Business

Bridging Unit

2020

Business

Content

1) Introduction

a. The course.

2) Getting Organised –Ready To Learn – Your Folder(s)

3) Taking Notes

a. In lessons

b. Study Period

c. Diagrams

d. Marketing and People notes activities

e. Managing a business notes activities

4) Learning the Terminology

a. Glossaries

b. Retrieval Practice

5) In the News

a. How to stay up to date

b. Practice activities

6) Extended Activities

7) Suggested Reading

8) Task Checklist

Business

Introduction

This unit of work is designed to get you ready to start your A Level learning journey as

successfully as possible. A Levels are different from GCSEs in a couple of ways. Firstly, they

study a subject in far more depth. This means that you have much more to learn and you

cannot afford to leave that learning to the last minute. Secondly, you are expected to be an

independent learner. It will not be enough to turn up to lessons, do the activities, do the

homework and feel good about yourself. You must read up in advance about the work so

that you come to lessons with a little learning already. You will need to research topics that

you do not understand for yourself. You should then revisit those topics to ensure you have

learnt them.

A Levels, whichever subjects you choose, can be hugely rewarding if you put the time in. The

more you study, the more you will get out of them and not just in terms of grades.

The activities in this booklet are to get you ready to study. Read each section carefully and

work through the activities as you go. You should aim to do the research activities after

results day, but you can do them beforehand if you have time.

a) The Course – Year 12

In year 12, we cover the following topics. Use the specification code and titles on your work

and as a guide for how to subdivide your folders.

Theme 1 Marketing and People

Topic Content

1.1 Meeting customer needs 1.1.1 The market

1.1.2 Market research

1.1.3 Market positioning

1.2 Markets 1.2.1 Demand

1.2.2 Supply

1.2.3 Markets

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1.2.4 Price elasticity of demand

1.2.5 Income elasticity of demand

1.3 Marketing mix and strategy 1.3.1 Product/service design

1.3.2 Branding and promotion

1.3.3 Pricing strategies

1.3.4 Distribution

1.3.5 Marketing strategy

1.4 Managing people 1.4.1 Approaches to staffing

1.4.2 Recruitment, selection and training

1.4.3 Organisational design

1.4.4 Motivation in theory and practice

1.4.5 Leadership

1.5 Entrepreneurs and leaders 1.5.1 Role of an entrepreneur

1.5.2 Entrepreneurial motives and characteristics

1.5.3 Business objectives

1.5.4 Forms of business

1.5.5 Business choices

1.5.6 Moving from entrepreneur to leader

Theme 2 Managing Business Activities

Topic Content

2.1 Raising Finance 2.1.1 Internal finance

2.1.2 External finance

2.1.3 Liability

2.1.4 Planning

2.2 Financial Planning 2.2.1 Sales forecasting

2.2.2 Sales, revenue and costs

2.2.3 Break-even

2.2.4 Budgets

2.3 Managing finance 2.3.1 Profit

2.3.2 Liquidity

2.3.3 Business Failure

2.4 Resource Management 2.4.1 Production, productivity and efficiency

2.4.2 Capacity utilisation

2.4.3 Stock control

2.4.4 Quality management

2.5 External Influences 2.5.1 Economic Influences

2.5.2 Legislation

2.5.3 The Competitive Environment

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Getting Organised

Equipment for each lesson

• Pens

• Pencils

• Eraser

• 30cm Ruler

• A4 Paper

• Calculator

• Folder

Folders

Folders are a personal to everyone and to start with, you are not going to have much work to

put in them, but that will change. You should have a folder for each subject and that folder

should have dividers for each topic of your course. See the course content section above as

a guide.

As you progress through the year, you will have a lot of work. It probably is not advisable to

carry all your work around with you in case it is lost or damaged. Therefore, you may want

to use a day folder that just contains your notes on the topic you are covering.

Going Electronic

One way around this is to go electronic and use Class notebook to store your notes virtually.

That way your will have them all the time. Any handwritten work can be scanned using an

app like Office Lens and you will always have it with you. N.B. Your class notebook should

be subdivided and all pages correctly titled.

