GCE BUSINESS STUDIES
A2 SCHEME OF WORK
INTRODUCTION
This scheme of work can be followed whether centres enter students for
examinations in January and June or just opt for June entry.
The purpose of this scheme of work is to provide advice and guidance to
teachers and lecturers, 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
The A2 scheme of work is based on five hours’ contact time each week and a 32
week teaching year. This time has been subdivided as follows:
Unit Three:
Strategies for Success
75 hours
This allows 10 hours (or two weeks’ teaching) for revision and final examination
preparation.
Unit Four:
The Business Environment and Managing Change 75 hours
A2 BUSINESS STUDIES (UNIT THREE: STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS)
This module is divided into four elements. In the study of this unit candidates should examine the topic areas below in relation to the
core themes of setting objectives, measuring performance and devising strategy. The assessment for this unit will draw upon AS
material which candidates should use to respond to A2 questions. The material below sets out a possible scheme of work for a single
teacher delivering the specification. A later version shows how the material might be allocated between two teachers delivering the
specification between them.
UNIT THREE
CONTENT
3.1 Functional Objectives and
Strategies: An overview of a range
of functional objectives and how
these contribute to the achievement
of corporate objectives.
RESOURCES AND OTHER GUIDANCE
Business Review, Volume 14, Number 2, November 2007 – ‘Guitars4You: Satisfying a niche
market’
TERM 3
of AS
year.
WEEK
6
Business Review, Volume 14, Number 3, February 2008 – ‘Money from Nails’
A2 Business Studies textbook – Wolinski & Coates – chapter 1
UNIT 3 ELEMENT 2 MARKETING
STRATEGIES
3.7 Understanding Marketing
Objectives: Marketing objectives,
assessing internal and external
influences on marketing objectives.
3.8 Analysing Markets and
A2 Business Studies textbook – Wolinski & Coates – chapter 7
Business Review Volume 10 Number 3 Feb 2004 –‘ Responding to Market changes’
6
www.tutor2u ‘Business Café’ – ‘Iphone seeks to shake up the mobile phone market’
Useful for discussion on marketing objectives and influences
A2 Business Studies textbook – Wolinski & Coates – chapter 8
7
Marketing: market analysis,
analysing sales trends, the use of
information technology, difficulties
in analysing marketing data.
Business
Business
Business
Business
Review Volume
Review Volume
Review Volume
Review Volume
12
12
13
13
Number
Number
Number
Number
2 Nov 2005 – ‘The UK Jeans Market’
3 Feb 2006 – ‘The UK Footwear Market’
1 Sep 2006 – ‘The Breakfast Cereals Market’
2 Nov 2006 – ‘Pre recorded music in the UK’
www.tutor2u ‘Business Café’ – ‘Brits become a nation of smoothie operators’
Bized market analysis activity
www.bized.co.uk/educators/16-19/business/marketing/activity/analysis.htm
A2 Business Studies textbook – Wolinski & Coates – chapter 9
Business Review Volume 12 Number 1 Sep 2005 – ‘Cobra Beer’
Business Review Volume 12 Number 2 Nov 2005 – ‘Five Forces Analysis’
Business Review Volume 12 Number 4 April 2006 – ‘Strategic thinking in Marketing’
3.9 Selecting Marketing
Strategies: Low cost verses
differentiation, Ansoff’s matrix,
assessing effectiveness of marketing
strategies.
