A Level Business Studies Distance Learning CourseAL604

Course Info

Distance Learning Support

At Start Learning we pride ourselves on our friendly andsupportive tutors. Your tutor support will start as soon as you receive yourcourse and will be valid for 18 months. All our tutors are highly qualifiedwith extensive experience in supporting distance learning students.You contact your tutor via email and they are responsible for markingassignments answering your questions and guiding you through the course.

Home Study Entry Requirements

Basic English reading and writing skills are required. We recommend you have general skills and knowledge associated with a GCSE course or equivalent.

At Start Learning we believe that everyone should have theopportunity to expand their knowledge and study further, so we try to keep ourentry requirements to a minimum. 

Recommended Hours of Study

It is recommended that 200 hours of your time should be allocated towards study for the AS and A2 examinations.

Recommended Reading:

AQA Business Studies for AS by Marcouse, I, Gillespie, A, Surridge, M, Brewer, M, Watson, N,Birchall, N and Hammond, A, Hodder Education, 2008 (ISBN 9780340958643)

AQA Business Studies for A2 by Marcouse, I et al, Hodder Education, ISBN 9780340973578 (to be published April 2009)

Distance Learning Course Contents

A Level Business Studies consists of AS Level and A2 Level:

AS Level

Unit 1 – BUSS1 – Planning and Financing a Business
• Business start-up guide
• How to finance small businesses

Unit 2 - BUSS2 – Managing a Business
• Financial management
• Importance of Human Resources
• Operations Management
• Marketing and the Competitive environment

A2 Level

Unit 3 - BUSS3 – Strategies for Success
• Functional Objectives and Strategies.
• Financial Strategies and Accounts
• Marketing Strategies
• Operational Strategies
• Human Resource Strategies

Unit 4 – BUSS4 – The Business Environment and Managing Change
• Corporate Aims and Objectives
• Assessing changes to the Business Environment
• Change Management

AS Level + A2 Level = A Level in Business Studies

Easy Payment Plan

Full Price is £395

6 Monthly Instalments of £65.83

The First Instalment is paid at time of enrolment with a fee for postage and packaging.

For postage costs click here: Postage & Packaging

Call us on 0800 074 1222 if you would like to set up a payment plan 

Learning Objectives

Unit 1 - BUSS1 – Planning and Financing a Business:

• Business start-up guide: This section provides students with an introduction to the scope of Business Studies within the context of starting a new business

• Enterprise - What is a business Enterprise? The Business Entrepreneur, Risks and Rewards, Opportunity Cost, How to Become an Entrepreneur, Ways to get Government Support for Enterprise and Entrepreneurs.

• Generating and protecting business ideas - Sources / Opportunities for finding business Ideas, Identifying market or product niches, what are Franchises? Copyright, patents and trademarks.

• Transforming Resources into Goods and Services - Inputs, outputs and the nature of the transformation of resources into finished products, and adding value.

• Business Planning - The purpose and contents of business plans, Sources of information and guidance.

• How to Conduct Market Research for Business Start-Ups - Methods of primary and secondary market research, Qualitative and quantitative research, Size and types of samples, Factors influencing the choice of sampling methods.

• Understanding Markets - The nature and types of markets, the importance of demand, Types of market segmentation, Market size, growth and share.

• Making the right choice of legal structure for Business - Sole Traders, Partnerships, Private Limited Companies, Public Limited Companies, Pros and Cons of Legal Structures, Not-for-Profit Businesses.

• Raising Finance - Sources of finance available to start businesses.

• Location of a Business - Factors influencing start-up location decisions.

• Employing People - Types of employees used in small businesses, Using consultants and advisors.

Financial Planning: This section provides students with an understanding of key financial concepts essential for the planning of small businesses.

• Calculation of costs, revenues and profits - What are fixed, variable and total costs? Price, total revenue and profit.

• Break-Even Analysis and Decision-Making - Contribution and Contribution per unit, How to calculate break-even output, Analysing changing variables and their effects.

• Introduction to Cash-Flow forecasting - Nature of Cash Flow, Forecasting Cash Flow, How to structure a cash-flow forecast, Importance of forecasting cash-flow for businesses.

• Setting of Budgets - Income, expenditure and profit budgets, and the process of setting a budget, Budget amendments and completions.

