IGCSE Business Studies Syllabus 2014 & 2015

Unit 1 -  Business and its environment

1.1. Business activity

• Purpose of business activity
• Needs, Wants and Scarcity
• Division of Labour
• Economic Sectors (Primary, Secondary and Tertiary)
• Business growth and measurement of size
• Key features of own national economy

1.2. The organisation

• Business Objectives (Added Value, Profit, etc.)
• Why some businesses stay small?
• Stakeholders
• Public and Private sector

1.3. Changing business environment

• Intervention 
• Tax and interest rates
• Impact of technology on business
• Business reaction to market changes

1.4. Economic environment

• Market systems
• International trade
• Problems of entering new markets abroad
• Competition and business
• Exchange rates

Unit 2 - Business structure, organisation and control

2.1. Ownership and internal organisation

• Business organisations
• Multinational businesses
• Organisational charts
• Limited and unlimited liability
• What do managers do?
• Delegation
• Internal and external communication

2.2. Financing business activity

• Use of funds
• Sources of finance

Unit 3 - Business activity to achieve objectives

3.1. Marketing

• Market orientation and segmentation
• Market research
• Marketing mix: Product
• Marketing mix: Product | Product life cycle
• Branding
• Marketing mix: Price
• Marketing mix: Promotion
• Marketing mix: Place | Distribution channels
• Marketing strategy
• Cost effectiveness

3.2. Production (Operations Management)

• Methods of production
• Economies and diseconomies of scale
• Lean production
• Costs and Break-even analysis
• Quality control
• Location decisions
• Technology and improving efficiency

3.3. Financial information and decision making

• Definitions
• Cash and cash flow forecasts
• Profit and it's importance
• Profit and Loss account
• Balance sheet
• Financial ratios
• Working capital

Unit 4 - People in business

4.1. Human needs and rewards

• Role of work in satisfying human needs
• Financial rewards
• Non-financial rewards
• Management styles
• Motivational methods

4.2. Manpower

• Recruitment and selection
• Training methods
• Dismissal and redundancy

Unit 5 - Regulating and controlling business activity

5.1. Influences on business activity

• Trade unions
• Protecting employees
• Cost benefit analysis
• Government help
• Economic factors affecting businesses
• Business cycle

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