Unit 1 - Business Context

Range: 

Environments - regional (national, international), political, social, economic, technological changes, cultural. 

1. The types of organisations commonly setup across the UK and the differences between each organisation type in the private, public, and not-for-- profit/voluntary sectors. .  

2. Examples of different organisations within each organisation type in the private, public, and not-for-profit/voluntary sectors. 

3. The characteristics of different organisation types, and the reasons for setting- up each organisation type (profit, not-for-profit, social enterprise, philanthropy). 

4. How the work environment differs in different organisation types, and the impacts and benefits of different work environments for individuals. 

5. The range of environments in which different organisations operate in and how these environments may affect the organisation’s operation. 

6. The range of different factors that impact organisations (e.g., time zones, language barriers, currency rates, budget, capital, staff management, internal processes). 

7. The local and national political environment and how this incorporates laws and regulations applicable to the trading location. 

Range: 

Size - Micro businesses, small enterprises, medium enterprises, large enterprises. Purpose - Vision, mission statement, values. Sector - Private, public, non-profit/voluntary. 

1. The impact of organisation size upon business activities and operations. 

2. The purposes of a business in relation to their vision and mission statement. The range of sector types and the differences between them. 

3. The business models and structures of organisations (functional, hierarchical, divisional, matrix and flat), and the advantages and disadvantages of each. 

4. How different organisation structures impact organisation workings such as communication, timescales, complexity and responsibility. The types of informal networks and structures that organisations may operate in. 

5. The operations and functions within an organisation (e.g., finance, ICT, human resources, marketing), their remit and how they operate. 

6. The different roles within organisations (e.g. CEO, Finance Director) and how and why they differ. 

7. The differences between organisations in the private, voluntary, and public sector and how being in these sectors would impact the organisation, for example specific regulations, processes, and control. 

Range: 

Economic - Economic growth, revenue and profit generation, geographic implications, supply and demand. Social - Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), social mobility, ethical finance, antislavery/human trafficking, ethical working conditions, promoting equality and diversity. Environmental - Waste reduction, sustainability, the circular economy. 

1. The role of organisations in society, and the range of social, economic, and environmental influences that they can have on a local, national, and global level. 

2. The reasons organisations adopt Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)   

3. The responsibility of organisations to act and behave in ways that have a positive social, economic, and environmental impact. Business ethics and the responsibilities that organisations have to their people and wider society. 

4. The benefits of organisations having a positive social, economic, and environmental impact – on society, and on the organisation itself. 

5. The approaches used by organisations to have a positive impact, to include:  Promotion of diverse workforce and recruitment of future staff.  Methods and importance of ensuring financial conduct and ethical financial practices are taking place.  Policies, procedures, and processes in place to protect against antislavery and human trafficking.  Methods of ensuring an ethical working environment such as temperature of work area and hours worked.  Processes to reduce waste, and support sustainability through the adoption of circular economy practices. 

6. The potential impacts of organisations failing to follow approaches to support their social, economic, and environmental influence. 

Range: 

Legal entity types - Sole Trader, Partnership, Limited Liability Partnership (LLP), Public Limited Company (PLC), Private Limited Company (LTD), Community Interest Company (CIC), Charity, Social Enterprise, Franchise, Cooperative, Multinational Company (MNC). 

1. The range of legal entity types that exist, the characteristics of each and examples of each legal entity in society/industry.  

2. The advantages and disadvantages of different types of each type of legal entity.  

3. The structure of each legal entity type. The governance, regulation and key elements associated with the range of legal entities. 

4. The potential reasons for choosing specific types of business organisation structure. 

Range:

Objectives - Short-term, medium-term, long-term.

Strategies - Business planning, corporate plan, key performance indicators.

1. The purpose of setting organisational aims and objectives, e.g., to increase sales, decrease staff turnover, decrease sickness levels, increase collaboration, increase remote working, creation of new product lines.

2. Recognition that organisational objectives can be short-term, medium-term, and long-term objectives, and examples of each e.g., marketing objectives, brand awareness, increased market share.

3. The strategies used to achieve objectives and how these are implemented, embedded, and reviewed within organisations e.g., marketing strategy, competitor analysis, 7 Ps of marketing, website metrics.

4. How objectives can be measured using different resources and tools, including key performance indicators and through business plans. Objectives should be set as SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, timebound).

Range:

Types of governance - Appointed board, cooperative, membership, representative.

Forms of governance - Advisory, administrative, management team, policy board.

1. The importance of governance in an organisation, including the responsibilities associated with governance, e.g., protecting financial accounts and public money.