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Task One – Preparing Folders

Buy a lever arch folder for your work and a couple of sets of dividers to subdivide your folder

into the main topic areas identified in the content section of this booklet.

Taking Notes

In lessons

You cannot write everything down in a lesson, but you should be making notes on what the

teacher is saying. You can do this effectively with:

• Bullets points,

• Abbreviations for frequently used words

• Mind maps of the key issues

• Noting down key terms and highlighting them. You can check definitions later if you

are pushed for time

• Always make a note of what is on the board.

You should go over your notes to check for understanding as soon as possible after the

lesson. You might need to tidy them up or look up points that you are confusing you. You

should also reread your last lesson’s notes shortly before the next lesson. It will help you to

make connections in the learning and make the next lesson easier for you.

Study Periods

This is where the real hard work happens. Get settled for study sessions promptly. It is easy

lose lots of time by drifting in, spending ages logging on, finding your folder and deciding

what you are going to do. Have a plan, effective students have a clear “To Do” list and are

more productive because of it.

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You will need to do your pre-reading in your study sessions. The textbook is available on

Pearson Activelearn and should be the starting point for your notes. There are a number of

additional sources you should access.

Do not write everything down when you are making notes. Try using

• Acronyms

• Tables and mindmaps to summarise data

• Annotate presentation slides with explanations

• Highlight points that you need to read up on or ask questions about.

• Go over your class notes and add to them.

Diagrams

These are key for your work on markets. Drawing them is a skill and you should practice

them as much as possible.

You need to ACE your diagrams; this means Axes, Curves and Equilibrium points need to be

labelled. In addition, do not forget the ABC of diagram drawing. Accuracy (use a ruler and a

pencil), Big (no smaller than about 10 cm square) and Clear (it needs to show what is

happening without confusing the reader)

Finally, you need explain your diagrams and refer to your labelling in your work.

Marketing notes activity

Task Two – Demand – “In class” activity

Watch this video https://youtu.be/YuV9RRqahVY Imagine you are in a lesson. Copy the key

points from the slide. Annotate with the information that Carlo gives you. Use the prompts

below to help you.

• What does the demand curve show you?

• Who supplies and demands goods and services?

Business

• What is the relationship between Price and Demand

• Draw a fully labelled demand curve

• How do we find the quantity demanded at a specific price?

• What does a movement along the demand curve

• What other factors affect demand?

• How do we show this on a demand curve?

Task Three – Price Elasticity of Demand – “pre-reading” activity

Here are three resources from which you should use prepare a set of leaning notes on Price

Elasticity of Demand. We encourage students to “triangulate” their reading as much a

possible; this provides you with an opportunity to look at a number of different views on the

same topic. One of these views might just be the trigger that makes the topic “click”.

• https://www.tutor2u.net/business/reference/price-elasticity-of-demand

• https://www.aqa.org.uk/resources/business/as-and-a-level/business-7131-

7132/teach/teaching-guide-price-elasticity-of-demand

• https://www.slideshare.net/tutor2u/tutor2u-price-elasticity-of-demand

Ensure you cover:

• What Price Elasticity of Demand is

• How you calculate it

• What it tells a business about the effect of price changes

Managing a business notes activities

Task Four – Sources of Finance – “In class” activity

Now watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8hIwQ5xFY8

Copy the key points from the slide. Annotate with the information that the teacher gives

you. Use the prompts below to help you.

• What two objectives should the source of finance satisfy?

• What three sources is internal finance most likely to come from?

• What other sources of internal finance may a business use?

• What is external finance?

• What methods might a business use to gain external finance?

• What reassurance may a lender want before giving a loan?

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• What is an overdraft? What are the potential problems of a business using an

overdraft?

• Explain the difference between a venture capitalist and a bank loan.

• What is ordinary share capital?

• Where could owners get additional funds?

