IGCSE & A LEVELS GUIDE

Chapter 33 - Financial Statements Learning Objective: To understand how depreciation and inventories are recorded on published accounts Most assets decline in value overtime - specially tangible non-current assets. They do so for two main reasons: Wear and tear through usage ; Technological change making assets obsolete . Depreciation is a cost that needs to be recorded on the Statement of Profit or Loss yearly: Each year when depreciation happens it will add to overhead e

Chapter 18 - Market Research Learning Objective: To understand the basics of Market Research What is Market Research? "Market research is the action or activity of gathering information about consumers ' needs and preferences , competitors , and the market itself." Market Research reveals important information about customers , competitors , and the market in which the business competes. It is useful for various reasons : It helps businesses understand what customers like

Chapter 7 - Organization and Management Learning Objectives: To understand how businesses are organized Now that we know that there are three main types of leadership (democratic, autocratic, and leissez-faire) as well as understand the different functions of management (planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling) we should focus on the roles, responsibilities, and inter-relationships between management positions: There are 3 main levels of management pos

Chapter 33 - Financial Statements Learning Objectives: To understand the Statement of Financial Position The aim for most businesses is to increase shareholders' equity . This is done by increasing the value of the business' assets at a higher rate than the increase in liabilities . The Statement of Financial Position is there to record such net wealth ( shareholders' equity ) at one moment in time . Shareholders' Equity comes from two main sources: It is, therefore : - The a

Chapter 17 - The Nature of Marketing Learning Objective: To understand B2B, B2C, and Market Segmentation (Mass vs. Niche) Consumer Market (B2C) and Industrial Market (B2B) Consumer Products are sold to households and individuals whereas Industrial Products are the ones produced and used by industries: Selling to Business rather than to consumers have some big differences : Industrial goods are often much more complex - it requires specialist sales and support employees ; Ind

Governments oftentimes create regulations to control employment issues. These are called legal controls. Such controls are important to avoid businesses from taking advantage of workers in an unbalanced relationship. Discussion (3m) : Do you know of any way governments creates rules, regulations and laws to control the employer-employee relationship? Regulations on Unfair Dismissal: Workers can take legal action (sue) businesses which are believed to have dismissed a worker

Chapter 7 - Organization and Management Learning Objectives: To understand the role of managers and the different leadership styles To start off, think about it: What do you think the managers in a company do? There are five different functions of management : Planning : analyzing the current situation, the objectives, and plan how to achieve them ; Organizing: businesses need resources to meet their objectives (land, labor, capital) and managers are responsible for coordina

Chapter 17 - The Nature of Marketing Learning Objective: To understand some of the most common marketing concepts What is a market? A market is a group of consumers interested in a product, with resources to purchase it legally . - It is the group of customers interested in a product and with the resources to purchase it; - The potential market for a product is the total population interested in the product; - Target market is the segment of the total available market th

Chapter 17 - The Nature of Marketing Lesson Objective: To understand Price Elasticity of Demand One of the many roles of the Marketing Department is determining prices - which is part of meeting demand profitably. Note: The demand for a product is how much of that product customers are willing to buy at a certain price point. Let's start by understanding how the demand for a product changes following changes in price : Price, therefore, does influence demand . However, th

Chapter 17 - The Nature of Marketing Lesson Objective: To understand the basic concepts in Marketing In your opinion, what is Marketing? Marketing is a business function that involves various activities: Market Research; Product Design; Pricing; Advertising; Distribution; Customer Service; Packaging. In a nutshell, marketing is about: Identifying and understanding customer needs of a target-market through Market Research and then trying to satisfy those needs better than the

It is important for businesses to keep financial (accounting) records . It helps answers some basic questions about the business operations: Did the business make a profit/loss? - It's a measure of performance and an important information for governments, shareholders, managers... How much do we owe our suppliers? - If not paid on time suppliers may decline serving the business; How much are owed by customers? - Carefully tracking trade receivables to avoid cash-flow proble

Chapter 6 - Motivating Workers Lesson Objective: To understand the different financial and non-financial motivators After understanding the three different motivational theories is time for us to finally dive in to the different ways companies can use financial and non-financial motivators to boost workers' motivation. Let's start by looking at the different financial motivators! Hourly Wage Rate : When workers paid by the hour ; The longer they work more they earn; Main adva

Chapter 28 - Operations Strategy Learning Objective: Operations Planning and Critical Path Major strategic Operations decisions involve major projects : Relocation; Factory expansion ; Change in production/operations methods; Setting up a new IT system ; Installing new machinery. One of the most costly elements of a major project like these has to do with unused or under-used resources (e.g. stocks, idling machinery or labor). Such wastes happen due to different tasks bein

We all understand that there are mainly four leadership styles: Democratic; Autocratic; Laissez-Faire; Paternalistic. We also understand that different managers have different approaches towards their workforce: some have a more soft approach and others a more hard one. But what are the factors that determine what management style a manager will use ? According to Douglas McGregor the attitude of managers towards their workers will have the largest impact on how they will man

Chapter 28 - Operations Strategy Learning Objective: To understand Lean Production techniques Lean Production is all about producing goods and services with the minimum of wasted resources while maintaining high quality: There are 8 main sources of waste in most industries: Excessive transportation of components, products, and raw materials; Excessive inventory ; Excessive workforce movement reaching for supplies and components; Waiting times caused by delays; Overproducti

Chapter 6 - Motivating Workers Lesson Objective: To be introduced to three main motivational theories Through this chapter we will learn several different theories related to motivation : Maslow Hierarchy of Needs; F.W. Taylor and The Scientific Management Theory; Frederik Herzberg Two-Factor Theory. Starting from the most famous one - Maslow Hierarchy of Needs : The idea behind Maslow's theory is that humans fulfill their needs level-by-level . And once one level is achieved

Chapter 12 - Management Learning Objectives: To learn the different leadership styles and the functions/roles of management. Being a manager is no easy job! There are two main theories regarding managers' functions and roles: Fayol Functions of Management Mintzberg Management Roles According to Fayol , the 5 following functions of management are to facilitate the management process - they focus on the relationship employees vs. managers: Planning objectives and tactics, orga

Chapter 28 - Operations Strategy Class Objective: To understand the many changes and possible strategic decisions regarding Operations Management Operations Strategic Decisions are also multi-departmental: they require the analysis and will impact various facets of the business. Think of the following Operations Strategic decisions : Expanding or reducing capacity; Locating or relocating a business; Offshoring or reshoring; Outsourcing; Changing operations (production) met

Chapter 6 - Motivating Workers Lesson Objective: To understand the importance of having a motivated workforce Motivation are the factors that influence the behavior of workers towards achieving objectives! What do you think motivate people to work? Money is indeed a motivator ! There are, however, other motivators out there that are not necessarily money : Job security; How interesting the work is (task variety); Promotion opportunities; Training; Responsibility (decision-m

Chapter 26 - Business and the International Economy Learning Objectives: To understand the impact of exchange rate fluctuations in businesses Do you know what is the exchange rate? Simply put, the exchange rate is how much one country's currency is worth it of another country's currency. Let's try to understand with an example (February 11, 2022): ₮ 1 is the equivalent of USD 0.0003. - In other words, ₮ 1 is worth it a lot less than USD 1 USD 1 is the equivalent of ₮ 2,765.34