Business Studies O'level

The study area SEC Business Studies is informed by the National Curriculum Framework (NCF). GSCE Business is informed by Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF).

Since the business environment affects all members of society, an understanding of the way businesses operate is crucial for everybody. Business Studies is therefore directly relevant for everyone irrespective of the career path one chooses and not only for the range of careers directly involved in business. There are in fact various objectives underlying the teaching of the subject. These include the development of the learner as a person who is knowledgeable of the country’s and the world’s economic systems and as a person who is able to understand economic and financial jargon and its impacts upon society and individuals. This calls for the need to cultivate critical awareness so that students do not take as given the current state of affairs, but are encouraged to visualise how the social and economic order could be different. Business Studies therefore goes beyond the education of students into the existing business rationale but also cultivates the nurturing of the critical and independent mind, which is crucial in fostering a mentality that embraces change. 

At the end of the programme, the student will be able to: 

• demonstrate an understanding of the role of business and its activity in society
• demonstrate an understanding and awareness of entrepreneurship and related skills
• understand how learning about finance can enrich one’s experience and understanding of the world and how it can be of value throughout my life
• develop an understanding of business structure and organisation in the context of a mixed economy
• demonstrate an understanding of the main functions of the purchasing and production departments within a business organisation
• demonstrate an understanding of the importance of finance in a business organisation
• demonstrate an understanding of the role of the human resources function in a business organisation and industrial relations
• demonstrate an understanding of the role of the marketing function in a business organisation
• demonstrate an understanding and awareness of the factors relevant to foreign trade and fair trade