Deadlines dates for Year 12 L2

Hi Year 12

The business faculty met last night and confirmed the following deadlnes:

• Unit 1 deadline for all work is Thursday 16th April 2015 and this unit is then closed
• Unit 8 deadline is Friday 17th April which looks like it will now be PASSES only!
• Unit 3 deadline is then the 23rd April 2015 and then that unit is closed.
• Unit 2 resit is 28th April 2015
• Unit 4 deadline is then the 1st May 2015
• Unit 9 resit is 14th May 2015
• We can then start unit 14 week commencing 4th May which will be the last unit with all outstanding work completed by the end of this term leaving the final term to complete the final double unit

Clearly this is an all or nothing plan but I would suggest that you base yourself in the Business Studies Office BSO for the rest of this term

All best wishes and lets make sure that we nail this

Mr T

Unit 4 P2 present complex internal business information using three different methods appropriate to the user’s needs

Hi Year 12

Well done for submitting a P1 and meeting today's deadline.

P2 present complex internal business information using three different methods appropriate to the user’s needs

Scenario

You are working as a management trainee in the 'Public Relations' team in your chosen organisation. You have to demonstrate that you understand the importance of effective presentation. Your boss has given you a series of tasks to carry out to prove you’re up to the job. The secret is “Know your audience!”

Lets say your chosen business was Tesco who announced yesterday that they have just lost over £6bn in the last twelve months ! Click here to read more about this. Tesco Timeline Article on Tesco Boss here.  This here is the best data I have found that I think you could use for this task.

P2 requires you to produce evidence in the form of three different communications:

(i)  Obtain financial information from Tesco (google Tesco financial performance) and give a prepare a presentation about what the financial information shows about the performance of the business. Your presentation should be suitable for a number of business journalists who want to report on the performance of the business.

(ii) Produce a brief written report on what the information shows about the performance of the business. This report should be suitable for the directors of the business and should include a spreadsheet or graph to help explain the financial situation.

(iii) Produce a leaflet which is aimed at the staff to inform them of the financial performance of the business. The majority of the staff do not have any financial or accountancy knowledge.

This is a neat little challenge that tests your communication skills, IT skills and your ability to produce a business communication appropriate to three specific target markets

Alternatively you could look at EE who are currently looking at being taken over by BT this year see here here and here

Deadline: Wednesday 29th April 2015

Unit 2 The Business of Travel & Tourism

Hi Year 12

The Unit 2 specification can be found here

for P2 we are going to research TWO businesses and create a presentation to deliver to year 12 students who start in Travel and Tourism in term six.

What the exam board are looking for:

For P2, learners should describe the organisational and financial characteristics of two different types of travel and tourism organisations with different structures. For example, they could select a medium national private limited company involved in outbound tourism and a local partnership involved in domestic tourism. All items of range must be included in the description. If the two organisations selected do not offer the opportunity to cover all the items of range, these items can be covered through other organisations and for each you will describe the organisational structure and financial characteristics.

I have identified TWO businesses to research but you do not have to use these if you have contacts in other contrasting businesses.

British Airways

• Annual report 2013-14
• IAG report (IAG have know merged with BA)
• IAG see profits grow click here
• Recent strikes impacting on BA in France see article here
• Delays and diversions and how they impact on the financial position of BA click here

The Ultimate Travel Company

• Company website is here
• The conference call to transcript that took place with UTC last week is available on request so ask Mr T

I will attach the assignment checklist here when it is completed

Good luck and enjoy

Mr T

Evidence  for P2 - Taster Day Presentation to year 11 (powerpoint)

Deadline for this piece of work is Wednesday 13th May 2015

Online assessment resources

Year 12 L2  Online assessment practice 

Resource provided through www.btecbusiness.com

Remember that there is a Sample Assessment Test available at http://www1.edexcel.org.uk/ss/Business2/start.html

