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A2 Business Content

Year group: 13

When taught: September to May

AQA specification link: AQA | AS and A-level | Business | Subject content

What are we learning?

Unit 3.7: Analysing the strategic position of a business

  • Mission, corporate objectives, functional objectives and strategy
  • Analysing the existing internal position of a business to assess strengths and weaknesses: financial ratio analysis
  • Analysing the existing internal position of a business to assess strengths and weaknesses: overall performance
  • Analysing the external environment to assess opportunities and threats: political and legal change
  • Analysing the external environment to assess opportunities and threats: economic change
  • Analysing the external environment to assess opportunities and threats: social and technological
  • Analysing the external environment to assess opportunities and threats: the competitive environment
  • Analysing strategic options: investment appraisal

Unit 3.8: Choosing strategic direction

  • Strategic direction: choosing which markets to compete in and what products to offer
  • Strategic positioning: choosing how to compete

Unit 3.9: Strategic methods: how to pursue strategies

  • Assessing a change in scale
  • Assessing innovation
  • Assessing globalisation and internationalisation
  • Assessing greater use of digital technology

Unit 3.10: Managing strategic change

  • Managing change
  • Managing organisational culture
  • Managing strategic implementation
  • Problems with strategy and why strategies fail

How will we be assessed on this topic?

  • End of topic assessments
  • Regular exam questions set as homework and in class.
  • Mock exam at the end of January
  • AS exam in May

What makes a strong piece of work in this topic? What are teachers hoping to see?

  • Well developed business knowledge
  • The ability to make clear links and connections between different business topics
  • Confident use of business terminology
  • Strong analytical skills with many strands of development
  • The ability to construct well-balanced arguments and counter-arguments in context
  • The ability to apply knowledge and understanding very effectively to given contexts in exam questions
  • The ability to use detailed, specific, factual knowledge to back up points, evaluation and judgements
  • The ability to draw valid and strong conclusions with good supporting evidence and explanation
  • The ability to confidently consider the significance of points discussed and their impact on the business in question

Supporting document/links:

  • Textbooks will be provided on loan to all students

Online:

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