Year 12 Business

Welcome to Business!

You will enjoy learning about how the firms around you make decisions and why some are so very successful, whilst others just can’t seem to get it right. In the future, perhaps you will put this knowledge to good use in your own company. Maybe there is an entrepreneur in you just waiting to leap into the world of business!

You will be following the Edexcel syllabus, which is broken down into four units. In the first two units you will sweep through all the basic concepts involved in running a business including Marketing, Human Resources and Finance. In Year 2 you will review some of these concepts, analysing them in more depth and also study how Businesses work in the global environment.

What to expect from Business…

Business will take you through a range of elements that contribute to the successful operation of businesses. All the topics will be interrelated and you will find you already know more than you thought you did. You will, however, learn a lot of new vocabulary and business jargon and it is crucial that you start to use this vocabulary regularly, both in and out of lessons. Once you have been taken through each concept, theory or idea, you will be expected to be able to apply it to a variety of different case studies, identifying similarities and differences between the various scenarios visited.

You must always…

1. Arrive at lessons on time. Time is short and we must make the most of our limited lesson time so we do not have to rush through important topics towards the end of the year.
2. Prepare assigned work by the date set by the teacher. This may be used as the basis for the next lesson and you will not be able to take advantage of that lesson if you have not done the necessary preparation.
3. Complete assessed homework on time – very important if you are to get the quality feedback that will enable your success. (If you leave too long between the lesson and the homework, you will find it much more difficult to complete.)
4. Keep your notes organised. You will revise mostly from notes taken during lessons and assigned work. If this is not well organised you will be lost when it comes to preparing for examinations. (Many students find it useful to copy out notes after each lesson… this may seem like a waste of time, but it will actually cement the knowledge into your brain, and is a good habit to develop; it will give your ongoing efforts a focus.)
5. Ask questions immediately if you are unsure of what is being discussed in lessons. Don’t wait, hoping for it to make sense later. Information is organised so it builds on previous material so you need to address problem areas as soon as possible.
6. Find out what has been done in lessons you have missed (though there won’t be many!) It is your responsibility to write up any notes and, more importantly, to make sure you understand what was learned during that lesson. Ask your peers to explain it to you, read about it in the textbook or on the intranet and, if you are still uncertain, ask the teacher. You must not fall behind – we will move quickly.
7. Keep up with current Business affairs discussed in the media. (Surbiton Sunrise on a Friday morning helps here!).  These will include news about specific firms or products and general discussions of trends or performance across the economy as a whole.

Year 1 Scheme of Work

Below is the link to the Scheme of Work we will be following throughout the year. You should use this resource as your ‘guide’ for the year, as it includes all content we will be covering and resources linked to each individual topic. It will be worthwhile for you to look ahead at the scheme of work and read through the chapters associated with the lesson beforehand to ensure you come to the lessons prepared in order to maximise learning.

Here is the exam board ‘Getting Started’ guide – a cheat sheet for each topic in Year 12.

Holiday Work

You need to start thinking like a Business person. Although you haven’t learned any theory yet, you can start to become aware of the business environment that is all around you. During the summer, you must complete the task below; this is to be ready to present at the first lesson in September.
Collect a variety of newspaper clippings (8 – 10) that you think relate to Business Studies. For each one, make some bullet points to summarise it. Why is each story important or newsworthy? You will be presenting these to the class, using your summaries as the basis of your presentation. (Some of the issues that would be relevant would include firms merging or breaking apart, companies reporting success or failure, business launching new products eg. Apple upgrading the iPhone, etc.)