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flexible working contracts and the advantages and disadvantages of temporary or flexible contracts including zero hours, part-time, full-time, annualised hours, flexi-time, home working, shift working, job sharing, compressed hours and the gig econom the importance of business objectives the purpose of business activity the factors of production needed for business activity: land, labour, capital and enterprise the concept of adding value the nature of economic activity, the problem of choice and opportunity cost the dynamic business environment why businesses succeed or fail differences between local, national, international and multinational businesses the qualities entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs need for success the role of entrepreneurship in creating and starting up a business the role of intrapreneurship in the ongoing success of a business barriers to entrepreneurship business risk and uncertainty the role of business enterprise in the development of a country the meaning and purpose of business plans the key elements of business plans the benefits and limitations of business plans the primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary sectors and businesses within those sectors the public and private sectors and businesses within those sectors the reasons for and consequences of the changing relative importance of these sectors the main features of different types of business ownership: sole traders, partnerships, private limited companies, public limited companies, franchises, co-operatives, joint ventures and social enterprises the appropriateness of different types of business ownership the concepts of unlimited liability and limited liability and their importance the advantages and disadvantages of changing from one type of business ownership to another the appropriateness of different methods of measuring the size of a business the advantages and disadvantages of being a small business the strengths and weaknesses of family businesses the importance of small businesses and their role in the economy the role of small businesses as part of the industrial structure in some industries why and how a business might grow internally (organic growth) the different types of external growth through merger and takeover: horizontal, vertical (backward and forward), conglomerate diversification, friendly merger, hostile takeover the impact of a merger or takeover on stakeholders why a merger or takeover may or may not achieve objectives the importance of joint ventures and strategic alliances as methods of external growth the objectives of businesses in the private sector, public sector and social enterprises the importance of business objectives corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the triple bottom line – economic (financial), social and environmental objectives the relationship between mission statement, aims, objectives, strategy and tactics the different stages of business decision-making and the role of objectives in the stages of business decision-making how objectives might change over time the translation of objectives into targets and budgets the need for communication of objectives and their likely impact on the workforce SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-limited) objectives how ethics may influence business objectives and activities individuals or groups with an interest in the activities of a business internal stakeholders and external stakeholders the roles, rights and responsibilities of stakeholders the impact of business decisions on stakeholders and their reactions the impact of stakeholder aims on business decisions how and why a business needs to be accountable to its stakeholders how conflict might arise from stakeholders having different aims and objectives how changing business objectives might affect stakeholders the role of human resource management (HRM) in meeting organisational objectives the reasons for and role of a workforce plan measurement of labour turnover the implications of high and low labour turnover for a business recruitment of employees: process including job descriptions and person specifications and recruitment methods such as job advertisements, employment agencies and online recruitment internal and external recruitment selection methods: curriculum vitae, résumé, application forms, interviews, references, testing and assessment centres employment contracts the difference between redundancy (voluntary and involuntary) and dismissal (fair and unfair) the relationship between HRM, employee morale and welfare in a business, including the concept of work–life balance the impact of diversity and equality in the workplace on a business different types of training: induction, on-the-job and off-the-job the impact of training and development on a business employee development to encourage intrapreneurship employee development to encourage multi-skilling and flexibility how cooperation between management and the workforce can be of benefit to both the impact on employers and employees of trade union involvement in the workplace including their role in collective bargaining the need to motivate employees to achieve the objectives of a business a simple explanation of human need how human needs may or may not be satisfied at work the ideas of the main content theories of motivation: Taylor, Mayo, Maslow, Herzberg and McClelland the ideas of Vroom's process theory of motivation the application of motivation theories in practical situations different payment methods: time based pay, salary, piece rates, commission, bonuses, profit sharing, performance-related pay and fringe benefits different types of non-financial motivators: training, opportunities for promotion, development, status, job re-design, team working, empowerment, participation and job enrichment ways in which employees can participate in the management and control of business activity traditional manager functions: planning, organising, directing and controlling the role of managers, including the contributions of Fayol and Mintzberg the contribution of managers to business performance management styles: autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire and paternalistic McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y managers marketing objectives the link between marketing objectives and corporate objectives the factors influencing the demand for and supply of the products of a business interactions between demand, supply and price how markets may differ: consumer and industrial markets; local, national and international markets the difference between product orientation and customer (market) orientation measurement of market share and market growth the implications of changes in market share and market growth the classification of products how marketing might differ for consumer products (B2C) and industrial products (B2B) the features of mass and niche markets the advantages and disadvantages of mass marketing and niche marketing methods of market segmentation: geographic, demographic and psychographic the advantages and disadvantages of market segmentation the aims of customer relationship marketing the costs and benefits of customer relationship marketing identification of main features of a market: size, growth and competitors identification of customer and consumer characteristics, profiles, wants and needs the distinction between primary research and secondary research and the main features of each usefulness of data collected using primary research methods usefulness of data collected from secondary research sources the need for and limitations of sampling the reliability of the data collected analysis of quantitative and qualitative data interpretation of information presented in tables, charts and graphs the 4Ps: Product, Price, Promotion and Place (distribution channels) the difference between goods and services tangible and intangible attributes of products the importance of product development product differentiation and unique selling point (USP) product life cycle and decisions about extension strategies Boston Matrix analysis and its uses impact of product portfolio analysis on marketing decisions objectives and usefulness of different pricing methods: competitive, penetration, skimming, price discrimination, dynamic, cost-based and psychological the objectives and usefulness of different promotion methods advertising promotion sales promotion direct promotion developments in digital promotion the role of packaging in promotion the role of branding in promotion the objectives and usefulness of different channels of distribution digital and physical distribution the use of factors of production: land, labour, capital and enterprise the stages of the transformational process: inputs to outputs the contribution of operations to added value the importance of efficiency, effectiveness, productivity and sustainability measurement of labour productivity the impact on a business of measures to improve sustainability of operations the benefits and limitations of capital intensive operations the benefits and limitations of labour intensive operations differences between job, batch, flow and mass customisation methods and the advantages and disadvantages of each the problems of changing from one method of production to another the purpose of inventory within a business, including raw materials, work in progress and finished products the costs and benefits of holding inventory buffer inventory, re-order level and lead time interpretation of simple inventory control charts the importance of supply chain management the purpose of Just in Time (JIT) and Just in Case (JIC) inventory management the impact of adopting a JIT approach on a business the measurement of capacity utilisation the impact of operating under or over maximum capacity on a business methods of improving capacity utilisation the impact of outsourcing on a business reasons why businesses need finance to start up, to grow and to survive the distinction between short and long term need for finance the difference between cash and profits business failure as a consequence of lack of finance, including bankruptcy, liquidation and administration the meaning and importance of working capital managing trade receivables and trade payables the distinction between capital expenditure and revenue expenditure the relationship between the form of business ownership and availability of sources of finance internal sources of finance: owners investment, retained earnings, sale of unwanted assets, sale and leaseback of non-current assets and working capital external sources of finance: share capital, debentures, new partners, venture capital, bank overdrafts, leasing, hire purchase, bank loans, mortgages, debt factoring, trade credit, micro-finance, crowd funding and government grants the factors influencing the choice of sources of finance in a given situation: cost, flexibility, need to retain control, the use to which it is put and level of existing debt the appropriateness of each possible source in a given situation the meaning and purpose of cash flow forecasts the interpretation and amendment of simple cash flow forecasts including calculating opening and closing balances different methods of improving cash flow the need for accurate cost information different types of costs: fixed, variable, direct and indirect the differences between full costing and contribution costing the uses and limitations of the full costing method the nature of the technique of contribution costing the difference between contribution and profit the limitations of contribution costing situations in which contribution costing would be and would not be used cost information for decision-making purposes, e.g. average, marginal and total costs how costs can be used for pricing decisions how costs can be used to monitor and improve business performance, including using cost information to calculate profits contribution costing as a means to help make special order decisions the meaning and importance of break-even analysis calculation and interpretation of break-even level of output, contribution, margin of safety and level of profit in numeric and graphic form the uses and limitations of break-even analysis the measurement of performance using budgets the benefits and drawbacks from the use of budgets the meaning and use of incremental budgets, flexible budgets and zero budgeting the uses of budgets for measuring performance, allocating resources, controlling