BUSINESS IB NOTES
Unit 1: Business organisation and environment
❏ 1.1 Introduction to business management
❏ 1.2 Types of organisations
❏ 1.3 Organisational objectives
❏ 1.4 Stakeholders
❏ 1.5 External environment
❏ 1.6 Growth and evolution
Unit 2: Human resource management
❏ 2.1 Functions and evolution of human resource management
❏ 2.2 Organisational structure
❏ 2.3 Leadership and management
❏ 2.4 Motivation
Unit 3: Finance and accounts
❏ 3.1 Sources of finance
❏ 3.2 Costs and revenues
❏ 3.3 Break-even analysis
❏ 3.4 Final accounts (some HL only)
❏ 3.5 Profitability and liquidity ratio analysis
❏ 3.7 Cash flow
❏ 3.8 Investment appraisal (some HL only)
Unit 4: Marketing
❏ 4.1 The role of marketing
❏ 4.2 Marketing planning (including introduction to the four Ps)
❏ 4.4 Market research
❏ 4.5 The four Ps (product, price, promotion, place)
❏ 4.8 E-commerce
Unit 5: Operations management
❏ 5.1 The role of operations management
❏ 5.2 Production methods
❏ 5.4 Location
, 1
GENERAL:
Change: The adaptation of the organization to accommodate the external business environment
- Firms usually implement changes to survive, expand or remain competitive (due to
arising external influences [changes in the economy or industry])
Culture: reference to the aspects within a contextual environment which influences firms in many
ways. It can be classified into internal and external culture
- The difference in cultures is one of many factors that lead to product diversification
- Internal culture: the way the firm operates, influenced by their aims and objectives
- External culture: traditional beliefs and ideologies of a country or region
Ethics: the values and principles that influence how individuals, groups and societies behave
- Something can be unethical but still legal
- Business ethics: the values and principles that operate in the world of business (social
costs, social benefits
Globalization: the process of interaction and integration between the people, firms and
governments of different nations driven by international trade.
- Expansion (exporting; hiring overseas labour)
Innovation: incremental or radical improvement to a business idea, or generation of new ideas
- An innovative solution is usually one that is not in the market;s expectations, but still
meets the demands of the market
Strategy: the set of long-term planning decisions that organizations make in order to achieve a
common goal in the interest of the organization and/or specific stakeholders
- Set of decisions that aim to achieve business objectives.
, 2
Unit 2: Human resource management
2.1 Functions and evolution of human resource management
2.1.1 HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING
Process of anticipating current and future demand for workers in both the short and long term
- Ppl are important; most valuable resource to an org, they add value to its output (e.g.
productivity). Employing the right ppl helps to achieve the firm’s aims and objectives.
- To hire the right ppl a firm needs to use HR planning (or workforce planning) which
focuses on anticipating and meeting an organization's staffing needs.
Workforce planning usually is an ongoing process either:
- short term: deals with existing and upcoming demands of an organization (e.g.
employing to cover for maternity leave.)
- long term: deals with needs for the foreseeable future (e.g. walt disney employed and
trained employees 2 years before the opening in hong kong.)
A workforce plan includes
- Careful consideration of current abilities and what will be needed in the future
(short-term or long-term)
- Identifying gaps and considering ways of addressing these
- Noting any training needs
- Developing training, recruitment & personnel policies (appraisals, employee welfare)
Workforce planning can be achieved by looking at:
- historical data and trends - past data is not always indicative of future trends.
- sales and income levels - higher levels of income means more jobs.
- labour turnover rates - higher % of turnover rate, more staff must be recruited.
- flexibility & staff’s workload- higher level of flexible staff can cope with the workload
in the absence of employees.
Demographic changes - helps forecast human resource needs.
Disadvantages: Time-consuming; Can be inaccurate because of external influences.
2.1.2 LABOUR TURNOVER:
Measures the percentage of the workforce that leaves the organization within a year time frame.
Labour turnover = number of staff leaving / total number of staff x 100
- When part-time and temporary staff is hired, the business accepts the high rates of
labour turnover as the salary is usually low.
- Low labour turnover rates means managers have chosen the right employees.
- High labour turnover rates means high costs for training and recruiting.
- People leave their jobs because of CLAMPS (Challenge; Location; Advancement;
Money; Pride (or Prestige); Security) and/ or poor morale (ie: in militant workforce;
widespread rumors; low suggestion rates…)
- Staff retention (organization is providing high quality training and boosts the morale
of the workers) is the opposite of labour turnover.
