GCSE Business Studies

Scheme of Work
• Unit 2 Growing as a Business
 Teacher Resource Bank / GCSE Business Studies / Scheme of Work Unit 2 Growing as a Business / Version 1.1

GCSE BUSINESS STUDIES

SCHEME OF WORK

The purpose of this scheme of work is to provide advice and guidance to teachers, not to
prescribe and restrict approaches to the delivery of the specification. Please bear in mind that
there is no requirement to use this scheme of work. All items included are suggestions and
intended to provide guidance.

ALLOCATION OF TEACHING HOURS

This scheme of work is based on an average of 2 ½ hours’ contact time each week, and a 32
week teaching year giving a total teaching time of 80 hours.

RESOURCES

Business Studies published by Nelson Thornes (ISBN 978-1-4085-0435-2)

Growing as a Business by Denby & Hamman published by Hodder Education (ISBN: 978-0-
340-986646-6)

The following websites may provide useful content or links:

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/business/ has good basic content.

• http://www.businessstudiesonline.co.uk/ has some useful activities and may provide you

with ideas so that you can develop your own.

• http://www.thetimes100.co.uk/ for some applied concepts.

• http://sixthsense.osfc.ac.uk/business/index.asp Oldham 6th form college has produced

some student friendly resources.

• http://www.tes.co.uk/ has resources that you can download following free registration.
You can also upload your own ideas for others to use – a swap shop without Noel
Edmunds!

• http://www.businessballs.com/ is complex but you can get some interesting ideas from
here.

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 Teacher Resource Bank / GCSE Business Studies / Scheme of Work Unit 2 Growing as a Business / Version 1.1
GCSE BUSINESS STUDIES (UNIT TWO)
UNIT TWO, GROWING AS A BUSINESS (TOTAL TIME ALLOCATION: 80 HOURS)
CONTENT
1 Expanding a Business
• methods of expansion. The benefits and risks to a
business of expanding methods of expansion used by large
businesses, for example: mergers and takeovers, organic
growth and franchising
• conflict between stakeholders. The ways in which the
growth of a business can impact on its stakeholders and
how those stakeholders might react to protect their own
interests
2 Choosing the Right Legal Structure for the Business
• private limited companies (ltd) public limited companies
(plc).the advantages and disadvantages of a private limited
company becoming a public limited company
3 Changing Business Aims and Objectives
• reasons for changing aims and objectives as businesses
grow. How the objectives of larger businesses might differ
from smaller businesses
• ethical and environmental considerations. The wider social
costs and benefits facing business operation, such as
ethical and environmental considerations
2 Copyright © 2009 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.
APPROX
RESOURCES AND OTHER GUIDANCE
HOURS
Candidates are not expected to understand the legal
aspects to takeovers and mergers, such as the sale and
acquisition of shares.
Candidates should understand that the actions a business
follows can impact negatively on some groups of 5
stakeholders, whilst positively on other groups.
http://www.businessinfo4schools.co.uk/POLYPIPE%20BU
SINESS%20STAKEHOLDERS%20BROAD.pdf
Candidates do not need to cover the legal procedure for
gaining limited liability. They should, however, be able to
argue a case both for and against becoming a limited 5
business.
Candidates need to understand the reasons why the aims
and objectives of larger businesses may be different than
those smaller organisations.
Candidates are not expected to be able to impute social
4
and environmental costs and benefits, but have an
understanding of why businesses might include these in
their decision-making.
http://www.virginmedia.com/about/cr/
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 Teacher Resource Bank / GCSE Business Studies / Scheme of Work Unit 2 Growing as a Business / Version 1.1
CONTENT
4 Choosing the Best Location
• factors influencing start-up location decisions and the
importance of location to growing businesses in terms of
minimising costs and increasing revenues
• the issues relating to international or global expansion
include the physical presence in international markets and
cost considerations
5 The Marketing Mix – Product
• product portfolio/mix. How and why businesses might
broaden and balance their product as they grow
• product life cycle. How the demand for a product or service
might change over time and the various stages of the
product life cycle: introduction, growth, maturity and
decline, and the methods that a company might adopt to
extend the life of a product in its decline phase, and the
impact these strategies might have on other aspects of the
business
6 The Marketing Mix – Price
• pricing decisions for growth, including: price skimming, price
penetration, competitive pricing, loss leader and cost-plus
• factors affecting pricing decisions. Nature of the market, the
degree of competition
7 The Marketing Mix – Promotion
• promotional activities to enable growth, advertising, sales
promotion, sponsorship and direct marketing
• selecting the promotional mix depending upon the factors
influencing the selection of the promotional mix, eg, nature
of the market, nature of the product, activities of competitors
klm Copyright © 2009 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.
RESOURCES AND OTHER GUIDANCE HOURS
Students may identify and analyse the location of existing
businesses in their own locality.
Candidates need to understand the concept of location by
cost minimisation, although no calculations are required.
They need also to understand why some businesses 5
choose not to move to locations that offer lower costs.
Candidates should be aware of the risks associated with
international expansion, eg exchange rates changes.
Candidates should understand that businesses use many
aspects of marketing, and it is the combinations of these
elements that produce the mix. They should avoid
studying the 4Ps in isolation to each other. Candidates
need to be able to evaluate the marketing mix used by a
case study business and suggest improvements to it. 5
http://www.thetimes100.co.uk/case-study--the-use-
marketing-mix-product-launch--87-303-1.php
http://www.bized.co.uk/educators/16-
19/business/marketing/presentation/mixb.ppt
Only those pricing strategies mentioned will be examined.
However, credit will be given to candidates who suggest
other suitable strategies as part of their responses to
questions. Candidates should be able to apply the 7
strategies appropriately given a business’s particular
circumstances.
Candidates should be aware that large businesses will be
able to use different promotional activities than that used
by smaller concerns. Emphasis should be placed on
being able to support the choice of a particular strategy, 7
rather than merely describe it.
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 Teacher Resource Bank / GCSE Business Studies / Scheme of Work Unit 2 Growing as a Business / Version 1.1

