Different types of business activity and ownership, definitions, types and sectors of business. Business purposes - reasons why businesses exist; how products and services may be supplied to consumers for profit/at cost/below cost. Business settings, strategic aims and objectives, strategic planning process, analysis and planning strategies, public and private sector strategies. Influence of business growth on profit, sales and market share

Functional activities and organisational structure, charts, purposes, division of work, functional, geographic, span of control, finance, human resource management, research and development, marketing, procurement, sales, logistics, concept of small and micro businesses. The impact of external factors (political, economical, social and technological) on the organisation.

It is essential for organisations to manage their resources. The four main resource areas that need to be controlled are human, physical, technological and financial. The unit considers the importance of the day-to-day requirements to the business of suitable staff working well in appropriate teams and departments.

It is essential that organizations conform to legal requirements, as well as protecting their own intellectual property rights relating to designs, drawings, text, music and video to ensure that these are not copied or stolen by other organisations. It is important to be aware of sources of finance to enable the start up and expansion costs for a business to be met.

Marketing is at the heart of every organisation’s activity. It is also of growing importance in the non-commercial, public and voluntary sectors. This unit will introduce learners to the tools and techniques used in the modern marketing industry to achieve business objectives by meeting the customer’s needs and expectations.

Underpinning all marketing activity is marketing information and learners will be introduced to the role of research in making good marketing decisions. These marketing decisions — about product developments, promotional campaigns, distribution or pricing — form part of an overall marketing strategy which sits within the organisation’s longer-term business strategy.

Effective communication is vital for every organisation. In this unit learners explore how this process starts by organisations selecting, recruiting and employing the most qualified, skilled and experienced people. The ability to decide on the correct method for communicating different forms of information is necessary for the maximum effect.

The unit takes full account of how communication methods have changed due to the development of the personal computer and more recently due to the internet. It is useful to keep up to date with current technology and thinking in order to use effective methods of communicating information

Starting a small business is the ambition of many people. The business idea could be almost anything — a coffee shop, a courier service, a hairdresser’s, a motor vehicle repair workshop, a DJ service, a painting and decorating business, an equipment hire operation, an organic smallholding producing fruit and vegetables.

This unit gives learners the opportunity to consider their idea within structured business parameters, such as the type of business, the attractiveness of the business idea, the target market and the need to balance personal and business needs.

Learners will also develop their knowledge and understanding of the legal status and trading terms and conditions of their proposed business, legal aspects such as fire regulations, taxation, VAT and HM Revenue and Customs, and financial aspects, such as start-up and operational costs, as well as personal needs.

Organisations need their employees to contribute effectively to the achievement of organisational purposes. Many organisations say that their employees are their most valuable resource because of the skills, knowledge and attitudes they have. As labour is both an expensive and valuable resource, it is important to ensure its use is planned and that the best value is obtained from employees’ contributions.

Organisations have to compete in the market for labour and must take account of labour market conditions. The skills demanded by employers change as markets, technology, the legal framework and working practices change. At the same time employees have expectations that need to be met by employers.

The student will consider rules for the formation of contracts and develop an understanding of the legal effect of each stage in negotiating a contract, up to and including the final agreement, the student will also consider the statutory consumer protection laws in relation to contracts for the sale and supply of goods, both face to face and at a distance.

This unit introduces students to the purpose of accounting and its role in the management of a business organisation as well as teaching students the skills and knowledge needed to understand and manage finances.

Students will be introduced to the recruitment and selection process, the documentation process and they will be introduced to the regulatory implications for the recruitment and selection process. Recruiting the right people is key to the success of any business. Successful organisations recognise the importance of the recruitment and selection process in ensuring that they attract and appoint high calibre employees. These organizations ensure that the processes and procedures involved in recruitment and selection meet their needs.

Potential applicants may make decisions to apply for a post on the quality of information that they receive. Details of the post will usually be the first communication they will have with the organisation. They should receive clear information on the nature of the post and the type of person that the organisation is endeavouring to recruit. It is important that the organisation makes a good first impression on potential applicants. This will do much to ensure that the organization attracts sufficient applicants of the right calibre.

Exploring Creative Production Promotion introduces students to the basic concepts applied in the promotions industry. The students will have the opportunity to consider different ways of promoting products, introducing the promotional mix at a sample level.

More young people now go on to further and higher education than ever before. As a result, the supply of people leaving education with Level 3 or above qualifications has increased. This means that the labour market is highly competitive. Today, business organisations operate in a rapidly changing global environment. Their labour requirements are constantly changing. They want a flexible and adaptable workforce.

In a modern labour market people can expect to change career several times during their working life. Business leaders highlight the need for job applicants to have transferable skills as well as qualifications. People who seek to fulfil their potential both in work and through outside interests often create opportunities for themselves to develop a wider range of marketable skills and experience. Employers place importance on the outside interests of applicants and the contributions that they may make in their local communities. The skills that they develop in following outside interests are often the skills that employers are looking for in applicants such as organisational and leadership skills.

