Syllabus

The course consists of four core units plus fourteen specialist units that provide a combined total of at least 1080 guided learning hours (GLH) for the completed qualification, spread over two years. The course is structured around formal classes, seminars, tutorials and individual tuition. In addition, students will be expected to undertake private study. The four core subjects are fundamental to the success of business organizations and give students a sound understanding of business. The specialist subjects allow us to offer a great deal of choice and flexibility to the course and enable us to create an imaginative and innovative timetable.

The four core units are as follows:

1 Exploring Business Activity
2 Investigating Business Resources
3 Introduction to Marketing
4 Effective People, Communication and Information

Unit Specialist units — fourteen units ill be selected from the list below

5 Introduction to Accounting
6 Understanding Financial Accounting
7 Introducing Management Accounting
8 Investigating Accounting Systems
9 Exploring Creative Product Promotion
10 An Introduction to Marketing Research
11 Understanding Relationship Marketing
12 Investigating Internet Marketing
13 Investigating Recruitment and Selection
14 Understanding Aspects of Employment Law
15 Career Development Planning in Business
16 Human Resource Management in Business
17 Improving Performance in the Workplace
18 Managing a Business Event
19 Exploring Team Development
20 Managing Physical Resources
21 Aspects of Contract and Business Law
22 Aspects of Civil Liability for Business
23 Understanding Aspects of the Legal System and Law-making
Process
24 Aspects of Criminal Law Relating to Business
25 Working in Administration
26 Managing Business Information
27 Understanding Legal Aspects of Administration
28 Supporting Projects
29 Introduction to the Internet and e-Business
30 Website Design Strategies
31 Investigating Supply Chain Management
32 Organisational Systems Security
33 Website Production and Management
34 Digital Graphics and Computers
35 Advanced Database Skills
36 Understanding Health and Safety in the Workplace
37 Starting a Small Business
38 Understanding Business Ethics
39 Exploring Business and the Economic Environment
40 Investigating International Business
41 Understanding Retailing
42 Exploring Computer Applications for Financial Management

You are advised to check with the college to find out which combination of specialist units are on offer.


1 Exploring Business Activity

Unit abstract

Learners new to the study of business are usually already familiar with organisations
through having dealt with them as customers or employees. One of the aims of this
unit is to help learners to build on these experiences and learn to ‘walk in the shoes’
of the owners, stakeholders and managers of organisations.
The unit is designed to introduce learners to a wide range of business activities. They
will consider the influence of owners and stakeholders on business organisations and
how the purpose of an organisation is expressed through the development of strategic
aims and objectives. Learners will follow this through and consider how the work of
the organisation is divided into functional areas and how these areas interact with
one another.
Learners will also explore the dynamic nature of the business world through
examining selected external factors and considering their impact on business
organisations.
Ideally, learners will be encouraged to link their study of business with their own
experiences as customers and employees and with events and trends reported in the
news media.
The unit offers learners a great deal of choice in the organisations they study. It is
envisaged that the unit will provide an engaging and motivating introduction to the
purposes, structures and language of business organisations.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this unit a learner should:

1 Understand the different types of business activity and ownership

2 Understand how the type of business influences the setting of strategic aims and
Objectives

3 Understand functional activities and organisational structure

4 Know how external factors in the business environment impact on organisations.

Unit content

1 Understand the different types of business activity and ownership

Types of business activity: local; national; international; global; public, private;
not-for-profit/voluntary; sectors of business (primary, secondary and tertiary)
Business purposes: reasons why businesses exist; how products and services may
be supplied for profit, at cost and below cost by local, national and global
business organisations; how businesses supply products and services to consumers,
other businesses, and central and local government agencies in response to
demand
Owners: public, private and voluntary sectors; types of ownership, eg sole trader,
partnerships, private and public limited companies, franchises, government
departments, government agencies, worker cooperatives, charitable trusts
Key stakeholders: customers; employees, suppliers; owners; pressure groups;
trade unions; employer associations; local and national communities;
governments; links and interdependencies

2 Understand how the type of business influences the setting of strategic aims
and objectives

Strategic planning process: quantitative and qualitative analysis of current
situation; setting aims and objectives; planning strategies
Public and voluntary sector strategies: service provision: public sector services,
eg primary health care trusts; voluntary sector services; service level agreements;
quality assurance; provision at below or at cost
Private sector strategies: profit maximisation; sales; products’ services at cost
profit; increasing revenue and cutting costs; breakeven; survival; marketing;
competitors
Growth: profit; sales; market share