Other online testing resources can be found on the Oxted School network by clicking the start button and clicking all programmes and looking for:

CGP BTEC First Business Exam Practice

Nine Key Equations for BTEC Business Unit 2 Finance

Hi All

these are the main equations that you will need to remember for the  online assessment :

• Total Costs = Variable costs + Fixed costs

• Variable Costs = Cost of unit x number of units sold

• Revenue = Quantity of units sold x unit selling price

• Profit = Total revenue - total expenditure

• Break even point   =             Fixed costs 

                                             Selling price - variable cost

• Net cash flow = total inflow  - total outflow

• Closing balance = net cash flow plus opening balance

• Gross Profit = Revenue - cost of sales

• Net Profit = Gross Profit - other expenditure

• Working Capital (Net Current Assets) = Current Assets - Current liabilities

Good Luck and do well

Mr T

P1 - Audit of business communications at OXTED School - lesson 17th April 2015

Dear year 12

by now some of you will have collected lots of information about how OXTED school communicates with its stakeholders.  You are going to look at FOUR areas and for each areas you need to consider at least three examples:

• Verbal communication
• Written Communication
• On screen or multimedia communication
• Web based communication

To PASS P1 first time for each of the four areas you will need to:

Start with your introduction - what are you aiming to do in this assignment

1. Describe what that is in your own words what this method of communication is all about and trying to achieve
2. Explain the PURPOSE of each type of communication shared.  Reliable and valid information is essential for all businesses which they share for a variety of PURPOSES.  The purpose of most communications will fall into one of the following areas:

• Offering a competitive insight into the offer of the business
• Updating the knowledge of the employees (and the parents and students in the case of Oxted School)
• Informing STAKEHOLDERS of future developments of the organisation
• Inviting STAKEHOLDERS to support future initiatives.
• Communicating OPPORTUNITIES 
• Helping develop a STRATEGIC DIRECTION for the organisation

3. Identify the SOURCE (where the communication is generated from e.g. internally any information which is generated from within the organisation.  The majority of which comes from the FUNCTIONAL AREAS, FACULTIES, HOUSES SLT ADMIN, HR, MARKETING, FINANCE or head.  Alternatively the information can come from   or externally and from which department in the school.

Finish with your conclusion - what did you find out about communication at OXTED School. Was there enough, was it effective and all very appropriate and useful or was it too much information OVERLOAD? 

Remember your deadline date for this unit is Wednesday 22nd April 2015

Unit 2 P1 Articles in the press

Hi Year 12

this is a useful article for your current challenge

• Daily Mail Online 17th April 2015

I will keep adding to the list as I find articles and if you find anything perhaps you could email me the links so that we can share them with the rest of this fine class

Happy Friday

Mr T

Unit 4 Business Comunication - P1 M1 D1

Hi Year 12

This is the next unit of study Business Communication which we need to have doe by the end of this term:

The specification for this unit can be found here and the:

P1 Assignment here
P1 Help pack here
P1 Powerpoint here

P1 will be due in a week today.  Wednesday 21st March 2015

Good luck and enjoy and lets get you back on track where you deserve to be.

Mr T

P1 Part 2 - The importance and contribution of Tourism to the GDP of the UK economy

Hi Year 12 L3 T&T

P1 Part 2

What is GDP

GDP stands for Gross Domestic Product and it is the monetary value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country's borders within a specific time but usually on an annual basis.  See BBC

Importance of GDP

Data from the World Trade Organisation shows that international tourist arrivals for business, 
leisure and other purposes were estimated at £880 million in 2009

This has a forecast growth to $1.6 billion by 2020.

International tourism generated US$852 in export earnings in 2009

Tourism was worth £115.4 billion to the UK economy in 2009

This is the equivalent of 8.9% of GDP 

Importance to employment

Tourism is said to be the world’s largest employer.

Approximately 250 million are employed within the tourism industry

In the UK – 10% of total employment is in the tourism sector.

