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GCSE Edexcel Unit 3 - Building a business


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Schemes of work

Schemes of work for the following modules:

  1. Edexcel GCSE Scheme of Work module 1 meeting customer needs
  2. Edexcel GCSE Scheme of Work module 2 marketing
  3. Edexcel GCSE Scheme of Work module 3 effective people management
  4. Edexcel GCSE Scheme of Work module 4 effective financial management
  5. Edexcel GCSE Scheme of Work module 5 the wider world

Each GCSE scheme of work embeds new teaching strategies to achieve the following aims:

  • to improve the teaching and learning of Business Studies at GCSE level by implementing and monitoring new strategies, particularly in relation to the development of Business Studies language already identified as a barrier to pupil learning, particularly for the less able and multilingual pupils;
  • to monitor the effects of new teaching and learning strategies on both attainment and attitude; to develop students' Personal Learning and Personal Skills;
  • to determine the processes of reviewing and monitoring students' performance within schools including the processes of action planning and recording of achievement in the subject;
  • to enhance more education/business links through partnerships, and curriculum development;
  • to broaden access to work through encouraging the school to introduce a wider range of vocational qualifications and work related opportunities;
  • to develop partnerships to enhance the planning of education and training provision.

Classroom Notes

These Classroom notes are written in a new and different way from existing text books, to cater for examination demands, and promote student evaluation and reflection skills. The notes include coloured diagrams to illustrate and explain key points in the syllabus and key terms for each module.

GCSE Classroom Notes - Customer service

1. Benefits of customer service
2. Codes of practice
3. Consistent and reliable service
4. Customer needs and expectations

GCSE Classroom Notes - Business location

1. Current industrial trends
2. Factors affecting location
3. Government influence on location
4. Key terms
5. Channels of distribution

GCSE Classroom Notes - Business Structure Decisions

1. Organisational chart
2. Features of business organisation
3. Organisational structure in small business
4. Organisational structure in large business
5. Functional areas
6. Formal and informal structure
7. Span of control
8. Chain of command
9. Matrix structure
10. General job roles
11. Decision making in businesses
12. Factors affecting decision making
13. Communication and effective decision making
14. Leadership
15. Delegation
16. Pressure groups
17. Effect of government law on business decisions
18. Key terms

GCSE Classroom Notes - External influences

1. External Influences
2. Decisions and business cycle
3. Inflation notes
4. Unemployment
5. GDP
6. Government economic policy
7. Exchange Rate
8. Interest Rate
9. Import and Export
10. Taxes
11. Effect of The Government Law on Business Decisions
12. Business Cycles
13. Unemployment
14. Decisions and Business Cycle
15. Personal Qualities
16. Reasons for success/failure in the enterprise
17. Secondary sources for help and information
18. Nature of reward and risk taking
19. Factors affecting decision
20. SWOT Analysis

GCSE Classroom Notes - Finance

1. Introduction to finance
2. Methods of raising finance
3. Breakeven
4. Budget
5. Cash flow forecast
6. Trading account
7. Profit and loss account
8. Balance sheet
9. Types of capital
10. Financial ratios
11. Ratios at a glance
12. Ratio revision
13. Finance key terms
14. Employed capital
15. Types of assets
16. Types of cost
17. Types of liability
18. Working capital

GCSE Classroom Notes - Marketing

1. Field Research
2. Meaning of Marketing
3. The Marketing Mix
4. The Dynamic nature of Marketing
5. Marketing Objectives
6. Market research notes
7. Desk Research
8. Product Development
9. Sampling Methods
10. Market research report
11. Product life cycle
12. Advertising
13. Promotion
14. Sales promotion
15. Introduction to pricing
16. Public relation
17. Promotional Campaign
18. Pricing Strategies
19. Marketing Key Terms
20. Channels of Distribution
21. Consumer protection

GCSE Classroom Notes - People at work

1. Functional structure
2. The recruitment process
3. Methods of application
4. Appointment
5. Training
6. Motivation
7. Dismissal
8. Communication
9. Technological considerations
10. Employment findings
11. Terms of employment
12. Determining wages
13. Types of tax
14. Key terms
15. Freelance work
16. Full-time employment
17. Introduction to employment patterns
18. Part-time employment
19. Permanent employment
20. Seasonal jobs
21. Temporary employment
22. Voluntary jobs
23. Deduction from pay
24. Determining wages
25. Job description
26. Job specification
27. Methods of recruitment
28. Motivation theories
29. Pay rates

GCSE Classroom Notes - Production

1. Wants and needs
2. Functions of money
3. Specialisation
4. Types of market
5. Industrial sectors
6. Factors of production
7. The production function
8. Chain of production
9. Methods of production
10. Product design
11. Stock control
12. Measuring quality
13. The role of technology
14. Opportunity cost in types of economy
15. Production key terms
16. Types of product
17. Market share
18. Scope of market

GCSE Classroom Notes - Setting up a business

1. Borrowing
2. Business plan
3. Choosing a business idea
4. Credit
5. Government
6. How to choose the best method of finance
7. Owner's money
8. Personal qualities
9. Reasons for the success or failure of enterprise
10. Retained profit
11. Secondary-sources of help and information
12. Selling assets
13. The nature and reward of risk taking

