BTEC First Diploma in Business

BTEC First Diploma in Business—Level 2

What does studying Business involve?

Business Studies offers a thorough insight into the world of business that all of us come into contact with everyday. It covers all processes and types of jobs available in all businesses from the Accountant in the Finance department to the Personnel Manager in the Human Resources department. We do a lot of investigation into businesses, namely John Lewis, Guildford Spectrum. These involve a number of day trips to tour the physical business and find out information from their respective employees. Work experience is a requirement and this will enable you to deliver customer service, communicate with experienced employees, investigate the business and perhaps come away with a job for the summer.

In Business Studies your opinion counts and is an important requirement in completing many coursework elements.

How will I know if I would be successful at it?

Business Studies is ideal for students that have a sound ability in English and enjoy thinking about and evaluating various situations. Are you able to imagine yourself in real life business situations and think of all the elements that might be involved? You will also be required to participate in work related scenarios, eg. Setting up and holding a meeting, communicating with fellow ‘employees’ and dealing with customers in a variety of situations.

What skills will I develop and where could studying this subject lead?

All assessment in Business is through written assignments so this will aid you in developing your ability to write clearly and succinctly. The coursework requirements encourage much evaluation and analysis of subject knowledge and particular business scenarios. This will develop important thinking skills and provide a greater understanding of processes in businesses as well as personal interaction. Discussion and sharing of ideas is greatly encouraged along with extensive preparation for work experience. This has resulted in the growth of students’ confidence and abilities within group situations.

A BTEC in Business can lead to A-level Business courses and then university study within the business field. Regardless of what type of employment you end up doing in later life, it will be within one type of business or another, so knowledge of the business world will be beneficial in knowing how things work.

Important things to consider/Information that students need to know:

A number of Business Studies trips are planned throughout the year. Every effort is made to make them as cheap as possible, but at times there will be payment required. These costs have ranged from £5-£20.

It is imperative that attendance and punctuality are excellent and that deadlines are adhered to as all work is completed in class.

Entry Requirements: None

Which other subjects does it combine well with?

It is only possible to combine Maths and English retakes with level 2 courses

Similarities between the subject at GCSE and Intermediate level:

It covers all aspects of the GCSE Business Studies course but goes into greater detail, involves a lot more investigation into existing businesses for each unit as well as definitive work experience requirements for several units.

Modules and Assessment information:

Every unit is assessed based on a detailed piece of coursework that is submitted according to set deadlines throughout the year.

Btec First Diploma in Business
Units:
• Exploring Business Purposes

Learning outcomes

On completion of this unit a learner should:
1 Understand the nature of business and ownership
Purpose: supply of goods and services eg at a profit, free, at cost, for sale below cost
Ownership: eg sole trader; partnership; limited companies (private — Ltd, public — plc);
charity; voluntary organisations; franchises; co-operatives
Size: small; small-medium; medium; large
Scale: local; regional; national; European and global organisations

2 Understand the classification of business activities
Primary: eg farming, forestry, fishing, extraction/mining
Secondary: eg manufacturing, engineering, construction
Tertiary: eg private service industries, local and national public services, voluntary/not-forprofit
services
Relative growth/decline by sector: decline of primary and secondary industries; growth of
tertiary service industries

3 Understand business aims and objectives in different sectors
Aims and objectives: aims (the long-term visions or goals of a business), objectives
(specific, measurable targets to help achieve the overall aims of a business); purpose (to
provide a business focus) eg survival, break even, growth, profit maximisation, service
provision, expansion of market share; relationship with other businesses
Sector: eg private; public; not-for-profit and voluntary

4 Know the main functional areas that support business organisations
Functional areas: eg administration, customer service, distribution, finance, human
resources, ICT, marketing, sales, production, research and development (R and D); purposes
of functional areas eg to support business aims and objectives, to develop new markets, to
support continuous professional development
Relationships: links and interactions with other functional areas

• Developing Customer relations

To achieve this unit a learner must:
1 Understand how customer service is provided in business
Customer needs and expectations: definition of customer service; identifying customer
needs; accuracy and reliability; providing information and advice; providing assistance and
help; dealing with special needs; dealing with problems; organisational targets; health,
safety and security
Internal customers: eg colleagues, supervisors, staff, staff teams, managers
External customers: eg existing; new; individuals; groups; families; businessmen and
women; different ages; different cultures; gender; special needs eg non-English speaking,
visual, hearing, mobility impairments
Benefits: to the customer; to the organisation; to the employee