3 Understand functional activities and organisational structure

Organisational structures: organisation charts; purposes; division of work;
functional; geographic; span of control
Functional activities: finance; human resource management; research and
development; production; service delivery; marketing; procurement; information
technology services; sales; customer service call centres; management
information systems; logistics; how range of functional activities are managed in
small and micro businesses
Relationships between functional activities: flow of work; interdependencies;
outsourcing of functions, eg call centres; administration; delivery; production;
supply chain
Influencing factors: size; business environment, strategic plans

4 Know how external factors in the business environment impact on
Organizations

Political factors: national and international law, eg employment, contracts,
consumer rights, environmental issues, fraud; government, eg taxation and
subsidies
Economic factors: pay levels; cost of credit; competitive pressures; globalisation
markets; labour, supply and demand; energy prices
Social factors: eg ageing population, hosting of major sporting or cultural events,
celebrity culture
Technological factors: increased access to broadband; telephony developments
Impact: new organisations; winding up of existing organisations, take-overs and
mergers; revision of strategic plans; impact on stakeholders; functional activity
changes

Assessment

The main method of assessment for this module is by assignment. There are four assignments each focusing on the outcomes as shown in the objectives. Each assignment will be graded according to grading criteria – Distinction being the highest achievable.


2 Investigating Business Resources

Unit abstract

It is essential for organisations to manage their resources. The four main resource
areas that need to be controlled are human, physical, technological and financial.
The unit considers the importance of the day-to-day requirements to the business of
suitable staff working well in appropriate teams and departments.
Next, the unit deals with the importance of physical resources, such as buildings,
facilities, plant, machinery and equipment, including ICT equipment. Important
aspects are planned maintenance, refurbishment and safety.
The unit then considers technological resources. It is essential that organisations
conform to legal requirements, as well as protecting their own intellectual property
rights relating to designs, drawings, text, music and video to ensure that these are
not copied or stolen by other organisations.
Finally, the unit considers financial resources. It is important to be aware of sources
of finance to enable the start up and expansion costs for a business to be met. The
ability to control costs and keep to budgets on a day-to-day and continuing basis is
essential to ensure that the business remains viable. There are various ways to
control finances by producing financial statements periodically, usually every twelve
months. These include a profit and loss statement (giving the overall revenue and
expenses for the business) and the balance sheet (showing the assets, liabilities and
capital of a business at a particular date).
This financial information can also be used to determine the level of solvency,
profitability and performance of a business. Accounting ratios are used for this
purpose and can enable the business to compare trends from one year to the next
and/or to make comparisons with other similar organisations.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this unit a learner should:

1 Know how human resources are managed

2 Understand the purpose of managing physical and technological resources

3 Understand how to access sources of finance

3 Be able to interpret financial statements.

Unit content

1 Know how human resources are managed

Human resources: staffing to meet changing business demands; co-ordination of
team resources to meet targets; monitoring of team performance; liaison with
other departments; establishment of professional culture, eg levels of formality,
separation of professional from private activities; provision of appropriate
incentives; encouragement of creativity and initiative; outsourcing versus in house
decisions
Maintenance of operation: adequate resources to meet tasks, eg staffing,
equipment, working capital, facilities, administration; monitoring;
troubleshooting and problem solving


2 Understand the purpose of managing physical and technological resources

Physical resources: buildings and facilities; materials and waste; plant and
machinery; equipment including ICT; planned maintenance and refurbishment;
emergency provision; insurance; security
Technological resources: intellectual property, eg designs, drawings, text, music,
video; accumulated experience and skills; software licences; protection via
patents and copyrights

3 Understand how to access sources of finance

Internal sources: owner’s savings; capital from profits
External sources: banks, eg overdraft, business loan, commercial mortgage,
venture capital, hire purchase, leasing, factoring, share issues.

