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Understanding business activity
Introduction Many students will have some existing knowledge of business activity and the various forms it takes around the world. Although many students will have experienced opportunity costs, seen specialisation and engaged with different types of businesses, they may not have developed detailed knowledge of these concepts. The topics in Section 1 may appear to some students fairly straightforward, yet students will be expected to apply these concepts to businesses of different sizes and sectors. The activities in this section allow students to understand the key concepts before challenging them to analyse and evaluate them. The activities include: • a multiple-choice activity on needs and wants • a linking activity on opportunity costs and specialisation • voting on the method of adding value • sorting businesses into sectors • a case study on the public and private sector • designing an entrepreneur using their skills and attributes • a matching activity on the parts of the business plan • a case study on business size • paired mini case studies on business growth • a voting task on business failure • a business ownership case study • a case study that explores business objectives • paired discussions on stakeholder conflict. To introduce students to the concepts they will study and to help gauge prior student knowledge, a useful starter activity might be: Arrange students into small groups of around 3–5. Each group will need a sheet of A3 paper and some pens. Propose the following statement to the students: ‘Businesses all aim to make large profits.’ Ask students to discuss this statement in their groups and write down points they may use for either side of the argument. Students may identify some of the key ideas such as profit and revenue and may discuss whether sectors, business sizes or ages, or ownership types affects this. Students may need some additional ideas to help them. For example, ask students to consider whether business ownership plays a part in this statement being correct or not. This activity will engage the students in many of the section’s topics. The business activity topic is ideal for allowing students to learn the basic ideas of business studies, as well as some of the key terms they will use throughout the course. Those students with prior understanding will be able to build and link these ideas. Use the Skills builder at the end of Section 1 to help students develop their application skills and their understanding of why different businesses have differing aims, ownership types and measures of size.
Cambridge Assessment International Education Business Studies Teacher’s Guide
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