Unit 1: Business Organization and Environment
1.1 Introduction to business management
The role of businesses in combining human, physical and financial resources to create goods and services
The main business functions and their roles: human resources, finance and accounts, marketing, operations
Primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary sectors
The nature of business activity in each sector and the impact of sectoral change on business activity
The role of entrepreneurship (and entrepreneur) and intrapreneurship (and intrapreneur) in overall business activity
Reasons for starting up a business or an enterprise
Common steps in the process of starting up a business or an enterprise
Problems that a new business or enterprise may face
The elements of a business plan
1.2 Types of organizations
Distinction between the private and the public sectors
The main features of the following types of for-profit (commercial) organizations: sole traders, partnerships, companies/corporations
The main features of the following types of for-profit social enterprises: cooperatives, microfinance providers, public-private partnerships (PPP)
The main features of the following types of non-profit social enterprises: non-governmental organizations (NGOs), charities
1.3 Organizational objectives
Vision statement and mission statement
Aims, objectives, strategies and tactics, and their relationships
The need for organizations to change objectives and innovate in response to changes in internal and external environments
Ethical objectives and corporate social responsibility (CSR)
The reasons why organizations set ethical objectives and the impact of implementing them
The evolving role and nature of CSR
SWOT analysis of a given organization
Ansoff matrix for different growth strategies of a given organization
1.4 Stakeholders
The interests of internal stakeholders
The interests of external stakeholders
Possible areas of mutual benefit and conflict between stakeholders’ interests
1.5 External environment
STEEPLE analysis of a given organization
Consequences of a change in any of the STEEPLE factors for a business’s objectives and strategy
1.6 Growth and evolution
Economies and diseconomies of scale
The merits of small versus large organizations
The difference between internal and external growth
The following external growth methods: mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and takeovers, joint ventures, strategic alliances, franchising
The role and impact of globalization on the growth and evolution of businesses
Reasons for the growth of multinational companies (MNCs)
The impact of MNCs on the host countries
1.7 Organizational planning tools (HL only)
The following planning tools in a given situation: fishbone diagram, decision tree, force field analysis, Gantt chart
The value to an organization of these planning tools
Last updated