2 Be able to apply appropriate presentation and interpersonal skills in customer service
situations
Presentation skills: personal presentation eg personal hygiene, uniform/dress, hair, makeup,
jewellery; working environment; body language eg posture, facial expression, smiling,
gestures, eye contact; presentation of work area and equipment
Interpersonal skills: attitude; behaviour; first impressions; greeting customers; courtesy;
confidence; concern; interest; thoughtfulness; respect for customers; responding to different
customer behaviour; tact; efficiency
Communication skills: tone of voice; pitch; language eg technical language, use of
slang/jargon; pace; listening; body language; appropriateness to customer/situation
Situations: face-to-face; on the telephone; in writing; email; urgent/non-urgent; difficult;
routine

3 Know how consistent and reliable customer service contributes to customer
satisfaction
Consistent and reliable: scope of job role; knowledge of products and/or services; type and
quality of products/service; staff attitude and behaviour; timing; accessibility/availability;
meeting specific customer needs; working under pressure; confirming service meets needs
and expectations; dealing with problems
Customer satisfaction: confidence in service; value for money; repeat custom; word of
mouth reputation; internal customer satisfaction eg job satisfaction, teamwork; negative
effects of poor communication
Codes of practice: eg industry, organisational, professional; ethical standards

4 Know how to monitor and evaluate customer service within an organisation
Monitor: informal customer feedback; customer questionnaires/comment cards; staff
feedback; mystery customers; complaints/compliment letters
Evaluate: level of sales; repeat customers; new customers; level of complaints/compliments;
staff turnover
Improvements: improvements to quality of service; reliability; improvements to the
organisation eg improve service, keep staff, attract new customers, increase turnover,
compliance with legal obligations; improvements for employee eg job satisfaction, working
environment

• Investigating Financial Control

To achieve this unit a learner must:

1 Understand the costs, revenue and profit for a business operation
Business costs: costs incurred at start up; operating costs (fixed, indirect, variable, direct
costs, total costs)
Revenue: sources of revenue eg sales, leasing, interest; calculating total revenue (unit sales
price x number of units sold)
Calculating gross and net profit: revenue (income) minus costs (expenditure), cost of sales,
expenses (operating costs); maximising profits (increasing revenue and/or decreasing costs)

2 Know how businesses use break even analysis
Break even: balancing costs or expenditure with revenues or income; areas of profit and
loss; margin of safety

3 Be able to prepare a cash flow forecast
Cash inflow: capital; sales; loans; regular and irregular inflows; timing of inflows
Cash outflows: purchases; loan repayments; wages; regular and irregular outflows; timing of
outflows
Cash balances: opening balance; closing balance; income per period; expenditure per period

4 Understand ways of recording financial transactions
Transactions: document sequence of sales and purchasing from order to receipt of goods eg
order form, delivery note, invoices, credit notes, cash receipts and payments
Recording: manual or electronic recording; day books; accounts; petty cash; cash registers;
direct electronic input eg Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS)
Fraud: prevention measures; management information and control

?Business Communication

To achieve this unit a learner must:

1 Understand the purpose of communications in business contexts
Purpose: eg to inform, to confirm, to promote, to make a request, to instruct
Business contexts: formal and informal communication eg telephone contacts, meetings,
technical enquiries; communicating with supervisor, colleagues, customers; complaints;
presentations; confidentiality

2 Be able to use oral communication in business contexts
Listening skills: listen and understand instructions given verbally; interpret instructions
and task requirements correctly; make notes; confirm understanding; seek clarification
where appropriate
One-to-one communication: methods of conveying messages or series of instructions;
language and expressions that will be understood by the recipient; messages to suit
different situations
Working in a group situation: make relevant contributions to a discussion about business
tasks; meeting; team briefing; respond appropriately to others; move a discussion forward

3 Be able to complete and use written business documents
Documents: eg letters, memos, reports, agenda, minutes, purchase orders, invoices
Appropriate layouts: fitness for purpose; appropriate to the task and the audience; use of
different formats and styles eg use of appropriate fonts, headings, images, pagination,
document headers and footers
Writing documents for business: use of relevant technical language; drafting and
redrafting to ensure accuracy; legibility and consistency; conventions; checking for
accuracy, consistency and fitness for purpose; meeting deadlines
Recording and reporting: type of record; keeping accurate and complete records of
conversations, meetings and/or agreed actions; accurate and concise reporting in
sufficient and appropriate detail, working within given deadlines and timeframes;
reporting issues as they arise to the appropriate person

4 Be able to use interpersonal and non-verbal business communication skills
Conveying a professional image: appropriate dress or uniform to meet industry
conventions or regulations; excellent personal hygiene; sound organisational skills; good
time management; professional and business like manner when dealing with staff and
customers
Dealing with confidential matters: using appropriate methods of communication to
convey confidential messages; sensitivity in dealing with confidential issues;
understanding of material that might be confidential

• Doing Business Online

To achieve this unit a learner must:

