Business Studies & Economics
Courses
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May 4, 2008 - 6:44:20 AM

A-Level Business Studies

The A-Level course offers an exciting opportunity for students to really engage with the dynamic world of business. The AS Level involves a detailed study of small and medium sized businesses, initially focusing on start up businesses. In the Upper Sixth year students look at the world of big business focusing on firms such as Apple, BP, Tesco etc.

The completion of an AQA in A-Level Business Studies requires the study of the following four compulsory units:

AS

Unit 1: Planning and Financing a Business

Unit 2: Managing a Business

AS Textbook

http://www.hoddereducation.co.uk/Title/9780340959350/AQA_AS_Business_Studies_Second_Edition.htm

A2

Unit 3: Strategies for Success

Unit 4: The Business Environment and Change

A2 Textbook

http://www.hoddereducation.co.uk/Title/9780340959343/AQA_A2_Business_Studies_textbook_Second_Edition.htm

IB Economics (Higher and Standard)

The IB in Economics provides a fantastic grounding in the discipline and plenty of opportunity for analysis of real world events.

For both Higher and Standard economics the course is divided, broadly, into four main areas:

1. Microeconomics

2. Macroeconomics

3. International Economics

4. Development Economics

Higher Level candidates undertake more in-depth study of the sections, and hence a greater range of economic theory, compared to Standard Level candidates.

Both Higher and Standard courses require candidates to complete an Internal Assessment Portfolio (in short analysing four economic articles).

The two core texts are as follows, the later in fact written by Mr Mace:

· http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199151240.do?keyword=IB+economics+course+companion&sortby=bestMatches

· http://www.anforme.co.uk/acatalog/ECONOMICS_FOR_STANDARD_AND_HIGHER_LEVEL_-_FOR_USE_WITH_IB_DIPLOMA_PROGRAMME.html

GCSE in Business Studies and Economics

Students follow the Edexcel syllabus and obtain a GCSE in Business Studies and Economics. The three compulsory units that they study are:

1. Introduction to Small Business

2. Investigating a Business (controlled assessment element)

3. Introduction to Economic Understanding

The combined Business Studies and Economics qualification provides excellent grounding to study either discipline in the sixth form.

The two main texts:

· http://www.hoddereducation.co.uk/Title/9780340983461/Edexcel_Business_for_GCSE_Introduction_to_Small_Business_2nd_Edition.htm

· http://www.hoddereducation.co.uk/Title/9781444107937/Edexcel_Business_for_GCSE_Introduction_to_Economic_Understanding.htm

Beyond the Syllabus

The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts.

C.S.Lewis

Wherever possible the department looks to offer opportunities beyond the confines of the syllabus.

Politics Club

Politics club is open to any students from Y11-Y13 and runs on a Monday afternoon during activities time. The main politic, economic and social events from the past week’s news are discussed and analysed. Pupils choose the topics of discussion from a range of newspapers. Looking ahead it is hoped that over the course of the following academic year (2010-11) some of these discussions will be formalised through the publication of a twice monthly department bulletin. These activity runs 4pm- 5pm on Monday in SF1 with Mr Mace.

Model United Nations (MUN)

MUN is a internationally run program that gives students the opportunity to “research a country, take on roles as diplomats, investigate international issues, debate, deliberate, consult, and then develop solutions to world problems”. This is an annual event and each year the department sends a team of four pupils to represent the school and their allocated country (last academic year the team represented Kuwait at Kingswood School, Bath). Much of the groundwork is done before the event with the chosen pupils becoming specialists in policy areas relating to the country e.g. Middle Eastern politics, the oil industry of Kuwait. The selection process of pupils for the team and subsequent research begins in early January, the competition taking place in early March.

Young Economist of the Year

The Young Economist of the Year competition is run by the Royal Economic Society (RES) in conjunction with Tutor2u ( http://www.tutor2u.net/ ).

Students have to submit an essay of no more than 2000 words in response to one of the titles given by the RES each year. To get a flavour of the competition here are last year’s essay titles:

1. What are the best economic policies to curb alcohol consumption?
2. The pursuit of lower income inequality is irrational and counterproductive. Discuss.
3. Foreign aid hinders development. Discuss.
4. Would the world economy function better with a single global currency?
5. How do we prevent house price bubbles in the future?

