Learning Aims: To research, record and evaluate the difficulties of starting your own business. 3.1 What is Business: 3.1.1 Understanding the Nature and Purpose of Business 3.1.1 requires you to investigate a business to answer the Why do businesses exist?.you will also consider how the business measures success. Assessment Objectives The Assessment Objectives represent those qualities which can be demonstrated in your work and which can be measured for the purposes of assessment. These are the skills you will be tested on in the tasks you are going to complete AO1 Demonstrate knowledge of terms, concepts, theories, methods and models to show an understanding of how individuals and organisations are affected by and respond to business issues. AO2 Apply knowledge and understanding to various business contexts to show how individuals and organisations are affected by and respond to issues. AO3 Analyse issues within a business, showing an understanding of the impact on individuals and organisations of external and internal influences. AO4 Evaluate quantitative and qualitative information to make informed judgements and propose evidence-based solutions to business issues. Page 1
Assignment 1. Research a successful small business in your area and interview the owner to establish - the reasons for starting up problems they encountered when they were starting up the business solutions to the problems the factors which lead to their success This task addresses AO2 Apply knowledge and Understanding Draw up a list of s that address all the points you need to cover from the bullet points. 2. Explain the advantages of small businesses over large businesses This task addresses AO1 Demonstrate knowledge You will be required to access a text book or the internet. It would be a good idea to included s in your interview that might help you answer this. 3. Who are their main competitors? Analyse the way in which your chosen business manages their competition. This task addresses AO3 Analysis Page 2
It may help to draw up a table that shows the advantages and disadvantages of the way the owner deals with their competition. E.g. how do they monitor the competition, do you think this is effective. It would be a good idea to think of s to include in your interview that would help you complete this task. 4. Assess the likely future success of the business. Refer to the interview with the owner, the information you have researched on the competition and information you can find on future customer numbers. This task addresses AO4 Evaluate quantitative and qualitative information to make informed judgements. Evaluation can include making a judgement based on the evidence you have presented. Opinion is not evaluation there must be evidence to back the opinion up. To help you make this judgement use the information you have already gathered in earlier tasks. AO2 Apply knowledge and understanding This is addressed throughout all the tasks. To gain marks for application it is important that your work always refers to the specific business you are studying e.g. the problems of start-up to do with the business you have selected not about all businesses in general. When completing this assignment you should embrace the Seven Principles of Learning. Read these carefully to ensure you are clear on how they can improve your work. The principles are listed below. Page 3
The Seven Principles of Learning. You learn best when you 1. Use your initiative, have a go and clarify later; it s your ideas that matter. 2. Take a risk and be creative. 3. Talk about what you are learning and what you know. 4. Work together to explore how you would solve a problem. 5. Reflect on your needs and how you learn best in terms of interests, abilities and styles of learning. Make changes if necessary. 6. Respond positively to feedback from your teachers and your peers. 7. Take responsibility for your own learning. This assignment will be marked out of 16. Marks will be awarded in the following way. Level Descriptor Marks L4 An excellent understanding of the demands of the. Brings together all of the key issues in the effectively. 13-16 Page 4
Provides well reasoned, well chosen arguments which are applied effectively to the context. Makes judgements that are convincing and demonstrate insight into the as a whole. L3 L2 L1 A good understanding of the demands of the Brings together some of key issues in the Provides well reasoned arguments which are applied to the context. Makes judgements that build on arguments and answer most parts of the. A reasonable understanding of the demands of the Focuses on issues relevant to the Develops arguments in context Makes partial judgements or judgements focused on the as a whole but not supported effectively by earlier arguments. Limited understanding of the demands of the Provides an answer to the that: Focuses on some relevant issues in the Provides limited development of arguments in which the use of context is mainly descriptive Makes judgements with an attempt to support them. 9-12 5-8 1-4 Page 5