Business Studies for A-Level, 4th Edition

Summary:
Ian Marcousé, the expert Business Studies author, is back with a new edition of his bestselling Business Studies for A Level textbook. This fourth edition provides everything you need to know for all A Level specifications. It continues to offer unrivalled depth and authority, giving you the best possible preparation for success in Business Studies.

This new edition features hundreds of new and updated case studies of business success and failure that demonstrate how business theory plays out in the real world and provides up-to-date coverage of the recent world economic and financial events.

• Hundreds of new case studies that can be used for homework or the classroom
• Up-to-date with recent world economic and financial events and putting them into the context of A Level Business Studies
• Ian Marcouse is the most widely recognised name in Business Studies publishing.
• A fresh new design that will aid revision and build analysis and evaluation skills.
• Dynamic Learning Online support, anytime, anywhere
• Authoritative and in-depth coverage will give you the knowledge of business studies to achieve the very best grades

Table of Contents:
Starting a business
1 Enterprise and entrepreneurs
2 Identifying business opportunities
3 Building demand and managing supply
4 Protecting business ideas
5 Developing business plans
6 Choosing the right legal structure
7 Location factors for a business start-up
8 Employing people
9 Opportunity cost and trade-offs
10 Economic factors affecting business start-up
11 Assessing business start-up
Introduction to finance
12 Introduction to finance
13 Calculating revenue, costs and profit
14 Break-even analysis
15 Cash flow management and forecasting
16 Sources of finance
17 Budgets and budgeting
18 Measuring and increasing profit
19 Cash flow vs profit
20 Managing working capital
Introduction to marketing
21 Effective marketing objectives and strategy
22 Market research
23 Understanding markets
24 Niche versus mass marketing
25 Designing an effective marketing mix
26 Product and product differentiation
27 Product life cycle and portfolio analysis
28 Pricing
29 Price elasticity of demand
30 Promotion and place
31 The marketing mix and social trends
32 Marketing and competitiveness
Introduction to people in organisations
33 Productivity and performance
34 Motivation in theory
35 Motivation in practice
36 Leadership and management styles
37 Organisational structure
38 Recruitment and training
39 Measuring the effectiveness of the workforce
Introduction to managing operations
40 Introduction to operations management
41 Invention, innovation and design
42 Customer service
43 Effective quality management
44 Working with suppliers
45 Stock control
46 Lean management
47 Capacity utilisation and capital intensity
48 Making operational decisions
49 Using technology in operations
Corporate objectives and strategies
50 Corporate objectives and strategies
51 Corporate aims, mission and culture
52 Functional objectives and strategy
53 Responsibilities to stakeholders and society
Advanced accounting and finance
54 Financial objectives and constraints
55 Income statements (profit and loss accounts)
56 Balance sheets
57 Ratio analysis
58 Limitations of accounts
59 Financial strategies and accounts
60 Investment appraisal
61 Integrated finance
Advanced marketing
62 Understanding marketing objectives
63 Analysing markets
64 Measuring and forecasting trends
65 Selecting marketing strategies
66 Developing and implementing marketing plans
67 Integrated marketing
Advanced people in organisations
68 Understanding HRM objectives and strategies
69 Workforce planning
70 Flexibility and insecurity
71 Employee participation and team working
72 Effective employer/employee relations
73 Integrated people in organisations
Advanced operations management
74 Understanding operational objectives
75 Economies and diseconomies of scale
76 Innovation and research and development
77 Industrial and international location
78 Planning operations (including CPA)
79 Kaizen (continuous improvement)
80 Integrated operations management
Advanced external influences
81 Introduction to external influences
82 Impact on firms of economic variables
83 Globalisation and development
84 Impact of government economic policy
85 Government policies affecting business
86 How firms respond to potential and actual changes
87 Business ethics
88 Business and the environment
89 Business and the technological environment
90 Impact of competitive and market structure
91 Changes in ownership and competitive structure
92 China vs India
93 Integrated external influences on business strategy
Managing change
94 Causes of and planning for change
95 Organisational culture
96 Making strategic decisions
97 Implementing and managing change
98 Integrated approach to change and the business environment

About the Author(s):
Ian Marcousé is a former Chief Examiner for Business Studies for a major awarding body and is an experienced teacher. He is Founding Editor of Business Review magazine and his previous books include The Complete A-Z Business Studies Handbook.

The author team for the new edition is:

Ian Marcousé
Andrew Gillespie
Malcolm Surridge
Naomi Birchall
Marie Brewer
Andrew Hammond
Nigel Watson

Readership:
Students of AQA and Edexcel Business Studies A Level courses