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Subjects

A-Level Business

Tips

A-Level Business (9609) covers five areas — business and its environment, human resources, marketing, operations, and finance and accounting — first at AS, then again at A2, where you look at the same five strategically rather than descriptively.

Almost every mark above the first is contextual. The case study is not decoration: an answer about "a business" earns the knowledge mark and stops. The same answer tied to that company's margins, market or workforce also earns application and analysis.

The top band always wants a judgement with a reason, not a list of advantages and disadvantages.

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Past Papers
  • 1

    Business and its environment

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    • 1.1 Why businesses exist
    • 1.1 Adding value
    • 1.1 Entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs
    • 1.1 The business plan
    • 1.2 Sectors of business activity
    • 1.2 Private and public sectors
    • 1.2 Legal structures of business
    • 1.2 Limited and unlimited liability
    • 1.3 The size of a business
    • 1.3 Business growth
    • 1.3 Economies and diseconomies of scale
    • 1.4 Aims, objectives and mission
    • 1.4 Types of business objective
    • 1.5 Stakeholders
    • 1.5 Exam tips
  • 2

    Human resource management

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    • 2.1 What human resource management does
    • 2.1 Workforce planning, recruitment and selection
    • 2.1 Training and development
    • 2.1 Ending employment
    • 2.1 Rights and managing change
    • 2.1 Measuring the workforce
    • 2.2 Why motivation matters
    • 2.2 Theories of motivation
    • 2.2 Financial motivators
    • 2.2 Non-financial motivators
    • 2.3 Management and its functions
    • 2.3 Leadership versus management
    • 2.3 Exam tips
  • 3

    Marketing

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    • 3.1 The role of marketing
    • 3.1 Market size, growth and share
    • 3.1 Mass and niche markets
    • 3.1 Market segmentation
    • 3.1 Demand, supply and elasticity
    • 3.2 Market research
    • 3.3 The marketing mix
    • 3.3 Product
    • 3.3 Price
    • 3.3 Place and promotion
    • 3.3 Exam tips
  • 4

    Operations management

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    • 4.1 What operations management does
    • 4.1 Productivity and efficiency
    • 4.1 Capital- and labour-intensive operations
    • 4.1 Methods of production
    • 4.1 Sustainability and technology
    • 4.2 Inventory and why it matters
    • 4.2 Inventory control charts
    • 4.2 Just-in-time and just-in-case
    • 4.3 Capacity utilisation
    • 4.3 Outsourcing
    • 4.3 Exam tips
  • 5

    Finance and accounting

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    • 5.1 Why a business needs finance
    • 5.1 Capital and revenue expenditure
    • 5.1 Working capital
    • 5.1 Cash is not the same as profit
    • 5.2 Sources of finance
    • 5.2 Choosing a source of finance
    • 5.3 Cash-flow forecasts
    • 5.3 Cash-flow problems and how to fix them
    • 5.4 Costs and how we classify them
    • 5.4 Break-even analysis
    • 5.5 Budgets and variances
    • 5.5 Exam tips
  • 6

    Business and its environment (A Level)

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    • 6.1 External influences on business
    • 6.1 The business cycle
    • 6.1 Interest rates
    • 6.1 Exchange rates
    • 6.1 Inflation
    • 6.1 Taxation and unemployment
    • 6.1 Political, legal and social influences
    • 6.1 Technological, environmental and ethical influences
    • 6.2 What strategy means
    • 6.2 SWOT analysis
    • 6.2 Other planning tools
    • 6.2 Exam tips
  • 7

    Human resource management (A Level)

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    • 7.1 Organisational structure
    • 7.1 Key terms in structure
    • 7.1 Centralisation and decentralisation
    • 7.1 Delayering and matrix structures
    • 7.1 Delegation and accountability
    • 7.2 Business communication
    • 7.2 Barriers to communication
    • 7.3 Leadership styles
    • 7.3 Emotional intelligence and leading change
    • 7.4 Hard and soft HRM
    • 7.4 Employer-employee relations and trade unions
    • 7.4 Exam tips
  • 8

    Marketing (A Level)

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    • 8.1 Marketing analysis
    • 8.1 Sales forecasting and time-series analysis
    • 8.1 Correlation
    • 8.1 Using elasticity in marketing decisions
    • 8.2 Marketing planning and strategy
    • 8.2 Ansoff's matrix
    • 8.2 Product portfolio analysis
    • 8.2 Entering international markets
    • 8.2 Exam tips
  • 9

    Operations management (A Level)

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    • 9.1 Location and relocation
    • 9.1 International location
    • 9.1 The optimum scale of operation
    • 9.2 Why quality matters
    • 9.2 Methods of managing quality
    • 9.3 Operations strategy: lean production
    • 9.3 Capacity management and technology
    • 9.3 Critical path analysis
    • 9.3 Exam tips
  • 10

    Finance and accounting (A Level)

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    • 10.1 Financial statements
    • 10.1 The income statement
    • 10.1 The statement of financial position
    • 10.1 Depreciation
    • 10.1 How stakeholders use financial statements
    • 10.2 Ratio analysis
    • 10.2 Profitability ratios
    • 10.2 Liquidity ratios
    • 10.2 Efficiency and gearing ratios
    • 10.2 Limitations of ratio analysis
    • 10.3 Investment appraisal
    • 10.3 Payback, ARR and NPV
    • 10.4 Finance and accounting strategy
    • 10.4 Exam tips

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