Introduction to Business Studies - Lesson Plan: 1 x 1 hour lesson

A series of 'off the shelf' lesson plans and resources for use in the classroom. This lesson deals with Introduction to Business and is relevant to the following specifications:

• Edexcel: Unit 1
• OCR: Module 2871

Aim:

This lesson aims to provide students with background information to the main purpose and functions of a business.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of the lesson, students should understand the following:

• What a business does
• The business process - inputs through to outputs
• How profit is made

Resources:

• PowerPoint Presentation - Introduction to Business Studies [159 KB] and PowerPoint Presentation - What Businesses Do [54 KB]
• Mind Map - Introduction to Business Studies
• Activity - Introduction to Business Studies
• Projector/PC

Lesson Structure:

1. Ask students to write down what they think a business does. Get a couple of students to read out their ideas - a brief discussion can be held. (10 minutes)
2. Go through the PowerPoint Presentation - Introduction to Business Studies - and explain the six main areas of study for the course. (10 minutes)
3. Introduce the idea of the business process - inputs, processing, outputs - using the PowerPoint Presentation - What Businesses Do. Introduce concepts such as factors of production, costs, revenue and profit. The notion of cash flow can also be introduced using the Presentation. (10 minutes)
4. EITHER, use a relevant news article to reinforce the points - discuss the issues the article raises, OR, use the Activity to get students to think about the main functions and activities of a business - how the basic model could differ. (15 minutes)
   Points to consider:
   • Relevance of the model to service industries as opposed to goods industries
   • Impact of technology and the information society on traditional business models
   • The importance of the cash flow element
   • How profits could be affected, i.e. through changes in input prices and output prices
5. Plenary - review the learning objectives of the lesson - short question and answer session. (5 Minutes)