Summary
Summary A write-up of Unit 1 from Business A-Level
- Course
- Institution
A write-up of Unit 1 from Business A-Level AQA
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
charlottestrev
Content preview
Business – Unit 1: What is a business?Contents:
1.1 – Understanding the nature and purpose of business
1.2 – Different business forms
1.3 – Business objectives
1.1 – Understanding the nature and purpose of business
Why businesses exist?
A business is any organisation that makes goods or provides services to satisfy customer
needs.
Goods – physical or tangible products, such as food or vehicles
Services – non-physical items, such as hairdressing
Businesses exist mostly to earn a profit or to help/give back to the community, by providing
jobs, through not-for-profits, etc.
How businesses compete?
- Unique selling point (USP)/customer service
- Lowest price/price efficiency
- Satisfying customer needs
Business-to-business (B2B) – one business selling to another business
Business-to-consumer (B2C) – a business selling directly to its consumers
Why are businesses important to society?
Businesses provide jobs. These jobs give wages; people spend these wages in other
businesses. Then those businesses get more money and then can expand, hire new people
and provide more jobs and thus the cycle continues.
Inputs, Transformation Process, and Outputs
Transformation process – the conversion of a firm’s inputs into outputs that reach the
customer and adds value.
Inputs – land, labour, capital, enterprise
Added value – an amount added to the value of a product or service
Transformation
Input process (added Output
value)
, Added value = selling price – cost of transformation
This type of transformation process and output depends on and determines the industry
sector that the business will be placed into.
Raw material Manufacturing Distribution Retailer
Primary Secondary Tertiary
Consumer
sector sector sector
Primary sector – extracts or develops natural resources, such as timber, agriculture, oil or
mineral.
Secondary sector – make use of extracted primary materials to build, manufacture, or
develop finished goods.
Tertiary sector – provides the services needed to meet the needs of the end users, for
example through retailing, distribution, insurance and customer services
Business objectives:
Mission statement – short statement of a business’ purpose and focus
Objectives – goal to help a business achieve its mission
Corporate objectives – relate to the business as a whole
Functional objectives – set for each business function (or department)
Cash flow – movement of money in and out of the business
Objectives are set, often, in financial terms. These could include desired sales or profits,
rates of growth, value of the business or dividends paid to shareholders.
Objectives should conform to a set of criteria referred to by the acronym SMART:
S – specific – clear, precise and well-defined
M – measurable – must be able to be measured
A – achievable – should be possible given the circumstances and resources given
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller charlottestrev. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $10.99. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
53249 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now