Cambridge A-level Business Year 12 revision

Topic 1: Business and its environment

It builds on what you learned at IGCSE in Understanding business activity, and takes it further.

There are 9 parts: we start with what is business and management decision making, and finish with stakeholders and shareholders.

1. 1.1What is business and management decision makingFree 30 questions
2. 1.2Scarcity, opportunity cost, added value and the role of business in society46 questions
3. 1.3Entrepreneurs: role, characteristics, motives and the impact on businessFree 27 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. 1.6Business size: measures of size, why firms stay small and the implications of growthFree 19 questions
7. 1.7Methods of growth: organic growth, mergers, takeovers, demergers and joint ventures29 questions
8. 1.8Business purpose, mission, aims and objectives (profit, growth, survival, SMART objectives and conflicting objectives)31 questions
9. 1.9Stakeholders and shareholders: objectives, influence and the shareholder vs stakeholder concept48 questions

Topic 2: Human resource management

It builds on what you learned at IGCSE in People in business, and takes it further.

There are 10 parts: we start with management roles and functions (including Mintzberg) and the difference between management and leadership, and finish with employer-employee relations.

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. 2.3Motivation theories: Taylor, Mayo, Maslow and Herzberg26 questions
4. 2.4Motivation in practice: financial and non-financial methods31 questions
5. 2.5HR objectives, the role of HR and workforce planningFree 67 questions
6. 2.6Measuring HR performance: labour turnover, retention, absenteeism and labour productivity (with calculations)53 questions
7. 2.7Recruitment and selection: internal and external methods, job descriptions and person specifications22 questions
8. 2.8Training, development and appraisal26 questions
9. 2.9Organisational design: structures, span of control, delegation, centralisation, and flexible workforces77 questions
10. 2.10Employer-employee relations: trade unions, works councils, employee participation and communication32 questions

Topic 3: Marketing

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

There are 14 parts: we start with the role of marketing, marketing objectives, and product-led vs market-led approaches, and finish with digital marketing, e-commerce, social media and using data and CRM in marketing.

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

Topic 4: Operations management

It builds on what you learned at IGCSE in Operations management, and takes it further.

There are 8 parts: we start with operational objectives and the operations process (inputs, processes, outputs; cost, quality, speed, flexibility, environmental targets), and finish with quality management.

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

Topic 5: Finance and accounting

It builds on what you learned at IGCSE in Financial information and decisions, and takes it further.

There are 8 parts: we start with financial objectives and the role of the finance function, and finish with income statements and profit.

1. 5.1Financial objectives and the role of the finance functionFree 36 questions
2. 5.2Sources of finance: internal and external, short-term and long-term, and choosing between them79 questions
3. 5.3Cash flow forecasts: construction, interpretation and limitationsFree 61 questions
4. 5.4Managing cash flow and liquidity: working capital and ways to improve cash flow61 questions
5. 5.5Costs, revenue and profit: fixed, variable, direct, indirect, total and average costs37 questions
6. 5.6Break-even analysis: calculations, margin of safety, charts and limitations53 questions
7. 5.7Budgets: purposes, setting budgets and variance analysis62 questions
8. 5.8Income statements and profit: gross, operating and net profit and profit margins44 questions

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