalisation on business - exporting, changing business locations, multinationals
  • barriers to international trade
  • how businesses compete internationally
• Exchange rates

• Employment law
• Health and Safety law
• Consumer law

• Legislation and business: the purpose of legislation – consumer law and employment law (including health and safety)
• The impact of legislation on business – cost, consequences

• Impact on businesses of operating incompetitive markets
• Uncertainty and risks businesses face

• Strengths and weaknesses of competitors
• Impact of competition on business decision making

• Methods of production
• Efficiency in production

Business operations

• the purpose of business operations
• production processes – also includes batch
• impact of technology on production

• Managing stock
• Factors affecting choice of suppliers
• The effects of procurement and logistics on business
• The value of effective supply chain management

• Managing stock – JIT, JIC
• Factors affecting choice of suppliers
• Effects of procurement and logistics on business
• Value of effective supply chain management

• Consequences of quality issues
• Methods of maintaining consistent quality
• Costs and benefits of maintaining quality

Managing quality

• production or goods and provision of services – quality control, quality assurance
• allowing a business to control costs – gain competitive advantage

• Methods of good service
• Benefits of good customer service
• Dangers of poor customer service
• The ways in which advances in ICT have allowed customer services to develop

The sales process

• product knowledge, speed and efficiency of service, customer engagement, response to customer feedback, post-sales service
• importance to businesses of providing good customer service

• Organisational structures
• Appropriateness of organisational structures
• Centralisation and decentralisation

• Internal organisational structures
• Appropriateness of organisational structures
• Centralisation and decentralisation

• The need for recruitment
• Methods of recruitment and selection of employees
• Contracts of employment

• Effective recruitment: different job roles and responsibilitiesHow businesses recruit people – documents, methods
• Different ways of working – full time, part time, flexi time, permanent, temporary, freelance, use of technology

• Importance of motivation in the workforce
• Methods to motivate staff

• Importance of motivation in the work place
• Methods – financial, non-financial

• Importance of training the workforce
• Types of training undertaken by businesses

• Effective training and development: methods – formal and informal, self-learning, ongoing, target setting, performance reviews
• Reasons for training and development – motivation, retention, retraining for new technology

The importance of identifying and satisfying customer needs

Customer needs: the importance of identifying and satisfying customer needs