Aqa - Applied Bs - Teachers Guide

version 1.
General Certificate of Education
Applied Business
Teachers’ Guide
2006 Onwards
AQA ADVANCED SUBSIDIARY GCE 8611

AQA ADVANCED SUBSIDIARY GCE (DOUBLE AWARD) 8613
AQA ADVANCED GCE 8616
AQA ADVANCED GCE (DOUBLE AWARD) 8619
Further copies of this Teachers’ Guide are available to download from the AQA Website: www.aqa.org.uk
Copyright © AQA 2006 and its licensors. All rights reserved.
COPYRIGHT
AQA retains the copyright on all its publications, including the specimen units and mark schemes/teachers’ guides.
However, the registered centres of AQA are permitted to copy material from this booklet for their own internal use,
with the following important exception: AQA cannot give permission to centres to photocopy any material that is
acknowledged to a third part even for internal use within the centre.
Set and published by the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance.
The Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales 3644723 and a registered charity number 1073334.
Registered address AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX. Dr Michael Cresswell Director General.
AQA Advanced Subsidiary and A Level Teachers’ Guide - Applied Business
Contents
Background Information
1 Introduction 4
2 Specification at a Glance 5
3 The New Examination 8
Scheme of Assessment
4 External Assessment 9
5 Portfolio 13
Course Organisation
6 Delivery of the Course 52
7 Scheme of Work 63
Key Skills and Other Issues
8 Key Skills 113
9 Resources 117
10 Awarding and Reporting 120
11 Glossary of Terms 122
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Applied Business – AQA Advanced Subsidiary and A Level Teachers’ Guide
Background Information
1 Introduction
This Teachers’ Guide has been provided to assist teachers and
lecturers in their preparation for the delivery of courses based on the
new AQA Advanced Subsidiary (AS) and Advanced Level
(A Level) in Applied Business GCE. The guide should be read in
conjunction with the specification and the specimen assessment
material that accompanies it. These are available in hard copy and
also on the AQA Website www.aqa.org.uk
All Advanced Vocational Certificate of Education (VCE)

specifications have been revised to meet the requirements of the
Subject Criteria produced by QCA and to introduce an AS course of
study and assessment requirements. The title of these specifications,
GCE Advanced Subsidiary and GCE Advanced Level, reflect these
changes. In the development of the specifications, AQA has taken
into consideration the specifications it currently offers at this level
and has attempted, wherever possible, to include those aspects
which are known to be attractive to teachers and their candidates.
All AQA AS/A Level specifications have unit based structures and
this guide will assist teachers in the planning of the courses,
explaining, where appropriate, the implications of the availability of
assessment units.
This guide shows how Key Skills can be acquired and demonstrated,
indicating the potential for their delivery through this specification,
and providing details of any instances where the evidence of Key
Skills achievement will be automatically demonstrated.
4
2 Specification at a Glance
Applied Business
2.1 Qualifications Available GCE Advanced Subsidiary Single Award (3 AS units)
Units: 1, 2, 3.
GCE Advanced Subsidiary Double Award (6 AS units)
Units: 1, 2, 3 and three AS units from Units 4, 5, 6 and 7.
GCE Advanced Level Single Award (3 AS and 3 A2 units)
Units: 1, 2, 3 plus A2 Unit 8 and two A2 units (from A2 Units 9 –

16).
At least one of the A2 units must be externally assessed (ie Units 11,
12, 15).
GCE Advanced Level Double Award (6 AS and 6 A2 units)
Units: 1, 2, 3 plus three AS units (from AS Units 4, 5, 6 and 7), plus

A2 Unit 8 and five A2 units (from A2 Units 9 – 16).
At least two of the A2 units must be externally assessed (ie Units 11,
12, 15).
2.2 Requirements for In order to obtain the GCE Advanced Subsidiary Single Award, the
GCE AS Single Award entry code 8611 must be used and candidates must take the
following units:
Unit Title
Unit 1 Investigating Business
Unit 2 People in Business
Unit 3 Financial Planning and Monitoring (External Test)
Available for award from 2006.
5
2.3 Requirements for GCE AS In order to obtain the GCE Advanced Subsidiary Double Award, the
Double Award entry code 8613 must be used and candidates must take the following
units:
Unit Title
Unit 1 Investigating Business
Plus three units from the following including at least one external test
Unit 4 Meeting Customer Needs (External Test)
Unit 5 Business Communication and Information Systems

(External Test)
Unit 6 Developing a Product
Unit 7 Career Planning
2.4 Requirements for In order to obtain the GCE Advanced Level Single Award, the entry
GCE A Level Single Award code 8616 must be used and candidates must take the following units:
Unit Title
Compulsory AS Unit 1 Investigating Business
Compulsory A2 Unit 8 Business Planning
Plus two units from the following including at least one external test
Unit 9 Marketing Strategy
Unit 10 Promotional Activities
Unit 11 The Marketing Environment (External Test)
Unit 12 Managing People (External Test)
Unit 13 Managing Information
Unit 14 Managing Change
Unit 15 Financial Accounting for Managers (External Test)
Unit 16 Managing Resources
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AQA Advanced Subsidiary and A Level Teachers’ Guide – Applied Business
2.5 Requirements for In order to obtain the GCE Advanced Level Double Award, the entry
GCE A Level Double Award code 8619 must be used and candidates must take the following units:
Unit Title
Compulsory AS Unit 1 Investigating Business
Plus three AS units from the following including at least one external
test
Unit 4 Meeting Customer Needs (External Test)
Unit 5 Business Communication and Information Systems

(External Test)
Unit 6 Developing a Product
Unit 7 Career Planning
Compulsory A2 Plus five A2 units from the following including at least two external
tests
Unit 9 Marketing Strategy
Unit 10 Promotional Activities
Unit 11 The Marketing Environment (External Test)
Unit 12 Managing People (External Test)
Unit 13 Managing Information
Unit 14 Managing Change
Unit 15 Financial Accounting for Managers (External Test)
Unit 16 Managing Resources
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3 The New Examination

3.1 Introduction This new Advanced Level specification is composed of two parts.
The first part is the new Advanced Subsidiary, which is a
free-standing qualification. It may be combined with the second
part, A2, to form the Advanced Level qualification. The A2 does
not constitute a free-standing qualification in its own right.
Candidates may study a range of units at either AS or AS and A2 to
meet the requirements for single or double award qualifications.
3.2 Advanced Subsidiary As well as forming the first half of the Advanced Level, the
Advanced Subsidiary (AS) may be used as a stand-alone
qualification.
The AS has been designed to provide progression from GCSE and
other Level 2 qualifications to Advanced Level. The units that
comprise the AS qualifications will contain and assess the skills,
knowledge and understanding typically developed during the first
year of a two-year Advanced Level course.
3.3 A2 The A2 modules and assessment units will be more demanding than
those in the AS.
3.4 Advantages of the New The unit based structure of AS/Advanced Levels should be seen as
Structure the building blocks from which each candidate’s curriculum may be
developed. The demands (time and level) of each unit at AS or A2
in this new specification is equivalent to those in all other GCE
specifications.
3.5 Synoptic Assessment This is an assessment that tests candidates’ understanding of the
connections between the different elements of the subject, ensuring
that they have an overall grasp of the subject and not merely
six/twelve separate units of knowledge. Synoptic assessment is
included in the assessment scheme of A2 units only.
In this specification synoptic assessment is delivered through Unit 8
– Business Planning.
8
Scheme of Assessment
4 External Assessment
4.1 Introduction
The structure of the external All externally assessed units require candidates to answer questions
assessments based on case studies or scenarios. These case studies and scenarios
will not be pre-issued. For AS Unit 3 (Financial Planning and
Monitoring) a pre-issued research task will be produced for each
session. This research task will be sent to centres approximately 10
weeks before the date of the examination.
Both AS and A2 external assessments will use combined
question/answer booklets with line spaces provided. The number of
marks allocated to an individual question will determine the number
of line spaces provided.
AS external assessments are 1 hour in duration, although AS Unit 5
(Business Communication and Information Systems) has an
additional ½ hour due to the practical nature of the assessment. A2
external assessments are 1 ½ hours in duration.
AS external assessments will have approximately three questions.
Each question will be based on a case study or scenario, with
sub parts structuring candidate responses. These sub parts will
comprise of short answer, structured response and open-ended
questions. The short answer questions will target assessment
objectives AO1 and AO2. The structured response questions will
target all four assessment objectives, but will focus mainly on AO1,
AO2 and AO3. The open-ended questions will be restricted to the
latter part of each examination paper and will target all of the four
assessment objectives. Open-ended questions will also have marks
allocated to the quality of written communication.
A2 external assessments will use the same structure as the AS
assessments. However, a greater emphasis will be placed on
open-ended questions. In addition, the case studies and scenarios
will be more complex.
The purpose of the case The case studies and scenarios are intended to provide a framework
studies and scenarios for candidate responses, ie to provide key facts and information
about a business or practical task. Candidates will be required to
use the data contained within each case study or scenario when
answering individual questions. Candidates who ignore, or make
little use, of the data provided are likely only to gain marks
allocated to assessment criteria associated with AO1 and, therefore,
be unable to access the higher mark ranges. Centres are advised to
develop the ability of candidates to read, interpret and make use of
short case studies and scenarios by using these when teaching each
unit’s subject content.
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The external assessment case studies and scenarios will be based on

real world situations. Some of the case studies and scenarios will be
adapted from reports on actual business events, eg website news
reports. Other material will simulate real events, eg a case study of
a sole trader start-up.
The marking schemes In general, levels of response marking schemes will be used to mark
all AS and A2 external assessments. However, when appropriate,
‘mark per correct response’ schemes will also be used. This is likely
to be the case with short answer questions and questions requiring
calculations. For example, “State two sources of finance” would
receive a maximum of two marks with one mark awarded for each
correct source stated by a candidate.
The following table indicates key command words that are likely to
be used within the external assessments and maps these to the
targeted assessment objectives:
Command Assessment Objectives Marking scheme

word
State
Identify AO1 and possibly AO2 Mark per correct response
List
Mark per correct response
Describe AO1 and possibly AO2 OR
Levels of response
Explain AO1 and AO2 Levels of response
Analyse AO1, AO2 and AO3 Levels of response
Assess
AO1, AO2, AO3, AO4 and
Discuss
possibly Quality of Written Levels of response
Evaluate
Communication
Justify
The following is an example of a levels of response marking scheme

for a question targeting AO1 and AO2. The question is taken from
the specimen assessment material for Unit 4.
Question: Explain one way in which online retailing could
improve the level of customer service offered by a
business.
Level Descriptor Marks Objective

Explains one way in which online
3 3–4 AO2
retailing improves customer service.
Describes one way in which online
2 2
retailing improves customer service.
AO1
States one way in which online retailing
1 1
improves customer service.
Levels of response marking schemes are applied top-down. A
candidate’s response is first compared with the top level descriptor.
If the quality of the response does not match the top level descriptor,
the response is then compared with the next level descriptor and so
on.
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In the example used, the differentiator is whether the candidate

explains, describes or states. To gain a Level 3 mark, a candidate
would need to explain a practical example of how online retailing
helps to improve customer service. If the candidate restricts the
response to a description of the situation, with no application of
knowledge, then a Level 2 mark would be awarded. The candidate
who provides a basic statement or brief list would receive a Level 1
mark.
Please refer to the specimen assessment materials for further
examples.
Further guidance on the particular AS requirements of each
externally assessed unit can be found in sections 4.2 to 4.4.
4.2 AS Unit 3 – Financial For Unit 3 a research task will be issued 10 weeks before the date of
Planning and Monitoring the examination. The purposes of the pre-issued research task are:
• to provide an applied context for candidates
• to increase the accessibility of the examination.
The materials for the pre-issued research task will include:
• background material about the business the examination is
based on
• two research activities requiring candidates to investigate
aspects of the business’s financial planning and monitoring.
In the examination candidates will be provided with a fresh copy of
the pre-issued research task and additional information about the
business.
Candidates are not allowed to bring in their research notes or the
original copy of the pre-issued research task.
Centres should avoid completing the research tasks for candidates.
It is important that candidates carry out their own individual or
group research in order to apply what they have learned and
understood to a realistic business scenario.
The first examination question will ask candidates to comment on
what they have found out from the first research task.
The second research task is intended to assist candidates in
developing an overall understanding of the issues facing the
business. Questions relating to this research task are likely to be
located towards the end of the examination paper.
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4.3 AS Unit 4 – Meeting The sample assessment material illustrates the structure and
Customer Needs demands of this external assessment.
Centres should note that candidates may be required to outline a
customer research plan, the purpose of which will be stated in the
examination.
In addition, this unit requires candidates to understand how ICT is
used by business to meet customer needs. This is in terms of:
• collecting, storing and analysing customer data
• maintaining good customer relations.
In order to avoid generic responses from candidates (eg “ICT is
useful because it is quick and easy…”), centres could provide a
range of practical examples illustrating how local and national
businesses use ICT to identify and respond to customer needs.
4.4 AS Unit 5 – Business The sample assessment material illustrates the structure and
Communication and demands of this external assessment.
Information Systems Centres entering candidates for this unit will be issued with a
materials list at least 10 weeks before the date of the examination.
The materials list is a confidential document and will contain
instructions on the conduct of the examination. It will also contain
a hard copy of any data that needs to be prepared in electronic
format for candidate use during the examination.
Centres should note that during the examination candidates will be
required to:
• produce hand written responses to questions using the spaces
provided in the question paper
• use a computer work station to load, modify, save and print
electronic documents.
Candidates could be provided with at least one trial examination to
ensure that they are comfortable with these requirements. This
could also assist in ensuring that the computer equipment, to be
used during the examination, is functioning correctly.
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5 Portfolio
5.1 Introduction
Portfolio evidence Every portfolio unit in the qualification follows the same assessment
requirements evidence structure. Outlined in each “How you will be assessed”
section, candidates are required to “Produce a portfolio of
work…which”:
A Describes (at AS level), or explains (at A2 level), the
background to the investigation or practical activity. (AO1)
B Produces outcomes from the investigation or practical activity.
(AO2)
C Analyses research to inform the investigation or practical
activity. (AO3)
D Demonstrates judgement and evaluation in relation to the
investigation or practical activity. (AO4)
Requirement A
Candidates are asked to describe (at AS level), or explain (at A2
level), the background to the investigation or practical activity. This
aspect of the portfolio evidence focuses on assessment objective
AO1 (demonstrate knowledge, skills and understanding). It is likely
to be a distinct piece of evidence for every portfolio unit. It sets the
scene for each investigation and centres should ensure that
candidates complete this requirement before evidencing
Requirements B, C and D.
A consistent element of this requirement is that candidates collect
and use examples to illustrate the background to the investigation or
practical activity. Candidates should aim to provide realistic and
detailed examples wherever possible and appropriate. At A2,
examples should be in the context of the problem solving activity.
Requirement B
At AS level, candidates are asked to explain the outcome of the
investigation or practical activity. At A2 level, candidates are asked
to develop a solution to a business problem and explain how the
solution addresses the problem. This aspect of the portfolio
evidence focuses on assessment objective AO2 (apply knowledge,
skills and understanding). It is likely to be a distinct piece of
evidence for every portfolio unit and represents the ‘solution’ or
‘answer’ to each investigation or practical activity. It might be one
of the last parts of each portfolio completed by a candidate.
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A consistent element of this requirement is that candidates

accurately apply appropriate business concepts to answering or
solving the investigation or practical activity. Candidates should
aim to use concepts that are appropriate to the particular business
situation or problem. Candidates should avoid ‘padding’ their
portfolios with theories and concepts that are not applied to the
situation or problem.
Requirement C
In order to complete Requirement B, candidates will need to
research and analyse the problem or situation. This aspect of the
portfolio evidence focuses on assessment objective AO3 (research
and analyse business problems). It does not have to be a distinct
piece of evidence as the evidence produced for Requirement B
could contain research findings and explicit analysis. However,
candidates might want to provide a separate annex containing their
findings and initial analysis of the problem or situation.
Irrespective of the approach taken, candidates must ensure that
moderators are provided with clear evidence of this requirement.
This requirement has two consistent elements across the portfolio
units:
• the selection of relevant and up-to-date data
• the use of appropriate techniques on the selected data to
analyse the problem or situation.
Candidates should adopt a methodical approach to the collection
of relevant and up-to-date data and should demonstrate selectivity
in the use of this collected data. They should use data with a clear
purpose in mind.
The techniques used by candidates to analyse their selected data
depend on the particular problem and the nature of the data.
Examples and further guidance can be found in Sections 5.5 to
5.13.
Requirement D
Candidates are asked to evaluate their response to the investigation
or practical activity. This aspect of the portfolio evidence focuses
on assessment objective AO4 (evaluating evidence to reach
reasoned judgements). As in Requirement C, this does not have to
be a distinct piece of evidence, as it could be contained within the
evidence provided for Requirement B. However, candidates might
feel more comfortable producing a separate evaluation of their
response to the investigation. As with Requirement C, candidates
must ensure that moderators are provided with clear evidence of
this requirement.
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Candidates’ judgements and evaluations are likely to be

demonstrated in two ways:
• on-going during their analysis of the problem and when
producing the individual parts of their answer or solution to the
investigation or practical activity
• as an ‘end-piece’ that reflects on their overall answer or solution
to the investigation or practical activity.
Candidates should ensure that they address both of the above
aspects when completing their portfolio work. A clear role exists
for teachers to support candidates as they evaluate evidence to reach
reasoned judgements and, at A2, produce an evaluation of their
response to business problems.
Assignment tasks Centres are free to structure their assignment tasks as long as they
are capable of generating evidence for Requirements A, B, C and D
(see above). Assignment tasks can range from activities based on
extended visits or work placements to activities that take place
inside the classroom. The key requirement is that assignment tasks
must be active, ie they must encourage candidates to reflect on
business practice and research findings. Assignment tasks that
result in candidates copying information or relying solely on
theoretical exposition will gain only marks associated with AO1 and
will, therefore, be unable to access the higher range of marks.
Centres should focus on experiential activities that help candidates
to think about the practical application of concepts.
Examples and further guidance can be found in Sections 5.5 to 5.13.
Acceptable range of evidence AQA requires that any evidence formats used to present assessment
formats evidence should be suitable for postal moderation. Centres are
encouraged to use formats that are ‘fit-for-purpose,’ ie formats that
can support and clearly evidence candidate achievement.
At one extreme, extended written reports are clearly capable of
evidencing achievement but may be inappropriate as they often fail
to motivate candidates. At the other extreme, presentations may
motivate candidate achievement but may provide insufficient
evidence.
Video and audio tape should not be used as the primary form of
evidence as moderators may not have the resources to scrutinise this
evidence. However, it could act as supplementary evidence. This
also applies to detailed witness statements.
Centres are advised to contact their portfolio advisor if they have
any concerns regarding the suitability of an assignment task and/or
evidence format.
Examples of acceptable formats can be found in Sections 5.5 to
5.13.
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Using the mark bands As in the externally assessed units, the portfolio assessment criteria
use levels of response marking schemes. Four mark bands are given
for each assessment objective.
Assessment objectives should be assessed separately and different
mark bands can be chosen, eg a candidate might be operating at
Mark Band 4 for AO1, but perform at Mark Band 2 for AO3.
Completed portfolios should be marked holistically, ie the entire
body of evidence should be taken into account when making
decisions on the marks awarded to the four assessment objectives.
The mark scheme should, as in the external assessments, be applied
top-down. For each assessment objective, a candidate’s work
should be compared with the respective Mark Band 4 descriptor. If
no match is found, then the work should be compared against the
Mark Band 3 descriptor and so on until an appropriate mark band is
found.
On choosing a mark band that best fits the candidate’s evidence for
a particular assessment objective, assessors should then select a
mark from the range provided. For example, at AS for AO1, if
Mark Band 3 is selected, a mark between 13 and 18 can be used.
The mark selected depends on the degree to which the evidence
exemplifies the mark band’s descriptor.
The total mark for a unit is calculated by adding up the individual
marks given for each assessment objective. For example:
Objective AO1 AO2 AO3 AO4 Total
Mark
3 2 1 1
Band
Mark 14 9 3 2 28
This candidate achieved a mark of 28. The candidate performed at a

high level for AO1 but at a low level for AO3 and AO4.
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5.2 Interpreting the AS Mark The following tables provide guidance on the meaning of key
Bands phrases and terms used in the assessment criteria descriptors for the
As portfolio units. This should be read in conjunction with the
relevant assessment criteria for each unit.
Assessment Objective 1
Mark Word or Guidance

Band phrase
4 A detailed and The description is characterised by an

comprehensive attention to individual components and is
description not generalised. It is sufficient to convey
an accurate understanding of the task.
Realistic and The examples used to illustrate the

detailed description are drawn directly from the
examples are investigation. They are extended
used examples containing a range of
information.
3 A detailed The description is characterised by an

description attention to individual components and is
not generalised.
Realistic The examples used to illustrate the

examples are description are drawn directly from the
used investigation.
2 A description The evidence presented is sufficient to

convey a general understanding of the
task in the context of the investigation or
activity.
Examples are The examples are relevant and have been

used used to illustrate the task but they are
generalised and are not drawn directly
from the investigation.
1 A basic The evidence presented is fragmented

description and likely to be in the form of lists or
brief references. However, it is sufficient
to convey a generic understanding.
Examples are The examples are relevant but have not

collated been explicitly used to illustrate the task.
They are generalised and are not drawn
directly from the investigation.
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Band phrase
4 A thorough The explanation covers all aspects of

explanation the task.
An in-depth A logical account of the task using a

explanation structured argument.
3 An explanation A logical account of the task using a

structured argument.
2 A basic An explanation that omits or

explanation conflates key aspects of a logical
account.
1 A description The evidence presented conveys a

superficial understanding of the task
in the context of the investigation or
activity.
18
Band phrase
4 Selects Collected data is selected on the basis of
relevant and its relevance and immediacy to the task.
up-to-date data
Range of The data is drawn from a number of
sources different sources and is sufficient to
address the task.
OR
A range of data is drawn from a narrow
range of sources and is sufficient to
address the task.
Uses The techniques are capable of analysing
appropriate the selected data and addressing the task.
numerical The techniques chosen will depend on the
and/or non- structure of the selected data. For
numerical qualitative data, non-numerical
techniques techniques will be appropriate, eg
summarising meaning, matching
observed behaviour to descriptive models
and inferring outcomes from these
models.
For quantitative data, numerical
techniques will be appropriate, eg
tabulation, graphical representation,
calculation of totals and averages and the
use of problem specific techniques, such
as break-even analysis.
Analyse The chosen techniques and selected data
are used to identify the key components
of the task and gain insights into the
up-to-date data
A limited The data is drawn mainly from one
range of source and is likely to limit the analysis
sources of the task.
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Uses appropriate The techniques are capable of

numerical and/or analysing the selected data and
non-numerical addressing the task.
techniques The techniques chosen will depend
on the structure of the selected data.
For qualitative data, non-numerical
summarising meaning, matching
observed behaviour to descriptive
models and inferring outcomes from
these models.
calculation of totals and averages and
the use of problem specific
techniques such as break-even
analysis.
Partial analysis The analysis carried out is incomplete
in terms of failing to identify a
significant component of the task
and/or gaining insights into the
2 Selects some Collected data is selected on the basis
up-to-date data of its immediacy to the task. Other
data is included but is either
irrelevant to the task or is not used.
Uses numerical Some of the techniques chosen are
and/or non- acceptable, but irrelevant or
numerical inappropriate techniques are also
techniques selected. The techniques are used to
support a partial analysis of the task.
Partial analysis At this level the analysis is likely to
of how some be incomplete on both counts, ie
significant components are omitted
and insights are not gained.
1 Collects some Collected data is presented without
data any selection. The data collected has
some relevance but is largely generic
or severely limited in quantity.
Uses numerical As mark band 2, but the techniques
and/or non- are used without precision.
numerical
techniques
20

Band phrase
4 A judgement, Explicitly supported by the consistent and

supported by a logical use of key findings from the
coherent investigation.
justification
Evaluating Providing a structured argument based on

an assessment of a number of viewpoints.
3 A judgement, Supported by the logical use of key

supported by a findings from the investigation.
reasoned
justification
Discussing Providing a structured argument which

considers a number of viewpoints.
2 A judgement, Supported by findings from the

with some investigation.
justification
Explaining Providing a structured argument.
1 A judgement, Supported by some statements which are

based upon not necessarily based on findings from
limited the investigation.
evidence
Describing Outlining or listing a response without

providing a structured argument.
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5.3 Interpreting the A2 Mark The A2 portfolio tasks differ from those at AS in the following ways:
Bands
• AO1 requires explanation rather than description and defines the
purpose and key constraints of a proposal or plan
• AO2 requires the production of a developed proposal or plan
• AO3 and AO4 require higher levels of research, analysis and
evaluation.
The following tables provide guidance on the meaning of key phrases
and terms used in the assessment criteria descriptors for the A2
portfolio units.