Unit 1: Business organisation and environment
❏ 1.1 Introduction to business management
❏ 1.2 Types of organisations
❏ 1.3 Organisational objectives
❏ 1.4 Stakeholders
❏ 1.5 External environment
❏ 1.6 Growth and evolution
Unit 2: Human resource management
❏ 2.1 Functions and evolution of human resource management
❏ 2.2 Organisational structure
❏ 2.3 Leadership and management
❏ 2.4 Motivation
Unit 3: Finance and accounts
❏ 3.1 Sources of finance
❏ 3.2 Costs and revenues
❏ 3.3 Break-even analysis
❏ 3.4 Final accounts (some HL only)
❏ 3.5 Profitability and liquidity ratio analysis
❏ 3.7 Cash flow
❏ 3.8 Investment appraisal (some HL only)
Unit 4: Marketing
❏ 4.1 The role of marketing
❏ 4.2 Marketing planning (including introduction to the four Ps)
❏ 4.4 Market research
❏ 4.5 The four Ps (product, price, promotion, place)
❏ 4.8 E-commerce
Unit 5: Operations management
❏ 5.1 The role of operations management
❏ 5.2 Production methods
❏ 5.4 Location
, 1
GENERAL:
Change: The adaptation of the organization to accommodate the external business environment
- Firms usually implement changes to survive, expand or remain competitive (due to
arising external influences [changes in the economy or industry])
Culture: reference to the aspects within a contextual environment which influences firms in many
ways. It can be classified into internal and external culture
- The difference in cultures is one of many factors that lead to product diversification
- Internal culture: the way the firm operates, influenced by their aims and objectives
- External culture: traditional beliefs and ideologies of a country or region
Ethics: the values and principles that influence how individuals, groups and societies behave
- Something can be unethical but still legal
- Business ethics: the values and principles that operate in the world of business (social
costs, social benefits
Globalization: the process of interaction and integration between the people, firms and
governments of different nations driven by international trade.
- Expansion (exporting; hiring overseas labour)
Innovation: incremental or radical improvement to a business idea, or generation of new ideas
- An innovative solution is usually one that is not in the market;s expectations, but still
meets the demands of the market
Strategy: the set of long-term planning decisions that organizations make in order to achieve a
common goal in the interest of the organization and/or specific stakeholders
- Set of decisions that aim to achieve business objectives.
, 2
Unit 2: Human resource management
2.1 Functions and evolution of human resource management
2.1.1 HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING
Process of anticipating current and future demand for workers in both the short and long term
- Ppl are important; most valuable resource to an org, they add value to its output (e.g.
productivity). Employing the right ppl helps to achieve the firm’s aims and objectives.
- To hire the right ppl a firm needs to use HR planning (or workforce planning) which
focuses on anticipating and meeting an organization's staffing needs.
Workforce planning usually is an ongoing process either:
- short term: deals with existing and upcoming demands of an organization (e.g.
employing to cover for maternity leave.)
- long term: deals with needs for the foreseeable future (e.g. walt disney employed and
trained employees 2 years before the opening in hong kong.)
A workforce plan includes
- Careful consideration of current abilities and what will be needed in the future
(short-term or long-term)
- Identifying gaps and considering ways of addressing these
- Noting any training needs
- Developing training, recruitment & personnel policies (appraisals, employee welfare)
Workforce planning can be achieved by looking at:
- historical data and trends - past data is not always indicative of future trends.
- sales and income levels - higher levels of income means more jobs.
- labour turnover rates - higher % of turnover rate, more staff must be recruited.
- flexibility & staff’s workload- higher level of flexible staff can cope with the workload
in the absence of employees.
Demographic changes - helps forecast human resource needs.
Disadvantages: Time-consuming; Can be inaccurate because of external influences.
2.1.2 LABOUR TURNOVER:
Measures the percentage of the workforce that leaves the organization within a year time frame.
Labour turnover = number of staff leaving / total number of staff x 100
- When part-time and temporary staff is hired, the business accepts the high rates of
labour turnover as the salary is usually low.
- Low labour turnover rates means managers have chosen the right employees.
- High labour turnover rates means high costs for training and recruiting.
- People leave their jobs because of CLAMPS (Challenge; Location; Advancement;
Money; Pride (or Prestige); Security) and/ or poor morale (ie: in militant workforce;
widespread rumors; low suggestion rates…)
- Staff retention (organization is providing high quality training and boosts the morale
of the workers) is the opposite of labour turnover.