International tourism supports more than 230 million jobs across the world.

The number of jobs supported by UK tourism is forecast to rise from the current figure of 

2.6 million to 2.9 million by 2020.

At present, one in 12 jobs in the UK is either directly or indirectly supported by tourism.

Tourism is said to be the world’s largest employer.Approximately 250 million are

employed within the tourism industry.

In the UK – 10% of total employment is in the tourism sector.

International tourism supports more than 230 million jobs across the world.

The number of jobs supported by UK tourism is forecast to rise from the current figure of 

2.6 million to 2.9 million by 2020.

At present, one in 12 jobs in the UK is either directly or indirectly supported by tourism. 

Study Skills 

Planning the layout of your coursework click here
Referencing

If you use any of these you will need to find a reference to attach to it so that you can say 
where the information is from.  Alternatively you may use your own research.

Good Luck and enjoy

Mr T

P1 Part 1 Research Unit 2 The Business of Travel and Tourism

Dear Year 12

Areas to research for P1 - so that you pass it first time! and the assignment with deadline dates that we agreed in lesson is here also

Public sector

• Government departments DCMS  fund and co-ordinate government controlled activiites
• Government controlled - Visit Britain and the Department for transport
• Local government controlled - Belfast City Council, Birmingham City Council City of London these organisations are based on visitor numbers and quality rather than financial success and revenue that they generate
• Membership - These organisations are funded from public money, but also raises income through membership subscriptions. Example: English HeritageIn 2008-09 membership of English Heritage stood at 687,000 (972,800 including corporate members)

Private sector

• Public limited company
• Private limited company - Abercrombie & Kent - The Ulltimate Travel Company Ltd
• Partnership - Exmoor Partnership 
• Limited liability partnership - 
• Sole proprietor - Hotel Tresanton in Cornwall
• Franchise opportunities
• Membership - British Hospitality Association - The Tourism Society - Institute of Travel and Tourism - Mr & Mrs Smith - Relais and Chateau

Geographical impact - local - regional - national - international - global
All businesses operate in geographical regions.

• a local example would be independent travel agents operating in your town
• a regional example would be a Regional developmen tagency (RDA) or a local economic partnership (LEP) try an find an exapmple of either
• a national example would be a tourist board such as Visit Wales

Importance to UK economy - Heritage Tourism - Visit Britain - Government Report

Inbound - Visit Britain

Outbound - Visit portugal

Domestic tourism - Visit Britain and Visit England

Hope it helps and that your doing as much work as I am !

Mr T

P1 Thoery for Unit 4 Principles of Customer Service

P1 Learning outcome
Describe the different types of customer service provided by TWO selected business

To do this we have decided to use a local business called Tandridge Leisure Centre and the other business can be a business of your choice.

The meaning of customer service

Customer service is what a business does to:

• satisfy the needs
• meet the expectations of its customers

Many businesses have systems in place to ensure that they are meeting the needs of their customers and make sure that the customers are happy with the service they provide.

Remember customer service is not just getting the customers to buy the product or service it is the service that customers get before, during and after they have purchased the products or service

Different customer service roles in a business

A business will employ people in several different job roles and some will have:

• job roles dealing directly with customers
• roles that do not have direct customer service

Roles dealing directly with customers include:

• Receptionists who are often the first person the customer will meet and will need to create a good first impression.  It is the receptionists role to meet and greet the customers and respond quickly to all telephone calls
• The contact centre worker will not meet the customers face to face but will still need to create a good impression of the company by being prompt and provide accurate information
• The shop assistant will be responsible for supporting the customer while they are buying products and services and by providing advice for the customer and taking payments
• The delivery drivel will be responsible to delivering the purchases to the customers premises and making sure that the customer is happy with their products and be polite and friendly.