Managing a business event is an activity that many working in an administration role will be involved in. It is a challenging activity which can include organising and coordinating resources and arrangements for a variety of events, from arranging meetings, product launches, exhibitions and promotions to organising a full-scale conference.

This practical unit focuses on large and complex business events rather than informal small ones, and will enable learners to develop knowledge and skills for managing different types of business events. The tasks of an event organiser include forward planning for organising a suitable venue, arranging attendance and accommodation for delegates, organising equipment and refreshments, producing delegate packs and papers, liaising with others, keeping records and managing a budget. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills are therefore essential to undertake the range of activities effectively and efficiently.

More young people now go on to further and higher education than ever before. As a result, the supply of people leaving education with Level 3 or above qualifications has increased. This means that the labour market is highly competitive. Today, business organisations operate in a rapidly changing global environment. Their labour requirements are constantly changing. They want a flexible and adaptable workforce.

In a modern labour market people can expect to change career several times during their working life. Business leaders highlight the need for job applicants to have transferable skills as well as qualifications. People who seek to fulfil their potential both in work and through outside interests often create opportunities for themselves to develop a wider range of marketable skills and experience. Employers place importance on the outside interests of applicants and the contributions that they may make in their local communities. The skills that they develop in following outside interests are often the skills that employers are looking for in applicants such as organisational and leadership skills.

When people work together in teams, this can greatly benefit organisations and helps them to achieve their goals. A motivated workforce is more likely to be efficient and this can contribute to the long-term profitability of the business. If a team has members who co-operate, they can inspire each other. This helps the team to solve problems and identifies the individual skills within the team. The work can be set up within the team so that the complementary skills of its members can be used to best effect.

A team is a group of people working together to achieve common objectives, willing to commit the energies necessary to ensure that the objectives of the team are achieved. Learners will explore the benefits of team development and team-working. They will examine the skills required by different team members and how an effective team leader can motivate and develop individuals within teams.

Managing physical resources involves obtaining and using materials, equipment, supplies, premises and energy in the most efficient way to achieve the organisation’s operational objectives. Organisations must ensure their physical resources provide a safe and secure working environment for employees and meet all legal requirements.

Today there is great awareness of the impact on the environment by the inefficient use of physical resources such as water, gas, oil and paper, and the high costs involved in producing energy to support an organisation’s needs. This has resulted in organisations having to closely monitor usage of energy to support business operations in order to meet regulatory requirements, such emissions of toxic substances, as well as seeking to reduce physical resource costs. Organisations need to ensure that best use, efficiency, quality and waste management issues are addressed to improve performance and reduce costs.

Working in administration offers the opportunity to perform a wide range of types of roles across all industries and sectors, such as manufacturing, service providers, and retail. The variety of tasks performed in administrative roles provides a sound basis for progression to career pathways in supervisory and management positions. Every business organisation needs efficient administrative support, not only to achieve the organisation’s purpose and values, but also to survive in the competitive business world.

Large organisations might have a centralised administration department to support different functional areas such as finance, customer service and human resources. The administrative function might involve either working as part of a larger team or as an assistant to an individual. Smaller organisations’ infrastructures are often not so clearly defined and the administrative support needs may be met through one role, such as reception or a secretarial office. Whatever the size of the organisation, or the range of tasks performed, people working in administration need to have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including problem solving and time management.

The administration function invariably involves work tasks to be completed within a defined scope, timescales and budgets. These are in essence projects, and can include examples such as running a conference, setting up new administrative systems or organising the relocation of a work team. The language of project management has now become everyday business language.

All projects have a defined life cycle, although the boundaries between the stages are not always clear as often project activities have interdependencies. The basic principles of project planning involve defining and agreeing project deliverables and outcomes, setting milestones for performance and quality, scheduling, and consideration of stakeholder requirements. There are various accepted techniques to support the management of projects, including Gantt charts, critical path analysis, risk assessments and contingency planning, and learners will have the opportunity to apply these in a realistic setting. Supporting projects requires excellent communication and time management skills for activities such as setting and monitoring a project budget, solving problems during the project implementation stage and reporting project outcomes.

At the time of writing, the UK is Europe’s largest e-commerce economy — with two thirds of consumers having shopped online. The power of the internet continues to grow with 27.7 million UK adults having used the internet in the last year. Current predictions are that the rate of growth of internet sales will see this channel occupy 15 per cent of retail sales by 2010.

The purpose of this unit is to provide an introductory overview of the use of the internet by business organisations and to develop learners’ skills so that they become proficient users of the internet. Firstly the learners will learn how the internet is organised and how servers and internet service providers link together and conform to protocols. Next, learners will consider the trends in the use of the internet and the worldwide web (www), and key current developments.