GCSE Classroom Notes - Types of Ownership

1. Co-operative
2. Types of economy
3. Business Classification
4. Businesses Objectives
5. Objectives in the private sector
6. Types of ownership in the private sector
7. Sole trader
8. Partnership
9. Limited Companies
10. Setting up a limited company
11. Types of limited company
12. Franchise
13. Public sector ownership
14. Public sector objectives
15. Types of ownership in the public sector
16. Nationalisation and Privatisation
17. Reasons for Privatisation
18. Economies and diseconomies of scale
19. Integration
20. Multinationals
21. Reasons for having small firms
22. Factors which affect business activities
23. Key terms-types
24. Businesses Classification by size

Debates

Rose Edge Wind Farm Debate

Teachers' package

This pack is one of the Rose Edge Wind Farm Debate series. It is aimed at Business Studies teachers who teach GCSE and AS. The pack contains background information and details about the Rose Edge Wind Farm Debate. It provides teachers with guidelines on how to organise and prepare students for the simulation.

Adviser's pack -company

This pack is one of the Rose Edge Wind Farm Debate series. It is aimed at Business advisers who are going to take part along side students, and representing Hessle Company in the debate. The pack contains background information and details about Rose Edge Wind Farm Debate. It also provides advisers with guidelines regarding their role in the play.

Advisers' pack -council

This pack is one of the Rose Edge Wind Farm Debate series. It is aimed at Business advisers who are going to take part along side students, and represent Barnsley council in the debate. The pack contains background information and details about Rose Edge Wind Farm Debate. It also provides advisers with guidelines regarding their role in the play.

Students-company

This pack is one of the Rose Edge Wind Farm Debate series. It is aimed at Business students who are representing Hessle Company in the debate. The pack contains background information and details about Rose Edge Wind Farm Debate. It also provides students with guidelines regarding their role in the play.

Students-council

This pack is one of the Rose Edge Wind Farm Debate series. It is aimed at Business students who are representing Barnsley Council in the debate. The pack contains background information and details about Rose Edge Wind Farm Debate. It also provides students with guidelines regarding their role in the play.

Students' workbook

This pack is one of the Rose Edge Wind Farm Debate series. It is aimed at Business students who are representing Hessle Company and the council in the debate. The pack contains questions, which students have to answer while they are debating their issues. It is strongly recommended that students work in this book while they are preparing their answers, as it draws their attention to what they need to focus on.

Arbitrators' pack

This pack is one of the Rose Edge Wind Farm Debate series. It is aimed at people who are representing arbitrators in the debate. The pack contains background information and details about Rose Edge Wind Farm Debate. It also provides arbitrators with guidelines regarding their role in the play.

Crash

This is an example of a small simulation, which was organised successfully for year 10 groups. The simulation took place in classroom and lasted for only 1 hour and 30 minutes. The students' enjoyed the event and their feedback was rewarding and encouraging.

Gaboor

The exercise simulates a meeting of a Select Committee of the House of Commons representing three political parties in Gaboor. Gaboor is a small country in the Far East near China; it has been established recently after gaining its independence from China. The Select Committee of the House of Commons in Gaboor has been established to investigate the possibilities of choosing an economic system, which is efficient and workable. The Select Committee consists of three different political parties:

  1. Right Wing party
  2. Left Wing party
  3. Moderate party

This role-play exercise considers the role of both government and the private sector in relation to the ownership and the control of resources in each type of economy. This could be achieved through raising the question of the advantages and disadvantages of each economic system.

Privatisation

This exercise is aimed at GCSE students. It simulates a meeting of a Select Committee of the House of Commons to discuss the effect of privatising Channel 4, prisons and water on the economy. The present Labour government has decided to form a Select Committee of the House of Commons to discuss the impact of privatisation on the UK economy.

Students have to debate and discuss the implications of privatising these vital industries of the UK economy.

Who pays the price of Zerica?

ZERICA is a small chemical company, its premier manufacturing site is off Leeds Road (A62). The company has unveiled recently plans to invest more than £15 million on a new plant at its Huddersfield works. A planning application has been submitted to Kirkella council for a new plant to make Pyrethroid Insecticide Precursor (PIP), a key chemical in making Insecticides.

Local residents in Leeds Road are strongly against the building of the new plant. They exercise pressure on Kirkella Council to prevent the building planning permission of the new plant being granted.

Workers at ZERICA are also very concerned about the health and safety aspects in the chemical plants.

In this debate students are going to discuss the implications of the new plants on the local area.

Student resources which promote differentiation

1. GCSE Case Studies

These case studies are aimed at GCSE students across all syllabuses. They are based on real or fictional business scenarios which help to promote students' application skills. Our GCSE Scheme of work refers to and is cross referenced with all these case studies.