and monitoring a business the meaning of adverse variances and favourable variances the calculation and interpretation of variances the advantages and disadvantages of privatisation in a given situation the advantages and disadvantages of nationalisation in a given situation how a government might use the law to control employment practices, conditions of work including health and safety, wage levels, marketing behaviour, competition, location decisions and particular goods and services the impact of changes in political and legal factors on business and business decisions how government might intervene to help businesses and encourage enterprise how government might intervene to constrain business activity how government might deal with market failure the key macroeconomic objectives of governments: low unemployment, low inflation and economic growth how macroeconomic objectives and the performance of an economy can impact business activity government policies used to achieve macroeconomic objectives: monetary, fiscal, supply-side and exchange rate policies the impact of changes in government macroeconomic policies on business and business decisions the impact of and issues associated with corporate social responsibility (CSR), such as accounting practices, paying incentives for contracts and social auditing why businesses need to consider the needs of the community including pressure groups demographic changes at local, national and global level the impact of social and demographic change on business and business decisions the impact of technological change on business and business decisions the impact of competitors on business and business decisions the impact of suppliers on business and business decisions the importance of international trading links and their impact on business and business decisions how international trade agreements might have an impact on businesses the role of technology in international trade the advantages and disadvantages that a multinational might bring to a country relationships between multinationals and governments how physical environmental issues might influence business behaviour how a business and its stakeholders may use an environmental audit the impact of the growing importance of sustainability on business and business decisions the meaning and purpose of business strategy the meaning and purpose of strategic management: analysis, choice and implementation approaches to develop business strategy such as blue ocean strategy, scenario planning, SWOT analysis, PEST analysis, Porter's five forces, core competence framework, Ansoff matrix, force field analysis and decision trees the meaning and importance of corporate planning the meaning of corporate culture and its impact on business decision-making the meaning and importance of transformational leadership the management and control of strategic change the meaning and importance of contingency planning and crisis management the relationship between business objectives and organisational structure the purpose and attributes of an organisational structure such as flexibility, meeting the needs of the business, allowing for growth and development and encouraging intrapreneurship the advantages and disadvantages of different types of structure: functional, hierarchical (flat and narrow) and matrix why some organisations are structured by product and others by function or geographical area the reasons and ways structures change, for example due to growth or delayering the features of a formal structure: levels of hierarchy, chain of command, span of control, responsibility, authority, delegation, accountability, centralised and decentralised the relationship between delegation and accountability the processes of accountability in a business the impact of delegation on a business the relationship between span of control and levels of hierarchy the difference between authority and responsibility the conflicts between control and trust that might arise when delegating the impact of centralisation and decentralisation on a business examples of and distinctions between line and staff functions and the conflicts between them situations in which communication is essential the standard methods of communication used in business: spoken, written, electronic and visual the strengths and weaknesses of different methods of communication how communication works within a business the difference between one-way and two-way communication and between vertical and horizontal communication problems associated with different channels of communication barriers to communication and how to overcome them the role of informal communications within a business ways in which communication can influence the efficiency of a business ways of improving communication in a given situation the purpose of leadership leadership roles in business: directors, managers, supervisors and worker representatives the qualities of a good leader key leadership theories: trait, behavioural, contingency, power and influence and transformational Goleman's four competencies of emotional intelligence: self-awareness, social awareness, self-management and social skills the difference between hard and soft human resource management (HRM) the measurement, causes and consequences of poor employee performance strategies for improving employee performance Management by Objectives (MBO): implementation and usefulness the changing role of Information Technology (IT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in HRM the concept of elasticity of demand: price, income and promotional calculation of price, income and promotional elasticity of demand interpretation of elasticity results the impact of elasticity measures on business decisions the limitations of the concept of elasticity in its various forms the process of product development sources of new ideas for product development the importance of research and development (R&D) the need to forecast sales time series analysis using four period centred moving average to forecast sales qualitative sales forecasting the impact of sales forecasting on business decisions the contents of a marketing plan: objectives, resources, research and marketing mix the benefits and limitations of marketing planning the need for the marketing strategy