www.tutor2u ‘Business Café’ - ‘Special guests and seasonal smoothies make Innocent sparkle’
- ‘Cobra beer – Brewing up a global brand’ (useful for international
markets)
www.times100.co.uk Edition 13 – ‘Wilkinson: Marketing strategy for growth’
Classroom video: ‘MMMarketing’ www.classroomvideo.co.uk
Bized problem based learning activity: ‘Changing markets, changing strategies: The Problem’
www.bized.co.uk/current/pbl/2005-6/031005problem.htm
Talk from parent – Phil Brown – customer service
8
A2 Business Studies textbook – Wolinski & Coates – chapter 10
3.10 Developing and Implementing
Marketing Plans: components of
marketing plans, internal and
external influences, issues in
implementing marketing plans
Business Review Volume 13 Number 1 Sep 2006 – ‘Marketing Plans’
9/10
Bized activity: ‘Marketing the Glastonbury Festival’
www.bized.co.uk/current/mind/2003-4/081203.htm
A2 Business Studies textbook – Wolinski & Coates – chapter 2
TERM 1
3.2 Understanding Financial
Objectives: Cash flow targets,
cost minimisation, ROCE targets
and shareholders’ returns. Internal
and external influences on these
targets.
www.times100.co.uk Edition 13 – ‘CIMA: Financial information in decision making’
Business Review, Volume 10, Number 3, February 2004 – ‘Strategic Finance’
TERM 1 of
A2
Week 1
www.tutor2u ‘Business Café’: ‘Cutting costs keeps profits in good shape’
TV Choice dvd: ‘Are we making a profit?’
www.tvchoice.uk.com
A2 Business Studies textbook – Wolinski & Coates – chapter 3
3.3 Using Financial data to
Measure and Assess Performance:
Analysis of balance sheets and
income statements. Working
capital, depreciation, profit
utilisation and profit quality.
Annual report gallery – useful for obtaining actual company accounts www.reportgallery.com
3.4 Interpreting Published
A2 Business Studies textbook – Wolinski & Coates – chapter 4
Classroom Video: ‘Financial reporting for Business’ www.classroomvideo.co.uk
Classroom Video: ‘The Bottom Line’
2
Bized provide some useful powerpoints on business accounts
www.bized.co.uk/learn/business/accounting/busaccounts/index.htm
3
Accounts:
Conducting ratio analysis to
measure financial performance,
assessing the value and limitations
of ratio analysis.
Business Review Volume 13 Number 1 Sep 2006 – ‘Ratio analysis’
Working Lunch dvd Series 9 Lesson 7 – ‘Deciphering Company Accounts’
www.bbc.co.uk/news/business/workinglunch
A2 Business Studies textbook – Wolinski & Coates – chapter 5
Business Review Volume 9 Number 1 Sep 2002 – ‘Back to Basics: Profit Centres’
3.5 Selecting Financial Strategies:
Raising finance, profit centres,
cost minimisation, allocating capital
expenditure.
www.tutor2u ‘Business Café’ – Case studies on Raising finance:
‘Venture capital bags the greener grocer’
‘Survival strategies – Youth hostels look at property disposals’
‘The business of dying – Dignity goes public’
4
Case study on Cost minimisation: ‘Lloyds cut costs to get profits back on track’
TV Choice dvd on Raising finance: ‘Finance in Business II (The established business/The PLC)
3.6 Making investment decisions:
Investment appraisal methods,
investment criteria, risks and
uncertainties of investment
decisions, quantitative and
qualitative influences.
A2 Business Studies textbook – Wolinski & Coates – chapter 6
Bized investment appraisal activity
www.bized.co.uk/timeweb/reference/using -experiments.htm
5
UNIT 3 ELEMENT 3
Operational Strategies
3.11 Understanding Operational
Objectives: Operational
objectives, assessing internal
and external influences on these
objectives.
A2 Business Studies textbook – Wolinski & Coates – chapter 11
Business Review Volume 10 Number 1 Sep 2003 ‘Strategic Operations’
6
A2 Business Studies textbook – Wolinski & Coates – chapter 12
3.12 Operational Strategies:
Scale and Resource mix:
Economies and diseconomies of
scale, labour and capital
intensive production.
TV Choice dvds: ‘Systems in a Factory’
‘ Inside a Factory III: The Crisp Makers’ www.tvchoice uk.com
Working Lunch dvd Series 10 Lesson 6 – ‘Economies of Scale’
www.bbc.co.uk/news/business/workinglunch
6
A2 Business Studies textbook – Wolinski & Coates – chapter 13
Business Review Volume 10 Number 1 Sep 2003 – ‘Why do 5 out of every 6 new products fail?’
