The forms of business organisation is exceptionally important in both IGCSE and AS Level Business Studies. Many questions – especially longer ones – have at least something to do with a form of business organisation. You need to know these forms of organisation very well so that if it forms the basis of a question, you are immediately aware of what applies to that particular business.

I know that it can seem very confusing (even a bit boring!) to work through at first, so I have put together some notes below to guide you through this topic.

Each of the forms of business organisation has its own advantages and disadvantages. These are the reasons either in favour of or against the decision to choose one form of ownership over another. Let’s start with the sole trader’s advantages.

As I mentioned already, there are few legal requirements for the sole trader to abide by when he or she sets up the business. This saves time and money.

The sole trader has both complete control and freedom over the business and the path it takes. The entrepreneur does not have to get the permission of anyone else if he or she wants to purchase new office equipment or open a new branch, for example. The sole trader can also decide his or her own working hours as well.

The sole trader also has the advantage of keeping in contact with his customers and employees. In this way, he or she can establish relationships which could be vital for the long-term success of the business. Sometimes it’s just that personal touch that helps with customer and employee loyalty. This also means that the owner has a better idea of what it is that customers expect from the business, and so the entrepreneur can respond in good time.

The sole trader receives all the profit from the business. This is the amount after tax and expenses have been paid. As a result, the owner is motivated by the profit motive, and will work hard to earn as much profit as possible, especially since the entrepreneur does not have to share it.

The sole trader has a great deal of secrecy over the finances and information about his or her enterprise. Finance information must be provided only to the tax organisation, such as SARS in South Africa.

There are also disadvantages to the sole trader form of organisation. The entrepreneur needs to carefully consider these as well.

Since the business is owned by just one individual, the sole trader has limited input or advice from other business partners. He or she must make all the decisions alone.

A sole trader has unlimited liability. This is the opposite of limited liability and therefore means that the sole trader alone is responsible for any business debt. For example, if the sole trader bought goods on credit from a supplier and does not pay the supplier back in time, the sole trader’s personal assets – like his bank account – can be used to pay the debt. This effectively makes the sole trader his business, and the business is the sole trader.

A sole trader has limited access to finance. Other than his or her own personal finance and savings, the sole trader can only apply for small bank loans. There are no other partners or investors the sole trader can approach for finance, unless he or she changes the form of business organisation. This makes expansion very difficult for a sole trader.

Since the business is small and access to finance is limited, a sole trader lacks expertise. For example, it is unlikely that a sole trader can afford a specialist accountant or marketing assistant for his or her business.

 A sole trader is thus also likely to remain small. The entrepreneur most probably cannot afford to hire many employees or invest very much in the business to expand it.

Because the owner of a sole trading firm is the actually business, he or she can’t pass down the business to anyone else. Thus when the entrepreneur dies, so does the business. This means that there is no continuity.

The next form of business organisation is the partnership. This is where two or more individuals agree to own and operate a business together.

In setting up and running the business, the partners all contribute to financing the firm.

The partners share decision-making and management. Unlike the sole trader form of organisation, a partnership allows for two or more individuals to run the business.

Since the business is owned by two or more people, the profits that are made by the business must be shared. At the same time, any losses that the firm makes are also shared by the partners.

A partnership is generally established by a written agreement, although a verbal one can sometimes be used alone. However, it is definitely recommended that a proper agreement, called a deed of partnership, is drawn up and signed by the partners. This outlines who is responsible for what as well as any other details about the partnership. This is also important because it helps to prevent any disagreements in the future.

Now on to the pros and cons of a partnership. Just like all the other forms of business organisation, the entrepreneurs need to consider each of these before adopting a form of organisation.

Taking on partners in a business allows for more capital. Originally, the sole trader had only his or her finance for the business, but with a partnership, there are more investors in the firm. This could lead to expansion.

Also, by taking on additional partners in the business, responsibilities can be shared. This should also be something that is stipulated in the partnership agreement, for example, stating who is responsible for marketing and who manages operations. A partnership thus allows for new expertise and skills to be used in the firm.

Also different from the sole trader, the partnership business means that profits and losses incurred by the business are shared. As a result, partners are still encouraged by the possibility of profit for themselves. They are also still concerned about losses, but not as much as a sole trader would be since the partners must share losses.

On to the disadvantages of the partnership:

First of all, there is still the important issue of unlimited liability. Should the business fail and not be able to pay its debts, the partners are held liable for the business’s debts. Their own finances can be used to pay for the debts of the business. A partnership – like a sole trader – lacks continuity. If one partner passes away, the business ends. There is no separate legal identity for the business.

In a partnership, normally all partners must be consulted before decisions are taken.  This can be time-consuming and possibly bad for business, especially where a decision needs to be taken fairly quickly.

One of the most important things anyone considering a partnership needs to be aware of is the type of partners to go into business with. Inefficient, poor performing or dishonest partners can lead to expensive mistakes or even to the end of a business.

Finally, a partnership can only grow a business to a certain extent. Although a partnership can usually expand further than a sole trader, countries normally limit the number of partners that a business of this organisation can have. At the same time, investment is limited to the number of partners involved.

Let’s quickly re-cap the sole trader and partnership forms of business organisation. Both of these forms of organisation are what is referred to as unincorporated businesses

This means that they have no separate legal identity  as well as unlimited liability, a lack of continuity, and the owners are in effect the actual business. The business does not stand alone separately; it is defined by its owners.

