YEAR 10 BUSINESS COURSE SYLLABUS
Course Outline
Overview
The 9 Level Business studies syllabus aims to enable students to understand different forms of business organizations, the environments in which businesses operate and business functions such as marketing, operations and finance, appreciate the role of people in business success. They will also gain lifelong skills, including the ability to calculate and interpret business data, communication skills needed to support arguments with reasons and the ability to analyze business situations and reach decisions or judgements.
Learning Outcomes
The aims are to enable students to:
- apply their knowledge and critical understanding to current issues and problems in a wide range of business contexts
- make effective use of relevant terminology, concepts, and methods, and recognize the strengths and limitations of the ideas used in business
- distinguish between facts and opinions, and evaluate qualitative and quantitative data to help build arguments and make informed judgements
- appreciate the perspectives of a range of stakeholders in relation to the business environment, individuals, society, government, and enterprise
- develop knowledge and understanding of the major groups and organizations within and outside business, and consider ways in which they can influence objectives, decisions, and activities
- develop knowledge and understanding of how the main types of businesses are organized, financed, and operated, and how their relations with other organizations, consumers, employees, owners, and society are regulated
- develop skills of numeracy, literacy, enquiry, selection and use of relevant sources of information, presentation, and interpretation
- develop an awareness of the nature and significance of innovation and change within the context of business activities
- acquire a foundation for further study of business or other subjects.
Unit Overviews
Term 1
Section 1 Understanding business activity
Approximate length: 9 weeks
This section introduces the underlying ideas and concepts of business and includes the purpose and nature of business activity and how businesses can be classified. Enterprise and entrepreneurs, and why some businesses grow while others remain small are further important issues. How business size can be measured, types of business organization, business objectives and stakeholder objectives are the concluding topics.
Cambridge International Curriculum Standards
- To be able to demonstrate the understanding of business activity in adding value and helping to satisfy the needs of customers in a changing competitive environment
- To be able to explain the purposes of business activity in terms of the objects of non-profit making activity, private enterprise, and public enterprise
- To be able to describe and classify business activity in terms of primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors.
- To be able to demonstrate an awareness of the changes that have taken place in these sectors within own country.
- To be able to show knowledge of the methods and problems of measuring the size of business units.
- Include - Why businesses grow and expand, problems connected with this and how this might be overcome.
- To be able to describe and explain the private and public sectors as a way of organizing business activity.
- To be able to demonstrate an awareness of the aims and objectives of enterprises in both private and public sectors.
Section 2 People in business
Approximate length: 4 weeks
The focus is the functional area of human resources and includes the importance and methods of motivating a workforce. How businesses are organized and managed and the methods of recruitment, selection and training of employees are also considered. Finally, the section covers the importance and methods of effective internal and external communication.
Cambridge International Curriculum Standards
- To be able to recommend and justify appropriate method(s) of motivation in given situation.
- To understand the importance of a well-motivated workforce.
General teaching methodologies will include Online and Face to Face (Blended) learning, Face to face students will be in class while online learners will log in remotely and follow the instructor, who will have the laptop camera facing the smartboard. Teaching will be done using a combination of writing and illustrating on the smartboard and PowerPoint presentations. This should include a combination of oral and visual methods to differentiate instruction modes to cater to student preferences effectively.
Use of Phoenix to allocate differentiated activities catering to varying learning abilities of the students – these online activities will include quizzes, assignments, research-based projects, digital group activities and formative tests.
Feedback to students will be given through the Gems Phoenix platform. Feedback will include rubrics, teacher, and peer marking.
Questions from students – time allocated to allow students the opportunity to ask questions and give written and oral feedback through digital platforms.
