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Business Studies A Level

Course Content

The aims and objectives of the Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Advanced GCE in Business are to enable students to:

develop an enthusiasm for studying business
gain a holistic understanding of business in a range of contexts
develop a critical understanding of organisations and their ability to meet society’s needs and wants
understand that business behaviour can be studied from a range of perspectives
generate enterprising and creative approaches to business opportunities, problems and issues
be aware of the ethical dilemmas and responsibilities faced by organisations and
individuals
acquire a range of relevant business and generic skills, including decision making, problem solving, the challenging of assumptions and critical analysis
apply numerical skills in a range of business contexts.

The course is split into four themes:

Theme 1: Marketing and people

Students will develop an understanding of:

meeting customer needs
the market
marketing mix and strategy
managing people
entrepreneurs and leaders.

Theme 2: Managing business activities

Students will develop an understanding of:

raising finance
financial planning
managing finance
resource management
external influences.

Theme 3: Business decisions and strategy

Students will develop an understanding of:

business objectives and strategy
business growth
decision-making techniques
influences on business decisions
assessing competitiveness
managing change

Theme 4: Global business

This theme develops the concepts introduced in Theme 1. Students will develop an understanding of:

globalisation
global markets and business expansion
global marketing
global industries and companies (multinational corporations).

Skills / Aptitudes required to be successful in this course:

A strong GCSE pass is an advantage, however all candidate require evidence of a very good level of literacy, and should be committed to reading challenging but stimulating business and financial material. The independent learner would excel in this course as there is a wealth of real-life scenarios all around us in the business world.

How will I be assessed?

The Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Advanced GCE in Business is structured into the four themes detailed above and consists of three externally examined papers.

Students are introduced to business in Themes 1 and 2 through building knowledge of core business concepts and applying them to business contexts to develop a broad understanding of how businesses work. Breadth and depth of knowledge and understanding, with applications to a wider range of contexts and more complex business information, are developed in Themes 3 and 4, requiring students to take a more strategic view of business opportunities and issues.

Students are encouraged to use an enquiring, critical and thoughtful approach to the study of business, to understand that business behaviour can be studied from a range of perspectives and to challenge assumptions.

Complementary subjects

Business combines comfortably with a range of both arts and science subjects, but it works particularly well with Maths, English, Government and Politics, Psychology, and Sociology.

What have students who have taken this course in the past progressed to?

In this course, students will develop transferable skills that support higher education study and the transition to employment, including numeracy, communication, an understanding of the business environment and commercial awareness.

Students can progress from this qualification to:

higher education courses such as business management, business administration, accountancy and finance, human resource management, marketing, retail management, tourism management and international business
a wide range of careers ranging from banking, sales, product management and general management to working in public sector organisations or charities.