All L6th IB Economics students submit an essay into the competition. They find this is a thoroughly rewarding process as it allows them to research a topic away from the confines of the syllabus. Students applying to read Economics at university find this essay can have a more than constructive role in their application.

As well as the opportunities listed above students wherever possible should seek to undertaken independent learning, a good starting is often found by playing close attention to current affairs. A list of possible but by no means exhaustive extension material can be found below:

Web Based Resources

· Websites

Tutor2u

http://www.tutor2u.net/

BBC Business

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business/

Sky Business

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Business

Robert Peston’s Business Blog

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/robertpeston/

Stephanomics

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/stephanieflanders/

· Podcasts

Peter Day’s World of Business

http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/worldbiz

Best of Today

http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/today

World Business News

http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/wbnews

The Bottom Line

http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/bottomline

· TED talks

Paradox of Choice

. http://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_on_the_paradox_of_choice.html

Solving Social Problems with a Nudge

http://www.ted.com/talks/sendhil_mullainathan.html

Levitt on Crack Economics

http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_levitt_analyzes_crack_economics.html

Economics of Terrorism

http://www.ted.com/talks/loretta_napoleoni_the_intricate_economics_of_terrorism.html

Aid vs Trade

http://www.ted.com/talks/ngozi_okonjo_iweala_on_aid_versus_trade.html

Economics Extension and Enrichment Reading List (Books)

1. Animal Spirits (Akerlof and Shiller) ISBN: 978-0-691-14233-3
2. Art of Strategy (Dixit and Nalebuff) ISBN: 978-0-393-06243-4
3. Crisis Economics (Nouriel Roubini) ISBN: 978-1-846-14287-1
4. Development as Freedom: (Amartya Sen): ISBN: 0192893300
5. Drunkard’s Walk (Leonard Mlodinow) ISBN: 0713999225
6. Fifty economics ideas (Edmund Conway) ISBN: 978-1-84866-010-6
7. How Markets Fail: The Logic of Economic Calamities (John Cassidy) ISBN: 1846143004
8. How the economy works (Roger Farmer) ISBN: 978-019-539791-8
9. How we Decide: (Jonah Lehrer) ISBN 978-0-618-62011-1
10. Keynes – the Return of the Master (Skidelsky) ISBN: 184614258X
11. Losing Control (Stephen D King) ISBN: 0300154321
12. Meltdown – the end of the age of greed (Paul Mason) ISBN: 1844673960
13. New Ideas from Dead Economists (Todd Buchholz) ISBN: 0452288444
14. Obliquity: Why our goals are best achieved indirectly (John Kay) ISBN: 1846682894
15. Origins of Virtue (Matt Ridley) ISBN: 0140244042
16. Predictably Irrational: Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions (Dan Ariely) ISBN: 0007256523
17. Prophet of Innovation: Joseph Schumpeter & Creative Destruction (TK McCraw) ISBN: 0674025237
18. Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008 (Krugman) ISBN: 1846142393
19. The Ascent of Money (Niall Ferguson) ISBN: 014103548X
20. The Big Questions: Tackling the Problems of Philosophy with Ideas from Mathematics, Economics and Physics (Stephen Landsburg) ISBN: 143914821X
21. The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine (Michael Lewis) ISBN: 1846142571
22. The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries Are Failing (Paul Collier): ISBN: 0195374630
23. The Plundered Planet: How to Reconcile Prosperity with Nature (Paul Collier) ISBN: 1846142237
24. The upside of irrationality (Dan Ariely) ISBN: 978-0-00-735476-4
25. Whoops!: Why Everyone Owes Everyone and No One Can Pay (John Lanchester) ISBN: 1846142857
26. Worldly Philosophers (Robert Heilbroner) ISBN: 0140290060

Economics Extension and Enrichment Reading List (Articles)

How bad biology killed economy

http://www.thersa.org/fellowship/journal/archive/winter-2009/features/how-bad-biology-killed-the-economy

The Great British Economy Disaster

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v32/n05/john-lanchester/the-great-british-economy-disaster

Keynes Recovered

http://bostonreview.net/BR35.3/kirshner.php

Bossonomics

http://www.nber.org/reporter/2008number4/bloom.html