Task Five – Business Location – “pre-reading” activity

Use these two web resources to create a set of notes on how business decide on where to

locate:

https://www.tutor2u.net/business/reference/business-location-introduction

https://www.tutor2u.net/business/reference/business-location-revision-presentation

Ensure you cover:

• Explain the main factors that influence the location of a business and what are the

benefits.

• What are the supply factors that would influence location?

• What are the demand factors that would influence location?

• For each of the demand and supply factors use a real world example to illustrate.

Make sure that you have the business name and an explanation

• What are multi-site locations?

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of multi-site locations?

• What is industrial inertia?

• Outline the qualitative and quantitative factors a firm may take in to account when

looking at a new location.

Task Six – Off-shoring – “In class” activity

Watch this video on Off-shoring. https://youtu.be/L2hyhI_j8S0

• What is off-shoring?

• What is the difference between outsourcing and offshoring?

• Why do business operate overseas?

• What problems may businesses face by locating overseas and offshoring?

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Task Seven – Exchange Rates – “In class” activity

Watch this video https://youtu.be/D7ggEPyfuvg and make your own notes on exchange

rates and how they affect businesses.

Learning the Terminology

Glossaries

There are many key terms that you need learn. Producing a glossary will help you. This

could be done by hand, but also electronically. You should build your glossary as you go.

The task below will help you make a start on this.

Retrieval Practice

This is all about regular and systematic testing of your recall of key terms. You can do this

very easily, by listing key words and practising writing definitions. We also will be using

Seneca to set online tests, but you can use it in between to check your understanding.

Whatever method you use, you must go over 10 terms a couple of times a week and

regularly go back over older key terms to keep them in your mind.

Task Eight - Glossary

Use Tutor2u https://www.tutor2u.net/business/reference to build a glossary of the following

key terms.

Marketing and People Terms

Marketing Mass Market/Niche

market Branding

Market Research Segmentation Product Differentiation

Marketing Mix Demand/Supply Equilibrium Price

Chain of Command Centralisation Span of Control

Organisational Chart Hierarchy Subordinates

Managing a Business Terms

Capital Contribution Creditors

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Debt Factoring Debtors External Finance

Fixed assets (non-current assets) Fixed costs Internal Finance

Overdraft Profit Share Capital

Trade Credit Venture Capitalism Variable costs

In the News

How to stay up to date

It is key that you know what it is going on in the world at A level. Students that have kept up

to date generally perform better in exams as their answers show a higher level of

understanding.

You can read and watch news from major news outlets. The Economist will also allow you

free access to several articles a month. You will be given a scrapbook to record your

research. Here you can glue in articles, charts, images and annotate them with explanations

using the theory you have covered. You could highlight key terms that you find and

signpost further research that you need to do. Try these two activities below to get you

started.

Practice activities

Task Nine – Demand in the News

Read this news article https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52350082.

• Highlight / annotate any factors affecting demand

• Consider the impact that the demand for oil has had on its price.

• What are the wider implications for consumers and businesses?

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• For a business that supplies heating oil for households for example, where the price

per litre has gone from 43p to 18p.

• How busy will the tanker drivers be?

Task Ten – Location in the News

Read this blog post https://www.tutor2u.net/business/blog/location-issues-offshoring-out-of-

china and this article https://www.ft.com/content/e10042a4-4260-11e8-97ce-

ea0c2bf34a0b?segmentId=778a3b31-0eac-c57a-a529-d296f5da8125

Print the article and annotate it to explain the issues that are affecting outsourcing decisions.

What are the likely impacts on firms and consumers?

Extended Activities

Task Eleven – Price Elasticity of Demand in Action

Based on you understanding from the above activities, use the information in the case study

to answer the question.

T Engineering Ltd is a family run business based in Chesterfield. It make three components

for the engines in microlight planes. The work is specialist and it has few rivals in this niche

market. At the end of 2019, the company had to make modifications to two of the

components (A and C) to comply with new safety regulations. As a result, the directors

decided to raise the price of the two items by 20%

The financial information is in table 1 on the next page.

