Business Management Unit One Overview - A Brief Study Guide

I remember studying Economics in year seven, eight and nine and thoroughly enjoying it. My fondest memory was creating a hypothetical cereal for a year seven assignment. We had to conduct market research in the form of a survey and create a cereal which corresponded with our findings. When creating the packaging, we had to also make it appealing to our target market. Additionally, we had to create a poster to advertise our product and this was mine:

A portion of twelve-year-old-me's Economics assignment. 

Keep in mind, this was completed a long time ago. I would hope I would produce a better looking poster nowadays. 😃

I decided to share this story to demonstrate that Business Management was a subject which I always knew I would choose in year eleven. It's safe to say, my decision to continue learning about business was a good one. I enjoyed the initial unit of the subject immensely.

As always, I suggest having a look at the official study design for a guide to what you need to learn. While it is aimed towards teachers, it is a great resource to use if you would like an overview of what you need to learn within each area of study.

Area of Study One: The Business Idea

In year eleven Business Management, you start at the beginning: learning about the development of an idea for a business. 

The first definition you will need to learn the meaning of the term business opportunity, which is circumstances which an individual views as being an avenue to start a business. There are seven types of situations which may arise which may influence an individual to go into business, they include:

• Innovation

Creating a new product or significantly altering an existing one. 

• Entrepreneurship

An individual selling their idea to an existing business.

• Market Opportunities

In other words, 'filling a gap in the market'. Creating a product which doesn't exist but is in demand.

• Changing customer needs

Change in the customer base's tastes, income, expectations, population and price of similar products.

• Research and Development

Conducting an investigation on existing products or processes to improve existing products. 

• Technological Development

Including advancements in technology to existing products or processes.

• Global Markets

Selling products in foreign countries. 

Next, you will need to be able to demonstrate knowledge relating to the reasons why someone may start a business. They include having a desire for independence, to make a profit, to fill a gap in the market and to fulfil a social objective. I found this section to be very easy to understand and remember. A way to remember this is two desires (a desire for profit and independence) and two fulfils (a market need and a social need).

You will also need to understand why it's important to have a goal and that goals should be S.M.A.R.T: 
Specific: Clear and focused
Measurable: Quantifiable
Attainable: Realistic
Relevant: Worthwhile and based on current the state of business
Time-Bound: There should be a deadline. 

You should also know that there are three categories which business goals can fit into, including financial, social and personal. An example of a social goal is:

My business intends to promote environmental sustainability. In order to fulfil this, we will use recycled materials and renewable energy. 

Throughout your assessments for this area of study, you may be asked to recall the differences between business managers and business entrepreneurs. In summary, the differences are: 

The sources of a business idea will also need to be learnt. They include:

• Listening to other's opinions
• Reading magazines, books and other forms of media
• Attending exhibitions
• Identifying a market need
• Identifying how an existing product can be improved. 

You will also be asked to recall various types of intellectual property protection, including: 

After, you should be able to differentiate the terms market research and feasibility study. You should also consider ways they can be conducted. For instance, market research can be a survey, interview or analysing collected data.

The final information we had to learn went pretty quickly, I don't even remember doing any work on it in assessments or in class. However, I will go over it quickly.

You may be asked to recall various types of individuals and organisations which may be of assistance to a business. This includes government grants and programs, business mentors and regional business start-up hubs (such as Small Business Centres Victoria). 

Area of Study Two: External Environment 

This was by far my favourite area of study. It was also the first SAC which I got a 100% result on, so I'm slightly biased. Additionally, we had a student teacher teach us most of the coursework and she was brilliant (it took her a few classes to get used to us, we're a crazy class!). 

Everything you will learn about in this area of study is within the external environment, consisting of the operating and macro environment. However, you will be asked to recall the difference between the ones mentioned and the internal environment. 