Now let’s move on to the incorporated forms of business organisation. As we will see, these differ quite a bit from the sole trader and partnership, especially since they offer limited liability and a separate legal identity.

The first incorporated form of business organisation is the private limited company. The owners of this type of business are those who own shares in the business.

Owners of private limited companies are therefore called shareholders. A share is a piece of ownership, it represents a portion of the ownership of the business. Unlike a partnership or a sole trader, a company’s ownership is divided and each owner, or shareholder, has a portion of ownership equal to the number of shares purchased.

Since ownership is divided, a board of directors is needed to manage the business. In the case of a private limited company, the board of directors are normally the majority shareholders and the original owners of the business.

Finally, a private limited company is a separate legal unit. Although it is owned by shareholders, it has its own identity and can therefore legal actions can be taken in the name of the company. For instance, the company has its own accounts and finance matters that are kept separate from the owners’ financial details.

Now that we know some details about the private limited company form of business organisation, let’s take a look at its benefits and disadvantages.

A company’s ownership is divided into shares. These shares may not be advertised but only sold to friends and family of the original business owners.  This does however mean that more capital is available from the sale of shares. Parts of the business have been sold, and so the finance earned from the shares could be used to expand and grow the business.

Perhaps the most attractive feature of a private limited company is that it offers limited liability for its owners. Liability is limited only to the shareholders’ original investment in the business. In other words, the only thing a shareholder stands to lose in the company is what he or she paid for the business. If the business fails or does not pay those who loaned it money, like a bank, the shareholders are not liable to pay those outstanding debts. This makes the business a much better prospect for shareholders, and could increase investment in the company.

Let’s say that the business was previously a partnership. If it converts to the private limited company form of organisation, the owners sell shares of the business. If the original owners don’t sell too many shares and remain the majority shareholders, they are able to keep control of the business and guide it on the path they would like to choose for the firm.

Finally, since the company has a separate legal identity and is an incorporated business, it has continuity. If shareholders pass away, the business remains. The new shareholders are those who have inherited shares.

Even though the private limited company is an excellent option for those wanting to keep control of their business but encourage investment in the firm, there are some disadvantages to consider.

A private limited company must comply with a number of legal requirements. Certain documents and forms have to be submitted to government authorities, which can be time consuming and add to the costs of the business, especially if a legal advisor is needed to advise the owners during the process.

Although it might be easy to purchase shares of the company, it can be difficult to sell them. This is because the other shareholders have to agree to the sale of another shareholder’s shares. This could make some potential shareholders uneasy about purchasing shares in the first place.

There is less secrecy over the company’s financial matters. The business’s accounts must be submitted to the relevant authorities, and they are also available for the public to see.

Lastly, although this form of organisation encourages investment and business growth, it is still limited by the fact that the company cannot advertise its shares or be listed on a stock exchange. Growth is therefore possible only to a certain extent.

The second type of incorporated form of business ownership is the public limited company, also sometimes known as a plc.

These are normally the larger, more well-known businesses. For example, major retailers, mining organisations and insurance companies. They tend to operate on a national or even a global scale.

Public limited companies have the same characteristics as a private limited company except with one major exception  They are able to sell shares to the general public on the stock exchange. When a company converts to this form of business organisation, a document called a prospectus is issued to the public to inform them about the business becoming a plc and that its shares are for sale on a stock market, such as the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (the JSE)

As I mentioned, this form of organisation can be known as a plc or a limited business.

There is a common mistake that many Business Studies students make about public limited companies.  Some think that because the word ‘public’ appears in the public limited company form of business organisation, the business must be owned by government and operates in the public sector.  This is incorrect, and the opposite is true in fact.  A plc operates in the private sector   and is owned by private individuals and groups

Let’s take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of the public limited company form of organisation.

Like the private limited company, a plc also offers limited liability. Shareholders stand to lose only what they paid for their shares.

As an incorporated business, the plc offers continuity  meaning that the business has a separate legal identity.

More so than the private limited company, the public limited company can achieve the most amount of capital to be invested in the company.  There is no limit to the number of shareholders. Shares are sold on the stock exchange  to all.

A specific advantage over the private limited company is that a plc offers shareholders flexibility  to buy, sell or transfer their shares with ease. They don’t need the permission of other shareholders to do so.

Because of the large size of a plc and the amount of capital invested in the business, the company has greater status. It can thus attract investors and banks to finance growth and expansion.

A disadvantage of the plc is that it must meet legal requirements, which   are time consuming and can be expensive .

The plc must make all its information available to shareholders.  The plc has to meet the most requirements of all the forms of business organisation.

With the vast amount of shares that could be sold and the great number of shareholders, there is the risk of uncontrolled growth  which leads to management issues. With the business growing so fast, managers might struggle to keep up with the increased ownership and finances involved in the business.

One of the major expenses associated with the conversion to plc status is to be listed on the stock exchange.

Finally, with the great number of shares issued, there is the possibility that the original owners of the business could lose control of the firm if they are no longer majority shareholders. This is an important topic that we will go over in more detail up next.

There is a very important issue that often arises when a business decides to convert to the public limited company form of organisation, and this is called the ‘divorce’ between ownership and control.

Something that sole traders, partnerships and private limited companies have in common is that the owners of the business remain in control of the firm. They are the majority shareholders in the case of private limited companies, and so they are able to manage the business in a way that meets their goals and aims. In other words, ownership and control remain the same under one individual or one group of individuals. Those who own the business also control the business.