Band phrase
4 A thorough The explanation covers all aspects of

explanation the background to the proposal/plan.
Realistic and The examples used are specific to the

detailed business context. They are extended
examples are examples containing a range of
used in context information.
3 An explanation A logical account of the background

to the proposal/plan.
Realistic The examples used are specific to the

examples are business context.
used in context
2 A partial An explanation of the background to

explanation the proposal/plan that omits or
conflates key aspects of a logical
account.
Examples are Some aspects of the background to

used in context the proposal/plan are illustrated using
to illustrate examples drawn from the business
some… context.
1 A description The evidence presented conveys a

superficial understanding of the
background to the proposal/plan.
Outlines The examples presented are drawn

examples to loosely from the business context.
illustrate
some…
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Band phrase
4 A It is evident how the prescribed parts of

proposal/plan the proposal/plan could be implemented.
… contains These parts have been designed to achieve
comprehensive most of the proposal/plan’s objectives.
…
An in-depth The explanation provides a detailed

explanation consideration of how the objectives of the
proposal/plan could be achieved by its
parts.
3 A It is evident how the prescribed parts of

proposal/plan the proposal/plan could be implemented.
… contains
developed…
An explanation A logical account, using a structured

of… argument, of how the objectives of the
proposal/plan could be achieved by its
parts.
2 A The proposal or plan contains the

proposal/plan prescribed parts. However, it is not clear
… contains… how these could be implemented.
A basic An explanation that omits or conflates key

explanation aspects of how the objectives of the
of… proposal/plan could be achieved by its
parts.
1 A The proposal/plan contains elements of

proposal/plan the prescribed parts. These are presented
… includes in a fragmentary way and it is not clear
aspects of… how these elements contribute to the key
parts of the proposal or plan.
A description The evidence presented is sufficient to

of… convey a superficial understanding of how
the objectives of the proposal/plan are
supported by its parts.
23

Band phrase
up-to-date
data
A wide range Comprehensive data is drawn from a
of sources number of different sources and clearly
addresses the problem/situation.
Uses The techniques are capable of analysing
appropriate the selected data and addressing the task.
numerical The techniques chosen will depend on the
and/or non- structure of the selected data.
numerical For qualitative data, non-numerical
techniques on techniques will be appropriate, eg
selected data summarising meaning, matching observed
behaviour to descriptive models and
inferring outcomes from these models.
calculation of totals and averages and the
use of problem specific techniques such as
break-even analysis.
Analyse The chosen techniques and selected data
are used to gain insights into the
proposal/plan and define the content of its
prescribed parts.
Uses the The findings from the analysis are used to

results of the build the prescribed parts of the
analysis to proposal/plan. This takes into account the
develop objectives of the proposal/plan and the
consistent/ need for the parts to reinforce each other.
integrated …

up-to-date
data
Range of The data is drawn from a number of
sources different sources and is sufficient to
address the problem/situation.
OR
A range of data is drawn from a narrow
range of sources and is sufficient to
address the problem/situation.
24
Uses This part of the assessment criteria is the

appropriate same as for mark band 4. The difference
numerical is how the candidates use the data.
and/or non-
numerical
techniques on
selected data
Partial analysis The analysis carried out is incomplete in
terms of failing to gain insights into the
proposal/plan or define the content of its
parts.
results of the build the prescribed parts of the
analysis to proposal/plan.
develop…
2 Selects some Collected data is selected on the basis of
up-to-date data its immediacy to the task. Some of the
collected data is relevant to the task. Other
data is included but is either irrelevant to
the task or is not used.
A limited The data is drawn mainly from one source
range of and is likely to limit the analysis of the
sources problem/situation.
Uses Some of the techniques chosen are
numerical acceptable, but irrelevant or inappropriate
and/or non- techniques are also selected. The
numerical techniques are used to support a partial
techniques on analysis of the task.
selected data
Partial analysis This would be similar to mark band 3, but
at this level the analysis is likely to be
incomplete on both counts, ie insights are
not gained and significant content not
defined.
results of the specify the prescribed parts of the
analysis to proposal/plan.
outline…
1 Collects some Collected data is presented without any
up-to-date data selection. The data collected has some
relevance but is largely generic or
severely limited in quantity.
Uses This would be as mark band 2, but the
numerical techniques are used without precision.
and/or non-
numerical
techniques on
selected data
25
Partial This part of the assessment criteria is the

analysis same as for mark band 2. The difference
is how candidates apply the analysis.

results of the specify some elements of the
analysis to proposal/plan’s parts.
identify
some…

Band phrase
4 A The suitability/viability of the

comprehensive proposal/plan has been considered from
evaluation… more than one perspective, offering a
balanced argument that takes into account
key perspectives.
…based on a Most aspects of the prescribed data have

detailed been assessed, providing a range of
assessment of… specific evidence to support a balanced
argument.
3 An evaluation This would be as mark band 4, although

some key perspectives have been
overlooked.
…based on a Elements of the prescribed data have been

detailed assessed, providing a range of evidence to
assessment of… support the judgements made.
2 A judgement, The suitability/viability of the

with some proposal/plan has been considered from a
justification… narrow perspective.
…having Elements of the prescribed data have been

prioritised some selected, based on their significance,
of… identifying the key findings on which the
judgement is based.
1 A judgement, The suitability/viability of the

based upon proposal/plan has been considered, but the
some limited judgement is based on unstated
evidence… assumptions.
…taking into Elements of the prescribed data have been

consideration identified to support the judgement.
some of…
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5.4 AS Unit 1 – Investigating Candidates are required to produce a portfolio of work investigating
Business the factors that have contributed to the success of a business, which:
A Describes the main aims and objectives of the business and the
external environment factors which have affected the ability of
the business to achieve its aims and objectives, illustrating
these with examples taken from the business. (AO1)
B Explains how marketing activities, enterprise skills and teams
have contributed to the success of the business. (AO2)
C Analyses how the following factors have contributed to the
success of the business:
• marketing activities
• enterprise skills
• teams. (AO3)
D Judges how the business has achieved its main aims and
objectives and evaluates the key factors that have contributed
to this. (AO4)
Requirement A
Candidates are required to describe clearly what their chosen
business is trying to achieve. Candidates should provide a
description of the business’s main aims and objectives. This should
go beyond a generic description of, for example, profit
maximisation and should place each aim and objective in a practical
context. Examples should be used to illustrate these, eg if an
objective is to increase market share, the candidate should describe
the current market share and define which aspect of market share is
likely to be targeted.
This Requirement also asks for a description of the key
environmental factors affecting the success of the business. This
should not be a hypothetical description but must be based on past
and current events to achieve the higher mark bands. Candidates
should resist adopting a mechanical approach to this Requirement,
ie moving through each external factor in turn and ‘filling in the
blanks’. A better approach would be a consideration of the external
factors that have actually affected the business and to research the
details of these events.
Requirement B
This is the main outcome of the investigation. Based on an
understanding of what the business is trying to achieve
(Requirement A), the candidate is asked to explain how marketing
activities, enterprise skills and teams have contributed to its success.
A tight application of concepts to actual business practice is
required. It is not necessary for candidates to explain, ‘chapter and
verse’, the marketing mix or Belbin’s team roles. Candidates
should start with the business practice and then use business
concepts to explain the importance of each factor in contributing to
the success of the business.
27
Requirement C
The research is likely to consist of both primary and secondary data.
It must be focused on the three areas of: marketing activities,
enterprise skills and teams.
Candidates should collect a range of data on pricing, promotional
activities, product ranges and distribution channels. They should
select the most appropriate data and then analyse this by
summarising it, looking for trends and connecting events in order to
identify why the business carried out these marketing activities.
They should use marketing concepts to make sense of the data
collected and identify key features of the marketing activities that
contributed to the success of the business.
Candidates should also carry out similar research and analysis for
the enterprise skills and teams factors. The data collected is likely to
be qualitative and the techniques used will reflect this, ie will be
summarising, matching and inferring.
Requirement D
This is likely to be evidenced through a candidate’s approach to
Requirements B and C. Candidates are required to demonstrate
judgement of how the business achieved its aims and objectives. To
do this, candidates need to evaluate the significance of the three
factors: marketing activities, enterprise skills and teams.
Judgements and evaluations should be supported by actual evidence
from the business. Candidates should rank the importance of
various marketing activities, enterprise skills and team activities.
They should attempt to identify key events or practices, which
helped the business to achieve specific aims and objectives, ie from
their analysis of the situation, they should provide supported
judgements about the events that were crucial or significant to
business success.
5.5 AS Unit 2 – People in Candidates are required to produce a portfolio of work investigating
Business a local business and complete a practical recruitment exercise,
which:
A Describes:
• the roles and responsibilities of a manager, a supervisor
and an employee within the business
• the qualities the employer looks for in each of these roles
• their training and development opportunities.
Uses examples to illustrate:
• methods of motivation used to retain the staff
• relevant PEST factors in the workforce plan. (AO1)
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B Plans and takes part in a recruitment and selection process,

which explains self-regulatory, legal, social and ethical
responsibilities considered in the recruitment process. This
will be demonstrated through a practical exercise for which
you will need to:
• create a vacant position for the role of either a manager, a
supervisor or an employee
• develop the key recruitment documentation required
during the recruitment process to fill this vacant post
• take part in a mock interview as part of an interview panel
for the post. (AO2)
C Analyses how the following contributed to the effectiveness of
the recruitment process:
• the recruitment documentation
• the interview process
• the training and motivational methods used
• the relevant PEST factors in the workforce plan. (AO3)
D Judges the effectiveness of the recruitment exercise’s selection
process and recommends ways in which it could be improved.
(AO4)
Requirement A
This requires candidates to describe the roles and responsibilities of
three employees, ie a manager, a supervisor and an employee within
a local business. Candidates should ensure that the three employees
are at different levels within the organisational hierarchy and failure
to select appropriate employees is likely to limit the quality of
evidence presented for this Requirement.
Candidates also need to describe a range of other features in relation
to the three employees, ie the particular qualities the employer looks
for in each employee and the training and development
opportunities that are usually offered to them. These descriptions
should be specific to the local business and should go beyond
generic examples.
Finally, candidates should describe the practical motivational steps
taken by the local business to retain its staff, using the three
employees to illustrate these methods, and should illustrate relevant
PEST factors that have affected the way the business plans its
employment needs (the workforce plan).
As a body of evidence, this work needs to be focused and practical.
Candidates should resist ‘regurgitating’ whole sections from
textbooks and should focus on what the employees and the business
actually do.
29
This is particularly the case when considering motivational factors

used to retain staff and relevant PEST factors in the workforce
plan. Lengthy tracts on particular motivational theorists will not
help the candidate to make sense of the business’s retention
activities; pages of theoretical notes on general political,
economic, social and technological factors are not likely to pin
down the particular issues facing the local business.
Requirement B
This is the main outcome of the investigation. Candidates are
required to plan and carry out a simulated recruitment of an
employee to the local business. The post does not have to be
currently vacant and, from their understanding of Requirement A,
candidates could propose a likely future vacancy.
The choice of vacancy will be a critical factor contributing to the
quality of the recruitment exercise and centres should either
suggest a suitable post or provide clear guidance and support to
candidates. The whole teaching group could use a single vacancy,
or each group carrying out the exercise could create different
vacancies. Each interviewing group should contain between three
to four candidates to support a realistic and manageable
simulation.
Interviewees could come from another teaching group or from
another interviewing group within the class. Each group can
interview as many people as they see fit but there should be at
least two interviewees. Centres need to ensure that candidates
have gained sufficient experience about the effectiveness of their
recruitment procedures.
The evidence presented for this Requirement should be sufficient
to convey the self-regulatory, legal, social and ethical
responsibilities considered in the recruitment process.
Furthermore, candidates should explain the overall structure and
purpose of the documentation used and the interview process. The
evidence must focus on the actual preparations for the simulation
and should explain the purpose and content of these preparations.
Finally, assessors could contribute to each candidate’s portfolio by
providing a witness statement on the degree to which the candidate
planned and took part in the interview. This does not have to be
lengthy but should focus on specific facts rather than a series of
tick boxes.
Requirements C and D
This is likely to consist of a separate body of evidence and will
cover both Requirements C and D. In simple terms, each
candidate should reflect on the effectiveness of the recruitment
process simulated in Requirement B.
30
In order to reflect on the effectiveness of the simulated recruitment

process, candidates will have to collect and sift through a variety of
evidence. Much of this will be documentary evidence, eg the drafts
and proof of the job advertisement and application form, completed
checklists from the interview(s) and extracts from
regulations/guidelines referred to.
However, it is also likely to be evidence based on candidates’
opinions, eg decisions made during the planning process or the
dynamics of the interviews. This is perfectly acceptable and will be
essential if candidates are to move beyond a mechanical review of
the process.
When analysing the effectiveness of the recruitment process,
candidates should ensure that they focus on the bulleted items in
Requirement C, ie the documentation used, the interview process,
the training and motivational methods used and relevant PEST
factors in the workforce plan. The last two points refer to the
recruitment process, eg features contained within the job
advertisement or discussions during the interview. However, it is
also likely to draw on evidence from Requirement A, what each
group could offer to an interviewee would depend on the
candidates’ understanding of how the local business operated.
The recommendations for improving the recruitment exercise
should be firmly based on the analysis of the evidence and brief
suggestions are not likely to gain many AO4 marks.
5.6 AS Unit 6 – Developing a Candidates are required to produce a portfolio of work developing a
Product product idea of their own choice, which:
A Describes the quality and resource decisions made by a
business producing a product similar to the proposed idea,
illustrating these with examples taken from the business.
B Explains the proposed product’s characteristics including:
• form and function
• quality decisions
• relevant safety requirements.
Explains the appropriate mix of production resources if the
proposed product were to be produced.
C Analyses how the following determined the product’s
characteristics and appropriate mix of production resources:
• quality decisions
• relevant safety requirements
• production resources and their costs.
D Justifies the reasons for choosing the product’s characteristics
and the appropriate mix of production resources.
31
Requirement A
This unit requires candidates to develop a product idea. This cannot
be done in isolation and Requirement A is a vital part of the entire
portfolio. For this Requirement, candidates should describe some
key quality and resource decisions made by a real business. These
quality and resource decisions should focus on the nature of the
product and not on the production process. The products chosen by
candidates should be capable of being produced by very small
businesses and candidates should avoid using large scale businesses
for this Requirement of the portfolio.
Candidates should describe the quality and resource decisions made
by the business when deciding on the form and function of the
product. All examples used should relate to these ideas: it would be
easy for a candidate to digress and include several irrelevant
examples relating to the operation of the business’s production
process.
As a guide, candidates should describe the:
• form and function of the product produced by the business
• decisions made by the business in terms of the quality of
materials used and services provided, linking these closely to the
product’s form and function, eg the decision to use certain
materials because this enhanced the form of the product and did
not reduce its functionality
• resource decisions that constrained or supported the final form
and function of the product, eg lack of particular skills (human
resources) might have dictated fewer features and reduced its
functionality; financially viable access to particular materials
might have allowed the business to enhance the product’s form
etc.
All evidence presented should relate to the actual decisions made by
the business. Descriptions of production resource issues that did not
affect the business should be excluded.
Requirement B
This is a practical outcome. Candidates are being asked to explain
the characteristics of their product. They should have been
informed by the work they produced for Requirement A, but the
evidence for this Requirement should focus on their own product
ideas.
Candidates should explain the form and function of the product.
This evidence could include design graphics, material and colour
boards and even prototypes. They should explain the quality
decisions made that impacted on the product’s form and function.
They should also explain how relevant safety requirements impacted
on the product’s form and function.
32
In addition to this evidence, candidates should explain the resource

implications of the product’s form and function. This should be a
practical explanation that provides clear reasons for the materials
used, the physical and human resources required and the financial
implications of the chosen form and function.
Candidates should also explain the mix of these resources, ie the
ratio between material, physical and human resources and the
reasons for choosing this mix. As before, this should be a practical
explanation that takes into account the financial resources likely to
be available to a business operating on a small scale.
Requirement C
In order to decide on the product’s form and function, candidates
need to collect data on:
1 Target customer opinions about the product, eg what product
features are important to customers; what do they feel about a
particular aspect of form or function proposed by the candidate?
2 Resource options and costs, eg what materials would be
available for small scale production; how much would it cost to
employ a specialist worker?
Some of this data will have been collected during the investigation
of the business producing a similar product, therefore, evidence
from Requirement A could be useful here. Other data will be
collected through simple questionnaires or interviews with target
customers. Technical information could be sourced via the internet.
The collected data will need to be selectively analysed. Quantitative
and qualitative techniques should be used for this analysis, eg
working out the material costs for the product (quantitative) and
summarising customer opinions about the proposed product features
(qualitative).
The evidence for this Requirement could be presented as a separate
appendix, embedded within the evidence for Requirement B or
coupled with the evidence presented for Requirement D.
Requirement D
As in Requirement C, the evidence for this Requirement could be
provided separately, embedded within Requirement B or coupled
with evidence for Requirement C. Whichever approach is taken,
each candidate needs to provide evidence of the judgements made
when deciding on the product’s form and function. Candidates
should reflect on the suitability of the chosen characteristics of the
product and the mix of production resources. This work should
flow from the candidate’s research and analysis.
33
5.7 AS Unit 7 – Career Planning Candidates are required to produce a personal career plan, which:
A Describes three suitable career pathways, including:
• the jobs available within the sector and career progression
• the skills, personal qualities, qualifications and experience
required
• the training and development offered by the
sector/employer.
B Explains a suitable career plan, including:
• personal skills profile and personality traits
• the training and development opportunities available to
help achieve the career choice
• the proposed career pathway and training and education
route
• an action plan for the next three years.
C Analyses the research carried out in order to construct the
career plan, including:
• a personal skills profile
• knowledge, skills and training required
• financial support required
• sources of funding.
D Judges the most appropriate career pathway and training and
education route, with assessment of the financial support
required.
Requirement A
This requires candidates to describe three career pathways of
relevance to them. The evidence provides a foundation for
developing their career plan and candidates should avoid focusing
on any career pathways that are of no interest to them.
Candidates should ensure that the evidence covers the points listed
in Requirement A. It is important for candidates to provide
sufficient illustration of the bulleted points. For example, candidates
might provide a profile of an individual describing his/her
progression within the sector and the personal qualities possessed by
the individual.
Requirement B
This is a practical outcome and is the main focus of the portfolio. In
order to produce a suitable personal career plan, each candidate
should provide evidence of a skills profile and a consideration of
his/her personality traits. This is an essential part of Requirement B
and it is difficult to consider successful completion of it without
reflecting on their current skills and personality types.
34
Candidates should then explain the training and development

opportunities available in their chosen career area. This will
provide a set of options for each candidate to choose from.
From an understanding of their skills, personality types and training
and development options available, each candidate should explain
his/her chosen pathway. This will also explain the particular
training and education route associated with the pathway.
Finally, each candidate should compile and explain his/her action
plan. The action plan should be clearly linked to the candidate’s
career pathway and training and education route. The action plan
should indicate key milestones and cover the next three years of the
candidate’s life. It is likely, therefore, to focus on the foundations
of the candidate’s proposed career pathway.
Evidence for these two Requirements could be presented separately
or embedded within the evidence presented for Requirement A.
However, it is probably sensible to leave the evidence for
Requirement B as a distinct product – something that the candidate
might be able to present to future employers, training agencies and
educational institutions. Given this, the evidence for Requirements
C and D could be presented in a less formal way, eg a research file
coupled with a report analysing selected information and justifying
particular decisions.
This evidence should clearly support the evidence presented for
Requirement B – it should be possible to use this evidence to
understand why the candidate has chosen a particular career
pathway.
The techniques used to analyse the research carried out in order to
construct the career plan, are likely to be qualitative, with
candidates grouping and summarising textual information.
When candidates consider the financial aspects of their career plan,
quantitative techniques should be used, eg a simple forecast of their
financial needs presented in the form of a table and/or line graph.
This would then help to support the candidate’s assessment of the
financial support required.
35
5.8 A2 Unit 8 – Business Planning Candidates are required to produce a business proposal, which:
A Explains the activities of the business proposal, its aims and
objectives, form of ownership and key personnel required.
B Develops the marketing, operations and financial plans,
explaining how these achieve the aims and objectives of the
business proposal.
C Analyses key research findings of the following to quantify
and develop an integrated business plan:
• marketing plan
• operations plan
• financial plan.
D Evaluates the viability of the business plan in order to
support a case for funds, based on an assessment of:
• relevant financial ratios
• payback period
• ‘what if’ analysis
• contingency plans.
Requirement A
For this Requirement each candidate needs to explain the
foundations of his/her business plan, ie the proposal the business
plan aims to implement. This evidence forms the platform for the
other Requirements.
Candidates should carefully explain the nature of the business
proposal. It is important to note that the business proposal could
be:
1 For a new business
or
2 A new product or expansion of a product range offered by an
existing business.
Candidates could, for example, produce a business plan for a local
retailer who would like to enhance customer care by offering a
delivery service.
When candidates are considering a proposal for an existing
business, they should focus on how the new proposal fits in with
the current products offered by the business. Less time will be
spent explaining the form of ownership, unless the proposal
involves establishing a separate legal entity (but this is unlikely).
However, in both cases (options 1 and 2), candidates must provide
explanations of the proposal’s aims and objectives and key
personnel required.
36
Requirement B
It is required that candidates produce a business plan that details the
delivery and viability of the proposal. The completed plan should
explain how the aims and objectives of the proposal would be
achieved.
Candidates should develop marketing, operations and financial
plans that clearly support the proposal explained in Requirement A.
Ideally, these plans will support each other, ie the marketing plan
will inform the operations plan which, in turn, will be accurately
reflected in the financial plan.
Requirement C
Evidence for this Requirement is likely to be embedded within the
completed business plan, possibly as a set of appendices, as well as
part of the marketing, operations and financial plans.
A wide range of opportunities will exist for research and analysis.
Candidates should ensure that their research and analysis is focused
on delivering coherent marketing, operations and financial plans. It
should be noted that candidates are not expected to have a working
knowledge of Profit and Loss account and Balance Sheet
construction.
Candidates should understand the purpose of these financial
documents and should be able to interpret them. They should
collect the data required to complete these documents. However,
centres may provide spreadsheet templates of these financial
documents. Candidates would carry out relevant research, process
their findings and then enter key totals into the templates. For
example, candidates could forecast sales and enter total sales into
the spreadsheet template.
When investigating a proposal for an existing business, candidates
are not required to construct Profit and Loss accounts and Balance
Sheets. However, they should consider the proposal as a profit
centre and investigate the contribution offered by the proposal.
Similarly, the proposal will require capital investment and will
generate a stream of income. Candidates could, therefore,
investigate the pay back period for the project and analyse the
consequences of tying up capital in the proposal.
Requirement D
This evidence can be presented separately or embedded within the
main business plan, in the same way as Requirement C. However, it
is recommended that this be presented as a separate document. The
candidate should reflect on his/her completed business plan and
consider its viability in order to support a case for funds.
37
It is advised that the candidate should carry out a ‘sensitivity

