Specification points

Edexcel International GCSE (9–1) Business 4BS1

89 points in 5 topics, with Edexcel's codes and titles.

Codes and titles are read by a script from Edexcel's published specification and have not been checked by a person. What each point covers is in the specification itself: Edexcel’s specification.

1 Business activity and influences on business

1.1 Business objectives
1.1.1 Business aims and objectives
1.1.2 Why business aims and objectives change as businesses evolve
1.2 Types of organisations
1.2.1 The main types of business ownership
1.2.2 Characteristics relating to size
1.2.3 Different forms of business organisation
1.3 Classification of businesses
1.3.1 Primary, secondary and tertiary activities
1.4 Decisions on location
1.4.1 The main factors influencing location decisions and relocation of a business
1.5 Business and the international economy
1.5.1 Globalisation
1.5.2 The importance and growth of multinationals
1.5.3 Exchange rate calculation
1.5.4 The impact of exchange rate changes
1.6 Government objectives and policies
1.6.1 Government spending
1.6.2 Government influence on business activity
1.6.3 Effects of interest rates
1.7 External factors
1.7.1 The external factors affecting business decisions
1.8 What makes a business successful?
1.8.1 Measuring success in business
1.8.2 Reasons for business failure

2 People in Business

2.1 Internal and external communication
2.1.1 Importance of good communication and the problems of ineffective communication
2.1.2 Barriers to communication
2.2 Recruitment and selection process
2.2.1 Types of employment
2.2.2 Recruitment documents
2.2.3 Internal and external recruitment
2.2.4 Legal controls over employment and their effects
2.3 Training
2.3.1 Importance of training to a business and workers
2.4 Motivation and rewards
2.4.1 The importance of motivation in the workplace
2.4.2 How businesses motivate employees
2.5 Organisation structure and employees
2.5.1 Organisational charts for different types of business
2.5.2 Roles and responsibilities of employees in terms of compliance and accountability
2.5.3 The different functional areas within a business

3 Business finance

3.1 Business finance – sources
3.1.1 The need for finance
3.1.2 Internal sources of finance
3.1.3 External sources of finance
3.2 Cash flow forecasting
3.2.1 The importance of cash to a business
3.2.2 Calculation and interpretation of cash-flow forecasts
3.3 Costs and break-even analysis
3.3.1 Revenue, costs, profit and loss
3.3.2 The concept of break-even and calculation of break-even (from formula or diagram)
3.3.3 Interpretation of break-even charts
3.4 Financial documents
3.4.1 The purpose of statements of comprehensive income
3.4.2 The purpose of statements of financial position
3.5 Accounts analysis
3.5.1 Calculating and analysing accounting ratios
3.5.2 Liquidity
3.5.3 The use of financial documents

4 Marketing

4.1 Market research
4.1.1 The purpose of market research
4.1.2 Methods of market research
4.1.3 The use of data in market research
4.2 The market
4.2.1 Importance of marketing
4.2.2 Responding to changes in the market
4.2.3 How businesses use market segmentation to target customers
4.3 The marketing mix
4.3.1 Product
4.3.2 Price
4.3.3 Place – distribution channels
4.3.4 Promotion

5 Business operations

5.1 Economies and diseconomies of scale
5.1.1 Economies of scale
5.1.2 Diseconomies of scale
5.2 Production
5.2.1 Production processes
5.2.2 Principles of lean production
5.2.3 Impact of technology in production
5.3 Factors of production
5.3.1 Changing relationships between enterprise, capital, land, and labour
5.4 Quality
5.4.1 Quality and its importance