Now when a business converts to plc status, we say that it has ‘gone public’. It has offered its shares for sale on the stock exchange to potentially thousands of individuals. As a result, ownership changes – it is greatly increased. With all the new owners involved, it is practically impossible for every single shareholder to be involved in running the business or even making decisions about its future.

For this reason, shareholders gather together once a year to elect a board of directors. This happens at the AGM, which stands for Annual General Meeting. The elected directors are responsible for running the business and take important managerial decisions. Basically, the elected directors run the business on behalf of its owners, the shareholders.

This is where the divorce between ownership and control comes in. The shareholders still own the company, but they have granted management of the business over to the elected board of directors. It’s no longer the same people who own and control the business.

This divorce can have some serious consequences. The shareholders might have very different objectives to the directors. For example   Shareholders might seek greater profit in order to increase the dividends they receive, but  the directors could be aiming to expand the business and thus reduce dividends for shareholders at least in the short-term.

Because of the potential disagreements on objectives and how the business is run, shareholders have the power to replace directors at the next AGM the following year.

Now that we’ve looked at the major forms of business organisation, there are some variations of these forms of organisation. For example joint ventures

This is a situation where two or more business agree to work on a project together.

In doing this, the businesses share capital, in other words, they invest in the project together. They also share the risks involved because if the project fails, not just one business suffers the losses but both do. Should the venture be a success, then the businesses will also share the profit.

Finally, it is very important to remember that a joint venture is not a merger or take over of one firm by another. The businesses agree to work on a project together, but ultimately they remain separate entities.

Just like the forms of organisation, the business considering a joint venture with another business must think about the advantages and disadvantages of working with a partner in a joint venture.

One advantage is that the firms share the costs. Often a project is too big for one business to undertake alone. For example, if a business in South Africa wants to make use of a business opportunity in Japan, the costs are reduced for the South African firm if it partners with a local Japanese business already operating in the area.

Another important advantage is that the South African business benefits from the Japanese firm’s knowledge of business and economic conditions in Japan. The Japanese business understands the culture and way of doing things in Asia, so the South African business does not have to worry about this.

In a joint venture, risks are shared. This makes a big project, especially a global one, more attractive for businesses. If the project does not succeed, at least two or more businesses are responsible and share the losses.

Next up is the business practice of franchising. Like joint ventures, franchising deals with businesses working together, however in this case, the relationship is closer between the two firms.

In a franchise, there are two parties involved – the franchisor and the franchisee. The franchisor is the original owner of a business and the franchisee is the one who purchases a franchise business.

A franchisor is a business that offers a product or service just like any other business, but the difference here is that  the franchisor sells via franchisees and  does not have direct contact with those who purchase the goods or services.

In a franchise agreement, the franchisee has permission to use the brand, logos and trading methods of the franchisor  in return for a license purchased from the franchisor.

To sum up a franchise, we could think of it as one central business with many different sub-businesses or outlets owned by different individuals.

When we consider the pros and cons of franchising, it is important to note they must be viewed from different perspectives. On the one hand, what is an advantage for a franchisor might be a disadvantage for the franchisee, and vice versa for the franchisee.

Let’s take a look at what is good and bad for a franchisor, the person who sells licenses of his business to franchisees.

First of all, a franchisor receives income from selling licenses of his business to franchisees.

As a result of franchising out the business, a franchisor can expand the firm much more quickly than if he had to open all the outlets himself. Instead, the franchisees purchase licenses and can then open new branches of the business, thus doing the work of expansion.

At the same time, the franchisor is not responsible for the management of the outlets. The franchisor does have to fulfill some obligations that would be stipulated in the franchise agreement, but ultimately the day-to-day running of all the franchises is up to the franchisee.

Lastly, the franchisor sells products to the franchisees to then be sold to customers. This means that the franchisor has guaranteed customers, the franchisees.

There are two major disadvantages of franchising for the original franchisor.

Firstly, the franchisor runs the risk of having branches of his business poorly managed. This is because not all franchisees will necessarily run the branches efficiently or even ethically. Any poor performance or unethical activities from a branch could impact the entire business, since customers could now have a negative image and perception of the company as a whole.

Secondly, it is the franchisees who get to keep the profits made by their branch of the franchise. Sometimes franchisors will receive a portion of the profit, but this will depend on the type of signed franchise agreement.

Now on to the pros and cons for the franchisee. Remember, this is the individual that purchased a license from the franchisor to open a branch of the franchise.

For the franchisee, there is a greater chance of business success than if the franchisee decided to open a new business on his or her own altogether. This is because the franchise might already be widely known and respected, and could already have loyal customers. This saves time in marketing a new business.

Also, the franchisor provides the franchisee with marketing support to run and promote the business. Time is saved again, as well as other costs associated with marketing and advertising.

The franchisee benefits from the fact that he already has a guaranteed supplier of products. Yet again, time is saved because now the franchisee does not have to spend time trying to locate suitable suppliers. The work has been done already.

Franchisees generally have to make fewer decisions than if they were entirely separate, independent businesses. As a franchise, franchisees are able to use the tried and tested, proven methods of the franchise business.

The franchisor further relieves the franchisee of certain responsibilities, such as some human resources functions.