analysis’ on his/her business plan, ie s/he should consider what
might happen to the viability of the plan if key components are
altered. For example, it should be considered what might happen
to the viability of the business plan if:
1 The sales forecast is adjusted up or down by 10%
2 Unit costs increase or fall
3 Capital costs alter
4 A key component of the marketing plan fails.
Contingency plans could then be developed based on the results of
their sensitivity analysis.
5.9 A2 Unit 9 – Marketing Candidates are required to produce a plan of a marketing strategy,
Strategy and associated marketing mix, for a new or existing business,
which:
A Explains the marketing strategy, its target market and
marketing aims and objectives, illustrating these with
examples taken from the business.
B Explains how the chosen marketing activities are designed to
implement the marketing strategy and achieve its aims and
objectives.
C Analyses the findings of appropriate market research to
develop the associated marketing mix, to meet the aims and
objectives of the strategy, including identification of:
• the characteristics, behaviour and needs of the target
market
• the impact of competition.
D Evaluates the suitability of the marketing strategy, and
associated marketing activities, considering:
• findings from market research
• the risks and uncertainties associated with the target
market(s).
Requirement A
This requires candidates to explain the foundations of their
marketing strategies. Candidates should avoid introducing
marketing tactics into this part of the portfolio.
Candidates should focus on the following points:
• What marketing strategy is being adopted?
For example, a newsagent might want to increase its sales
level and decides to adopt a product development strategy, ie
introduce a new product to the existing market. The candidate
would need to explain the background to the business and
explain the reasoning behind the marketing strategy.
38
• What will be the target market for this strategy?

Continuing the example, the candidate would need to profile the
characteristics of the newsagent’s present market and, perhaps,
focus on a segment of this overall market.
• What are the marketing aims and objectives of the strategy?
Using the example given, the marketing aim might be for the
newsagent to enter the DVD film rental market, targeting the
‘young family’ segment of the newsagent’s overall market. The
candidate would then need to explain the marketing objectives
that would support this marketing aim.
The evidence provided for this Requirement should be focused on
the practical foundations of the marketing strategy. Candidates
should use a range of examples, taken from the business, to
illustrate key aspects of the strategy, its aims and objectives and the
target market.
Requirement B
This is the main outcome, ie a set of practical marketing activities to
implement the marketing strategy and achieve its aims and
objectives.
The evidence should focus entirely on the marketing activities
designed to support the marketing strategy: candidates should avoid
padding out this evidence with theoretical notes and should use
theory to inform the marketing activities capable of being
implemented by the investigated business.
Candidates should explain how the overall mix of marketing
activities is designed to achieve the aims and objectives of the
marketing strategy. This will require candidates to reflect on their
chosen marketing activities, in particular how they combine.
Evidence for this Requirement could be presented separately, for
example, in the form of a presentation coupled with detailed
handouts for the audience, or it could be combined with
Requirement A.
Requirement C
This Requirement focuses on the analysis of the target market and
competition. The evidence could be embedded within the evidence
for Requirements A and B, but might be better presented as a
separate piece in order to encourage candidates to reflect on their
findings before attempting to decide on the marketing activities.
This will also assist candidates when they tackle Requirement D.
The techniques used to analyse data on the buyer behaviour of the
target market are likely to be quantitative, although observation and
interviews could result in qualitative data requiring grouping and
summarising. The quantitative data should be processed using basic
statistical techniques, eg mean, mode, range etc. However, for
higher marks, candidates could look for patterns in any
questionnaire results by pairing sets of data, eg ‘age group’
compared with ‘intention to purchase’ responses.
39
It is essential that candidates develop an understanding of what

motivates the target market to purchase the product being
marketed. Equally, candidates should develop an understanding of
the competitive environment in which the business operates.
Without this understanding, it is difficult to see how a coherent
marketing mix could be developed.
Requirement D
Evidence for this Requirement could be embedded within
Requirements B and C. However, as the evidence for justifying
their particular marketing activities and mix based on research
findings is more likely to appear within Requirement C, it is
suggested that this is presented as a separate piece at the end of the
portfolio.
For this evidence, candidates are required to reflect on the
viability of their marketing strategy and associated marketing
activities. This evidence should focus on evaluating the decisions
made when choosing the particular strategy and when constructing
the marketing mix.
5.10 A2 Unit 10 – Promotional Candidates are required to produce a plan of a promotion

Activities campaign, working within an allocated budget, for a new or
existing business which:
A Explains the main objectives of the promotion campaign, the
range of promotional activities available to the business and
the characteristics of the targeted customers.
B Explains how the campaign’s promotional mix and timings
and costs of promotional activities are designed to achieve
the campaign’s objectives.
C Analyses the findings of appropriate research to develop a
campaign plan capable of meeting its objectives:
• customer attitudes
• the AIDA model
• available business resources.
D Evaluates the suitability of the campaign’s promotional mix,
based on an assessment of:
• the ability of the campaign to achieve its objectives
• customer attitudes
• the cost of the promotional activities compared with
available resources.
40
Requirement A
For this Requirement candidates need to explain the foundations of
their promotion campaign. Candidates should avoid developing the
campaign’s promotional activities in this part of their portfolio.
Candidates should focus on the following issues:
• What are the main objectives of the promotion campaign?
For example, considering a newsagent diversifying into DVD
film rental, one of the promotion campaign’s main objectives
might be to ensure that all potential customers are aware of the
launch date and the benefits of becoming a member of the rental
club.
• Who will be the target customers for this strategy?
Continuing the example, the candidate would need to profile the
characteristics of the newsagent’s present market and, perhaps,
focus on a segment of this overall market, eg the ‘Young
Family’ segment.
• What promotional activities are typically available to the
business?
In the example, a newsagent would traditionally use advertising
through printed media, sales promotion, personal selling and
leafleting. Merchandising could also be provided by the
business supplying the DVD rental facilities.
The evidence provided for this Requirement should be focused on
the practical foundations of the promotion strategy. Candidates
should use a range of examples, taken from the business, to
illustrate the objectives of the strategy, typical promotional activities
and characteristics of the target market.
Requirement B
This is the main outcome, ie a mix of promotional activities,
coupled with a clear delivery and time plan, aimed at achieving the
campaign’s objectives within the allocated budget.
The evidence should focus entirely on the promotional activities
designed to implement the promotion campaign: candidates should
avoid padding out this evidence with theoretical notes and should
use theory to inform the promotional activities capable of being
implemented by the business.
Candidates should explain how the elements of the promotion
campaign, and the timing of their delivery, are designed to achieve
the campaign’s objectives. Candidates will need to consider the
cost of producing and delivering each promotional activity and
should ensure that the campaign stays within a realistic budget.
Candidates will also need to consider the timing and order of the
promotional activities, ie the way in which the promotion campaign
will take the target customers through the AIDA steps of attention,
interest, desire and action.
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Evidence for this Requirement could be presented separately, for

example, in the form of a presentation coupled with detailed
handouts for the audience, or it could be combined with
Requirement A.
Requirement C
This Requirement focuses on an analysis of:
1 Customer attitudes towards the product and a range of feasible
promotional activities.
2 How customers might be taken through the AIDA steps.
3 The capabilities of the business the campaign is intended for.
The evidence could be embedded within the evidence for
Requirements A and B, but might be better presented as a separate
piece in order to encourage candidates to reflect on their findings
before attempting to outline the promotion campaign and develop
its activities. This will also assist candidates when they tackle
Requirement D.
Much of the data collected will describe customer opinions
towards the product and possible promotional activities, and
candidates will be grouping and summarising this data.
Candidates should ensure that their research instruments are
capable of gathering the data they require, ie a balance between
qualitative and quantitative responses. In addition, candidates will
need to research the costs of producing and delivering the
campaign’s promotional activities. This obviously requires
quantitative analysis and candidates might, for example, produce a
forecasted budget accompanied by a breakdown of costs for each
element of the campaign.
Requirement D
Evidence for this Requirement could be embedded within
Requirements B and C. However, as the evidence for justifying
the particular promotional activities, their timings and mix based
on research findings is more likely to appear within Requirement
C, it is suggested that this is presented as a separate piece of
evidence at the end of the portfolio.
For this evidence, candidates are required to reflect on the
suitability of their promotional mix. This evidence should focus
on evaluating the decisions made when choosing the particular
mix and timing of promotional activities. Candidates should base
their evaluation on an assessment of the ability of the campaign to
achieve its objectives. They should refer to critical features of
customer attitudes towards the product and the chosen promotional
activities. Finally, the evaluation should be realistic, ie they
should be clear about how the size of the budget and the
capabilities of the business shaped their promotion campaign.
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5.11 A2 Unit 13 – Managing Candidates are required to produce a report on a proposed

Information information system to co-ordinate and support a complex business
activity, which:
A Explains the information and data requirements of the
complex business activity.
B Explains how the proposed information system collects and
collates information to ensure:
! information needs are met
! security needs are met.
C Analyses the following to develop an outline of the
information system:
! the requirements of the system
! the uses of the system and design needs
! the management issues of the system, including data
security issues, organisational issues.
D Evaluates the suitability of the proposed information system,
assessing its ability to support the complex business activity.
Requirement A
This requires candidates to explain the complex business activity
and its information and data requirements.
The definition of a complex business activity is that it should have
several users. It is not expected that the activity is complex. The
more straightforward the information flow the better, as this will
enable candidates to actively engage within the system.
Learning should be as hands-on and experiential as possible. It
would be ideal, therefore, if the scenario could be set, either within
the centre, from a small local business or work experience. In these
contexts, a complex business activity could include:
• updating personal information
• attendance at an event/meeting
• complaints procedure.
It is essential for the Requirement, therefore, that candidates
explain:
1 The business activity, eg attendance at an event.
2 Who will need the information and why, for example:
• the event manager to monitor the attendees, ensure
sufficient delegate packs, monitor the budget etc.
• the catering manager for final numbers and dietary
requirements
• the room organiser to ensure sufficient tables, chairs,
equipment etc.
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3 The data requirements, eg name and address of attendees,

dietary requirements etc.
4 Security issues that should be considered, eg confidentiality of
personal data, back-up copies etc.
5 Data storage requirements, ie the software to be used or hard
copy files required, and the outputs, eg printed form, report
formats, database tables, queries etc.
Clearly, this is not the entire business activity. Much will have
happened in terms of planning before the event is organised and
activities will continue after the event. This, therefore, is just a
small part of a very complex activity, but it is sufficient for this
project and Requirement A.
Requirement B
This will be the main proposal. Candidates will need to produce a
report that is illustrated by examples and should include
information flow diagrams etc. It should explain how each user
can access all the information they need, but not that which is
confidential or unnecessary, ie security of confidential data etc.
Candidates will need to explain:
1 How the information is to be collected, eg from paper-based
forms, stored personal records etc.
2 How the data is to be recorded and processed for this purpose,
with consideration of issues such as: is the system quick
enough in terms of how rapidly the system can deliver the
required information? Can users easily access it? How should
users access it?
3 Define who will maintain the system and how it will be kept
up-to-date.
4 The security measures taken, eg passwords, back-up copies
etc.
Requirement C
This Requirement should be considered as the ‘design stage’. It is
likely to be a separate piece of work and should be tackled second.
Candidates will need to carry out primary and secondary research,
both to ensure that the system is fit for purpose and that it meets
user needs. Qualitative and quantitative research is likely to be
required and the results of this research should be presented in
suitable formats.
Candidates need to analyse the information to be collected and
from this, identify the most appropriate software and the form and
structure of the data. Examples of this analysis should be
presented.
44
Flow charts could be a means of presenting evidence of this process.

It should be noted that it is not a requirement of this Unit to propose
a computer-based information system, but the use of ICT should be
considered for some elements of the system.
This Requirement is also where candidates need to consider time
and cost issues. Although centres do not need to set a budget,
nevertheless, candidates should analyse their proposals, eg if they
have recommended an input clerk who needs to work full-time, is
the cost justified? Could this be input by an existing person? If the
data is needed on a daily or hourly basis, is the recommended input
method realistic in terms of time, or is it too slow? A paper-based
system may be quicker. System risk, eg breakdown is a real threat,
so back-up systems (which may be paper-based) should be
considered.
Requirement D
This requires a judgement from the candidate of the suitability of
the system. Evidence of this is likely to occur throughout the
project, especially in Requirement C and probably in Requirement
B. Candidates may wish to present a final piece as a conclusion,
especially if they worked in small groups (which would be perfectly
acceptable for this Unit, especially if it is a precursor or extension of
Unit 14 – Managing Change - or other appropriate unit). They may
also wish to comment from a personal perspective on refinements
that could be made to the finished proposal. Pressures of group
consensus or time constraints might not have allowed for a full
consideration of the change programme and, if the proposal has
flaws, this is where credit can be given for recognition of the fact!
5.12 A2 Unit 14 – Managing Candidates are required to produce a portfolio based on working as
Change part of the team to address a change management situation, which:
A Explains:
! the nature of the change
! the factors driving and resisting that change
! how the change programme will impact on the
organisation and its stakeholders.
B Produces a plan for the change programme, including:
! the aims and objectives of the change programme
! breakdown of tasks
! organisation of resources and people
! contingency plans
! their contribution to the team process.
The team will have to make a presentation of their proposals.
45
C Analyses the following to develop the change plan:

! roles and tasks allocated to the team
! the nature of the team
! the impact of the change on people and the organisation
! risks and uncertainty of the change.
D Evaluates the effectiveness of the project undertaken, its
likelihood of success and the performance of the team.
Requirement A
As this is intended to be a practical team working project, the
organisational change should be small and relatively
uncomplicated in order for candidates to actively engage with the
change process and draw up a realistic proposal.
Learning should be as hands-on and experiential as possible. It
would be ideal, therefore, if the scenario could be either set within
the centre, or set by a small local business or from work
experience, examples could include:
• Improving customer service to encourage growth by:
− implementing a customer complaints procedure
− implementing an evening telephone service.
• Introducing healthier eating habits in a school by:
− introducing healthier products in the vending machines
− offering healthier options in the canteen.
The change that the candidates plan, therefore, may form a part of
a larger change programme. These scenarios should be given by
the Project Champion, who is in a position of authority and
therefore, committed and able to promote the change.
It is essential for the Requirement, therefore, that candidates
explain:
1 The nature of the change, eg to encourage growth by
improving customer service. Candidates need to put the small
change proposal into the context of the bigger change
programme.
2 The factors driving the change, eg to improve customer
service by implementing an evening telephone service.
3 The factors resisting the change, eg reluctance of staff to leave
later, including staff receiving the calls and security staff.
4 How the change will impact on the organisation, eg customers
will be happier as they can make calls later, complaints can be
dealt with quickly, implications for hours worked, need for
compensation, time in lieu, system for monitoring benefits
versus cost etc. Create a service-orientated culture.
Clearly, this is not the entire change programme. Planning and
research will have taken place before this event and will continue
after the event. This is only part of a change programme, but is
sufficient for this project.
46
Requirement B
This will be the main proposal and should take the form of a
presentation. Working notes, handouts and charts should be
presented as evidence. Detailed plans will need to be produced, but
may form a separate piece of evidence for this Requirement.
The proposal should explain:
1 The aims and objectives of the change programme, eg to
improve customer service, by introducing a new telephone
service. This should give the ‘pitch’ for the reason for change.
2 Breakdown of tasks, eg answering the phone, supplying
required information, collecting customer name and nature of
call/complaint, action taken, follow-up action if required.
3 What needs to be organised to achieve the proposal, eg a rota
with names, days and times.
4 Contingency plans, eg reserve customer service providers in
case of absence.
5 The candidate’s contribution. This may be separate from the
main presentation or could explain a specific part of the process
within the presentation.
Requirement C
This Requirement should be viewed as the design stage of the
proposal. It is likely to be a separate piece of work and should be
tackled second. There will be two parts.
The first part will be for the team to devise the change programme.
For this, candidates need to consider what should be done to achieve
the change, for example:
• research of customers’ attitudes/needs
• the likely nature of the calls
• FAQs for those responding to calls
• recording systems for monitoring calls
• attitudes of staff to the changes
• how to persuade resistors to the change of the need/benefit to
the business
• the benefits of the change to the individuals: work satisfaction,
less aggressive calls, overtime pay, time off in lieu etc.
• in addition, contingency plans should be considered:
circumstance change etc.
As this is a team project, the second part of Requirement C is how
these tasks or research topics should be divided amongst the team.
GANTT charts will help to ensure that the project is finished on
time and that team members are aware of when individual tasks
need to be completed.
47
Candidates will need to carry out both primary and secondary

research to discover the benefits of the system and to overcome
resistors to the change. Both qualitative and quantitative data
should be collected and the results presented in suitable formats.
When analysing team performance, it may be useful to consider
Belbin’s team roles, which were studied in less detail in Unit 1 –
Investigating Business. In addition, the teams should consider
whether the time given to tasks is or was realistic - did they have a
contingency plan if a task proved to be taking too long or if it was
too complex to achieve?
Requirement D
This requires a judgement from the candidate of the effectiveness
of the change programme. Evidence of this is likely to occur
throughout the project, especially in Requirement C and probably
in Requirement B. However, candidates may wish to provide a
separate evaluation of the performance of the team and how this
impacted on the quality and effectiveness of the change
programme.
5.13 A2 Unit 16 – Managing Candidates are required to produce a portfolio of work

Resources investigating the way in which a given business manages its
resources to plan, manage and improve the efficiency of its
production, which:
A Explains the importance of planning production, including
the following factors, to the competitiveness of a business:
• location
• research and development
• method of production
B Explains a proposal illustrating how the business could
improve its competitiveness by considering the following
factors:
• planning production
• managing production
• improving the efficiency of production.
C Analyses aspects of the following research to develop the
proposed improvement to the competitiveness of the
business:
• planning of production
• management of production
• efficiency of production.
D Evaluates the viability of the proposal to assist the business
to improve its competitiveness.
48
Requirement A
This Requirement asks candidates to outline the key factors
affecting the competitiveness of business in general. Candidates
can illustrate this requirement by using a variety of examples drawn
from a number of businesses. Alternatively, they may wish to
focus on the business, or its industry, investigated for Requirements
B, C and D. The purpose of Requirement A is to assist candidates
in setting the parameters of their investigation, ie how the following
factors affect the competitiveness of business:
• location
• research and development
• method of production.
Candidates should use a range of realistic and detailed examples to
illustrate their explanations. The evidence for this Requirement is
likely to be presented separately, perhaps in the form of an
illustrated report. This report should be focused and capable of
being delivered to an informed audience. It should not be an excuse
for putting together a loose collection of ill-considered examples.
The structure of the report should be evident from the Requirement
ie what do we mean by competitiveness; how do location, research
and development and the production method impact on the
competitiveness of a business?
Requirement B
This is the main outcome, ie an explanation of the proposal for
improving the competitiveness of the investigated business. Note
that, for this Requirement, candidates are required to focus on a
single business.
Candidates are expected to consider the potential for improving
competitiveness by planning, managing and improving the
efficiency of production. Requirement A will have set the scene for
the first aspect of this task.
Candidates should focus on explaining why the elements of their
proposal could help to improve competitiveness. It is likely that
candidates will select aspects from each of the three areas and
develop their proposals in these specific areas. Candidates should
not attempt to develop all aspects of the specification, but to
deliberately focus on components that are relevant to the business’s
situation. For example, to improve the competitiveness of a
business manufacturing fashion wear, a candidate could develop the
following components:
• planning production – methods of production, focusing on how
a shift from batch to cell production might improve the ability
of the business to respond to changes in customer needs and
improve quality.
49
• managing production – the shift to cell production and the

desire to improve the flexibility of production in turn requires
a focus on JIT production and quality assurance.
• efficient production – both productive efficiency and CPA are
important in this context while the scale of production is not a
significant aspect of the proposal; the candidate focuses on
CPA in relation to how the business might manage the shift
from batch to cell production.
Candidates could present the evidence for this Requirement in the
form of an illustrated presentation. Candidates would produce
technical documents specifying the details of each element of their
proposals. The presentations would focus on the key elements of
their overall proposals, linking this back to improvements in the
competitiveness of their investigated businesses.
Candidates can work in groups. At one extreme, it is acceptable
for the entire class to investigate the same business. Given the
technical nature of this unit, centres might prefer this approach. In
this case, candidates are likely to focus on different pathways, ie
each candidate, or small group of candidates, would decide on
their main strategy for improving competitiveness and then
consider the consequences for the other knowledge elements of the
specification. For example, some candidates might consider
relocation whilst others investigate altering the method of
production. Both options have implications for managing and
improving the efficiency of production. Individual candidates
would consider and develop their own solutions in these two areas.
Finally, centres should note that production covers both services
and goods. It is perfectly acceptable for candidates to investigate a
service sector business, for example a supermarket or a transport
provider.
These Requirements are concerned with:
1 The research and analysis carried out by the candidates as they
develop the details of their proposals (Requirement C).
2 The decisions made by candidates concerning which aspects
of planning, managing and improving the efficiency of
production they focused on (Requirement D).
3 The extent to which the overall proposal is viable
(Requirement D).
Candidates could present this evidence as a separate set of
appendices detailing the analysis and evaluation which led to the
final proposal. Candidates might want to produce a separate piece
of evidence for item three above, eg a written report reviewing the
viability of the proposal.
50
This unit provides ample scope for candidates to use quantitative

techniques when analysing key aspects of planning, managing and
improving the efficiency of production. However, candidates will
need to avoid applying techniques ‘blindly’, ie analysis implies
purpose and the purpose here is to improve the competitiveness of
the investigated business. In addition, it is likely that candidates
will not be able to access the data they require for every single
aspect of their proposals. This should not be an insurmountable
problem and candidates are allowed to estimate some of the key
parameters.
Initially, it is to be expected that candidates will carry out a number
of speculative investigations, analysing the potential for improving
competitiveness. As indicated above, in Requirement B, candidates
should restrict themselves to these key components when
developing their proposals. At this stage candidates would be
expected to demonstrate detailed analysis, applying a small range of
techniques, ie depth rather than breadth of analysis.
51
Course Organisation
6 Delivery of the Course

