AQA
What is Business?
What makes a successful business? How do you find a really good business idea? How ethical and environmentally friendly is big business? How are business people meeting the challenges of globalisation and competition? Why are there relatively few women in top management? What difference is modern technology making to working patterns? Can Apple maintain its phenomenal success? With Business you can find the answers to these and many other questions.
Business helps you to gain an understanding of business activity from small enterprises to multinational organisations. Our course covers a wide range of topics, such as human resource management, finance, production and marketing and integrates them in the context of the organisation’s external environment. We will ensure your understanding of business is built on real world examples by the use of practical case studies. There is a strong element of numerical work in developing your understanding of the quantitative methods which businesses use to research and measure future objectives and actual performance.
Why study Business as an A level?
If you are interested in the world of business and you would like to understand, examine and practice the skills and attributes of successful entrepreneurs then business studies is a good subject for you to consider. Business A Level is well regarded as a means of preparing for a wide range of university courses and particularly those which have business or management content. It is also a useful preparation on leaving education. You are likely to end up working in some form of business, be it HSBC, a school, hospital, library or your own family business. The more you understand about the workings of a business, the part you play within it and why certain decisions are made, the better equipped you are to succeed in your chosen career. You may even consider starting your own business or wish to follow a career in finance, accounting, marketing, management and other business related areas. Whatever your career plans, business will suit you if you are looking for a stimulating and challenging course that has a real relevance to everyday life.
What does the course involve?
The revised AQA specification on offer involves three units of study (entirely assessed by examination at the end of the two year course). Students of this course will study business in a variety of contexts (e.g. large/small, UK focused/global, service/manufacturing). The topics studied lend themselves to studying and engaging with the business world.
Assessments
A-level Business Paper 1- Fifteen multiple choice questions (15 marks) and short answer questions (35 marks) in two compulsory sections. Two essays (25 marks each) with choice of 1 from 2
A-level Business Paper 2- Three multi-part data response compulsory questions (approx. 33 marks each)
A-level Business Paper 3- Six compulsory questions based on one case study (100 marks)
Requirements to study Business
You are not expected to be an expert in business when you start the subject, although a genuine interest in current events in the business world is important. Grade 6 or better in both English Language and Maths will help you cope with the numerical and written elements of the course. It is not necessary for you to have previously studied Business.