Essential Business Studies for Cambridge IGCSE (R) & O Level

Syllabus matching grid
Unit 1 Understanding business activity
1.1.1: The purpose and nature of business activity
1.1.2: The importance of specialisation
1.2 Classification of businesses
1.2.1: Business activity in terms of primary, secondary and tertiary sectors
1.2.2: The private sector and the public sector in a mixed economy
1.3 Enterprise, business growth and size
1.3.1: Enterprise and entrepreneurs
1.3.2: Contents and benefits of a business plan and how business plans assist entrepreneurs
1.3.3: Why and how governments support start-ups
1.3.4: Business growth and measurement of size
1.3.5: Why some (new or established) businesses fail
1.4 Types of business organisation
1.4.1: Sole traders and partnerships
1.4.2: Other types of business organisation
1.4.3: Objectives, growth and business organisation
1.4.4: Limited and unlimited liability
1.4.5: Business organisations in the public sector
1.5 Business objectives and stakeholder objectives
1.5.1: Business objectives
1.5.2: Stakeholders and their different objectives
1.5.3: Objectives of private and and public sector enterprises
Practice questions
Unit 2 People in business
2.1 Motivating employees
2.1.1: Motivation
2.1.2: Why people work - the concept of human needs
2.1.3: Key motivational theories - Taylor and Herzberg
2.1.4: Methods of motivation - financial rewards
2.1.5: Methods of motivation - non-financial rewards
2.2 Organisation and management
2.2.1: Organisational charts
2.2.2: Roles and responsibilities
2.2.3: The role of management
2.2.4: Styles of leadership
2.2.5: Trade unions
2.3 Recruitment, selection and training
2.3.1: The recruitment and selection process
2.3.2: Recruiting and selecting in practice
2.3.3: Recommending who to employ?
2.3.4: Training and methods of training
2.3.5: Reducing the size of the workforce
2.3.6: Legal controls over employment issues
2.4 Internal and external communication
2.4.1: Communication
2.4.2: Internal communication
2.4.3: External communication
Practice questions
Unit 3 Marketing
3.1 Marketing, competition and the customer
3.1.1: The role of marketing
3.1.2: Market changes
3.1.3: Market segmentation
3.1.4: Mass markets and niche markets
3.2 Market research
3.2.1: Primary and secondary market research
3.2.2: Quantitative and qualitative research
3.2.3: Presentation and use of results
3.3 The marketing mix
3.3.1: The four P's
3.3.2: The product
3.3.3: The price
3.3.4: Place - distribution channels
3.3.5: Promotion
3.3.6: Technology and the marketing mix
3.4 Marketing strategy
3.4.1: Elements of a marketing strategy
3.4.2: Legal controls related to marketing
3.4.3: Opportunities and threats of entering overseas markets
Practice questions
Unit 4 Operations management
4.1 Production of goods and services
4.1.1: The meaning of production
4.1.2: Lean production
4.1.3: The main methods of production
4.1.4: How technology has changed production methods
4.2 Costs, scale of production and breakeven analysis
4.2.1: Identify and classify costs
4.2.2: Economies and diseconomies of scale
4.2.3: Break-even analysis
4.2.4: Break-even and margin of safety
4.3 Achieving quality production
4.3.1: What quality means
4.4 Location decisions
4.4.1: Factors influencing location and relocation
Practice questions
Unit 5 Financial information and decisions
5.1 Business finance: needs and sources
5.1.1: The need for business finance
5.1.2: Major sources of finance
5.1.3: Sources of internal and external finance
5.1.4: How to choose finance
5.2 Cash flow forecasting and working capital
5.2.1: Cash-flow and cash-flow forecasting
5.2.2: Working capital
5.3 Income statements
5.3.1: What profit is and why it is important
5.3.2: How profit is made
5.3.3: Income statements
5.4 Statement of financial position
5.4.1: The main elements of a statement of financial position
5.4.2: Further analysis of the statement of financial position
5.5 Analysis of accounts (financial statements)
5.5.1: Profitability analysis
5.5.2: Liquidity
5.5.3: Why and how accounts are used
Practice questions
Unit 6 External influences on business activity
6.1 Economic issues
6.1.1: Business cycle
6.1.2: Government control of the economy and business
6.1.3: Reasons for government intervention in the economy
6.1.4: Taxes and interest rates
6.2 Environmental and ethical issues
6.2.1: Environmental concerns and issues that affect business
6.2.2: External costs and benefits
6.2.3: Legal controls and environmental issues
6.2.3: Ethical issues
6.3 Business and the international economy
6.3.1: The importance of globalisation
6.3.2: Importance and growth of multinational companies
6.3.3: The impact of exchange rate changes
Practice questions
Glossary of key terms
Index