3.13 Operational Strategies:
Innovation: purpose, costs,
benefits and risks of innovation.
3.14 Operational Strategies:
Location: methods of making
location decisions, advantages
and disadvantages of multi site
locations, international location.
www.times100.co.uk Edition 13: - ‘Intel: Using innovation to create competitive advantage’
Edition 9 – ‘Kelloggs: Using new product development to grow a brand’
7
A2 Business Studies textbook – Wolinski & Coates – chapter 14
www.tutor2u ‘Business Café’ – ‘Seafood processing outsourced to Thailand’
- ‘ Dark days for Blackpool as TVR production goes
abroad’
-
8
Working Lunch dvd Series 12 Lesson 4 – ‘Location’ www.bbc.co.uk/news/business/workinglunch
Bized notes on location issues: www.bized.co.uk/learn/economics/notes/location.htm
Plus useful activity: www.bized.co.uk/learn/business/production/efficiency/location.htm
A2 Business Studies textbook – Wolinski & Coates – chapter 15
Business Review Volume 10 Number 1 Sep 2003 – ‘Just-in-time? It depends’
Business Review Volume 10 Number 3 Feb 2004 – ‘Zara’ ( Useful article on time based management in
the context of fast fashion)
3.15 Operational Strategies:
Lean Production: Critical path
analysis, lean production
methods.
www.tutor2u ‘Business Café’ – useful articles on lean production:
‘The car in front is very good… and getting even better’
‘ Lean, mean driving machines – how Jaguar changed its production methods’
Bized critical path analysis activity: www.bized.co.uk/educators/1619/business/production/activity/cpa.htm
TVChoice dvd – ‘Inside a Factory I –The new Mini’ www.tvchoice.uk.com
9
UNIT 3 ELEMENT 4 Human
Resource Strategies
3.16 Understanding HR Objectives
and Strategies: HR objectives and
strategies, internal and external
influences on HR objectives.
3.17 Developing and Implementing
Workforce Plans: Components of
workforce plans, internal and
external influences, issues involved
in implementing workforce plans.
A2 Business Studies textbook – Wolinski & Coates – chapter 16
10
A2 Business Studies textbook – Wolinski & Coates – chapter 17
Business Review Volume 13 Number 1 Sep 2006 – ‘Human Resource Planning’
11
www.times100.co.uk Edition 13 – ‘British Gas: Workforce Planning’
A2 Business Studies textbook – Wolinski & Coates – chapter 18
Business Review Volume 14 Number 4 April 2008 – ‘Organisational Structure’
3.18 Competitive Organisational
Structures: Factors determining
organisational structures, adapting
organisational structures to improve
competitiveness.
www.times100.co.uk Edition 13 – ‘Tarmac: How roles and functions contribute to competitive
advantage’
- ‘Audit Commission: Flexible working patterns’
- ‘Lloyds TSB: Changing working patterns’
TV Choice dvd – ‘Business Structures’ www.tvchoice.uk.com
12
Working Lunch dvd Series 18 Lesson 9 – ‘Working practices’ (job sharing)
www.bbc.co.uk/news/business/workinglunch
Bized notes and activity: ‘Changes in the workplace’ www.bized.co.uk/current/mind/20056/241005.htm
3.19 Effective Employer/Employee
Relations: Employee communications,
employee representation, methods of
A2 Business Studies textbook – Wolinski & Coates – chapter 19
13
www.tutor2u ‘Business Café’ – The Royal Mail Strike’
avoiding and resolving industrial
disputes
EXAM UNIT 3– January 25th
(1hour 45mins)
EXAM UNIT 4 – June 22nd
Retakes – unit 1 January 12th
Working Lunch dvd Series 7 Lesson 9 – ‘Industrial relations’
Provisional dates
Provisional dates
- unit 2 January 21st
Revision of unit 3
See unit 4 scheme of work
Past papers and case study questions
TERM 2
Week 1