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Business

Course Length

Two years (or one year depending on individual circumstances).

The course

We all interact with and are employed by a range of organisations throughout our lives. Some of us may even consider setting a business up, or perhaps leading one in the future. This subject relates to real-world businesses and economic scenarios. You will develop a more in-depth understanding of how businesses work and what impacts them.

The following reflects many of the main areas covered.
• Business activity: How businesses are set up, their objectives and their stakeholders
• Marketing: understanding consumer wants and needs and satisfying them profitably
• Human Resources: How the people within the business are recruited, organised and motivated
• Finance: Sources of finance, calculating Revenue, costs, profit and loss, Break-even and Cashflow
• Operations: Production, Quality, Location and the Supply Chain
• Influences on businesses: Ethical and Environmental issues, the Economic climate and Globalisation

What skills do I need?

As well as developing an understanding of the key content, you will need to be able to read short case studies and questions, which can also include numeric information and determine the specific issues relating to the business in question, recognising, understanding and applying specific business terms, theories and concepts.

During the course you will need to develop a better understanding of key skills such as application, analysis and evaluation to solve a range of business problems and make recommendations.

You will also need to understand, apply, analyse and interpret numeric data to support business decisions.

How is the course assessed?

Some questions will be multiple-choice and some questions will be extended writing to explain your point or your decision.

Paper 1 (J204/1): 

Business Activity, Marketing, and People
Duration: 90 minutes
Weight: 50% of the final grade (80 marks)

Paper 2 (J204/2):

Operations, Finance, and Influences on Business
Duration: 90 minutes
Weight: 50% of the final grade (80 marks)

Reading

(provided by the college)

OCR GCSE (9–1) Business Student Book
By Mike Schofield and Alan Williams
Published by Hodder Education,
ISBN 9781398356375

Exam Board and Specification Codes

OCR Business (9-1) – J204