• Assessments of Business Start-Ups - Aims and objectives of Business Start-Ups, Strengths and Weaknesses of business ideas or plans, Risks involved with Business Start-Ups, Reasons for failure of business start-ups.

Unit 2: BUSS2 – Concepts of Business Management

Financial management: This section introduces students to the importance of the management of finance.

• Importance of using budgets - How to calculate and interpret favourable and adverse variances, making informed decision-making based on variance analysis.

• Cash-flow improvement - Causes of cash-flow problems and ways to improve cash-flow

• Measurement and Increase of Profit - Net Profit Margins, Return on Capital, Methods of improving Profits and Profitability, Differentiating between Cash and Profit.

• Importance of Human Resources 

• This section considers the issues that managers face in relation to managing the human element to make a business more effective.

• Organisational Structure - Hierarchy and spans of control, Delegation and communication flows, job allocation and workloads, Workforce roles.

• Measuring Effectiveness of the Workforce - Methods of measuring workforce roles.

• The development of an effective workforce: recruitment, selection and training - The process of recruitment, Internal and external recruitment, How to choose the best employee, Workforce improvement through recruitment and selection, Methods of training.

• Development and retention of an effective workforce: Employee motivation - Financial methods of motivation, Improvement of Job design, Employee empowerment, Team working and Motivation Theories.

• Operations Management - This section should promote understanding of the importance of operational decisions in managing a business in tertiary, secondary and primary sectors.

• Making Operational Decisions - How to calculate and manage capacity utilisation, what are non-standard orders? Matching production and demand.

• Effective Operations Development: Quality - Quality control and quality assurance, Systems of Quality Assurance, Quality Standards, An introduction to quality systems and its management.

• Effective Operations Development: Customer Service - How to meet customer expectations, Ways to monitoring and improve customer service, Achieving high levels of customer service and its benefits.

• Working with Suppliers - How to choose effective suppliers, Role of suppliers in enhanced operational performance.

• Technology in Operations Management - Different types of technology in operations management, Problems in introducing and updating technology.

Marketing and the Competitive Environment: In this section students should understand the importance of marketing to businesses and issues affecting their competitiveness.

• Effective Marketing - Purpose of marketing, Niche and mass marketing.

• Designing an effective marketing mix - Influences and Integrated marketing mix.

• The Product Marketing Mix - USPs, Product Portfolio Analysis and Product Lifecycle

• The promotion marketing mix - Above-the-line and below-the-line.

• The pricing marketing mix - Pricing strategies and price tactics.

• The place marketing mix - Outlets and distributors choices and distribution channels.

Unit 3: BUSS3 – Strategies for Success

Functional Objectives and Strategies: This section introduces students to functional objectives and strategies, and examines their appropriateness in the context of corporate objectives.

• Using Objectives and Strategies - Functional objectives and their relationship with corporate objectives, the relationship between functional objectives and strategies.

Financial Strategies and Accounts: This section examines the financial objectives of larger businesses, the ways in which financial performance might be measured and the strategies they may deploy.

• Understanding financial objectives, using financial data to measure and assess performance, Interpreting published accounts, selecting financial strategies, making investment decisions.

Marketing Strategies: This section considers the development of marketing strategies for larger businesses through a scientific approach to decision making.

• Understanding marketing objectives, Analysing markets and marketing, selecting marketing strategies, Developing and implementing marketing plans.

Operational Strategies: This section considers the operational objectives and strategies that a business may use to achieve success in its particular market.

• Understanding operational objectives, Operational strategies: scale and resource mix, Operational strategies: innovation, Operational strategies: location, Operational strategies: lean production.

Human Resource Strategies: This section considers the strategies available to businesses in managing their human resources. It builds upon AS Human Resources materials.

• Understanding HR objectives and strategies, Developing and implementing workforce plans, Competitive organisational structures, Effective employer-employee relations.

Unit 4: BUSS4 – The Business Environment and Managing Change

Corporate Aims and Objectives: This section considers what the organisation is attempting to achieve, and how this helps to determine its strategies.

• Understanding mission, aims and objectives

Assessing changes to the Business Environment: This section examines the relationships between organisations and their external environment.

Relationship between business and the:

• Economic environment

• Political and legal environment

• Social environment

• Technological environment

• Competitive environment

• Change Management

• Organisations operate in a changing environment and change creates opportunities and threats.

