AS Business₇₁₃₁

Students of this course should study business in a variety of contexts (eg large/small, UK focused/global, service/manufacturing) and consider:

• the importance of the context of business in relation to decision making
• the interrelated nature of business activities and how they affect competitiveness
• the competitive environment and the markets in which businesses operate
• the influences on functional decisions and plans including ethical and environmental issues
• the factors that might determine whether a decision is successful eg the quality of data and the degree of uncertainty
• how technology is changing the way decisions are made and how businesses operate and compete
• the impact on stakeholders of functional decisions and their response to such decisions
• use of non-quantitative and quantitative data in decision making (including the interpretation of index numbers and calculations such as ratios and percentages). See Annex: Quantitative skills in Business

• •3.1 What is business?
• •3.2 Managers, leadership and decision making
• •3.3 Marketing management
• •3.4 Operational management
• •3.5 Financial management
• •3.6 Human resource management