During this area of study, you will learn about the operating and macro environments

Firstly, you will need to learn about laws which dictate the behaviour of a business. You shouldn't study this as in-depth as other areas, as you will be studying this in more detail at the beginning of unit two. You don't need to memorise names of any Acts of Parliament, but you will need to familiarise yourself with regulations relating to the following areas: 

• Location
• Health Safety
• Employment (including anti-discrimination and OH&S)
• Taxation
• Fair trade practises
• Environment

Next, you will need to acquire knowledge about how society's values and attitudes influence the behaviour of a business. For example: 

Businesses may alter where they source their products from in order to fit in with the trend of the majority of the community's values. For instance, consumers may only purchase seafood which is labelled as sustainable. As a result, major supermarkets are selling more food which is regarded as more environmentally friendly. 

You will also need to familiarise yourself with how the state of the economy can influence business activity. This includes the phases of the business cycle:

I suggest to also learn the characteristics of each phase. 

In addition, you should be able to recall how the interest and exchange rates affect business and consumer confidence. 

In regards to technological issues, you should be able to demonstrate your knowledge about how changes in technology can affect a business. This includes being connected to the internet, pay-per-use culture, wearable technology, automation. You should be able to state how these can positively and negatively affect a business. 

In addition, you will need to learn how the rise of globalisation can affect businesses. This includes: 

• Competing with a wider market (overseas businesses)
• Offshoring
• Exchange rates
• Protecting intellectual property.
• Selling online. 

You will need to learn about Corporate Social Responsibility, which includes three areas (referred to as the Triple Bottom Line):

You should be able to recall ways which a business can be socially responsible and the costs and benefits of being a socially responsible business.

How customers and competitors affect the behaviour of a business. Additionally, you will need to learn what a supply chain is and how suppliers affect business decisions.

You will also need to know the four types of special interest groups and what their purpose is, this includes:

• Specific issue groups
• Business associations
• Unions
• Consumer groups

Area of Study Three: Internal Environment

To begin with, you will need to learn what resources are. There are three categories which resources can fall into: 

• Natural
• Labour
• Capital

Next, you will gain knowledge about the types of business locations which include shopping centres, retail shopping strips, online stores and home-based businesses. You will need to know the positives and negatives of each. Furthermore, you will need to know the factors which affect a business owner's choice of location. This includes: 

• Visibility
• Proximity to customer and suppliers
• Proximity to competitors
• Proximity to complementary business. 

You will also acquire knowledge on various sources of finance. You will need to learn about the different sources of: 

• Equity Finance

Including self-funding, private investors, crowd-funding, etc. 

• Debt

Including bank overdrafts and loans. 

• Grants

From state and/or federal government.

Similarly to factors affecting the choice of location, you will need to learn about the factors affecting the choice of which source of finance to use. The factors are: 

• Terms of Finance
• Business Structure
• Overall Cost
• Flexibility
• Level of Control

Furthermore, you should be able to differentiate the benefits and the costs of purchasing an existing business over starting a new one. 

Next, you will need to learn about four legal business structures. This includes incorporated businesses, such as private and public companies. Additionally, you will need to learn about sole traders and partnerships. You will need to know the positives and negatives of each. The following videos by VCEBizMan are made for unit three. However, the information in them is relevant to this area of study. 

You should also familiarise yourself the five types of business models. Again, you will need to know the positives and negatives of each.

Next, you'll need to learn about services which provide support to businesses in regards to the law, finance, technology, etc. These can be either formal or informal networks. 

Knowledge about business plans and SWOT analysis should be learnt. This includes the purpose and why it's important to plan in business. A business plan should include the following:

• Executive Summary
• Operation Plan
• Financial Plan
• Marketing Plan 

Meanwhile, a SWOT analysis is typically set out like this: 

I suggest practising filling one out for a hypothetical business to better understand it. 

The last thing you will do will be a return to the topic of Corporate Social Responsibility. You don't need to learn any new things, just remember the pros and cons and how it can be implemented. 

And that's it! I quite liked this unit. We've begun the first area of study for unit two and I'm finding it much more difficult. I think it's because it involves lots of financial stuff. Anyone else feel the same?