The Cambridge IGCSE Business Studies syllabus was created especially for international students, using international business examples and case studies, rather than focusing mostly on British examples and firms. The Cambridge IGCSE Business Studies course is comparable to a standard GCSE in the UK and is accepted as equivalent to UK GCSEs by leading universities worldwide.  Upon successful completion of the IGCSE Business Studies course, students will have a good foundation to study either Economics or Business Management, or both, at IB level.

Aims and learning outcomes

The Business Studies course is designed to encourage students to:

• Apply their knowledge and critical understanding to current issues and problems in a wide range of business contexts.
• Distinguish between facts and opinions, and evaluate qualitative and quantitative data in order to help build arguments and make informed judgements.
• Develop knowledge and understanding of the major groups and organisations within and outside business, and consider ways in which they are able to influence objectives, decisions and activities.
• Develop knowledge and understanding of how the main types of businesses are organised, financed and operated, and how their relations with other organisations, consumers, employees, owners and society are regulated.
• Develop skills of numeracy, literacy, enquiry, selection and use of relevant sources of information, presentation and interpretation.

Syllabus summary

Unit 1: Understanding business activity

Unit 1 focuses on the purpose and nature of business activity and how businesses can be classified. There is emphasis placed on enterprise and entrepreneurs, and why some businesses grow while others remain small.

Unit 2: People in business

Unit 2 focuses on the area of human resources and includes the importance and methods of motivating a workforce. Students will investigate how businesses are organised and managed, and will learn about the methods of recruitment, selection and training of employees.

Unit 3: Marketing

Unit 3 focuses on the role of marketing, the distinctions between niche and mass markets and the techniques of market segmentation. The methods and importance of market research, and the central role of the marketing mix, (the four Ps), is made clear.

Unit 4: Operations management

Unit 4 focuses on production and includes the meaning and methods of production and how productivity can be increased. The different costs of production and break-even analysis are analysed, as well as the importance of quality and the methods used to achieve it.

Unit 5: Financial information & decisions

Unit 5 covers the need for, and sources of business finance, cash-flow forecasting and working capital. Simple income statements are covered as well as statements of financial position and the analysis of accounts.

Unit 6: External influences on business activity

Unit 6 covers the different external influences on business activity and how these impact on a business. It includes government influences on economic, environmental and ethical issues and how they impact on the functional areas of businesses. In addition, the international economy including globalisation and its effects on businesses and governments, multinational businesses and exchange rates are important issues in unit 6.

Assessment overview

The external assessment for this course is in the form of two equally weighted written papers. The first paper consists of 4 questions and is a short answer and data response paper, the second paper is 4 questions based around a case study which will require analysis of information in a variety of forms.

The Student Perspective

"When I was first choosing my subjects for IGCSE I was unsure on whether I should pick Business as a subject. Everyone was telling me that it would be a difficult subject with lots of content to memorise. However, when I started my IGCSE course I realised that I have made a good choice when choosing this particular subject as it helped me expand my knowledge in many different ways and learn how to develop my ideas on different things ranging from creating an eye catching marketing plan to how to start a business and expand it. Business also gives you a good example and understanding of the basic and logical economic principles, which helped put a lot of things in perspective for me when it came to real life news and political situations that were being discussed.

This subject is easy to get the hang of and has helped me learn how to communicate with others as this is one of the key skills of any entrepreneur. We also talk about the different methods of persuasion and discuss this through human psychology and so there is so much more to the Business lesson than just talking about business! I also learned how to manage my time and have realistic time schedules, which helped me manage my school work alongside my personal life. Business IGCSE is an extremely useful, fun and eye-opening subject that will improve so many of your skills. I think that this subject has taught me how important it is to speak confidently and how to communicate with different mindsets as well as time management, it also taught me how to approach different things in a variety of ways. Personally recommend this subject to anyone who is taking IGCSE in the upcoming years because it will push you in the right direction in school, and life in general."

Year 11 Student