2. How governance differs in relation to an organisation’s size, purpose, legal constitution and regulatory environment.

3. The roles (e.g., Finance Director, Head of Department, Administrators) within different functions and their responsibilities.

4. How governance is monitored in an organisation through both the use of internal and external audit activities.

5. The difference in governance from public sector to private sector.

6. The format and responsibility of a board of directors/trustees and their control/impact on the organisation.

7. Key rules and regulations that organisational governance teams are held accountable to, including governance and compliance of financial arrangements in an organisation.

8. The potential consequences of failing to ensure proper governance of an organisation.

Range:

Frameworks - GDPR, data protection act, health and safety at work act, equality act, antibribery act, anti-competitive regulations, environmental/sustainability, consumer protection legislation.

Regulatory bodies - Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), Health and Safety Executive

(HSE), Equality Advisory Support Group and Human Rights Commission, Prosecution service.

1. The range of frameworks to be complied with by organisations and the reasons why these frameworks exist (e.g., to protect consumers).

2. The methods of ensuring organisations comply with frameworks, to include risk registers, audits, risk management, policies, processes, and procedures.

3. The financial, legal, and reputational risks associated with not complying with legislative and regulatory frameworks. The role of each regulatory body and the penalties they can impose on organisations, the rights of individuals under these frameworks and how this can impact the organisations such as freedom of information requests, subject access requests or the right to be forgotten.

4. The impact data breaches could have to an organisation. How to protect the organisation from breaches to the framework guidance, such as completing data protection impact assessments, the role of a data protection officer and the responsibilities of staff within organisations.

5. The importance of being able to demonstrate due diligence.

6. The types of environmental issues and sustainability requirements expected to be managed by organisations.

7. How and why an organisation would be reported to a regulatory body for breaches in laws or regulations and the potential outcome.

Range:

Internal - Employees, managers, owners, investors, board members, customers.

External - Suppliers, contractors, customers, service users, shareholders, creditors, society, local community, government, trade unions.

1. How stakeholders are managed and the importance of ensuring regular clear communication with a stakeholder, setting expectations with stakeholders and how to monitor this, involving stakeholders in any major decision-making process or project.

2. The power of stakeholder opinions and how their needs, priorities and feedback influence the way that organisations operate.

3. How stakeholder needs are transformed into a defined set of stakeholder requirements, which may be specified in a document containing statements.

Range:

Impacts - Cost, training, process changes, operational ability/effectiveness.

1. The range of and prevalence of current and emerging technologies that are used within and influence organisations, e.g., digital processes, cloud-based software, remote working, robotics, big data, biometrics, internet of things (IoT), Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality, cloud computing, 5G, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, 3D printing, drones, hybrid infrastructures.

2. The impact new digital technologies can have on how an organisation operates.

3. The rapid advancement of digitalisation and changing/emerging technologies, and the approaches organisations use to embed these technologies to support currency and operate effectively and efficiently.

4. The security considerations when deploying new technologies (e.g., access, cyber threats, user awareness).

5. The methods of using digital technologies and how they are used to communicate. The considerations needed to ensure users are safe and responsible when using online digital technologies.

6. Methods to keep up to date with emerging technologies such as subscribing to blogs, attending webinars, seminars, and events.

Range:

Culture - Principles, core beliefs, mission statements, vision.

Values - Integrity, respect.

1. What is meant by culture and values in an organisation?

2. The importance of values and culture to an organisation. What values mean to organisations and staff.

3. The impacts of organisational culture and values on stakeholders.

4. The reasons why organisations would have different cultures and values.

5. The importance of embedding organisational values in the organisation’s daily workings. The process of changing culture in an organisation, resistance to change and the barriers that exist to changes within an organisation’s culture.

6. The methods that organisations use to demonstrate and reinforce their culture and values, both internally (e.g., internal branding, expected employee conduct/behaviour) and externally (e.g., branding, mission statements, letterheads, email signatures). The methods that employees can use to demonstrate their following of the organisation’s culture and values both internally and externally.

Range:

Methods - Face to face, verbal and written.

Channels - Email, telephone, video conferencing, social media, intranet, internet, mobile applications, instant messaging tools/live chat, press releases.

1. How to select the most appropriate communication methods depending on the  circumstances and audience.

2. The different methods of communication that may be used internally within an organisation and externally outside of an organisation, with consideration of formal and informal methods of communication.

3. The types of content that would be shared on different communication channels.

4. The tone and format of messages and methods of adapting based on intended audience.

5. How to maintain professional etiquette when using different communication channels.

6. Considerations when communicating externally using different public channels (e.g., impact of social media footprint).