6.1 Introduction Each centre should arrange delivery of the units in an order that is
sympathetic to its capabilities and that meets candidates’ needs.
However, the following points should be considered:
1 Units 1, 2 and 3 form the foundation of the AS and A Level
qualifications and should be delivered early on in the
programme.
2 In all four awards, a minimum of 1/3 of the units submitted by
a candidate must be externally assessed.
3 The A2 units are designed to be delivered after the AS units.
4 Pathways have been built into the qualification.
Units 1, 2 and 3 must be taken by all candidates entered for
any of the four possible awards, ie the 3 or 6 unit AS Level; the
6 or 12 unit A Level. These units should be covered early on in
the delivery programme.
When selecting the units to be included in the centre’s delivery
programme, the centre must ensure that a third of each candidate’s
units are externally assessed. In the AS Level Double Award,
A Level Single Award and A Level Double Award, it is possible
to have up to half of the units externally assessed if particular units
are selected. Centres can adopt this approach if they feel it is in
the best interests of their candidates.
The A2 units are set at a higher level of demand compared with
the AS units. While it is possible for candidates to work towards
the completion of an A2 unit early on in a programme, it is not
advised. The AS units provide a foundation for the A2 units and
the AS units should be covered before the A2 units.
Three pathways are embedded within the specification:
• Marketing
• Human Resources and Administration
• Finance and Operations.
These pathways do not indicate sufficient units for any of the
four possible awards. Please refer to Section 2 of the
Teachers’ Guide for these requirements.
Centres and candidates do not have to follow these pathways.
However, the pathways indicate related AS and A2 units, ie they
help centres and candidates to build coherent programmes of
study.
52
Within a pathway, optional AS units build on a core AS unit. In

addition, optional A2 units build on the pathway’s AS units. For
example, in the Marketing pathway, AS Unit 4 – Meeting Customer
Needs builds on core AS Unit 1- Investigating Business. A2 Unit 9
– Marketing Strategy builds on both of these AS units.
The Marketing pathway includes:
• AS units
Core: Unit 1 - Investigating Business – (Portfolio)
Optional: Unit 4 - Meeting Customer Needs (External Test);
Unit 7 - Career Planning (Portfolio)
• A2 units
Core: Unit 8 - Business Planning (Portfolio)
Optional: Unit 9 - Marketing Strategy (Portfolio);
Unit 10 - Promotional Activities (Portfolio);
Unit 11 - The Marketing Environment (External Test).
The Human Resources and Administration pathway includes:
• AS units
Core: Unit 2 - People in Business – (Portfolio)
Optional: Unit 5 - Business Communication and Information
Systems (External Test); Unit 7 - Career Planning (Portfolio)
• A2 units
Optional: Unit 12 - Managing People (External Test);
Unit 13 - Managing Information (Portfolio);
Unit 14 - Managing Change (Portfolio).
The Finance and Operations pathway includes:
• AS units
Core: Unit 3 - Financial Planning and Monitoring (External
Test)
Optional: Unit 6 - Developing a Product (Portfolio);
Unit 7 - Career Planning (Portfolio)
• A2 units
Optional: Unit 15 - Financial Accounting for Managers
(External Test); Unit 16 - Managing Resources (Portfolio).
Unit 7 – Career Planning is included in each pathway as candidates
can choose their own career focus when developing their career
pathway.
Unit 8 – Business Planning is included in each pathway as it is the
synoptic unit and must be taken by any candidates seeking an
A Level Award (6 or 12 units).
It is strongly advised that Unit 8 – Business Planning is
delivered towards the end of an A Level delivery programme. It
is an opportunity for candidates to reflect on all they have
experienced and learned during their 6 or 12 unit A Level
Award. In addition, it requires candidates to produce an
integrated plan that draws on all areas of the core AS units and
whichever optional units they elected to complete.
53
6.2 Timing Options It is impossible to provide exact recommendations for the structure
and timing of delivery programmes as each centre will have its
own particular constraints.
The following suggestions are intended to support centres when
planning their programmes of delivery. They are based mainly on
three notional teaching blocks, each lasting approximately
12 weeks, running from the start of the Autumn term (Block 1) to
the Summer half-term (Block 3). This allows time for any January
examination leave and supports the submission of portfolio marks
and completion of external assessments by the required dates in an
academic year.
In the case of single awards, it is assumed that one standard A
Level timetable slot will be provided, eg 5 hours a week. In the
case of double awards, it is assumed that two timetable slots would
be provided, eg 10 hours a week (2 x 5 hours).
Some centres offering double awards have three teachers attached
to a group, ie two teaching blocks of 15 weeks in three narrower
timetable slots, eg 3 x 3 hours 20 minutes. Delivery programmes
using this approach are also illustrated.
6.2.1 3 Unit AS Level Award In order to enter candidates for the 3 unit AS Level Award at the
end of Year 12, centres need to have submitted candidate portfolio
marks for Unit 1 and Unit 2. In addition, candidates must have
taken the external assessment for Unit 3 – Financial Planning and
Monitoring. The deadline for submitting portfolio marks to AQA
is expected to be the 15 May. Two assessment opportunities exist
each year for externally assessed units – in January and June.
Unit 3 in Teaching Block 1
In order to provide an opportunity to re-sit Unit 3 – Financial
Planning and Monitoring, centres could deliver this unit in the first
teaching block. Candidates would be entered for a January
assessment and would have an opportunity to re-sit this in June.
Coupled with enterprise activities, this might motivate candidates
and allows time for them to develop their research skills before
embarking on the portfolio units.
However, many candidates might prefer to start with portfolio
work. In addition, candidates might find it difficult to complete
their portfolios in time for teacher assessment and submission of
marks which is expected to be the 15 May.
Unit 3 in Teaching Block 3
Centres might use the first two teaching blocks to complete
portfolios Unit 1 – Investigating Business and Unit 2 – People in
Business. Unit 3 – Financial Planning and Monitoring would be
delivered in the third teaching block, with candidates entering for
the June external assessment slot. This pattern makes better use of
the time available and places less ‘assessment stress’ on
candidates at the beginning of their studies.
54
However, centres should take time to induct candidates and develop

their research and portfolio building skills, ie avoid portfolio work
until candidates understand sufficient concepts and have the skills
necessary for its successful completion. In addition, candidates will
have only one assessment opportunity for Unit 3 in the same
academic year.
6.2.2 6 Unit AS Level Award This could be run over one or two academic years.
One academic year
If run over one year, all candidates will be given the opportunity to
move onto the A Level, and the A2 units, in Year 13. This would
obviously require two timetable slots.
The first timetable slot could be occupied by the core 3 unit AS Level
Award described previously.
The second timetable slot would then consist of optional AS units.
Given this, it might be sensible to ‘pair-up’ AS units according to the
pathways, eg if Unit 1 – Investigating Business is delivered in
Teaching Block 1, then its ‘sister’, Unit 4 – Meeting Customer Needs,
could be delivered alongside it. This would have the advantage of
providing a contrast, ie one portfolio and one externally assessed unit
being delivered at the same time.
The following table outlines one possible pattern of delivery:
Timetable Slot 1 Timetable Slot 2

(Core Units) (Optional Units)
Teacher A Teacher B
Teaching Block 1 Unit 1 Unit 4
In Teaching Block 1, candidates are introduced to business activities

by looking at their role and influence as consumers. They also
investigate the importance of team work and the meaning and
significance of enterprise skills.
In Teaching Block 2, candidates investigate people in business from a
business perspective, Unit 2 – People in Business, and a personal
perspective, Unit 7 – Career Planning. As no immediate external
assessment opportunity is present in Teaching Block 2, it is possible
to deliver these two portfolio based units in this block.
55
In Teaching Block 3, candidates investigate the finance and

operations elements of business practice. Unit 6 – Developing a
Product provides a creative balance in addition to re-enforcing the
costing and profit concepts covered in Unit 3 – Financial Planning
and Monitoring.
The pattern could be altered by delivering Unit 3 – Financial
Planning and Monitoring and Unit 6 – Developing a Product in
Teaching Block 1.
Teaching Block 3 would then deliver Unit 1 – Investigating
Business and Unit 4 – Meeting Customer Needs.
If a centre adopts a two teaching block, three timetable slot
approach, a possible delivery programme could be as follows:
Timetable Slot 1 Timetable Slot 2 Timetable Slot 3

Teacher A Teacher B Teacher C
Teaching
Unit 1 Unit 6 Unit 3
Block 1
Teaching
Unit 2 Unit 5 Unit 7
Block 2
The advantage with this approach is that each 15 week Teaching

Block has an external assessment opportunity. However, the
disadvantage is the range of demands each candidate faces during
a typical week. In this example, Unit 5 – Business
Communication and Information Systems has been included in
Teaching Block 2: it pairs with Unit 2 – People in Business and is
externally assessed.
If centres wanted to offer 50% external assessment, the example
above could be altered by replacing Unit 7 – Career Planning with
Unit 4 – Meeting Customer Needs in Teaching Block 2. However,
centres would need to be sure that the perceived benefits of 50%
external assessment outweighed the possible problems of a less
coherent delivery package in Teaching Block 2.
Two academic years
Centres might also deliver the 6 unit AS Level Award in one
timetable slot over two years. Targeting a separate cohort, this
would allow centres to provide for candidates whose KS4 profiles
are characterised predominantly by D grades and, perhaps, E
grades.
Given this ‘long run’ at the AS programme, candidates with
traditionally Intermediate GNVQ or ‘One-Year Sixth’ GCSE
profiles could be provided with a practical course of study that
offered genuine progression. Year 12 would focus heavily on
developing skills, increasing motivation and demonstrating
achievement.
56
This approach could run alongside the timetable slot for the 3 unit
AS Level and follow the same delivery pattern. In this situation,
Unit 3 – Financial Planning and Monitoring would probably be best
left to the third Teaching Block of Year 12, with assessment in June
of Year 12.
In Year 13, candidates could complete Unit 4 – Meeting Customer
Needs or Unit 5 – Business Communication and Information
Systems in Teaching Block 1, ready for a January assessment and
allowing for a re-sit. Unit 6 – Developing a Product could be
completed in Teaching Block 2. Unit 7 – Career Planning could act
as a reflective unit tying the candidates’ experiences together in the
final Teaching Block of Year 13. On the basis of their experiences
and understanding gained from completing Unit 7, candidates could
map out their ‘next steps’ with some candidates potentially moving
on to Year 14 to complete the A Level 12 Unit Award.
6.2.3 6 Unit A Level Award This should be run over two years using one timetable slot. Centres
are allowed to run this award in a single academic year, but this is
not recommended.
Year 12 would follow the same pattern as the 3 unit AS Level
Award outlined in Section 6.2.1, page 54.
Some time would be available in July of Year 12 to provide ‘tasters’
of the A2 units to be taken in Year 13. Candidates would need to
appreciate the differences between the level and mix of skills
required for the AS and the A2 units. In addition, candidates could
begin to identify research opportunities if the A2 delivery
programme has been decided.
In Year 13 candidates must complete Unit 8 – Business Planning.
As stated above, this should be offered in Teaching Block 3, ie it
should be the last unit completed by candidates in Year 13.
The table below shows one possible Year 13 delivery programme:
Timetable Slot 1
Teaching Block 1 Unit 11
To take advantage of the January external assessment opportunity,

Unit 11 - The Marketing Environment is delivered in Teaching
Block 1. This delivery programme uses the Marketing pathway and
Unit 10 - Promotional Activities is delivered in Teaching Block 2.
In Teaching Block 3, synoptic Unit 8 – Business Planning is
delivered and candidates will also have the opportunity to re-sit
externally tested units in the June assessment session.
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The pathways do not have to be followed. For example, using the

above delivery programme, Unit 12 - Managing People could be
offered as the externally tested unit in Teaching Block 1.
Externally tested units could be offered in Teaching Blocks 1 and
2. This poses some problems in respect of external assessment
opportunities for the unit delivered in Teaching Block 2. Centres
might be tempted to complete Unit 8 – Business Planning in
Teaching Block 1, then teach two externally assessed units within
Teaching Blocks 2 and 3 ready for external assessment in June.
This would seem to have a number of potential drawbacks:
• candidates are not likely to be ready to complete the synoptic
unit at the start of Year 13
• no re-sit opportunity will be available for the externally tested
units in the current academic year.
6.2. 12 Unit A Level Award A wider range of delivery programmes are possible here.
4 The Year 12 programme could follow the ideas suggested for the
6 unit AS Level Award. As with the 6 unit A Level Award, some
time would be available in July of Year 12 to orientate candidates.
Given the amount of research that will need to be carried out in
Year 13, candidates would do well to identify possible
organisations and sources of information for some of the A2
portfolio units that they are likely to complete.
Assuming two timetable slots, one possible delivery programme
is:
Teacher A Teacher B
This is a combination of all three pathways, providing a broad

coverage. Teaching Block 2 uses two portfolio units that have the
potential to reinforce each other – Unit 13 - Managing Information
and Unit 14 - Managing Change. Teaching Block 1 used one
externally tested unit – Unit 11 - The Marketing Environment and
couples this with a ‘sister’ portfolio unit – Unit 9 - Marketing
Strategy. Teaching Block 3 includes the synoptic unit and couples
this with Unit 15 - Financial Accounting for Managers. This
would certainly help candidates to provide a thorough financial
analysis of the business plan!
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Obviously, this programme would not appeal to all candidates or

centres. Many candidates and centres might want to adopt a more
focused approach. For example:
Teacher A Teacher B
This particular programme has a Marketing pathway focus. Groups

of candidates (3 to 5) could, for example, focus on one or two
businesses throughout Year 13 by looking at how the business
might improve its activities.
For example, in Teaching Block 1, the group begins by
investigating a marketing strategy for the business. Each member of
the group would focus on a different strategy. The knowledge and
understanding gained from Unit 11 – The Marketing Environment
would help to inform the marketing strategies produced for Unit 9 –
Marketing Strategy.
In Teaching Block 2, the group goes on to look at two detailed
aspects of the proposed improvements, ie in Unit 10 – Promotional
Activities, by developing promotional campaign plans for aspects of
the marketing strategies produced in Unit 9 – Marketing Strategy; in
Unit 14 – Managing Change, working together as a group to
consider how a manageable aspect of a marketing strategy, affecting
the internal operation of the business, could be introduced.
In Teaching Block 3, individual candidates develop a plan for a
business proposal that might grow out of their investigations carried
out in Teaching Blocks 1 and 2. Alternatively, a candidate might
decide to branch out and look at his or her own business proposal.
A variety of combinations and timings are possible in order to
construct coherent delivery programmes. These programmes should
be capable of motivating candidates, providing ample scope for
sharing information and developing wider skills.
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6.3 Making the Course Another key aspect of delivery is the approach taken when
Applied developing candidates' knowledge, skills and understanding. In
addition, the process of building portfolios requires some
consideration, as does the choice of evidence formats.
6.3.1 Developing Knowledge, To quote from page 4 of the specification:

Skills and Understanding “The fundamental philosophy of this specification is
that, in order to understand the nature of Applied
Business, candidates must actively experience the
business environment. This can be achieved through a
variety of approaches, including work experience, links
with local employers, case studies and research.
Opportunities also exist to develop a practical approach
through schemes such as Young Business Enterprise.”
Centres should make every effort to ensure that business theories
and concepts are not delivered for their own sake.
It is very important that Applied Business candidates view
business theories and concepts as practical tools that enable
them to make sense of business practice.
For example, when delivering Unit 1 – Investigating Business,
candidates could be given the opportunity to reflect on the range of
promotional activities used by a variety of businesses before
formalising this in terms of the promotional mix. In this situation,
groups of candidates might prepare short presentations outlining the
nature of four or five promotional activities (advertising printed on
drinks mats, price discounts, describing a particular TV or radio
advertisement etc). They would go on to explain why they think
these examples are or are not effective. They would consider at
whom they think the promotional activities are aimed.
From this activity, the whole class could then brainstorm the types
of promotional activities used by businesses. They would then
move on to classifying these and considering how each works on the
motivation of buyers.
Finally, the class observations would be compared with standard
textbook theories and candidates would be asked to comment on the
usefulness of particular theories and concepts. At this point, it might
be said that candidates have the beginnings of a working knowledge
of some theories and concepts as opposed to a received or ‘wrote’
understanding of abstract terminology.
How candidates acquire this ‘working’ knowledge is a matter for
individual centres to decide. At one extreme, it is legitimate for a
centre to provide a series of activities within the classroom that
simulate real world activities, eg the example given above.
At another extreme, a centre might provide a range of off-site
business experiences which, together with some carefully planned
activities, develop a genuine appreciation and understanding of key
concepts and theories. In both cases, the candidates are
experiencing business activities, the only difference is the way in
which those experiences are delivered.
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Centres should avoid ‘false’ experiences such as a heavy reliance on

case study materials that do not enable candidates to empathise and
engage with business situations.
It is vital that candidates are not inadvertently encouraged to
regurgitate case study materials in the hope that volume equates
with performance - it does not.
6.3.2 Building Portfolios As indicated in Section 5 of this guide, the evidence presented in
candidates' portfolios should be focused and practical. It should
demonstrate sound use of relevant business theories and concepts,
as and when, they are required to make sense of a business problem
or situation.
It is expected that candidates will build their portfolios during the
delivery of each portfolio unit. However, centres are encouraged to
avoid asking candidates to start immediately on portfolio work at
the beginning of each unit. Centres should take time to develop
candidates' working knowledge of key concepts and theories before
candidates produce portfolio evidence.
Section 5 of this guide provides clear guidance on the nature of
portfolio evidence. Centres should avoid treating Requirements A,
B, C and D as distinct pieces of evidence. For each portfolio unit
being delivered, centres should plan a series of activities and tasks
that have the collective potential to provide verifiable evidence for
Requirements A, B, C and D.
The relationship between Requirements A, B, C and D is illustrated
by the following diagram:
A (AO1): D (AO4):
Setting the scene B (AO2): Demonstrating
for the the main outcome judgement in relat ion
investigation to B
C (AO3):
Research and analysis needed to inform B and D
In general terms, it is likely that centres will provide one or two

tasks that orientate candidates and help them to complete
Requirement A, ie scene setting tasks that ask candidates to describe
(AS) or explain (A2) the nature of the situation or problem.
Inevitably, these tasks will begin to encroach on Requirement B, ie
the main outcome of the unit's portfolio requirement. In certain
cases, the centre might see this as inevitable and design a series of
connected tasks for Requirements A and B. In other situations, a
centre might see merit in keeping the two distinct. This is perfectly
acceptable.
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Requirements C and D are concerned with the processes required

to arrive at reasoned and appropriate outcomes. At AS Level, it is
likely that a structured approach will be required. At A2 Level,
candidates will hopefully have learned from this structured
approach and be able to develop their own methodologies for
tackling problems, given some general guidance from the centre.
Centres may, therefore, provide tight guidance on collecting,
selecting and analysing relevant data for all AS portfolio units.
Furthermore, a series of whole class activities might be used that
help candidates to reflect on their individual findings, eg some
simple ‘show and tell’ sessions where candidates have a few
minutes to report to the class aspects of what they have discovered
about the problem or situation to date. These sessions are intended
to encourage candidates to formalise their findings and express
them in clear and concise ways.
6.3.3 Evidence Formats One way in which the course can be made applied is through the
use of appropriate evidence formats. This can take the form of
asking candidates to address their findings to the owners,
managers or workers of the business they are investigating. In this
way, candidates will be required to choose appropriate formats and
use them with a degree of accuracy.
Candidates should be encouraged to provide extended appendices
which could contain structured, reasoned evidence for
Requirements C and D. Wherever possible, candidates should
refer to findings within these appendices in their ‘final product’
outcomes for Requirement B.
For example, in Unit 1, a candidate might present a portfolio
explaining key aspects of a business's successful use of marketing
activities, enterprise skills and team work. This could literally be
a portfolio of illustrated examples accompanied by a commentary
explaining the significance of each example and their collective
impact. In the commentary, the candidate would make reference
to specific findings contained in a set of appendices. These
appendices would consist of research findings and key judgements
made by the candidate. Effectively, the combined portfolio would
be similar to that expected of an employee reporting back to
managers or
co-workers. To complete the analogy, Requirement A might be
satisfied by an introductory presentation (with notes!) that set the
scene for the illustrated report.
However, centres must ensure that verifiable and sufficient
evidence is capable of being produced by the combinations of
evidence formats employed.
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7 Scheme of Work
7.1 Introduction The following scheme of work can be followed whatever
assessment pattern is adopted by the centre. It is essential to
integrate the subject content as the course progresses.
The purpose of this scheme of work is to provide advice and
guidance to teachers, not to prescribe and restrict their approach to
the specification. Please bear in mind that there is no requirement to
use this scheme of work. All items included are suggestions only
and are by no means prescriptive.
It is assumed that there are 5 hours per week contact teaching (10
hours for Double Award courses) in twelve-week terms, giving
approximately 60 hours per term. As a rough guide, 155 hours (310
hours for Double Award) are allocated for the AS material (running
up to June of Year 12) and 180 hours (360 for Double Award) for
the A2 material. Centres that have less contact teaching time per
week can still use the scheme of work although it might be
necessary to cover some of the extension exercises through the use
of handouts or, in some cases, omitting these exercises altogether.
This scheme of work can be followed in any order.

