VCE Business Management examines the ways businesses manage resources to achieve objectives. The VCE Business Management study design follows the process from the first idea for a business concept, to planning and establishing a business, through to the day-to-day management of a business. It also considers changes that need to be made to ensure continued success of a business. Students develop an understanding of the complexity of the challenges facing decision makers in managing these resources. A range of management theories is considered and compared with management in practice through contemporary case studies drawn from the past four years. Students learn to propose and evaluate alternative strategies to contemporary challenges in establishing and maintaining a business. There are no prerequisites for entry to Units 1, 2 and 3. Students must undertake Unit 3 prior to undertaking Unit 4.
UNIT 1 - Planning a business
Businesses of all sizes are major contributors to the economic and social wellbeing of a nation. The ability of entrepreneurs to establish a business and the fostering of conditions under which new business ideas can emerge are vital for a nation’s wellbeing. Taking a business idea and planning how to make it a reality are the cornerstones of economic and social development. In this unit students explore the factors affecting business ideas and the internal and external environments within which businesses operate, as well as the effect of these on planning a business. They also consider the importance of the business sector to the national economy and social wellbeing.
Learning Activities:
Case studies, practical exercises, text questions and other relevant tasks.
Key Skills Achieved:
Identify business opportunities; define, describe and apply relevant business management concepts and terms; acquire, record, interpret and share business information and ideas; research and analyse case studies and contemporary examples of business management applicable to planning a business; apply business management knowledge to practical and/or simulated business situations; explain the benefits and costs of corporate social responsibility management practices with respect to business planning; develop and construct business plans; use a planning tool to analyse a business’s current situation and interpret the information; discuss the decisions made in response to the internal factors that affect a business.
Assessment:
UNIT 2 - Establishing a business
This unit focuses on the establishment phase of a business. Establishing a business involves compliance with legal requirements as well as decisions about how best to establish a system of financial record keeping, staff the business and establish a customer base. In this unit students examine the legal requirements that must be met to establish a business. They investigate the essential features of effective marketing and consider the best way to meet the needs of the business in terms of staffing and financial record keeping. Students analyse management practices by applying key knowledge to contemporary business case studies from the past four years.
Learning Activities:
Case studies, practical exercises, text questions, and other relevant tasks.
Key Skills Achieved:
Define, describe and apply relevant business management concepts and terms; acquire, record, interpret and share business information and ideas; research and analyse case studies and contemporary examples of business management applicable to establishing a business; apply business management knowledge to practical and/or simulated business situations; evaluate the costs and benefits of decisions when establishing a business, and justify the strategy chosen; evaluate the costs and benefits of establishing a customer base, marketing a business and establishing positive public relations; propose, analyse and justify marketing and public relations strategies chosen for practical and/or simulated business situations; evaluate the costs and benefits of various strategies for staffing a business; propose and justify the staffing strategies chosen for practical and/or simulated business situations.
Assessment:
Prerequisites:
N/A
Recommendations:
N/A
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