Higher Business
Management
St Andrews HS Business Studies Dept
Why Business Management?
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Business and enterprise are at the heart of
national growth and development. This is
reflected in the importance of business
education in schools and colleges today. This
course offers you the opportunity to acquire
skills and knowledge which will allow you to
participate in the complex world of business
and information. Whether or not you intend
to have a career in business, the course will
enable you to enhance your individual
effectiveness.
St Andrews HS Business Studies Dept
Course Outline
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Business in Contemporary Society
Business Decision Areas: Marketing and
Operations
Business Decision Areas: Finance and
Human Resource Management
St Andrews HS Business Studies Dept
Business in Contemporary Society
This section of the unit deals with:
 The role of business in society
 Types and objectives of business
organisations
 The role of enterprise and the
entrepreneur
 Stakeholders such as shareholders,
customers and employees.
 Factors affecting the operation of
business
 Business as a dynamic activity, for example
the impact of changes in demand
St Andrews HS Business Studies Dept
Business Information and ICT
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This section of the unit deals with:
Sources, types and value of information
Examples of IT
ICT in business, including business
software
St Andrews HS Business Studies Dept
Decision Making in Business
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This section of the unit deals with
The nature and types of decision making
The decision making model
Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities,
threats (SWOT) analysis
Problems of structured models
St Andrews HS Business Studies Dept
Internal Organisation
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Internal Organisation – This section deals
with:
The grouping of activities - function,
product/service, customers, technology,
staff
Functional activities of organisations
Forms of organisational structure hierarchical, flat, matrix, entrepreneurial,
centralised and decentralised
Aspects of organisational structure - such
as organisation charts, formal and informal
structures, changes in structure
St Andrews HS Business Studies Dept
Business Decision Areas: Marketing
and Operations
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Marketing - This section of the unit deals
with:
The marketing concept, including marketing
of products and services
The marketing mix, including place and
pricing strategies
Target markets, including niche marketing
and market growth
Market research, including surveys,
questionnaires and interviews.
St Andrews HS Business Studies Dept
Business Decision Areas: Marketing
and Operations
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Operations - This section of the unit deals
with:
Input, process and output - for example,
production systems and stock control
Distribution and delivery - warehouse,
transporting, scheduling
Types of operations - job, batch, flow
Factors affecting quality - quality control and
management
St Andrews HS Business Studies Dept
Business Decision Areas: Finance
and Human Resource Management
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Financial Management - This section of the unit
deals with
The role and importance of the finance function in
organisations
Financial information, including balance sheets and
profit and loss accounts
Cash flow management – liquidity, decision making,
projection
Budgetary control – uses, including monitoring and
controlling activity
Ratio analysis, including gross profit/sales, return
on capital and current ratio (calculation of ratios is
not required).
St Andrews HS Business Studies Dept
Business Decision Areas: Finance
and Human Resource Management
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Human Resource Management - This section
of the unit deals with:
The role and importance of human resources
in organisations
Changing pattern of employment within
organisations
Recruitment and selection
Training and development
Employee relations
Legislative requirements
St Andrews HS Business Studies Dept
2 requirements to attain a pass at
Higher Level
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To pass the external examination
To pass all the internal assessments
relating to the Learning Outcomes.
St Andrews HS Business Studies Dept
Internal Assessment
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There will be 3 internal assessments,
one on Business Enterprise and one on
the two joint decision areas
Internal Organisation will be covered in
the course but will not be internally
assessed but will be assessed in the
final examination.
St Andrews HS Business Studies Dept
Internal Assessment
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Each pupil must pass the assessment
relating to the learning outcome. One
resit will be permitted although it is
always more advantageous to pass at the
first attempt.
St Andrews HS Business Studies Dept
Final Exam
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There will be one final examination
of 100 marks, which will consist of a
case study (50 marks) and an
extended response paper where
candidates must choose to do 2
questions from a choice of 5;each
question is worth 25 marks.
St Andrews HS Business Studies Dept
What you can do? (1)
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Homework and class work will involve
working on case studies from past
papers and answering extended
response questions.
Reading a quality newspaper will be
invaluable especially the Business
Sections. Current affair programmes
would also be most useful.
St Andrews HS Business Studies Dept
What you can do? (2)
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Attention leads to learning. In other
words, attention is a prerequisite to
learning. And there's no way around
it! If a pupil pays little attention in
class, very little learning will occur at
that time. I estimate that if a pupil
has good attention in class, it is worth
2-3 hours of study out of class. In
other words, pay attention in class
and it reduces your study time
outside of class.
St Andrews HS Business Studies Dept
What you can do? (3)
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Ask questions if you are not sure?
Make sure you complete your homework
Read over your core notes
Practice past paper questions
St Andrews HS Business Studies Dept