As GCSE Applied Business (Double Award) is not a pre-requisite
for candidates to study A Level Applied Business, it is useful to
begin with an introduction or an overview of the course.
7.2 AS Unit 1 – Investigating

Business
Content Focus and Activities Approx. hours
7.2.1 Business Aims and Objectives 5
The range of aims and Candidates should develop a practical

objectives understanding of the aims and objectives used by
profit and not-for-profit businesses. Illustrations
comparing the aims and objectives of small
organisations with those of large organisations
would be useful.
Centres could use visiting speakers from one or
two local businesses or use initial enterprise
activities as a way of developing a practical
understanding of aims and objectives, eg target
setting.
63
How businesses measure The concept of ‘SMART’ objectives could be used

the achievement of aims here to provide a framework for how businesses
and objectives measure success. Practical examples of qualitative
and quantitative measures should be used and
candidates should be encouraged to start carrying out
their own research in preparation for their portfolio
work.
In addition to the resources mentioned in the
previous section, candidates could access company
websites (such as TESCO) to understand how large
organisations measure achievement. This would be
a good opportunity for early group work with each
group feeding back to the class.
7.2.2 External Environment 10
Levels of economic activity It is vital that centres restrict their delivery here to a
general consideration of the meaning and
importance of economic activity. Delivery should
focus on practical examples of how changes in local
economic conditions impact on businesses. This can
then move on to national and international
conditions, but the examples should be restricted to
specific cases and use accessible real world
materials.
Regional newspapers will probably provide suitable
materials, as will Local Authority economic
intelligence units. News websites, such as the BBC,
provide a wide range of national and international
examples, however, teachers will probably need to
edit these materials.
Social and ethical values of Delivery should focus on key social and ethical
customers issues in relation to business activity. On the one
hand, this might look at particular products, eg
issues with the nutritional value of foods. On the
other hand, this could look at the production process,
eg use of recyclable materials or the concept of fair
trade.
Candidates could research well known ethical
organisations, such as the Body Shop, or carry out
brief attitudinal surveys within the school and at
home as part of extended work. Candidates should
also begin to think about the business they are
investigating for their portfolio and consider the
range of social and ethical values which might
impact on its success.
64
Legal and self-regulatory Given the time limits, this area should be restricted
issues to factors likely to affect the business each
candidate is investigating. Candidates could be
provided with a mind-map of various legal and
self-regulatory issues, possibly developed as a
whole class exercise, and asked to place this in the
context of their chosen business.
A range of websites exist covering legal issues in
depth (eg www.tradingstandards.gov.uk), but
these should be accessed later on, when candidates
are developing their portfolios. The range of
information contained in general AS Level
Business Studies texts will be sufficient at this
stage.
Degree of competition Centres should focus on the idea of competition in

terms of a business’s ability to attract and keep
customers. Candidates could be asked to list the
factors which make them satisfied with a particular
product brand. From here, candidates can then
look at the issue from a business perspective.
Ultimately, candidates need to understand that the
degree of competition in a market is a crucial factor
affecting the ability of a business to achieve its
aims and objectives.
As an extended exercise, candidates could be asked
to consider the market in which their chosen
business operates in and identify the nature and
number of competitors present. This might be split
into direct and indirect competitors; web and/or
local research should provide the information
required. One quick source of information is
www.upmystreet.com, which will list the number
and location of particular types of businesses in the
local area.
7.2.3 Marketing Activities 25
How businesses identify This should flow on from the previous section.
customer needs Candidates should be provided with a general
introduction to how businesses monitor customer
satisfaction and requirements. Examples such as
supermarkets, hotels and leisure centres should be
sufficient to establish a general understanding.
Candidates should either identify, or find out how
to identify, the ways in which their chosen business
monitors customer satisfaction and requirements.
65
Methods of research: An understanding of sampling is not required and

primary centres should focus on the methods of data
collection. Examples of the various primary
methods should be provided for candidates (sourced
from text books or, for example, the internet).
This section provides an opportunity for a visiting
speaker, possibly from a supermarket or leisure
centre, to provide practical and realistic examples of
primary market research.
Following on with the enterprise theme mentioned
earlier, candidates could also reflect on or construct
their own primary research instruments.
Methods of research: Candidates should develop an awareness of the

secondary sources of secondary data and how these can be used
to understand customer needs and market conditions.
Centres should adopt a reasonably light touch here,
as the complexity of some sources will confuse
candidates. By using the free search facility on the
Mintel reports website, candidates can gain a general
understanding of the range of data available without
having to access the paid for reports
(www.mintel.com).
Although much of the government’s statistical
material is now available online for free, centres
should restrict usage to key tables and graphs from,
for example, Social Trends and Regional Trends
(www.statistics.gov.uk).
Presentation of research This section is important as candidates’ portfolios

findings will benefit from a sound understanding of how data
can be efficiently presented in the form of tables,
graphs and diagrams. Candidates could investigate a
range of business communication materials, via
websites, to appreciate how raw data can be
presented in informative ways.
Concept of marketing and Centres should make every effort to avoid

an introduction to the 4Ps concentrating too much on this section of the unit. It
needs to have a suitable amount of time allocated to
it (eg approximately 8 hours), but not to the
detriment of the Enterprise and Teamwork sections.
66
This section is meant to be an introduction to the

marketing mix and how it supports the
achievement of a business’s aims and objectives.
A wide range of materials exist in this area and
centres should have no difficulty sourcing a range
of theoretical examples. www.tutor2u.net
provides accessible notes in this area. The focus
should be on the practical application of the
marketing mix and this presents a sound
opportunity for candidates, working in groups, to
carry out their own investigations into how
businesses use the marketing mix to achieve their
aims and objectives. Candidates could then deliver
short presentations to the class.
Mass marketing v niche Delivery should focus on the quality decisions

marketing and quality issues made by businesses when deciding on their product
ranges and how they position themselves within the
market. In turn, candidates could then consider the
mass market v niche decisions made by a range of
businesses.
7.2.4 Enterprise and Enterprise 10

Skills
The wider meaning of Candidates need to understand that individuals can

enterprise and the idea of demonstrate enterprising behaviour in a wide range
enterprising behaviour of situations. Examples of enterprising behaviour,
taken from various contexts, should be provided,
eg demonstrated by individuals within the school
or college, by employees within local businesses
and by nationally known business innovators. A
range of websites exist promoting enterprising
behaviour, eg www.showusyours.co.uk
Enterprise skills Centres should take time to develop a genuine

understanding in candidates of the skills listed in
this section of the unit. This could be fostered by
candidates identifying profit and not-for-profit
opportunities within their school and local
community. They could then consider the steps
that would need to be taken to launch the idea.
Visiting speakers would be useful here. These
speakers do not need to fit a stereotypical image of
an entrepreneur, but might simply be ex-candidates
who have achieved some goal.
67
How enterprise skills Centres should provide two or three case studies of
support the achievement of successful businesses and the way in which
business aims and enterprising behaviour supported this success. The
objectives internet contains a wide range of ‘success’ stories as
part of profit and not-for-profit business websites, eg
www.innocentdrinks.co.uk
Candidates should then focus on their own chosen
businesses and consider the extent to which
enterprising behaviour has helped each business to
achieve its aims and objectives. This would be a
good opportunity to share findings and develop a
broad understanding of the importance of
enterprising behaviour.
If candidates are taking part in enterprise activities,
then their experiences could be shared.
7.2.5 Importance of Teams to the 10

Success of the Business
The difference between a Candidates are unlikely to appreciate, at this stage,

group and a team the difference between a group and a team. Centres
could use a range of problem solving exercises to
provide a practical demonstration of the need for
team work (eg production line games) and begin to
indicate the importance of personality types within
teams.
Team structures and roles Centres should focus on how businesses organise
their employees into effective teams and how the
nature of a business and particular tasks partly
determine the structure of teams.
Belbin’s team roles can be introduced by considering
the individual personalities of candidates and/or by
considering the personality types of characters in
current soap operas or situational comedies. For
information on Belbin’s team roles visit
www.belbin.co.uk A quick search of the world
wide web will also generate a range of ideas and
resources.
Candidates can complete an on-line personality
questionnaire at www.id60.co.uk
The importance of teams Visiting speakers or visits to a suitable organisation

should provide sufficient practical evidence of the
importance of teams. Candidates should consider
the teams used within their chosen business and
begin to think about the importance of particular
team roles.
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7.3 AS Unit 2 – People in

Business
7.3.1 Roles and Responsibilities Candidates will need an overview of how 10

businesses group employees. A simple
organisation chart of a local business could be a
pictorial way to start. This at once shows the
functional areas and the hierarchy of the
organisation. Candidates could then be split into
groups, each considering a different functional area
and assigning the types of work that they believe
each employee may carry out. Having considered
this, the exercise could be extended by analysing
the skills and, therefore, the qualifications and
training that may be required.
After this initial exercise, it is vital that a local
business is involved to describe how and why
employees are organised in a certain way, and their
policies on training and development and the
motivational methods they use.
Although a speaker could deliver an overview, it
would be more interesting for small groups (eg
three candidates) to actually interview personnel
within the differing functional areas and to report
back to the teaching group. This would provide a
sound basis for Requirement A.
7.3.2 Staff Development and Although a major source of information will be the 8
Training local business, it is important that candidates are
made aware of the bulleted forms of training and
specifically, the type of training for which they are
most appropriate. This will assist candidates when
they are completing the portfolio exercise,
particularly in terms of Requirements C and D,
analysing and evaluating the recruitment process.
The employee interviews should also provide
information for this section.
7.3.3 Motivation This is not intended to be the place to introduce 7

Motivational Theorists as this is developed further
in Unit 12 - Managing People. However, a class
brainstorm on what motivates them can be a way of
revealing the motivators described by these
theorists. Once the inevitable ‘money’ is out of the
way, other motivators such as interest, group
working, satisfaction etc can be elicited and
grouped according to the motivators that are
bulleted.
69
Some formal input may be necessary to ensure that

candidates understand that these methods of
motivation are needed in combination to fully
motivate employees.
If candidates are made aware of motivators before
they interview employees, they will be able to frame
questions to elicit more responses than just ‘money’.
7.3.4 The Recruitment Process, A straight delivery of the recruitment process should 10
the Legal, Ethical and Social be illustrated with actual examples of the documents
Obligations used.
A visit from the local Job Centre or a prepared
information pack will provide candidates with an
insight into local PEST factors and major employers,
as well as providing information on skills shortages
in the area. An analysis of local Jobs Vacant
columns can also be used. The results of this
analysis can then be compared to the information
received from the Job Centre.
Candidates need to know what effect these factors
have on the self-regulatory issues such as
remuneration, age and welfare packages offered for
particular jobs by differing businesses.
Although the major legal, social and ethical
obligations should be investigated, it is not a
requirement for candidates to learn all the different
Acts of Parliament with dates.
7.3.5 Recruitment Documentation The local business could be asked to supply these, 10
but as many candidates are likely to have applied for
part-time jobs, bringing in their own examples
would introduce a better variety.
It should be made clear why these documents are
necessary in the recruitment process from both the
internal and external perspectives. Comparisons and
analysis of these documents may help candidates to
‘read between the lines’ when actually applying for
jobs and help them to provide the ‘right’ kind of
information. It should also assist them when
drawing up their own documentation. Again,
consideration should be given to discriminatory
information or requirements.
Where and how to advertise should be explored and
the suitability of the place discussed, eg local paper
for junior position, radio for mass recruitment etc.
Candidates should be encouraged to draw up a time-
line which allows time for responses to the advert,
short listing etc before the actual interview.
70
7.3.6 Interviewing As this is a practical skill, as much practice should 15

be given as possible. Before interviewing the
employees in the local business, it would be useful
for candidates to have participated in class
activities.
Open and closed questions should be used to
discover the most appropriate type of question to
elicit the required information, eg “What motivates
you?” or “Why do you work?” would probably
elicit the response “For money”. “Why do you
enjoy your job?” or “Why do you enjoy working
here?” is more likely to draw out hygiene factors.
Non-verbal communication should also be
practised as body language, the physical
environment and positioning of chairs etc can all
have an effect on a successful interview.
Experiencing these effects for themselves is the
best way for candidates to understand these factors.
It is vital for candidates to plan the interview
structure and some questions before they actually
carry out the interviews. They need to be aware
that if they are judging responses, the questions
need to be the same.
There are a range of psychometric tests and
aptitude tests available and these can be
downloaded from several websites, for example
www.myskillsprofile.com and
www.cooltests.com Requiring candidates to
complete these themselves and analysing the
results would be a practical way of learning the
benefits of the tests. They may challenge the
results, but this can form the basis of effective
analysis and evaluation – was it the test that was
limited/inappropriate or their perceptions of
themselves?
7.4 AS Unit 3 – Financial

Planning and Monitoring
7.4.1 Legal Forms of Business and Much of this work can be carried out 5
Sources of Finance independently by candidates.
Legal forms of Business This is a good introductory topic for a number of

reasons. It covers fairly straightforward subject
matter and is a small clearly contained topic. After
some introduction, candidates can be encouraged to
carry out some independent research into the legal
forms of business.
71
One approach might be to split the class into groups

of three candidates and require them to research one
of sole traders, partnerships, private limited
companies and public limited companies. They
should gather information under the following
headings:
• ownership
• control
• finance
• advantages
• disadvantages.
Sources of Finance A relatively descriptive topic which can be dull if

delivered formally in a teacher-led environment. A
more imaginative approach might be to provide a
handout with the various sources of finance outlined
– but not in too much detail! Then provide a series
of scenarios where businesses are seeking to raise
capital and invite candidates to suggest and justify
appropriate sources.
7.4.2 Resource Management Theoretical sessions considering the range of 5

resources used by a business. Further session
considering resource needs of two contrasting
businesses.
This is another descriptive subject area. It could be

taught using a pair of case studies looking at two
very different business scenarios and their resource
needs. For example, a small, newly established
service business (hairdresser or accountant, for
example) could be contrasted with a large business
pursuing a vigorous strategy of growth.
Tesco might be an example of the latter type of
business. An important aspect of any discussion on
the contrast between the resource requirements of
the two businesses might be to consider how
important it is for both businesses to use minimal
amounts of resources.
7.4.3 Costs, Revenues and Profits Formal teaching to introduce this topic. Follow up 5
exercises focusing on relevant calculations.
Discussion on the importance of profit (preparing for
distinction between this and cash flow). Set some
examination style questions.
72
Experience suggests that this topic is best taught

formally followed up by opportunities for
candidates to develop knowledge and practise
skills by:
• identifying fixed, variable and semi-variable
costs from lists
• calculating total costs demonstrating
understanding of variable costs, average costs
and fixed costs
• calculating revenues from price and quantity in
simple and more dynamic scenarios.
7.4.4 Break-even Analysis Start with a formal session on the nature and 5
calculation of contribution. Then progress to
calculating break-even. Follow this by
constructing, interpreting and altering break-even
charts.
This follows on naturally from the previous topic
and is best delivered using the same initial formal
approach followed by exercises to reinforce
understanding. It splits into two elements:
• showing fixed, variable and total costs
alongside revenues at successive levels of
output. This will enable a simple appreciation
of how losses can be converted into profits by
increasing scale and spreading fixed costs over
greater amounts of output
• introducing candidates to the concept of
contribution and using this as a lead in to the
calculation of break-even output using the
formula: fixed costs/contribution per unit. This
should be supplemented by the teaching of
break-even charts.
Candidates should be able to construct such charts,
read off profits or losses at various levels of output
and illustrate the impact of changing costs and
revenues. This is a topic that requires some time
and careful teaching as many candidates find it
complex. Candidates should also be familiar with
its strengths and weaknesses.
7.4.5 Cash Flow Forecasting Formal teaching of structure of cash flow forecasts. 5
Completing cash flow forecasts. Identify and
discuss possible causes of cash flow problems.
73
Candidates should understand:

• the difference between cash and profit
• the structure of forecasts with special attention
given to net cash flows and closing and opening
balances.
Banks provide a lot of information on constructing
cash flow forecasts and their material might prove
valuable. It is best to focus on completing cash flow
forecasts rather than drawing them up from scratch.
Candidates should understand why businesses
forecast cash flows and the advantages that
managers and owners may derive from this process.
The emphasis in this element of the topic should be
on understanding rather than simply calculation.
7.4.6 Cash Flow Monitoring Interpreting completed cash flow forecasts. Possible 5
solutions. Use plenty of case studies to deliver this
topic. Further examination style questions.
Candidates should understand:
• why businesses monitor their cash flows
• why businesses suffer from cash flow problems
• how businesses might react to various cash
positions.
Candidates should appreciate various methods
available to businesses to remedy adverse cash
situations. Teaching the monitoring of cash flows
invites the use of case studies depicting sound and
weak cash positions and inviting candidates to
propose possible solutions.
7.4.7 Setting and Monitoring Introduce via personal budgets. Formal teaching of 5
Budgets the budget setting processes and variance analysis
followed by lots of exercises:
• drawing up sales revenue budgets (possibly
through market research)
• constructing cost budgets linked to the forecast
level of sales
• using cost and revenue budgets to forecast
profits (or losses).
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Candidates should be able to compare budgeted

and actual figures and to calculate variances and to
identify whether they are adverse or favourable.
Give candidates plenty of examples to tackle once
they have been taught the basics of variance
analysis. They should also understand
relationships that may exist within budgets – for
example, if sales are higher than forecast
(favourable variance) then this may result in costs
being higher than forecast (adverse variance).
As with most techniques of financial planning and
monitoring, candidates should understand the
reasons for using the technique and the benefits
that may result.
7.4.8 Business Plans An important topic which can pull together some 15
of the earlier work as well as providing a
significant area of independent study for
candidates. Banks offer much useful material on
business planning and candidates should be
encouraged to use some of this in drawing up a
plan for an imaginary business. This plan can be
supplemented by financial information such as
cash flow forecasts, budgets and break-even
analysis.
Candidates could be required to make a
presentation to a panel (perhaps including an
external observer) outlining their plans and
responding to questions. This may be best if
candidates work in groups because of the amount
of work involved.
This topic could also integrate some consideration
of the benefits of software to entrepreneurs and
managers planning and monitoring a business’s
finances. Indeed, candidates may be required to
use business software as an integral part of their
business plan.
7.4.9 Examination practice and Review of concepts and practising trial 10
preparation examination questions.
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7.5 AS Unit 4 – Meeting

Customer Needs
Content Focus and Activities Approx.

hours
7.5.1 Types of Customer The idea of how a business identifies customers, 10

segments them, identifies and analyses their needs
through to developing products and providing after-
sales care are possibly ones that candidates have not
thought a great deal about. However, there will be a
wealth of personal experience to draw upon. It will
be useful to get candidates to explore the way
customers can be segmented by accessible
businesses, such as retailers, using factors such as
price, location, incomes etc. A good starting point
for this may be the ACORN demographic profiles
that can be accessed from www.upmystreet.com
How customers can be Candidates should focus on how an industry may be

segmented segmented, as well as within a particular business.
Local and national well known operations can be
used as a starting point.
Impact of changes in Candidates need to understand that a changing

population structure demographic structure will change the customer
profile of an individual business, both from a local
and national perspective. Many recent news articles
highlight the aging population as a growing market,
as well as the recent ‘Tweenager’ concept.
Significance of the Centres need to ensure that while the needs of

distinction between internal external customers are usually within the experience
and external customers of a candidate, the concept of the internal customer
can sometimes be less clear cut. This is an area
covered well in AS level texts.
7.5.2 Customer Needs Candidates may also be able to investigate a wide 10

range of different products, and assess the range of
needs different customers have. Discussion may be
opened up about different types of products, such as
a weekly grocery shop, compared with the purchase
of a car. Mintel data (or samples of) could be used
to show the level of market research an industry
might have access to in order to make informed
decisions about needs and expectations.
The range of customer A trip to a local shopping centre (Trafford Centre,

needs Bluewater, Metro Centre etc) will display generic
customer needs in full, and within the various
businesses it should be straightforward to identify
needs of customers, and how they have been met.
76
Product characteristics and Using a local area and its businesses as a focus, let
customer needs: complexity candidates judge the level of needs a potential
and involvement customer may have for a product – ranging from
convenience stores/newsagents through clothing
retailers, electrical goods stores, and car
dealerships. Candidates can attempt to classify the
complexity of the product/service, and how
involved a customer is likely to become with the
product. This, in turn, dictates the amount of
information required by a customer.
Product characteristics and Again, following on from the above characteristics,

customer needs: essential products can be chosen by candidates, and judged
and non-essential as to whether they are essential or not. There may
well be a ‘grey’ area here (eg mobile phones).
How much does this alter customers’ expectations
towards the product/service?
7.5.3 Researching Customer An ICT focus in this unit will demonstrate how a 10
Needs database could be developed, and the sort of
information that could be extracted from this. (The
production of a database is not required, but the
uses of one need to be fully appreciated).
Methods of primary Centres should concentrate purely on the ‘hands

research on’ methods of collecting data, and may present the
opportunity for candidates to conduct their own
primary research. Supermarkets are usually very
good at sharing their expertise in this area.
The use of industry level This, in its full form, may well be very hard (and
data expensive) to gather. However, www.mintel.com
and www.researchandmarkets.com will give an
overview of their data without any financial
commitment.
The role of ICT This may be described both internally and

externally for a business organisation. With the
use of point of sale equipment, it is extremely easy
for a business to gain basic information from
customers – such as postal codes. This can be used
to plot catchment areas. With the growth of online
shopping, many businesses require customers to
register. Candidates could investigate the types of
information collated by online suppliers.
Constructing customer A business that is perceived to be struggling could

research plans be used as a case study by centres to identify what
information needs to be collected by a business.
Candidates could then investigate how this data
could be collected and researched.
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7.5.4 Analysing Customer 10

Research
How businesses analyse Using customer research plans as indicated above,

customer research candidates could then carry out this research, and
attempt to group it according to customer
characteristics, such as location, age, etc, in order to
establish any patterns.
Time series data can be found in many A Level
business texts to aid the learning process.
The role of ICT It would be useful for centres to be able to use a

simple database in order to find, for example,
customers who live within a certain postcode area, or
spend a certain amount of money. This could be
achieved with help from an ICT department.
How research findings are Using data from a database, centres should be
used encouraged to use the information to think about
how this would address the needs of those
customers, and how a business would go about doing
this.
7.5.5 Product Development From a product development point of view, 10

everyday goods/services can be explored in order to
see how they meet the needs of all customers; from
those wanting a basic ‘no-frills’ service, to those
with a much higher level of needs.
The importance of product As always, products that candidates have a wide

differentiation knowledge of should be used to inform the teaching
of this topic. Mobile telephones would be a good
starting point, from no-frills basic models to 3G
video phones. Clearly, these address the needs of a
wide range of customers. There are many other
examples that candidates should be able to come up
with and most of these should prove to be of a
‘common sense’ nature.
How products can be From the work completed above, candidates should
differentiated be able to identify the various methods of
differentiation, and describe how this occurs.
The role of research and This topic is well documented within current
development / A Level texts, and are brought up-to-date (and to
How and why businesses life) through resources such as Times 100 Case
develop their product Studies.
ranges
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7.5.6 Customer Service Customer services could easily be tackled through 10

a visit to a local business in order to gain an insight
into what businesses do.
The features of customer Once again, the best starting point is a tour of a
service supermarket/major shopping centre. This is an
easily organised visit, and can prove to be a real
eye-opener to candidates. Business websites will
also provide a (rose-tinted) view of how a business
provides customer services.
How and why businesses The study of businesses that have gone out of their
alter the level of customer way to offer a particular level of service will be
service useful to highlight the reasons why this occurs.
From online retailers promising next day delivery
(to compete with traditional counterparts) to the
revolution in air travel.
Customer relationship Linking back to work previously done on ICT, this

management and the role of now links into the use of databases (to create
ICT personalised mailshots) through automatic emails
to registered customers/subscribers, and courtesy
calls to recent customers.
7.6 AS Unit 5 – Business