Lastly, banks are generally more willing to help franchisees than other first time businesses. Banks are likely to be aware of the franchise as a whole, and if the franchise has an excellent reputation, the banks could be more helpful in business loans, for example.

Franchisees also face disadvantages

An important consideration is that the franchisee has less independence in decision-making. Normally, all franchises have to comply with certain rules and regulations set up by the franchise agreement. This can give the original franchisor quite a bit of power in controlling the branches of the franchise.

Franchisees are therefore restrained by the franchise agreement. For example, if a franchisee finds another supplier who could offer certain materials at a cheaper rate than the franchisor, the franchisee might not be allowed to use the alternative supplier.

Lastly, the franchisee must of course pay the franchisor for the franchise license. The franchisee might also be required to pay a portion of the branch’s profits to the franchisor.

The last set of businesses we will consider now is public corporations. Remember, a public corporation not a public limited company. A public corporation operates  in the public sector, which  is owned and controlled by the state.

In other words,  public corporations are nationalised businesses that were purchased by the government. This is the opposite of privatisation, where a government sells a public corporation to private owners.

With public corporations, government chooses who will direct the business and be responsible for its overall management. In a sense, the government is the public corporation’s only shareholder.

As I mentioned, we must never confuse a public corporation for a public limited company.  An example of a public corporation is SAA. South African Airways operates in the public sector because it is owned and controlled by the state. This means that it is tax-payer funded.

Like other businesses, public corporations also have objectives to guide their activities, but the objectives normally differ quite a bit from the objectives of private sector businesses.

Public corporations often have social objectives. We can think of social objectives as being more charitable than profit-driven. In other words, they aim to uplift an economy instead of just providing owners with as much profit as possible.

The problem with social objectives is that they can sometimes be very costly. Bear in mind that public corporations are owned by the government and therefore funded by tax payers. If it becomes too expensive to keep running a publicly owned business with social objectives, government might decide to operate the firm as private owners would. This makes the business more profit oriented.

So what are some of the benefits of having government-owned, public corporations?

Firstly, there are certain industries that governments see as strategic for an economy. For example, the electricity supply is seen as vitally important because without a consistent supply of electricity, businesses and the economy as a whole will struggle.

It is also argued that certain industries should be monopolised by the government. In other words, the government alone should operate in an enterprise in a certain industry. This leads to more effective use and management of limited resources. When there is competition between firms, some resources can be wasted, but this is not the case with a government monopoly.

Also, some businesses are nationalised if it appears that a business is about to fail or go bankrupt. The government often does this in order to protect people employed by the business from losing their jobs, and also to protect customers from losing an important business in the market.

Public corporations can ensure the provision of important public services. For example, the water supply in a country is normally a nationalised enterprise, since the government can’t take any risks in leaving this up to the private sector to provide.

Public corporations are not always the best choice, however, and some have strong arguments against them.

Firstly, nationalised businesses may lack the profit motive since they are funded by the government. This could lead to inefficient business activity.

Related to this, is the suggestion that some public enterprises are become too reliant upon government subsidies. As we’ve already seen, these enterprises are funded by taxpayers. If the business does not perform well, there might be a sense of complacency, especially because managers of the public enterprise believe that the business will continue to be funded by the government in any case.

Often, public enterprises are very large and have access to much finance. This makes competition difficult, leading to reduced customer choice in a particular market.

Lastly, public corporations can become political tools used by government leaders. For example, public corporations might expand and offer new services just before election time. This could be done to promote those in political positions and boost their reputations.

These are two terms that have caused some trouble for students in the past, and it’s most probably because they are so closely related. How do we distinguish between them? What do they mean exactly, and when should you use them?

• Profit is what is left after subtracting total costs from total sales (revenue).                  Profit = Total Sales – Total Costs
• Profit maximisation is where the greatest positive difference between total revenue and total costs is achieved

Ultimately, profit is the return for the risk that business owners take for investing in the business. Remember opportunity cost? Business owners also had to deal with opportunity cost when they initially invested in the firm. Instead of starting up a business or purchasing shares in a company, the owners (or entrepreneurs) could have rather invested their finance elsewhere. They might have saved the money in an interest-bearing account, purchased shares in a different firm or started their own business.

Profit maximisation is a business objective. Just like survival, increasing market share and growth, profit maximisation is an objective that a business hopes to achieve, and makes certain decision in order to reach this outcome.

For most businesses, profit is seen as necessary for the long-term survival of the firm. The profit motive rewards the taking of risks and hard work; it gives business owners an ultimate outcome. For the sole trader, profit will always be in mind: it’s his or her “salary” earned from the business’s activity.

Profit maximisation is not always necessary or even vital for long-term success. Of course, in the competitive, globalised business world of today, ‘the bottom line’ is always of concern. But it’s not always the main aim or objective. In some cases and different contexts, the objective of survival is more important (such as during an economic recession where consumer spending is reduced). Alternatively, a business may value the objective of increasing market share more highly; gaining a greater proportion of the total market might be seen as an important step in attaining loyalty (profit maximisation could be sought thereafter).

QUESTION: In your own words, explain one situation where profit maximisation might not be the most important objective for a business. 

Here’s an interesting business and current affairs article: Dti responds to French Rooibos trademark matter | SA News.

I’m going to ask you just one fairly open question: What is your take on this trademark issue? Reflect on the article and how it relates to what you have learnt so far in Business Studies.