APPROX
CONTENT RESOURCES AND OTHER GUIDANCE
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8 The Marketing Mix – Place Candidates need to be aware of newer channels, such as
• channels of distribution to enable growth, the different internet selling and telesales. Candidates need to be able
channels of distribution used by businesses to gain access to more than just describe the different channels; they
to potential customers should be able to justify their choice of channel for a
particular business. 5
• selecting channels of distribution, the appropriateness of
Candidates should be able to incorporate channels of
each distribution method in a given scenario, but with a view
to the issues re location factors distribution into business’s location decisions (see section
4 above).

9 Sources of Finance for Large Businesses
• the main methods that a large business might use to raise
funds - retained profits, a new share issue, obtaining a loan
or mortgage and selling unwanted assets
Candidates need to be able to discuss the case both for
and against a business using each source of finance.
4
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/business/financ
e/sourcesoffinancerev1.shtml

10 Profit and Loss Accounts and Balance Sheets The emphasis of this section should be on interpreting the
• purpose of financial statements - the importance of a profit statements rather than having a detailed knowledge of
and loss account and balance sheet to the stakeholders their component parts.
when assessing the performance Only simplified accounts will be used.
• components of financial statements The formula for a ratio will be provided to candidates if a
calculation is required. The candidates will, however, have
• interpretation of data given on financial statements - the 7
to make sense of the value of the ratio in the context of the
performance of a business through interpretation of the business. Only those ratios mentioned will be requested in
information contained in simplified versions of the profit and the examination, but candidates who use others to support
loss accounts, balance sheet and by the application of gross their analysis will not be penalised.
and net profit margins and current and acid test ratios
http://sixthsense.osfc.ac.uk/business/acc_finance/profit_lo
ss.asp

4 Copyright © 2009 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. klm
 Teacher Resource Bank / GCSE Business Studies / Scheme of Work Unit 2 Growing as a Business / Version 1.1

CONTENT
11 Organisational Charts and Management Hierarchies
• internal organisation structures, organisation trees, and
layers of management. How they effect that the shape of
the organisational structure has on how the organisation is
managed
• centralisation/ decentralisation - the benefits and challenges
that both can bring to a business
APPROX
RESOURCES AND OTHER GUIDANCE
HOURS
Candidates should recognise that there is no fixed way to
lay out an organisational chart, and that these diagrams
have several purposes within a business. Candidates
should be able to interpret the implications on
management of different shapes of chart, eg flat hierarchy, 4
wide span of control.
http://www.competition-
commission.org.uk/our_peop/org_chart/pdf/ccorgchart.pdf
http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/running/bbcstructure/

12 Recruitment and Retention of staff Candidates should be able to, not only describe the
• the process that businesses go through to recruit and select different elements of this section, but also to evaluate
new employees critically the methods used by a case study business,
Candidates are not expected to know about motivational
• the benefits of an induction training programme and what theorists , such as Maslow or Herzberg, but their
might be included in it appropriate inclusion to support answers will not be
• the advantages and disadvantages of on the job training, penalised.
such as in house training, and off the job training such as http://www.businessballs.com/mcgregor.htm 7
external courses
• how and why businesses use an appraisal or performance
review system
• the methods by which businesses motivate and retain
suitable employees, including the role of training,
remuneration and styles of management

13 Production Methods for Growing Businesses Candidates should view production methods in terms of
• flow production and the how this can create efficient use of improving efficiency. The consequences of adopting
resources efficiency improving techniques on management,
employees and shareholders should also be addressed.
• specialisation and division of labour 7
http://www.businessstudiesonline.co.uk/GcseBusiness/Th
• lean production techniques - how production might be made eoryNotes/Module%204/PdfNoPrint/01_Production_Metho
more efficient by the use of Just In Time and the impact ds.pdf
these might have on employees

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 Teacher Resource Bank / GCSE Business Studies / Scheme of Work Unit 2 Growing as a Business / Version 1.1

APPROX
CONTENT RESOURCES AND OTHER GUIDANCE
HOURS
14 Recognising Challenges of Growth Candidates should be aware of the concepts of economies
• the ways, both internal and external, in which large and diseconomies of scale and other ways in which growth
businesses obtain a cost advantage over smaller can bring advantages and disadvantages.
businesses 5
• how disadvantages of growth might occur within a growing
business, - longer chains of communication, complexities
within the production process

15 Maintaining Quality in Growing Businesses Candidates need to be aware of the way in which a
• the possible quality issues that growing businesses face - business attempts to ensure the quality of its product is
consistency, cost of maintaining quality maintained. Candidates should understand that
appropriate quality does not have to mean the highest 3
• methods of maintaining consistent quality - Total Quality possible quality.
Management
http://www.businessstudiesonline.co.uk/GcseBusiness/Th
eoryNotes/Module%204/FlashPaper/02_Quality.swf

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