Business Management
Learning Area Leader: Ms Burley
VCE Business Management examines the ways businesses manage resources to achieve objectives. The VCE Business Management study design follows the process from the first idea for a business concept, to planning and establishing a business, through to the day-to-day management of a business. It also considers changes that need to be made to ensure continued success of a business. Students develop an understanding of the complexity of the challenges facing decision makers in managing these resources. A range of management theories are considered and compared with management in practice through contemporary case studies drawn from the past four years. Students will also learn to propose and evaluate alternative strategies to address the contemporary challenges in establishing and maintaining a business.
Career Paths / Future Directions
Business Manager, Projects Management, Human Resource Management, Finance, Marketing, Consulting, Business Start-up, Education
Unit 1 – Planning a Business (Code: BUSM11)
Description
Businesses of all sizes are major contributors to the economic and social wellbeing of a nation. Therefore, how businesses are formed and the fostering of conditions under which new business ideas can emerge are vital for a nation’s wellbeing. Taking a business idea and planning how to make it a reality are the cornerstones of economic and social development. In this unit students explore factors affecting business ideas and the internal and external environments within which businesses operate, and the effect of these on planning a business. They also consider the importance of the business sector to the national economy and social well-being.
Outcomes
· To describe how and why business ideas are created and developed.
· To describe the external environment of a business and explain how the macro and operating factors within it may affect business planning.
· To describe the internal environment and analyse how factors from within it may affect business planning.
Assessment
A range of tasks from the following:
· Case study analysis
· Business research (print and online)
· Interview and report of contact with business
· Business survey and analysis
· Analytical exercises
· Test
· Media analysis
· Report (written, visual, oral)
Unit 2 – Establishing a Business (Code: BUSM22)
Description
This unit focuses on the establishment phase of a business. Establishing a business involves compliance with legal requirements as well as making decisions about how best to establish a system of financial record keeping, staff the business and establish a customer base. In this unit students examine the legal requirements that must be met to establish a business. They investigate the essential features of effective marketing and consider the best way to meet the needs of the business in terms of staffing and financial record keeping.
Students analyse management practices by applying key knowledge to contemporary business case studies from the past four years.
Outcomes
· To outline the key legal requirements and financial record-keeping considerations when establishing a business and explain the importance of establishing effective policies and procedures to achieve compliance with these requirements.
· To explain how establishing a customer base and a marketing presence supports the achievement of business objectives, analyse effective marketing and public relations strategies and apply these strategies to business- related case studies.
· To discuss the importance of staff to a business, discuss the staffing needs for a business, and evaluate staff-management strategies from both an employer and staff perspective.
Assessment
Suitable tasks for assessment in this unit may be selected from the following:
· Case study analysis
· Short-answer and extended-answer structured questions
· Business research report
· Interview with and a report on a chosen business
· School-based, short-term business activity
· Business simulation exercise
· An essay
· Business survey and analysis
· Media analysis
Unit 3 – Managing a Business (Code: BUSM33)
Description
In this unit students explore the key processes and considerations for managing a business efficiently and effectively to achieve business objectives. Students examine different types of businesses and their respective objectives and stakeholders. They investigate strategies to manage both staff and business operations to meet objectives and develop an understanding of the complexity and challenge of managing businesses. Students compare theoretical perspectives with current practice using contemporary Australian and global business case studies from the past four years.
Outcomes
· Students should be able to analyse the key characteristics of businesses, their stakeholders, management styles and skills, and corporate culture.
· Students should be able to explain theories of motivation and apply them to a range of contexts and analyse and evaluate strategies related to the management of employees.
· Students should be able to analyse the relationship between business objectives and operations management and propose and evaluate strategies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of business operations.
Assessment
The students’ performance will be assessed using two or more of the following:
· A case study
· Structured questions
· An essay
· A report
· A media analysis
Unit 4 – Transforming a Business (Code: BUSM44)
Description
Businesses are under constant pressure to adapt and change to meet their objectives. In this unit students consider the importance of reviewing key performance indicators to determine current performance and the strategic management necessary to position a business for the future. Students study a theoretical model to undertake change and consider a variety of strategies to manage change in the most efficient and effective way to improve business performance. They investigate the importance of effective management and leadership in change management. Using one or more contemporary business case studies from the past four years, students evaluate business practice against theory.
Outcomes
· Students should be able to explain the way business change may come about, analyse why managers may take a proactive or reactive approach to change, use key performance indicators to analyse the performance of a business, explain the driving and restraining forces for change, and evaluate management strategies to position a business for the future.
· Students should be able to discuss the importance of effective management strategies and leadership in relation to change, evaluate the effectiveness of a variety of strategies used by managers to implement change, and discuss the effect of change on the stakeholders of a business.
Assessment
The students’ performance will be assessed using two or more of the following:
· A case study
· Structured questions
· An essay
· A report
· A media analysis.
Unit 3 & 4 Assessment
Units 3 & 4 Coursework = 50%
Written Examination = 50%