Now since we are considering the relationship between society and business, it’s important to realise that all business activity can be either a good thing or a bad thing for society. Often, a business can be both good and bad for society at the same time. Let’s first take a look at how business can impact society positively.

Firstly, businesses provide products for people in society. Without business, the production of many goods would not take place at all, meaning that each of us would have to somehow manufacture the products we need ourselves.

Secondly, businesses employ people. This leads to job creation and income for each employee. As a result of having an income, employees can provide for themselves and their families. This also reduces unemployment and poverty in a society.

If you remember the profit motive, you will also understand that business activity promotes new product innovation and inventions in markets. This moves society forward in its development.

Society also benefits from businesses that pay tax. The tax paid to government should then be used to finance public services, like transport and hospitals.

Finally, businesses that export help to bring in foreign currency to spend on imports. We’ll review imports and exports shortly. For now, let’s say that this is an advantage for society because it means that local businesses can sell to customers overseas.

Unfortunately, not all the activities that businesses undertake are positive for everyone in society. Business activity can have some harmful impacts.

For example, the location that a business decides to choose could be in an unspoilt, natural area where the environment needs to be preserved and protected. Some businesses could damage this kind of location, which has negative consequences for society.

Some businesses don’t offer very good working conditions for their employees. This might be to cut the costs of the business, even if it means that the employees must deal with difficult, even dangerous, working conditions.

The production methods of manufacturing businesses is an important consideration too. Factories, for example, might pollute the surrounding environment with dangerous chemicals.

Not only can production methods be dangerous and harmful to society, but so can the final product itself. For example, if there were absolutely no regulations about what may or may not be produced in a country, we might find that addictive, harmful drugs could be produced. A more realistic example, perhaps, is the production of cigarettes, which are unhealthy and can badly affect even non-smokers.

Monopolies might form in states were there isn’t very much government control of business. Business owners might have the idea that by operating together and forming a monopoly, they can earn greater profit. However, this reduces customer choice and because there is no competition, prices are higher than they could be.

Some businesses use very persuasive advertising to encourage customers to purchase their goods or services. This can even be misleading advertising, ultimately causing customers to buy something that they normally would not purchase. As a result, resources are wasted.

Now that we know the possibilities for businesses to both positively and negatively impact a society, such as South Africa, we can now move on to view things from the government’s perspective. Before we look specifically at what government does to encourage the advantages of businesses and discourage the negative things about business, we first need to review the economic objectives it has. Think of these as the goals of government for the economy; in other words, what it wants to achieve.

The first common objective is to keep inflation at a low level. But what is inflation? Inflation is the increase in the average price level of goods and services over time. The cost of groceries for a family, say, 10 years ago was a lot less than it is now – that’s because of inflation. Prices have risen.

Inflation isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but rapid inflation is definitely something government wants to prevent, and here’s why:

If prices rise very quickly, There is a decline in employees’ real income – wages cannot buy as many goods as they could before. By real income, we mean the value of the products that can be purchased. Now if inflation rises faster than wages, then real income will have declined – for instance, if prices rise by 10 percent but salaries increase by just 5 percent, then real income will decline by 5 percent.

The economy becomes less competitive against other economies. Foreign goods may be more affordable, leading to unemployment and a weaker currency. Since prices rise so quickly, customers might find that products overseas are more affordable.

Finally, because prices rise so quickly, businesses can’t plan effectively for the future and will most probably not be able to expand. They might actually become smaller, meaning that some employees could no longer have their jobs. This has another effect on the employees: they will have reduced incomes and therefore lower living standards.

Government also aims to keep unemployment levels as low as possible. the level of unemployment is the number of people who are willing and able to work, but are unable to find employment. If unemployment levels are high, many people will be without work and therefore without income – this has serious consequences for an economy.

Firstly, there is a loss of overall productivity in the economy. Since so many people do not have jobs, their time and skills are not being used to produce goods or provide services. In other words, they are idle. This means the economy performs below its ability and does not reach its full potential.

Also, unemployment is costly for the government and the economy as a whole. Some states help the unemployed by providing them with grants to help them survive. The problem is that those grants could have been used for other public services if unemployment wasn’t a major problem. Basically, the economy operates more in survival mode instead of thriving.

 

The third objective governments normally have for the economy is to encourage a high rate of economic growth. What exactly is economic growth? When we talk of economic growth, we are actually referring to something called GDP – gross domestic product. This is the total value of the output of goods and services in an economy in one year. An economy therefore grows when the value of goods and services increases in one year.

However, there are times when economies do not grow – in fact, they can sometimes have an output that is of lower value than the previous year and even fall into recession. This affects an economy in three main ways

Firstly, reduced output of goods and services leads to higher levels of unemployment. Fewer workers are required since less is produced.

As a consequence of the first effect, there is a decline in the standard of living; goods and services are no longer affordable since people are without work or having lower wages.

A further effect is that businesses do not have much incentive to expand because the market for their products have not grown.

One way of analysing how an economy has grown or declined over a period of time is by the business cycle, also known as the trade cycle.

During the growth or expansion stage, the GDP is rising. This is the stage at which output increases and businesses generally perform well. They employ more workers and so living standards often rise.

When the economy grows to its greatest point, a peak or economic boom is reached. This is a result of excessive spending in the economy, causing prices to rise very quickly. As a result of such rapid growth, skilled workers become scarce and businesses experience a rise in costs. The economy has grown too quickly and battles to operate at such a level.

