AQA A-level Business Year 12 revision

Topic 1: What is business?

It builds on what you learned at GCSE in Business in the real world and Influences on business, and takes it further.

There are 10 parts: we start with what is business and management decision making, and finish with business ethics, corporate social responsibility and sustainability.

1. 1.1What is business and management decision makingFree 30 questions
2. 1.2Business purpose, mission, aims and objectives (profit, growth, survival, SMART objectives and conflicting objectives)31 questions
3. 1.3Scarcity, opportunity cost, added value and the role of business in society46 questions
4. 1.4Business ownership and legal forms: sole traders, partnerships, private and public limited companies, liability and incorporation26 questions
5. 1.5Franchises, social enterprises, charities, co-operatives and the public sector48 questions
6. 1.6Economic influences: interest rates, exchange rates, inflation, unemployment, taxation, economic growth and the business cycle56 questions
7. 1.7Legislation and regulation: consumer, employment, health and safety, competition, data protection and environmental law65 questions
8. 1.8Social, technological and environmental influences on business (PESTLE)27 questions
9. 1.9The competitive environment and competitive advantage30 questions
10. 1.10Business ethics, corporate social responsibility and sustainability29 questions

Topic 2: Managers, leadership and decision making

It builds on what you learned at GCSE in Business in the real world, and takes it further.

There are 11 parts: we start with management roles and functions (including Mintzberg) and the difference between management and leadership, and finish with methods of growth.

1. 2.1Management roles and functions (including Mintzberg) and the difference between management and leadership29 questions
2. 2.2Leadership styles: autocratic, paternalistic, democratic, laissez-faire, the Tannenbaum and Schmidt continuum and situational leadership22 questions
3. 2.3Mission, corporate objectives, strategy and tactics; the decision-making process and scientific decision making28 questions
4. 2.4Decision trees, expected values, risk and uncertainty27 questions
5. 2.5Influences on decisions: ethics, resources, external environment, and the use of data and big data68 questions
6. 2.6Stakeholders and shareholders: objectives, influence and the shareholder vs stakeholder concept48 questions
7. 2.7Stakeholder mapping (Mendelow) and managing stakeholder conflict20 questions
8. 2.8Entrepreneurs: role, characteristics, motives and the impact on businessFree 27 questions
9. 2.9Risk and reward, innovation, intrapreneurship and moving from entrepreneur to leader30 questions
10. 2.10Business size: measures of size, why firms stay small and the implications of growthFree 19 questions
11. 2.11Methods of growth: organic growth, mergers, takeovers, demergers and joint ventures29 questions

Topic 3: Decision making to improve marketing performance

It builds on what you learned at GCSE in Marketing, and takes it further.

There are 16 parts: we start with marketing and operational decisions, and finish with digital marketing, e-commerce, social media and using data and CRM in marketing.

1. 3.1Marketing and operational decisions11 questions
2. 3.2The role of marketing, marketing objectives, and product-led vs market-led approachesFree 26 questions
3. 3.3Understanding markets: market size, growth, share, mass and niche markets, dynamic markets and market mapping (with calculations)40 questions
4. 3.4Market research: primary and secondary, qualitative and quantitative methods31 questions
5. 3.5Sampling methods, reliability of research and interpreting marketing data70 questions
6. 3.6Price elasticity of demand: calculation, interpretation and business uses24 questions
7. 3.7Income elasticity of demand: calculation, interpretation and business uses27 questions
8. 3.8Market segmentation, targeting and positioning27 questions
9. 3.9The marketing mix and marketing strategy: integrating the mix and building competitive advantageFree 30 questions
10. 3.10Product and service design, differentiation, innovation, USP and branding31 questions
11. 3.11The product life cycle and extension strategies23 questions
12. 3.12Product portfolio analysis: the Boston Matrix24 questions
13. 3.13Pricing strategies: penetration, skimming, cost-plus, competitive, psychological and others33 questions
14. 3.14Promotion: methods, promotional mix and branding27 questions
15. 3.15Place: distribution channels and retail and wholesale decisions28 questions
16. 3.16Digital marketing, e-commerce, social media and using data and CRM in marketing70 questions

Topic 4: Decision making to improve operational performance

It builds on what you learned at GCSE in Business operations, and takes it further.

