Business Studies

P J Connery, MA, BA (Head of Department)
Mrs J C Ankers, BA
Miss C E Rhodes, BSc

Why Business Studies?

• Business Studies is a real and relevant subject which equips students with valuable life skills. Students benefit from an understanding of how and why businesses operate; why we should all bank at Nationwide; why LFC are now winning cups again but not the League; and how the Euro affects the UK.
• It provides a rigorous academic challenge involving a wide range of teaching and learning skills.
• It complements most A-levels or university courses. Maths and Sciences can be combined for Accounting and Finance or Engineering and Business courses; Modern Languages for French and Business or German and Business courses; and Social Sciences for Business and Law etc.

The Course
Business Studies takes the business enterprise as the centrepiece of its analysis. Businesses are examined both in their internal organisation and within the wider economic and commercial setting. The areas covered in the course include marketing, industrial relations, finance and accounts, business ethics, the nature, size and growth of a business and organisational structure.

The course aims to establish the basic principles of business decision making and to develop an understanding of how businesses adapt to changing internal and external pressures. Emphasis is placed on understanding and the ability to analyse the causes, significance and implications of particular decisions. This necessarily involves the use of some theory, but at all times the theory is related to practice and case studies. Real world illustrations and project work form an important part of the course.

The course is split into 4 units of 2 of which are studied in the Lower Sixth year and the other 2 in the Upper Sixth year. These are:

• Unit 1: Planning and Financing a Business – short answer questions and extended responses based on a mini case study (20%).
• Unit 2: Managing a Business – multi-part questions based on two case studies (30%).
• Unit 3: Strategies for Success – extended answer questions based on an extended case study (25%).
• Unit 4: The Business Environment and Managing Change – data response and essay questions (25%). This is the synoptic unit. 

Entry Requirements

• An interest in current affairs and a willingness to work.
• Intellectual curiosity and the ability to support individual judgements are desirable qualities.
• Numeracy and the ability to write clearly are important skills.

Department Strengths

• The teaching staff are well qualified, very enthusiastic and responsive to the needs of students.
• The Department has a proven track record of very good examination results.
• The Department is well resourced and makes good use of topical data and issues.

 

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