This can bring about a recession – the GDP declines. At this stage, businesses have a decline in the demand for their products and become less profitable. Unemployment could also be a problem here.

Finally, there can be a slump trough or slump. This is a severe recession where unemployment soars and prices fall greatly due to such low demand. It’s often the case that only the businesses that can afford to make losses will survive this period.

The last government objective we will consider is the balance of payments. This is the difference between an economy’s exports and imports.

 Exports are products sold to other countries; they are taken out of the country. For example, South Africa is a major exporter of diamonds and gold to other parts of the world.

Imports are products purchased from other countries; they are bought into the country. An example of imports are the electronic products South Africa imports from countries like China and Japan.

To understand the balance of payments further, let’s think about trade between South Africa, which uses the Rand as its currency, and America, which uses the U.S. Dollar.

Exporting products from South Africa to the U.S. leads to Dollars flowing into South Africa – we then have more dollars in reserve with which to purchase products from overseas.

When importing products into South Africa from the U.S., South Africa loses Dollars in our supply.

As a result, governments aim to balance exports and imports so that there is no shortage of foreign currency.

When an economy does imports more than it exports, there is a deficit in the balance of payments. Basically, the country buys in more products than it sells to other countries. There is great demand for overseas products, but we supply very few to other countries.

One problem that can arise as a result of this is that South Africa might experience a shortage of foreign currencies. This makes importing products difficult, as we will have to borrow currencies from overseas.

The second serious issue is an exchange rate depreciation. A depreciation means that the Rand becomes weak in relation to other currencies. Each Rand purchases less imports than before. We will also take a closer look at currencies and exchange rates at a later stage.

When an economy imports more than it exports, there is a deficit in the balance of payments. Basically, the country buys in more products than it sells to other countries. There is great demand for overseas products, but we supply very few to other countries.

One problem that can arise as a result of this is that South Africa might experience a shortage of foreign currencies. This makes importing products difficult, as we will have to borrow currencies from overseas.

The second serious issue is an exchange rate depreciation. A depreciation means that the Rand becomes weak in relation to other currencies. Each Rand purchases less imports than before. We will also take a closer look at currencies and exchange rates at a later stage.

Now that we have learnt about the objectives government normally has for the economy, we can also review some of the policies used to reach those goals. Think of the objectives as the ‘where’ we want to be, and the policies as the ‘how’ we get there. The policies are like a map that helps us to reach the final destination, our objectives.

The first set of policies that government uses to reach its objectives are fiscal policies. Fiscal policy deals with government changes in taxes and spending on the public sector.

Income tax is probably the most common tax that governments use to raise revenue. Essentially, it is a tax on the income that individual employees earn. The amount or percentage that an employee is taxed depends on how much he or she earns; many governments use what is called a progressive income tax, meaning that the more you earn, the greater the percentage of your salary is taxed.

A tax on businesses is called profits or corporation tax, and normally applies to the profits of companies. An increase in this type of tax could impact business in two ways.

The third type of tax is indirect tax. In South Africa and other countries, this normally takes the form of Value Added Tax (or VAT). This is a tax that is added to the prices of goods and services, resulting in higher prices.

Lastly, governments can raise revenue and impact the balance of payments through import tariffs and quotas.

The second set of economic policy set by government is the monetary policy.

There have been some impressive IGCSE assignment results so far for 2013! Some of you are hoping to maintain your results, and others want to improve further.

To help you tackle the second assignment, I have compiled some guidelines for each question. Please download the PDF document below and carefully read through it. After you have completed the assignment, check the guidelines again to ensure that you have met the requirements.

IGCSE Assignment 2 Guidelines

Hi everyone

Please note that plagiarism, as I mentioned before, is not tolerated at this level. Plagiarism essentially involves using someone else’s words and trying to pass them off as your own. We can compare plagiarism to theft – stealing another person’s ideas.

At IGCSE and AS Level, you need to exercise the skill of gathering information (from your textbook and other resources, for example, websites), interpreting it in line with the question and providing an answer in your own words. If you have used information obtained from a website or some other source besides your textbook, please reference the source accordingly. If you would like to use the exact wording from a source, you may do so but you need to provide this in a quotation with a reference.

Committing plagiarism at higher levels of education – such as university – can carry severe consequences, including disciplinary hearings and suspension from tertiary institutions. It’s in your best interest to learn how to avoid plagiarism now, so that you are aware of it later and can provide original work.

NB: Plagiarised assignments will not be marked and awarded a final result. You will be required to re-answer the questions and then submit the assignment again.

If you have any questions about plagiarism, please feel free to contact me or comment on this post.

Hi Luke,

I would just like to know how is limited liability a benefit for the business example in a private limited company or a public limited company?

As far as I understand it is a benefit for the shareholder as they can not be held responsible for any loss made the business or loose any thing more than the money they invested into the business.

How is this a benefit to the business? Is it because shareholders are more likely to buy shares in the business as they know the most they can loose is the money they invest in the business in buying shares?

Regards Carla

Hi Carla

Luke

Hello AS students!

Please download the attached guidelines for your 2nd Business Studies assignment. These are fairly extensive and should offer a good idea of what is expected in your answers in terms of what needs to be addressed and in what depth.

NB: the uploading of these guidelines to the blog does not mean that the second assignment is due – I understand that you may have different schedules to other students. I would recommend that you print out these guidelines and keep them at hand when you begin working on the second assignment.