4 Be able to interpret financial statements

Costs and budgets: costs managed to budget (fixed costs/variable costs, breakeven,
monitoring budgets and variances); income increased to budget; bidding to
increase future resources, eg capital grants, investment; provision of appropriate
liquidity/working capital; provision of appropriate reserves to address
emergencies/crises
Financial statements: profit and loss (purpose and use, measure of trading
performance, establishing profit figures) and balance sheet (purpose and use,
establishing net worth, measure and business valuation)
Basic ratios: to determine solvency, eg current ratio, acid test ratio; to
determine profitability, eg gross profit percentage; net profit percentage; return
of capital employed; to determine performance, eg stock turnover, debtors’
collection period, asset turnover

Assessment

The main method of assessment for this module is by assignment. There are four assignments each focusing on the outcomes as shown in the objectives. Each assignment will be graded according to grading criteria – Distinction being the highest achievable.

3 Introduction to Marketing

Unit abstract

Marketing is at the heart of every organisation’s activity. It is also of growing
importance in the non-commercial, public and voluntary sectors. Also, at the heart of
marketing is the customer, and this unit will introduce learners to the tools and
techniques used in the modern marketing industry to achieve business objectives by
meeting the customer’s needs and expectations.
As well as understanding the customer, an organisation must understand the
environment in which it operates. There are many external influences that affect the
relative success of particular marketing strategies and campaigns. Learners will have
an opportunity to examine marketing within a wider business context.
Two recent key concepts in marketing are internet marketing and relationship
marketing. These areas are also dealt with in more depth in Unit 11: Understanding
Relationship Marketing and Unit 12: Investigating Internet Marketing but they are
touched upon in this unit because of their growing importance.
Underpinning all marketing activity is marketing information and learners will be
introduced to the role of research in making good marketing decisions. These
marketing decisions — about product developments, promotional campaigns,
distribution or pricing — form part of an overall marketing strategy which sits within
the organisation’s longer-term business strategy. Learners will explore how this is
achieved for selected organisations so that they can understand how this works in
practice.
The marketing industry is still growing and offers a widening variety of exciting
career opportunities.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this unit a learner should:

1 Understand the concept and principles of marketing and their application in the
business environment

2 Know how and why marketing research is conducted by organizations

3 Understand how marketing information is used by organizations

4 Understand how marketing techniques are used to increase demand for products
(goods and services).

Unit content

1 Understand the concept and principles of marketing and their application in
the business environment

Principles of marketing: overall concept; marketing definitions; principles;
activities; marketing objectives (SMART); functions; the link between
organisational objectives and marketing objectives; use of marketing principles,
eg public, private and voluntary organisations, retail consumers, government
departments and agencies; planning, control and evaluation processes;
development of e-marketing
Marketing mix: 4 Ps (products, price, place, promotion)
Limitations and constraints on marketing: legal (consumer law, eg Sale of Goods
Act 1979, Trade Descriptions Act 1968, Consumer Credit Act 1974; data
protection, eg Data Protection Act 1998); voluntary constraints, eg Code of
Advertising Practice and Advertising Standards Authority; pressure groups and
consumerism; acceptable language


2 Know how and why marketing research is conducted by organizations

Marketing research: qualitative and quantitative research; primary
internal/external research; secondary internal/external research; uses and
limitations
Primary research: methods; purposes; accessibility; fitness for purpose; validity;
cost; time and reliability; types of sampling; accuracy; planning; defining
objectives; identifying information needs, data collection; presenting findings;
sources of bias; electronic data collection; analysing data
Secondary research: importance; sources of data and information, eg news
reports, trade journals, market analyses from specialist agencies (Mintel, Dun &
Bradstreet, Datastream); online sources; government statistics, eg Social Trends
and Family Expenditure Survey

3 Understand how marketing information is used by organizations

Using marketing research: key themes; business objectives; understanding
customers’ preferences; lifestyles and aspirations; competitors’ activities;
environment; decision-making units (DMUs); preferences; lifestyle and aspiration
classifications, eg ACORN; MOSAIC; 4 Cs and how they are used to segment, target
and position products
Analytical techniques: situation analysis; SWOT (strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, threats); PESTLE (political, economic, social, technological, legal,
environmental); competitor and competitive; developments in the local, national
and global marketplace; product life cycle; product portfolios; diversification;
implications of social and technological change

4 Understand how marketing techniques are used to increase demand for
products (goods and services)

Market segmentation and targeting: importance; bases for segmentation, eg
geographic, demographic, psychographic, lifestyle; design of marketing mix to
satisfy needs of target group, greater individualisation afforded by e-business and
e-marketing
Branding: importance in influencing buyer behaviour; brand building and
positioning; brand extension
Relationship marketing: concept, lifetime customer
Planning, control and evaluation processes: marketing planning process model, eg
audit, set objectives, determine strategy and tactics, implement changes,
evaluate

Assessment

The main method of assessment for this module is by assignment. There are four assignments each focusing on the outcomes as shown in the objectives. Each assignment will be graded according to grading criteria – Distinction being the highest achievable.

