Business and Enterprise Introduction to Business OCR Cambridge National in Business and Enterprise (Level 1 / 2) R061 Introduction to Business survey? On who has what…

Introduction Businesses are affected by their competition, social factors and how well they perform as well as by the economy and society they are a part of. Businesses come in all shapes and sizes. Each one will have its own objectives, type of ownership and rate of success.

Ownership There are different types of business ownership: Sole trader Partnership Private Limited Company Public Limited Company Each type has its own characteristics as well as its own benefits and drawbacks.

Objectives Success or failure can depend on the business objectives. It is often true that as things change businesses need to alter their objectives in order to remain successful. Every successful business has a set of objectives. They will have a plan and a set of goals to get them where they want to be.

Key Concepts The key concepts in: Human Resources All companies need to hire the right people, offer training and sometimes fire them! Marketing The 4 Ps. Product, Price, Promotion and Place. Finance Handling the cash. Raising finance, breaking even or making a profit are all part of the finance dept. Production Making, testing and ensuring the quality of the product.

Economic Factors The state of the economy affects day-to-day business as we go through times of plenty and times of hardship. This obviously affects the success or failure of a business and sometimes even the largest of organisations go under. When times are good customers spend their money but when times are hard they cut back.

Quality Control It is very important that the services or products a business sells have been checked to ensure they are fit for purpose. Customers want value for money and reliability. A successful company will make sure the service and products they sell go through quality control to achieve this. If a business gets a bad reputation, for how long do you think customers will continue to buy its products?

Technology The internet has seen the rise of large internet businesses such as Amazon as well as many small companies and sole traders using the web to easily sell their services to the public. In the modern world it is important that businesses make good use of technology to cut down on costs and promote their services and products.

You will learn… About methods of raising finance and about the importance of cash flow. How technology and environmental concerns affect modern businesses The different types of business and why they are not all the same. About pay, working conditions and performance management. What helps to make a business successful. Why businesses need objectives.

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