Communication and
Information Systems
7.6.1 Business communication The focus for this topic should be the 20
appropriateness of a communication. In order to
appreciate this, candidates need to assess the
purpose for which the communication is to be used.
Consideration should be given to the audience and,
therefore, the style of language.
A range of communications could be collected and
sorted by the candidates into the bulleted points.
Long lists of textbook definitions quickly become
tedious, although textbooks should be used for
reference in order to complete the task.
Similarly, lists of the advantages and disadvantages
of methods of communication and the medium for
the communication can become tedious, so the
introduction of as many and various examples of
real communications for candidates to consider is
more likely to engage them.
Candidates should be given plenty of practice at
composing communications of various types with
the emphasis on the structure, language and tone
used. Various situations can be used via in-tray
exercises and case studies.
79
The use of colour association or psychology in

communications is often an area which candidates
have not considered and can form the basis of an
interesting study of letterheads, adverts etc. Why
don’t solicitors use pink and lime green letterheads?
Why do certain businesses use bright colours?
7.6.2 Information systems and This can be a difficult concept for candidates at this 10
flow level, and is probably best approached by analysing
a given situation. This could be centre-based or a
case study, but real situations are more likely to
provide answers to ‘what if’ questions. The use of
simple flow diagrams and flow charts should be
introduced as a means of planning systems and
indicating the information flow. Although these will
not be tested in the external test, this will lay
foundations for the A2 Unit 13 - Managing
Information.
7.6.3 Software Candidates must be given the opportunity for hands- 15

on experience of the software bulleted as any of
these could appear in the external test.
Although manipulation of the features is required,
the test will not focus on giving marks for each
action. The advantages and unique features of each
piece of software and, therefore, its appropriateness
for a given situation or task should be the main
focus.
Candidates should be given practice in storing,
sending, and producing communications of various
types, including numerical information and images
for presentations.
A LAN would be beneficial for candidates to send
information to others and to receive feedback on the
accuracy of their information or instructions from
the recipient(s). An evaluation of the success of
such communications should form an important part
of these activities.
7.6.4 Legal and self-regulatory Theoretical knowledge must once again be backed 5
constraints up by practical application. Health and safety and
security issues can be practised and demonstrated in
the teaching environment. Use of copyright laws etc
would be best illustrated by actual examples and
knowledge reinforced from case studies.
80
7.6.5 Prioritising and planning Timeliness is probably one of the most important 10
aspects of business. This section, therefore, is
intended to be an opportunity for skill
development. Again, although a theoretical
approach may be adopted to introduce these
bulleted points, teachers need to implement
requirements for using these techniques throughout
the teaching of this, and other, units.
Requiring work to be handed in on time, producing
personal study and leisure timetables, organising
events such as sporting fixtures, celebrations and
fund-raising activities can all be used as practical
activities to improve this skill. For centres with the
facilities, model offices are ideal for simulating
office work, but in-tray exercises can be used to
good effect. Work experience is also invaluable for
developing these skills and forming good lifetime
habits.
7.7 AS Unit 6 – Developing a

Product
7.7.1 Product Characteristics: 20
Form and function Candidates should understand how the

characteristics of a product (good or service) can
be defined by its form and function.
Candidates need to develop a sound and practical
understanding of form and function. A variety of
products should be investigated by candidates.
These should include both goods and services.
Candidates should develop their ability to
differentiate between form (the appearance and
aesthetics of a product) and function (what the
product does and key features of its performance).
They should appreciate that what is considered
‘good’ form and function varies according to time,
target market and culture.
A variety of business websites provide background
information on their products and how these have
developed over time. Throughout the delivery of
this unit, candidates could be encouraged to collect
examples which would help to inform their own
product decisions in their portfolio of work.
The Design Council’s website is an excellent
resource for this section of the unit:
www.design-council.org.uk The site contains
regional case studies and case studies organised by
the industrial sector.
81
Quality of materials Moving on from a general appreciation of form and

function, candidates need to develop an
understanding of how the quality of materials used
help to determine a product’s form and function.
Candidates should begin to appreciate the
importance of the target market in determining the
quality of materials used. Concepts covered in Unit
1 – Investigating Business, should be revised and
used to help candidates appreciate that the quality
standards are largely determined by the target
market’s expectations of form and function.
At this point, centres could introduce some local,
small enterprise activities to help illustrate some of
the choices made by businesses when selecting
materials.
Quality of service Delivery and after-sales service are an important part
of a customer’s ‘product experience’. Candidates
need to appreciate that service is a key component of
a product and that businesses make decisions about
the quality of service they attach to their products.
Candidates should recognise that the expectations of
the target market will impact on the quality of
service decisions made by businesses. Candidates
are likely to have experienced both satisfactory and
unsatisfactory service from their past purchases and
these experiences could help to illustrate that good
service is sometimes not a key part of a product’s
characteristics if its form and function are
sufficiently unique and appropriate. Alternatively,
the quality of service is sometimes the main way in
which the product differentiates itself from
competing products.
As before, one or two local examples of quality of
service decisions would be useful.
Product characteristics: Centres should be careful not to allocate too much
relevant safety time to this section. Candidates do not need to have
requirements a detailed understanding of the acts listed in the
specification. The focus should be on how relevant
safety requirements constrain product characteristic
decisions and modify the final form and function of
the product.
The acts listed in the specification illustrate some of
the constraints that might impact on product
characteristics decisions. They are neither necessary
nor sufficient, ie it is perfectly acceptable for
candidates to identify other significant legislation.
82
7.7.2 Production Resources: 20
Materials and physical Candidates should understand the practical

resources requirements of production. They should
appreciate that products contain direct materials
but often require indirect materials supporting their
production and delivery.
In order to produce and deliver products, physical
resources are required to transform direct and
indirect materials. Candidates should understand
the concept of transformation and appreciate the
range of physical assets used to turn materials into
finished products.
At this point, candidates should begin to consider
the portfolio requirement. Centres might introduce
some detailed case studies of small scale
production processes – both goods and services.
Candidates could consider how their chosen
business transforms materials, focusing on the
quality and physical resource decisions made by
the business.
Human resources Candidates should understand the crucial role

played by human resources in the transformation
process. This extends to delivery and after-sales
services.
The case studies introduced above could be used to
illustrate the degree to which human resources are
a key component of a product’s transformation
process and how this depends on the particular
product.
Financial resources Centres should approach this section by illustrating

the financial resources employed by small scale
enterprises. The focus could be on ‘start-ups’ with
an emphasis on enterprising behaviour and
practical case studies of how entrepreneurs turned
‘kitchen table’ trial production processes into
commercial reality.
Candidates should consider how their chosen
business started up and some of the financial
resource decisions made when the business started
production of the investigated product.
83
How product characteristics Centres should look at how the level and mix of the
affect the level and mix of above resources are influenced by the characteristics
production resources of products produced by small businesses. As
before, this should be a practical investigation
reflecting on some real case studies.
Candidates could embark on Portfolio Requirements

B, C and D. They will need to complete
Requirement A, considering the mix of resources
used by the investigated business, but should move
on to investigate their own product idea. After
considering the likely target market, candidates
should begin to consider the characteristics of the
product (its form and function) and how this might
impact on quality decisions and the mix of resources.
This will help to establish the research required to
complete Requirements B, C and D.
The importance of market Centres should consider how the size of a market
size and technology and available technology impact on the
characteristics of a product and its resource mix.
This section is intended to emphasise the possible
differences between large and small scale
production.
The unit, however, focuses firmly on small scale
production and this section should not occupy too
much time.
7.7.3 Costing of Resources: 10
Methods of costing Candidates should be aware of the techniques used

to calculate the unit cost of producing a product.
This is a development of the concepts covered in
Unit 3 – Financial Planning and Monitoring. Fixed
and variable costs can be reviewed and the concept
of direct and indirect costs introduced.
Candidates could begin to consider how they will
cost their own product idea. They could construct a
research plan and identify how and where they will
collect their cost data. This will also require
candidates to think about their product’s
transformation process and will help them to explain
the appropriate mix of production resources for their
product.
Calculating costs This section should focus on the candidates’

individual products. Centres should assist
candidates in costing their products. Candidates can
use either the fixed/variable cost method or the
direct/indirect cost method.
84
It is important that centres do not place too much

emphasis on this section. Candidates should have a
rough idea of unit costs, but the key issue is the
actual choice and mix of resources and how these
help to deliver the intended product characteristics.
In essence, this section is aimed at ensuring that
candidates’ products are capable of profitable
production at a price the target market would
accept.
7.7.4 Deciding on Product This section should be considered as a constant 10

Characteristics theme running throughout the delivery of the unit.
Candidates should appreciate how research and
development helps entrepreneurs and businesses
define the likely characteristics (form and function)
of products.
The case studies used throughout this unit should
include practical illustrations of how individual
entrepreneurs and designers collected and
processed data on customer needs and product
performance. In addition, candidates should be
aware of the practical realities of small scale
enterprise research and development.
Finally, to inform Requirement D, candidates need
to understand how the final choice of a product’s
characteristics depends on the likely profitability of
the product, ie the design and production processes
have to consider the profit margins supported by
the target market.
7.8 AS Unit 7 – Career Planning
7.8.1 Career Pathways Much of the work for this unit can be developed 15
from Unit 2 - People in Business. For centres
delivering a six unit AS, this unit could very
usefully be delivered alongside, or immediately
following, Unit 2.
The focus of this content, however, should be the
range of occupations available, rather than the
focus of a local business. However, a good starting
point could be the range of jobs available in that
business, eg finance, marketing etc.
A practical way of investigating careers is through
a careers convention. This could be a professional
event, which provides candidates with information.
85
A mini careers convention set up by the teaching

group or year group, could be another way of
researching a wide range of careers. The career
convention could be set up and visited by other
learning cohorts. This exercise would require
candidates to investigate the skills, progression route
and specific training offered and information to be
available through displays and hand-outs. This
would link to Unit 5 – Business Communication and
Information Systems very well.
7.8.2 Training Methods of training will have been investigated in 10

Unit 2 – People in Business, so awareness of
national initiatives should be the focus. Websites and
Government information leaflets are widely
available, plus Job Centres will be able to provide
further information.
Group research and presentations would be an active
way of disseminating this information.
7.8.3 Personal Skills A practical activity is the most appropriate approach 10
to this section. An initial personal reaction matched
to a psychometric test may be revealing. Insights
from friends and family could provide a challenging,
but useful, insight into how others perceive the
candidate.
Where possible, a range of psychometric tests would
be preferable. A comparison of the results could
provide an insight into the strengths and weaknesses
of such tests. There are various websites
www.myskillsprofile.com
www.reed.co.uk/selfAssessments
7.8.4 Qualifications and training There is, of course, a plethora of qualifications 5
available and this can be confusing for many
students. A more focused approach would be to
concentrate on those that are applicable to a
particular career pathway. A thorough
understanding of the type of learning and the
alternatives would be beneficial for candidates and
should help them to choose a suitable course, which
they are likely to complete.
7.8.5 Training and Education Once a candidate is aware of the qualifications they 5
need, the correct route to achieving them is likely to
differ from candidate to candidate, depending on the
type of learner they are and their personal
circumstances. Financial considerations, home
circumstances and psychometric tests can all inform
the candidate as to the most suitable form of learning
or training.
86
Information sheets and group discussion should be

used to draw out the advantages and disadvantages
of these differing routes.
7.8.6 Sources of Funding Many students will be unaware of the various 5

sources of funding available. Websites and local
education authorities are likely to be the best
sources of information. It is important, however,
that the candidate matches any conditions that must
be fulfilled.
7.8.7 Personal Budget This is a practical section where candidates are 5

required to construct an income and expenditure
forecast for their particular career plans and
circumstance.
As this is an area that few candidates are likely to
have faced, the starting point may need to be the
cost of living.
7.9 A2 Unit 8 – Business

Planning
7.9.1 Business Aims and Centres should take time to develop candidates' 5
Objectives appreciation of the practical importance of
SMART objectives to the business planning
process.
Candidates could investigate a number of business

planning scenarios to identify the significance and
practicality of particular SMART objectives.
Without sensible SMART objectives, candidates
are likely to face difficulties constructing viable
business plans. In this section, candidates need to
specify the likely SMART objectives for their
business proposal. Centres might help candidates
to draw up SMART objectives that would be
capable of being monitored and reviewed.
7.9.2 Market Research and This is a revision of the content contained in 20

Marketing Planning Unit 1 – Investigating Business. However,
candidates are expected to apply these concepts to
their own business proposal – a distinctly more
demanding task.
Centres could provide candidates with some real
examples of market research instruments, eg
questionnaires. Examples of raw quantitative data
could be provided and guidance given on how to
sort, group and analyse the data.
87
Candidates will need to construct their own market

research instruments and market research plan. This
might present an opportunity for some whole class
or group work with individual candidates justifying
their research plan. This would provide feedback
and help to ensure that the plan is capable of
collecting the information required for the marketing
plan.
As a way of summarising their findings, candidates
could be required to provide five minute
presentations on their initial findings, producing an
A4 handout containing key facts on the target market
and competitors associated with their business
proposal.
Candidates will probably need time to clarify their
findings and the implications for:
• customers: who they are and why they would be
prepared to buy the product; the projected
number of customers and their buying behaviour
• competitors: the level of competition for the
product and how the business proposal might
establish a competitive advantage.
Centres will probably need to review the meaning
and significance of the marketing mix. In turn,
candidates might be asked to produce an initial
proposal outlining key aspects of their own
marketing mix given their research findings on
customers and competitors.
At this stage, candidates should be in a position to
provide sufficient justification for their sales
forecast. This forecast is central to the structure of
the business plan and centres might ask candidates to
provide clear justifications for this forecast before
moving on to the next section. These justifications
should include an indication of how the marketing
mix is designed to support the sales forecast.
7.9.3 Operations Planning Candidates will need to provide clear statements 15
about the range of physical and human resources
required by the business proposal.
Centres could provide support sessions for
individual candidates. These sessions would help
candidates set limits on the nature and range of
resources required. This section of the specification
covers a number of issues and it is important that
candidates do not attempt to cover every aspect in
the same detail: centres should help candidates to
recognize the essential features of their operations
plans.
88
7.9.4 Financial Analysis and Candidates should focus on two aspects of their 10
Planning business plans:
• establishing the size and source(s) of finance
required by the business proposal
• the use of key techniques to analyse the
financial aspects of the proposal.
Centres might provide spreadsheet templates for
the break-even and cash flow forecasts. Templates
could also be provided for a projected profit and
loss statement and a balance sheet. However, only
the tools appropriate for the particular business
proposal need to be applied, eg if a candidate is
investigating the addition of a product to an
existing product line, a profit and loss statement
and balance sheet would not be appropriate, but a
contribution statement and a profile of assets
employed might be appropriate.
It is important to note that candidates do not have
to construct the above financial analysis tools from
scratch and the use of templates is strongly
recommended.
Candidates might be asked to justify their
marketing and operations plans by illustrating the
amount of profit (or contribution) generated by the
business proposal.
At this stage, candidates might be in a position to
complete Portfolio Requirements A and B.
7.9.5 Evaluating the Business Centres might help candidates to assess the 10
Plan viability of their business proposals, detailed in
their business plans, by providing some
spreadsheet models of existing business plans and
illustrating a number of ‘what if’ analyses. The
spreadsheet model would automatically calculate
key ratios (listed in the specification) and adjust the
break-even chart, cash flow forecast, profit and loss
account, balance sheet and pay back period.
Centres could go on to consider the importance of
contingency plans, ie given the illustrations of what
can happen if aspects of a business plan are altered,
candidates could consider actions that could be
taken to cope with (or take advantage of) these
changes.
Candidates should evaluate their own business
plans. If the plans have been entered into
spreadsheet templates, then candidates can focus
on analysing the data rather than constructing it.
At this stage, Portfolio Requirements C and D can
be finalised.
89
7.10 A2 Unit 9 – Marketing

Strategy

hours
7.10.1 Business Aims and Centres should review the main aims and objectives 5
Objectives of profit and not-for-profit businesses from Unit 1 –
Investigating Business. The focus of this section
should be on how marketing activities help to
achieve business objectives. In particular, the range
of marketing objectives employed by businesses and
designed to achieve their overall business objectives.
Centres could provide candidates with a number of
case studies illustrating particular marketing
campaigns, eg extracts from Times 100 case studies
(www.tt100.biz) or BBC “Working Lunch” case
studies (videos available from the BBC on 0870 830
8000). Candidates could be asked to identify the
business and marketing objectives of the campaigns
and the marketing activities employed.
It is important for candidates to appreciate that
without clear marketing objectives, capable of
supporting business objectives, the purpose and
direction of a marketing strategy is likely to be
unclear.
7.10.2 Marketing Strategies and This section develops Unit 1’s Marketing Activities 15
Tactics section. Where Unit 1 focused on marketing
activities as individual components,
Unit 9 requires candidates to adopt a more
systematic approach.
This is a significant ‘step-up’ in the level of demand
and centres could focus on helping candidates to
develop a genuine insight into the difference
between a strategy and a tactic: a simple game could
be used to illustrate, in practical terms, this
difference. Discussions about team sports events
can also be used to stress the difference between an
overall strategy and individual tactics designed to
implement the strategy.
It is important that centres do not introduce too much
complexity into this section. The types of marketing
strategies introduced could be limited to
segmentation strategies and competition strategies.
These are relatively easy to illustrate through brief
case studies and candidates could be encouraged to
consider how their own marketing strategy might
adopt these types of strategy.
90
From this general understanding of marketing

strategies, centres might move on to introduce the
Ansoff matrix and the Boston matrix. Candidates
should be encouraged to view these matrices as
tools for determining appropriate strategies and not
ends in themselves.
Centres might, at this stage, encourage candidates
to present their initial thoughts on the marketing
strategies they think are most appropriate for their
investigated businesses. Candidates would be
instructed that they should use either the Ansoff or
Boston matrices to help to inform their choice of
strategy.
At this stage, the idea of the marketing mix should
be introduced in the context of how marketing
tactics be best combined in order to achieve the
candidates’ chosen marketing strategies. Centres
could assist candidates by providing two or three
brief case studies on contrasting marketing mix
tactics.
7.10.3 Meeting Customer Needs This is primarily a revision of the concepts covered 5
and dealing with in Unit 1 – Investigating Business, but in the
Competition context of marketing strategies and each
candidate’s investigation.
Centres could ask candidates to consider their
marketing strategies in greater detail, focusing on
how each strategy is designed to:
• meet the needs of clearly identified target
markets
• enhance or maintain the competitive position
of the business.
Candidates could be asked to present their initial
considerations and be questioned on how changes
in target market behaviour and competitor actions
might impact on the effectiveness of their
marketing strategies. This should be a practical
exercise with specific changes in consumer and
competitor behaviour being suggested, eg a
competitor reacts to your strategy by introducing a
10% reduction in the prices of its leading products.
7.10.4 Market Research and Target This section is crucial to each candidate’s final 15
Markets marketing strategy and associated marketing
activities. While it might be seen as being a
theoretical extension of some concepts covered in
Unit 1 – Investigating Business, it is also an
opportunity for candidates to construct and carry
out a focused piece of market research.
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Up to this stage, candidates have developed an

outline of their marketing strategies and have made
various assumptions about the intended target
market. However, the purpose of this section is to
help candidates clearly define:
• the target market and its behaviour
• the marketing strategy.
Centres could assist candidates in this process by
outlining one or two case studies that focus on
market research findings and the impact this had on
the marketing strategy.
Candidates could be asked to produce a report, based
on their market research, which illustrates key
aspects of their target market. This should give an
indication of the key aspects of buyer behaviour and
any lessons learned in terms of segmentation.
In presenting this report, perhaps to peers, each
candidate could be asked to reflect on their initial
marketing strategy and target market.
At this stage, candidates will have sufficient
information to complete Portfolio Requirement A.
In addition, evidence will exist for aspects of
Requirements C and, perhaps, D.
7.10.5 Developing and Before commencing on this practical section of the 20
Recommending a Marketing unit, centres might want to review the marketing mix
Strategy in the context of a marketing strategy. This could be
achieved by considering product-positioning maps.
Centres could introduce the concept of a product
positioning map by asking candidates to reflect on
how they will use marketing activities to:
• successfully address the needs of the target
market
• deal with key competitors.
From this, centres could illustrate the use of product-
positioning maps to select appropriate marketing
activities and how to balance these to form an
effective marketing mix.
The remainder of this section should be devoted to
candidates developing the marketing activities
designed to achieve their marketing strategy. This
will form the basis of Portfolio Requirement B.
During this time, candidates should periodically
review their decisions to date. This will form the
basis of the evidence for Portfolio Requirement D.
Candidates could be provided with one-to-one
tutorials where they are asked to outline and justify
their decisions to date.
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7.11 A2 Unit 10 – Promotional

