Our A level Business online course will not only provide you with high-quality course materials, it will also help you to become a mover and shaker in the world of business. It’s the perfect course for you if you:

• Are keen to take your career further, and are keen to develop your knowledge on how business works.
• Are interested in setting up your own business.
• Want to explore a wide variety of applications and industries.
• Are keen to prove to future employers you possess sound reasoning and leadership skills, an analytical approach and can be innovative and agile in a range of contexts.

Future opportunities

• Studying business at degree or higher level.
• Strengthen your position to pursue a career in a wide range of professions including management, marketing, finance, accounting, banking, retailing, manufacturing and local government.

Section 1: What is business?

• The nature and purpose of business
• Different business forms
• The external environment

Section 2: Management

• Management, leadership and decision-making
• Management decision-making
• Role and importance of stakeholders

Section 3: Marketing performance

• Setting marketing objectives
• Understanding markets and customers
• Making marketing decisions
• Using the marketing mix
• Influences on the marketing mix

Section 4: Operational performance

• Setting operational objectives
• Analysing operational performance
• Increasing efficiency and productivity
• Improving quality
• Managing inventory and supply chains

Section 5: Setting financial objectives

• Setting financial objectives
• Analysing financial performance
• Making financial decisions

Section 6: Human resource performance

• Setting human resource objectives
• Analysing HR performance
• Organisational design
• Improving motivation and engagement
• Improving employer-employee relations

Section 7: The business environment

• Mission, corporate objectives and strategy
• Assessing financial performance
• Assessing business performance
• Political and legal issues
• Economic change
• Social and technological issues
• Competition
• Investment appraisal

Section 8: Choosing strategic direction

• Strategic direction
• Choosing how to compete

Section 9: Strategic change

• A change in scale
• Innovation
• Internationalisation
• Digital technology

Section 10: Managing strategic change

• Managing change
• Managing organisational culture
• Managing strategic implementation
• Strategic problems

Study A level Business with us and benefit from:

• Flexible learning
• Support from your tutor
• Any time enrolment
• Our exam booking service
• Assignments with tutor feedback
• Ongoing support from Student Support
• Forums to discuss your course with other students

learn@nec

Choose when and where you access your course, using learn@nec our 24/7 learning platform.

This easy-to-use learning platform includes interactive checkpoints, quizzes and activities to help you evaluate your progress.

You’ll have access to support from a personal tutor. All NEC tutors are subject experts, with experience of supporting online learners.

Meet Linda who is just one of our first-class business tutors:

“I am passionate about business, both from an academic and practical point of view. I have been since I was the MD of a Young Enterprise company when I was 17. Since then I have had many jobs in industry, have helped many charities, and more recently taught the subject. I have been in the classroom for over 10 years, but also continue to support many small and new businesses to prosper. I believe that detailed feedback and encouragement to improve in small steps is the way to achieve educational potential which is the appeal of 1:1 online tutoring. My qualifications include a BSc in Business Studies, MA in Organisational Behaviour, PCE (Post Graduate Certificate in Education) and the graduate diplomas from several professional bodies, including the Institute of Marketing.”

Exam board

• AQA 7132

Format

• Online learning with support from a personal tutor

Hours

• Complete at your own pace
• Approx. 250-300* hours plus time for completing assignments

*The specification suggests that 300 hours is needed. You’ll also need time to complete assignments and prepare yourself for exams and some courses like English literature involve a lot of reading. Everyone is different so it’s impossible to say with certainty how long a course will take you, but you should expect to spend longer than 300 hours. Taken across the length of time we recommend, this equates to approximately 5 hours per week. This will increase if you choose to take it over a shorter time frame or may be less if you are retaking a subject and have covered a lot of of the course content.

Assignments

• 11 assignments (one introductory) – these do not contribute towards your final grade

Resources

Set textbooks – included as a free ebook with your course:

• AQA A level Business for AS, I Marcousé, A Hammond and N Watson, Hodder Education, 2015
• AQA A level Business for A level, I Marcousé, A Hammond and N Watson, Hodder Education, 2015

Requirements

• Maths Skills for A level Business Studies, D Mansell, Oxford University Press, 2014
• Internet access
• Computer operating system and browser to support learn@nec

Our course fees are clear and transparent to help you plan for any additional costs.

Your course fee includes:

• 24/7 access to learn@nec platform and resources
• Expertly designed online course materials (including ebook versions of textbooks where specified) that you need to complete the course
• Support from our Student Services team
• Structured assignments carefully designed to prepare you for exams
• Guidance from your tutor for up to 24 months from your date of enrolment
• Extensive feedback to all assignments that will support your learning
• NEA (coursework) marking and authentication
• Marking for one examination paper (from a previous year)
• Guaranteed exam place
• NEC’s guide to study skills: How to Succeed as an Independent Learner
• Spelling, punctuation and grammar guide
• Time planner template to help you plan your study timetable
• Information on how to apply for exams

Your course fee does not cover:

• Any fees in relation to exam entries or assessments
• Centre Assessment Grades (CAG) in the event of exam cancellation
• Recommended textbooks for additional reading or set texts

If you need more support, you can purchase:

• Online tutorials – if you need help with a specific topic you can arrange a 30 minute or 1 hour tutorial
• Additional past paper marking – to help with your exam preparation
• Revision tutorial –  to plan your revision and explore revision techniques
• Help with your UCAS application service

For further information on additional/optional support you can purchase, please visit our additional services page.

Exams (three):

• 33.3% of marks  (2 hours)
• 33.3% of marks  (2 hours)
• 33.3% of marks  (2 hours)

There is no non-exam assessment (NEA) for this course

We know that our younger students often need an extra helping hand with their studies. In our experience learning online works best when either a parent or guardian are involved. This is why NEC has developed our unique Progress Tracker to help you to support your child.

NEC’s Progress Tracker will allow you to easily track your child’s progress across their subjects and gain insight to how well they are doing through access to their assignment grades and tutor feedback.  

Read more about how we work with young students who are studying at home or through a school.

Would you like to talk to our Course Advice Team about the best route for you? Visit our Contact Us page, fill in the form and a member of the team will get back to you!