Students will develop an understanding of:
1.1 Meeting customer needs
1.1.1 The market
1.1.2 Market research
1.1.3 Market positioning
1.2 The Market
1.2.1 Demand
1.2.2 Supply
1.2.3 Markets
1.2.4 PED
1.2.5 YED
A place where buyers and sellers come together to exchange goods and services There is normally an exchange of money at a set price Price is normally set based on market forces i.e. the interaction between demand and supply Markets can be local/global
When a firm targets the whole of a market rather than a particular segment Mass marketing can give a business a high volume of sales but often at lower prices High degrees of competition may mean a firm has to use tactics such as branding to
When a firm targets a small subsection or previously unexploited gap in a larger market
The total value or volume of sales in the market
The proportion of total market sales that a particular firm has Calculated as: Sales of firm A/total market sales x 100
The percentage increase in the size of the market i.e. by how much is the market growing in terms of value or volume Calculated as: Change in size of market / original size x 100
The process of gathering primary and secondary research in order to inform a firm’s marketing decision making
Primary market research (field research) involves the collection of first hand data that did not exist before, therefore it is original data
Secondary market research (desk research) is research that has already been undertaken by another organisation and therefore already exists
The statistical data that informs a company about people’s behaviour but does not identify the reasons
Non-statistical information that gives a company in depth insight into the reasons for human behaviour
Market segmentation is the splitting of customers into groups with similar characteristics in order to target a specific group of consumers e.g. by age, gender, location or income
This is how a product is perceived relative to its competitors
The process of positioning competition within a market by plotting the key variables that differentiate products within the market against each other
A feature of a business’ product that allows it to perform more successfully than others in the market
Added value is the value of the finished output over and above the cost of achieving it i.e. the cost of inputs and transformations
Demand shows the amount of goods or services that a consumer is willing and able to buy at a given price over a period of time
Supply shows the amount of goods or services that a business is willing and able to sell at a given price over a period of time
Equilibrium Where demand for a product is equal to the supply of that product (D = S)
A measure of the responsiveness of demand to a change in price i.e. what will happen to the demand for the product if its price changes
A measure of the responsiveness of demand to changes in income i.e. what will happen to the demand for a product if consumers’ incomes change
Students will be introduced to factors that impact a business and look at alternative options that a business can undertake. Students will develop their analytical and evaluative skills to enable them to support their recommendations.
Through independent work, group work and class led discussion, students will have the confidence to discuss and develop their business knowledge and apply to different scenarios.
Students will develop an understanding of:
1.3 Marketing mix and strategy
1.3.1 Product/service design
1.3.2 Branding and promotion
1.3.3 Pricing strategies
1.3.4 Distribution
1.3.5 Marketing strategy
1.4. Managing people
1.4.1 Approaches to staffing
1.4.2 Recruitment, selection and training
1.4.3 Organisation design
1.4.4 Motivation in theory and practice
1.4.5 Leadership
The early stage of a product or service in its life cycle when the idea is conceived and the idea developed before being launched to market
A promotional method that involves the creation of an identity for the business that distinguishes the firm and its products from other firms
This is that part of the marketing mix that informs and persuades customers about the product in order to sell that product
A USP is something that distinguishes a firm’s product from those of its competitors
These are the methods that an organisation will use to price a product in order to meet marketing objectives. Pricing strategies include: Price skimming Price penetration Predatory pricing Competitive price Psychological pricing
Distribution Channels The route to market that a product takes from producers to the final customer
The medium to long term marketing plans adopted by a business in order to achieve its marketing objectives
A HR strategy that uses temporary, part-time and peripheral workers to make it easier to respond to fluctuations in demand
The steps undertaken by a business from identifying the need for a new employee to attracting suitable candidates
Actions taken by a business to help identify the best candidate for a vacancy
The process of equipping employees with the skills and knowledge necessary to carry out their job effectively Types of training include: induction off-the-job on-the-job
The process of structuring an organisation so that it is in a format that enables it to deliver its objectives in both the short and long term
The reasons why people behave in the manner that they do. Motivation can take the form of financial incentives e.g. bonuses and non-financial incentives e.g. increased responsibility
Students will be introduced to marketing techniques that help businesses influence potential customers as well as looking at how effective management of the labour force will help productivity and motivation.