Activities
7.11.1 Promotional Activities This unit requires candidates to be familiar with the 15
range of promotional activities available to
businesses when planning promotional campaigns.
Centres are advised to spend a relatively large
fraction of their delivery time for this unit on this
section: without a practical grasp of the various
promotional tools available to businesses,
candidates are likely to produce unrealistic plans
for their promotional campaigns.
Centres could help candidates to appreciate the
range of promotional activities available to a
business by providing one or two detailed case
studies of recent promotional campaigns. These
can often be put together from business websites.
An example of a not-for-profit campaign can be
found at www.dfes.gov.uk/get-on/ This contains
detailed information about the “Skills for Life”
Get-On campaign.
In turn, candidates should investigate the range of
media used by promotional activities. Centres
could encourage candidates to collect a portfolio of
examples and to describe examples of non-print
media promotional activities they have
experienced. These examples could be used for
whole class or group discussions about the
advantages and disadvantages of different media
and promotional activities.
During this time, candidates could be encouraged
to research the cost of using various media and
promotional activities. This information is
available from a range of association and business
websites, but purchasing a single copy of The
Advertising Association’s “Marketing Pocket
Book” would be useful (available from WARC at
www.warc.com)
Finally, centres should ensure that candidates have
a realistic appreciation of when businesses are
likely to develop promotional activities in-house or
use agencies. Candidates could collect data on the
capabilities of their investigated organisation, in
preparation for completing Portfolio
Requirement A.
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7.11.2 Business Strategy Candidates should develop an understanding of the 5

different types of objectives promotional campaigns
are designed to achieve.
This should be a realistic and practical section that
takes, as its starting point, the concept of SMART
objectives.
Candidates could be asked to commence their
portfolio work by considering the SMART
objectives for their promotional campaign. Centres
could assist candidates by referring to the case
studies introduced in the previous section.
Candidates should be clear about the scope of their
promotional campaigns, ie whether they relate to
individual products, product ranges or a whole
organisation.
At this stage, candidates could be in a position to
provide evidence for a large part of Portfolio
Requirement A (but not “the characteristics of the
target market”).
7.11.3 Budgets and Campaign This section should act as a review of considerations 5
Plans to date. Candidates need to be aware of how the
allocated budget inevitably constrains the size and
nature of a promotional campaign.
Candidates could establish the likely size of the
budget for their own promotional campaign and they
could then go on to carry out a simple
‘cost-benefit’ analysis on the various promotional
activities traditionally used by the investigated
business. From this, they could gain an initial
insight into the likely mix of their promotional
activities.
Finally, centres should ensure that candidates
appreciate the importance of timing. A number of
planning exercises could be provided for candidates,
working in groups, where they are asked to place
several promotional activities in sequence (along
with proposed durations). They could then be asked
to justify their decisions in terms of each plan's
ability to achieve its objectives.
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7.11.4 Researching and Analysing This section should focus mainly on candidates’ 15
Customer Attitudes own research into the behaviour of the campaign’s
target market. This is an essential part of each
candidate’s promotional campaign and sufficient
time needs to be allocated to it.
The type of research carried out will depend
largely on the campaign’s context, ie the business it
is based on and the nature of the target market.
However, it might be sensible for candidates to
produce some rough plans of particular
promotional activities and gain target audience
opinions on the likely success of different
approaches. For example, a candidate might
research into whether the target audience would
prefer price discounts, coupons or multi-pack
offers. Another example might relate to
merchandising where the candidate researches into
target audience opinions regarding product
placement within a store.
Once all relevant data has been collected,
candidates should be in a position to provide
evidence for Requirement A and work towards
providing evidence for Requirements B, C and D.
7.11.5 Promotional Mix This section focuses entirely on candidates 20

producing their plan of their promotion campaigns
and completing their portfolios.
However, before this, candidates should be
reminded of the case studies introduced at the
beginning of the unit. They should also be
introduced to the AIDA concept as a way of
rationalising and justifying the composition and
timing of promotional campaigns.
Centres could ask candidates to outline their
promotional campaigns, justifying them by using
the AIDA model and making explicit reference to
the ability of the campaign to stay within the
allocated budget.
Given this, candidates could move on to complete
the plans of their promotional campaign, providing
sufficient evidence for Portfolio Requirements B, C
and D.
Centres could assist candidates by providing
one-to-one tutorial sessions where candidates
justify their decisions in terms of the objectives of
the campaign, customer attitudes and the allocated
budget.
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7.12 A2 Unit 11 – The Marketing

Environment

hours
7.12.1 Elements of the Marketing This unit provides a framework for candidates to 15
Environment systematically analyse the impact of the external
environment on the marketing activities of profit and
not-for-profit businesses. It does not require
candidates to understand the forces that cause the
individual elements of the marketing environment to
change, eg candidates do not need to understand
why the level of unemployment in a country might
increase.
The unit considers both UK and European and
international settings and provides a context for
candidates to investigate international business
activity.
This section, Elements of the Marketing
Environment, focuses on the definition of the
external environment used within the unit. Centres
might allocate a relatively high proportion of time to
this section to ensure that candidates are sufficiently
aware of the diverse elements that make up the
marketing environment.
Data on the marketing environment is readily
available from government websites, with
www.statistics.gov.uk and www.direct.gov.uk
being good starting points. Centres will probably
have to filter this data and present it in accessible
formats.
Centres could introduce the unit by looking at a
single case study. Candidates would be ‘walked
through’ some of the key issues and how changes in
the environment altered the marketing activities of
the business. The case could focus on a product the
candidates are familiar with.
Following on from this, centres could provide
candidates with a number of scenarios based on
changes in the marketing environment. Working in
groups, candidates would be supplied with carefully
selected marketing environment data. They would
be required to identify key changes in this data and,
given profiles of three or four contrasting businesses,
asked to speculate on the possible impact on the
businesses of these changes.
96
Both the data and the scenarios would have to be

carefully selected and presented: the intention of
the exercise is to raise questions rather than apply
concepts. Each group would feedback their
speculations to the class and a consensus of views
could be collected.
From this initial exercise, centres could begin to
group the elements of the marketing environment
into the areas listed in the specification. Two or
three case studies could be introduced to help
candidates recognise and use these groupings.
Centres could source the materials for these case
studies from a wide range of websites, eg
www.bbc.co.uk/news, www.economist.com and
www.tt100.biz
7.12.2 The Impact of Changes in Moving on from a general understanding of the 10
the Marketing Environment elements of the marketing environment, candidates
need to develop an understanding of how these
elements support or constrain the ability of a
business to carry out marketing activities. This is
in the context of a business’s competitive position.
Centres could introduce this section by reviewing
the concept of competition first introduced in
Unit 1 – Investigating Business, ie the idea that the
degree of competition in a market affects the
ability of a business to set prices and maintain its
position in the market.
Some simple scenarios could be introduced to help
candidates appreciate that product, place and
promotional activities can all be used to establish a
degree of brand loyalty and to create and protect a
competitive advantage. Candidates, working in
groups, could be asked to suggest various
marketing activities designed to enhance the
competitive position of a business.
At this point, centres could introduce the
classification system of monopoly, oligopoly,
monopolistic competition and perfect competition.
However, centres are advised that this should be
firmly in the context of the ability of a business to
set prices, establish and maintain brand loyalty and
to protect a competitive advantage.
Finally, candidates could be presented with three or
four scenarios designed to illustrate how changes in
the marketing environment could potentially alter
the competitive position of businesses and their
marketing activities. It might be advisable to ask
groups of candidates to research one real world
example, presenting their findings to the class in a
short five minute presentation.
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7.12.3 Analysing Marketing Up to this point, candidates will already have 20

Environment Data analysed a range of marketing environment data.
This section should grow out of the previous section
and could be presented as a series of workshops on
the techniques used by businesses to analyse their
marketing environment data.
If possible, one or two visiting speakers could be
appropriate to provide a realistic setting, eg a sole
trader could outline how he/she keeps track of
customer needs and competitor behaviour, going on
to outline how this affects their marketing activities.
Centres need to introduce or review the range of data
sources used by businesses when scanning their
marketing environments. While it is acknowledged
that centres will not have access to current Mintel
(www.mintel.co.uk) and Keynote
(www.keynote.co.uk) reports, candidates do need to
be aware of their general content and potential value
to businesses. Mintel’s website provides an
overview (table of content) of individual reports and
candidates should be able to grasp the significance
of these publications. At the time of writing,
Keynote allows visitors to download free ‘insight’
reports covering a range of sectors but with some
commercial information omitted. In addition,
Keynote also offers free downloadable copies of
some older market reports which are more than
sufficient to illustrate the value of such publications.
Candidates should develop their ability to use the
techniques covered in this section of the unit. These
fall into two broad groups:
• interpretation of data
• SWOT analysis.
Centres could assist candidates to interpret data by
providing a range of short exercises to develop the
ability to interpret tabulated data (including indexed
data), averages, charts and graphs and to forecast
trends by interpreting time series and scatter graphs.
SWOT analysis is a notoriously abused tool and
candidates should ensure that their assessment of a
particular business’s market opportunities and
threats are based on an analysis of its strengths and
weaknesses.
98
Candidates could be asked to work in groups, each

group being provided with a different exercise, to
prepare succinct reports on the likely opportunities
and threats facing the particular business. These
SWOT exercises should be kept as contained as
possible, ie the amount of data provided should be
kept to a maximum of two A4 pages.
7.12.4 Responding to Changes in After introducing the range of marketing strategies 15

the Marketing Environment covered by this section, candidates could be
presented with a series of case studies. Each case
study should be kept to a maximum of two
A4 pages, containing a mixture of qualitative and
quantitative data. In each case, candidates should
suggest possible marketing strategies given their
analysis of marketing environment data. Centres
should ensure that each case study contains a
reasonable mix of marketing environment
elements, ie economic, technological, legal and
regulatory, social and ethical.
7.13 A2 Unit 12 – Managing

People
7.13.1 Types of Organisational This section of the unit should develop the 5
Structure candidate’s ability to recognise a range of different
types of organisational structures and to outline
their relative strengths and weaknesses. This
should allow candidates to select an appropriate
structure for given situations.
It is also important to understand that as
organisations grow, contract or change their
function, the organisational structure used will
normally need to evolve or change. Teachers will
need to discuss with candidates how a change in a
business may lead to changes in organisational
structure.
Central to managing people is the flow of
information between managers and staff. Teachers
need to discuss how different types of
organisational structure either promote or constrain
effective communication in particular
circumstances.
99
7.13.2 Functions of Management This section of the unit should be taught by looking 5
at the range of functions managers perform. It is
important in teaching this area to distinguish
between functions (eg planning) and roles (eg human
resources officer or financial assistant).
The skills needed to manage effectively need to be
explored with reference to how these skills support
the functions managers perform. Candidates also
need to be able to explain how skills are important in
supporting decision making, developing authority
and facilitating leadership.
7.13.3 Types of Decision Teachers should explore a range of situations in 10

which management decisions have to be made
(drawn from real life or published materials) to
ensure candidates understand the type of decision
needed in each. It is important for candidates to
understand that the type of decision to be made will
influence the time, resources, people and decision
making process used.
In this unit, candidates will not be expected to
produce a critical path analysis or produce a decision
tree for example, rather they will be asked to assess
whether these tools are appropriate to the case study.
It is, therefore, important that candidates acquire a
good understanding of how decision making
techniques can help the decision making process.
Candidates need to develop an appreciation of the
pros and cons of a range of decision making
techniques. Candidates should be able to select the
most appropriate technique and/or explain why a
technique may not be appropriate for a given
situation.
7.13.4 Power and Authority Candidates need to gain a sound understanding of 10

how managers use power and authority to perform
their functions. It is important that candidates
understand that unless managers have developed
authority their power is unlikely to get staff to do
what they want.
In common with other areas of this unit the focus
should be on how power and authority are
developed, the pros and cons of different types of
power and how they influence staff behaviour.
The use of case studies is a powerful way to explain
the difference between power and authority. Case
studies can also be used to teach candidates about
the way staff react to different types of power.
100
7.13.5 Leadership Styles This section of the unit needs to build on the 10
discussions on power and authority to look at the
way in which managers exercise leadership.
It is important that candidates learn about the way
in which different leadership styles tend to be
associated with particular approaches to motivation
and the personality of managers.
One interesting area of discussion with candidates,
which can be explored by looking at case studies or
by discussing candidate’s own experiences, is the
extent to which managers change the style they
use. In particular, it is useful to explore how
leadership styles may need to change in response to
circumstances (eg crisis or routine situations) or to
staff type (eg highly self-motivated creative staff as
opposed to unskilled reward motivated staff).
7.13.6 Models of Motivation The section on motivation, in many ways, builds 10

on the other parts of the unit, and it is for this
reason that it is recommended to be taught last.
Whilst it is important for candidates to understand
the main theories of motivation, the primary
objective of this part of the unit is to explore how
an organisation develops and maintains motivation.
Teaching should, therefore, focus on how
organisational structure, decision making (and the
staff role in this), the use of power and authority by
managers, the leadership style used and the
external situation the organisation is facing will
impact on staff motivation.
Candidates also need to develop an awareness of
the fact that different staff will react in very
different ways when faced with exactly the same
motivational factors.
As this area of the unit requires a high degree of
analysis and discussion, it is again recommended
that extensive use is made of real life examples to
illustrate the impact on motivation of events and
different approaches to management.
7.13.7 Case Studies Case studies covering all the key subject areas. 10
It is important that a significant proportion of the
unit time towards the end of this unit is given to the
use of integrative case studies, which explore the
relationships between the areas covered in the unit.
101
This is best achieved by using case studies from old

examinations, those found in the press or published
in text books. Alternatively, visits to organisations
or guest speakers can give valuable insights into the
complexity of these interactions between subject
areas.
This section of the teaching programme should be
focused on helping candidates to understand the
inter-relationships between, for example, leadership
and the impact that different approaches to
leadership have on motivation. This focus is
designed to replicate the situation in the workplace
where decisions regarding the management of
people are usually complicated and have multiple
dimensions.

Information

hours
7.14.1 The Use of Information to This area of the unit should be taught first. Unless 15
Support Management an organisation has a clear rationale for the
Decisions information it needs to help it make decisions it is
likely to waste money on recording unwanted data
and using overly complex information systems.
In looking at this subject area, it is essential that
candidates appreciate that information can help or
hinder decision making. Too much information can
be as damaging as too little and a key management
task is, therefore, to define what and how much data
is needed to allow their information needs to be met.
This area is best taught by asking candidates to
consider what information managers need to help
them make decisions, where the data to support this
would be, and what challenges would have to be
overcome in turning large data sets into valuable
information.
It would be useful to look at real life situations to
understand the information needs for business
activities and how it assists managers in decision
making.
Similarly, by encouraging candidates to ask
’what if’ questions, they can begin to understand the
consequences of unclear or out-of-date information.
102
7.14.2 How Information Systems Candidates need to be able to think through the 15
are Designed types of information that managers need to make
decisions. It is helpful to get candidates to develop
a logical and structured approach to defining what
decisions need to be made, what information would
support these decisions, where this information is
likely to be and how it can be collected, collated
and presented.
Candidates need to understand that different
information needs, scale of system and whether
data is qualitative or quantitative, will have a major
impact on the type of system used.
Experience of different software packages will help
candidates to realise their limitations at processing
different types of data. This experience can build
on Unit 5 – Business Communication and
Information Systems.
7.14.3 The Management of In this section of the unit, candidates need to 5

Information Systems develop an understanding of how organisations
develop routines to manage their information
systems.
Although some candidates may find it interesting
to visit or receive a visit from a business IT
manager, they are more likely to be able to engage
with smaller systems that are maintained in
functional areas. The centre itself could be a good
resource, eg how student records are maintained.
Work experience would also provide a valuable
insight into this area of study.
Candidates should be aware of how information is
updated, the procedures that are used and who is
responsible for these procedures.
7.14.4 Data Security Issues It is important that candidates understand that there 10
are numerous legal, ethical, moral and commercial
issues covering the collection, storage and use of
information. Again, in teaching this area, it would
be constructive to talk to an information manager
about the rules they have established to secure their
information.
Centres should ensure that candidates appreciate
that whilst the loss of some information will only
have commercial consequences, other information
is legally required and its loss or misuse can lead to
prosecution, fines and, in extreme cases, where
information has been misused, custodial sentences.
103
Candidates also need to develop an awareness of the

processes organisations use to protect information
from loss (eg due to equipment failure or fire), theft
or abuse (unauthorised access) or attack (eg viruses).
When studying this area, it is important that
candidates understand that absolute security is
virtually impossible and that security practices
usually have to weigh up the risks against the costs
of precautions taken.
While textbooks will cover this information, it
would be more interesting for candidates to
understand how organisations implement these
security measures. Once again, the centre or a local
business would be a valuable source of information.
7.14.5 Security of Equipment This part of the unit supports the previous two 5
components of the proposed teaching programme.
Most commercial information systems are now
based on the use of computers (due to their large
data storage and manipulative capabilities).
Candidates should understand why and how
computerised systems need to be protected from
both equipment failure and unauthorised access.
The computer systems used in college or school will
undoubtedly have these safeguards built in, and it
would be very useful to get those who run these
systems to explain to the candidates the systems
which are in place, the costs of providing this
security and any issues or problems they have (eg
from the continual creation of new viruses and
spyware etc).
7.14.6 Case Studies It is considered essential that a significant proportion 10
of the unit time is given to case studies which build
upon the range of issues considered in the unit. This
is a very practical subject area, and without the use
of case studies which consider the full range of
issues, candidates are unlikely to be able to grasp the
full implications of the subject.
104

Change
7.15.1 The Cause and Nature of This introductory part of the unit is best delivered 10
Change by looking at a wide range of case studies to assess
the type of change organisations have faced and the
factors that caused these changes to be necessary.
The press is a very good source of these case
studies. If chosen carefully, it should be possible at
the start of the unit to select a small range of new
change stories which can then be followed over the
weeks the unit is taught. This approach is
invaluable in helping to demonstrate that few
change programmes proceed smoothly or to plan.
7.15.2 Aims and Objectives Candidates need to explore how organisations set 10
aims for change programmes and how these are
then translated into SMART objectives. This is
best taught by looking at a case study and getting
candidates to define and then debate both the aims
and objectives the organisation should be setting.
This will provide a sound basis for Requirements A
and C, where candidates need to agree a set of aims
and objectives for their own projects. Once these
are agreed, candidates will then need to consider
how to break these down into a plan and set
objectives for their teams and individual members.
7.15.3 How Change Impacts on the Once the candidates have set aims and objectives 10
Organisation they must think through the consequences these
will have on everyone involved. This includes
staff, customers and other stakeholders.
They also need to look at technical or process
impacts and assess how these will be managed.
Once again, case studies of previous change
programmes provide a rich source of ideas on the
types of impact change may have.
7.15.4 Project Management of the This part of the unit should use a structured 10
Change Process approach to develop a proposed project plan, which
will support Requirement C and, therefore,
Requirement B. This plan needs to consider two
main components, namely the plan itself and the
way the plan will be executed.
In practice, this tends to be an iterative process, and
it is useful for candidates to appreciate that few
plans are ‘right first time’. It is essential that
candidates understand that most plans evolve
through a process of negotiation where resource
constraints and time pressures are often as
important as the original aims and objectives.
105
The aim of this part of the unit should be to get

candidates to negotiate and design a project plan
(task based), which recognises the practical
implications of its implementation.
7.15.5 Risk and Uncertainty in Carrying on from, and linked back to all the 10
Change Programmes proceeding parts of the unit, teachers need to impart
in candidates an awareness of why many change
programmes fail to work as planned. The press and
published case studies are a very rich source of
failed projects from the past, which can be used to
illustrate why the delivery failed to live up to
expectations.
Candidates should be asked to consider how the
risks and uncertainties faced in delivering change
can be managed. It is also important to discuss with
candidates the costs of such contingencies.
7.15.6 Case Studies The process of change, and how businesses respond, 10
is complicated and so a significant proportion of the
unit time should be spent looking at case studies
from real life, the press or other published sources to
explore how it applies in practice.
It is particularly useful if candidates can look at case
studies which are structured so that they have to
make decisions about what should be done to
respond to a particular change, before looking at
what the managers actually did and the
consequences of this in practice. This will help to
develop an awareness of the inherent risks and
uncertainty any change manager faces. It should
also serve as a warning that, for their own proposal,
a very small change programme should be
considered.
7.16 A2 Unit 15 – Financial

Accounting for Managers

hours
7.16.1 Accounting Concepts A knowledge and understanding of accounting 5
concepts are best illustrated through the other four
knowledge and skills sections. However, two
concepts, the accounting equation and the business
entity concept can be delivered at the beginning of
the unit as part of an introduction.
The introduction to the unit could begin by
consideration of the accounting equation
(Assets = Liabilities + Capital) and building a simple
balance sheet.
106
Transactions could be introduced by re-drafting a

balance sheet after each transaction. This activity
will demonstrate the importance of a balance sheet
and will include profit. It will also prove a
cumbersome method of recording transactions and
highlight the need for a system that is quick, can
handle large volumes of transactions and has
inbuilt checks. In other words, double entry
bookkeeping.
The business entity concept can be used to
demonstrate that, in order for the accounting
system to work, the owner and the business are
treated as separate entities.
7.16.2 Recording Transactions and This section can be introduced by completing some 15
the Financial Accounting simple (cash only) double entry transactions in the
System form of ledger accounts. Whilst completing ledger
accounts is not part of the specification and will not
be externally tested, it provides context for the
knowledge requirements of much of the
specification such as accounting concepts,
recording transactions and the accounting system
and the trial balance. Candidates can be asked to
identify ledger accounts in the external assessment.
The identification of source documents for
business transactions is straightforward with both
‘live’ and textbook documents readily available.
However, candidates will need to know the likely
flows of the various documents and importantly the
impact on a business of mistakes in the completion
of source documents.
The purpose and structure of both books of original
entry and the division of the ledger are often
difficult for candidates as these books and ledgers
are only really of use where there are many
transactions taking place. It might be helpful to
consider the number of transactions taking place
each day in well known businesses to illustrate the
scale of the task facing the accounting system. It
might also be useful to highlight the credit control
and purchasing functions here and how computers
may help.
7.16.3 The Trial Balance The trial balance can be seen as a check of the 5
bookkeeping (recording) aspect of the accounting
system and as providing information for the
financial accounting (measurement) aspect of the
accounting system.
107
Candidates need to be able to demonstrate the

limitations of a trial balance by identifying and
explaining the types of error that a trial balance will
not reveal. The specification lists six types of such
errors and the use of a nemonic will help here. A
commonly used nemonic is COPCOR (Commission,
Omission, Principle, Compensating, Original entry
and Reversal).
7.16.4 Financial Statements Delivery should focus on ensuring that the basic 20
purpose and structure of trading profit and loss
accounts and balance sheets are established before
exploring more difficult aspects such as adjustments
for expenses owing and prepayments, depreciation,
provision for bad or doubtful debts and different
forms of business. A suggested route through this
section would be to start by considering the basic
definitions of gross profit (sales - purchases), net
profit (gross profit – expenses) and the balance sheet
(assets, fixed and current = capital, including net
profit + liabilities, long-term and current).
The cost of sales adjustment can now be introduced
(opening stock + purchases – closing stock) with an
amended definition of gross profit (sales – cost of
sales). Simple trading profit and loss accounts can
now be prepared.
When the basic framework has been mastered
slightly more complex items such as carriage
(inwards and outwards) and returns (sales and
purchases) and other expenses can be introduced and
incorporated into trading profit and loss accounts
and balance sheets.
The accruals (or matching) concept can now be
introduced and expenses owing and prepayments can
be incorporated into profit and loss accounts and
balance sheets.
Why fixed assets depreciate (with reference to
machinery, computers and motor vehicles for
example) can now be considered and different
methods of depreciation discussed. The accounting
concept of consistency can be introduced here.
Depreciation can now be incorporated into profit and
loss accounts and balance sheets.
Debtors and credit control can be discussed and
using the prudence concept the need to provide for
bad and doubtful debts established and incorporated
into profit and loss accounts and balance sheets.
108
Candidates can now consider in what respects final

accounts and balance sheets might differ for
different types of ownership, for example,
partnerships and companies need to share profits,
therefore, an appropriation section is needed (or
not-for-profit making organisations require an
alternative to a profit and loss account).
The ways in which different types of organisation
generate profits can be considered (manufacturing
concerns need to identify the cost of manufacture
before calculating gross profit and a service
provider will not require stock).
7.16.5 Analysing Financial This section essentially deals with the use of ratio 10
Statements analysis and its limitations. The specification lists
ten accounting ratios divided between three
categories solvency, profitability and efficiency. It
is helpful for candidates to use these category
headings as an aid to analysis so that in addition to
making comments about individual ratios, they are
able to make comments about each category which
will help with accessing marks for analysis and
evaluation. Candidates should explore
relationships between different ratios and
categories, for example, net profit margin and stock
turnover or acid-test ratio and creditors payment
period.
Candidates also need to consider that acceptable
ratios will depend on the type of business and
trends from year to year.
Candidates often find commenting on ratios
difficult, the use of categories above should help
but so should the use of words such as
faster/quicker (in relation to stock turnover),
working harder (in relation to asset turnover),
covering (as in assets covering liabilities) and the
correct measurements (such as percentages for
profitability ratios, days for days for payment etc).
7.16.6 Review of Accounting Any accounting concepts not yet explicitly 5

