In this lesson I cover:
The role of market research and methods used:
* Market-orientated businesses (uses of market research information to a business)
* Primary research and secondary research (benefits and limitations of each)
* Methods of primary research, e.g. postal questionnaire, online survey, interviews, focus groups
* The need for sampling
* Methods of secondary research, e.g. online, accessing government sources, paying for commercial market research reports
* Factors influencing the accuracy of market research data
Presentation and use of market research results:
* Analyse market research data shown in the form of graphs, charts and diagrams; draw simple conclusions from such data
In this lesson, I cover the following:
Marketing, competition and the customer
* The role of marketing:
* Identifying customer needs
* Satisfying customer needs
* Maintaining customer loyalty
* Building customer relationships
Market changes:
Why customer/consumer spending patterns may change
The importance of changing customer needs
Why some markets have become more competitive
How businesses can respond to changing spending patterns and increased competition
Concepts of niche marketing and mass marketing:
Benefits and limitations of both approaches to marketing
How and why market segmentation is undertaken:
How markets can be segmented, e.g. according to age, socio-economic grouping, location,
gender
Potential benefits of segmentation to business
Recommend and justify an appropriate method
of segmentation in given circumstances
This is a complete lesson.
In this less I cover the following:
Recruitment and selecting employees:
* Recruitment and selection methods
* Difference between internal recruitment and external recruitment
* Main stages in recruitment and selection of employees
* Benefits and limitations of part-time employees and full-time employees
The importance of training and the methods of training:
* Importance of training to a business and to employees
* Benefits and limitations of induction training, on-the-job training and off-the-job training
Why reducing the size of the workforce might be necessary:
* Difference between dismissal and redundancy
* Understand situations in which downsizing the workforce might be necessary, e.g. automation or reduced demand for products
Legal controls over employment contracts, unfair dismissal, discrimination, health and safety, legal minimum wage
In this lesson I cover:
draw, interpret and understand simple organisational charts:
Simple hierarchical structures: span of control, levels of hierarchy, chain of command
Roles and responsibilities of directors, managers, supervisors, other employees in an organisation and inter-relationships between them
The role of management:
Functions of management, e.g. planning, organising, coordinating, commanding and controlling
Importance of delegation; trust versus control
Leadership styles:
Features of the main leadership styles, e.g. autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire
Trade unions:
What a trade union is and the effects of employees being union members
there are also 2 activity students can undertake to help them remember the topics discussed.
The importance of a well-motivated workforce:
Why people work and what motivation means
The benefits of a well-motivated workforce: labour productivity, reduced absenteeism and labour turnover
Key motivational theories: Taylor, Herzberg and Maslow’s hierarch
Methods of motivation:
Financial rewards, e.g. wage, salary, bonus, commission and profit sharing
Non-financial methods, e.g. job enrichment, job rotation, team working, training, opportunities for promotion
I have also made an activity for students to work on.
The main features of different forms of business organisation:
Sole traders, partnerships, private and public limited companies, franchises and joint ventures
Differences between unincorporated businesses and limited companies
Concepts of risk, ownership and limited liability
Recommend and justify a suitable form of business organisation to owners/management in a given situation
Business organisations in the public sector, e.g. public corporations
In this lesson I cover:
Enterprise and entrepreneurship
Characteristics of successful entrepreneurs
Contents of a business plan and how business plans assist entrepreneurs
Why and how governments support business start-ups, e.g. grants, training schemes
In this lesson I cover:
Business activity in terms of primary, secondary and tertiary sectors:
Basis of business classification, using examples to illustrate the classification
Reasons for the changing importance of business classification, e.g. in developed and developing
economies
business enterprises between private sector and public sector in a mixed economy
In this lesson I cover:
The purpose and nature of business activity
Concepts of needs, wants, scarcity and opportunity cost
Importance of specialisation
Purpose of business activity
The concept of adding value and how added value can be increased