Students will have the knowledge to be able to discuss how key functional areas within a business help different businesses in different industries.
Students will develop an understanding of:
1.5 Entrepreneurs and leaders
1.5.1 Role of an entrepreneur
1.5.2 Entrepreneurial motives and characteristics
1.5.6 Moving from entrepreneur to leader
1.5.3 Business objectives
1.5.4 Forms of business
1.5.5 Business choices
A person who spots an opportunity and shows initiative and a willingness to take risks in order to benefit from the potential rewards
Targets that a business wants to achieve within a set period of time. Objectives should be SMART
The legal ownership that a firm adopts
The cost of one course of action in terms of the next best alternative foregone
All of the alternatives foregone when a decision is made by a business
A leader is a senior member of staff with the ability to influence and direct people in order to meet the goals of a group
Students will look at the different motives and characteristics of individuals and firms that will enable success. Different forms of businesses will have different aims and objectives and students will explore that in a various business context.
Students will be working in different groups and on an individual level to explore how firms and business leaders of today can influence us as potential customers.
Students will develop an understanding of:
2.1 Raising finance
2.1.1 Internal finance
2.1.2 External finance
2.1.3 Liability
2.1.4 Planning
2.2 Financial planning
2.2.1 Sales forecasting
2.2.2 Sales, revenue and costs
2.2.3 Break-even
2.2.4 Budgets
Internal sources of finance refers to the funds used from within a business to fund expansion or growth
Funds raised from investors e.g. business angels or lenders e.g. banks that are outside of the business
The options available to a business when seeking to raise funds to support future trading and strategic developments
The extent to which an investor is legally responsible for the debts of a business
The owners of a business are responsible for the total amount of debt of the business
A document that describes how an entrepreneur proposes to set up a new business
The process of predicting future sales volumes and values
The total amount of money coming into a business from the sales of a good or service Calculated as: Selling price x quantity sold
Costs to a business that stay the same regardless of output
Costs to a business that change in relation to output
The quantity of goods or services that have been sold by a business
A numerical technique used by businesses to identify the number of units necessary to achieve an equilibrium where: Total costs = total revenue
A target amount of money set by a business to be achieved (sales) or adhered to (expenditure) in a specific period of time
Students will be introduced to the financial side of the course looking at how finances affect businesses and individuals scope for growth.
The students will work together to help understand how financial processes work.
Students will develop an understanding of:
2.3 Managing finance
2.3.1 Profit
2.3.2 Liquidity
2.3.3 Business failure
2.4 Resource management
2.4.1 Production, productivity and efficiency
2.4.2 Capacity utilisation
2.4.3 Stock control
2.4.4 Quality management
Total revenue – total cost
A formal financial document that summarises the net worth of a business at a given point in time It balances net assets with total equity
The inability of business to continue to operate Failure can be the result of financial or non-financial factors
This measures the output in a production process per unit of input
The effective use of resources to minimise inputs and maximise outputs in operations management.
A measure of the percentage of potential output being achieved Calculated by: Actual output / maximum output x 100
The mechanism that a company uses to maintain its level of goods or stock held It can be managed through tools such as charts
The processes by which a business meets the customers’ expectations in relation to quality
The students will be looking at factors that impact a business through financial documents and look how change within a workplace can affected different stakeholders.
Students will gain an insight into how financial documents help set business aims and objectives. They will also see how big businesses operate on a day to day basis as well as thinking about the medium and long term plan.
Students will develop an understanding of:
2.5 External influences
2.5.1 Economic influences
2.5.2 Legislation
Revision
The economic environment consists of the key economic factors that influence the behaviour of businesses and their customers
Laws that impact upon the day to day workings of a business
The Competitive Environment This looks at the degree of competition in the market and the buying and selling power of customers and suppliers within that market
Students will be introduced to factors that impact a business externally and how legislation is a fundamental part of keeping businesses in check.
Students will be working in groups and an individual basis to explore how legislation works for different types of firms as well as understanding that external factors have a major impact on businesses even though they have no control over them.