BUSINESS
A Level Business starts by teaching students the practical steps of starting up a small business. It finishes by discussing the detailed issues involved in running a large corporation like Dell Computer Plc.
WHY CHOOSE BUSINESS?
Business is a field that is undeniably important to society. Businesses and business leaders have been key architects of the digital age and the globalised world we inhabit. The challenge of managing finite resources in a way that satisfies a network of stakeholders is perhaps greater and more exciting than ever. The ability to critically engage with businesses and the commercial world equips young people with the tools to excel in their careers and make a meaningful contribution to the progression of society. For many students, A Level Business will lay the groundwork for an exciting and lucrative career.
WHAT IS BUSINESS AT DLD?
A-Level Business is a rigorous and engaging course that equips students with a thorough understanding of business theories and real-world applications. It prepares students for higher education and various career paths by developing essential analytical and critical thinking skills.
A level Business aims to develop:
- Key knowledge: students will acquire a holistic understanding of business in a range of contexts, studying business behaviour from a range of perspectives. Students will develop a critical understanding of different organisations and their ability to meets society’s needs, with consideration of relevant ethical dilemmas.
- Key skills: students will apply enterprising and creative approaches to business opportunities, problems and issues, acquiring a range of relevant business and generic skills, including decision making, problem solving, numerical skills, the challenging of assumptions and critical analysis.
HOW IS BUSINESS AT DLD ASSESSED?
DLD College London follows the Edexcel specification for our A level Business course.
What is covered in the course?
Students are introduced to fundamental concepts of business in Themes 1 and 2. Breadth and depth of knowledge and understanding of more complex business information are developed throughout Themes 3 and 4, requiring students to take a more strategic view of business opportunities and issues. This will be done in the context of different types and sizes of organisation in various business sectors and environments on a local, national and global levels.
Theme 1: Marketing and people
This theme enables students to understand how businesses identify opportunities and how they develop a competitive advantage through interacting with customers. Students will develop an understanding of how businesses adapt their marketing to operate in a dynamic environment. Students will also explore how businesses recruit, train, organise and motivate employees, as well as the role of enterprising individuals and leaders.
Theme 2: Managing business activities
This theme allows students to develop an understanding of raising and managing finance and measuring business performance. The theme will outline the importance of using resources efficiently within a business to ensure that goods or services can be delivered effectively and to a high quality. Students will also consider the external influences that have an impact on businesses, including economic and legal factors.
Theme 3: Business decisions and strategy
This theme moves from functions to strategy, enabling students to develop their understanding of the core concepts and to take a strategic view of business opportunities and issues. Students will analyse corporate objectives and strategy against financial and non-financial performance measures, looking into how businesses grow, and developing an understanding of the impact of external influences. Lastly, this theme will cover the causes and effects of change and how businesses mitigate risk and uncertainty.
Theme 4: Global business
In this theme, students will investigate businesses that trade on a global scale and explore their reasons for doing so, considering different factors that contribute to increased globalisation. Students will develop an in-depth understanding of the globally competitive environment and consider the ethical and moral dimensions of global business activities, looking into protectionism, trading blocs and multinational corporations.
Assessment overview
| Module | Total Marks | Time | Type of examination | Assessment percentage |
| Paper 1: Marketing, people and global businesses | 100 marks | 2 hours | Written paper | 35% of total A level |
| Paper 2: Business activities, decisions and strategy | 100 marks | 2 hours | Written paper | 35% of total A level |
| Paper 3: Investigating business in a competitive environment | 100 marks | 2 hours | Written paper | 30% of total A level |
WHAT DO I NEED BEFORE BUSINESS AT DLD?
The best students of Business have a rounded set of academic strengths. Students should be confident essay writers as their ability to write will be analytically tested. At the same time, the course requires learners to have a confident grasp of numeracy and the ability to manipulate data to support rational judgements. Finally a genuine enthusiasm and interest in the commercial world is invaluable and will help students to accelerate their progression.
GOOD SUBJECT COMBINATIONS
The broad nature of A Level Business means that it is an excellent complement to most other A Level courses offered at the College. There are significant overlaps with other Social Sciences such as Economics, Geography, Sociology, Government and Politics but also with other subjects such as Psychology, Media Studies, and even Art. The importance of critical thinking skills is shared with English and the need for quantitative analysis makes A Level Mathematics a valuable combination.
WHAT DO I DO AFTER DLD?
The theory taught in A Level Business is useful in all walks of life as most of us work as employees rather than becoming entrepreneurs. A working knowledge of the way businesses operate will always be helpfu in assessing the prospects of particular firms and therefore in career planning. However, there are a wide range of Business related higher education qualifications; many of which are joint honours degrees involving another subject. These are particularly valuable in the modern business world as are business degrees involving an international dimension in the form of an internship abroad. Business related ‘Sandwich courses’ (where students complete a work placement as part of their degree course) are also very popular.
While most DLD students follow the path of higher education, a sizeable minority go straight into the workplace as trainees in family businesses or in certain aspects of the financial services and property industries.
All this indicates that A Level Business can be a staging post for both university and the working world.
QUESTIONS ON BUSINESS COURSES
Q Can the course be done in one year?
A The first year of the course offers students an AS qualification. If students have already completed AS study elsewhere, it may be possible to complete the A Level in one year.
Q Can I use the A Level to apply for a gap year internship?
A Yes.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS ON BUSINESS FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
To study A Levels, your current or pending exam results should be equivalent to or higher than GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) in at least 5 subjects and a minimum level of English equivalent to IELTS 5.5.
At the start of each academic year of study students following an A Level course without a pass at Level 5/Grade C in GCSE or IGCSE English Language or with an Academic English score below 6.5 overall must join an Academic English training course for the duration of the academic year which will be timetabled alongside A Level lessons.
If your level of English is not sufficient to meet the entry criteria for the A Level programme you will normally be offered a place on the one year Academic Preparation Course (pre A Level) in order to bring your English skills up to the required level.