to be consistent with the business, the product and the market the need for and development of a coordinated marketing strategy the development of marketing strategies focused on achieving specific marketing objectives the changing role of Information Technology (IT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in marketing the implications for marketing of increased globalisation and economic collaboration the importance of international marketing for a business international markets – identification, selection and entry whether a business in a given situation should use pan-global marketing or maintain local differences choosing a strategy, in a given situation, to develop a global market the factors influencing the method of entry into international markets the factors that determine location and relocation the differences between local, national and international location decisions the reasons for and impact of offshoring and reshoring the impact of globalisation on location and relocation decisions the factors that influence the scale of a business causes and examples of internal and external economies and diseconomies of scale the links between economies and diseconomies of scale and unit costs quality in terms of meeting customer expectations the importance of quality the impact of methods of quality control on a business the impact of methods of quality assurance on a business the impact of Total Quality Management (TQM) on a business the importance of benchmarking in quality management the influence of human, marketing and finance resource availability on operations decisions the changing role of Information Technology (IT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in operations management the need for flexibility with regard to volume, delivery time and specification process innovation, including changing current processes or adopting new ways of producing products or delivering services the main features of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) programme how ERP can improve a business' efficiency in relation to inventory control, costing and pricing, capacity utilisation, responses to change, workforce flexibility and management information the aims and purposes of lean production Kaizen, quality circles, simultaneous engineering, cell production, JIT manufacturing and waste management as operational strategies to achieve lean production the limitations of operational strategies to achieve lean production the links between lean production and inventory control, quality, employee roles, capacity management and efficiency the need for planning operations network diagrams as tools to plan operations the main elements of a network diagram: activities, dummy activities and nodes using network diagrams for Critical Path Analysis (CPA), including identification of minimum project duration and the critical path calculation of total and free float and interpretation of CPA results how minimum duration and floats might be used in project management the benefits and limitations of CPA as a management tool the meaning and purpose of the statement of profit or loss the contents of a statement of profit or loss: revenue, cost of sales, gross profit, expenses, profit from operations (operating profit), taxation, profit for the year, dividends and retained earnings amendment of a statement of profit or loss the impact on the statement of profit or loss of a given change the meaning and purpose of the statement of financial position the contents of a statement of financial position including non-current assets, current assets, current liabilities, net current assets, net assets, non-current liabilities, reserves and equity amendment of a statement of financial position the relationships between items in the statement of profit or loss and the statement of financial position the difficulties of valuing inventory the net realisable value method of valuing inventory the role of depreciation in the accounts the impact of depreciation (straight-line method only) on the statement of financial position and the statement of profit or loss the meaning and importance of liquidity current ratio: calculation and interpretation acid test ratio: calculation and interpretation methods of improving liquidity the meaning and importance of profitability return on capital employed (ROCE): calculation and interpretation gross profit margin: calculation and interpretation profit margin: calculation and interpretation methods of improving profitability the meaning and importance of financial efficiency rate of inventory turnover: calculation and interpretation trade receivables turnover (days): calculation and interpretation trade payables turnover (days): calculation and interpretation methods of improving financial efficiency the meaning and importance of gearing gearing ratio: calculation and interpretation methods of improving gearing the meaning and importance of return to investors dividend yield: calculation and interpretation dividend cover: calculation and interpretation price/earnings (P/E) ratio: calculation and interpretation methods of improving investor return the need for investment appraisal the meaning, calculation and interpretation of payback as an investment appraisal method the meaning, calculation and interpretation of accounting rate of return (ARR) the meaning, calculation and interpretation of net present value (NPV) quantitative results and their impact on investment decisions qualitative factors and their impact on investment decisions comparison of investment appraisal methods, including their limitations the use of financial statements in developing strategies the contents of an annual report and their usefulness to business and other stakeholders assessment of business performance over time and against competitors the impact of accounting data including ratio results on business strategy the impact of debt or equity decisions on ratio results the impact of changes in dividend strategy on ratio results the impact of business growth on ratio results the impact of other business strategies on ratio results the limitations of using published accounts and ratio analyses

how minimum duration and floats might be used in project management

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