• Internal causes of change, planning for change, Key influences on the change process: leadership, Key influences on the change process: culture, Making strategic decisions, Implementing and managing change.

Qualification

Qualification

AS +A2 = A level in Business Studies. 

Both AS and A2 level courses and examinations must be successfully completed to gain a full A level.

Language of Examination

English

Examination Centre

You can find a full list of private candidate centres here: AQA Private Candidate Centres

Start Learning will provide you with a list of examination centres but it is entirely your responsibility to find a centre which will accept you as an external candidate.
In some cases you should be prepared to travel to another town or city to take your exams.

Start Learning provides expertise support and advice for students in their studies through their comprehensive course packs and tutoring system. However, we do stress that it is the student’s responsibility to find a centre to register and take their exams with. We are aware that sometimes this is difficult or even impossible to arrange.

Now we have come to an arrangement with a centrally located centre where Start Learning students will be able to take their exams. It is the English Maths Science Tuition & Educational Centre, located in Birmingham, right in the centre of England.

We realise this may still involve a good deal of travelling for some students but the long-term benefits of being able to gain A Levels far outweigh the short-term  expense and inconvenience.

For further information, please go to:
http://www.englishandmaths.com/Index.php

or: English Maths Science Tuition Centre Ltd.
40 Showell Green lane
Sparkhill
Birmingham,
B11 4JP
England
United Kingdom

Tel: 0121-771-1298

The contract for sitting exams is between you and the centre and we will provide you with comprehensive instructions on when and how to deal with the examination centre.

Examinations

Summary of Examinations

Unit 1 – BUSS1 – Planning and Financing a Business
Percentage: 40% of AS Level, 20% of A Level
Examination Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Marks: 60 marks
Format: Short answer questions and extended responses based on a mini case study

Unit 2 - BUSS2 – Managing a Business
Percentage: 60% of AS Level, 30% of A Level
Examination Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Marks: 80 marks
Format: Compulsory, multi-part data response questions

Unit 3 - BUSS3 – Strategies for Success
Percentage: 25% of A Level
Examination Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Total Marks: 80 marks
Format: Questions requiring extended answers based on an unseen case study drawing upon knowledge from AS units

Unit 4 – BUSS4 – The Business Environment and Managing Change
Percentage: 25 % of A Level
Examination Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Total Marks: 80 marks
Format: Pre-release research tasks leading to the first section of a two section examination.  Second section will consist of choice of essays. All questions will be essay style and synoptic therefore drawing upon knowledge from all four units.

AS +A2 = A level in Business Studies. Both AS and A2 level courses and examinations must be successfully completed to gain a full A level.

FAQ's

Q: What are the qualifications required to enrol onto this course?
A: Basic English reading and writing skills are required.  We recommend you have general skills and knowledge associated with a GCSE course or equivalent.

Q: Do I have to sit an exam?
A: Yes, to gain your full A Level Qualification, you are required to sit an exam.  Exams are held at test centres which can be found in major towns and cities throughout the UK.  Please contact Start Learning for a list of test centres.  Exams can be taken in January and June, please visit the AQA website for further details and exam timetables.   

Q: How long do I have access to the personal tutor service?
A: The personal tutor service is available for 18 months from when the study materials are received.  At Start Learning we aim help our students to the best of our ability; therefore we are always delighted to answer questions and queries out with the 18 month period.
Q: Do your courses meet the latest syllabus changes?
A: yes, all our course materials meet any changes and will be updated free of charge if further changes are made.

Q: How much are exam fees?
A: These vary from centre to centre so please check with your local centre.

Q: Is this A Level business Studies course paper based or on-line?
A: Our A Level business Studies course is paper based and comes in an attractive folders.

Q: I want to take my exams but there are only a few months to study, is this possible?
A: Depending on the time of year, it is sometimes impossible to complete your studies in a short space of time as your work has to be marked and checked. More importantly the examination boards have cut off times which are not flexible. See the AQA website for further information.

Q: Will I receive UCAS points on completion of this course?
A: Yes all of our A Levels carry UCAS points. The number of points awarded will depend on the grade you achieve.

Q: I still have questions? / I would like more information?
A:  If you require more information please do not hesitate to contact Start Learning via email: info@start-learning.co.uk or call us on 0800 074 1222 or 0141 218 4424.

We look forward to hearing from you.