4 Effective People, Communication and Information

Unit abstract

Effective communication is vital for every organisation. In this unit learners explore
how this process starts by organisations selecting, recruiting and employing the most
qualified, skilled and experienced people. Staff must possess good verbal and written
skills in order to communicate and share information. The ability to decide on the
correct method for communicating different forms of information is necessary for the
maximum effect.
The unit takes full account of how communication methods have changed due to the
development of the personal computer and more recently due to the internet. It is
useful to keep up to date with current technology and thinking in order to use
effective methods of communicating information. For example, the internet is an
incredible tool and can be used for displaying all types of information, eg text,
graphical and multimedia. The increase in the use of email and text messaging has
made it possible to contact people more easily virtually anywhere and particularly
while on the move.
Gathering relevant information from a range of sources is a skill that needs to be
developed by using electronic and non-electronic sources.
It is essential to know how to process information to make it attractive and easy to
follow. You need to know who the information is for and the best way to process it,
eg paper-based, screen-based or both. Well-presented documents can be produced
by learning how to use different types of software correctly.
The ability to communicate information effectively to individuals and groups at all
levels in an organisation is a skill that is acquired over time. This unit aims to develop
knowledge and skills in these key areas.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this unit a learner should:

1 Understand the importance of employing suitable people

2 Know how to communicate using appropriate methods

3 Understand different types of information and how it can be processed

4 Be able to present information effectively.

Unit content

1 Understand the importance of employing suitable people

Human resources: recruitment and retention; suitably skilled staff; contracts of
employment; job descriptions
Employability skills: suitable qualifications; experience in similar role; knowledge
of products/services; experience of specific industry; effectiveness in meeting
personal and team/departmental targets; ability to observe and raise professional
standards of production/service delivery
Personal skills: patient; hardworking; able to work as part of a team; good
interpersonal skills; co-operating with others, eg line managers, colleagues;
negotiation, eg in seeking agreements, resolving conflicts, agreeing targets,
agreeing budgets; interviewing skills
Communication skills: formal/informal; verbal/non-verbal; listening;
understanding; seeking clarification; responsiveness; eye contact; facial
expressiveness; body language; use of appropriate professional language; ability
to adapt communication techniques to audience requirements; presentational
skills; ability to invite commitment to shared goals

2 Know how to communicate using appropriate methods

Audience requirements: eg age, gender, ethnicity, special needs, readability,
legibility, attention span, accessibility, interest, distraction avoidance, business
experience and knowledge, industry-related experience and knowledge
Methods of written communication: eg letter, memorandum, fax, invoice, flow
charts, publicity material, email and screen-based, SMS (short message service),
www (worldwide web)
Methods of non-written communication: eg telephone call, video conferencing
Technologies: computers; touch screens; digital broadcasting; DVD (digital
versatile/video disc); mobile phones; the internet and WAP (wireless application
protocol)

3 Understand different types of information and how it can be processed

Types of information: verbal; written; on-screen; multimedia; web-based
Features of information: internal; external; primary; secondary; current nature
of information; life expectancy of information
Purpose of information: updating knowledge; informing future developments;
offering competitive insight; communicating sales promotions; inviting support for
activities

Information gathering: information sources, eg the worldwide web using search
engines, business communications, government statistical sources, news sources
Adherence to legislation: eg copyright and related legislation, designs and
patents, intellectual copyright, w3w (World Wide Web Window), disability
discrimination, equal opportunities

4 Be able to present information effectively

Presentation methods to meet the needs of the user: eg document, use of style,
verbal presentations, role plays, on-screen multimedia presentation, use of
images, web-based presentation, multilingual support
Output requirement: eg resolution of images, page layout, text formatting, use of
tables, combining information from a range of applications, use of specialist
software and hardware