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Table 1

Component Price Sales Volume PED

A £10 100000 -0.8

B £7 150000 -1.1

C £5 300000 -1.2

Questions

a) Explain one factor that might affect the PED of T Engineering Ltd’s products. (6 marks)

b) Calculate the expected change in revenue generated by product A and C if the price

change takes place. (8 marks)

c) Assess the possible impact on T Engineering of the price change (10 Marks)

d) To what extent will the use of PED help T Engineering make effective marketing decisions.

(12 marks)

Task 12 – Offshoring and Reshoring Chocolate Production

Read the following extract and complete the research & other tasks that follow

Case Study

Blue Riband is an iconic British chocolate bar. However, in 2017 manufacture of the bar was

switched by Nestle from four production lines located in the UK to a Nestle factory in Poland,

resulting the loss of 300 jobs.

Nestle’s decision to offshore production of Blue Riband was met with a hostile response by

trade unions representing its UK staff. Tim Roache, GMB General Secretary commented:

“Nestlé are throwing people’s lives, and those of their families, into turmoil for the sake of

increasing profit margins. These factories should be exporting chocolate – not people’s jobs.”

In response, Nestlé UK claimed that the relocation to Poland was to ensure that its existing

UK sites “operate more efficiently and remain competitive in a rapidly changing external

environment”.

Whilst there has been significant offshoring of UK confectionery production in recent

decades, it has not been a “one-way street”. In April 2017 Cadbury’ was reported to be

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“reshoring”, or returning the production of all its Dairy Milk bars to the UK again after it

originally moved some manufacturing to Poland.

Cadbury’s US owner Mondelez came under fire in 2016 after it was accused of breaking a

promise to keep making the chocolate bars in its Bournville factory. However, following a

£75 million investment at Bournville, which has significantly improved the factory’s

productivity, Mondelez has decided to return Dairy Milk production that was previously

moved from Bournville, back to the UK.

The choice of where to manufacture chocolate bars is a complex one, particularly for global

manufacturers like Mondelez and Nestle that have large numbers of factories around key

markets such as the EU and USA.

TASKS

a) Identify two arguments in favour and two against Nestle’s decision to offshore

production of Blue Riband to Poland

b) Discuss why productivity is such an important factor in determining the choice of

factory location for products like chocolate bars

c) Using the following figures explain how a significant depreciation (weakening) of the

Pound against the Euro affect the competitiveness of a chocolate manufacturer

operating in the UK and exporting products to the EU?

May 2017 GBP £1 = 1.33 Euro May 2020 £1 = 1.12 Euro

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Suggested Reading

It is important that you read as widely as possible about your subject. This is especially true

if there is a possibility that you might wish to study it further at university or as a career.

Here are some suggested books for you to consider:

1. Duncan Bannatyne - Anyone Can Do It

2. Richard Branson- Losing My Virginity

3. James Watt - Business For Punks

4. Daniel Pink - Drive

5. Terry Leahy - Management In Ten Words

6. Tim Harford - The Undercover Economist

7. Spencer Johnson- Who Moved My Cheese?

8. Dale Carnegie - How To Make Friends And Influence People

9. Evan Davies - Made in Britain

10. Blanchard - The New One Minute Manager

11. A Simms - Tescopoly

12. Judi Bevan - The Rise And Fall Of Marks And Spencer

13. Richard Branson - Screw It Lets Do It

14. Richard Branson - The Virgin Way

15. Theo Paphitis - Enter The Dragon

16. Alan Sugar - What You See Is What You Get

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Task Checklist

Task Description Completed

1 Preparing Folders

2 Demand – “In class” activity - Notes

3 Price Elasticity of Demand – “pre-reading” activity - Notes

4 Sources of Finance – “In class” activity - Notes

5 Business Location – “pre-reading” activity - Notes

6 Off-shoring – “In class” activity

7 Exchange Rates – “In class” activity

8 Glossary

9 Demand in the News – Scrapbook activity

10 Location in the News - Scrapbook activity

11 Price Elasticity of Demand in Action – Extended

12 Offshoring and Reshoring Chocolate Production - Extended

Ensure all tasks have clear heading and are filed neatly in your folder.