GCSE Case Studies - Business Objectives

1. Rentokil
2. Kirklees Council
3. Boots
4. Peugeot
5. Bodyshop
6. Oxfam
7. British Waterways
8. Local/Central Government
9. Wild Rice

GCSE Case Studies - Business Structure

1. Ali and Petal Partnership
2. Fastbus
3. BP
4. Cultural changes at Marks and Spencer
5. Job Roles in KLT Distribution
6. Alliance and Leicester
7. Communications at Marks and Spencer
8. International communications at Marks and Spencer

GCSE Case Studies - External Influences

1. Business Failure
2. External Influences on small businesses

GCSE Case Studies - Finance

1. Ritetime Watch Company

GCSE Case Studies - Location

1. Setting up a nursery

GCSE Case Studies - Marketing

1. Coca Cola
2. Bodyshop
3. Signwriters Ltd

GCSE Case Studies - People

1. ICL

GCSE Case Studies - Production

1. Joseph Dobsons
2. Light Delight

GCSE Case Studies - Types of Ownership

1. Wild Rice
2. Partnerships
3. Joseph Dobsons
4. Peter the Gardener
5. BT Dividends
6. Unilever shareholders
7. Marks and Spencer
8. Healthy Bakery
9. Chey International
10. Co-operatives
11. Speedy M & V

GCSE End of Module Case Studies

1. Finance
2. Location
3. Marketing
4. People
5. Production
6. Types of Ownership
7. Business Structure and Decisions

2. Activities

(i) Setting up a business - Induction

This pack introduces the student to their new GCSE Business Studies course.

GCSE Student Activities - Setting up a business - Induction

These activities help to introduce students to the GCSE course. They help students to understand
  1. The quality which needed to set up a business
  2. The internal factors which affect a business
  3. The external factors, which affect a business
These activities also help students to realise areas of their strengths and weaknesses, and their time management skills.

(ii) Location Activities

These activities are aimed at students who study GCSE Business Studies. It complements classroom-business location notes. It could also be use with the delivery of the business location module.

GCSE Student Activities - Location

1. Govt influence on location
2. Place

(iii) Business structure and decision module activities

These activities are aimed at students who study GCSE Business Studies. It complements classroom-business structure and decision module notes. It could also be use with the delivery of the business structure and decision module.

GCSE Student Activities - Business Structure Decisions

1. Can you identify me?
2. Chain of command activity
3. Constraints on business decisions
4. External and internal communication activity
5. I am a managing director
6. Organisational chart and specialisation
7. Organisational chart scale scope types ownership
8. Pyramids of success
9. Span of control and organisational chart
10. Styles of leadership
11. Communications
12. Methods of Communication
13. Organisational chart and specialisation
14. Pyramid structure activity
15. Organisational chart for our school
16. Who makes the decisions?

(iv) Finance activities

These activities are aimed at students who study GCSE Business Studies. It complements classroom-finance notes. It could also be use with the delivery of the finance module.

GCSE Student Activities - Finance

1. Methods of raising finance
2. Don't call them money
3. Coloured breakeven point
4. The mug activity
5. Cashflow and inflow
6. External influences on breakeven
7. Balance sheet
8. Which account will you get me from?

(v) Marketing Activities

These activities are aimed at students who study GCSE Business Studies. It complements classroom-marketing notes. It could also be use with the delivery of the marketing module.

GCSE Student Activities - Marketing

1. Adverts activity
2. Supply and demand
3. Market research
4. Market segments
5. Product life cycle
6. Promotions and business objectives
7. Supply and demand
8. The marketing mix and types of economy
9. The marketing mix
10. Types of market and supply and demand
11. Types of ownership and the marketing mix

(vi) People at work Activities

These activities are aimed at students who study GCSE Business Studies. It complements classroom-people at work notes. It could also be use with the delivery of the people at work module.

GCSE Student Activities - People at Work

1. Contract of employment
2. Do not call them people
3. Organisational chart and labour turnover
4. Training
5. Who is the interviewer?

(vii) Production Activities

These activities are aimed at students who study GCSE Business Studies. It complements classroom-production notes. It could also be use with the delivery of the production module.

GCSE Student Activities - Production

1. Methods of production
2. Production sectors
3. Stock control activity
4. Types of market
5. Types ownership and industrial sectors
6. Products
7. Which method of production?
8. Paper Boat activity

(viii) Types of Ownership Activities

These activities are aimed at students who study GCSE Business Studies. It complements classroom-types of ownership notes. It could also be use with the delivery of the types of ownership module.

GCSE Student Activities - Types of Ownership

1. Types of vertical merger
2. Types of economy
3. Is the bigger better?
4. Privatization and nationalization
5. Privatisation
6. Scale and Scope activity
7. Franchise
8. Economies and diseconomies of scale
9. Integration
10. A business or a company?
11. Types of company
12. Where do I belong?
13. Difference between a franchise and multinational
14 Workers co-operative
15. Multinational
16. Types of ownership activity
17. Problems and Solutions
18. Which type of Economy?
19. Types of Ownership Vol 2
20. Privatisation
21. Which company

GCSE Exam Revision questions

  1. Location
  2. Production
  3. Types of ownership
  4. Business structure and decisions
  5. Marketing
  6. Finance
  7. People
  8. External influences
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