Roles that do not involve direct customer service include:

• They are employees in the business who may not have direct contact with the customers but they still have to create and maintain a good image of the business.  These people can be employed as cleaners, gardeners or engineers

The different types of customer service businesses have:

• Service delivery - usually a member of staff responsible for the sales or customer service provision.
• Face to face customer service - typical businesses are Hotels, Restaurants, Leisure centres, Hospitals, Shops, car show rooms
• Remote customer service - such as call centres provide support over the phone to customers but some now also have online support such as life help, chat or email support
• Customer service teamwork - where co-operation between everyone employee and department in the organisation working together and knowing what the procedure is for dealing with every task as well as every complaint and query and be confident that it will be dealt with effectively.

Sources of information:

Tandridge Leisure Centre

www.instituteofcustomerservice

www.marygober.com

Unit 4 Business Communications

Good Morning Year 12
as promised we will be starting the second unit of three for this year and with only two terms left we will need to do this unit in a month.


The assignment brief is attached here

 Remember the interim deadline dates are set for a reason deadline dates are set for a reason so unless I've had MERIT  & DISTINCTION work from the previous work to give you feedback on that opportunity is now PASSED.


The second unit is about Business Communication and the SPECIFICATION is attached here. Feel free to read and digest it but I've created an outline for you to ponder if you prefer.


P1 is slightly THEORY based but should help re-align your head around some thinking around the definition and meaning of communication.  You will at this stage need to choose a business to investigate in order to explain the different type of information that are being used, where this information originates and its purpose.  Obvious companies might include ONE WATER, APPLE, INNOCENT DRINKS, Virgin Media or even Oxted School.

For the 'support pack' pack click here and here

Deadline Wednesday TBC


P2 requires you to present the same information using three different methods depending on the USERS needs.  This could be a verbal PRESENTATION combined with a report and an example of this would be this years Young Enterprise Company ' competing in the regional final.  Their Pitch can be seen here and their PRESENTATION can be seen here. Alternatively this could be a FINANCIAL REPORT that you can manipulate into a SPREADSHEET or a selection of CHARTS or a WEB PAGE or PREZZI, BLOG & A LEAFLET.  Either way your submission needs to indicate the NATURE of its intended AUDIENCE and its likely PURPOSE and can come from the BUSINESS organisation investigated in P1.
For the 'support pack' click here
Deadline Wednesday TBC


P3 Here you need to PRODUCE a CORPORATE communication for a business organisation which could be an ADVERT for a POSTER or a leaflet communicating information about a business or one of its products or services, SPIT n POLISH or the ONE WATER vending could be one. Alternatively the information could be information incorporated on a PRODUCT's PACKAGING see D&T or the DESIGN for the new OSA MINI BUS. Again the same business organisation used in P1 & P2 can be used here.
Deadline Wednesday TBC


P4 Here you need to EVALUATE existing EXTERNAL CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS for a PRODUCT or SERVICE so a SURVEY seemed the best way to deal with this.
Deadline Wednesday TBC


P5 Is your first opportunity to look at the LEGAL & ETHICAL issues relating to the use of business information.  You can use any business but I suggest you pick one where you can research information that is clearly available. You need to obtain the the chosen business organisations POLICIES on these ETHICAL issues in relation to business information and EXPLAIN how that organisation complies with their legal obligations.
Deadline Wednesday TBC


P6 requires you to EXPLAIN the OPERATIONAL ISSUES in relation to business information.  How their information is SECURE, the HEALTH and SAFETY issues associated with information management and how they develop NEW SYSTEMS to manage information and the possible need for more COMPLEX SOFTWARE and STAFF TRAINING. A CASE study on a chosen business will be an effective way to deal with this.  Think of a company you'd like to use and we will arrange to get them in 
Deadline Wednesday TBC


P7 In this task you will need to EXAMINE both electronic and non-electronic methods of communicating available to a business.  The suggested assignment in the brief below should keep you on track!
Deadline date Wednesday TBC


Finally the assignment brief is attached here