Its a question of size! Research:  What is the biggest company in the World? (you need to justify your answer).

Its a question of size! How can we measure the size of companies?  Against each criteria that you come up with; find the company that is the biggest in the World.

Size of business Measurement of business size Significance of small businesses Internal growth

Measurement of business size Learning objectives Identification of different ways to measure the size of a business

Measuring business size Methods (more useful when comparing firms in same industry): 1. Number of employees Problem: highly automated firms 2. Sales turnover Problem: high-value production vs low-value production 3. Capital employed – long-term investment Problem: Firms in different industries have very different capital equipment needs 4. Market capitalisation = Problem: share price changes everyday 5. Market share = Problem: more than one way to measure this.

Other forms of measurement Number of outlets Total floor sales space – supermarkets Number of guest rooms Number of students No best measure – depends on the need Good to compare on at least two criteria

Significance of small businesses Learning objectives Be able to identify the advantages and disadvantages of being a small business Know the strengths and weaknesses of family businesses Understand the importance of small businesses and their role in the economy Know the role of small businesses within the economy

Significance of small businesses UK:  Turnover less than £2m a year  Assets less than £950,000  Employees less than 50 They are very important to all economies

Significance of small businesses Create many jobs Create new product ideas – greater choice for consumers Compete with larger firms – eg. the cost of air travel has been reduced significantly due to small airlines Possibility to grow into large companies – eg. The Body Shop, Hewlett-Packard, Tesco, Microsoft Lower average costs allow small businesses to offer lower prices to the consumer

How do governments assist small businesses Reduced rate of income tax Loan guarantee scheme Providing information Subsidised rent in some areas

What problems do small businesses have Lack of specialist management expertise Problems raising finance Limited product range Finding suitable and reasonably priced premises

Student activity You are setting up your own small business in Lima with some friends. Prepare a verbal description for the rest of the class explaining What your business does. The advantages that you will have as a small business.