There are 9 parts: we start with operational objectives and the operations process (inputs, processes, outputs; cost, quality, speed, flexibility, environmental targets), and finish with economies and diseconomies of scale.

1. 4.1Operational objectives and the operations process (inputs, processes, outputs; cost, quality, speed, flexibility, environmental targets)Free 57 questions
2. 4.2Productivity and efficiency: measuring labour productivity and unit costs, and improving them56 questions
3. 4.3Capacity and capacity utilisation: calculation, under- and over-capacity61 questions
4. 4.4Production methods (job, batch, flow, cell) and the role of technology in operations42 questions
5. 4.5Lean production: waste reduction, kaizen and just-in-time46 questions
6. 4.6Inventory management: stock control charts, buffer stock, lead time, JIT vs JIC and bottlenecks48 questions
7. 4.7Quality management: quality control, quality assurance, TQM and quality standards51 questions
8. 4.8Supply chain management, procurement, outsourcing and supplier relationships50 questions
9. 4.9Economies and diseconomies of scale25 questions

Topic 5: Decision making to improve financial performance

It builds on what you learned at GCSE in Finance, and takes it further.

There are 13 parts: we start with financial and human resource decisions, and finish with business failure, insolvency and the limitations of financial data.

1. 5.1Financial and human resource decisions29 questions
2. 5.2Financial objectives and the role of the finance functionFree 36 questions
3. 5.3Costs, revenue and profit: fixed, variable, direct, indirect, total and average costs37 questions
4. 5.4Budgets: purposes, setting budgets and variance analysis62 questions
5. 5.5Cash flow forecasts: construction, interpretation and limitationsFree 61 questions
6. 5.6Income statements and profit: gross, operating and net profit and profit margins44 questions
7. 5.7Break-even analysis: calculations, margin of safety, charts and limitations53 questions
8. 5.8Sources of finance: internal and external, short-term and long-term, and choosing between them79 questions
9. 5.9Managing cash flow and liquidity: working capital and ways to improve cash flow61 questions
10. 5.10Improving profit: cost reduction and revenue increase strategies24 questions
11. 5.11Statement of financial position (balance sheet): assets, liabilities and capital54 questions
12. 5.12Financial ratio analysis: liquidity ratios, ROCE and gearing40 questions
13. 5.13Business failure, insolvency and the limitations of financial data55 questions

Topic 6: Decision making to improve human resource performance

It builds on what you learned at GCSE in Human resources, and takes it further.

There are 8 parts: we start with HR objectives, the role of HR and workforce planning, and finish with employer-employee relations.

1. 6.1HR objectives, the role of HR and workforce planningFree 67 questions
2. 6.2Measuring HR performance: labour turnover, retention, absenteeism and labour productivity (with calculations)53 questions
3. 6.3Organisational design: structures, span of control, delegation, centralisation, and flexible workforces77 questions
4. 6.4Recruitment and selection: internal and external methods, job descriptions and person specifications22 questions
5. 6.5Training, development and appraisal26 questions
6. 6.6Motivation theories: Taylor, Mayo, Maslow and Herzberg26 questions
7. 6.7Motivation in practice: financial and non-financial methods31 questions
8. 6.8Employer-employee relations: trade unions, works councils, employee participation and communication32 questions

Topic Q: Quantitative skills and exam technique

This topic pulls together the number skills and exam technique you need across the whole course.

We practise percentages, index numbers and data interpretation, then show how to build analysis and evaluation into strong answers.

1. Q.1Quantitative skills: percentages, percentage change, ratios, averages, index numbers and roundingFree 41 questions
2. Q.2Presenting and interpreting data: tables, graphs, charts, trends and time series59 questions
3. Q.3Using quantitative and qualitative data to support business decisions71 questions
4. Q.4Exam technique: command words, case study use, analysis, evaluation and judgement50 questions

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