1 Understand different online business activities
Range: eg direct online selling of goods; direct online selling of services; government
services; information; internet services; advertising and marketing; education
Sector: eg public; private; voluntary/not-for-profit sector
Levels/types of online presence: passive brochure ware; complementing offline services, eg
mail order; inviting online transactions; offering interactive customisation, eg digital image
processing; providing information only

2 Understand the business feasibility of going online
Planning issues: suitability of the business for an online operation; choice of domain
name(s); set-up issues, eg in-house or outsourced; availability of resources to cope with
potentially global demand; availability of skills available to run an online business
Implementation issues: potential difficulties of online implementation; availability of
technical and design skills; requirement for customisation; desired extent of online
operations, eg passive, partially and fully interactive; changing user specifications for
desired service levels; relationship with partners eg financial services, distribution and
delivery services

3 Understand the operation of an online business
Operation issues: payment security; unfamiliar trading conditions; errors in ordering;
potential use of personal information; vulnerability to hostile attack eg denial of service,
hijacking the website, financial fraud
Operational risks: website updating; liability for wrong or out-of-date information;
language problems with global customer base; hardware and software failures; loss of data;
global business regulations, eg labelling, health and safety
Staffing issues: eg potential outsourcing of key functions; use of call centres; lack of
personal contact with customers; unfamiliarity with technology; breakdowns in service
Financial issues: eg initial investment costs of hardware, software and program adaptation;
set-up expenses offset against uncertain future revenue streams; ability to cope with
massively increased market interest; tax liabilities for international transactions
Distribution issues: eg scale of the business, eg global distribution; cost of distribution of
physical goods; special requirements for fragile goods; ease of distribution of services,
eg online insurance quotations, booking flights and hotel rooms

4 Know the benefits of an online business presence
Market presence: global presence; 24-hour visibility; equality of presence between small,
medium and large businesses; rapidity of response to customer interest; opportunities to
analyse online competition and to keep up with competitors
Marketing benefits: the ability to collect market research information from online enquiries;
access to new markets eg remote locations, customers with travel difficulties, poor transport
links, customers with disabilities; access from a wide range of devices eg computers, mobile
phones
Level of response: offering delivery-to-door as a sales feature; access from a wide range of
devices; access out of normal business hours; access from around the world; rapid response
to orders and enquiries; online order tracking; reduced stockholding
Financial advantages: improved cash flow through fewer bad debts; freedom of low-cost
location; use of low-cost labour; low overheads; rapid payment; no expensive cash
handling; ease of entry

• Exploring Business Enterprise

To achieve this unit a learner must:

1 Understand how to prepare for business
Own strengths and weaknesses: personal circumstances, experience, skills, knowledge and
abilities, eg practical/technical skills, business skills, other relevant skills; areas for
development or improvement; suitability for self-employment or a small business
Contributing to a business: own contribution, eg personal time, money, space, ability to
contribute to and run a business; personal savings; availability of time; impact on working
and personal life; barriers to starting/running a successful business; professional help
Benefits of running a business: personal objectives; business objectives; profitability of the
business; other considerations, eg impact on personal and working life

2 Know how different aspects affect preparation for business
Regulations and laws for small businesses: legal status, eg sole trader, partnership, limited
company; process for starting a business legally; statutory regulations; laws; licences;
formal records, eg leasing arrangements, tax returns, VAT returns, health and safety;
keeping and submitting business records; regulations and laws relating to records; the
importance of completing and keeping correct records
Marketing and sales: reaching and retaining customers; customer care; marketing
information; market research; analysing and meeting customer needs; competition; building
customer relationships; cost and price of products or services; promoting products or
services; unique selling points; selling techniques; personal selling; environmental issues
Financial issues: sources of finance; start up costs; operating expenses and income;
organising and controlling expenses and income; cash flow forecasting; records; external
organisations, eg HM Revenue and Customs, HM Revenue and Customs, measuring
financial success, eg costs and income, profits, assets, financial state of a business; financial
priorities; risks, eg losing money, security of income, changes to financial situation

3 Understand how to start and run a business
Business plan: the business idea; products or services; possible customers; customers’ needs
eg when and where they want products or services, where and when a product or service can
be sold; sales targets; the need for forward planning
Starting and running a business: the needs of a business; research techniques; planning
ahead; planning techniques; controllable and uncontrollable aspects; timing; what work
needs to be done to start and run a business; materials and supplies
Advice and support: business support eg people, agencies and organisations offering advice
or help, funding and financial support, technical support, education and training available

Examination Board: Edexcel

Other Useful Information:

www.edexcel.org.uk/VirtualContent/97120/BF017259_Business_FCD_L2_Issue_4.pdf