Unit 1 - Introduction to Business Management

• The nature of business (AO1)

• Primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary sectors (AO2)

• Entrepreneurship (AO2)

• Challenges and opportunities for starting up a business (AO2)

• Business Plan (AO2)

• SWOT Analysis (AO2)

• STEEPLE Analysis (AO2)

Distinction between the private and the public sectors (AO2) 

The main features of the following types of organizations (AO3): 

• Sole traders 

• Partnerships 

• Privately held companies 

• Publicly held companies 

The main features of the following types of for-profit social enterprises (AO3): 

• Private sector companies 

• Public sector companies 

• Cooperatives 

The main features of the following type of non-profit social enterprise (AO3): 

•  Non-governmental organizations (NGOs). 

• Vision statement and mission statement AO2

• Common business objectives including growth, profit, protecting shareholder value and ethical objectives AO2

• Strategic and tactical objectives AO3

• Corporate social responsibility (CSR) AO3

• Circular Business Models (AO2)

• Internal stakeholders (AO2) 

• External stakeholders (AO2) 

• Conflict between stakeholders (AO2) 

• Internal and external economies and diseconomies of scale (AO2)

• The difference between internal and external growth (AO2)

• Reasons for businesses to grow (AO3)

• Reasons for businesses to stay small (AO3)

• External growth methods (AO3):

  • • Mergers and acquisitions (M&As)

    • Takeovers

    • Joint ventures

    • Strategic alliances

    • Franchising

• Ansoff Matrix (AO2)

• Force Field Analysis (AO2)

• The impact of multinational companies (MNCs) on the host countries (AO3)