Here is the link to the guidelines: AS Level Assignment 2 guidelines

All the best, and if you are on holiday at the moment – enjoy the time off!

Hi everyone

I know that for many of you starting out with Cambridge IGCSE or AS studies for the first time can be a bit of a daunting experience. I shared some tips and motivation with one of your fellow-students a while ago who was experiencing some difficulty adjusting to CIE studies, so I think you all might benefit the discussion too:

I completely understand where you are coming from regards Business Studies, the workload and wanting to really understand the subject and ultimately earn a good mark. Cambridge is, in general, quite a step up for any student in terms of the amount of work to be covered, the depth and the overall standard required. There is a great deal of writing, learning and preparation required for every subject.

Speaking from experience though, it is a standard you can achieve! Yes, it takes hard work and perseverance, as well as a lot of dedication – but again, judging from my communication with many of you, I believe you are capable of making it and really performing to your best!

Some of us put a lot of pressure on ourselves; sometimes it’s really unnecessary, and other times it keeps us on our toes. What you must avoid, however, is letting your own expectations overwhelm you. This is when things become much more difficult than they seem, and your perception (a very powerful thing!) doesn’t work in your favour. To give you an example from my own CIE studies: I never enjoyed Maths (to say the least). In my final year, I remember writing the first paper and thought it went ok…I still doubted though, and thought that I would really have to try excel in the second paper if I was to earn at least a C. That second paper started pretty badly…the first two pages seemed like such a blur and so foreign to what I had learnt! Without exaggeration, I really thought I was going to either fail or receive a mark that meant I couldn’t pass with matric exemption. I though I would repeat the subject. I mentally prepared myself for this outcome.

As it turned out, I earned a B for Maths – a pleasant surprise, needless to say! Here’s my point: yes, set the bar high and expect a lot from yourself, but don’t be too hard on yourself. My problem – and something I still work on – is not getting too ahead of myself. Planning and preparation is important, just don’t let it be in control of you and don’t get ahead of yourself. Being nervous can be a good thing and work to your advantage, but it must not affect your every day life and your enjoyment of what you do.

Now to answer some questions and concerns:

- Not to worry if you experience a lack of time for revising your notes. This is not a rule that is set in stone. It’s good if you are making use of my tips and advice, but please remember to adapt them to suit your needs – no two students are completely alike. If you can only revise a certain amount of notes, that’s fine. If on occasion you can’t manage to revise your notes, that’s also fine – if you make use of our blog and/or do activities and assignments, you are still interacting with the work.

- You won’t get all the work entirely ‘in your head’ at an early stage or in ‘one go’. Rather focus on understanding what you read and being able to answer questions about it. For the moment, you need to be able to work through each unit with understanding; you will soon see how they fit together.

- If you’re following a study schedule, you will have sufficient time to revise for the exams. That is the time period you will use to get it all ‘in your head’ and ‘cement’ your understanding in preparation for the final exams. Right now, you should be exploring all this new information you are learning about.

- There will always be some areas that students don’t enjoy. You can do some extra research on your side to make things more interesting and fun. For instance, read the newspapers (even online) or check out The Economist magazine – it’s not really as difficult to follow as you might initially think. This way, you should start seeing how the theory works in reality.

- You need to consider every unit as important…I can’t say that some are more important than others, or that some sections can be left out. What you can do, though, is use the syllabus I uploaded to the blog as a checklist. This helps to make sure you are covering everything as necessary. It’s also kind of rewarding when you can ‘tick’ off a section. It means you’re one step closer!

- Again, speaking from experience, you should expect to make mistakes. Later on, you might find yourself say, “I should’ve been doing this from the start!”. Allow yourself to make those mistakes and – most importantly – to learn from them. That’s all part of life

- Don’t be scared about misunderstanding certain concepts or parts of the work. If there’s absolutely anything you have even just a bit of doubt about, contact me as soon as you can. Make a note of it to remind yourself, and then let me know.

Keep moving on and looking forward!

A general pattern with answers to (what should be treated as) essay and long answer questions is that AS Level students try to ‘compress’ their answers and provide just enough information. This usually ends up looking like one lengthy, messy paragraph that shows little skill of being able to organise thoughts in a logical way. Please avoid this – here’s how:

Essay questions generally require that you discuss (even analyse) the content of the question and whatever concepts are relevant to it. If you know your work well enough, a number of thoughts will probably come to mind quite quickly after reading the question. This is definitely a good thing, but it also means that you need to make sense of it all.

That’s why I recommend starting with a list of the main points you want to discuss in your answer. Writing up a quick list with very brief notes in point form means that you now at least have something to refer to throughout the rest of the essay. It also means your mind doesn’t have to constantly try and keep track of what you have said and haven’t said – very distracting half way through an essay!

Next, like all good essays, you need to start with an introduction in which you describe the problem or the question and how you will approach it. There are some variations here which will depend on the exact nature of your essay, but the main point is to bring the examiner to focus on what it is you will be discussing. I also highly recommend defining key points and concepts. For example, if your essay question is based on objectives, then you should explain what is meant by that term. If you need to discuss leadership styles, then consider a brief outline of them, from democratic to autocratic leaders.