Concepts encountered such as:
• going concern
• materiality
• money measurement
should be considered and the full list of concepts
consolidated.
109

Resources

hours
7.17.1 Planning Production
Location This is a good starting point. It is an accessible topic 10

which will help to build confidence in candidates.
They can carry out research into the factors likely to
affect business decisions. This could take the form
of creating a brochure promoting the attractions of a
particular town or region as a home for businesses.
An alternative or supplementary approach could be
to consider a business that has moved within the EU
(Avon’s move from Northampton to Poland, for
example) and to consider the financial and non-
financial factors which may have influenced this
decision. Delivery of this topic must include the EU
and internet as influences on location decisions.
Research and development Ensuring understanding of the term research and

development is a good starting point as candidates
are prone to confuse it with market research which
they may already have studied. An interesting
exercise is to research businesses that top the
international ‘league table’ for expenditure on
research and development and to discuss the reasons
for these businesses heavy spending in this area.
Case studies may be used to highlight the risks
involved in substantial investment in research and
development as well as the potential benefits from
successful products such as the Apple iPod.
Methods of production This is an ideal topic for self study. Candidates

could be asked to research the three methods of
production in the specification under the following
headings:
• description
• advantages and disadvantages
• implications for productivity.
Industries in which they are likely to be used plus
justification.
110
7.17.2 Managing Production 20
Quality An exercise comparing and contrasting quality

control and quality assurance may be a good
starting point once candidates have a clear
understanding of the term quality. Beyond this
topic lends itself to a case study approach looking
at the costs and benefits of implementing differing
quality systems in diverse circumstances.
Stock control A straightforward topic, but one which will require

some formal teaching to ensure understanding of
the diagrams and concepts such as re-order levels
and lead times. This is an ideal topic to use a case
study on a business which holds little or no stock
and to consider the benefits and potential costs of
this approach. This should act as a good lead into
JIT.
Just-in-time (JIT) It is important for candidates to appreciate that JIT

production is about more than stock control. It is a ‘pull’
system of production in which customers’ orders
trigger production. The advantages and
disadvantages of this strategy should be examined.
If an earlier factory visit encompassed a JIT
system, so much the better. In any event, case
studies will be essential here.
Continuous improvement This is also known by its Japanese name of

‘kaizen’. A brief consideration of the concept, the
benefits it may bring and the potential costs are
required. Looking at the experience of Japanese
businesses such as Toyota may bring light to bear
on this topic.
7.17.3 Efficient Production 15
Productive efficiency It is important to establish the meaning of this term

clearly in candidates’ minds from the outset. This
understanding should encompass service and
manufacturing businesses as well as labour and
capital as factors of production. Methods of
improving productive efficiency should include:
• reducing waste
• training employees
• investment in capital equipment
• utilising capacity as fully as possible.
The Japanese car manufacturer, Nissan, may form
a useful study as the business uses sophisticated
technology and achieves levels of labour
productivity unmatched by European rivals.
111
The scale of production This initially builds on material covered in

AS Unit 3 – Financial Planning and Monitoring:
calculating total and average costs of production. A
couple of exercises should serve as sufficient
reminder of these concepts. From this, it is
important to derive the ‘U’ shaped average cost
curve and use this as a lead in to economies and
diseconomies of scale. Ensure understanding of the
nature and examples of economies and diseconomies
before considering this within a global context.
Vodafone is seeking to supply its mobile telephone
services globally. This company could serve as a
good case study illustrating the potential benefits and
problems of such a strategy.
Critical path analysis (CPA) Start with a simple scenario (where time is at a
premium) and demonstrate how to construct
networks. Include Earliest Start Times (ESTs) and
Latest Finish Times (LFTs) in these diagrams, but
keep it simple. This element of the topic will
definitely need to be taught formally. Construct
your sample networks carefully to ensure they will
work when teaching this topic. It may be worth
adapting some from relevant textbooks if you are not
familiar with this subject.
However, do not overemphasise the construction of
networks in the delivery of this topic. The possible
benefits to businesses from the use of this technique
are worthy of in-depth treatment as are the potential
drawbacks.
7.17.4 Portfolio 15
112
Key Skills and Other Issues
8 Key Skills
8.1 Common Questions and Given below are common questions asked about Key Skills and the
Answers answers to them.
What are Key Skills? Key Skills have been identified as helping candidates to focus on
what and how they are learning and, consequently, to improve their
performance. They also enable candidates to be flexible in
whatever kind of work they do and, as such, are important to
employers when recruiting and promoting staff.
How are Key Skills classified? They are classified under the following titles:
The ‘main’ Key Skills
Communication
Application of Number
Information Technology (IT)
The ‘wider’ Key Skills
Working with Others
Improving Own Learning and Performance
Problem Solving.
At what level are Key Skills Key Skills specifications are available at five levels of attainment,
available? levels 1−5. These levels correspond to the levels used for other
qualifications within the national qualifications framework. For
example, Key Skills level 2 can be broadly related, in terms of level
of demand, to GCSE grades A*−C and level 3 to GCE Grades A−E.
The higher levels, levels 4 and 5, describe those skills relevant to
technical and professional situations and higher-level study.
What do the units look like? The units for all the Key Skills comprise three parts.
Part A What you need to know.
Part B What you must do.
Part C Guidance.
Part A of the unit tells candidates what they need to learn and
practise to feel confident about applying the Key Skills in their
studies, work or other aspects of their lives.
113
Part B of the unit describes the skills candidates must show.

Candidates must have evidence that they can do all the tasks listed
in the bullet points.
What qualifications are Candidates who complete the assessment requirements (internal
available in Key Skills? and external assessment) for a main Key Skills unit at level 1, 2, 3
or 4 will be awarded a unit certificate.
Each wider Key Skills unit at each level is assessed by a portfolio

of evidence only. These units are certificated by unit and are not
available as a qualification on the National Qualification
Framework.
What must candidates do to The ‘main’ Key Skills

achieve these qualifications? The scheme of assessment for each Key Skill at each level is made
up of two components: the internally assessed portfolio of
evidence addressing Part B of the unit and the externally assessed
test. Candidates must pass both assessment components at the
same level to be successful in a Key Skill at the relevant level.
However, a candidate who achieves different levels of success in
the internal and external components for a Key Skill can be
awarded a certificate at the lower of the two levels. Candidates
may enter for the separate components at different assessment
opportunities.

To achieve unit certification candidates must be successful in
compiling a portfolio of work demonstrating evidence of
achievement of Part B of the unit (“What you must do”). The
portfolio is internally assessed by the centre and moderated by
AQA.
Will the Key Skills The main Key Skills units each attract UCAS points:
qualification attract UCAS Level 2 unit = 10 points, Level 3 unit = 20 points.
points?
114
How can this GCE Applied Candidates following a course of study based on AQA GCE
Business specification help Applied Business can be offered opportunities to develop and
candidates to gain Key Skills? generate evidence of achievement in:
The ‘main’ Key Skills
Communication
Application of Number
Information Technology (IT)
Working with Others
Improving Own Learning and Performance
Problem Solving.
The work produced can form part, or even all, the portfolio for each
Key Skill. The level to which each Key Skill can be developed and
demonstrated will depend upon the opportunities made available in
the course at each centre, together with the ability of the candidate.
Centres may choose to deliver Key Skills totally separately from
candidates’ main programmes of study, integrate Key Skills into all
main programmes of study for all candidates, or use a mixture of the
two. Whatever delivery style a centre adopts, it is hoped that
candidates will appreciate for themselves the applicability of Key
Skills to much of their subject-specific work and the transferability
of the skills from one context to another.
Detailed signposting opportunities for the delivery and generation of
evidence of achievement are given in Section 8.2 of this Teachers’
Guide. They are provided to assist teachers in considering how Key
Skills could best fit into their teaching strategy. In each case, unless
otherwise stated, the signposting will be for Key Skills at level 3.
As explained above, this does not mean that work focused at other
levels, or candidates’ responses demonstrating achievement at other
levels, cannot be set or rewarded. Likewise, teachers may choose
not to make use of each and every opportunity identified.
Must Key Skills be delivered No. It is appreciated that the opportunities for Key Skills delivery
through this specification? that can be made available in any course of study at a centre will
depend upon a number of centre-specific factors, including teaching
strategies and level of resources. It is acknowledged that some
specifications will offer more opportunities for Key Skills delivery
than others. However, it is hoped that candidates will appreciate for
themselves the wide applicability of Key Skills to all their courses
of study and the fact that the acquisition of Key Skills will assist
them in their work for all relevant subjects and specifications.
How do I know if the work Teachers who have not been involved in Key Skills will be
produced meets the Key Skills concerned that the work produced by their candidates is of the right
requirements? standard for success. It is hoped that each centre will have one or
more Key Skills Co-ordinator(s) who will ensure internal
standardisation of assessment of Key Skills across the centre. AQA
holds annual portfolio standardising meetings for Key Skills
Co-ordinators or other centre representatives in the Autumn term.
115
Key Skills exemptions The regulatory authorities (QCA, ACCAC and CCEA) have been
asked to ensure that candidates who have taken or who are taking
English, Gaeilge, Welsh, Mathematics and ICT GCSE and GCE
qualifications should not be involved in unnecessary double
assessment of work in seeking their Key Skills units.
A number of qualifications that have been agreed to assess the
same knowledge and skills as aspects of the Key Skills have been
approved as proxy qualifications. Candidates can claim
exemption from part of the Key Skills when they are able to
provide proof of achievement of the proxy qualification. A list of
agreed proxy qualifications is maintained by QCA and can be
viewed at www.qca.org.uk
The exemptions listed by QCA have been confirmed for those
specifications accredited by the regulatory authorities. Revision to
accredited specifications would result in the exemption offered by
the subject being reviewed and, if necessary, revised or removed.
The currency of exemptions provided by proxy qualifications may
be no longer than three years from the date of award to the date of
claim.
8.2 Signposting of Key Skills in Content specific to specifications (see page 124 of the GCE
GCE Applied Business Applied Business specification).
8.3 Assessment of Key Skills Content specific to specifications (see page 108 of the GCE
Applied Business specification).
116
9 Resources
9.1 Introduction Given below is a list of recommended resources. These resources
and publishers are correct as at going to press.
It is also recommended that candidates keep informed through a
selection of relevant newspapers, journals and other sources such as
the internet.
9.2 General
Author Title Publisher ISBN
Surridge, Chapman, Cornelius, Applied Business Collins 0007201400
Merrils AS for AQA
Glew, Surridge et al Business for Collins 0-00-329104-9
Vocational A Level
Thompson and Machin AS Business Studies Collins 0-00-715120-9
Marcouse, I Business Studies Hodder and Stoughton 0340811102
(2nd edition)
Hall, Jones, Raffo Business Studies Causeway Press Ltd 1873929900
9.3 People
Shackleton V How to pick people Fontana 0006373860
for jobs
Torrington et al Employee IPD 085292464X
Resourcing
Beaumont P B Human Resource Sage 0-8039-8815-X
Management
Brumfitt, Barnes et al Vocational Business Nelson Thornes 0-7487-6362-7
– 4 Human Resources
9.4 Marketing
Davidson, H Even More Penguin 0140256911
Offensive Marketing
9.5 Managing People

Buchanan D and Huczynski A Organisational Prentice Hall 0-13-639899-5
Behaviour – An
Introductory Text
117
9.6 Managing Information

Institute of Leadership and Superseries: Storing Pergamon
Management (2003) and Retrieving
Information (4th
edition)
Jessup L and Valacich J (2003) Information Systems Prentice Hall
Today
9.7 Managing Change

Bourne M and Bourne P Change Management Hodder Arnold H & S 0340846100
(2002) in a Week
9.8 Other Resources

Videos Publisher Address
The Marketing Mix TV Choice PO Box 597, Bromley, Kent BR2 0YB
(general and company specific Tel: 0208 464 7402
videos)
Magazines Publisher Address
Business Review Phillip Allan Market Place, Deddington, Oxon
Publishers OX15 0SE
Tel: 01869 338652
Websites Address
General www.bbc.co.uk/gcsebitesize/business
www.bizhot.co.uk/learn/direct
Career Planning www.myskillsprofile.com

www.cooltests.com
Personal skills profile:
www.shldirect.com
www.enneagraminstitute.com
www.bizmove.com
Career choice: www.insidecareers.co.uk

www.connexions.gov.uk
www.careerswales.com
www.workthing.com
Qualifications: www.dfes.gov.uk/qualifications
www.qca.org.uk
www.accac.org.uk
www.qca.org.uk/keyskills
www.edexcel.org.uk
www.aqa.org.uk
www.city-and-guilds.co.uk
www.ocr.org.uk
www.wjec.co.uk
www.studentuk.com
118
Career Pathway Information: www.ucas.com

www.foundationdegree.org.uk
www.yearoutgroup.org
www.gapyear.com
www.gap.org.uk
www.projecttrust.org.uk
www.dfes.gov.uk
www.volunteering.org.uk
www.do-it.org.uk
www.mv-online.gov.uk
www.ukyouthparliament.com
www.princes-trust.org.uk
www.shell-livewire.org
www.eurodesk.org
www.careerseurope.co.uk
www.careers-uk.com
www.europa.eu
www.dfes.gov.uk/studentsupport/
www.lifelonglearning.dfes.gov.uk/cdl
www.lsc.gov.uk
www.learndirect.co.uk
www.ngfl.gov.uk
Additional support and www.disability.gov.uk (information on Disability Rights)

www.rnib.org.uk (Royal National Institute for the Blind)
information for people with
www.rnid.org.uk (Royal National Institute for the Deaf)
special needs www.scope.org.uk (SCOPE is for people with cerebral palsy)
www.shaw-trust.org.uk (The Shaw Trust provides help to
young disabled people in finding jobs and training)
www.ace-ed.org.uk (the Advisory Centre for Education or
ACE, has a leaflet called Children with Special Needs: Sources
of help)
www.after16.org.uk or www.familyfundtrust.org.uk
www.skill.org.uk (for information about education, training and
work for students with disabilities)
www.mencap.org.uk
www.nas.org.uk (National Autistic Society)
www.dialuk.org.uk (DIAL UK – disability information and
advice line)
www.nagcbritain.org.uk (the National Association for Gifted
Children)
119
10 Awarding and Reporting

10.1 Grading System Both the Advanced Subsidiary and the Advanced Level Single
Award qualifications will be graded on a five-grade scale: A, B, C,
D and E. Candidates who fail to reach the minimum standard for
grade E will be recorded as U (unclassified) and will not receive a
qualification certificate.
The Advanced Subsidiary and Advanced Level Double Award
qualifications will be graded on a nine-grade scale: AA, AB, BB,
BC, CC, CD, DD, DE, EE. Candidates who fail to reach the
minimum standard for grade EE will be recorded as U (unclassified)
and will not receive a qualification certificate. However, where the
unit results permit, a candidate will be able to claim an award for an
appropriate subset of units. For example, a candidate who is
recorded as U for the Advanced Level Double Award may have
sufficiently good unit results to claim Advanced Subsidiary Single
Award and/or Advanced Subsidiary Double Award and Advanced
Level Single Award. The centre will be required to request a
revised qualification entry or entries in such circumstances.
Individual assessment unit results will be reported.
10.2 Marking of Each Unit Each portfolio unit contains its own set of marking criteria,
contextualised specifically to the content of that unit.
Each externally assessed unit will have a marking scheme that
shows how the questions address one or more assessment objectives.
Examples are provided in the specimen assessment materials.
10.3 Portfolio Units A candidate’s work for a portfolio unit must aim to cover the
assessment requirements specified.
In the marking criteria, mark ranges are given for each criterion.
When assessing a candidate’s portfolio work, for each criterion
teachers/assessors should first identify the range of marks within
which that work falls, then use their professional judgement to
decide which mark within that range best describes the depth and
quality of the work. The candidate’s total mark for the unit is
determined by adding the marks for the different criteria. Further
guidance about the marking process will be provided during teacher
standardising meetings.
10.4 Grading of Each Unit For both portfolio and externally assessed units, the minimum raw
mark for each grade will be recommended by an awarding
committee. The boundary decisions will be reported to centres for
each unit at each assessment opportunity. Candidates’ raw marks
will be converted by AQA to uniform marks (see Section 10.5),
which will be reported to the centre.
120
10.5 Uniform Marks Scale Uniform marks are used to report candidates’ achievements on a
standard scale, irrespective of the unit and the examination series in
which it was taken. In Units in GCE specifications in applied
subjects, the ranges of uniform marks allocated to each grade are as
follows.
A B C D E U
100-80 79-70 69-60 59-50 49-40 39-0
For example, if a unit is marked out of 70 and the awarding

committee determines that the lowest mark for grade A is 51, then a
candidate with 51 raw marks will receive 80 uniform marks.
Depending on the award(s) for which a candidate is entered, the
uniform marks for the appropriate three units, the appropriate six
units or the appropriate twelve units are added together to give a
total uniform mark.
For example, in AS Double Award a candidate with a total of 340
uniform marks will receive grade CD.
Advanced Subsidiary Single

Award
A B C D E U
300−240 239−210 209−180 179−150 149−120 119−0
Advanced Subsidiary Double

Award
AA AB BB BC CC CD DD DE EE U
600−480 479−450 449−420 419−390 389−360 359−330 329−300 299−270 269−240 239−0
Advanced Level Single Award
A B C D E U
600−480 479−420 419−360 359−300 299−240 239−0
Advanced Level Double Award
AA AB BB BC CC CD DD DE EE U
1200−960 959−900 899−840 839−780 779−720 719−660 659−600 599−540 539−480 479−0
121
11 Glossary of Terms
Advanced Subsidiary This qualification is available on a free-standing basis and is the first
half of the Advanced Level course.
A2 This is the second half of the Advanced Level course but does not
relate to a free-standing qualification.
Aims The broad educational or vocational purposes of a qualification.
Assessment Objective One of a set of statements in a specification describing the focus of

assessment.
Assessment Unit The smallest part of a qualification that can be separately certificated.
Entry Codes The codes to be used by centres when entering candidates for each
unit and each qualification.
External Assessment A form of assessment in which question papers and tasks are set by
the awarding body, taken under specified conditions (including details
of supervision and duration) and assessed by the awarding body. This
includes awarding body set assignments.
Internal Assessment A form of assessment that does not meet the definition of external
assessment for a general qualification.
Internal Standardisation A process carried out by centres in relation to internally assessed work
to ensure, for a particular specification, that all candidates are judged
against the same standards, across different assessors and teaching
groups.
Key Skills Those generic skills that can enable people to perform well in
education, training and life in general. They can help people to
become members of a flexible workforce and equip them with the
means to benefit from life-long learning.
Moderation The process through which internal assessment is monitored by an

awarding body to ensure that it is valid, reliable, fair and consistent
with required standards.
Portfolio Work produced to meet the requirements of tasks set and undertaken
during the course which are integral to the vocational course of study
in the majority of units.
Shelf-life of Units The length of time a unit can be stored and put towards a subsequent
qualification. For this specification, the shelf-life of units is restricted
only by the life of the specification.
Specification The complete description – including mandatory and optional aspects

– of the content, assessment arrangements and performance
requirements for a qualification.
122
Staged Assessment Assessment arrangements in which assessment units are taken

throughout a period of learning.
Synoptic Assessment A form of assessment which tests candidates’ understanding of the

connections between the different elements of a subject.
Unit Specified teaching, learning and assessment requirements associated

with an identifiable part of a qualification.
123

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version 1.

General Certificate of Education

AQA ADVANCED SUBSIDIARY GCE 8611

Copyright © AQA 2006 and its licensors. All rights reserved.

Set and published by the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance.

3 The New Examination 8

6 Delivery of the Course 52

Key Skills and Other Issues

8 Key Skills 113

10 Awarding and Reporting 120

11 Glossary of Terms 122

All Advanced Vocational Certificate of Education (VCE)

GCE Advanced Subsidiary Double Award (6 AS units)

Units: 1, 2, 3 and three AS units from Units 4, 5, 6 and 7.

GCE Advanced Level Single Award (3 AS and 3 A2 units)

Units: 1, 2, 3 plus A2 Unit 8 and two A2 units (from A2 Units 9 –

GCE Advanced Level Double Award (6 AS and 6 A2 units)

Units: 1, 2, 3 plus three AS units (from AS Units 4, 5, 6 and 7), plus

Unit 1 Investigating Business

Unit 2 People in Business

Unit 3 Financial Planning and Monitoring (External Test)

Available for award from 2006.

Unit 1 Investigating Business

Unit 2 People in Business

Unit 3 Financial Planning and Monitoring (External Test)

Unit 4 Meeting Customer Needs (External Test)

Unit 5 Business Communication and Information Systems

Unit 7 Career Planning

Available for award from 2006.

Compulsory AS Unit 1 Investigating Business

Unit 2 People in Business

Unit 3 Financial Planning and Monitoring (External Test)

Compulsory A2 Unit 8 Business Planning

Unit 9 Marketing Strategy

Unit 10 Promotional Activities

Unit 11 The Marketing Environment (External Test)

Unit 12 Managing People (External Test)

Unit 13 Managing Information

Unit 14 Managing Change

Unit 15 Financial Accounting for Managers (External Test)

Unit 16 Managing Resources

Available for award from 2007.

Compulsory AS Unit 1 Investigating Business

Unit 2 People in Business

Unit 3 Financial Planning and Monitoring (External Test)

Unit 4 Meeting Customer Needs (External Test)

Unit 5 Business Communication and Information Systems

Unit 6 Developing a Product

Unit 7 Career Planning

Unit 9 Marketing Strategy

Unit 10 Promotional Activities

Unit 11 The Marketing Environment (External Test)

Unit 12 Managing People (External Test)

Unit 13 Managing Information

Unit 14 Managing Change

Unit 15 Financial Accounting for Managers (External Test)

Unit 16 Managing Resources

Available for award from 2007.

3 The New Examination

The external assessment case studies and scenarios will be based on

Command Assessment Objectives Marking scheme

The following is an example of a levels of response marking scheme

Level Descriptor Marks Objective

In the example used, the differentiator is whether the candidate