Now we get to the substance of the discussion: this is where you should provide a body of paragraphs, each dealing with the main content of your essay. If you were to discuss the challenges and opportunities when switching from one method of production to another, for instance, then you would allow each challenge and each opportunity in its own paragraph; the only rule against this is where one is related to the other, in which case you may discuss them together in a single paragraph. Another example: if a question has to do with the pros and cons of market research, each pro and each con should be explored separately unless one could offset/arise with the other. Basically, each paragraph of the body should have its own topic which you discuss.

This part of your essay is, of course, the lengthiest. The number of paragraphs can vary, but as a general rule you should have at least 3 paragraphs. The total number might be more if you are dealing with quite a number of reasons/advantage/disadvantages. As for the length of each paragraph: normally, 3-5 sentences will be sufficient. This will all depend on how well you can get to the ‘heart’ of the matter – check whether what you are saying really does deal with what has been asked.

Examples are very helpful in showing the examiners that you have understood the question and the theory related to it. If you can provide a suitable, relevant example (hypothetical ones are often useful), the chances are that the he or she will be able to easily identify your abilities at this level.

Throughout the essay, please try to use business-related terminology (wording) as much as possible. Instead of saying, “they will make a lot of money”, consider “the firm could potentially earn greater profit”. Another example: “the owners could get rich” should be “shareholders might receive an increase in dividends”, and “treating the people badly” could read “unethical treatment of employees may have long-term consequences”.

Lastly, all good Business Studies essays end with a conclusion in which the main points are summed up or an evaluative comment is offered. This does not mean you have to repeat everything you have discussed, but rather that you briefly review the question and how you addressed it. Alternatively, an evaluative comment means that, for example, you briefly discuss other relevant points that need to considered before expansion. You could also evaluate by judging the usefulness of something, such as the market research a certain business uses.

An essay consisting of an introduction, paragraphs (body) and a conclusion shows the examiner your ability to order your thoughts and pay attention the important information. This is a chance to demonstrate sound logic and reasoning.

Here is a list of the questions you need to treat as essays in the assignments:

• Assignment 1: Question 4 
• Assignment 2: all questions. Note that questions 1 & 2 and questions 3 & 4 complement each other, i.e. question 1 relates to question 2 (they are part-questions). Offer more depth for the questions worth 12 marks
• Assignment 3: Question 5
• Assignment 4: all questions (as with assignment 2).
• Assignment 5: Questions 1, 2 and 6.

Hi everyone

To those who have completed and submitted assignment 2 (AS and IGCSE) following the guidelines posted here previously: thank you for your excellent work! The vast majority have earned very good marks and you should be on the right track going forward, as you now have a better understanding of what is expected at this level. To those who still need to submit this assignment: please do so as soon as you are able and ready – exercises and feedback you will receive is valuable and helpful!

As we heading into the exam season now, many of you are preparing to write during the upcoming May/June session. I will be uploading some posts over the next while (with one revision post to follow this), so please remember to follow the links you receive via email if you are following this blog.

I‘m also preparing for university exams at this time, so I would appreciate your patience and understanding during this very busy period. I will still do my best to return assignments and answer your emails and questions promptly.

Here are some slides that you can use for revision of the key topics and concepts based in unit 2 from the IGCSE Business Studies textbook. You should be able to print the images below and keep them on file. AS students: many of the slides are relevant at AS Level too, so please review them.

An interesting article involving business, social media and advertising: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22263984

Questions:

1. What do you think attracts potential advertisers to Twitter? Answer in light of this statement: “Marketing messages can be tailored to very precise groups of people, based on their age, gender and the interests and affiliations they have expressed through interaction with social media.“

2. Since Twitter is a global social media platform with diverse users from around the world, suggest the types of businesses that are likely to advertise on Twitter.

3. Do you think advertising might have any negative impact on Twitter’s reputation and credibility?

4. Advertising on Twitter is an example of which of the 4 marketing P’s?

Question:

Hi Luke

 

In the book IGCSE Business Studies page 253, Activity 16.4, I am asked to carry out a SWOT analysis on a product of my choice. I was just wondering – does this have to be an existing product, or can the product be fictional?

Two articles to read through when covering the concepts of market share and business growth:

http://m.news24.com/fin24/Companies/Financial-Services/Capitec-ousts-Nedbank-from-No-4-slot-20130508

http://businesstech.co.za/news/banking/37442/is-capitec-really-the-4th-biggest-bank-in-sa/

1 The first article claims that Capitec has recently overtaken Nedbank as South Africa’s 4th largest bank. In other words, Capitec has grown as a business. The second article, however, raises some points about what we consider as “growth” and how this would affect Nedbank and Capitec’s ranking.

Q: In which ways can we view Capitec as larger than Nedbank? At the same time, what criteria would we use to see Nedbank as remaining in 4th position?

2 According to the first article, FNB has the highest adspend (finance spent on advertising) of all the banks. However, FNB’s market share declined in spite of this. On the other hand, Capitec has the lowest adspend but its market share grew.

Q: Does this mean that advertising is not a sure way to increase market share? Are there other factors that we need to consider here?

Hi IGCSE students!

The following slides can be printed out and used for your revision of the sections covering the following:

• What is a business?
• Different types of businesses
• Objectives of a business
• Stakeholder groups
• The functions and aims of stakeholders

QUESTION:

Hello Luke

When they ask “what aims can a manager have in the size of the business?” should I know all the reasons or not? If so what are the most important reasons?  

Thank you

ANSWER: