DP020775 PL in Business, Admin and Finance L3 Phase 2 Issue 2

Specification
Edexcel Diplomas
Edexcel Level 3 Principal Learning in Business,

Administration and Finance
Issue 2
April 2010
Edexcel, a Pearson company, is the UK’s largest awarding body, offering academic and
vocational qualifications to more than 25,000 schools, colleges, employers and other places of
learning in the UK and in over 100 countries worldwide. Qualifications include GCSEs, AS and
A Levels, NVQs, Diplomas and our BTEC suite of vocational qualifications from entry level to
BTEC Higher National Diplomas, recognised by employers and higher education institutions
worldwide.
We deliver 9.4 million exam scripts each year, with more than 90% of exam papers marked
onscreen annually. As part of Pearson, Edexcel continues to invest in cutting-edge technology
that has revolutionised the examinations and assessment system. This includes the ability to
provide detailed performance data to tutors and students which helps to raise attainment.
This specification is Issue 2. Key changes are sidelined. We will inform centres of any changes
to this issue. The latest issue can be found on the Edexcel website: www.edexcel.com
References to third-party material made in this specification are made in good faith. Edexcel
does not endorse, approve or accept responsibility for the content of materials, which may be
subject to change, or any opinions expressed therein. (Material may include textbooks, journals,
magazines and other publications and websites.)
Authorised by Roger Beard

Prepared by Roger Field
Publications Code DP020775
All the material in this publication is copyright
© Edexcel Limited 2010
Contents
Introduction to Edexcel’s Diplomas 1

What are the Diplomas? 1
How are the Diplomas structured? 2

What do Diplomas include? 3
Principal Learning 3
Generic Learning 3
Functional skills and personal, learning and thinking skills (PLTS) 3
Additional and Specialist Learning (ASL) 4
Structure and aims of Principal Learning in Business,

Administration and Finance 5
The Edexcel Diplomas in Business, Administration and Finance: Principal
Learning 5
Edexcel Level 3 Principal Learning in Business, Administration and
Finance 5
Unit format 6
Assessment and grading of the Principal Learning 9
Internal assessment 9
External assessment 11
Calculation of the Principal Learning grade 11
Calculation of the Diploma grade 11
Programme design and delivery 12

Mode of study 12
Applied learning 12
Delivery of applied learning 12
Resources 13
Personal, learning and thinking skills (PLTS) 14
Coverage 14
How personal, learning and thinking skills are used to support formative
feedback 15
Access and recruitment 15

Access arrangements and special considerations 15
Further information 16
Useful publications 16
Professional development and training 17

Level 3 units 19
Unit 1: Business Enterprise 21
Unit 2: Business Administration and Events 45
Unit 3: Personal Finance and Financial Services 65
Unit 4: Business Finance and Accounting 77
Unit 5: Marketing and Sales in Business 91
Unit 6: Customer Service in Business 117
Unit 7: Teams and Communication in Business 141
Unit 8: Responding to Change in Business 163
Unit 9: Corporate Social Responsibility 175
Unit 10: Careers and Employment in Business 187
List of annexes 209

Annexe A: Qualification codes 211
Annexe B: Personal, learning and thinking skills 213
Annexe C: Wider curriculum mapping 219
Annexe D: Glossary of terms 221
Annexe E: Internal Assessment of Principal Learning Units: Controls for
Task Setting, Task Taking and Task Marking 225
Annexe F: Learning outcomes and assessment criteria for each unit 233
Introduction to Edexcel’s Diplomas
What are the Diplomas?

Diplomas have been developed to provide new and innovative qualifications for 14 to 19 year-
old learners. They are a defined set of qualifications that have been combined according to a set
of rules.
Diplomas are designed to support progression to further study, training or employment.
Learners will have the opportunity to develop and practise work-related skills within a chosen
employment sector.
Diplomas will be developed in 17 ‘lines of learning’ which relate to different employment
sectors. Employers in each sector have been involved in their design.
The 17 lines of learning are:
For teaching from September 2008 For teaching from September 2010
• Construction and the Built • Public Services
Environment
• Retail
• Creative and Media
• Sport and Leisure
• Engineering
• Travel and Tourism
• Information Technology
• Society, Health and Development
For teaching from September 2009 For teaching from September 2011
• Business, Administration and Finance • Science
• Environmental and Land-based Studies • Languages
• Hair and Beauty Studies • Humanities
• Hospitality
• Manufacturing and Product Design
Each Diploma will be available at three levels:

• Foundation – Level 1
• Higher – Level 2
• Advanced – Level 3
Progression – Level 3.
The Foundation Diploma is broadly equivalent to five GCSEs. Similarly, the Higher Diploma
broadly equates to seven GCSEs, whilst the Advanced Diploma broadly equates to three and a
half GCE ‘A’ levels and the Progression Diploma to two and a half GCE ‘A’ levels.
DP020775 – Specification – Edexcel Diplomas Level 3 in Business, Administration and Finance Principal Learning – 1
Issue 2 – April 2010 © Edexcel Limited 2010
How are the Diplomas structured?
Foundation Diploma — 600 Guided Learning Hours (GLH)
Principal Learning * 240 GLH; at least 50 per cent must be applied learning
Generic Learning Work experience (minimum of 10 days);
functional skills * (English, ICT and mathematics)
120 GLH;
project * 60 GLH;
personal, learning and thinking skills (PLTS) 60 GLH
Additional and specialist learning * 120 GLH
Higher Diploma — 800 Guided Learning Hours (GLH)
functional skills * (English, ICT and mathematics)
80 GLH;
project * 60 GLH;
Advanced Diploma — 1080 Guided Learning Hours (GLH)
extended project * 120 GLH;
Progression Diploma (Level 3) — 720 Guided Learning Hours (GLH)
extended project * 120 GLH;
* These components of the Diplomas are also freestanding qualifications in their own right.
2 DP020775 – Specification – Edexcel Diplomas Level 3 in Business, Administration and Finance Principal Learning –
What do Diplomas include?
As can be seen from the structure diagrams, Diplomas consist of three components:
• Principal Learning
• Generic Learning (including a project and work experience)
• Additional and/or specialist learning.
Principal Learning
Principal Learning is a freestanding qualification which is sector related, focusing on
developing knowledge, understanding and skills that are relevant to the chosen sector and
applying these to work-based situations.
It emphasises learning through the practical application of knowledge, understanding and skills
to relevant work experience and work-related tasks, problems and contexts.
Generic Learning
Generic Learning consists of:
• functional skills in English, ICT and mathematics
• personal, learning and thinking skills (PLTS)
• a project
• work experience.
Functional skills and personal, learning and thinking skills (PLTS)

Functional skills are offered as stand alone qualifications at Level 1 for the Foundation Diploma
and at Level 2 for the Higher and Advanced Diplomas.
Opportunities to develop personal, learning and thinking skills will be embedded throughout the
Principal Learning for the Diplomas, and will be assessed as part of these qualifications.
Generic skills are integrated into and reinforced within the Principal Learning. This means that
the Principal Learning assessments will include opportunities for learners to achieve the
personal, learning and thinking skills.
The Diplomas provide opportunities for learners to develop and apply functional skills and
personal, learning and thinking skills within sector-related contexts. Further opportunities for
learners to demonstrate these skills may also be offered in the project and in the work
experience.
Project and extended project
The project and extended project are offered as stand alone qualifications. As part of the
Foundation and Higher Diplomas learners will complete the project qualification. Learners will
complete the extended project as part of the Advanced Diploma.
They aim to enable learners to:
• develop as inquisitive and independent learners
• be inspired and enthused by new areas or methods of study
• extend their planning, research, analysis and presentation skills
• apply their personal, learning and thinking skills
• use their learning experiences to support their personal aspirations for further and higher
education and career development.
Work experience
Each Diploma has a requirement for a minimum of 10 days’ work experience, related to work-
based activities, to support the programme of study.
Work experience will:
• support the development and recognition of work-related learning
• build on previous work experience
• develop sector skills when set in relevant settings
• develop general employability skills
• enhance the overall learning experience
• allow flexibility around how evidence of attainment is achieved.
It allows learners to draw together, apply and add to their knowledge and enable them to
develop confidence and expertise.
Additional and Specialist Learning (ASL)

Additional and specialist learning consists of accredited qualifications at the same level as, or
one level above, the Diploma which have been approved under Section 96 of the Learning and
Skills Act 2000. It may include qualifications which are also available to learners not taking the
Diploma, or qualifications specifically developed to be part of the Diploma.
Additional learning is intended to:
• broaden the learning experience by including qualifications from other sectors
and specialist learning is intended to:
• allow learners to specialise further in the sector by undertaking qualifications from the same
sector as the Diploma.
Qualifications for additional and specialist learning must be selected from the ASL catalogue
through the National Database of Accredited Qualifications (NDAQ). The catalogue includes
qualifications which have the approval of the Diploma Development Partnership (DDP) and will
expand over time as more qualifications are approved. To access the catalogue go to
www.ndaq.org.uk and select ‘Browse Diploma Qualifications’.
Structure and aims of Principal Learning in
Business, Administration and Finance
This specification contains the Edexcel Level 3 Principal Learning in Business, Administration
and Finance.
The Edexcel Diplomas in Business, Administration and Finance: Principal

Learning
The Edexcel Level 3 Principal Learning in Business, Administration and Finance aims to:
• allow learners to develop a range of skills that will be useful both in the workplace and for
future learning
• provide learners with detailed business knowledge that will help to enter the workplace
• be practical and motivating, allowing learners to apply knowledge and skills in relevant
meaningful learning and assessment activities
• provide learners with the skills and theoretical knowledge to progress into higher education
• promote the development of personal, learning and thinking skills.
Edexcel Level 3 Principal Learning in Business, Administration and Finance

All units are compulsory.
Unit Title GLH Assessment

number
1 Business Enterprise 90 Internal
2 Business Administration and Events 60 Internal
3 Personal Finance and Financial Services 60 External
4 Business Finance and Accounting 60 External
5 Marketing and Sales in Business 60 Internal
6 Customer Service in Business 60 Internal
7 Teams and Communication in Business 60 Internal
8 Responding to Change in Business 30 External
9 Corporate Social Responsibility 30 External
10 Careers and Employment in Business 30 Internal
Unit format
All units in Edexcel Principal Learning qualifications have a standard format which is designed
to provide clear guidance on the requirements of the qualification for learners, tutors, assessors
and those responsible for monitoring national standards.
Each unit is set out in the following way:
Unit title The unit title is accredited by QCDA and this form of words will
appear on the learner’s Notification of Performance (NOP).
Level This is the level of study of the qualification.
Internal/external Further details of the mode of assessment are given later in the unit.
assessment
Guided learning hours In the Principal Learning qualifications each unit consists of 30, 60
(GLH) or 90 guided learning hours depending on the level.
Guided learning hours is ‘a notional measure of the substance of a
unit’. It includes an estimate of time that might be allocated to
direct teaching, instruction and assessment, together with other
structured learning time such as directed assignments or supported
individual study. It excludes learner-initiated private study.
Centres are advised to consider this definition when planning the
programme of study associated with this specification.
About this unit This section is designed to give the reader an appreciation of the
value of the unit in the vocational setting of the qualification as
well as highlighting the focus of the unit.
It provides the reader with a snapshot of the aims of the unit and
the key knowledge, skills and understanding developed while
studying the unit. The unit abstract also emphasises links to the
sector by describing what the unit offers the sector.
Learning outcomes Learning outcomes state exactly what a learner should ‘know’,
‘understand’ or ‘be able to’ do as a result of completing the unit.
What you need to learn This section identifies the depth and breadth of knowledge, skills
and understanding needed to achieve each of the learning
outcomes. This is illustrated by the range of subject material for the
programme of learning and specifies the skills, knowledge and
understanding required for achievement to the level required to
comply with all mark bands.
Each learning outcome is stated in full and then expanded with
further detail on the right-hand side. Internally-assessed units may
contain ‘egs’ within this section. These are used to show indicative
lists of content only.
Teaching this unit – This section is designed to give tutors additional guidance and
Delivery guidance amplification on the unit in order to provide a coherence of
understanding and a consistency of delivery. This section includes
guidance on, for example:
• links to other units
• explaining the relationship between the content and the
learning outcomes
• guidance about possible approaches to delivery
• possible approaches to employer engagement.
Learning outcomes and This section contains learning outcomes and assessment criteria for
assessment criteria the externally assessed units. Learning outcomes and assessment
criteria for internally assessed units can be found in Annexe F.
Assessment information This section gives information about the assessment activities
for learners – How you required for this unit.
will be assessed
Assessment information This section provides assessors details in the following sub-
for assessors headings:
• Instructions and controls for setting assessment assignments
• Sector-relevant purpose
• Evidence structure
• Level of demand
• Assessment duration
• Instructions and controls for taking assessment assignments
• Guidance for assessment.
Marking grid(s) Internally-assessed units have a marking grid(s) which contains a
list of assessment foci, with statements ordered into three mark
bands. When work is marked it is judged against these statements
and an appropriate mark awarded.
The marking grids are supported with further information under the
following sub-headings:
• Using the marking grid
• Learner assistance
• Level descriptors.
Delivery of personal, This section identifies where there may be opportunities within the
learning and thinking unit for the generation of evidence to meet the requirements of
skills (PLTS) PLTS.
Assessors should take care to become familiar with PLTS and not
to rely on the contents of this section when presenting evidence for
moderation. The full PLTS framework is included in this document
as Annexe B, but centres should refer to the QCDA website
(www.qcda.gov.uk) for the latest version of the PLTS framework.
Functional skills This section identifies where there may be opportunities within the
unit for the generation of evidence to meet the functional skill
requirements.
Work experience This section includes guidance relating to the use of work
experience within the unit.
Specialist resources This section includes information relating to specialist resources
the centre will need to have access to in order to deliver the unit.
Reference material This section includes information relating to reference material that
will enhance the delivery of the unit and the learning experience.
Note it is not intended to be comprehensive. Examples are given. In
relation to websites, tutors and learners should use website links to
extend their searches.
Assessment and grading of the Principal Learning
The purpose of assessment is to ensure that effective learning of each unit has taken place.
Principal Learning units are assessed either internally by tutors or externally by Edexcel. Each
unit is labelled clearly as internally or externally assessed.
It is essential that tutors familiarise themselves with and follow the guidelines set out in the
document Internal Assessment of Principal Learning Units: Controls for Task Setting, Task
Taking and Task Marking (see Annexe E) when developing assignments for internally-assessed
units.
Internal assessment
Internal assessment will be used to facilitate assessment of generic and practical skills. It will be
quality assured through internal and external moderation. It will be supervised and completed
under controlled conditions.
Each unit is assessed through a single assignment which has an overall purpose that reflects the
aim of the unit, and is described in the How you will be assessed section. An assignment may
be broken down into a few separate tasks. Tasks may be further broken down into smaller
activities. The Internal Assessment of Principal Learning Units: Controls for Task Setting, Task
Taking and Task Marking document details the nature of the controls that need to be applied to
each type of task/activity and its outcome.
Where a unit is internally assessed, centres can use the sample assignments provided by
Edexcel, or can design and quality assure suitable assignments. When designing assignments,
centres are required to be aware of the following design principles (see relevant Tutor Support
Materials for further guidance).
Assignments should be:
Fit for purpose They should consist of tasks which are related to the subject matter and
content of the unit. For example, where a unit is centred on IT, the
assessment will use IT at the core of the task.
Manageable They should be designed to be manageable for both the learner and for
the centre.
Secure They should be delivered under controlled conditions, where centres can
guarantee the work produced is truly that of the individual learner.
Reliable They should produce judgements of a similar standard from occasion to
occasion and between different assessors.
Valid They should assess what they are intended to assess in terms of the
learning outcomes.
Transparent They should be expressed in ways that can be readily understood by
learners, tutors and assessors.
Balanced They should fairly reflect the content and associated learning outcomes,
avoiding confusing learning with assessment and not adversely affecting
teaching and learning.
Flexible They should provide opportunities for learners to produce a variety of
different forms of evidence.
Centres are encouraged to use a variety of assessment methods, which might include, for
example, the use of case studies, work-based assessments, projects, performance observation
and time-constrained assessments. Centres are encouraged to place emphasis on practical
application, providing a realistic scenario for learners to adopt, and making maximum use of
practical activities and work experience.
The creation of assignments that are fit for purpose is vital to learners’ achievement and its
importance cannot be over emphasised.
When reading the marking grids and designing assignments, centres should note the following.
• Each internally-assessed unit has either 60, 75 or 90 available marks in total.
• In some units the marking grid has been split into two grids – A and B. Marking grid A
contains all of the marking criteria for the unit except those which assess a learner’s
performance in practical activities which are recorded as a learner observation record (see
the Edexcel Diploma website for further information). These make up Marking grid B.
• Centres must ensure that learners undertake appropriate assessment tasks to enable them to
achieve the requirements of each unit’s marking grid(s).
• The basic principle is that this is a ‘best fit’ grid – ie the assessor must match the overall
standard of work for an assessment focus to a band. It is NOT a hurdle approach, whereby
the assessor cannot award marks from the next mark band if one item for an assessment
focus from a lower mark band has been omitted, regardless of the quality of the rest of the
work for that assessment focus.
• If a learner completes all they are asked to do in a band for an assessment focus, they can be
awarded the full marks for that mark band.
• If a learner has clearly done more on one aspect of work for an assessment focus required
by a mark band, the assessor should consider whether the learner can be awarded marks
from the bottom of the next mark band.
• If a learner has completed less than required in any aspect of work for an assessment focus,
or indeed omitted an aspect, then the mark moves down within the mark band.
• Marking is completely separate for each assessment focus – ie a learner can get mark band 3
on one assessment focus, mark band 1 on another etc, then all marks are added together for
the unit total. It may be possible, depending on weighting of an assessment focus for a
learner to pass a unit even if 0 has been given in marks for one assessment focus in the unit.
Relevant Tutor Support Materials may contain further information relating to marking.
• A 0 mark should be used only where a learner provides no valid evidence. Any work that
starts to address the requirements of the grid should normally be awarded at least one mark.
• Evidence generated for Marking grid A will be moderated. This must be in the form of hard
evidence which a moderator can reassess, such as learner produced written documents (eg
short question answers, multiple choice question answers, materials from presentations,
research notes), videos (dated) of practical activities or artefacts.
• Marks gained from Marking grid A will be reported separately from those gained from
Marking grid B.
External assessment
There is a requirement that some units in the Principal Learning will be externally assessed.
These external assessments will be made available by Edexcel on agreed, published dates during
the year.
For the Edexcel Level 3 Principal Learning in Business, Administration and Finance, the
following units will be externally assessed:
Level Unit number(s) Unit title(s)

Advanced 3 Personal Finance and Financial Services
Advanced 4 Business Finance and Accounting
Advanced 8 Responding to Change in Business
Advanced 9 Corporate Social Responsibility
Calculation of the Principal Learning grade

Performance in each unit of Principal Learning will be assessed against criteria given in the
marking grid, giving rise to unit marks.
Unit marks will be allocated according to marking criteria that do not bear a direct relationship
to grading mark bands; that is, assessors will be clear that they are allocating marks and are not
grading learners directly.
There will be no pre-published unit grade boundaries.
Once units have been completed by learners and marked, they will be graded by Edexcel
through a separate process involving professional judgement of performance and of technical
and statistical data. This will produce unit grade boundaries and hence unit grades which will be
reported.
To permit the calculation of a Principal Learning qualification grade, Principal Learning unit
marks will be converted to points. Points for all Principal Learning units will be added together
to devise a Principal Learning score. Using published thresholds the Principal Learning score
will be converted to a Principal Learning grade.
Calculation of the Diploma grade

The overall grade for the Diploma will be based only on grades obtained from Principal
Learning and the project. However, achievement of all components within the Diploma will be
required in order to gain the Diploma qualification.
Points for Principal Learning units (weighted as appropriate) will be added to points for the
project to derive a Diploma score. Using published thresholds the Diploma score will be
converted into a Diploma grade.
Programme design and delivery
These Principal Learning qualifications consist of units of assessment. Each unit is 30, 60, or 90
guided learning hours in length depending on the level. The definition of guided learning hours
is ‘a notional measure of the substance of a qualification’. It includes an estimate of time that
might be allocated to direct teaching, instruction and assessment, together with other structured
learning time such as directed assignments or supported individual study. It excludes learner-
initiated private study. Centres are advised to consider this definition when planning the
programme of study associated with this specification.
Mode of study
Edexcel does not define the mode of study for the Principal Learning of Diplomas but there is
an explicit requirement that for at least 50 per cent of the time learners will be engaged in
applied learning.
Applied learning
Acquiring and applying knowledge, skills and understanding through tasks set in sector
contexts that have many of the characteristics of real work, or are set within the workplace.
Most importantly, the purpose of the task in which learners apply their knowledge, skills and
understanding must be relevant to real work in the sector.
Reference: The Diploma (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, 2007)
Centres are free to offer the qualifications using any mode of delivery that meets the needs of
their learners and the requirements of applied learning. For example this may be through a
combination of traditional classroom teaching, open learning and distance learning. Whatever
mode of delivery is used, centres must ensure that learners have appropriate access to the
required resources (see individual units) and to the subject specialists delivering the units.
Assignments based on the work environment should be encouraged. Those planning the
programme should aim to enhance the vocational nature of the Diploma by:
• liaising with employers to ensure a course relevant to the specific needs of the learners
• accessing and using non-confidential data and documents from workplaces
• including sponsoring employers in the delivery of the programme and, where appropriate, in
the assessment
• linking with company-based/workplace training programmes
• making full use of the variety of experience of work and life that learners bring to the
programme.
Delivery of applied learning

It is important that centres develop an approach to teaching and learning that supports the
applied learning requirement of the Diploma. The Principal Learning specifications contain a
balance of practical skill development and knowledge requirements, some of which can be
theoretical in nature. Tutors and assessors need to ensure that appropriate links are made
between theory and practice and that the knowledge base is applied to the sector. This will
require the development of relevant and up-to-date teaching materials that allow learners to
apply their learning to actual events and activity within the sector.
Tutors are reminded that experiential learning techniques are required and that the
opportunities for formative assessment where learners benefit from regular and structured
feedback are a necessary requirement of a Diploma programme.
Where learners are performing an activity by practically applying their knowledge and skills,
they are essentially behaving in the required applied nature of the Diploma. By then reviewing
that learning and considering how improvements can be made and implemented, experiential
learning will take place (see Figure 1).
Do Review
Experiential
learning
Plan
Figure 1: Experiential learning cycle
Resources
One aim of Diplomas is to prepare learners to progress to employment in specific sectors.
Physical resources need to support the delivery of the programme and the proper assessment of
the learning outcomes and therefore should normally be of industry standard.
Staff delivering programmes and conducting the assessments should be fully familiar with
current practice and standards in the sector concerned.
Centres will need to meet any specialist resource requirements when they seek approval from
Edexcel.
Assessment and learning
Summative assessment
Summative assessment serves to inform an overall judgement of achievement, which may be
needed for reporting and review, perhaps on transfer between years in a school or on transfer
between schools, perhaps for providing certificates at the end of schooling.
Although learners are working to satisfy a summative assessment (the marking grids reflect a
final overall judgement) the benefit of formative assessment should be strongly emphasised
throughout the learning.
Formative assessment
Formative assessment is concerned with the short-term collection and use of evidence as
guidance of learning, mainly in day-to-day classroom practice.
In order for formative assessment to occur, the learner must understand what they have learned,
what they have yet to learn and what they need to do to learn it. The responsibility of helping
learners through a process of planning and reviewing their learning lies with the tutor.
Personal, learning and thinking skills (PLTS)

Personal, learning and thinking skills are necessary for work and for general learning. Learners
will have opportunities to develop, apply and assess all the personal, learning and thinking skills
within Principal Learning. Personal, learning and thinking skills consist of the following six
skills:
• independent enquiry
• creative thinking
• reflective learning
• team working
• self-management
• effective participation.
Annexe B contains detailed information relating to each of the six personal, learning and
thinking skills.
Each unit requires learners to demonstrate personal, learning and thinking skills, which are a
mandatory requirement and a key feature of the Diplomas. Personal, learning and thinking skills
are to be used as both a guide on the delivery of each unit and also as a motivating formative
indicator for the learner.
Coverage
All personal, learning and thinking skills are required to be covered and assessed during the
delivery and assessment of the whole Diploma and provide the context for the delivery and
assessment of the programme of learning. A final summary of the coverage is also provided in
Annexe B which collates the coverage of personal, learning and thinking skills throughout the
programme.
Personal, learning and thinking skills are an essential, embedded feature of the delivery and
assessment of the Principal Learning. Learners may also develop and apply personal, learning
and thinking skills within the other components of the Diploma.
Centres should design the programme of study so that approximately 60 GLH will be allowed to
enable learners to develop, plan and review the application of their personal, learning and
thinking skills across their learning programme. Personal, learning and thinking skills will not
be separately assessed as part of the Diploma but all six personal, learning and thinking skills
will be integrated into the assessment criteria for Principal Learning. Each learner’s
achievement of personal, learning and thinking skills will be recorded in the Diploma transcript.
How personal, learning and thinking skills are used to support formative
feedback
Personal, learning and thinking skills provide an excellent structural guide for the tutor when
providing formative feedback to the learner. Tutors will be able to structure assessment and
learning opportunities around personal, learning and thinking skills and should use a pro forma
sheet to indicate to the learner where progress has been made and where the learner needs to
focus further development. A suggested sheet (‘PLTS Performance Indicator’) for this activity
is provided in Annexe B.
The ‘PLTS Performance Indicator’ can be used by the assessor to feed back on work to the
learner showing the level of success that has been demonstrated during each assignment. The
indicator is filled in by the assessor or supervisor to record the learner’s performance at regular
intervals during the course and ideally after every assignment. This informs the learner of their
strengths and weaknesses and illustrates graphically where the learner should concentrate their
efforts in the future.
Access and recruitment

Edexcel’s policy regarding access to its qualifications is that:
• the qualifications should be available to everyone who is capable of reaching the required
standards
• the qualifications should be free from any barriers that restrict access and progression
• there should be equal opportunities for all wishing to access the qualifications.
Centres are required to recruit learners to Edexcel qualifications with integrity. This will include
ensuring that applicants have appropriate information and advice about the qualifications and
that the qualification will meet their needs.
Centres should take appropriate steps to assess each applicant’s potential and make a
professional judgement about their ability to successfully complete the programme of study and
achieve the qualification. This assessment will need to take account of the support available to
the learner within the centre during their programme of study and any specific support that
might be necessary to allow the learner to access the assessment for the qualification. Centres
should also show regard for Edexcel’s policy on learners with particular requirements.
Access arrangements and special considerations

Edexcel’s policy on access arrangements and special considerations aims to enhance access to
the qualifications for learners with disabilities and other difficulties (as defined by the Disability
Discrimination Act 1995 and the amendments to the Act) without compromising the assessment
of skills, knowledge, understanding or competence.
Further information
For further information please call Customer Services on 0844 576 0028 (calls may be recorded
for training purposes) or visit our website at www.edexcel.com.
Useful publications
Further copies of this document and related publications can be obtained from:
Edexcel Publications
Adamsway
Mansfield
Nottinghamshire NG18 4FN
Telephone: 01623 467 467
Fax: 01623 450 481
Email: publications@linney.com
Related information and publications include:
• Accreditation of Prior Learning available on our website: www.edexcel.com
• Guidance for Centres Offering Edexcel/BTEC NQF Accredited Programmes (Edexcel,
distributed to centres annually)
• Operating Rules for Component and Diploma Awarding Bodies (QCA, 2007)
• The Diploma Structure and Standards, Version 2 (QCA, 2007)
• Regulatory Arrangements for the Qualification and Credit Framework (Ofqual, August
2008)
• What is a Diploma? (DfES and QCA, 2007)
• the ASL catalogue on the National Database of Accredited Qualifications (NDAQ) website:
www.ndaq.org.uk
• the current Edexcel publications catalogue and update catalogue
• the latest news on the Diploma from QCDA available on their website:
www.QCDA.gov.uk/diploma
• the latest news on Edexcel Diplomas available on our website:
www.edexcel.com/quals/diploma
NB: Most of our publications are priced. There is also a charge for postage and packing. Please
check the cost when you order.
Professional development and training
Edexcel supports UK and international customers with training related to our qualifications.
This support is available through a choice of training options offered in our published training
directory or through customised training at your centre.
The support we offer focuses on a range of issues including:
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Level 3 units
LEVEL 3 UNIT 1: BUSINESS ENTERPRISE
Unit 1: Business Enterprise
Principal Learning unit
Level 3
Guided Learning Hours: 90
Internally assessed
About this unit All businesses aim to succeed, but the difference between
business success and failure can be small. A single unforeseen
event or economic conditions over which the business has no
control can make all the difference. You will learn about these
factors, which will make you better prepared when planning and
running your own enterprise. You will learn about what makes a
good idea for a business, and what makes an idea innovative.
You will come up with your own idea for a business and prepare
a business plan, drawing on skills and knowledge from other
units to identify the resources you need, produce forecasts, plan
how it will be marketed. You’ll present the idea to potential
investors and then structure your business, identifying team
members’ roles.
Finally, you will set up, run and close down the company. At the
end, you will need to reflect on what has happened, so that next
time you run a business enterprise you are able to learn from
your experiences.
Learning outcomes
On completing this unit, a learner should:
LO.1 Know the factors that impact on the chances of business success
LO.2 Be able to develop a viable business idea
LO.3 Be able to produce a business plan
LO.4 Be able to present a business idea
LO.5 Be able to structure a business
LO.6 Be able to run and review a business.
What you need to learn

LO.1 Know the You need to learn about some of the factors that can affect the
factors that success of a business enterprise:
impact on the • poor planning and research
chances of
business • problems with product or service offered, eg flawed design,
production problems, distribution problems, uncompetitive
success
pricing
• cash flow problems, eg spending or borrowing too much,
poor forecasting, poor cost control, customers failing to pay
what they owe
• failure to market the business successfully
• poor risk management, eg over-dependency on small number
of customers
• lack of adaptability, eg failure to react to changes in market,
technology.
Businesses can be vulnerable to illegal activities, which can hurt
both their reputation and profits. You need to learn about the
sorts of illegal activities that businesses face, eg:
• from customers and member of the public: shoplifting;
payment fraud; internet activities (hacking, viruses, identify
theft fraud)
• from staff: theft of stock, money and supplies; expense
claims and false accounting.
There are a number of security counter measures that can be
taken, eg:
• secure storage of stock, stock taking, security staff, CCTV
• robust financial record keeping and accounting procedures
• internet security features, eg passwords, firewalls, secure
payment systems
• staff selection procedures and disciplinary procedures.
LO.2 Be able to Before you can develop a business idea, you need to learn about
develop a the features of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs are people who
viable business are enterprising, that is they have ideas. They often possess some
idea of the following qualities:
• a willingness to make decisions and take risks
• being motivated, self-reliant and dedicated
• flexibility and ability to adapt
• ability to communicate the idea to others
• being a creative/lateral thinker
• organisation and planning ability.
You also need to consider the benefits of entrepreneurship for:
• the entrepreneur: personal satisfaction; financial reward;
freedom to be your own boss
• society and the economy: benefits for consumers; providing
competition to others; generating wealth and employment;
inspiring others.
You need to learn about the process of developing a business
idea:
• generating ideas for a product/service:
○ looking for opportunities
○ brainstorming techniques
○ assessing ideas in terms of innovation and creativity:
how they are new, different or better than alternatives,
unique selling points
• comparing the ideas and deciding which ideas are viable:
○ time, money and resources available
○ your knowledge and skills
○ whether there seems to be a market for it
○ laws and regulations
○ any other obstacles you will need to overcome
○ sustainability over duration of the enterprise
• choosing the best idea and developing it:
○ what it is
○ who it is for
○ what makes the idea different/better than competition
○ how you could sell it
LO.3 Be able to Planning for a business involves making a number of important

produce a decisions and pre-empting problems. You need to learn about the
business plan different forms of trading:
• different forms of trading: sole traders; partnerships; limited
companies; charities
• key considerations affecting choice: limited and unlimited
liability; risks and rewards; legal considerations, costs and
bureaucracy.
Aims and objectives are designed to help an organisation achieve
its purpose and they provide staff with a focus for what they do.
Different types of organisation have different aims:
• private sector, eg to provide goods or services, to survive, to
grow, to make a profit
• public sector, eg to provide a service to the community, to
improve service provision
• voluntary sector, eg to provide a service to a target group, to
promote a cause, to survive, to make a surplus.
You need to learn about the common elements in a business
plan:
• what the business does and its objectives, including essential
facts about the product or service
• who the target market is
• how the product/service will be sold and marketed
• physical resources, eg premises, equipment, materials
• financial resources, eg start up costs, what money will be
spent on; sources of finance, eg shares, savings, loans
• forecasts: profit and loss; cash flow.
You need to learn about the risk management process, which is a
key part of business planning:
• identifying possible risks:
○ financial, eg illegal activities, insufficient financing
○ market, eg pricing, demand, competition
○ operational, eg problems making the product
• assessing which are most serious
• deciding which can be dealt with
• suggesting preventative measures.
LO.4 Be able to You need to learn about how to prepare and make a presentation
present a • what information people will need to know
business idea
• what order to put information in
• how to be positive and identify benefits
• anticipating questions you may be asked
• use of supporting materials.
Communication skills:
• use of voice, eg speed, clarity
• body language, eye contact.
LO.5 Be able to All businesses need to have some form of internal organisation.
structure a Work can be divided into different functional areas, eg:
business • production/operations
• sales and marketing
• information technology
• finance
• human resources
• administration/facilities.
The size of the business can affect how work is organised:
• large organisations: functions distributed into separate
departments
• small or new organisations, eg distributed to individuals,
shared, combined.
Organisations also differ according to the way that they are
structured:
• hierarchical, eg directors Æ departmental managers Æ
supervisors/team leaders Æ team members
• flat, eg manager Æ staff
• matrix, eg using project teams.
When recruiting people to fill these structures, many
organisations use formal procedures to help them identify needs,
and then attract and assess applicants. You will need to learn
about the purpose and contents of:
• a job description: duties and responsibilities
• a person specification: qualities.
LO.6 Be able to run You need to learn about the process of setting up and running a
and review a company:
business • putting plans into action, adapting where necessary
• creating promotional methods and materials, eg leaflets,
adverts, notices, demonstrations, door-to-door sales
• the need to make effective use of time and resources
• production and the importance of monitoring: quantity,
quality, taking action to put problems right
• how success can be measured, eg how far original aims and
objectives are met, financial and quantitative measures,
feedback from users, lessons learned for the future, evidence
of ability to work well as a team
• the processes involved in setting up and running a company:
○ creating company documents, eg memorandum of
association, articles of association, share certificates
○ record keeping, eg financial accounts, share ownership
records
○ meetings, eg board meetings
• relevant law and regulations:
○ business formation, financial records and taxes
○ consumer legislation, eg unfair trading, sale of goods,
weights and measures
○ other regulations, eg health and safety, planning, fire
• relevant environmental issues, eg
○ waste and recycling
○ energy saving.
• the process of closing down a company:
○ agreement to close down the business
○ closing down of trading activities
○ preparation of final accounts
○ distribution of money and resources.
Teaching this unit

Delivery guidance
This unit is 90 guided learning hours (GLH) in length. Centres should allocate this amount of
time within the timetable for its delivery and assessment.
Unless otherwise stated, all of the content included in the What you need to learn section needs
to be taught. Sometimes an ‘eg’ or ‘for example’ is included in order to show content that is
indicative: in these cases not all of the examples will need to be covered (for example, because
some may not always apply in a particular situation), and tutors can introduce other examples of
their own that are relevant to particular situations and to the needs of their learners.
There are opportunities to link the delivery of this unit to others, particularly Unit 5: Marketing
and Sales in Business, Unit 2: Business Administration and Events, Unit 7: Teams and
Communication in Business and Unit 4: Business Finance and Accounting, so that parts of those
units are contextualised within the enterprise that the learners are working on in this unit: so, for
example, the event that learners organise in Unit 2: Business Administration and Events could
be an event at which the learners will promote their enterprise; Unit 5: Marketing and Sales
could be linked to this unit at several stages: learners could carry out market research on the
business idea from this unit; they could also use it to learn and then demonstrate their personal
selling skills. Similarly, it would be beneficial to link the forecasting and financial planning that
is required in LO.3 to Unit 4: Business Finance and Accounting. Finally, the planning and
running of a business idea offer an ideal context for the meetings that learners are required to
organise and support in Unit 2: Business Administration and Events.
Delivery guidance for LO.1
Learners need to understand the various factors that can affect the chances of business success,
as some may have a direct bearing on their own business enterprises. There are a mix of factors
that are internal and could potentially be controlled, and wider economic factors about which
organisations may have little control. Real examples of business failure should be easy to find,
particularly those connected to technology, for example internet start-ups. There is no
requirement to go into the finance/accounting issues in great depth: understanding cash flow
will be dealt with more fully in Unit 4: Business Finance and Accounting.
Illegal activities are an interesting topic, which should prove quite motivating for the learners.
Learners should be encouraged to draw on their own experience as and possibly as employees:
they will probably be aware of a number of the counter measures that are taken. It may be
interesting for them to compare the approaches taken by different organisations, commenting on
how effective they think these are. Visiting speakers from local businesses may also be able to
illuminate this subject area.
By looking at the qualities of entrepreneurs, learners can prepare themselves for the enterprise
activity to come. It is important to emphasise that there are likely to be many counter examples,
and different entrepreneurs will possess these qualities in different proportions: in some cases,
say, their persistence and expert knowledge may have played the key role; with others it may be
their adaptability and ability and creativity. It is important to recognise the role that innovation
and creativity play in the success of new products and services. The topic may be more
accessible and enjoyable for the learners if they can consider their own experience of using a
particular product or service: what is it that makes it so desirable or useful to them? Or what
sorts of innovation in the near future would they really like to see? What would help them solve
daily issues/annoyances? One problem is that after an idea becomes successful, the idea then
seems obvious to everyone; one reason for this is that great ideas often identify needs or desires
that nobody even realised they had. This can make it difficult to think back to what life was like
before the idea had been thought of. One way of addressing this is to take a particular sector, eg
telecommunications or electronic entertainment, and trace innovative developments over a
number of years, such as mobile phones, music storage media, games consoles, etc. It is also
important to emphasise, however, that innovation is not just about ideas that have never been
thought of before: much innovation is about small, incremental improvements, or applying
existing ideas into new contexts. Learners also need to be introduced to the concept of unique
selling points.
Learners need to learn about the process of generating ideas. There are different ways of
identifying opportunities, such as identifying an un-met need, or seeing what is already
successful in one situation and considering whether it can be applied in a different context.
Learners need to be taught about how to generate ideas in groups. Brainstorming is the most
widely used method, and there are different types and classifications, but it is not necessary to
go into variations. It is important that they learn that all ideas need to be recorded and that at the
idea generation stage it is important not to pass judgements otherwise creativity could be stifled.
Learners could practise using brainstorming techniques in groups to solve any type of problem.
Before learners are able to develop their own ideas, they will need to have some understanding
of what makes an idea realistic and viable: the time, money and physical resources will be
critical, as will other issues such as any relevant laws, regulations and health and safety
considerations. Tutors should try to steer learners towards ideas that will work in the context of
their surroundings. It would be useful to look at examples of business ideas which looked at
face value as if they would be successful, but which proved to be flawed, for example by being
overambitious, unrealistic, failing to see the potential obstacles in the way.
Although the enterprise will be run as a company, learners will need to understand the different
forms of trading so that they are aware of the various implications. When considering differing
aims and objectives, a good place to start would be mission statements that are often available
on company websites. Learners could be encouraged to comment on how successful they are at
explaining what the organisation does.
Learners need to understand the information that needs to go into a business plan. There is no
set format, and learners need not look at a variety of different formats: the most important thing
is that they understand what sorts of information are required. Real examples (either blank or
completed) might help and blank examples can often be obtained from high street bands, but
some may contain much greater or more detailed information than is required for the purposes
of this unit. It would be beneficial for learners to have already studied budgets in Unit 4:
Business Finance and Accounting and marketing in Unit 5: Marketing and Sales in Business
before they complete their business plan. However, if that is not possible so that this learning
outcome is being delivered before that can happen, these topics could be dealt with in isolation
so that learners know enough for the purposes of this unit; this knowledge can then be
developed further once the other units are delivered.
Learners will need to be taught about the basic principles of making presentations to stimulate
interest in a business idea: the importance of structure and clarity; how software and handouts
can be used; why it is important to present an idea in a positive light; and what information
potential investors will want to know. However, it is important for tutors to be realistic: learners
at this level will not be expected to be able to provide the sort of detailed financial and practical
information that would be expected in the real world. To prepare learners for creating a
presentation, learners could practise presenting personal information to each other in small
groups.
Learners will need to understand that there are common business functions that need to take
place whether the business is run by a sole trader, carrying out all of the function themselves or
as a large organisation with separate departments. It would also be useful to look at the
structures of different organisations so that learners understand how much variety there can be
in terms of how the functions are distributed and also lines of responsibility. Learners should be
encouraged to consider the pros and cons of hierarchical, matrix and flat structures.
Similarly, real examples of job descriptions and person specifications would be useful. One
approach would be to remove key information from each and see if learners are able to match
the correct job description to its person specification.
Learners need to be taught about the decisions and planning that are involved in implementing a
business idea: there is a clear overlap here with LO.3 in that many of them need to be built into
the planning but then executed during delivery. They need to know about the different
promotional methods and materials they could use and why. They also need to know why it is
important to monitor quality (particularly if they are producing anything tangible) and quantity
(production/sales) while the enterprise is running so that they can take action if required: the
actual monitoring methods are less important than the fact that some sort of monitoring needs to
take place. As part of their learning activities, it would be worthwhile for learners to investigate
how a variety of local businesses do this if information is available.
Learners need to be taught about the different ways in which success can be measured:
quantitative (for example profits, sales targets) and also more subjective measures such as:
customer opinions and goodwill created; identifying untapped demand that could be met in
another way; lessons learned and skills developed which could be built upon in future. Learners
should appreciate that a business enterprise might be judged successful under some criteria but a
failure when other criteria are applied. This can be illustrated by looking at real business
ventures that are conventionally judged to have been ‘failures’ and isolating ways in which it
could be judged to have had aspects that were in actual fact successful. Moreover, the
experience of running an unsuccessful business can be very valuable as long as lessons are
learned; again there are many real examples of entrepreneurs who have eventually been
successful only after failure that could be used to illustrate this point.
Assessment information for learners

How you will be assessed
This unit will be assessed by an assignment connected to running a business enterprise.

You will need to:
• Decide on an idea for a product or service, develop it and use this to create a written
business plan, including a risk analysis [LO.2, LO.3]
• Create and give a presentation, based on your business plan, to potential investors [LO.4]
• Develop a structure for your business: a diagram showing the organisational structure of
your business enterprise; a job description and person specification for your own job role
[LO.5]
• Put the business idea into practice and then write up: what decisions were taken and any
changes made from the plan; how successful the business was, what you have learned from
this (including about your own abilities) and what you would do differently next time
[LO.6]; what problems you faced (or might face if the business were to continue), and what
you did or would do about them [LO.1].
Assessment information for assessors

Instructions and controls for setting assessment assignments
This unit must be covered by a single assignment, which is described in the How you will be
assessed section, and exemplified within the unit sample assessment material (SAM).
Sector-relevant purpose
By its nature, any business enterprise idea can be considered relevant to business, administration
and finance as long as it is for a real product or service, not a simulation. The enterprise must
have some sort a purpose: in other words it is not enough for it to be done in order solely to
satisfy the assessment requirements; rather it must have some other purpose, such as a goal or
target.
Evidence structure
Learning Marking Activity/section Evidence

outcome grid
LO.2, LO.3 A Business plan Written evidence: business plan
LO.4 B Group presentation Learner observation record,
supported by hard copies of any
slides, notes, handouts, etc
LO.5 A Developing a structure for Written evidence: organisational
the business structure, job description and
person specification
LO.6(.2, 3) A Implementation and review Written evidence: decisions taken,
of business idea assessment of success of business.
LO.1 A Written evidence: problems and
ways of dealing with them
LO.6(.1) B Learner observation record of
learner’s contribution to the
business.
Level of demand
The level of demand is exemplified in the unit sample assessment material (SAM).
It would be appropriate for the final ‘live’ stage of the business in LO.6 to be run over a fairly
extended period of time (for example a few hours a week over two or three months). However,
centres may wish to extend this enterprise activity over a longer period with more hours
allowed. This may make particular sense if centres are contextualising the delivery or
assessment of other units within the learners’ business enterprise; in this case the enterprise
activity can also make use of hours allocated to those units.
Assessment duration
The suggested guided learning hours (GLH) needed to complete this assignment is 18 hours per
learner. Centres can structure this time as they see fit. For LO.6, the suggested GLH only
includes time spent writing up their individual accounts, not time spent running the business.
Centres should note that the total class assessment time may need to be higher to allow time for
separate group presentations for LO.2/3.
Instructions and controls for taking assessment assignments
Learners must be provided with full access to study all of the areas identified in the What you
need to learn section of the specification.
Controls relating to resources and supervision are contained within Annexe E.
The enterprise should be run as a company, rather than a partnership. This does not mean that it
will need to be formally registered with Companies House, but learners will be expected to set
up, run and close down the company as if this were the case. They will need to work in groups
of between five and eight people.
The enterprise should also have duration so that the enterprise is operating and trying to
generate revenue over a period of time. For example, it cannot be geared solely to putting on a
one-off event, for example a single fund raising activity. On the other hand, a one-off event
could form one part of the enterprise activities.
For the first part of the assignment, (LO.2, LO.3), it will be necessary for groups to collaborate
in creating the business plan. The group will jointly contribute to discussion of the business plan
and risk analysis, but each person must write up a plan (see Guidance for assessment for
guidance on how this can be managed). The plan must include information about all of the
different categories listed in the What you need to learn section.
For the second part of the assignment (LO.4) each learner must take responsibility for creating
and presenting part of the presentation within the group. Learners must be awarded individual
marks for their own part of the task. Tutors must award marks to the individual, not to the
group. This means that is possible for one group member to score highly on their part of the
presentation while another scores less well on their part. Peer feedback could be gathered and
used as supporting evidence, but assessment decisions must be made by the tutor.
Although work that leads up to the creation of the assessment evidence in the third part of the
assignment (LO.5), will be done as part of a group, the learner must produce their own evidence
for assessment for the organisation plan, and particularly the job description and person
specification for their own job role in the enterprise.
For the final part of the assignment (LO.1, LO.6), marks are awarded not only for the written
evidence submitted by the learners (marking grid A) but also for the contribution made to the
running of the business, as observed by the tutor (marking grid B). Tutors will not need to be
present at all stages, nor to observe every activity, but must take a holistic view based on what
they see throughout the process rather than, say, at the beginning or end only. When assessing
the contributions made, tutors must remember that even if the business has only limited success
in meeting its objectives, it is possible for any (or even all) individual team members to make a
significant and sustained contribution to the running of the business.
Summary of unit controls
Setting Time Resources Supervision Collaboration Marking
Limited Limited Limited Medium Limited Medium
See Annexe E for further information.
Guidance for assessment
It is recommended that assessment to take place in different stages: (business plan, group
presentation, structuring of business, implementation) after the relevant learning has taken
place. The assessment of LO.5 (structuring of the business and job role) could be done at the
same time as that for LO.2/LO.3 (business plan). The centre may wish to consider participating
in external business enterprise activities, for example Young Enterprise, Ride the Wave.
Although LO.1 should be taught early on as an integral part of the theme of business enterprise,
the assessment of this outcome comes towards the end of the unit, with the learners relating this
to any problems encountered in their own business experience.
For the first part of the assignment, learners should be encouraged to choose their business idea
as a group, but these should be checked by the tutor before learners begin work and they may
need to guide them to a suitable choice. The ideas they come up with need not be for brand new
products or services; they could be improvements or adaptations of existing ideas or simply
taking an existing idea used in one context or location to another. Each learner must contribute
to the discussion. This does not mean that each person has to come up with an idea, but they
should make some contribution to the discussion, for example helping to develop an idea that
someone else thought of, pointing out why an idea is not practical, etc. Although learners can
work together to pool ideas and agree a common approach for their business, they must write up
the plan individually, calculate their own financial data, etc. It is important to emphasise the
importance of setting a number of realistic and achievable objectives.
For the business plan, the learners can be shown models from which to work, and pro formas
could be created for them to use and be completed individually. Commercial pro formas can
also be used (and adapted if necessary) as long as they cover all aspects of the assessment
requirements. Each person must complete a plan. They can continue to discuss the plan while
they are writing it up, using each other as a resource, but tutors must take care to ensure that
they are not simply copying from each other.
For the presentation, the ‘potential investors’ should preferably involve people external to the
centre, such as a local employer/bank manager. It is not envisaged that each learner would have
to talk for more than about 5-7 minutes. The potential investors should have the opportunity to
ask questions to each of the learners. The investors could also include centre staff and selected
learners. All-learner panels should only be used as a last resort. It could be given added purpose
by being set within a scenario such as BBC’s Dragons’ Den; if so, it would help if the panel are
provided with money (real or imaginary) to invest.
For assessment of the third part of the assignment, learners must indicate the structure and roles
that they have allocated and draw up a person specification and job description. This should be
for their own job/role. The person specification should relate to the qualities of the ideal job
holder, and so it may go beyond their own qualities in some ways. The person specification
should be consistent with the structure (as well as with the business plan created for LO.3), with
each learner having a clearly defined role in the running of the business.
When it comes to implementing their business idea, each learner should have a distinct role, and
they should attempt to follow the plan created. However, it is quite likely that plans will have to
be altered as soon as learners are faced with practicalities. If circumstances change or
unforeseen problems arise, the original plan may need to be abandoned and a new one put into
action; this does not mean that learners will have to complete another implementation plan.
Credit will be given in assessment for their ability to show why they had to make changes rather
than sticking rigidly to a plan that is not working. The evidence for their decisions taken should
be in writing but it could be in any appropriate format. When it comes to judging success, at this
level, learners should go further than merely holistic judgements about the overall success or
otherwise, and should aim to comment on how well they did at different stages and in different
ways, both individually and as a group. They should be encouraged to consider quantitative and
qualitative measures. The issue of ‘problems’ could focus either on actual problems faced or
what they predict might happen were the enterprise to continue over a longer period: there is no
need for learners to do both.
Marking grid A
Assessment Mark Band 1 Mark Band 2 Mark Band 3 Maximum marks
focus available
LO.1 The learner identifies and provides The learner identifies and provides The learner identifies and provides
brief explanation of the problems. a clear explanation of problems. a clear and convincing
Know the factors
There is limited information about There are reasonable ideas about explanation of problems. There
that impact on the
how problems were or could be how problems were or could be are convincing ideas about how
chances of
dealt with. dealt with. problems were or could be dealt
business success
with.
(0–2) (3–4) (5–6) 6
LO.2 The plan includes limited The plan provides some evidence The plan shows convincingly that
evidence that shows how the that shows how the business idea how the business idea is creative,
Be able to develop
business idea is creative, is creative, innovative and viable. innovative and viable.
a viable business
innovative and viable.
idea
(0–2) (3–4) (5–6) 6
LO.3 Parts of the plan may lack clarity. The plan is generally clear. Some The plan is clear. The plan is
The plan contains brief and parts of the plan are detailed, detailed and convincing
Be able to produce
limited information, which which indicates the learner has a throughout, which indicates the
a business plan
indicates the learner has a limited reasonable idea of what will be learner has a good idea of what
idea of what will be required. A required. A range of risks are will be required. A wide range of
few obvious risks are identified, identified and there are risks are identified and there are
with limited ideas for how to reasonable ideas for how to convincing ideas for how to
manage them. manage them. manage them.
(0–6) (7–9) (10–12) 12

focus available
LO.5 The organisational structure is The structure is appropriate for The structure is appropriate and
reasonably appropriate for the the business. A generally clear clear for the business. A clear,
Be able to
business. A limited job job description and person well-structured and well-
structure a
description and person specification for their own role is presented job description and
business
specification for their own role is provided, identifying the person specification for their own
provided, identifying some of the responsibilities and required role is provided, which clearly
responsibilities and required attributes. links the relevant responsibilities
attributes. and required attributes.
(0–2) (3–4) (5–6) 6
LO.6(.2) The learner produces a limited The learner produces a The learner produces a clear and
account of the activities reasonably clear account of the detailed account of the activities
Be able to run and
undertaken to implement their activities they undertook to they undertook to implement their
review a business
business idea. There is implement their business idea. business idea. There is clear
information about decisions taken There is information about information about decisions
when implementing the business, decisions taken when taken, which shows how the
but limited reference to how the implementing the business, which original plan was followed, with
original plan was followed or shows how the original plan was reasons given where it was
adapted. followed or adapted. adapted.
(0–2) (3–4) (5–6)
LO.6(.3) There is a basic evaluation of There is a well-balanced There is a well-balanced and
their own contribution, their evaluation of their own justified evaluation of their own
Be able to run and
abilities and the success of the contribution, their own abilities contribution, their own abilities
review a business
business. There are basic and the success of the business. and the success of the business.
conclusions about what they have There are reasonable conclusions There are justified conclusions
learned from their experiences and about what they have learned from about what they have learned from
could do differently next time. their experiences and could do their experiences and could do
differently next time, which are differently next time.
partially supported by evidence.
(0–4) (5–6) (7–8) 14
Total marks 44
Marking grid B
focus available
LO.4 The learner shows basic The learner shows reasonable The learner shows good
communication skills in terms of communication skills in terms of communication skills in terms of
Be able to present
structuring, audibility and structuring, audibility and structuring, audibility and
a business idea
supporting materials and the supporting materials and overall, supporting materials and overall,
audience may find the learner’s the audience can follow the the audience can follow the
presentation difficult to follow. learner’s presentation of learner’s presentation with little
Positive and relevant features of information without much or no difficulty. Positive and
the enterprise are identified. They difficulty. Positive and relevant relevant features of the enterprise
show limited confidence and features of the enterprise are are explained clearly. They show
fluency during the presentation explained. They show some good confidence and fluency and
and answer any questions faced confidence and fluency during the provide convincing answers to
with difficulty. presentation and provide any questions faced.
reasonable answers to any
questions faced.
(0–4) (5–7) (8–10) 10
LO.6(.1) The learner makes a limited The learner makes a reasonable The learner makes a leading and
contribution to the successful contribution to the successful sustained contribution to the
Be able to run and
running of the business. They running of the business. They successful running of the business.
review a business
show some ability to work with work well with others and show They work well with others and
others and show limited initiative, some initiative, commitment and show good initiative, commitment
commitment and perseverance. perseverance. and perseverance.
(0–2) (3–4) (5–6) 6

Total marks 16
Assessment guidance
Using the marking grid

the Edexcel Diploma website for further information). These make up grid B.
• Evidence generated for marking grid A will be moderated. This must be in the form of hard
evidence which a moderator can reassess, such as learner produced written documents (for
example short question answers, multiple choice question answers, materials from
presentations, research notes), videos (dated) of practical activities or artefacts.
• Marks gained from marking grid A will be reported separately from those gained from
marking grid B.
Level 3 descriptors
Descriptor Meaning
Appropriate Suitable/relevant.
Basic Limited to the fundamental features, elements or facts.
Brief/briefly Short, lacking detail.
Clear/clearly Well expressed, easy to understand or see.
Convincing Believable, well argued.
Detail/detailed Showing thoroughness.
Difficult to follow A considerable effort is required to understand what is being
said, and some parts are not clear.
Explain/explanation Provide reasons for a decision, feature, etc.
Evaluate/evaluation Assess the value, quality or importance of something.
A few One or two.
Full/fully Complete/completely.
Generally Mostly/or most of the time but not completely or consistently.
Good/well To a high level or degree.
Identify Mentions the key elements, facts, features, etc.
Justify /justified Give good reasons for something.
Lack clarity Not well expressed/not easy to understand.
Limited Incomplete or having a narrow scope; shows only basic ability
or understanding.
Objective Based on facts that can be independently verified.
Obvious Easy to identify.
Partially supported The evidence is not wholly convincing or only some parts are
supported by the evidence.
A range Three or four.
Reasonable Moderate or average
Reasonably Somewhat, fairly.
Relevant features Key features about the business idea which will affect its
success.
Some At least two; to a certain degree, partial.
Subjective Based purely on opinion.
Sustained Maintained over a period of time.
Throughout All the way through; consistently.
Well balanced Giving appropriate weight to most significant factors/both sides.
A wide range Five or more.
Descriptor Meaning
With little or no difficulty The presentation is wholly or almost entirely clear and requires
little effort from the audience to understand what is being said.
Without much difficulty Either: a moderate effort is required to understand what is being
said; or some parts are clear and other parts are less clear.
Delivery of personal, learning and thinking skills (PLTS)

The following table identifies the PLTS that have been included within the assessment criteria
of this unit:
Skill When learners are …

Creative thinkers Developing an idea for a product or service that is viable, creative
and innovative [CT1]; putting the business idea into practice,
adapting their ideas as circumstances change [CT6]
Reflective learners Evaluating their experiences of being involved in a business
enterprise to inform future progress [RL5]
Team workers Working in groups to implement their business idea [TW1]
Self-managers Anticipating risks to the business while developing their business
plan, suggesting preventative measures [SM4]; working towards
achieving their business goals, showing initiative commitment and
perseverance [SM2]
Effective participators Presenting the business plan to potential investors, presenting a
case for action [EP2]
Although PLTS are identified within this unit as an inherent part of the assessment criteria, there
are further opportunities to develop a range of PLTS through various approaches to teaching and
learning.
Independent enquirers Researching possible business ideas [IE2]; researching causes of
business failure, analysing information and judging its relevance
and value [IE4]; considering the influence of circumstances,
beliefs and feelings on people’s entrepreneurial abilities [IE5]
Creative thinkers Connecting their own and others’ preliminary ideas for a product
or service to come up with an inventive idea to develop [CT3];
developing their business idea, trying out alternative approaches
[CT5]
Reflective learners Assessing themselves and others at the end of the business
implementation [RL1]; reviewing progress at the end of the
business implementation in terms of what they have achieved
[RL3]; inviting feedback from the investors to who they have
presented the business idea, dealing positively with praise and
criticism [RL4]
Team workers Reaching agreements and managing discussions to achieve results
[TW2]; showing fairness and consideration to others while
implementing the business idea [TW4]

Self-managers Preparing to implement their business idea, organising their own
time and resources [SM3]; dealing with competing pressures when
trying to organise the activities involved in putting a business idea
into practice [SM5]; responding positively to any changes that
need to be made when putting the business idea into practice,
seeking advice and support from the tutor when needed [SM6]
Effective participators Implementing their business idea, proposing practical ways
forward, breaking these down into manageable steps [EP3];
identifying ways in which the product or service they have chosen
will result in improvements for customers [EP4]; trying to
influence others in their group when discussing which business
idea to choose [EP5]; presenting a business idea to investors,
which may represent a group choice of product or service rather
than one that they personally wanted to choose [EP6]
Functional skills — Level 2

ICT — Use ICT systems

Select, interact with and use ICT
systems independently for a complex
task to meet a variety of needs
Use ICT to effectively plan work and
evaluate the effectiveness of the ICT
system used
Manage information storage to enable
efficient retrieval
Follow and understand the need for
safety and security practices
Troubleshoot
ICT — Find and select

information
Select and use a variety of sources of Researching the causes of business failure.
information independently for a
Researching their business idea.
complex task
Access, search for, select and use ICT-
based information and evaluate its
fitness for purpose
ICT — Develop, present and

communicate information
Enter, develop and format information Preparing a presentation of their idea for prospective
independently to suit its meaning and investors.
purpose, including:
• text and tables
• images
• numbers
• records.
Bring together information to suit Writing their business plan and structuring the business.
content and purpose
Present information in ways that are fit Writing their business plan; presenting their business
for purpose and audience idea to prospective investors.
Evaluate the selection and application
of ICT tools and facilities used to
present information

Select and use ICT to communicate
and exchange information safely,
responsibly and effectively including
storage of messages and contact lists
Mathematics
Understand routine and non-routine
problems in a wide range of familiar
and unfamiliar contexts and situations
Identify the situation or problem and Producing forecasts and calculating financial
the mathematical methods needed to requirements.
tackle it
Select and apply a range of Producing forecasts and calculating financial
mathematics to find solutions requirements.
Use appropriate checking procedures
and evaluate their effectiveness at
each stage
Interpret and communicate solutions
to practical problems in familiar and
unfamiliar routine contexts and
situations
Draw conclusions and provide Drawing up final business accounts.
mathematical justifications
English
Speaking and listening – make a range Discussing ideas for a business.
of contributions to discussions and
Presenting their business ideas to prospective investors.
make effective presentations in a wide
range of contexts Discussing the structure for their business.
Implementing the business idea.
Reading – compare, select, read and Researching causes of business failure.
understand texts and use them to
gather information, ideas, arguments
and opinions
Writing – write documents, including Explaining the causes of business failure.
extended writing pieces,
Preparing a presentation.
communicating information, ideas and
opinions, effectively and persuasively Writing a business plan.
Specialist resources
None.
Reference material
Books
Bridge S – Understanding Enterprise, Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2nd edition
(Palgrave Macmillan, 2003) ISBN 0333984659
Burke R – Entrepreneur’s Toolkit (Burke Publishing, 2006) ISBN 0958239442
Burke R – Small Business Entrepreneur (Burke Publishing, 2006) ISBN 0958239442
Parks S – Start your Business: week by week (Prentice Hall, 2004) ISBN 0273694472
Pinson L and Jinnett J – Steps to Small Business start up (Kaplan Business, 2006)
ISBN 141953727
Websites
www.businesslink.gov.uk Government site offering information and advice
on starting up and running a business
http://entrepreneurs.bankofscotland.co.uk/challen Bank of Scotland’s Entrepreneur Challenge
ge/entrepreneur_resources
www.hsbcsme.reedbusiness.co.uk Service offering resources for small business
www.nfte.co.uk Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship
www.scottberkun.com Essays on various topics, including innovation
and creativity
www.twkg.net The Working Knowledge Group/Ride the Wave
www.young-enterprise.org.uk Young Enterprise
LEVEL 3 UNIT 2: BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION AND EVENTS
Unit 2: Business Administration and Events
Level 3
Internally assessed
About this unit Think about the thousands of people who attend an event such as
a conference or exhibition. What would happen if the organiser
didn’t know how many people were coming? Or if the equipment
didn’t work? Or if there wasn’t enough food to go around?
Arranging an event is a complex and demanding task, and
requires good project management skills – something that you’ll
learn more about in this unit.
Just like event management, almost all businesses rely on
effective and efficient administration to support their day-to-day
activities as you’ll find out in this unit, and these skills are
transferable to a range of different job roles – in the modern
world, even at senior positions, administrative skills are required.
An administrative task that is common across many
organisations is organising and supporting meetings, which is
something you’ll practise doing in this unit. Staying healthy and
safe in the workplace is in everyone’s interests and is something
that everyone shares responsibility for, so you’ll learn more
about the risks and hazards and what to do about them.
Learning outcomes
LO.1 Understand the importance of effective administration and information management
LO.2 Be able to use project management skills to plan a business event
LO.3 Be able to organise and support a meeting
LO.4 Be able to assess risks to health and safety.

LO.1 Understand Efficient administration is critical in business. Increasingly, good
the importance administration skills are seen as a core component for all roles in
of effective business from office junior to chief executive. Efficient
administration administration skills are important for a number of reasons,
ensuring that:
and
information • information is recorded and stored correctly
management • work is carried out in a consistent manner and according to
agreed procedures
• departmental processes run smoothly
• time is used efficiently
• effective service is provided to internal and external
customers.
There are a range of administrative processes that businesses
need to undertake:
• organising and supporting events and meetings
• planning and running projects
• dealing with visitors: receiving and welcoming visitors,
creating the right image, meeting their needs
• managing manual and electronic information: checking,
recording, storing, retrieving and disposing of information
with regard to confidentiality
• providing information to internal and external customers
• organising business travel and accommodation
• managing time: working to timescales; managing own and
other people’s diaries
• managing routine financial transactions: processing orders,
invoices, expenses.
Effective administration depends on the way organisations
manage information. You need to learn about:
• the types of information used in a business, eg customer
data, product information, financial records, staff records
• types of information systems, eg office records, transaction
processing, management information
• importance of maintaining and updating the systems
• consequences of incomplete or inaccurate information
• legislation and organisational requirements regarding data
protection.
LO.2 Be able to use Organising and co-ordinating business events from arranging
project meetings to organising a full scale conference requires excellent
management administrative skills. You need to learn about different types of
skills to plan a event in business, eg
business event • product launches
• seminars and workshops
• networking
• exhibitions and trade fairs
• receptions
• conferences.
Events need to be planned and project management techniques
are used to structure and control work. You need to learn about
the basic principles of project management:
• the project balance model: time, cost, quality
• the stages of a project life cycle: initiation, planning,
execution, monitoring, closure
• ways of dealing with risk: avoid, reduce, transfer, accept.
You need to learn about how project management is used when
initiating and planning a business event:
• defining and agreeing project outcomes:
○ type and purpose of event
○ when it is to take place
○ key features that the event will require and expectations
of attendees
• planning tasks:
○ what needs to be done
○ the order in which they need to be done
○ prioritising tasks according to importance and urgency
• planning time:
○ setting milestones and agreeing deadlines
○ estimating how long tasks will take and when they need
to happen
○ building extra time into schedule for contingencies
○ entering activities into a calendar
• planning resources that need to be organised:

○ physical resources, eg venue, catering, equipment,
documentation, publicity
○ human resources, eg numbers, roles
○ ensuring health and safety requirements are met
• contingency planning
○ identifying potential problems
○ being prepared for them.
LO.3 Be able to Meetings are a key administrative process in organisations, and
organise and you will need to learn about what needs to happen in order for
support a them to be a success. Meetings need to have a purpose, and you
meeting need to know how to set objectives for meetings:
• what the meeting aims to achieve.
The administrator plays a key role in the success of meetings.
and you will need to learn about the different administrative
activities required to organise and support a meeting:
• meetings preparation:
○ preparing an agenda
○ arranging a venue
○ inviting people to attend and confirming list of attendees
○ preparing information needed by attendees
○ arranging equipment and resources to support meeting.
• supporting meetings by:
○ checking room is set out properly and equipment is
working
○ ensuring all documentation is provided
○ taking an attendance list
○ dealing with any special requirements of attendees, eg
dietary, access, hearing/visual impairment
○ taking accurate records of meeting
• carrying out follow-up activities:
○ preparing an accurate record of the list of attendees,
apologies for absence, action points, date of next
meeting
○ completing any follow-up actions required
○ getting approval of the records and making any required
amendments
○ circulating a record of meeting within defined timescale.
LO.4 Be able to Safe working conditions contribute to the success of an

assess risks to organisation and it is important that measures are taken to
health and prevent accidents in the workplace. You need to learn about:
safety • the role and responsibilities of employers and employees in
maintaining a safe working environment
• what constitutes a healthy, safe and secure working
environment including responsibilities to self, colleagues,
organisation, customers and clients
• how to identify hazards and carry out a risk assessment.
Health and safety is controlled largely by legislation and
regulation and you need to learn about how this affects those
working in a business environment:
• Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) (HASWA)
• Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992
• Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences
Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR)
• Control of Substances Hazardous to Health 1994 (COSHH)
• Electricity at Work Regulations 1989
• Display Screen Equipment Regulations
• Manual Handling Operations Regulations.
Teaching this unit

Delivery guidance
When looking at different types of administrative roles it would be useful to use examples from
local, national and global organisations to show how they differ in terms of tasks and
responsibilities. For example, a large multi-national organisation may cover a range of different
administrative roles to support specialist functions such as customer services, reception, diary
management, or providing dedicated support for one or more managers, whereas a smaller local
organisation may have just one secretarial function to cover all the administrative needs of the
organisation. Learners can also research roles in business requiring administrative skills, and the
types of job roles in different types of organisation. It would be beneficial for learners to
investigate administrative pathways to provide an insight into career progression opportunities.
Some learners may already have had some experience in administrative roles, perhaps in
temporary jobs, and so it would be beneficial to use this as a starting point for discussions about
the different responsibilities.
Before assessment, some learning activities could be based on an organisation to which learners
have access in order to gain a better understanding of the relevance of the administrative job
role. There are advantages in selecting an organisation with a local presence as any
investigations can be achieved through a visit or a visiting speaker. Learners need to understand
the role administration plays in contributing to the effective operation of organisations,
irrespective of the size of the organisation. This can be achieved by investigating the links
between different administrative tasks carried out for functions, such as human resources,
finance, production, customer service, etc. Learners could split into groups to investigate a
different admin function in the centre, for example finance, human resources, customer services
etc, and each group could feedback so that the whole picture emerges (this would also minimise
disruption to the administrative staff). This could then lead into investigating the admin
functions in a local organisation, and comparing these.
To introduce this topic, learners will need to understand the range of different types of business
event. Group discussions could draw on learners’ own experiences of events they have attended
in the last year, and they could rate how successful they were in terms of organisation,
highlighting what could have been done better. This could lead to tutor input on the importance
of using a structured approach to planning and organising a business event using project
management skills. Although the focus is on business events, it would be helpful for learners to
investigate the background to project management terminology using case studies of large scale
engineering or IT projects which have famously had ‘project balance model’ problems such as
Wembley Stadium or the NHS.
It would be useful to introduce the principles and techniques of planning and managing projects
through use of micro ‘projects’ such as ‘baking a cake’ to help learners apply the concepts to
simple situations before moving on to address the complexities of projects such as planning and
running an event.
Discussion groups can be used for learners to explore, and possibly share experiences, of the
different types and purposes of event such as meetings, conferences, exhibitions, receptions,
trade fair stands etc. Learners need to appreciate the importance of forward planning and
keeping accurate records when organising an event. The range of tasks involved in planning an
event are varied, for example selecting appropriate venues, identifying resources needed to
support the event, budgetary responsibilities, arranging travel and accommodation for
participants, producing an agenda, and all of these require interaction with relevant parties about
progress, etc. Role-play scenarios and in-tray exercises would be useful to help reinforce
learning, and tutors can provide examples of checklists. The use of guest speakers, such as an
event organiser, and visits to different types of event as a guest, giving learners some insight
about what needs to be arranged, are to be encouraged for learners to gain first hand experience
of planning an event.
It would be worthwhile the tutor providing a scenario for small groups to practise planning
activities prior to assessment. Follow-on group discussions could allow learners to compare
results.
Meetings are an important activity in the planning and running a business event as well as more
generally in most businesses, and learners should be given plenty of opportunities to practise
meeting skills. Role-play scenarios would give learners the opportunity to practise conducting
meetings in class and also provide the opportunity for other learners to give feedback on the
organisation of the meeting, and how successful it was in terms of meeting its objectives. At all
times, learners should be encouraged to give constructive and positive feedback. It would be
useful to show learners video/DVD clips of meetings’ protocol and then let learners practise
recording information. The use of video clips would provide the opportunity for discussion.
Discussion may include identifying the meeting’s objectives and planning considerations.
Learners must have opportunities to practise taking minutes of meetings by recording the
proceedings and then word processing the notes. Tutors can provide examples of different
formats for presenting minutes.
This topic develops learners’ knowledge of the importance of the health and safety practices and
legislation that affects the work environment; case studies could be used to give learners
practice opportunities. Centres should be aware that the law is constantly being revised and need
to ensure they are aware of any changes and up to date with developments.
Learners should have a broad understanding of the legislation and regulations that are relevant
to the administrative function whilst understanding how they affect the organisation, and tutors
should be aware of the depth of understanding needed at this level. Learners can work in groups
to identify any health and safety hazards using case studies and actual work stations, for
example in the centre’s admin area. In doing so, they should be aware of what constitutes good
practice. Discussion groups can explore the causes of hazards and carry out a risk assessment
making recommendations for reducing the risks and how these should be prioritised. The Health
and Safety Executive website provides excellent leaflets and a template for the best practice 5-
step approach to risk assessment – identify the hazards, decide who might be harmed and how,
evaluate the risks and decide on precautions, record findings and implement them, review
assessment and update if necessary. The use of videos or DVDs will help to reinforce good
health and safety practice and highlight hazards which would be difficult to simulate in the
classroom, such as dealing with a fire.

This unit will be assessed by an assignment based on planning a business event.

You will need to:
• Plan the event. This will involve:
○ using project management skills to plan the event [LO.2]
○ organise and support a meeting connected to planning the event, including setting
meeting objectives and carrying out follow up activities [LO.3(.1, .2, .3)]
○ carrying out a risk assessment prior to the event, making recommendations for
improvements [LO.4].
• Review the meeting and the event planning. This will cover: how successful you were at
organising and supporting the meeting, along with ideas for improvements [LO.3(.4)]; what
constitutes effective administration and information management in an organisation and
why it is important both for the organisation’s overall effectiveness and when organising
meetings and events [LO.1].

The event that is being planned must have a purpose, for example to provide information, to
raise funds, etc to people outside of the class. The event could be related to the learners’
enterprise or it could be an event that is being planned for another organisation (such as a
business or the centre). The purpose could be decided by the centre or agreed between the centre
and learners. The meetings must be linked to the planning of the event.
Although learners are not assessed on the planning (rather than the eventual success of the
event), it is intended that the event chosen is one that is really planned to take place.
Evidence structure

outcome grid
LO.2 A Planning the event Written evidence: final event plan
LO.3(.1, .2, .3) B Organising and Learner observation record:
supporting a meeting organisation, support and follow
up for a meeting (supported by
copies of emails, documents
produced, other records kept and
objectives for the meeting)
LO.4 A Risk assessment Written evidence: risk assessment
LO.1, A Review Written evidence: effective
organisation and information
LO.3(.4)
management; review of meeting
success and ideas for
improvements
Level of demand
The level of demand appropriate to the assessment of this unit is exemplified in the unit sample
assessment material (SAM). To provide sufficient complexity for Level 3 learners, the event
should be one that involves several different types of resources, some dependencies, some
activities which can be carried out either consecutively or concurrently, and contingencies.
Assessment duration
learner. Centres can structure this time as they see fit. Centres should note that the total class
assessment time will need to be higher to allow time for each individual to take a turn at
organising and supporting a meeting.
The learners must be provided with full access to study all of the areas identified in the What
you need to learn section.
Learners will need to work in groups, which will need to comprise the same people when
planning the event as for the meetings. Learners should work individually to decide on the
objectives and then to make the arrangements and to create the meeting documentation (agenda
and minutes).
Although they may work in groups, each learner must create their own assessment evidence of
the event planning. It is important that the learner produces their own plan.
The reviews must be completed individually.
Limited Limited Limited Medium Medium Medium
t is recommended that groups contain between 3 and 5 learners. A uniform number will make it
easier to plan for assessment since sufficient time must be allowed for each learner to organise
and support one meeting.
The assessment of LO.2, LO.3 and LO.4 should happen concurrently, rather than sequentially:
the meetings (LO.3) and risk assessment (LO.4) will inevitably feed into the planning (LO.2)
which will take place over a more extended period of time. It is inevitable that the plans for the
event will develop during this process.
Evidence for learners’ ability to use project management skills to plan the business event (LO.2)
comes from their up-front planning of the activities needed, eg lists of tasks, ordering and
estimated time required). This evidence can be in any suitable format(s), but must be done in
writing. The event does not need to be one that will take place, but it could be. The plan needs
to consider each of main bullet points in the What you need to learn section of the unit. The
final event plan can contain activities that will need to be done (ie planned activities that have
not yet taken place), as well as things that have already been decided and should be written up
individually after all of the meetings have finished.
It would make most sense for the meetings to be spread over a period of weeks in order to make
the assessment task of organising and supporting meetings more realistic, eg one or two
meetings a week. If that is not feasible, then the organisation and arrangement-making (but not
the meetings themselves) could be done simultaneously. The meetings should be connected to
the event planning in LO.2.
Most of the marks for LO.3 are awarded based on the tutor’s observation of learners’ ability to
organise and support the meetings, but supporting evidence for this will be provided by the
documentation produced during the course of this activity (copies of emails, agendas, minutes,
etc). Tutors will need to be present for most of the activities and must take a holistic view based
on what they see throughout the process rather than, say, at the beginning or end only. Tutors
will not need to be present for the duration of the meetings, but should see at least part of each
meeting. If the tutor is unable to judge the completeness of the meeting records as they were not
there, they can check with other meeting participants. The ‘agreed timescales’ referred to in the
Marking grid B could be those that are set by the centre and/or those agreed amongst the groups.
The risk assessment and the review can be presented in any appropriate written format. The risk
assessment may be undertaken as a group activity but the findings must be written up
individually. Part of the review concerns judging the success of the meeting. This should be
interpreted as learners judging not only how well it went in terms of its objectives, but also how
well they were able to organise and support it overall.
Marking grid A
focus available
LO.1
Understand the The learner states that effective The learner explains why The learner explains convincingly
importance of administration and information effective administration and why effective administration and
effective management is important for an information management is information management for an
administration organisation, but shows limited important for an organisation, organisation, showing a good
and information understanding of why. showing some understanding of understanding of the consequences
management the consequences if this does not if this does not happen.
happen.
(0–2) (3–4) (5–6) 6
LO.2
Be able to use Overall, some aspects of the event Overall, the event is Overall, the event is carefully and
project may be under-planned. The plan appropriately planned. The plan effectively planned. The plan
management skills includes a basic description of includes a description of intended includes a detailed description of
to plan a business intended outcomes that shows a outcomes that shows some intended outcomes that shows a
event limited understanding of the understanding of the features the good understanding of the features
features that the event will require. event will require. the event will require and the
expectations of the participants.
(0–4) (5–7) (8–10)
Some of the key activities are Key activities are included in a Key activities are included in a
included, with an attempt to sensible order, with a reasonable sensible order, with a good
estimate how long they will take. estimate of how long they will estimate of how long they will
There is limited contingency take. Contingency planning shows take and a good understanding of
planning. some awareness of problems that interdependencies. Contingency
could occur and there are ideas for planning shows a good awareness
how to overcome them. of the problems that could occur
and there are realistic and
convincing ideas for how to
overcome them.
(0–4) (5–7) (8–10) 20

focus available
LO.3
Be able to The learner provides a basic The learner provides a reasonable The learner provides a perceptive
organise and assessment of the success of the assessment of the success of the assessment of the success of the
support a meeting meeting and their own meeting and their own meeting and their own
performance, with limited ideas performance, with some performance, with convincing
for improvement. supporting evidence and making supporting evidence and making
realistic suggestions for realistic and well justified
improvement. suggestions for improvement.
(0–2) (3–4) (5–6) 6
LO.4
Be able to assess In the risk assessment, the learner In the risk assessment, the learner In the risk assessment, the learner
risks to health and shows limited ability to identify identifies hazards and areas of clearly identifies hazards and
safety hazards and areas of good good practice. There is some areas of good practice. There is
practice. Recommendations for reference to health and safety accurate reference to appropriate
improvements are made. legislation. Appropriate health and safety legislation.
recommendations for Appropriate and clear
improvements are made, with recommendations for
some justification and improvements are made, which
prioritisation. are well justified and prioritised.
(0–5) (6–9) (10–12) 12
Total marks 44
Marking grid B
focus available
LO.3
Be able to Overall, the learner shows limited Overall, the learner shows Overall, the learner shows good
organise and organisational ability. The meeting reasonable organisational ability. organisational ability. The meeting
support a meeting is arranged, with some relevant The meeting is arranged, with is arranged, with relevant and
preparations made and objectives relevant preparations made and efficient preparations made and
set. Some of the necessary clear objectives set. The necessary clear objectives set. The necessary
documentation before and after the documentation before and after the documentation before and after the
meeting is produced and meeting showing some care and meeting showing good care and
distributed. attention to detail is produced and attention to detail is produced and
distributed to the relevant people. distributed to the relevant people,
within agreed timescales.
(0–4) (5–7) (8–10)
Records of the meeting may be Records of the meeting are Records of the meeting are
limited in terms of completeness, reasonably complete, with most complete, with key points
with some key points recorded key points recorded. recorded.
(0–2) (3–4) (5–6) 16
Total marks 16
Assessment guidance
• Each internally assessed unit has either 60, 75 or 90 available marks in total.
marking grid B.
Level 3 descriptors
Descriptor Meaning
Accurate/accurately Correct, without errors.
Agreed timescales Timescales set by the centre and/or the group.
Appropriate Suitable/relevant and realistic.
Appropriately (planned) Showing that the requirements of the event have been
considered. Decisions that are made are appropriate but it
might be possible to improve upon some of them in order to
better meet the needs and expectations of attendees.
Assess/assessment Judge the extent or degree of something.
Attempt to Tries, but has no or only limited success.
Carefully and effectively Showing that the requirements of the event have been
(planned) considered thoroughly and decided in such a way that
attendees’ needs and expectations will be met.
Coherence Logical, consistent and well ordered across the different parts.
Convincing/convincingly Believable, well argued, well chosen.
Describe/description Provide information that includes relevant features, facts, etc.
Efficient/efficiently Done well and in a timely manner, without unnecessary effort.
Identify Mention the key elements, facts, features, etc.
Justify/justified/justification Give reasons for something.
Limited To a small and incomplete degree; showing basic or
incomplete knowledge, evidence, ability etc.
Most/mostly The majority with one or two left out.
Perceptive Showing good insight and self awareness.
Prioritise (recommendations) Put in order of likelihood and seriousness.
Reasonable Moderate or average.
Realistic Appropriate and practical.
Relevant people The attendees of the meeting and the tutor; not people who do
not need to see the documents.
Some To a certain degree, partial.
State Assert, make a statement without evidence or explanation.
Under-planned Lacking in detail which shows that the requirements have not
been fully thought through.

of this unit:

Self-managers Planning a business event, organising their own time and resources
[SM3]
learning.

Independent enquirers Identifying and clarifying which activities need to be completed in
order for the event to take place successfully [IE1]; carrying out
research into administration within an organisation [IE2];
comparing administrative requirements of different jobs, exploring
the issues from the perspectives different organisations [IE3]
Creative thinkers Generating ideas for the business event [CT1]; adapting their plans
for the event that they are planning as part as circumstances
change [CT6]
Reflective learners Assessing the success of the meeting after it has taken place [RL1]
setting goals and success criteria for the business event and
meeting [RL2]; reviewing progress while planning the event,
acting on the outcomes as necessary [RL3]; inviting feedback after
the meeting from other participants on how well the meeting went
[RL4]
Team workers Working with others to plan an event and organise meetings,
collaborating with others to work towards common goals [TW1];
adapting their behaviour depending on whether they are
participating in, or supporting, a meeting [TW3]; taking
responsibility for organising the event [TW5]; providing feedback
to others on how well they organised and supported the meeting
[TW6]
Self-managers Showing flexibility when plans for the business event need to be
changed [SM1]; work towards the goals of planning a business
event [SM2]; dealing with competing pressures while organising
and supporting a meeting [SM5]; responding positively to changes
needed when trying to plan the business event [SM6]
Effective participators Planning their business event, eg proposing practical ways forward
and breaking these down into steps [EP3]


Use ICT to effectively plan work and Using electronic diary systems for planning a business
evaluate the effectiveness of the ICT event.
system used
Manage information storage to enable Using electronic information management systems for
efficient retrieval planning a business event.
Follow and understand the need for Carrying out a risk assessment.
Troubleshoot

information
Select and use a variety of sources of Researching different business roles that use
information independently for a administrative skills.
complex task
Access, search for, select and use ICT- Using folders to store and retrieve email messages and
based information and evaluate its documents.
fitness for purpose

Enter, develop and format information Preparing a project plan for a business event.
independently to suit its meaning and
Completing a risk assessment.
purpose, including:
• text and tables
• images
• numbers
• records.
Bring together information to suit Researching business roles that require administrative
content and purpose skills.
Present information in ways that are fit Researching business roles that require administrative
for purpose and audience skills.
present information

Select and use ICT to communicate Using electronic diary systems while planning tasks for
and exchange information safely, the event.
Mathematics
Identify the situation or problem and
the mathematical methods needed to
tackle it
Select and apply a range of
mathematics to find solutions
each stage
situations
Draw conclusions and provide
English
Speaking and listening – make a range Participating in meetings.
Planning an event.
range of contexts
Reading – compare, select, read and
and opinions
Writing – write documents, including Preparing documentation for meetings.
Carrying out a risk assessment.
opinions, effectively and persuasively
Work experience
Work experience connected to this unit would useful, especially in relation to using office
equipment and planning a business event.
Centres need to have access to a range of office equipment and systems for learners to practise
and develop their administrative skills, which may be in the form of a model office comprising a
desk, computer, printer, telephone. However, centres do not need the more specialist types of
equipment eg scanners, binders etc, which may well be available in the centre’s admin office or
through a visit to a local business.
Reference material
Books
Ashley V and Ashley S – Student Handbook Level 3 (Business and Administration Standards)
(Council for Administration, 2006) ISBN 0955092053
Gutman J – Taking Minutes at Meetings (Kogan Page, 2004) ISBN 074943564
Health and Safety Executive – Successful Health and Safety Management, 2nd edition (HSE,
1997) ISBN 07117612767
Horine G – Absolute Beginners’ Guide to Project Management (Que Publishing, 2005)
ISBN 0789731955
Websites
www.cfa.uk.com The Council for Administration
www.hse.gov Health and Safety Executive: information on health and safety
practice in the workplace
LEVEL 3 UNIT 3: PERSONAL FINANCE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES
Unit 3: Personal Finance and Financial Services
Level 3
Externally assessed
(58.5 hours learning time and 1.5 hours for assessment)
About this unit ‘Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons’ –
Woody Allen.
Financial matters affect us every day, both in our personal lives
and when we are at work, and your financial needs today may be
different from your needs in the future. It is important to manage
your personal finances efficiently and to take responsibility for
your finance, and this unit will show you how to do this.
In this unit you will learn about the purpose, properties and
sources of money, and the providers and types of banking,
insurance and other financial products and services, including
internet-based ones. You will consider the nature of personal
financial decisions and the factors influencing them, such as the
influence of the personal life cycle, and you will study and assess
the suitability of the main sources of financial advice.
The unit also considers how individual attitudes and different
cultures and values influence personal financial planning. You
will examine the importance of planning for expenditure to avoid
getting into debt, study how to cope with debt, and learn about
the main ways in which consumers of financial products are
protected. The knowledge you gain will help you to make
appropriate decisions about financial transactions, whether
buying, earning, saving, borrowing or selling.
Learning outcomes
LO.1 Understand how to make the most of personal financial transactions
LO.2 Understand the key influences on personal finance and financial services
LO.3 Understand the relevance and value of sources of financial information and advice
LO.4 Be able to make appropriate personal financial decisions.
LEVEL 3 UNIT3: PERSONAL FINANCE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES

LO.1 Understand The ability to handle money received, and to control money paid,
how to make is a fundamental requirement for personal and business success.
the most of This success relies on understanding what ‘money’ is. You will
personal need to learn about the:
financial • concept, purpose and properties of money: the official currency
transactions issued by the government; a means of exchange, a measure of
value, a store of value; portable but durable, transferable, hard
to counterfeit
• sources of money: banks and other lenders; state benefits;
personal sources (earned income, inheritance, selling, borrowing
and using savings)
• use of money in everyday transactions: paying in advance, eg
pre-pay cards; paying now, eg debit cards; paying later, eg
credit cards; taxes and hidden charges on spending; selling
methods (face-to-face, online and traditional auctions,
pawnbrokers); selling costs, eg commission, fees.
Banks, building societies and other specialist businesses that offer a
range of financial services are widely used nowadays. You need to
learn about:
• providers of financial products/services: banks, building
societies, mortgage specialists, insurance companies, retailers
• different financial products/services: current and savings
accounts (features, costs); types of mortgages (repayment,
interest only); types and benefits of insurance (life, income,
mortgage protection, personal property); pros and cons of
methods of spending/borrowing, eg credit cards, personal loans,
in-store credit, overdrafts
• suitability of financial products and services: assessing the
suitability of financial products against individual needs; the
obligations associated with specific financial products; risk and
reward for different types of savings (premium bonds,
fixed/variable interest rates, non-interest) and investments based
on values of stock market, property and ‘valuables’
• protection for consumers of financial products: regulation of the
financial services industry/the FSA; personal cover available
(redundancy, illness, death)
• foreign currency: major currencies (euro, other European, US
dollar, Australian and Canadian dollar, yen, yuan, rupee);
symbols, denominations and key phrases eg ‘cambio’ and
‘bureau de change’; variable exchange rates and their effects,
eg cost of travel; calculating foreign currency transactions and
related costs
• benefits and limitations of internet banking and purchase of
financial products: advantages, eg convenience, range, cost
savings; disadvantages, eg lack of professional advice, risks of
making inappropriate choices.
LO.2 Understand Individual attitudes, different cultures and life stages, and external
the key factors all influence personal finances. You will need to learn about:
influences on • personal and cultural attitudes: personal consumer behaviour, eg
personal necessities versus luxuries, ‘pay for the name’ or ‘value for
finance and money’; durability versus disposability; personal attitudes
financial towards risk and reward and influence on borrowing, spending
services and saving; ethical beliefs, eg ethical investments, ethical
banking; cultural factors, eg religious views on interest
• the personal life cycle: stages (childhood, adolescence, young
adult, middle age, old age); key features (typical needs, wants
and aspirations) of each stage and the resultant financial needs
and implications at each stage, eg materialistic aspiration as
young adult, family commitments, need for income in old age;
how life events can vary the personal life cycle from individual
to individual
• external influences/trends and the financial-related effects:
social, eg more single-parent families; economic, eg changes in
taxation/pensions; technological, eg new online financial
services; environmental, eg new more environmentally-friendly
fuel; political, eg switch from direct to indirect tax; effects they
have on the personal life cycle stages.
LO.3 Understand In order to make financial decisions, it is important to know the
the relevance different sources of information and advice available:
and value of • Citizens Advice Bureau (free financial information and advice)
sources of • banks and building societies (advice on own products and
financial services)
information
• independent financial advisors
and advice
• debt counsellors and Individual Voluntary Arrangements
(advice and agreements on how large debts can be repaid) and
bankruptcy
• Department for Work and Pensions (advice on benefits and
entitlements)
• publications, telephone and internet sources: eg Which?,
National Debtline, www.moneyfacts.co.uk,
www.moneyexpert.com
• HM Revenue and Customs (advice on personal taxes)
• Financial Services Authority (advice on helping retail
consumers achieve a fair deal through the ‘Money made clear’
website section)
• Financial Ombudsman Service (advice on settling disputes
between businesses providing financial services and their
customers).
People have to decide on the suitability and value of such advice.
To do so, they need to consider factors, such as
• advice published or online: reliability and impartiality of source;
advice provided in person: the status and independence of the
advisor, the objectivity, quality and degree of detail of the
advice.
LO.4 Be able to People make personal financial decisions on a regular basis.

make Although the financial planning needs we have vary from
appropriate individual to individual, there are a number of common
personal principles and purposes of financial planning. You will need to
learn about:
financial
decisions • why to plan expenditure: to avoid getting into debt (to
control costs, avoid legal action and/or repossession, remain
solvent, maintain a good credit rating); to manage money
(fund purchases, generate income and/or savings, provide
insurance against loss/illness, counter the effects of inflation)
• undertaking short-term to medium-term personal financial
planning: setting financial goals/targets, eg to be free of debt
in 15 years; planning to achieve (assessing existing financial
resources, considering the influence of risk); individual
factors that affect personal financial planning (age,
employment status, personal responsibilities, existing and
expected financial commitments, personal beliefs); taking
action, eg choosing investment, calculating costs; review; the
role of a financial adviser (establish relationship, gather
client data, judge financial status, make recommendations,
implement, monitor).
Teaching this unit

Delivery guidance
The purpose of this unit is to allow learners to develop a detailed knowledge and understanding
of personal finance and financial services. Although all learners have experience of using
money in their everyday lives, they will need to understand what ‘money’ is: money as a
concept, its types or forms, its purpose and sources. Learners will also have experience of
undertaking financial transactions, and will explore their existing understanding in contexts such
as the main types and providers of financial products and services.
The unit requires learners to make appropriate personal financial decisions. In order to do so,
they will study financial planning and will use, and judge the suitability of, various sources of
financial advice. Learners will explore how individual differences and beliefs influence personal
financial planning, and will need to recognise that different needs and personal obligations arise
from financial transactions.
Learners will have experience of money in their everyday lives, and some may even have
existing major financial obligations. To achieve this learning outcome they will need to –
accepting the inevitable constraints of confidentiality – assess their own and others’ experiences
of earning, spending, saving and borrowing money, and to reflect on their present understanding
of what money is and the characteristics that it has. Although the focus remains on personal
finance, it is also likely to be beneficial to consider their experience of how actual organisations
are affected by financial matters, such as selling goods, paying wages and salaries, and
expansion through undertaking capital expenditure. There are potential links here to Unit 1:
Business Enterprise, Unit 4: Business Finance and Accounting, Unit 5: Marketing and Sales in
Business and Unit 6: Customer Service in Business. The wider their research, the broader their
understanding will be. Actual case studies of individuals, families and known organisations will
enable learners to relate their learning to their everyday experiences, to discuss and make
judgements on their findings, and to start appreciating the extent to which individual financial
circumstances and needs differ (which will be developed in the other learning outcomes).
Many learners will have experience of operating bank and/or building society accounts, but this
experience will still need to be strengthened and broadened by reviewing existing levels of
understanding, investigating these organisations and studying other providers of financial
products and services (including insurance) and the financial products they offer. ICT,
teamwork and communication skills can be developed further here, for example by discussing
with others the suitability of specific financial products for their unique needs, and when
researching into internet-based financial products and services.
Learners may also have actual experience of foreign holidays, and therefore of using foreign
currency. This experience can be used, together with appropriate case studies and/or for
example websites dealing with overseas flight and hotels, to provide a meaningful personal
experience focusing on how exchange rates affect individuals. The classification of financial
transactions – buying/spending, earning (for example, existing experience of part-time retail
employment), saving, borrowing, selling – can act as appropriate foci for role plays, case
studies, and reviews of personal experiences.
This learning outcome focuses on how individual differences and external factors inform
financial planning and activities. Decisions on these matters are influenced by issues such as
personal ethics and different cultures as well as by individual views on, for example, risk and
reward. This learning outcome therefore develops naturally from the learning in LO.1 relating to
specific financial needs, and will be further extended in LO.4 when students explore practical
ways of financial planning. A discussion-based or case-study approach will be appropriate here
to encourage personal views to be considered, discussed and shared, and to further develop
communication skills. There is also a need to discuss how financial planning creates obligations
and responsibilities, which can be explored effectively using personal experience, case studies
and role plays.
Learners will need to be introduced to the different sources of information available such as
banks, building societies, publications and web-based sources. Visits to, or guest speakers from,
these financial organisations will allow learners to experience the realities of financial advice.
Research using the internet and paper-based publications is also appropriate: see ‘Reference
material’ at the end of this unit. There are substantial opportunities here for developing
communication (in particular, listening and reading) and teamwork skills and for promoting the
use of ICT, and developing the skills of reflection and analysis because the learners are asked to
decide the suitability of information obtained.
A review of the learning from the areas in LO.1 and LO.2 that focus on how individual needs
influence financial matters should provide a good foundation for this learning objective.
Learners need to be able to undertake realistic personal financial planning for the short to
medium term. To do so effectively, they need to consider not only how all personal financial
planning often has a common foundation – for example, in terms of principles and procedures –
but also how it is influenced by factors such as age and income. There are opportunities for case
studies, workshops and discussion to consider factors and other aspects of personal financial
planning, and to explore how such planning will vary from individual to individual.
Learning outcomes and assessment criteria

Learning Learning outcome Assessment criteria
outcome
number The learner should: The learner can:
LO.1 Understand how to make the most of 1.1 Identify the concept, purpose and sources
personal financial transactions of money and its use in everyday financial
transactions
1.2 Assess the types and providers of financial
products and services in terms of their
nature, risk, reward, and suitability for
personal needs
1.3 Outline the protection that is available to
consumers of financial services
1.4 Undertake foreign currency calculations,
showing an understanding of how changes
in foreign currency rates affect consumers
1.5 Assess the advantages and disadvantages
of buying financial services and products
on the internet
LO.2 Understand the key influences on 2.1 Explain how individual attitudes and
personal finance and financial cultural differences influence personal
services financial decisions
2.2 Analyse the effects of the personal life
cycle and external influences on their own
financial needs and decisions
LO.3 Understand the relevance and value of 3.1 Evaluate a range of sources of financial
sources of financial information and advice, judging their relevance and value
advice in differing situations
LO.4 Be able to make appropriate personal 4.1 Identify the risks and repercussions of
financial decisions getting into debt
4.2 Make financial plans that take into account
appropriate individual and external factors

This unit will be assessed by an examination lasting one and a half hours, containing a range of
questions. The mark you achieve for this examination will be your mark for the unit.
Learning outcomes — assessment weighting
Learning outcome Range of weighting (% age)

LO.1 Understand how to make the most of 25–35%
personal financial transactions
LO.2 Understand the key influences on 20–30%

personal finance and financial services
LO.3 Understand the relevance and value of 15–25%

sources of financial information and
advice
LO.4 Be able to make appropriate personal 20–30%

financial decisions

Although PLTS are not identified within this unit as an inherent part of the assessment criteria,
there are opportunities to develop a range of PLTS through various approaches to teaching and
learning. (Annexe B of this document lists the personal, learning and thinking skills and their
elements.)

Independent Exploring financial issues from different points of view, eg the
enquirers consumer and financial institution [IE3]; analysing and evaluating
sources of financial advice available, judging their relevance and
value in different circumstances [IE4]; considering the influence of
cultural background on attitudes to debt [IE5]
Creative thinkers Asking questions about financial products and services to extend
their thinking [CT2]
Reflective learners Evaluating their existing financial experience to inform their
learning [RL5]
Team workers Organising time and resources when constructing personal budgets
[SM3]; anticipating and managing risks when constructing
personal budgets by building in contingencies [SM4]
Self-managers Discussing issues of concern such as debt management [EP1];
proposing practical ways forward when planning expenditure,
breaking these down into manageable steps [EP3]; identifying
improvements that would benefit others when undertaking
financial planning [EP4]
Effective participators Exploring financial issues from different points of view, eg the
consumer and financial institution [IE3]; analysing and evaluating
sources of financial advice available, judging their relevance and
value in different circumstances [IE4]; considering the influence of
cultural background on attitudes to debt [IE5]


Select, interact with and use ICT Researching financial organisations, products and
systems independently for a complex services.
Use ICT to effectively plan work and Preparing personal financial plans.
system used
Manage information storage to enable Saving and retrieving text-based and numerical (eg
efficient retrieval personal financial plan) information.
Follow and understand the need for Exploring issues relating to electronic financial
safety and security practices transactions; undertake safe practice when using internet
and other relevant software/hardware.
Troubleshoot

information
Select and use a variety of sources of Information from research into (eg) internet-based
information independently for a financial organisations, products and services.
complex task
Access, search for, select and use ICT- Researching into financial organisations, products and
based information and evaluate its services, eg exchange rates, for the purposes of
fitness for purpose spending, saving and borrowing money.

Enter, develop and format information Constructing personal financial plans, constructing
independently to suit its meaning and exchange rate tables, creating records of financial
purpose, including: products and services.
• text and tables
• images
• numbers
• records.
Bring together information to suit Bringing together inflows and outflows and other
content and purpose financial planning information; comparing financial
products/services.
Present information in ways that are fit Presenting individual personal financial plans.
for purpose and audience
present information

Select and use ICT to communicate Obtaining web-based information about financial
and exchange information safely, products and services.
Mathematics
Understand routine and non-routine Dealing with personal financial plan figures; calculating
problems in a wide range of familiar interest and borrowing amounts; calculating commission
and unfamiliar contexts and situations on foreign exchange; interpreting simple taxation
information.
Identify the situation or problem and Obtaining financial information from (eg) existing
the mathematical methods needed to spending and income statements; selecting relevant
tackle it interest, commission and taxation percentages.
Select and apply a range of Constructing personal financial plans; calculating
mathematics to find solutions interest, commission and borrowing amounts and costs.
Use appropriate checking procedures Totalling plan columns and rows and cross-checking;
and evaluate their effectiveness at checking the logic of interest, commission and
each stage borrowing calculations.
Interpret and communicate solutions Interpreting plan, interest, commission and borrowing
to practical problems in familiar and results.
situations
English
Speaking and listening – make a range Discussing and exchanging information about financial
of contributions to discussions and organisations, products and services; discussing
make effective presentations in a wide informally results of research with fellow learners
range of contexts concerning issues such as differing personal and cultural
views of money.
Reading – compare, select, read and Reading and understanding literature from financial
understand texts and use them to organisations.
and opinions
Writing – write documents, including Completing documents relating to financial products and
extended writing pieces, services; creating financial plans.
None.
Reference material
Books
Bajtelsmit V L and Rastelli L G – Personal Finance (Wiley Pathways, 2007) ISBN 0470111232
Beckett M I H – How the Stock Market Works, 2nd edition (Kogan Page, 2004)
ISBN 0749441909
Faerber E E – The Personal Finance Calculator (McGraw-Hill, 2003) ISBN 0071393900
Fisher S Y and Shelly S – The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Personal Finance in Your 20s and 30s,
3rd Edition (Alpha Books, 2005) ISBN 1592573320
Gorham J – Mastering Personal Finance (Palgrave Study Guides, 2007) ISBN 023055301X
Harrison D – Personal Financial Planning: Theory and Practice (Financial Times/Prentice
Hall, 2004) ISBN 027368101X
Keown A – Turning Money into Wealth and Student Workbook (Pearson, 2006)
ISBN 0131742817
Websites
www.adviceonline.co.uk Advice Online: independent financial advice
www.astute-investor.co.uk Astute Investor
www.firsttrustbank.co.uk First Trust Bank (personal finance)
www.fool.co.uk The Motley Fool: financial advice and information
www.ft.com/yourmoney Financial Times
www.getsafeonline.org Get Safe Online: government-sponsored site
www.home.co.uk/finance Home.co.uk: information about financial products
www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk Financial Services Authority
www.moneysavingexpert.com Martin Lewis
www.moneyfacts.co.uk Moneyfacts Group
www.nationaldebtline.co.uk National Debtline
www.pfeg.org Educational charity
www.uk250.co.uk/Bank/index.html UK bank websites
www.unbiased.co.uk Independent Financial Advice Promotion Ltd
LEVEL 3 UNIT 4: BUSINESS FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING
Unit 4: Business Finance and Accounting
Level 3
Externally assessed
(58.5 hours learning time and 1.5 hours for assessment)
About this unit Finance and accounting have been described as either the
‘language’ or the ‘lifeblood’ of business. All businesses must
obtain and control their finances efficiently, or else they are
likely to fail. People who can help businesses do this are valued
highly and often rewarded well.
In this unit you will learn about the nature and purpose of
business finance and accounting, and you will see the differences
that exist between finance in business and our personal finances.
You will explore business finance and accounting roles, and
discover the range of sources of finance that are available to
business.
This unit also considers how businesses use financial information
to make appropriate financial decisions. Information and
communications technology plays a major role in modern
economies, and you will therefore learn how financial software is
used to make the business finance and accounting functions more
efficient.
One of the key functions of accounting is to prepare, present and
analyse financial information to assist business decision-making.
You will be shown how to prepare and interpret financial
documents and to construct and interpret the financial forecasting
techniques of business budgeting and break-even analysis.
Learning outcomes
LO.1. Know the nature and purpose of business finance and accounting
LO.2 Know how financial information is used in business and the factors that influence this
LO.3 Be able to prepare and interpret financial statements
LO.4 Be able to construct and interpret forecasts.

LO.1 Know the Finance that is both adequate and available is necessary for
nature and businesses to survive and prosper. The business finance and the
purpose of accounting functions play key roles in business. You need to
business learn about:
finance and • the purpose of accounting: to record financial information; to
accounting analyse and interpret financial information; to communicate
financial information; to assist in obtaining and managing
business finance
• roles within accounting and business finance: job-based
roles, eg financial director, cashier, finance clerk, financial
accountant, management accountant, accounts clerk;
function-based roles, eg recording, analysing, forecasting.
There are different sources of business finance. Business can
raise finance either internally or externally. You need to learn
about:
• internal sources of business finance: trading income; profits;
sale of assets; share or other capital from the owner(s)
• external sources of business finance: borrowing; trade credit;
debt factoring and invoice discounting; hire purchase and
leasing; grants and subsidies; venture capital (private equity)
• the influence of business type (ownership, size) on the
availability and source of finance
• the influence of factors such as cost, length of borrowing,
and security, on the source chosen.
LO.2 Know how Accountants and other business people use financial information
financial to make business decisions. You need to learn about:
information is • the nature of financial information available to a business:
used in sources of financial information (trading documents,
business and financial statements, documents created by forecasting
the factors techniques); the focus of financial information (profitability,
that influence liquidity or efficiency; past records or future forecasts)
this • how businesses use financial information: for forecasting; for
financial reporting; to interpret and improve profitability,
liquidity and efficiency; to meet legal requirements; to save
costs; for investment.
All businesses are affected by external factors, such as through
the government setting business tax rates and requiring financial
statements to be drawn up and audited. Because these external
factors influence business finance and accounting, you need to
learn about:
• the influence of taxation and auditing on businesses: the
range of taxes (corporation tax, income tax, VAT, national
insurance, local authority business rates); the nature of
external auditing (purpose of independent and objective
checking, the main role of the Auditing Practices Board and
auditing standards).
Many businesses use financial software in order to handle

business finance and accounting information efficiently. You
need to learn about:
• functions of financial software: to increase efficiency, lower
costs, improve accuracy, create more timely reports, improve
control
• how generic software in business can support finance and
accounting: spreadsheets (cash flow, profit forecasting,
budgeting, breakeven analysis); word processing (business
financial documents); database software (financial records);
examples of the range of specialist software (general ledger,
accounts receivable and payable, purchase and sales order
processing).
LO.3 Be able to Accountants and other business people use financial records and
prepare and other information to prepare financial statements. Once prepared,
interpret these statements can be used as a basis for interpreting the
financial financial performance of the business. This will involve:
statements • preparing simple financial statements for small businesses:
income statements; balance sheets; cash-flow statements
• interpreting financial statements of small businesses: simple
interpretation of financial performance in terms of
profitability (gross and net profit margins, return on capital
employed), liquidity (Current, Acid Test) and efficiency
ratios (stock turnover, debtor and creditor payment periods)
• interpreting financial statements of limited companies:
simple interpretation of financial performance (liquidity,
profitability, efficiency and capital gearing)
• calculating VAT and corporation tax.
LO.4 Be able to Accountants and other business people will use financial
construct and information in an attempt to forecast future financial progress
interpret and figures. Budgetary control, cost analysis and breakeven
forecasts analysis are important planning and forecasting tools. This will
involve:
• budgeting and budgetary control: the concept and purposes
of budgeting (to plan, co-ordinate, control, motivate); the
importance of budgeting; ways of planning and control
• budgetary statements for small businesses: types of budgets
(sales, production, materials, labour, overheads); preparing
simple budgets; variances and reasons for, eg overtime,
absenteeism, wastage, price changes
• cost analysis: average and marginal costs; role in decision-
making (deciding on the cost of a product or service using
average and marginal costing)
• breakeven analysis: construction of charts, calculation of
breakeven point, margin of safety, contribution; use and
limitations in decision making.
Teaching this unit

Delivery guidance
The purpose of this unit is for learners to develop a detailed knowledge and understanding of
business finance and accounting, and to make sound business financial decisions. Learners
should therefore be able to apply financial knowledge effectively in both familiar and unfamiliar
business finance and accounting situations. They should also be capable of researching,
analysing and evaluating financial information and of presenting financial information
effectively. Tutors can utilise learners’ experience and/or knowledge of business finance gained
through work experience such as dealing with trading documents or assisting in a finance office,
or as a result of studying a Level 2 business qualification.
There will be opportunities to introduce learners to real financial information. Although much of
this information remains confidential, there are sources: for instance, published financial
statements (which sometimes appear in an abbreviated simplified form, or which can be
simplified). Although learners will, of necessity, meet key accounting and financial terms,
concepts and ideas in the unit, the purpose is not to train them as accountants and therefore the
‘language’ of accounting needs to be introduced with that in mind.
Accounting and finance involve communication and administrative skills which allow links to
be made to Unit 7: Teams and Communication in Business and Unit 2: Business Administration
and Events. There are also potential links to Unit 1: Business Enterprise, in which learners need
to persuade potential investors of the merits of a business idea.
This outcome introduces learners to actual work roles in finance and accounting, and therefore
the use of outside speakers – possibly from their own centre, such as a finance officer – is a
suitable approach. Although the focus is on business finance, learners should review their own
experience of how organisations are affected by financial matters such as selling goods, paying
employees, and seeking to expand. The learners’ centre, in terms of its financial and economic
environment, might act as one appropriate source for study. However, it will be important to
consider how the differences that exist in organisational structures and environments help to
create different financial needs and situations.
Learners should be given the opportunity to study a range of businesses when exploring these
issues. This range – for example, own centre (tertiary), large multinational (secondary), local
council (tertiary), garden centre (primary/tertiary), local sole trader electrician or plumber
(tertiary) – should be such as to allow full illustration of the key internal and external sources of
finance and why these vary from business type to business type. It can be beneficial for learners
to be set individual/small group research tasks into a business’s sources of finance and to
present findings to the whole class, giving the opportunity to further develop communication
and ICT skills.
The focus of this outcome is on the relationship between financial information and business
activity (internal and external). The first task could be to explore the range of financial
information available in business, and how this information varies according to business type or
feature such as size or resources. For example, if learners have reviewed key financial features
of the range of businesses in the previous learning outcome, they will be able to appreciate key
similarities and differences in the content and complexity of trading documents, financial
statements and business forecasts, by for example comparing the sole trader with the large
multinational. They can also review the extent to which each is able to use financial information
for issues such as planning and forecasting. Discussion of these differences is likely to form a
key learning approach.
This learning outcome introduces ‘liquidity’, ‘profitability’ and ‘efficiency’. These are key
features of any successful business, and link well with Unit 1: Business Enterprise. There is also
a close link with Unit 5: Marketing and Sales in Business, for example when analysing the
relationship between size of profit margin, price, market segment and advertising. It is important
for learners to know the difference between cash and liquidity, and between profit and
profitability. Actual or potential profit and cash situations of chosen businesses can be reviewed,
and issues associated with low profitability or poor liquidity considered without undertaking
profitability or liquidity calculations. Efficiency can be viewed in terms of output (ie
productivity), as well as related liquidity issues such as speed of paying debts.
Taxation and auditing are complex matters, and therefore this learning outcome seeks to provide
only an overview of these. Learners can research into related external influences: for example,
the role of government in setting tax rates (and the current rates) and the role of the Auditing
Practices Board.
Modern business relies on ICT. Again, learners can experience the varying influences of this
technology if a suitable range of businesses is used. For example, it is likely that some learners
will discover that a local sole trader has bought and used specialist software such as Sage
Simply Accounting, whilst others will meet sole traders adapting generic software such as Excel
for their accounting purposes. Contrast with large organisations will also be valuable. The
learning outcome does not require learners to be proficient in this software, although seeing
examples of accounting packages (for example Sage 50 Accounts 2008) and discussing how
suppliers design software according to need (such as Sage BusinessWorks Accounting, Sage
AccPac) help to increase understanding.
The focus of this learning outcome is preparing and interpreting the main financial statements
(income; balance sheet; cash flow). Learners do not need to follow double-entry principles and
construct ledger accounts and trial balances, but to appreciate the meaning of, and difference
between, expenses, revenues, assets and liabilities. They also need to know that financial
statements summarise past events, and therefore that there is a difference between a (past) cash
flow statement and a (future) cash flow forecast.
Learning activities will include studying existing financial statements and applying knowledge
of financial statement layout by constructing simple financial statements from given
information, with real or simulated financial information from unincorporated business
statements being contrasted with that from limited companies (simplified). The way in which
financial statements are displayed and communicated forms a strong link with Unit 7: Teams
and Communication in Business. It is expected that learners will be able to interpret the results
of their calculations in the given business context: for example, why an acid test ‘textbook’ ratio
of 1:1 is far higher than found in reality when many retailers’ financial statements are studied.
Learners can categorise accounting ratios under the headings of liquidity, profitability and
efficiency (plus capital gearing for limited companies). ICT, such as a spreadsheet, can be used
when calculating and analysing ratios to demonstrate and test understanding, as well as to show
the link between the two elements of preparation and interpretation. It is likely that these
activities will lend themselves to group activities in which learners could develop teamworking
skills. Interpreting the financial success of a business is fundamental to judgements concerning
survival and progress, and therefore links closely to Unit 1: Business Enterprise. The amount of
corporation tax due on profits can be treated as a simple calculation, and simple VAT
calculations can be undertaken when, for example, cash flow statements are being constructed.
This outcome requires learners to be able to consider future events. It links closely with Unit 1:
Business Enterprise in terms of the need to anticipate the future. The links with Unit 7: Teams
and Communication in Business exist through the use of documents and layouts to display
financial/numerical information. Learners are already familiar with personal budgeting through
their own experiences and by studying Unit 3: Personal Finance and Financial Services, and
this will be an appropriate starting point for many centres.
Budgeting in business is a major topic, and so learners do not have to produce detailed master
budgets. They will need to understand budgeting as a setting activity, and its planning, control,
co-ordinating and motivational features (often taught as budgetary control). The experiences of
different businesses can be used when considering how the type of business (such as size and
economic sector) helps determine the nature of budgeting undertaken. Class discussion and/or
group research tasks here will assist learning.
Calculations of simple budgets – sales, production, materials, labour, overheads – are expected,
though advanced techniques such as flexing the budget are not. Again, learners must be able to
calculate and interpret, and so need to understand the term ‘variance’ in both positive and
adverse contexts. Although knowledge of the sub-variances (materials price and quantity; labour
rate and efficiency) is not required, learners should be able to give likely reasons for variances.
Real business situations and case studies, and discussion of work placement experience, are
likely to underpin much of this learning.
Because forecasting involves analysing costs, learners need to know both average and marginal
cost, and how ‘the margin’ underpins marginal costing (in this context, how an item’s marginal
cost can be used to decide whether, for example, to stop manufacture). Learners therefore need
to understand the concept of contribution, which they also meet when studying breakeven
analysis. Here, they need to be able to calculate the breakeven point and display it graphically,
to interpret given information on breakeven, and examine its use and practical limitations. Close
links exist between these topics and Unit 5: Marketing and Sales in Business, and these enable
the topics to be applied effectively to real business situations.

outcome
LO.1 Know the nature and purpose of 1.1 Describe the key roles within business
business finance and accounting finance and accounting
1.2 Identify the different internal and external
sources of capital and other forms of
business finance
LO.2 Know how financial information is 2.1 Describe the different sources and uses of
used in business and the factors that financial information in business
influence this
2.2 Describe how business is influenced by
corporate taxation and auditing
2.3 Identify uses of financial software in
business
LO.3 Be able to prepare and interpret 3.1 Construct financial statements from given
financial statements information
3.2 Interpret business financial performance
using appropriate analytical tools
LO.4 Be able to construct and interpret 4.1 Outline the importance of budgetary
forecasts control
4.2 Apply relevant budgeting techniques in the
preparation of simple budgetary statements
4.3 Use breakeven analysis and cost
classifications to assess given financial
information

This unit will be assessed by an examination lasting one and a half hours, containing a range of
questions. The tasks will require you to use information relating to financial situations in
business. The mark you achieve for this examination will be your mark for the unit.

LO.1 know the nature and purpose of 20–30%
business finance and accounting
LO.2 know how financial information is used 5–15%
in business and the factors that
influence this
LO.3 be able to prepare and interpret 35–45%
financial statements
LO.4 be able to construct and interpret 20–30%
forecasts

learning. (Annexe B lists the personal, learning and thinking skills and their elements.)

Independent Interpreting financial information about a business, analysing and
enquirers evaluate it while judging its relevance and value [IE4]
Creative thinkers Trying out alternative calculations and figures when using
financial techniques, and following ideas through [CT5]
Reflective learners Reviewing their own progress in developing financial skills [RL3]


Select, interact with and use ICT Researching into financial organisations, statements,
systems independently for a complex plans and forecasts.
Use ICT to effectively plan work and Preparing business financial statements and forecasts.
system used
Manage information storage to enable Saving and retrieving text-based and numerical (eg
efficient retrieval business financial statement) information.
Follow and understand the need for Exploring issues relating to electronic storage of
safety and security practices business financial information; undertake safe practice
when using internet and other relevant
software/hardware.
Troubleshoot

information
Select and use a variety of sources of Gathering information from research into (eg) internet-
information independently for a based financial organisations, statements and forecasts.
complex task
Access, search for, select and use ICT- Carrying out research into financial organisations,
based information and evaluate its statements and forecasts, eg published accounts,
fitness for purpose company finance-based reports and forecasts, for the
purposes of interpretation.

Enter, develop and format information Constructing business financial statements, plans and
independently to suit its meaning and forecasts, displaying numerical financial information
purpose, including: such as the results of variance analysis.
• text and tables
• images
• numbers
• records.
Bring together information to suit Bringing together cash or expense/revenue inflows and
content and purpose outflows and other business financial information;
comparing business financial performance.
Present information in ways that are fit Presenting individual research findings on business
for purpose and audience financial statements, plans and forecasts.
Evaluate the selection and application Judging the approaches used when presenting
of ICT tools and facilities used to organisational financial information.
present information

Select and use ICT to communicate Obtaining web-based information about business
and exchange information safely, financial statements, plans and forecasts.
Mathematics
Understand routine and non-routine Dealing with business financial figures; calculating
problems in a wide range of familiar amounts, ratios, balances and variances; calculating
and unfamiliar contexts and situations contribution and breakeven figures; calculating simple
taxation information.
Identify the situation or problem and Obtaining financial information from (eg) existing
the mathematical methods needed to business income statements; identifying appropriate ratio
tackle it formats for analysis.
Select and apply a range of Constructing business financial statements and forecasts.
Use appropriate checking procedures Totalling plan columns and rows and cross-checking;
and evaluate their effectiveness at checking the logic of cash, profit, breakeven and ratio
each stage calculations.
Interpret and communicate solutions Interpreting ratio, variance and breakeven results.
situations
English
Speaking and listening – make a range Discussing and exchanging information about financial
of contributions to discussions and organisations; discussing informally results of research
make effective presentations in a wide with fellow learners concerning issues such as differing
range of contexts personal and cultural views of profit.
Reading – compare, select, read and Reading and understanding literature from financial
understand texts and use them to organisations.
and opinions
Writing – write documents, including Completing financial documents relating to business;
extended writing pieces, creating financial statements, plans and forecasts.
Work experience
There is no requirement for work experience to complete this unit, but learners would benefit
from any experience gained in finance or accounting, for example to gain an insight into the
roles that they play within an organisation, accounting methods, etc.
Access to the following generic packages is required so that candidates can appreciate their role
in displaying, calculating and interpreting finance in business:
• word processing software
• spreadsheet software
• database software.
Access to specialist accounting software is not required for this unit, although centres might
consider providing access in order for learners to experience, at first hand, how such software
supports business finance and accounting.
Reference material
Books – general
Bragg SM and Burton J E – Accounting and Finance for Your Small Business, 2nd edition (John
Wiley, 2006) ISBN 0471771562
Davies T and Boczko T – Business Accounting and Finance, 2nd edition (McGraw Hill, 2005)
ISBN 0077108094
Day J et al – An Introduction to Accounting and Finance in Business (Open University, 2006)
ISBN 0749213132
McLaney E – Business Finance: Theory and Practice, 7th edition (Financial Times/Prentice
Hall, 2006) ISBN 0273702629
Meckin D – Naked Finance: Business Finance Pure and Simple (Nicholas Breasley, 2007)
ISBN 1857883942
Books – specialised accounting resources
Fardon M – Computer Accounting for Sage: A Practical Guide for Sage Accounting Courses
(Osborne Books, 2007) ISBN 1905777116
Yacht C and Crosson S – Computer Accounting with Microsoft Office Accounting (Irwin,
McGraw Hill 2007) with CD ISBN 007333796X
Websites
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/business/prod Introduction to break-even analysis
uction/breakevenanalysisrev1.shtml
www.bized.co.uk Educational website including information
about business finance and accounting, use of
relevant software, break-even analysis
www.blandon.co.uk/finance/topic2/t2tut1.htm Tutorial on accounting ratios
www.carol.co.uk/ Online company reports website
www.companieshouse.gov.uk Companies House
www.lloydstsbbusiness.com/support/businessguide Guide to business accounting ratios
s/key_accounting_ratios.asp
www.osbornebooks.co.uk/pdf/layouts_and_ Guide to accounting layouts and ratios
ratios.pdf
www.thetimes100.co.uk/theory/theory-- Guide to break-even calculations
calculating-break-even-point--371.php
LEVEL 3 UNIT 5: MARKETING AND SALES IN BUSINESS
Unit 5: Marketing and Sales in Business
Level 3
Internally assessed
About this unit Marketing is about satisfying customers with the right product, at
the right price, at the right time to meet customer needs – whilst
at the same time making sure that the profitability of the business
is maintained. It can be one of the most creative functions as
marketing responsibilities often include developing and setting
specifications for product design and for the promotion of the
business, using advertising and other high-profile
communication techniques. The marketing function would not be
able to operate effectively without up-to-date market research. In
this unit you will learn about different ways of collecting
research data to help plan marketing activity.
The sales function is all about helping customers through the
buying process and is the lifeblood of any business. It’s a fast-
paced and exciting environment in which to work in which the
results of your efforts are immediately visible in terms of sales
achieved. In this unit you will learn about common strategies,
techniques and skills to sell a product or service and about some
of the more advanced sales techniques that add value, such as up-
selling and cross-selling.
Learning outcomes
LO.1 Know the principles of marketing
LO.2 Be able to plan the marketing of a product or service
LO.3 Be able to carry out market research
LO.4 Be able to market a business online
LO.5 Be able to apply sales techniques and skills.

LO.1 Know the Successful marketing is based on having the right product, at the
principles of right price, in the right place, at the right time. This is the
marketing marketing mix. You need to learn how the main elements of the
marketing mix are used to position products and develop
marketing plans:
• product:
○ different product strategies: launching a new product;
re-launch of an existing product
○ decisions that need to be made about the product: what is
it and what does it do; physical features and packaging;
benefits for customers; company objectives relating to
name and branding
• price:
○ different pricing strategies: skimming the market; market
penetration; price leadership; market based competitive
pricing; customer expectation
○ factors that affect pricing decisions: company financial
objectives; competition; price sensitivity of market
• place:
○ different strategies relating to place: selling direct to
consumer; selling indirect through retailers, agents or
distributors
○ factors that affect decisions about place: company
objectives for distribution; availability of distribution
chain to reach target customers
• promotion:
○ different methods of promotion: advertising (print, audio,
moving image, ambient, new media); public relations
(press releases, sponsorship, cause-related marketing);
sales promotion (discounts, special offers, competitions,
loyalty schemes, point-of-sale merchandising)
○ factors influencing choice of method and media: budget;
target audience; company strategy; appropriateness for
product.
You need to learn how common marketing techniques are used by
organisations to develop their business:
• market segmentation: demographic, psychographic,
geographic, niche marketing, mass marketing
• new product development: for existing market, for new
markets and diversification, to keep ahead of competition, to
produce increased income and profit
• branding: to create an image, to increase recognition, to create
loyalty, to broaden product range and markets; advantages and
disadvantages of a strong brand name
• USPs: identifying unique selling points that make a product
special and desirable.
LO.2 Be able to plan You need to learn about the form and content of marketing plans.
the marketing Different organisations may have different ways of organising
of a product or their marketing plans, but a basic marketing plan will usually
service include:
• an outline of the product or service involved
• an analysis of the current state of the market
• an outline of the proposed marketing activity and its objectives
• justification for the proposed marketing activity, including any
supporting market research
• costs, budget required and forecast return on budget
• proposed timing
• an outline of how the outcome of the marketing plan will be
measured
• a downside analysis.
You need to learn how to analyse the current state of the market:
• using market research to identify its size and dynamics
• identifying local, national and international factors
• identifying target customers
• using SWOT analysis to evaluate competition:
○ competitors’ strengths and weaknesses
○ opportunities and threats arising from this.
You need to learn how analytical tools can be used when
developing marketing plans:
• the product life cycle
• the Ansoff matrix
• the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix
• PESTEL analysis.
LO.3 Be able to You need to learn about the why market research is carried out:
carry out • to gather facts about the business, eg image, what customers
market think about it and its products
research
• to gather facts about a market, eg size, dynamics
• to identify target markets, eg likely customers, their
characteristics and habits
• to identify and gather information on competitors, eg who they
are, their products and marketing activity
• to gather feedback on proposed marketing plan before it is
launched.
You need to learn about the use of primary and secondary research
methods:
• Primary research, producing new and original data:
○ direct questioning eg surveys, interviews, questionnaires
○ direct observation
○ focus groups
○ hall tests
○ consumer panels
• secondary research, using data that has already been produced:
○ internal sources, eg sales figures, customer database
○ external sources, eg government published data,
commercial research reports, information on the internet
You need to learn about the basic process for carrying out
effective market research, which means deciding:
• what you need to know, what issue needs to be solved, what
answers you require
• whether the data needs to be quantitative – based on numbers,
or qualitative – based on opinion, feelings and attitude
• the most effective way to collect the data: the market research
method to use
• the sampling plan: who to survey, how many people to survey,
where to survey
what to do with data collected: analysis, presentation and use of
the findings in marketing plans.
LO.4 Be able to The internet provides businesses with a powerful communication
market a medium that can be used to market a business and its products in
business online the online environment. You need to learn about the key
considerations for marketing online:
• why businesses market themselves online, eg to reach their
target market, to reach new markets, for competitive reasons
• technical resource requirements for online marketing
• the range of promotional opportunities in the online
environment
• website content
• website design
• website management, maintenance and security
• legislation relating to marketing a business online.
You need to learn about the security that needs to be in place when
marketing a business online:
• to protect the business
• to protect customers.
LO.5 Be able to You need to learn about different ways in which personal selling
apply sales can take place and be able to adapt your sales technique as
techniques and appropriate:
skills • face to face
• telesales: dealing with existing customers, cold calling new
customers
• making a sales presentation to a group of people.
To develop your sales technique, you need to learn what is
required when making a sale:
• a positive attitude: approachable, motivated to sell
• making the customer feel comfortable
• ability to overcome objections and close a sale
• verbal communication skills:
○ listening skills
○ ability to give information, describing a product/service,
selling the benefits
○ appropriate tone of voice, pace and clarity
○ ability to adapt your delivery depending on the customer
• non-verbal communication skills
○ effective body language, eg open posture, use of eye
contact
○ ability to adapt your body language depending on the
customer.
Thorough preparation is one of the keys to successful selling. You
need learn about what this involves and the steps involved in
making a sale:
• being familiar with the product:
○ what it is, what it does, how customers and consumers use
or experience the product
○ its features and benefits
○ the pricing
○ the distribution method
○ after-sales support and services
• knowing who your customers are
○ identifying the needs of your customers
○ targeting the decision maker
• overcoming common types of objections you may face:

○ price
○ timing
○ features of the product itself
○ brand or manufacturer
• taking advantage of opportunities for up-selling and cross
selling
• knowing the basic steps in making a sale:
○ the AIDA model
○ making initial contact with the customer
○ finding out what the customer wants
○ presenting them with a solution
○ overcoming objections
○ closing the sale
○ keeping records as required.
Teaching this unit

Delivery guidance
There are opportunities to link the delivery and assessment of all learning outcomes in this unit
to the business that learners are involved in for Unit 1: Business Enterprise. Thus, for example,
the plan in LO.1 could be for the product or service that their company is dedicated to selling.
One of the best ways of helping the learner understand how to use common marketing concepts,
principles and techniques is to get them to look at as many examples of products and promotion
as they can, and to analyse them in context – identifying marketing concepts, principles and
techniques being used. This could include watching television advertising, reading magazines
and newspapers, visiting shops and studying web-based campaigns – all with a view of
analysing the marketing activity that is going on. Learners could be encouraged to apply their
analysis to products with which they are familiar, and which they buy and consume. In this way
the realities of marketing will be brought home to them directly. Understanding how they are
affected by marketing could be a valuable way of learning marketing skills that they could apply
themselves to real products or services in the future.
Care must be taken to concentrate strictly on the marketing of products and services per se,
rather than the marketing of a brand name or a business. Whilst these are equally interesting, the
focus of this unit is on the marketing of products and services, and it would be a waste of
valuable time if the learner got carried away on the marketing of something that is beyond the
scope of this unit, and on which they will not be assessed.
The key marketing principle covered in LO.1 is the use of the marketing mix for bringing a
product to the market. Again, learners could use products which they themselves consume to
deconstruct the marketing mix that has been used and results in the product as they buy or use.
When creating a marketing mix for a service, some businesses find it helpful to use an
‘extended marketing mix’, incorporating Ps for People, Process and Physical evidence. These
are not necessarily additional, but a development of the P for Product, emphasising elements
that are particularly relevant to a service. Centres may choose to introduce this topic to learners,
but it is not a requirement and learners will not get additional credit for using this when
completing their assignment.
To help learners understand segmentation, they could analyse their own learning group based on
the main criteria used by businesses to segment markets and identify target customers. The
learning group could divide itself up based on demographic, psychographic and geographic
lines and see how the groups change, see who moves from one segment to another depending on
the criteria used. Doing this could help them to understand where they are positioned
themselves within the markets for the products they buy and consume. They may even identify
niche markets within the learning group, another potential area for discussion.
New product development could be covered by posing the question ‘What is a ‘new’ product’?
Learners may find that the answer is not as obvious as it first appears: for example, is bottled
water a new product? Water is certainly not new, the way it is presented to consumers may be
new for example in a plastic bottle with an integral drinking attachment, an existing brand of
bottled water may change its labelling or change from clear glass to coloured glass bottles – but
does that make it a new product? A soft drink producer may add bottled water to its range of
drinks, so it will be new to them, etc. This kind of analysis could be very helpful in opening
learners’ minds to the wider concepts of new products.
Branding is likely to be a subject that resonates with learners. Again, discussion about what is a
brand, what does it mean to the consumer, how a brand is used by a business, what can happen
if brand recognition becomes is too powerful, the advantages and disadvantages of having a
strong brand name. Learners could be asked to nominate their favourite brand names and then
explain what they mean to them, why that particular brand is their favourite, and conversely
how that brand is perceived by other learners within the group.
Learners need to become familiar with the basic form and content of marketing plans. In
practice, different organisations may have different ways of organising their marketing plans
which have been developed and tailored to suit their particular requirements. Strategic
marketing plans will tend to be long and detailed, covering a number of activities across a
period of time, to support medium or long-term objectives. Tactical marketing plans tend to be
shorter and more to the point, with shorter timescales. However they are presented, a marketing
plan will be designed to present a case for a particular marketing activity and its objectives.
Marketing activities may include changes to products or packaging, new product launches or re-
launches, price changes, sales or distribution initiatives, proposed advertising or promotional
activity, etc. Marketing plans based on objectives may include plans for increasing the
profitability of a product, sales volume increases, distribution objectives, targets for raising
consumer awareness, etc. To help learners become familiar with the structure and use of
marketing plans it is important that they get to see as many as possible, and to compare the
objectives set out in the plans with what happened in reality. Copies of real marketing plans
could be obtained from business that are working with the centre in supporting the Diploma,
once they are no longer commercially sensitive – indeed old marketing plans will be very useful
as the results against the plan can be compared. For learners to become more involved with the
use of marketing plans they will need to work closely with real business organisations and see
how the marketing plans are developed, produced and implemented.
The last two points in the list of elements of a basic marketing plan are most important. Learners
should understand that it is good practice to measure the results of all marketing plans and to
review what went well and what could be changed or improved next time. To do this
successfully it is important to establish how the results of the plan will be measured, how
success (or not) will be judged. The final point refers to ‘a downside analysis’. This is
essentially a risk analysis that should be done on all marking plans – to identify what could
happen if the plan goes wrong or fails to achieve its objectives. Learners should be taught that
plans can and do go wrong, and businesses have to deal with the consequences of failing to
achieve their objectives and the inevitable cost of failure. Case studies could prove most useful
in this area.
Learners should be taught that there are a number of ways to analyse the current state of a
market, depending on how much information and detail are required to develop or support
marketing plans. Getting learners to investigate how different businesses measure and analyse
their markets would be a practical an applied way of doing this. In addition to market research
sources, learners need to be introduced to some of the most common business tools used to
analyse market information. These are best communicated though analysing examples of
markets and products with which the learners are familiar, either from work experience or from
their position as consumers. Using case studies from real businesses and using exemplar
products will make these analytical tools come to life.
The use of a SWOT analysis could be introduced to learners when analysing and evaluating
competition, using products with which learners are familiar. Learners should be reminded that
the essence of a SWOT analysis does not hinge on just knowing what the letters in the acronym
stand for. A good SWOT analysis should produce actionable results that can be used in a
marketing plan. It should be based on analysing a situation from a particular point of view. A
SWOT based on a consumer’s attitude to or experience of a product is likely to be very different
from that same product analysed from the point of view of its manufacturer.
Market research is a subject that could easily take up an entire course of study. It would not be
realistic to expect that, as a result of their studies and investigations for this unit, learners will
become professional market researchers. The objective of this learning outcome is to support
LO.2. Learners should be capable of carrying out market research and using research findings to
support the marketing plan that they are producing for the product or service that they have
chosen. Learners need to know not only how to conduct market research but why it is being
carried out in the first place.
Learners should be made aware that primary research is not a game. It is usually carried out by
professional researchers and interviewers with a serious job to do. When carrying out their
research, learners must be made aware that market research should not be used as a guise for
selling. This is very bad practice and it undermines the integrity of the industry and makes
respondents less helpful and more reluctant to take part in research. Even inexperienced market
researchers should follow professional standards for conducting research. All marketing
research should be carried out within the professional and ethical standards and guidelines of the
Market Research Society.
Learners also need to learn how to collect and use secondary research. Whilst there is plenty of
secondary research date available on websites, the internet is not the only source that should be
considered. There are many very useful reports published and available in hard copy in libraries,
in trade magazines and in newspapers. Consideration should be given to when it was published,
for example is it current or is it likely to be out of date? Whatever the source for the secondary
research learners should always consider the quality of the data by investigating the source, for
example who has produced and published the data and why?
There is no better way of learning about how businesses market themselves in an online
environment than looking at real businesses that do just that. Learners could spend time looking
online, but they should also investigate how businesses market their websites using other, more
traditional media, to attract consumers to their online presence.
Learners also need to consider the security requirements of an online presence – from the point
of view of customers as well as the business itself. Again, real websites will reveal a lot about
the security features that a business has built-in for protection.
Good preparation is the key to success in this part of the unit. Learners need to understand and
practise the basic steps involved in making a sale.
A simple sales process that works in most situations and that learners need to learn about is
based on the acronym AIDA:
• A = attention, produced by creating awareness
• I = interest, stimulated by demonstrating or describing the benefits of the product
• D = desire to buy, created by convincing the customer that your product will satisfy their
needs
• A = action to be taken, be able to close the sale by getting a positive decision from the buyer
It may be helpful to learners to have a sales script from which to work, something that they can
learn and rehearse before being placed in front of real customers. This will give them
confidence. They could work in pairs to practise and then review how well they have done,
drawing lessons from this to apply the next time they practise, as part of the experiential
learning cycle. During the delivery of this part of the unit, the learner could work from a given
script that works and is known to be appropriate. For their assessment it is important that
learners use a sales script that they have developed themselves that applies to the product that
they have chosen for their sales demonstrations. But what are they going to sell? Some learners
may already be working in a sales situation by virtue of part-time jobs or family businesses. It
may be possible to link the assessment activity to the enterprise activity that they are carrying in
Unit 1: Business Enterprise. An alternative would be to sell the facilities, services or courses
offered by the centre itself. Whatever is being sold, the learner will need to be familiar with and
understand its features, benefits and pricing structure, to the point that they are confident that
they can overcome objections from potential customers.
Presentation skills, which learners will need in order to make sales presentations, are not taught
explicitly in this unit. It is assumed that learners will already have studied these in Unit 1:
Business Enterprise. It would, however, be useful to recap the sorts of preparation and skills that
are involved in making a successful presentation.

This unit will be assessed by an assignment based on the marketing and sale of a product or
service.
You will need to:
• Produce a marketing plan, which includes:
○ an outline of what the product/service is
○ an analysis of the current market which the product/service must enter
○ proposed marketing mix covering each of the 4 Ps and marketing objectives, with a
justification for each recommendation [LO.1, LO.2]
• Provide market research findings which support the marketing plan: choice of methods and
why; sampling plan for primary research; how research was carried out; results, analysis
and conclusions [LO.3]
• Produce recommendations for how to market the product/service or business online [LO.4]
• Demonstrate your sales skills and preparation in the following situations: face-to-face,
telesales, to a group of people; then assess your own performance using the AIDA model
[LO.5].

The marketing and sales activities in this unit must be based on a product or service. It could be
based on one that learners are studying or on the learners’ own business enterprise. The
marketing activities must be linked together so that the marketing plan, market research and
online marketing relate to the same product/service. Ideally these will also be linked to what
they are selling in LO.5, but this is not a requirement.
Evidence structure

outcome grid
LO.1, LO.2 A Marketing plan Written evidence: marketing plan
(product outline, marketing mix,
market analysis)
LO.3 A Market research Written evidence: choice of
method, sampling plan, what was
done, data and analysis
LO.4 A Online marketing Written evidence:
recommendations for how to
market the product/service or
business online
LO.5(.1, .2, .3) B Sales interactions Learner observation record:
preparation* and sales skills
LO.5(.4) A Written evidence: assessment of
own performance
* Preparation will be assessed indirectly during the interactions
Level of demand
assessment material (SAM).
Assessment duration
learner. Centres can structure assessment time as they see fit. This does not include time spent
collecting market research data in LO.3. Centres should note that the total class assessment time
may need to be higher to allow time for separate observations of individuals in LO.5.
you need to learn section of the specification.
The marketing plan must cover: an outline of the product or service involved; an analysis of the
current state of the market; an outline of the proposed marketing mix; the marketing objectives;
and a justification for the proposed marketing plan. Although it would result in a more
comprehensive marketing plan, the learners’ marketing plan does not need to include the other
aspects of marketing plans taught in What you need to learn (costs/budgets, timing, outcome
measurement, and downside analysis).
The analysis of the current state of the market within the marketing plan must contain, as a
minimum, details of which market is being targeted, how the market is segmented, plus a
SWOT analysis of the competition. Other analytical tools may be used – see Guidance for
assessment overleaf.
Both primary and secondary research data must be collected. This can be used to find out or
confirm information that will go into any part of the marketing plan.
Learners may work in groups to decide on the product or service and to agree on the market
research to be carried out. They can also work in groups for the primary and secondary market
research activity but each learner must collect some of the group’s data and write it up
individually and draw their own individual conclusions.
Care must be taken over the choice of product or service to make sure that learners can access
sufficient information about the product or service to conduct worthwhile market research and
to produce a realistic marketing plan.
For the recommendations for online marketing, learners may work in groups to agree on the
overall management of the website and to identify legal requirements. Each learner must write
their recommendations individually for:
• content
• design
• security features
• maintenance.
Learners can work together when interacting with customers (ie as ‘colleagues’), but evidence
must be based on individual learners’ interactions. The review stage must be completed
individually.
The customer interactions must take place at least once in each of the three situations listed: face
to face, on the telephone and group presentation. To provide sufficient evidence for assessment,
at least one of the interactions must involve the learners overcoming objections.
Learners must review their own sales performance against each part of the AIDA model.
It is recommended that assessment takes place in three separate stages: firstly the assessment for
LO.1, LO.2 and LO.3; then LO.4; finally LO.5). These could be done at the end of the unit or
during delivery after the relevant learning has taken place.
It would make most sense for assessment to take place in three different stages after the relevant
learning has taken place: one for LO.1, LO.2 and LO.3; one for LO.4; and one for LO.5.
Alternatively all of the assessment could take place at the end of the unit. Whichever approach
is taken, the three stages should be assessed in the same order.
Care must be taken over the choice of the new product/service or the product/service chosen for
re-launch. Whilst there is an obvious attraction to focus on a well known, highly visible product
or service such as Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Manchester United etc, there will be a limit to the
useful information available to learners. This means that there will be a limit to the realism that
can be applied to the assignment. It is suggested that learners are encouraged to choose a
product or service where they can access sufficient information easily. Examples could include
a product used as part of an enterprise activity, a product or service from the centre itself, a
product from a local business that is working with the centre to support the delivery of the
Diploma, a product from a business where learners have a personal contact such as a family
business or where they have a part-time job. Any of these could be a useful source or product
information that learners could use. Learners who are working on the marketing of a service
may choose to use, or incorporate elements, from the extended marketing mix (see Delivery
guidance), but this is not a requirement, and marks should be awarded only to the aspects of the
marketing mix covered as required content in the What you need to learn section.
As part of the market analysis, all learners will have to do a SWOT analysis of the competition,
plus details of which market is being targeted and how it is segmented. They may also use other
analytical tools but they should work out for themselves which ones are appropriate. The choice
of analytical tool would depend upon whether the product/service in question was a new launch
or a re-launch: if it is a new product/service, it could also include use of Ansoff matrix to
determine marketing strategy; if it is for a re-launch, then it could include product lifecycle, or
the use of Boston (BCG) Matrix to locate product currently and to identify how product should
move across the matrix as a result of the re-launch. A PESTEL analysis could be used in either
situation if learners find it a useful way to help identify the impact of the product launch, and to
identify if their marketing plan needs to be changed or adapted accordingly.
Even if the focus of learners’ marketing plans is for a product being launched into a local
market, national and international factors may still have an impact on the marketing mix, eg:
product – availability/delivery/imports and competition from abroad etc; price – local versus
imported items, value of the pound/euro/dollar, etc; promotion – international names/branded
competitors, advertising, online promotion etc; place – distribution aspiration/targets, decisions
about territories/markets that will not be targeted etc. Conversely, learners could note than none
of these factors will impact on their plan, for reasons they identify.
As mentioned previously in Assessment information for assessors, the learners’ marketing plan
does not need to include all of the aspects typically covered in professional marketing plans
(costs/budgets, timing, outcome measurement, and downside analysis).
To go alongside their marketing plan, learners need to carry out market research. The ultimate
test of a piece of market research is: does it meet the brief, and does it provide sufficient data or
information that is accurate, reliable and actionable? In the context of this unit the market
research must produce data and information that can be used to inform the development of a
marketing plan. Learners should carry this out simultaneously with their work on the marketing
plan: learners will need some idea of what is going to be researched (in other words some
planning will already need to have taken place), but the final plan cannot be finished until the
results of the market research are known.
The market research does not need to support the plan in its entirety. Whilst one approach could
be to test the final product/marketing mix prior to a launch to support an overall marketing plan,
in practice it is more likely to focus on aspects of a plan where information is lacking or where
support needs to be confirmed, for example for a new product it could show that there is a
consumer demand as a result of interviewing consumers, or it could be used to identify what
packaging should look like, what pricing would be acceptable to the market, which media the
target market consumes, what the target market is, etc. For a re-launch the market research
could confirm that there is still a market for the product, how existing customers respond to
changes proposed as a result of the re-launch, how current non-purchasers respond to proposed
re-launch etc.
The primary market research methods used should be identified clearly. They should produce
sufficient good quality data, which should be analysed to support the decisions surrounding the
development of the marketing plan. The secondary research used should be from a range of
sources, and it must be relevant and as current or up to date as possible or as available. The
results of the market research should be analysed and interpreted. The main findings should be
noted and explained with supporting information.
The assessment for LO.4 involves making recommendations for marketing a product/service or
a business online. This sounds very interesting and potentially exciting, and this view should be
encouraged as it is likely to result in a better piece of work from learners. However, guidance
may be necessary to avoid learners getting sidetracked and spending too long on the graphics
for their planned website and losing time that should be devoted to planning the content.
Learners should also consider the security issues associated with websites as failure to do so
could have catastrophic and costly results. The emphasis here should be protect the business and
protect the customers. The plan may be presented in text form, in drawn or graphic form, or a
combination of all of these. While keen learners may wish to produce a working website, this is
not a requirement.
The final part of the assignment will involve learners demonstrating their sales techniques face
to face, using telesales techniques, and in a sales presentation to a group of potential customers.
The preparation for selling should be relatively straightforward if the product/service to be sold
is the one on which they have written their marketing plan. At this stage, they may, however,
need to decide on additional information that was not included in the marketing plan or alter it
in some way. Learners’ preparation will not be assessed directly, but rather during the
interactions themselves: in other words, their performance should indicate how well prepared
they are. If the product/service to be sold is not the same one as features in the marketing plan,
then it should be one about which there is clear information available, and this information will
need either to be provided to the learners or found by them. When it comes to the sales
presentation, it is assumed that learners will already have learned and practised presentation
skills as part of Unit 1: Business Enterprise. Nevertheless, it is probably worth reminding them
about the sorts of preparation that is required.
The sales situations should involve at least one customer who has some kind of objection that
learners must overcome before they can close the sale successfully. Common types of
objections that learners could have to deal with include: price (too high); timing (not available
soon enough or when the customer wants it); features of the product itself (performance, colour,
shape, size etc not as required by the customer); brand or manufacturer (customer has a
preference for products with a particular brand or from a particular manufacturer and the learner
must offer and explain alternatives). If overcoming objections does not occur naturally, then the
tutor can take on the role of customer. It would be appropriate at this level for centres to design
assessment instruments that allow learners to show their abilities to up-sell and cross-sell, but
this is not a requirement.
Evidence of the customer interactions could be collected over several different sessions. The
context in which the sales interactions take place could be connected to the learners’ own
business enterprise (possibly as an extension to this activity if it has already finished).
Alternatively, a scenario could be developed by the centre and assessed through role plays based
on either a real or imaginary business, in which case, the ‘customers’ should preferably not be
learners in the same class. Centres could also use other real selling activities, including courses,
qualifications, tuition services, membership to the library/sports clubs etc, food in the canteen,
stationery, tickets for an event, extra curricular activities, support for fundraising activities,
attendance at meetings, recordings of the choir, items produced by other courses, for example
artwork, food, gifts, etc. It could also be done in a real workplace, for example through a part-
time job or on work experience.
The review can be presented in any appropriate format or formats, but must be in writing.
Marking grid A
focus available
LO.1 There is an outline of the There is a clear outline of the There is a clear outline of the
product/service. The analysis product/service. The analysis product/service. The analysis is
Know the
contains basic information about contains clear information about thorough and contains clear and
principles of
the market to be entered and the the market to be entered and the detailed information about the
marketing
competition. Any other analytical competition. Any other analytical market to be entered and the
LO.2 tools chosen may not be suitable tools chosen are suitable, and competition. Any other analytical
and results are presented with results are presented reasonably tools chosen are suitable, and
Be able to plan the
marketing of a limited clarity. clearly. results are presented clearly.
product or service (0–3) (4–6) (7–8)
The marketing mix includes The marketing mix includes The marketing mix includes
information on the 4 Ps. clearly-presented information on clearly-presented information on
Marketing objectives may not be the 4 Ps which in a well ordered. the 4 Ps which is well ordered and
clear. There is limited Marketing objectives are clear and coherent across the different
justification of the proposed the addressed to some extent in elements. Marketing objectives are
marketing activities, which may the plan. There is some clear and realistic and addressed
include reference to the market justification of the proposed in the plan. There is clear and
research. marketing activities, which convincing justification of the
includes reference to the market proposed marketing activities,
research. which includes reference to the
market research.
(0–5) (6–9) (10–12) 20
LO.3(.1) The primary and secondary The primary and secondary The primary and secondary
methods used are identified, with methods used are identified, with methods used are identified, with
Be able to carry
limited justification given for the reasonable justification given for convincing justification given for
out market
choice. A basic sampling plan for the choice. A sampling plan for the choice. A sampling plan for
research
the primary research is included. the primary research is included, the primary research is included,
which appears generally realistic. which appears realistic and well
thought out.
(0–2) (3–4) (5–6)

focus available
LO.3(.2, .3) Data is collected, although is Data is collected which is Data is collected which is
likely to be limited in terms of sufficient in terms of quality and sufficient in terms of quantity
Be able to carry
quantity and quality. Results are quantity. Results are presented and is of good quality. Results are
out market
presented with basic analysis and with reasonably clarity, with presented clearly, with detailed
research
conclusions, which have some reasonable analysis and analysis and conclusions, which
support in the data. conclusions, which are generally are well supported by the data.
supported by the data.
(0–3) (4–6) (7–8) 14
LO.4 There are basic recommendations There are clear recommendations There are clear and well thought
about content, design, security about content, design, security out recommendations about
Be able to market
features and maintenance, with features and maintenance, with content, design, security features
a business online
limited justification provided. some justification provided. The and maintenance, with good
Some recommendations are recommendations are mainly justification provided. The
practical. practical. recommendations are practical.
(0–3 (4–6) (7–8) 8

LO.5(.4) The learner produces a basic The learner produces a clear The learner produces a clear and
assessment of their own assessment of their own convincing assessment of their
Be able to apply
performance, showing a basic performance, showing a own performance, showing a good
sales techniques
understanding of how the AIDA reasonable understanding of how understanding of how the AIDA
and skills
model can be applied to their the AIDA model can be applied to model can be applied to their
performance. their performance. performance.
(0–2) (3–4) (5–6) 6

Total marks 48
Marking grid B
focus available
LO.5(.1) From the way that the learner From the way that the learner From the way that the learner
interacts with customers, it is clear interacts with customers, it is clear interacts with customers, it is clear
Be able to apply
that there has been basic that there has been reasonable that there has been good
sales techniques
preparation for the sale preparation for the sale. preparation for the sale.
and skills
(0–1) (2) (3)

LO.5(.2, .3) All three selling situations will All three selling situations will All three selling situations will
have been attempted. The learner have been attempted. The learner have been attempted. The learner
Be able to apply
displays a positive attitude. They displays a positive attitude. They displays a positive attitude. They
sales techniques
demonstrate basic communication demonstrate reasonable demonstrate good communication
and skills
skills and can communicate the communication skills and can skills and can communicate the
main features of the communicate the main features features and the benefits of the
product/service. They find it and benefits of the product/service well. They are
difficult to overcome objections product/service. They show good at overcoming objections,
and have difficulty closing sales. reasonable ability to overcome and can close sales confidently
objections and show reasonable and effectively
confidence when trying to close
sales.
(0–4) (5–7) (8–9) 12
Total marks 12
Assessment guidance

marking grid B.
Level 3 descriptors
Descriptor Meaning
Coherence/coherent Logical, consistent and well ordered across the different
parts.
Confidence/confidently Remaining positive and not showing doubts.
Difficult/difficulties Clearly has a problem doing something and may have only
limited success.
Effectively (closing sales) Able to find a solution to any problems, in an efficient and
professional manner.
Generally Mostly/or most of the time but not completely or
consistently.
Identify Name or otherwise characterise, mention the key elements,
facts, features, etc.
Limited Incomplete or having a narrow scope; shows only basic
ability or understanding.
Main (features) The most important features.
Mainly Mostly but not exclusively.
Relevant features Key features about the business idea which will affect its
success.
Relevant people The attendees of the meeting and the tutor; not people who
do not need to see the documents.
Simple Basic, routine, straightforward.
Some To a certain degree, partial; not all.
Suitable/suitability Appropriate for the product and intended purpose.
Thorough Comprehensive, including all features, facts, etc.
Well thought out Showing good judgement, thoughtful.

of this unit:

Independent enquirers Planning and carrying out market research [IE2]
Effective participators Proposing the steps that can be taken to market a product or
service [EP3]
learning.

Independent enquirers Identifying questions to answer as part of their market research
[IE1]; considering the impact of circumstances and consumers’
beliefs when producing a marketing mix [IE5]; presenting the
results of their market research using evidence to support their
conclusions [IE6]
Creative thinkers Generating ideas for a product to be marketed [CT1]; connecting
their own ideas in inventive ways when constructing a marketing
mix [CT3]; considering alternative marketing strategies when
preparing their marketing plan [CT5]
Reflective learners Setting goals with success criteria for the market research they are
carrying out in terms of what answers they want to find out [RL2];
reviewing progress during the market research, making changes if
necessary [RL3]; evaluating own performance during sales
transactions [RL5]
Team workers Working together to carry out market research, collaborating to
work towards common goals [TW1]; reaching agreements on
which methods of market research to use [TW2]
Self-managers Showing commitment and perseverance in a sales situation [SM2]
Effective participators Presenting a persuasive case for action when presenting their
marketing plan [EP2]; trying to influence customers when
demonstrating sales skills [EP5]


system used
Manage information storage to enable Collating data from their market research for future
efficient retrieval analysis
Troubleshoot

information
Select and use a variety of sources of Carrying out primary and secondary market research,
information independently for a using different sources
complex task
Access, search for, select and use ICT- Carrying out secondary market research
fitness for purpose

Enter, develop and format information Preparing their marketing plan
Presenting the results of their market research
purpose, including:
• text and tables
• images
• numbers
• records.
Bring together information to suit Preparing their marketing plan
content and purpose
Present information in ways that are fit Preparing their marketing plan
present information

Mathematics
tackle it
Select and apply a range of Analysing market research data
Use appropriate checking procedures Entering and storing their market research data
each stage
situations
Draw conclusions and provide Analysing the primary market research data
English
Speaking and listening – make a range
range of contexts
Reading – compare, select, read and Carrying out secondary market research
and opinions
Writing – write documents, including Writing a market research plan
Preparing a plan for marketing a business online.
Work experience
from any experience gained in a sales or marketing environment in terms of gaining practical
experience. Sales experience could be used to generate evidence for LO.5.
None.
Reference material
Books
Evans-Pritchard J, Hancock M, Jones R, Mansfield A and Gray D – AS level Applied Business
for Edexcel Double Award, (Causeway Press, 2005) ISBN 1405821159
Evans-Pritchard J, Hancock M, Jones R, Mansfield A and Gray D – A2 level Applied Business
for Edexcel Single and Double Awards, (Causeway Press, 2006) ISBN 1405821167
Websites
www.businesslink.gov.uk Business Link provides an easy to use support,
advice and information service for local businesses
www.marketingteacher.com Marketing resources for tutors and learners
www.mrs.org.uk The Market Research Society, professional body
supporting the market research industry
www.skillsmartretail.com The Sector Skills Council for Retail
www.tradingstandards.gov.uk Trading Standards Central – a one stop shop for
consumer protection information in the UK. The
site is supported and maintained by the Trading
Standards Institute
LEVEL 3 UNIT 6: CUSTOMER SERVICE IN BUSINESS
Unit 6: Customer Service in Business
Level 3
Internally assessed
About this unit ‘There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody
in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending
his money somewhere else.’ Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart.
Wherever you end up working, you will find that all jobs include
an element of customer service, whether dealing with internal,
external customers or both. Whenever you are dealing with
people – you are dealing with customers. In this unit you will
learn how to understand customers and their behaviour, and how
organisations provide customer services to meet the needs of
their customers and maintain their standards. You will be
introduced to the challenges faced by organisations when
providing customer services online.
Customer service has become one of the most important
functions in any business or organisation. It is how you are
judged and evaluated by your customers. The better the customer
service the better the organisation will fare in the competitive
marketplace. But dealing with customers isn’t always easy –
certain transactions and can customers present quite a challenge.
This unit will give you the chance to learn how to do this.
Learning outcomes
LO.1 Understand the benefits of customer satisfaction
LO.2 Know the factors that impact on the customer experience
LO.3 Understand how customer service standards are maintained
LO.4 Know the challenges of providing customer service online
LO.5 Be able to handle challenging customer service transactions.

LO.1 Understand Customers can come from inside an organisation as well as from
the benefits of outside an organisation:
customer • internal customers, eg team members, employees in other
satisfaction departments
• external customers: people or organisations outside the
business who buy your products or services.
Customer satisfaction results when customers receive a service
that meets or exceeds their needs and expectations. Satisfying
external customers brings a number of benefits to the
organisation and staff:
• promoting customer loyalty and repeat business
• increasing sales
• attracting new customers
• reducing complaints and negative publicity
• gaining competitive advantage
• contributing to the overall success of the organisation
• job satisfaction for staff.
Satisfying the needs of internal customers also brings benefits:
• better work environment for staff
• improved service to external customers
• personal benefits for staff: demonstrating own value to
colleagues.
LO.2 Know the The customer experience of the service provided is affected by:
factors that • the accuracy of information provided
impact on the
customer • the speed of response, eg time taken to answer emails, phone
experience calls
• how easy it is to get through to the right person
• how knowledgeable the customer service representative is
about their organisation’s products/services
• how responsive the service is and willingness to take
responsibility
• how pleasant and friendly the service is
• the standard of service that they expect.
The customer’s experience is affected by their needs and
expectations, which will vary according to:
• the particular service they require: to obtain information or
advice; to place an order; to enquire about an order; to report
a problem; to return or exchange goods; to complain
• the type and cost of the product or service

• the reputation of the organisation
• individual factors: previous experience of the organisation;
psychological factors, eg customer attitude, mood; social
factors, eg cultural background, language, family; physical
factors, eg mobility, hearing, sight; economic factors, eg
income level, employment status.
Globalisation and economic factors have influenced some
organisations to outsource their customer service functions, often
to call centres in other parts of the UK or abroad. This can bring
advantages and disadvantages for the business and for the
customer:
• lower cost
• large pool of qualified and experienced staff
• customer perception
remoteness of customer services centre from customer and
organisation.
LO.3 Understand You need to learn about what organisations can do to ensure that
how customer they provide a high level of service:
service • having trained staff that understand the importance of
standards are customer service
maintained
• ensuring that staff understand and follow their legal
obligations to customers, eg:
• for goods to be of satisfactory quality and offer a refund if
this is not the case
• not to mislead customers: describing goods, services and
prices accurately
• to keep records safe and secure
• having well-established customer service policies and
procedures, covering:
○ pre-transaction services, eg providing information,
directions
○ transaction services, eg selling, payment, credit, etc
○ after sales services, eg packing, deliveries, repairs,
replacement
○ standards of service, eg method, speed and manner of
response
○ complaints procedures
• having a system to make sure that correct policies and
procedures are followed
• having a system to monitor the effectiveness of customer
services.
Organisations often collect data to monitor the standards of

customer service that they are providing. Data can be gathered
using:
• customer feedback: self-completion questionnaires,
interviews both face to face and over the telephone, focus
groups
• staff feedback
• sales figures
• measuring the behaviour of customers, new and repeat
• number and type of complaints recorded
• mystery shoppers.
By gathering data on customer satisfaction, organisations can
assess the effectiveness of their customer services. The
information they collect can be used to:
• measure change over time
• benchmark performance against industry standards
• drive improvements, eg training, policies, procedures.
LO.4 Know the You need to learn about the challenges faced by companies who
challenges of deal with customers online in comparison with the high-street:
providing • technical: usability; maintenance
customer
service online • security: payment; customer data; protection from criminal
intent
• remoteness: cost and logistics of supplying goods and
services at a distance
• loss of personal contact with customers: difficulty of
building relationships; difficulty of responding to enquiries
and problems quickly enough.
There are a number of challenges for the customer:
• access: having suitable ICT equipment; having ICT skills
• technical: finding the right website; site navigation
• security: perceptions of data insecurity
• remoteness: delay in receiving goods; inability to try before
buying
• lack of personal contact with company: difficulty in getting
additional information about product; difficulty in getting
help when things go wrong.
LO.5 Be able to You need to learn about the factors that can make customer
handle service situations challenging:
challenging • complicated types of transaction: problems; complaints
customer
service • barriers to communication: language/comprehension, eg
disability, special needs, non-native speakers; emotions, eg
transactions
angry, upset
• difficult customers, eg who feel let down, who bear a grudge;
who want to make a point or a public scene; who have
dishonest intentions.
Challenging customer service transactions can affect
organisations in different ways, eg:
• increasing workload by taking up time
• negative effects on other customers
• lowering staff morale.
You need to learn about what is required to achieve a positive
outcome when dealing with challenging customer service
transactions. This involves:
• up-to-date knowledge: of product/service and company
policies/procedures
• organisational skills and record keeping
• positive attitude: willingness to take responsibility; friendly
and helpful manner; tact; remaining calm and polite under
pressure; avoiding passing the blame
• trying to understand customer’s attitude and behaviour with
a view to providing a solution to their problem
• comprehension skills: listening/reading skills; making sure
you understand the problem; checking facts
• communication skills: verbal, non-verbal, written
• knowing when to seek assistance.
Teaching this unit

Delivery guidance
The focus of this learning outcome is on customer satisfaction. Learners need to understand that
in many situations they are the customers and as such will have experienced a wide range of
customer services. Their own experiences will have left them with thoughts and opinion as to
how well, or not, they were dealt with, and consequently how satisfied they were as a result.
This could draw on both face-to-face and telephone experiences of retail organisations, and it
could also include non-retail organisations, such as schools, colleges or sport and leisure outlets.
As external customers, learners will be able to bring a wide range of experience to the learning
and understanding of the main point of this outcome. However, the concept of ‘internal
customers’ may be more challenging. Again, learners themselves could be used as examples –
presenting their friends, family or teachers as the customer, with the learner as the supplier
within the environment of peer groups, families or the learner’s centre.
Leading on from the concept of the learner as the customer, they need to consider why
organisations bother to provide customer service, why bother to satisfy their customers. Again,
the learners could analyse their own feelings and attitude towards organisations that develops as
a result of being a customer and on the receiving end of good, bad or indifferent customer
service.
Focusing only on learners’ experiences could be limiting and it is worth encouraging learners to
look at the range of customer services provided by exemplar organisations and then attempt to
identify what they, the organisation, is aiming to get out of the customer service they provide.
Some of the main reasons for providing good customer service and satisfying customers are
listed in the What you need to learn section. Each could be used as a starting point to try to
identify particular customer services in an organisation that result in the benefits listed. For
example, taking ‘promoting customer loyalty’ as the starting point – different organisations
tackle this in different ways, a food supermarket may have a customer loyalty scheme based on
collecting points for each pound spent, the points being converted to discounts or prizes for
loyal customers that build up a collection of points; in contrast, a local dental surgery may try to
build up customer loyalty by opening at more convenient times, offering ‘family sessions’
where several members of a family can be checked at a single appointment, or they may offer
discounts on hygiene treatments for customers who book a check-up.
Satisfying the needs of internal customers may not be as obvious. Thinking of themselves as
suppliers to internal customers – friends, family or teachers – learners could consider what’s in
it for them if they provide a good service to each of these groups. Extending this further, when
they are engaged in work placement, part-time work or when on visits to employers, learners
could investigate the benefits to individual employees in the workplace of providing good
customer service. The last bullet point in What you need to learn emphasises that there is also a
personal benefit for staff who provide good internal customer service in that they are more
likely to prosper within the organisation, for example through getting positive appraisals and
improved promotion prospects.
Role play could be used to help bridge the gap between the learner’s own experiences and their
understanding of the needs and expectations of others in the wider community. The learner’s
own needs and expectations will vary depending on the different circumstances of their
interaction with customer services, but their own profile – a description of themselves, will
remain relatively stable. The needs and expectations of other people as customers will have the
added dimension that they will have their own particular social, economic and psychographic
profile that will form their needs and expectations. To understand this, the learner will need to
put themselves in different situations, or investigate case studies or reports of customer
behaviour in different situations.
Interviewing customers after they have been involved in a customer transaction or been on the
receiving end of some customer service is one way of finding out directly what influenced or
affected the customer’s experience. This is best achieved by working with or within real
business organisations. Attempting to interview customers without the cooperation of the
business concerned is certainly possible, but it runs the risk of upsetting the business, which
could lead to a decline in cooperation or support for enthusiastic learners and education
initiatives in general in the future.
Another area that would benefit from input from real organisations is the study of how
globalisation has affected and influenced the provision of customer services. The most high
profile example of this, and a subject that has received much media attention, is the outsourcing
of customer services, moving from the use of resources within an organisation to the use of
resources provided by a third party. This third party may still be within the same area or even
country, but by virtue of globalisation may be in another part of the world. There are many
reasons why this has occurred, resource issues such as lack of skills and economic reasons, are
just two examples. Most learners, or members of the learner’s family, will have experienced
dealing with call centres in different parts of the world when they contact banks and mail order
businesses, and as such, will have opinions that they can share with other learners.
The evaluation of the effectiveness of customer services provided by an organisation could be

achieved to some degree thorough subjective opinion, based on experience as a customer.
However, to be objective, and to come to some conclusions that will stand being tested or that
could be used for the development of improvements to customer services, the results of
customer services provided should be monitored and measured.
There are many techniques for doing this – customer feedback, monitoring complaint levels,
even asking ‘Is the meal OK?’ etc. Learners should be encouraged to note and collect examples
of different ways this is being done through their own experiences as customers. But this will
only provide half the story.
To get an inside view of how organisations monitor and measure customer services in a real-life
situation, the learner will need information from organisations themselves. This could be
achieved through research and investigation, but a visit to a real organisation, or a visit from a
person responsible for monitoring customer service, will bring reality to their learning – it will
cease to be an academic exercise and become a real project with commercial consequences.
The obligations of organisations and employees towards customers may be dictated by industry
standard, regulation or sometimes by an organisation’s mission statement, but it will be
consumer protection legislation in all of its many forms that sets the ultimate standard. Learners
are not expected to know the names and dates or have explicit knowledge of every piece of
legislation designed to protect consumers – the objective should be that all learners understand
that any organisation dealing with customers and consumers has obligations under the law. It
would, however, be useful if learners had an awareness of the main pieces of consumer
protection legislation, and the main obligations it places on businesses and organisations. For
the purposes of this unit the main pieces of consumer protection legislation would include
current versions of: the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended by the Sale & Supply of Goods
Act 1994 and the Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002); The Supply of
Goods and Services Act 1982; the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations
(2008) and the Consumer Credit Act 2006; the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling)
Regulations 2000 and the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) (Amendment) Regulations
2005, referred to as the ‘Distance Selling Regulations’; the Data Protection Act 1998.
Legislation can change and you are advised to keep up-to-date with new or updated consumer
protection legislation that may come into force during the life of this qualification. Legislation
need not be a dry subject. The Trading Standards organisation produces a wide range of
accessible material to put across the basics of consumer protection legislation, from the point of
view of both business and the consumer.
Increasingly, organisations are setting up an online presence in addition to their traditional way
of trading. Some organisations exist only as online web-based businesses. This change brings a
need for customer services to be considered and delivered in different ways. Most learners will
have had experience of buying from online websites – buying and downloading music or video
files, products such as CDs or DVDs, books, tickets etc. They may also have used online
services from organisation such as research or news providers, or social networking sites. As a
customer the learner will have experienced the good, bad and indifferent customer services –
this is valuable information to be shared. The next step is to compare the customer services they
receive online with the customer services they have experienced face-to-face from organisations
in the metaphorical high street.
Having established that there are some major differences between customer services online and
customer services in a high street situation the nest step is to consider the differences and the
challenges from the point-of-view of the organisation itself. This would include technical issues,
security, the fact that they are remote from the customer, that there is a loss of personal contact
with customers which can lead to a difficulty in building relationships and a difficulty in
responding to enquiries and problems quickly enough. Although presented here as ‘difficulties’
there are plenty of online organisations that have overcome these challenges and enjoy a high
level of customer satisfaction. These should be investigated as well as the problem sites, to see
just how high levels of customer satisfaction have been achieved. In preparation for assessment,
it would be useful for learners to look at a range of well-developed websites to see the different
approaches taken.
Good preparation is the key to success in this part of the unit. Learners need to learn about how
to handle ‘challenging’ customer service situations. This includes, but is not limited to, dealing
with ‘difficult’ customers to their satisfaction and to the satisfaction of the organisation itself.
Most learners who have part-time jobs, particularly those in the retail sector, will have
experienced ‘difficult’ customers – they should be encouraged to tell of their experiences to
other members of the group. The group can then attempt to analyse why the customer was
considered to be ‘difficult’, what were the circumstances that created this ‘difficult’ customer?
Tutors and other members of staff who are involved in recruitment events or fund raising events
may also have anecdotes relating to ‘difficult’ customers, again these experiences could be
explored.
Understanding the customer’s attitude and behaviour is particularly important with challenging
customer service situations. This is not merely about staff showing that they empathise, but also
helps them predict the sorts of things that will be perceived as being helpful/unhelpful.
Challenging customer service situations can also come in written form, such as letters of
complaint, requests for explanation as to why something went wrong or did not happen as
expected. Learners can practise this in a number of different ways, but perhaps the most useful
and interesting could be to ask each learner in a group to write a brief letter of complaint about a
consumer issue that has been bothering or troubling them. The letters of ‘complaint’ are then put
in a hat, learners then draw out one letter each and have to respond to it in writing as if they are
a customer service person within the organisation concerned/complained about. The original
letter writer could then judge how well the customer service person has dealt with their letter
and consequently how satisfied they are with the outcome.
Learners will need to have practice in dealing with difficult or ‘challenging’ customer
interactions face-to-face and over the telephone. Role play is a good way of doing this. They
could work in pairs to practise and then review how well they have done, drawing lessons from
this to apply the next time they practise, as part of the experiential learning cycle. Some learners
may already be working in a customer service situation by virtue of part-time jobs or family
businesses. This will have brought them into contact with challenging customer service
situations and will be great preparation for their assessment.
Although the emphasis should be on dealing with ‘real life’ situations, learners should not be
put into a position where they either a) are likely to be endangered as a result of a confrontation
with a customer, or b) likely to pose a risk to an organisation if they fail to resolve a situation
satisfactorily.

This unit will be assessed by an assignment on customer service. You will need to:
• Carry out an investigation into the service provided to customers by an organisation. This
will involve:
○ understanding the organisation: identifying the factors that affect the customer
experience, the ways in which its customers’ needs and expectations vary and how it
would, or does already, benefit from outsourcing its customer services operations, as
well as any potential disadvantages [LO.2]
○ the benefits: explaining the benefits of providing effective customer service to its
internal and external customers [LO.1]
○ online customer service: describing the particular challenges that the organisation would
have, or has already, in providing customer service online [LO.4]
○ assessment and recommendations: describing what steps it takes to maintain customer
service standards; assessing the service provided to customers by this organisation; and
recommending ways in which the organisation can improve the standard of service it
provides [LO.3]
• Demonstrate how to handle challenging verbal and written customer service situations
[LO.5].

Any real organisation will provide learners with a sector-relevant purpose for completing their
assignment. The assignment must be contextualised in such a way as to give the learners a real
purpose for carrying out the investigation (see also Guidance for assessment).
Evidence structure

outcome grid
LO.2 A Investigation: understanding Written evidence: good customer
the organisation service; varying needs and
expectations of customers; benefits
of outsourcing customer services
LO.1 A Investigation: the benefits Written evidence: benefits of
providing effective customer
service
LO.4 A Investigation: online Written evidence: challenges of
customer service online customer service
LO.3 A Investigation: assessment and Written evidence: steps taken to
recommendations maintain customer service
standards; assessment of customer
service provided; recommendations
for improvements
LO.5 A Demonstrating customer Written evidence: written customer
service skills service transaction
LO.5 B Learner observation record: verbal
customer service transaction
Level of demand
Assessment duration
learner. Centres can structure assessment time as they see fit. This suggested GLH for
assessment does not include time spent collecting information on a business/organisation in
LO.1, LO.2 and LO.3. Centres should note that the total class assessment time may need to be
higher to allow time for separate observations of individuals in LO.5.
Learners do not need to each select a different organisation. Group work is permitted when
investigating the organisation, but each learner must create their own evidence for assessment.
The customer interactions must take place verbally (face-to-face, over the telephone) and in
writing (letter, email etc). Learners must demonstrate their ability to deal with at least three
different challenging customer service interactions in total. At least one of the verbal
interactions must be done face-to-face. The interactions must be ‘challenging’ in at least one of
the following ways as exemplified in the What you need to learn section: complicated
transaction(s); barrier(s) to communication; difficult customer(s). The written interactions must
be done individually in an appropriate format.
It is recommended that assessment takes place in two separate stages: firstly the assessment for
LO.1, LO.2, LO.3 and LO.4, and then LO.5. These could be done at the end of the unit or
during delivery after the relevant learning has taken place.
It is recommended that tutors agree the chosen organisation for their investigation with learners
(if necessary, these could be chosen by the tutors themselves). This will prevent learners
choosing an organisation which is unsuitable and about which learners will not be able to access
information.
Centres can link the investigation (LO.1, LO.2, LO.3, LO.4) to the practical customer service
skills LO.5) so that the organisation chosen is the same; this might make the customer
interactions more purposeful for the learners. If they are linked, then it would be advisable to
limit the number of organisations that are studied in any one class as this would make the
customer interactions more manageable.
The organisation could be one in which the learners are already working (such as a in a part
time job or work experience). Depending on the organisation chosen by the learner the customer
services provided will vary. When assessing the effectiveness of the customer service provision,
learners should carry out their own research, which could include their experience as a
customer, but they can also make use of other information published by both by the
organisations themselves and by third parties.
If the organisation has already outsourced its customer services, then the learner should
comment on the advantages that this has brought; if not, then the task should be hypothetical,
requiring the learner to comment on what the benefits and drawbacks would be. This is also true
for the task on online customer service; if the organisation already provides services in this way,
then learners should assess the customer experience of using the organisation’s website.
The investigation can be presented in any appropriate format(s). If a presentation is done for any
part of this, for moderation purposes, it is important to note that the written evidence created
(slides, notes) must by itself provide sufficient evidence of the learner’s knowledge and
understanding; oral presentation skills are not assessed in this unit.
If assessment of LO.5 is be based on the same organisation that learners have already
investigated, this might make the task more accessible and simpler for the centres to prepare for
as learners need a certain degree of knowledge about the organisation and its products or
services. However, this is not a requirement.
These interactions could be assessed through role play in the centre, and could be based upon
real examples that are re-created under controlled assessment conditions via role play or
documents, eg a letter of complaint. The ‘customers’ should ideally not be learners in the same
class.
Another approach would be for the interactions to be real examples done on work experience.
Centres could also use other real situations where customer interactions take place, including
enquiry desks, reception desks in the centre or associated facilities such as sports or leisure
centres, the canteen, stationery or book sales areas, extra curricular activities, etc.
Any ‘real’ situation presents an additional challenge for centres in that learners need to be
assessed on interactions that are considered ‘challenging’ rather than merely routine. Any
information which identifies real customers (name, personal details, other personal information)
should be obscured or changed.
These interactions might be contextualised by giving learners the task of showing the
organisation how to deal with it so that organisation can learn from this, eg through product
improvement, staff training or the development of a procedure to deal with such issues
(although the learner will not need to recommend which approach should be taken or be
involved in implementing this).
Marking grid A
focus available
LO.1 The learner briefly outlines the The learner explains benefits of The learner explains in detail the
benefits of providing effective providing effective customer benefits of providing effective
Understand the
customer service to internal and service to internal and external customer service to internal and
benefits of
external customers. customers, giving examples to external customers, giving clear
customer
support this. and well chosen examples to
satisfaction
support this.
(0–2) (3–4) (5–6) 6
LO.2 The learner identifies factors that The learner identifies relevant The learner identifies relevant
affect the customer experience, factors that affect the customer factors that affect the customer
Know the factors
which are generally relevant to experience, giving examples to experience, giving clear and well
that impact on the
the organisation with a basic support this with a description of chosen examples to support this
customer
description of typical customers, typical customers, with a with a detailed description of
experience
with their needs and expectations reasonable description of their typical customers, linking this
listed. Advantages and needs and expectations. with a clear description of their
disadvantages of outsourcing are Advantages and disadvantages of needs and expectations.
briefly identified. Answers may outsourcing are identified. The Advantages and disadvantages of
not highlight the most significant learner shows reasonable ability outsourcing are identified clearly.
factors. to highlight the most significant The learner is well able to
factors. highlight the most significant
factors.
(0–5) (6–9) (10–12) 12

focus available
LO.3 There is a brief description of There is a description of what the There is a detailed description of
what the organisation does to organisation does to ensure high what the organisation does to
Understand how
ensure high standards of customer standards of customer service. The ensure high standards of customer
customer service
service. The assessment of service assessment of service provided is service. The assessment of service
standards are
provided is rather brief. Limited detailed. Reasonably clear provided is detailed and well
maintained
evidence is provided for the evidence is provided for the argued. Clear and convincing
judgement. The learner makes judgement. The learner makes evidence is provided for the
limited and generalised realistic recommendations about judgement. The learner makes
recommendations about steps that specific steps the organisation can well argued and realistic
the organisation can take. take, linking this to evidence from recommendations about specific
the assessment. steps the organisation can take,
linking this to well chosen
evidence from the assessment.
(0–5) (6–9) (10–12) 12
LO.4 The learner describes challenges The learner describes challenges The learner describes challenges
briefly and in general terms, in some detail, and providing in detail, providing clear and
Know the
showing a limited understanding examples of what these are or well chosen examples of what
challenges of
of them. Answers may focus would be. Answers are these are or would be. Answers
providing
mainly either on the point of view reasonably clear and deal with are clear and well argued and
customer service
of the organisation or customer. the perspective of both customer deal with the perspective of both
online
and organisation. There is some customer and organisation. The
indication of which challenges are learner shows convincingly which
most serious. challenges are most serious,
dealing with the perspective of
both customer and organisation.
(0–5) (6–9) (10–12) 12

focus available
LO.5 The learner shows limited The learner shows reasonable The learner shows good customer
customer handling skills when customer handling skills when handling skills when dealing with
Be able to handle
dealing with challenging customer dealing with challenging customer challenging customer service
challenging
service transaction(s) in writing. service transaction(s) in writing. transaction(s) in writing.
customer service
transactions
(0–4) (5–7) (8–9) 9
Total marks 51
Marking grid B
focus available
LO.5 The learner shows limited The learner shows reasonable The learner shows good customer
customer handling skills when customer handling skills when handling skills when dealing with
Be able to handle
dealing with challenging customer dealing with challenging verbal challenging customer service
challenging
service transaction(s) verbally. customer service transaction(s) transaction(s) verbally.
customer service
verbally.
transactions
(0–4) (5–7) (8–9) 9
Total marks 9
Assessment guidance

marking grid B.
Level 3 descriptors
Descriptor Meaning
Convincing Believable, well argued, well chosen.
General/generalised Vague, lacking specific information, details, etc.

consistently.
Good customer handling skills The learner shows no evident weaknesses, or only minor
weaknesses in one or two of the six categories listed in What
you need to learn, namely: up-to-date knowledge;
organisation skills/record keeping; positive attitude;
comprehension skills; communication skills; knowing when
to seek assistance. Minor weaknesses are those which would
not affect the outcome of the interaction, and which would
only be noticed by people who are experienced in delivering
customer service.
Identify Name or otherwise characterise, mention the key elements,
facts, features, etc.
ability or understanding; Showing basic or incomplete
knowledge, evidence, ability etc.
Limited customer handling The learner shows significant weaknesses in several of the
skills six categories listed in What you need to learn, in which
clear improvements could be made: up-to-date knowledge;
organisation skills/record keeping; positive attitude;
comprehension skills; communication skills; knowing when
to seek assistance. Less significant weaknesses in other
categories may also be evident. Significant weaknesses are
those which would affect the customer’s general perception
of how they have been dealt with, and may also affect the
outcome of the interaction.
List/listed Provide the information in separate, individual points, rather
than in continuous prose.
Mainly Mostly but not exclusively.
Outline Set out the main characteristics or give an overview of the
main features.
Descriptor Meaning
Reasonable customer handling The learner shows weaknesses in one or two of the six
skills categories listed in What you need to learn, namely: up-to-
date knowledge; organisation skills/record keeping; positive
attitude; comprehension skills; communication skills;
knowing when to seek assistance. The weaknesses are not
significant. They would be noticed by people who delivery
customer service, but are unlikely to affect the overall
outcome of the interaction.
Relevant/relevance Applicable to the subject/organisation
Some To a certain degree, partial.
Specific Precise, exact, detailed.
Well argued Showing the ability to construct a convincing argument.
Well balanced Giving appropriate weight to most significant factors/both
sides.
Well chosen (examples) Chosen in such a way that it provides support for the
argument; a good example; appropriate for a particular
situation of context.

of this unit:

Independent enquirers Assessing the challenges of providing customer service online
from the perspective of the customer and the organisation [IE3];
Evaluating the effectiveness of customer service practices,
supporting their conclusions with reasoned arguments and
evidence [IE6]
learning.

Independent enquirers Analysing and evaluating the impact of customer service
regulation, judging which laws are relevant to their chosen
organisation [IE4]; considering the impact of circumstances,
beliefs and feelings on customers’ expectations of the service they
will receive [IE5]
Creative thinkers Asking questions about the nature the challenge in providing
customer services online to extend their thinking [CT2]; trying out
different ways of dealing with difficult customers [CT5]; adapting
how they deal with difficult customers according to customers’
responses [CT6]
Reflective learners Assessing their own ability to provide effective customer service;
Reviewing the progress they have made in their practical abilities
to handle difficult customers [RL3]; inviting feedback from people
observing how they deal with difficult customers [RL4];
evaluating their experience of receiving customer service as part of
their investigation into services provided by an organisation [RL5]
Team workers Showing fairness and consideration to customers that they are
dealing with [TW4]; taking responsibility for solving a customer
service problem [TW5]
Self-managers Showing commitment and perseverance when dealing with a
difficult customer [SM2]; managing their emotions when dealing
with difficult customers to maintain and build relationships [SM7]
Effective participators Proposing practical solutions for customers with problems that
need to be solved [EP3]; identifying improvements to customer
service that would benefit customers and the organisation [EP4];
trying to influence customers into accepting a proposed solution to
a problem [EP5]; acting as an advocate for an organisation by
representing its interests when dealing with customers [EP6]


system used
efficient retrieval
Follow and understand the need for Evaluating online customer services from the
safety and security practices perspective of customer security
Troubleshoot

information
Select and use a variety of sources of Identifying organisations on which to base their
information independently for a evaluation of their online customer services
complex task
Access, search for, select and use ICT- Evaluating the fitness for purpose of an organisation’s
based information and evaluate its website from the perspective of the customer’s
fitness for purpose experience

Enter, develop and format information
purpose, including:
• text and tables
• images
• numbers
• records.
Bring together information to suit
content and purpose
Present information in ways that are fit
present information

Mathematics
tackle it
each stage
situations
English
Speaking and listening – make a range
range of contexts
Reading – compare, select, read and Researching customer service legislation.
Researching online services provided by organisations.
and opinions
Writing – write documents, including Writing an evaluation of two organisations’ customer
extended writing pieces, services.
Evaluating the effectiveness of online customer services.
Work experience
from any experience gained in a customer service environment in terms of gaining practical
experience. This experience could be used to generate evidence for LO.5.
None.
Reference material
Books
Evans-Pritchard J, Hancock M, Jones R, Mansfield A and Gray D – AS level Applied Business
for Edexcel Double Award, (Causeway Press 2005) ISBN 1405821159
Evans-Pritchard J, Hancock M, Jones R, Mansfield A and Gray D – A2 level Applied Business
for Edexcel Single and Double Awards, (Causeway Press 2006) ISBN 1405821167
Videos
Video Arts Ltd have produced a range of entertaining and informative training films aimed at
improving customer service by highlighting the wrong way to go about dealing with a customer
service situation. www.videoarts.com
Websites
www.businesslink.gov.uk Business Link provides an easy to use support,
advice and information service for local
businesses.
www.instituteofcustomerservice.com The Institute of Customer Service.
www.skillsmartretail.com The Sector Skills Council for Retail, aiming to be
the authority for retail skills development and
promotion.
www.tradingstandards.gov.uk Trading Standards Central – a one stop shop for
consumer protection information in the UK. The
site is supported and maintained by the Trading
Standards Institute
LEVEL 3 UNIT 7: TEAMS AND COMMUNICATION IN BUSINESS
Unit 7: Teams and Communication in Business
Level 3
Internally assessed
About this unit It is sometimes said that ‘it’s not what you say, but the way that
you say it’ that counts. When communicating in business, you
often need to show sensitivity and diplomacy in order to build
rapport, maintain relationships, and get things done. This applies
whether you are communicating with team members, colleagues,
customers, and/or trying to develop networking opportunities
that will be useful to you. This unit will give you the opportunity
to practise and improve your ability to communicate in a range
of business situations.
In today’s business world teams are very much a part of an
organisation’s success, with collaboration as the key to doing the
task better and more efficiently. Teams cannot be instantly
effective – they need to develop through various stages to
become fully collaborative and different people contribute to the
team in different ways. Sometimes when people work in teams,
they have their own types of communication behaviour which
can affect others and be a cause of conflict or tension. This unit
will help you learn about factors that make an effective team.
You will practise working together in team situations both as a
team member and as a team leader.
Learning outcomes
LO.1 Understand the importance of effective business communication
LO.2 Be able to communicate effectively using networking skills and different forms of
business communication
LO.3 Understand the factors that contribute to successful team working
LO.4 Be able to work effectively as a team leader and member.

LO.1 Understand Communication is the process of creating, transmitting and
the importance interpreting ideas, facts, opinions and feelings. It is of vital
of effective importance in the business world as it involves all the internal
business and external people and organisations connected with the
business such as customers, shareholders, employees, tax
communication
authorities. You need to learn about:
• the transactional communication process which links the
sender to the receiver and the importance of feedback in the
process
• different communication climates, eg open and closed, and
how these affect the quality of communication
• the flow of communications in an organisation: lateral,
upwards, downwards
• the selection of formal or informal channels: grapevine,
networking, seminars, training, team meetings, staff intranet
• barriers to communication:
○ the message: lack of clarity, jargon, management speak
○ the receiver: perceptual and cultural differences,
emotions, distractions
○ the context: hierarchy, poor channels of communication
• the importance of building good working relationships and
developing rapport with others
• the consequences of poor or failed communication, eg
inefficiency, loss of business, damage to relationships.
Many businesses and individuals use electronic methods to
communicate internally and externally, particularly via email and
the world wide web. There are advantages when using electronic
communication:
• speed, accuracy, convenience
• cost, resourcing/environmental benefits.
Electronic communication also has limitations:
• information overload
• privacy and security
• technological issues: IT literacy of users; hidden costs.
Having an online presence can have many benefits for
businesses:
• having a global presence with accessibility for customers
• ability to analyse online competition
• ability to keep information up to date.
LO.2 Be able to You need to learn about the different internal and external
communicate methods that businesses use to communicate with their staff and
effectively customers:
using • written communication: emails; presentations;
networking messages/notes; memos; business letters; agendas; minutes;
skills and reports
different forms • oral communication, eg telephone conversations, face-to-
of business face conversations and meetings.
communication
The choice of method can depend on different factors:
• who you are communicating with, eg close colleague,
manager, customer
• the purpose of the communication, eg to provide or request
information, to give instructions, to attract potential
customers, to provide feedback
• whether the communication is formal or informal, eg
whether information is required in a certain format.
Effective written communication involves:
• choosing an appropriate method and style of communication
• using an appropriate format and accepted conventions in a
way that creates a positive impression
• knowing why you are communicating and what you want to
say
• expressing the message clearly
• making it clear what action, if any, you want the other person
to take
• entering, editing, and formatting text to enhance the
document
• checking for accuracy, grammar and spelling, and correcting
mistakes.
Networking is an important part of business, in which effective
communication is required. You need to learn about how to
network successfully:
• finding out who to approach and how
• being prepared, eg knowing what you have to offer
• knowing what you want, eg information, advice
• making contact and creating a good impression
• following up the initial contact.
LO.3 Understand A successful team utilises the complementary skills of its

the factors members to help the organisation achieve its goals. You need to
that contribute learn about:
to successful • different types of team: independent or inter-dependent;
team working temporary or permanent; directed or self-managed; real or
virtual
• the characteristics of an effective team
• Belbin team roles
• stages of team development: forming, storming, norming,
performing
• factors that motivate people to perform, and theories of
motivation: McGregor, Herzberg, Maslow
• the link between teamwork and organisational effectiveness
• ways to develop and strengthen team relationships, eg
training, team building activities, incentives.
A key factor in a successful team is the leader. You need to learn
about:
• the role of the leader: creating a sense of common purpose;
taking personal responsibility for making things happen;
encouraging and support others to take decisions
autonomously; showing integrity, fairness and consistency in
decision making; understanding people’s needs and
motivations
• the differences between leadership and management
• the leader’s role in satisfying the needs of the task, the team,
and the individual (Adair)
• leadership styles and how they contribute to the overall
effectiveness of the team: autocratic, persuasive,
consultative, participative
• power and authority: types of power, eg charismatic,
legitimate, export, coercive, reward.
Increasingly, and with new technology, methods of working are
evolving towards more home-based and teleworking. You need
to understand the challenges and benefits of remote working and
virtual teams for the team leader, the individual, and the
organisation:
• for the team leader: challenges, eg communication, co-
ordination of tasks; benefits, eg staff retention, team
productivity
• for the individual: challenges, eg isolation, motivation;
benefits, eg convenience, productivity
• for the organisation: challenges, eg technology; benefits, eg
cost savings.
LO.4 Be able to You need to learn about the skills and attributes that are needed
work when working in and leading a team
effectively as a • showing a positive attitude: being committed to the team’s
team leader success; being willing to take collective responsibility
and member.
• being willing to participate: taking on a fair share of the
work
• supporting other team members: being polite co-operative;
letting others speak, showing respect
• communicating effectively: listening and speaking skills;
non-verbal communication, eg body language, eye contact,
gestures
• team leading skills: communicating, planning, team building,
setting objectives, motivating, delegating, co-ordinating,
supporting, monitoring, managing conflict
• adapting leadership style according to situation
• problem-solving skills: understanding the problem/issue;
coming up with different ways of tackling it; deciding what
action to take; taking action; assessing whether it has been
successful
• recognising and dealing with any conflict that arises, using
appropriate strategies, eg:
○ active listening
○ trying to understand the issues from the other person’s
point of view
○ focusing on the issues rather than the person
○ negotiating compromises and win-win solutions
• giving feedback to team members:
○ focusing on what is important
○ being constructive, supportive and tactful
○ focusing on actions/behaviour not personality
• receiving feedback:
○ being willing to accept advice
○ listening to the message
○ avoiding defensiveness
○ accepting praise.
Teaching this unit

Delivery guidance
The unit could start with a class discussion of different business communications and why
businesses need to inform (for example telling employees about forthcoming meetings), confirm
(for example making order confirmations), promote (for example using flyers to promote an
event or new product), request (for example asking for an interview), and instruct (for example
outlining terms of employment or giving directions). Learners could work in groups to
categorise the purpose of different types of communication identifying the context for which it
might be used and with whom, such as different audiences. Tutor input on channels of
communication and communication flows can lead to learner research on the types of
communication in an organisation, identifying which are formal and informal – this could be the
centre or a local business. They could draw diagrams of the flow of information and give
opinions of how suitable the channels are for effective business communications. It would be
useful for a guest speaker from a national organisation to provide input on the communication
process in their organisation, especially with regard to the benefits and limitations of electronic
communication methods. Learners could then research the benefits for business of having an
online presence.
Learners could be introduced to communication barriers by identifying three or four occasions
when they have experienced barriers to communication, what caused it and how they did/would
handle it, and present their findings to the rest of the group for discussion, explaining how they
would handle it differently next time.
It is not intended that this unit will be used to teach word processing, but learners need to
develop skills to prepare complex business documents and are expected to be reasonably
competent in word-processing skills. Tutor input will be required to explain the format of
emails, letters, reports and other standard documents. Links can be made here with Unit 2:
Business Administration and Events, which deals specifically with the documentation connected
to meetings, such as agendas and minutes. Examples of standard documentation used in
business should be shown. Learners can work in groups with each group collecting
documentation for a different purpose, for example to give or ask for information/opinions, to
ask someone to do something, to give instructions, to apologise, to complain. They could
present their findings to the rest of the group and assess the effectiveness of each of the
documents in terms of the suitability for message, recipient and type of communication.
Learners should have opportunities to practise both their word processing skills using different
styles and layouts, and their written skills of composing documents of suitable complexity. The
importance of producing a well-presented and accurate business document suitable for the
recipient to create a positive impression needs to be stressed, as this is the professional image of
the organisation.
Learners need to understand the importance of networking as an informal external

communications method and how it involves establishing business contacts and communication
links, which can often be done by attending professional meetings and seminars, belonging to
clubs, and socialising. Very often this informal communication involves interaction with like-
minded people, and enables opportunities to be created for gathering information and building
relationships through exchanging business cards or contact details. Learners could identify what
opportunities they have to network, and consider how this would benefit them, by drawing their
own personal contact network, showing direct and indirect (where the contact is through another
person) connections. It is important to stress that networking only works when potential
contacts are followed up, and learners could do this by preparing documentation using
appropriate language, style structure and formats. This learning outcome lends itself well to
applying the principles of experiential learning. With external communication, in particular,
planning is important, even if this involves learners only having thought about what they want
to say before they start writing. Learners should be encouraged to review written
communication before it is sent. Learners can check their own and each other’s work for
accuracy, grammar and spelling work, and should also be given the opportunity to improve their
work through rewriting.
This will help them develop group skills of communication and working with other people.
Storing and retrieving documents for amending at a future date is important and learners must
be encouraged to keep copies of the original documents.
There are different ways of delivering the content for this learning outcome, including team
challenges with follow-up analysis and evaluation, video clips, simulation/role play, reflection
on learners’ own experiences and analysis of case study material. Factors that contribute to
effective teamworking could be introduced through learners undertaking one of the many team
activities that are available for use in the classroom, particularly those which focus on
completing a task individually and then completing it as a team – this will help learners identify
the benefits of teamworking through the collaboration of resources. Learners should also
explore the characteristics of different team members and identify their own qualities and skills
or traits, using activities such as those devised by Meredith Belbin. Tutor input is needed on the
concept of teams and stages of team development (forming, storming, norming, performing) to
put this in the context of working relationships. Learners can work in small groups and list
different types of teams they have been a member of, for example in college, outside activities,
hobbies, etc and the purpose of the team. They can then identify factors that make them
effective, and what stages of development they went through.
Learners should also explore the characteristics and style of different team leaders, and this
could be done through activities such as identifying the skills and traits of well-known leaders.
It is important that the tutor stresses that an effective team needs to be a mix of capabilities and
not just consist of those with leadership skills. Tutor input on John Adair’s Action Centred
Leadership model and the key leadership functions could be followed by group work involving
learners investigating how the team leader will need to wear a number of different hats, with
each requiring a different role to be undertaken.
In order to have a high-performance team, team leaders need to motivate and inspire
commitment in their team members and tutor input on different definitions of motivation will
enable learners to investigate what factors motivate them in various aspects of their lives, eg
attending college, completing coursework, etc. They can then work in groups to research the
work of relevant motivational theorists (for example Maslow, Herzberg, McGregor), prepare a
chart making reference to at least one theorist, identifying two features of different leadership
styles (autocratic etc) that may lead to motivation for the team.
Tutors should introduce learners to the well-known action-centred leadership approach of John
Adair which can be represented as a three-circle model showing the responsibilities of the leader
in ensuring the satisfaction of task, team and individual needs. Learners could carry out
activities positioning the circles from case studies or from their own experiences.
The use of feedback for maintaining and improving performance could be illustrated with a
video which illustrates both constructive and destructive feedback. Learners can work in small
groups and discuss the learning points of the video then research different kinds of feedback –
positive, negative, constructive, destructive. They can make notes on the role of feedback for
reviewing progress and evaluating learning and present this to the rest of the group. This can be
followed by role-play scenarios for giving and receiving feedback whereby learners can practise
giving and receiving feedback to individuals and a team from role plays provided by the tutor.
Learners can then evaluate how well they provided feedback.
The delivery undertaken in LO.3 will provide the underpinning knowledge and skills for LO.4.
When looking at teamwork activities, it is important for learners to have plenty of opportunities
for working in teams and/or groups both as a team member and taking on a team leader role.
Exercises can be given to highlight advantages and disadvantages of teamworking, including
how to contribute, following instructions, and dealing with difficult people.
Conflict within teams can be introduced through a group discussion on ‘What is conflict?’ with
learners drawing on their own experiences. The tutor could highlight that not all conflict is
negative, and provide examples of instances when it could have a positive effect. It would be
useful for learners to be able to have a guest speaker to explain how they prevent and diffuse
conflict situations within teams: this would be an opportunity for centres to engage with local
employers. The guest speaker should be briefed to give examples of different sources of conflict
(organisation based and team member based) and how they were resolved, also explaining the
challenges facing team leaders posed by multicultural and virtual teams.
In order to gather information, learners can prepare a checklist or questionnaire to enable them
to participate in a question and answer session with the guest speaker. It is important that
learners are able to identify situations where conflict may arise and give reasons why this has
occurred. As well as case studies, learners can practise role-play exercises to develop their
conflict-resolution skills. Tutors should introduce the key features of the main types of
behaviours which contribute to conflict within a team, including aggressiveness, assertiveness,
avoidance, submissiveness. Emphasis should be focused on body language, in particular what to
look for in other people’s body language (gestures, facial expressions, posture, eye contact),
discover how to use body language to respond to other people, and look at effective and
ineffective use of body language in different situations. Videos can be used which show
examples of different behaviours and the interpersonal skills used to diffuse conflict. They can
then work in groups to research articles and case studies of inappropriate behaviour in the
workplace, and discuss the cause of the conflict.
Role-play scenarios could be used here and can be designed to make it more likely that some
conflict is likely to occur and will need to be managed, for example by creating roles where they
need to represent different interests and so influence the outcome of the task to suit themselves.
This learning outcome provides good opportunities to apply experiential learning cycle before
assessment takes place. At the end of one group activity, learners can be asked to review how
they have performed. They can try to identify something that they would like to do differently
next time.

This unit will be assessed by an assignment in two parts.

You need to assess the communication within an organisation. This needs to cover:
• The types of communication used by people in the organisation to communicate with you
and how effective the communication is in terms of: the amount of communication; the
methods used; the quality of communication [LO.1]
You will also work as part of a team either to put on a one-off business event or to implement a
business idea. You will need to:
• Show your teamworking skills while working as a team member and team leader [LO.4].
• Show your networking skills and create written business communication connected to the
event or business idea [LO.2]
• Assess the effectiveness of your team/team leaders in comparison with another team and
recommend improvements that would make your team more effective [LO.3].

The teamworking activity must have a purpose. If the teamworking activity is assessed in the
context of an event, this could be, for example, to provide information, to raise funds, etc to
people outside of the class. The event could be related to the learners’ enterprise or it could be
an event that is being planned for another organisation (such as a business or the centre itself).
The purpose could be decided by the centre or agreed between the centre and learners. The
event can be one of the events that is being planned in Unit 2: Business Administration and
Events or it could be a different one.
If the teamworking activity is assessed in the context of an enterprise activity, then the purpose
may be in the form of a goal or target. The enterprise activity could be the same one that is
being run in Unit 1: Business Enterprise or a different one.
Evidence structure

outcome grid
LO.1 A Assessing the Written evidence: types and
communications within an effectiveness of communication
organisation
LO.2 A Teamworking and business Written evidence: communication
communication activity created for business or event,
including networking
communication
LO.4 B Learner observation record:
teamworking skills; giving and
receiving of feedback
LO.3 A Review of team activity Written evidence: teams and team
leaders; effectiveness of own team;
recommendations
Level of demand
Assessment duration
learner. Centres can structure this time as they see fit, but to provide adequate scope for
assessment and for learners to take a turn at leading a team, the teamworking activity must be
one that takes more than one session to resolve. If assessment of the teamworking skills is
integrated into assessment activities of another unit, the above time will only relate to the
assessment of Unit 7; the activity itself can continue for the purposes of assessing the other
unit(s).
Whatever situation for the team activity is used, there must be sufficient scope for learners to
demonstrate their team working and team leadership skills. For this to happen, it is likely to
require learners to do more than merely contribute to discussions and ‘theoretical’ planning in
meetings; there will need to some element of practical activity or activities, such as producing
artefacts, making arrangements, contacting potential customers or suppliers, gathering and using
information.
Although learners will need to work in groups when creating the business documentation, there
must be evidence of documents created by individual learners. This must include written
evidence of networking, such as emails sent and received or notes written up of conversations
which provide full details of who they spoke to, when, where, and a summary of what was said.
For the purposes of this unit, the person(s) with whom the learner is networking must be
someone previously unknown to the learner. Each learner must also produce at least one other
piece of written business communication which is not directly related to the networking activity.
It is recommended that assessment takes place in two different stages: one for LO.1 the other for
LO.2, LO.3 and LO.4. These could be done at the end of the unit or during delivery after the
relevant learning has taken place. The order could be reversed so that LO.1 is assessed last.
If the assessment activity for the teamworking activity is connected to the running of a business,
then the assessment for this unit could be integrated into the delivery and assessment of Unit 1:
Business Enterprise. Failing that, it could still be contextualised within the same enterprise on
which the learners have been working, even if assessment and delivery of these two units does
not take place at the same time, or a different enterprise activity. The same is true in relation to
Unit 2: Business Administration and Events if the assessment activity is linked to the planning
of a business event.
For the assessment of LO.1, it is important that learners focus on their own experiences in how
an organisation communicates with them and other people, as well as the ways they can
communicate back. They could identify their chosen organisation through their own work
experience or they could use the centre itself; if using the centre, they should use examples to
illustrate the different types of communication they receive, such as course information,
progress updates, facilities etc as well as the different ways that staff communicate with them
such as one-to-ones, tutorials, emails, noticeboards etc, and also examine what channels exist
for them to communicate back.
For LO.2 learners need to show evidence of producing business documents using appropriate
formats, tone and language. Learners should submit copies of original documents together with
any replies they have received from their networking activities. These documents could be
based on the enterprise activity that learners are implementing in Unit 1: Business Enterprise,
especially when demonstrating networking activities, or could be linked to the event-planning
activities carried out in Unit 2: Business Administration and Events.
In the teamworking activity, each learner will need to take turns as the team leader. As a team
member they will be expected to make a positive contribution, for example gathering
information necessary for the completion of the group task. As a team leader they will be
expected to show leadership qualities, for example monitoring performance through giving
constructive feedback. During the teamworking activity marks are awarded based on the tutor’s
observation of learners’ teamworking skills. Tutors will need to take a holistic view based on
what they see throughout the teamworking task rather than, say, at the beginning or end only,
although they will not need to observe every activity from start to finish. They should take care
to observe discreetly and not get involved in the team activity. It is important to bear in mind
that individual learners’ ability to work in, and communicate in a team is not necessarily linked
to the achievement of the group as a whole. Learners are also assessed on their ability to deal
with any conflict that arises. Conflict can be understood in its broadest sense as including low
level tensions within the group. It may be that there was conflict, but it was unobserved by the
tutor, in which case a post-task interview (group or individual) could be used to gather and
record evidence. There is no need to artificially engineer conflict if the group is able to work
harmoniously: if none occurs, the tutor can use a post-task interview to pose a hypothetical
situation (for example involving a new and uncooperative team member) and asking how they
would have dealt with it.
The marks for the giving and receiving of feedback covers feedback from team leader to team
members, even if it also naturally occurs between team members. Feedback between team
members and team leader may arise naturally as the activity is happening, but it could be done
immediately after the team activities have finished (as a full group or in sub-groups or pairs),
and observed by the tutor; if there is an absence of evidence of feedback given and received
during the activity, the tutor must ensure that it takes place after the event.
In the review, one of the teams that learners compare should be their own team. The other one
could be another team within the class or from a different class, or it could be another team, for
example one that the learner can study through their work experience or which they are
involved in outside the classroom. It is advisable for learners to agree with the tutor which team
will be used for this comparison to ensure that learners have sufficient knowledge of the team in
question. If learners choose to compare their team with another in the class, centres may wish
for learners not to use their real names. In their comparison, they should refer to one, or more
than one, of their own team leaders, which could be the learner themselves or someone else.
They could assess the other team either as an outsider or from working within it (either currently
or in the past). The review of the teamworking activity can be presented in any appropriate
written format and must be done individually.
The review should incorporate the characteristics and roles within the teams, the
leadership/management style of the team leaders, and Belbin team roles. This can be followed
by how performance is monitored and an overall judgement of how well the team and team
leaders perform. It is important for learners to compare the two teams for each of the factors,
showing their similarities and differences. In their recommendations for improvement, learners
should be making justified suggestions on overall team performance such as improvements to
communication, performance monitoring, or the limitations of the team leader role to diffuse
conflict in the team. When explaining how individuals and the team leader contribute to the
team’s effectiveness, learners should give examples based on their chosen teams rather than just
general statements about team leaders and individuals.
Marking grid A
focus available
LO.1 There is a basic assessment of the There is a reasonable assessment There is a good assessment of the
effectiveness of the of the effectiveness of the effectiveness of the
Understand the
communications in an communications in an communications in an
importance of
organisation, which shows limited organisation, which shows some organisation, which shows a good
effective business
understanding of different types understanding of different types understanding of types and
communication
and processes. and processes. There is processes used. There is clear and
reasonable justification provided well argued justification
for judgements. provided for judgements.
(0–5) (6–9) (10–12) 12
LO.2(.1) The types of document chosen are The types of document chosen are The types of document chosen are
generally appropriate for their appropriate for their intended appropriate for their intended
Be able to
intended purpose. The style, purpose. The style, content and purpose. The style, content and
communicate
content and layout of the layout of the documents generally layout of the documents conform
effectively using
documents conform, to some conform to standard document to standard document conventions.
networking skills
degree, to standard document conventions.
and other forms of
conventions.
business
communication (0–2) (3) (4)
LO.2(.2, .3) Across the communication as a Across the communication as a Across the communication as a
whole, the message is clear in whole, the message is generally whole, the message is consistently
Be able to some places, although there may clear with few intrusive errors. clear, without intrusive errors.
communicate be some intrusive errors. The The learner is generally The learner is consistently
effectively using learner has some success in using successful in using language and successful in using language and
networking skills language and tone that are suitable tone that are suitable for the tone that are suitable for the
and other forms of for the message, recipient or type message, recipient and type of the message, recipient and type of
business of communication. communication. communication, in such a way that
communication it would create a positive
impression on the reader.
(0–5) (6–9) (10–12) 16

focus available
LO.3(.1, .2) The learner provides a basic The learner provides a reasonable The learner provides a convincing
assessment of team effectiveness, assessment of team effectiveness, and well-argued assessment of
Understand the
commenting in general terms on commenting on specific aspects of team effectiveness, commenting in
factors that
the effectiveness of the teams and the effectiveness of the teams and detail on specific aspects of the
contribute to
team leaders, providing examples team leaders, and providing clear effectiveness of the teams and
successful team
to support their judgement. examples to support their team leaders, and providing clear
working
judgement. and well chosen examples to
support their judgement.
(0–4) (5–7) (8–10)
LO.3(.3) Ideas for improvements are Realistic ideas for improvements Realistic ideas for improvements
suggested. are suggested, with some are suggested, and justified
Understand the
justification provided. convincingly.
factors that
contribute to
successful team
working
(0–2) (3–4) (5–6) 16
Total marks 44
Marking grid B
focus available
LO.4 As a team member, the learner As a team member, the learner As a team member, the learner
makes some contribution to makes an effective contribution to makes an effective and
Be able to work
achieving team goals, showing achieving team goals, showing continuous contribution to
effectively in, and
basic teamworking and reasonable teamworking and achieving team goals, showing
lead, a team
communication skills. communication skills. good teamworking and
communication skills.
(0–4) (5–7) (8–10) 10
They show limited ability to lead They show some ability to lead They show good ability to lead a
the team and deal with any the team and deal with any team and deal with any conflict
conflict situations that arise, conflict situations that arise, situations that arise, giving
giving feedback to others. giving constructive feedback to constructive and perceptive
others. feedback to others.
(0–2) (3–4) (5–6) 6

Total marks 16
Assessment guidance

marking grid B.
Level 3 descriptors
Descriptor Meaning
Appropriate Suitable/relevant and realistic.
Assess/assessment Judge the extent or degree of something.
Consistently Throughout.
Continuous Sustained throughout the task.
Constructive (feedback) Feedback which aims to help. This will often aim to focus on
any positives and suggest improvements.
Effective (contribution) A useful and clear contribution to the team’s overall success.
Few Not many.
(in) general terms Characterised by general statements which lack depth and
not related to specific uses/examples.
consistently.
Intrusive (errors) Errors that stand out prominently and interrupt the flow of
the reader.
Justify/justified/justification Give reasons for something.
ability or understanding.
Perceptive Showing good judgement and insight into abilities of self or
others.
Some To a certain degree, partial; not all.
Specific Precise, exact, detailed.
Sufficient Enough for the purpose of answering the question.
Throughout All the way through; consistently.
Well chosen (examples) Chosen in such a way that it provides support for the
argument; a good example.

of this unit:

Reflective learners Inviting feedback on their team performance [RL4]
Team workers Working as part of a team, collaborating with others to work
towards common goals [TW1], showing fairness and consideration
to others when giving and receiving feedback [TW4] and
providing constructive support and feedback to others [TW6]
learning.

Independent enquirers Identifying and clarifying which problems have to be resolved in
order to succeed at the teamworking task [IE1]; Carrying out
research into the communication used by an organisation [IE2];
exploring the issue of communicative effectiveness from the point
of view of the organisation and the people with which they are
communicating [IE3]; assessing the effectiveness of
communication in an organisation, supporting their conclusions
with reasoned arguments and evidence [IE6]
Creative thinkers Questioning their own and others’ assumptions while attempting to
solve the team working task [CT4] while trying out alternative
approaches [CT5] and then adapting these approaches as
circumstances change [CT6]
Reflective learners Assessing themselves and others after the team activity [RL1];
preparing for the team activity, setting goals and success criteria
for the task [RL2]
Team workers Reaching agreements and managing discussions while taking part
in a team activity [TW2]; adapting their behaviour to suit different
roles and situations as team leader and team member [TW3];
taking responsibility when acting as a team leader, showing
confidence in themselves [TW5]
Self-managers Take on the challenge and responsibility of being a team leader
[SM1]; working towards goals as part of the team activity,
showing initiative, commitment and perseverance [SM2];
managing their time during the team activity [SM3] and dealing
with competing pressures [SM5]
Effective participators Discussing issues of concern during the teamworking task [EP1];
presenting a case for action during the teamworking task [EP2];
proposing practical ways forward as a means of resolving the
teamworking task [EP3]; influencing others in the team activities
as team member and team leader [EP5]


system used
Manage information storage to enable Storing drafts of electronic documents.
efficient retrieval
Follow and understand the need for Ensuring organisational procedures are met when
safety and security practices working with word processing software to produce
business communications.
Troubleshoot

information
Select and use a variety of sources of Researching the types of information used by an
information independently for a organisation to communicate.
complex task
Access, search for, select and use ICT- Using folders to store and retrieve business documents.
fitness for purpose

Enter, develop and format information Preparing business documents suitable for different
independently to suit its meaning and purposes.
purpose, including:
• text and tables
• images
• numbers
• records.
Bring together information to suit Gathering information as part of the short report they are
content and purpose writing on a business-related issue.
Present information in ways that are fit Producing business documents that present required
for purpose and audience information in a way that is fit for purpose and audience.
present information

Select and use ICT to communicate Sending emails to a business contact to demonstrate
and exchange information safely, their networking skills.
Mathematics
tackle it
each stage
situations
English
Speaking and listening – make a range Working as a team member and team leader.
range of contexts
Reading – compare, select, read and Analysing the methods and quality of communication
understand texts and use them to used by an organisation.
and opinions
Writing – write documents, including Producing a variety of business-related documents.
Work experience
Work experience connected to this unit would be useful, especially in relation to preparing
business documents and investigating communication practices.
None.
Reference material
Books
Ashley V and Ashley S – Student Handbook Level 3 (Business and Administration Standards)
(Council for Administration, 2006) ISBN 0955092053
Honey P – Teams and Teamwork (Peter Honey, 2001) ISBN 1902899156
Leigh A and Maynard M – Leading Your Team (Nicholas Brealey, 2004) ISBN 1857883047
Websites
www.businessballs.com Team activities
www.cfa.uk.com Council for Administration
www.cipd.co.uk Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
www.managers.org.uk Chartered Management Institute
LEVEL 3 UNIT 8: RESPONDING TO CHANGE IN BUSINESS
Unit 8: Responding to Change in Business
Level 3
Externally assessed
(29 hours learning time and 1 hour for assessment)
About this unit ‘The key …and there is only one key…is …attitude. If the
security of guaranteed cubicle slavery for life is your cup of
tea…well you’re going to be scared stiff of all that’s coming
down the pike. But if the notion of life as a series of ‘gigs’ in
which you learn new tricks and live by your wits, excites you
…well you’ll wake up drooling at the chance to re-imagine
yourself…’ – Tom Peters in Re-imagine.
The world of work is changing rapidly and it is inevitable that
you will face many changes in your career. In this unit you will
explore the drivers of change from the perspective of the
business decision makers, the owners and managers, and in
doing so discover that the choice is often ‘change or die’.
You will then go on to consider how these changes affect the
businesses and their employees, and also how individual
employees respond to change in different ways.
You will learn about the powerful impact individual responses to
change can have on the success or otherwise of change
programmes and how to prepare for and manage your own
responses to changes in the workplace, as well as how to assess
the impact and success of change.
Learning outcomes
LO.1 Understand the causes and impact of change in business
LO.2 Understand the impact of change on employees.

LO.1 Understand Change in business can be driven by internal factors and external
the causes and factors. Internal factors include:
the impact of • business plans and goals which are set by the owners or
change in managers of a business
business
• improvements or developments in the way work is done
• skills and creativity of the workforce
• changes in amount of money available to the business
• customer feedback.
External factors are changes in a business’ external environment.
These factors can be examined using the different categories:
• influence of global economy on business in the UK: trade
liberalisation; competition from developing countries;
knock-on effects of changes in economic conditions and
confidence from one economy to another; changes in
exchange rates (effects on exporters, prices of imported raw
materials, prices of foreign competitors’ products in UK
market)
• political: changes in government; government or European
Union policies
• economic: economic growth; increased competition; interest
rates (cost of borrowing, consumer confidence); inflation
(difficulties in forecasting costs, wage demands, less
competitive exports); level of unemployment, taxation
changes; supply of resources;
• social: population changes such as ageing population,
population movements; education; cultural issues such as
attitudes to work, health, religion, family, changing lifestyles
• technological: uses of information technology;
mechanisation; other developments, eg communications,
consumer technology, nanotechnology
• legal: health and safety, consumer, employment law
• environmental: actions and pressure from governments and
consumers to reduce environmental impact of organisations
relating to waste, energy, natural resources, pollution.
Change can affect organisations at all levels.
• organisational: relocation, closures, mergers, takeovers
• departmental: mergers, changes to management structure, re-
location
• team: organisation and composition of teams; changes to
objectives and work roles
• individuals: processes, responsibilities, objectives,
colleagues, work location, promotion opportunities,
redundancies.
LO.2 Understand A large proportion of change initiatives fail to deliver the

the impact of expected benefits. The cause of this failure is often resistance to
change on change. You will need to be familiar with Kotter and
employees Schlesingler’s Six Change approaches, which covers:
• the four reasons for resistance to change
○ parochial self-interest
○ misunderstanding
○ low tolerance of change
○ different assessments of the situation
• the six ways of overcoming resistance to change
○ education and communication
○ participation and involvement
○ facilitation and support
○ negotiation and agreement
○ manipulation and cooption
○ explicit and implicit coercion.
People and organisations deal with change in different ways.
You will need to be familiar with:
• Lewin’s concepts of ‘freezing, unfreezing and re-freezing’
and Force Field Analysis
• Gleicher’s Formula for Change
• the Kubler-Ross Change Curve.
Individuals can manage their own responses to change in a
number of ways including
• becoming well informed about the reasons for change
• seeking opportunities to develop skills and experience
• becoming involved in initiatives if opportunity arises
• continuing to develop plans for own career
• monitoring stress levels and using stress reducing techniques
if needed
• seeking support if needed.
The impact of change and the success of its implementation can
be investigated and evaluated in many different ways, including:
• measurement of actual results against stated objectives
• measurement of changes in quality, productivity or customer
satisfaction data
• measurement of financial data such as sales, costs, profits
• use of staff satisfaction surveys and/or analysis of staff
turnover data
• benchmarking with other organisations.
Teaching this unit

Delivery guidance
The purposes of this unit are to provide opportunities for learners to develop an understanding
of the reasons for change in business, to learn how people respond to it and to consider how to
evaluate both the impact of change on an organisation and the extent to which a change
programme has been successful.
Learning from all the other units can contribute to an understanding of business concepts which
should assist the learners’ understanding of this unit: however Unit 1: Business Enterprise,
Unit 2: Business Administration and Events, Unit 5: Marketing and Sales in Business and
Unit 10: Business Employment and Career Planning provide particular opportunities for
curriculum links. Learning from other curriculum areas such as science, technology or history
may also provide valuable stimulus material in the form of examples of predicted change or of
human reactions to change.
Throughout the unit the term ‘business’ should be interpreted in its broadest sense to encompass
large and small organisations from public, private and voluntary sectors. It is essential to give
learners opportunities to apply the learning to real-world business organisations so that they can
engage with the fairly abstract content of the unit, view the issues from a range of perspectives,
particularly those of employees and managers/owners of businesses and to practise making links
between cause and effect. Ideally the programme could be based on the study of a range of
different national and global organisations that have gone through recent change programmes.
Sometimes these changes can be controversial and attract media coverage which may provide
useful and engaging material for discussing the principles from the unit. As this unit is to be
assessed through written examination then learners should be given opportunities to practise
applying the concepts from the unit to short case studies and in providing written answers to
questions.
The internal and external factors driving change are often interrelated so the delivery of these
first two parts of the content could well be done jointly. Learners could consider the impact of
internal factors through studying case studies for a business such as Microsoft, or perhaps
through a suitable biography of a business personality. For the external factors three or four
predominant current topics from each of the headings; political, economic, social/cultural,
technological, legal and environmental should be studied together with their impact on selected
organisations rather than attempting to cover the whole of the business environment.
Learners need to identify the impact of the changes in the external environment on a range of
organisations including national and global businesses. They could start by considering the
changes in connection with their own school and comparing this with the strategic plans and
they may be able to question someone from the governing body on what factors were important
in drawing up the plan. Learners should go on to consider how changes in the external
environment impact upon a range of national and global organisations. This could be done
through links with real organisations or through the use of carefully selected case studies.
Games where learners play the role of business decision makers would also provide good
opportunities for the learners to engage with this outcome and to ‘walk in the shoes of business
leaders’.
In order to understand ‘resistance to change’ learners could consider their own initial responses
to a change in their own lives such as moving schools or starting college. They could consider
whether they felt ‘resistance to change’ and why and they could identify whether any of the six
ways of overcoming resistance change were used to help them to ‘buy in’ to the change.
They will need to go on to consider Kotter and Schlesinger’s theory on resistance to change
from the standpoint of a manager or owner of a business through the use of carefully selected
case studies or links with real business organisations.
Learners need to know that Gleicher and Beckhardt’s Formula for Change is used to assess the
likelihood that change will be successful and also how the four components in the formula relate
to each other. The Kubler-Ross Change Curve is used to understand the process of coming to
terms with loss but it is often related to the business context. Sometimes it is said that if change
is not handled well an organisation’s productivity will follow the same path downwards as
shown in the model for personal loss.
Learners could be introduced to the principles of using a Forcefield Analysis through
considering a change they could introduce into their own lives such as ‘taking more exercise’ or
similar and then identifying the driving forces and the restraining forces before going on to use
it within business scenarios including some from national and global organisations. However,
centres should not limit this to just personal applications – it is important that learners
understand how it can apply to real business contexts.
An active approach should be encouraged, possibly through using the knowledge of the theories
to draw up plans for introducing changes into an organisation. It would also be useful for the
learners to consider change from the point of view of an employee in a more practical way,
perhaps through interviewing someone who has successfully faced some changes in their career.
Having considered the drivers of change, the theoretical models listed in the content and how to
manage responses to change, learners need to learn how to undertake the whole evaluation
process, which includes looking at methods of evaluation, analysing and making comments on
data and drawing conclusions as to the success or otherwise of specific change programmes
from the evidence base provided.
In order to practise doing this, there may be an opportunity for learners to carry out an
investigation to evaluate a change carried out in the school or college: however there is also
likely to be a need for case studies providing suitable data and the opportunity for learners to
practise evaluating the impact of change individually.

outcome
LO.1 understand the causes and the impact 1.1 Identify internal and external causes of
of change in business change
1.2 Explain how internal and external factors
drive changes across an organisation
LO.2 understand the impact of change on 2.1 Identify different responses to change
employees
2.2 Discuss theories of change
2.3 Explain ways people can manage reactions
to change
2.4 Explain how impact and success of change
can be measured

This unit will be assessed by an examination lasting one hour. This will consist of a variety of
questions based on one or more organisations. The mark you achieve for this examination will
be your mark for the unit.

LO.1 understand the causes and the impact of 40–50%
change in business
LO.2 understand the impact of change on 50–60%
employees


Independent Exploring the consequences of change from perspectives of
enquirers individuals and organisations [IE3]; considering the impact of
circumstances and beliefs on attitudes to change [IE5]
Reflective learners Reflecting on own experiences of change in business organisations
[RL5]
Effective participators Discussing issues of concern when responding to change [EP1];
presenting a case for accepting change [EP2]; identifying ways in
which change can bring improvements [EP4]


system used
efficient retrieval
Troubleshoot

information
Select and use a variety of sources of
information independently for a
complex task
fitness for purpose

Enter, develop and format information Presenting information from their investigations on the
independently to suit its meaning and success of change programmes.
purpose, including:
• text and tables
• images
• numbers
• records.
Bring together information to suit Investigating the impact of change on employees and
content and purpose presenting their findings.
Present information in ways that are fit Presenting findings from an evaluation of the success of
for purpose and audience a change programme.
present information

Mathematics
Understand routine and non-routine Analysing given data on productivity, staff retention or
problems in a wide range of familiar customer service and drawing conclusions as to
and unfamiliar contexts and situations effectiveness of implementation of change.
Identify the situation or problem and Analysing given data on productivity, staff retention or
the mathematical methods needed to customer service and drawing conclusions as to
tackle it effectiveness of implementation of change.
each stage
situations
Draw conclusions and provide Analysing given data on productivity, staff retention or
mathematical justifications customer service and drawing conclusions as to
effectiveness of implementation of change.
English
Speaking and listening – make a range Discussing their own responses to change in their own
of contributions to discussions and lives.
range of contexts
Reading – compare, select, read and
and opinions
Writing – write documents, including
Work experience
Work experience is not a requirement for this unit. However, learners could make use of any
opportunities afforded by work experience to investigate recent or planned changes on the
organisation in which they are working.
None.
Reference material
Books
Ashwin A, Merrills S, Thompson R and Machin D – A2 Business Studies, chapters 21-31
(HarperCollins, 2009) ISBN 0007270380
Burnes B – Managing Change, 4th Edition (Prentice Hall, 2004) ISBN 0273683365
Centre for Creative leadership, Gurvis J and Carlarco A – Adaptability: Responding effectively
to change (Jossey Bass, 2007) ISBN 1882197925
Collins J and Collins J – Good to Great: Why some companies make the leap… and others don’t
(HarperCollins, 2001) ISBN 0066620996
McFarland R K – The breakthrough company: How everyday companies become extraordinary
performers (Crown Business, 2008) ISBN 0307352188
Websites
www.bized.co.uk Resources for teaching of business studies
www.times100.co.uk Resources for teaching of business studies
LEVEL 3 UNIT 9: CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Unit 9: Corporate Social Responsibility
Level 3
Externally assessed
(29 hours learning time and 1 hour for assessment)
About this unit There are growing concerns about the impact of business activity
on people and the environment. The growth of the information
age and freedom of information legislation means that all
stakeholders have access to information to a far greater degree
than ever before. For many organisations, their operations are
coming under far greater scrutiny and increasingly recognise that
they have a responsibility to operate with differing and often
conflicting stakeholder interests in mind.
The growing concern about the environment and about corporate
behaviour has meant that many organisations see benefits for
themselves and to their stakeholder groups of exercising
corporate responsibility. Such benefits might bring with it some
element of competitive advantage. Corporate social
responsibility is about how organisations integrate social and
environmental concerns into their operations. Their investment in
the communities can bring benefits to the organisation, the
community and the planet.
This unit will help you to assess the extent to which
organisations conduct themselves responsibly. It will also
provide you with an introduction to many global issues such as
sustainability, climate change and the treatment of people in
other parts of the world.
Learning outcomes
LO.1 Know the corporate social responsibility issues facing organisations
LO.2 Understand the importance for organisations of acting responsibly
LO.3 Understand responsible business practices from the perspective of different interest
groups.

LO.1 Know the There are a number of key issues in corporate social
corporate responsibility. The way that organisations engage with these
social issues can have positive or negative impacts at home and abroad:
responsibility • environmental issues: waste; sustainability of resources;
issues facing pollution; climate change; carbon footprint; congestion
organisations
• financial and political issues: financial dealings with
companies and governments (bribery, corruption, fraud);
payment of taxes and ability of governments to collect
revenue to invest; effect on political rights, eg democracy
and freedom of speech
• economic issues: local investment; technology transfer; job
creation and job losses; development of skills; fair and unfair
competition
• issues for employees in supply chain: standard of living;
health and working conditions
• issues for consumers and communities: safety of products
and effect on consumer health; advertising aimed at children
and vulnerable people; social inclusion of disadvantaged
groups.
LO.2 Understand Corporate social responsibility has become more important in
the importance recent years. You need to learn about:
for • increasing expectations from public: willingness to hold
organisations organisations responsible for their actions; keeping up with
of acting the competition
responsibly
• growing awareness of consumer power: ethical
consumerism, eg fair trade; ethical investment; effects of
positive and negative publicity
• the importance of recognition from external bodies, eg
Investors in People, Business in the Community, Fair Trade
Foundation, Marine Stewardship Council, FTSE4Good
Index
• other benefits for organisations: customer loyalty; branding;
ability to charge premium prices; staff recruitment,
motivation and retention; benefiting from talents of diverse
workforce.
LO.3 Understand You need to learn about different types of responsible business
responsible practices:
business • employees: promoting diversity, inclusion and equal
practices from opportunities through training, monitoring and recruitment;
the health and financial wellbeing; employee training and
perspective of development;
different
• customers: treating customers with respect; being honest and
interest groups open as to price and consumer rights; promoting health and
responsible consumer behaviour
• suppliers: treating suppliers fairly; choice of supplier
reflecting responsible business practice, eg fair working
conditions, environmental concern, ethical trading
• the local community and the general public: helping the local
economy through choice of local suppliers; supporting local
projects through sponsorship and grants; encouraging
employee engagement with socially responsible activities, eg
volunteering and mentoring; encouraging education and
training; creating employment opportunities for socially
disadvantaged groups
• environmental concerns: waste management; recycling;
using sustainable resources; reduction of carbon footprint;
avoiding unnecessary power consumption.
You need to know how different stakeholder interests can be in
conflict and the trade offs that may be required:
• meeting employee expectations (eg pay and benefits) whilst
ensuring costs are sustainable
• maximising shareholder return but meeting consumer
interests and dealing ethically with suppliers
• minimising the impact on the environment against its legal
obligations for health and safety to consumers and
employees
• investing in the local economy whilst meeting the needs of
shareholders and the environment.
Teaching this unit

This learning outcome focuses learners on the ethical issues. This links to LO.3 which deals
with the ways in which organisations show how they deal with the various issues. Learners need
to be made aware of the impact that organisations can have not only at home but also
internationally: this is most obviously the case with the effects on the supply chain, but may also
be relevant to economic issues and impacts on consumers, as there is sometimes a disparity
between the concern that organisations show consumers in different places. These issues can
often be quite complex, with both positive and negative effects, and learners should be
encouraged to begin developing an appreciation that such issues are not always black and white;
this is covered more explicitly in LO.3
Many large organisations have websites dedicated to their corporate social responsibility which
give information about how they have taken action to deal with these types of problems,
although these may be less useful when it comes to issues that organisations are unwilling to
acknowledge or respond to. Naturally, these issues will be relevant in different ways depending
on the type, size and nature of the organisation. Case studies could be used to highlight ways in
which the issues differ and visits to, or speakers from, local employers would be useful.
This learning outcome focuses on why the issues are important from an organisational point of
view, the pressures that are being placed on organisations, and on how organisations can benefit
from being seen to engage these issues. Some historical background might be useful for learners
(although the historical development will not be assessed): the development of an industrial
society in the United Kingdom can be seen as a time line from the industrial revolution. The
increasing interest in responsible business practices can be traced, for example, in the
development of factory legislation and the changed mindset in the Health and Safety at Work
Act 1974 and subsequent legislation. This is mirrored by the increasing expectations from the
public, the increase in litigation and willingness to hold businesses responsible for their actions.
Responsible business practices bring a number of benefits to the organisation; this can be seen
by finding examples of positive publicity. Investigation of the profit making effect can be seen
by comparing the success of organic and free range chicken and egg farmers compared to their
battery farming counterparts. This can be compared with the publicity about the price that the
big supermarkets pay for milk and the pressure that has been put on them to increase the price
paid to dairy farmers. The growth of Fair Trade products and the willingness of consumers to
pay a higher price for such products would also be relevant. External recognition for responsible
business practices exists not only for products, but also for organisations themselves, as is the
case for Business in the Community and Investors in People (IIP); the last is a useful reminder
that ‘responsible practices’ includes investing in staff as well as the more obvious relationships
between an organisation and the wider world. Centres should cover the examples listed, and
may introduce others, but learners will not be tested on the details of how they operate – what is
important is for learners to know the different aspects of CSR that can be covered by them and
why organisations value such recognition.
But it is important to go beyond the impact on sales and profits; organisations are increasingly
aware of the benefits in terms of recruiting and retaining talent, and the ability to tap into
employees’ aspirations to work for organisations that are doing something worthwhile.
This outcome follows on from LO.2 in that it deals with the actions organisations can take to
show that they are acting responsibly, and at the same time the effects that these actions have.
The benefits can be considered from the perspective of different interest groups: employees,
customers, local community and the general public. ‘Environmental concerns’ are not an
interest group as such, but are considered separately as they could affect any of the different
interest groups. Learners need to know what interests these stakeholder groups have in an
organisation so that they can understand how conflicts can arise. This allows students to be able
to understand why it is important to reach a balance and why, sometimes, conflicts can be
difficult to avoid.
Learners need to be aware that individual situations will vary, depending on the type of
organisation, the nature of its business and the scale on which it operates: this will also affect
whether the actions take place on a local, national or international level.
As part of their learning, an organisation could be researched by a visit to or a visiting speaker
from the organisation – this in itself is an example of the organisation exercising corporate
social responsibility. It might be that a learner’s part-time work employer will be able to be of
assistance.

outcome
LO.1 Know the corporate social 1.1 Identify issues relevant to corporate social
responsibility issues facing responsibility
organisations
1.2 Assess positive and negative impacts of
businesses
LO.2 Understand the importance for 2.1 Discuss the benefits for businesses of
organisations of acting responsibly demonstrating corporate social
responsibility
LO.3 Understand responsible business 3.1 Identify responsible business practices
practices from the perspective of
3.2 Assess the benefits to communities and
different interest groups
other interest groups of responsible
business practices
3.3 Discuss the advantages and disadvantages
of different ways of strengthening
corporate social responsibility

This unit will be assessed by an examination lasting one hour. This will consist of a variety of
questions based on one or more organisations. The mark you achieve for this examination will
be your mark for the unit.

LO.1 Know the corporate social 40–50%
responsibility issues facing
organisations
LO.2 Understand the importance for 10–20%
organisations of acting responsibly
LO.3 Understand responsible business 30–40%


Independent Exploring issues from the perspectives of different stakeholder
enquirers interests [IE3]; analysing and evaluating information provided by
organisations websites about their activities, judging its relevance
and value [IE4]; considering the influence of consumers’ beliefs
about corporate responsibility on their purchasing decisions [IE5];
judging what organisations can do to respond to the needs of their
local community, supporting these conclusions with evidence
[IE6]
Creative thinkers Questioning people’s assumptions about ethical business practices
[CT4]
Reflective learners Assessing organisations’ achievements in demonstrating that they
use responsible business practices [RL1]
Effective participators Discussing ethical issues that are of concern [EP1]; presenting a
persuasive case for what an organisation can do to invest in its
local community [EP2] which will influence the organisation and
balance its needs against those of the local community [EP5]


system used
efficient retrieval
Troubleshoot

information
Select and use a variety of sources of Researching in class different organisations’ business
information independently for a practices in terms of corporate social responsibility.
complex task
fitness for purpose

Enter, develop and format information
purpose, including:
• text and tables
• images
• numbers
• records.
Bring together information to suit
content and purpose
Present information in ways that are fit
present information

Mathematics
tackle it
each stage
situations
English
Speaking and listening – make a range Discussing in class the different ways that different
of contributions to discussions and businesses can gain competitive advantage from
make effective presentations in a wide ethically responsible business practices.
range of contexts
Reading – compare, select, read and Researching ethical issues in business.
and opinions
Writing – write documents, including
Work experience
Learners may be able to take the opportunities offered by work experience to develop their
understanding of what the organisation that they are working for is doing to implement best
practice in terms of corporate social responsibility
None.
Reference material
Book
Kotler P and Lee N – Corporate Social Responsibility: Doing the Most Good for Your Company
and Your Cause (John Wiley and Sons, 2005) ISBN 0471476110
Websites
Many organisations publish reports on their websites showing how they are engaging with
issues relating to corporate responsibility. One example is given below.
www.bitc.org.uk A scheme promoting community involvement,
with over 800 UK member companies
www.bsieducation.org Information on British Standards
www.csr.gov.uk Government information on corporate social
responsibility
www.ethicalcorp.com/ Website about business ethics
www.fairtrade.org.uk/ A foundation dedicated to fair trade
www.mallenbaker.net/csr Website with corporate social responsibility
news
production.investis.com/about/csr/ Example of a downloadable company CSR
report
www.sustainability.com Organisation that advises on sustainability
www.defra.gov.uk/sustainable/government UK government advice on sustainability
LEVEL 3 UNIT 10: CAREERS AND EMPLOYMENT IN BUSINESS
Unit 10: Careers and Employment in Business
Level 3
Internally assessed
About this unit You are likely to spend much of your adult life in the workplace,
so it is important to find a career that suits you. To do this, you
will need to think about what you want from a job and plan how
to get there. This unit will give you the opportunity to do this
through researching different careers and producing a career
plan.
Most people find a job by using a CV or application form. In this
unit you will practise doing this, and also take this to the next
stage by preparing for and taking part in an interview from both
sides: as an interviewer and interviewee. This will give you a
good idea of what employers are looking for
You need to understand what skills and attributes are required for
you to succeed in the workplace. You will use this to help you
set goals for your workplace experience, which will enable you
to get the most of your time in the workplace and which should
help you make progress towards your chosen career.
Employment legislation and contractual rights and
responsibilities affect the ways that organisations operate: failure
to comply can lead to legal action and financial penalties, and so
they design procedures to ensure that they do. You will learn
about the impact of these rights and responsibilities, and also
about the performance management tools that are commonly
used to measure employee performance.
Learning outcomes
LO.1 Know about sources of careers information and recruitment methods
LO.2 Be able to plan and set goals for their career
LO.3 Be able to prepare for and take part in job interviews as interviewee and interviewer
LO.4 Understand the impact of employment legislation, procedures and processes.

LO.1 Know about The employment market is competitive. To maximise your
sources of chances, you need to know the sources of information on jobs
careers and careers:
information • school or college careers advisers
and • company websites and career packs
recruitment
methods • agencies and job centres
• newspapers: articles, job advertisements
• specialist journals
• careers guidance software
• college prospectuses, open days, careers fairs.
You also need to know about different ways in which
organisations recruit people:
• online recruitment via company websites
• newspaper advertising
• agencies and headhunting
• careers fairs
• after work experience, internships and temporary work
• graduate trainee programmes.
LO.2 Be able to plan You need to learn about the steps involved in preparing a career
and set goals plan to make best use of workplace experience:
for their • a self analysis of your current situation and future
career requirements, eg what you like/dislike doing, what you need
and want from a job
• research to find a possible career that fits with step 1:
○ specific job-related information
○ what is required to achieve your chosen career, eg
knowledge, attributes, training, education, experience
• planning activities for the short-to-medium term which take
into account where you are now and where you want to be
• setting SMART goals and success criteria for workplace
experience:
○ which skills and attributes are relevant for the job you
will be doing
○ where you are now: your strengths and weaknesses
○ what to concentrate on: skills/attributes you want to
improve or show you can do
○ how to set SMART goals that can help you to do this and
success criteria
• reviewing goals: assessing if you have achieved your goals;
deciding what else you have learned and how to build on this
to help you in the future.
LO.3 Be able to You need to learn about the preparation and process involved in
prepare for applying for a job:
and take part • using a job description and person specification to prepare an
in job up-to-date CV and covering letter or application form
interviews as
• following interview protocols, eg dress code, punctuality
interviewee
and • researching the organisation
interviewer • preparing questions to ask at interview and preparing for
questions you may be asked.
You need to learn about the preparation interviewers go through
before interviewing someone for a job:
• reading CV/letter/application form in relation to job
description and person specification
• knowing or preparing what questions to ask
• being ready to record answers.
You will also need to learn about techniques and skills needed at
interview:
• interview techniques used by interviewees, eg selling
yourself, showing enthusiasm, turning negatives into
positives, demonstrating knowledge of job/company
• interview techniques used by interviewers, eg putting
interviewee at ease, use of open-ended questions, questions
for identifying core competencies; keeping records of
answers
• oral communication skills: asking and responding to
questions, listening, voice clarity, tone and pace
• non-verbal communication skills, eg body language, posture,
eye contact, facial expressions.
LO.4 Understand You will need to learn about the main areas of employment
the impact of legislation:
employment • contractual versus statutory rights
legislation,
procedures • health, safety and welfare legislation
and processes • employment protection rights
• pay, holiday and working hours
• maternity and paternity rights
• anti-discrimination legislation.
You need to learn about the implications of legislation:
• employment procedures, eg recruitment, grievances,
termination
• what can happen if legislation is not complied with by
employers or employees.
You also need to learn about how performance management is

used in the workplace:
• different types of monitoring and appraisals, eg formal, peer,
360 degree
• learning and development activities
• performance-related pay and bonuses
• goal setting across an organisation.
Teaching this unit

Delivery guidance
time within the timetable for its delivery and assessment. The time spent on workplace
experience, which learners will need to take part in order to complete the assessment (but not
the learning) for LO.4 and the review of goals in LO.2, is not considered to be part of the guided
learning hours for this unit.
Delivery guidance for LO.1 and LO.2
Delivery covering the different sources of information that can be used to access careers
information and recruitment methods (LO.1) can be integrated with career planning (LO.2),
since they go hand in hand. A useful starting point is to ask learners to carry out a self-
assessment. This could include their current, qualifications and skills. CASCAID’s Kudos
software is also a good starting point and can be used in parallel with the self assessment. These
activities would help to generate ideas on occupational and career preferences and can be useful
in helping learners to focus on realistic options before it comes to assessment. Learners will
need to spend time becoming familiar with the information available on company websites and
electronic or published career information. Most company websites will have a recruitment
section and these can be a good starting point for gathering information on career opportunities
and recruitment methods. Visits to organisations or visiting speakers (such as from employers,
agencies or ex-learners from the centre) can also be a rich source of information on career
opportunities for learners. Organisations that focus on graduate entry could be able to help: even
though learners would not be able to apply in the immediate future, visits to or from such
organisations could help focus learners on the longer term.
In preparation for goal setting, it would be useful to review as a class the sorts of skills and
attributes that are valued in the workplace, and encourage learners to think about what will help
them in their career plan from LO.1 It would also be extremely valuable to involve a local
employer or workplace provider to talk to them about what they expect from their employees; if
more than one can be involved in this process, there may be interesting opportunities to compare
and contrast. At this level, learners need to learn about SMART goal setting and success criteria.
Learners can practise by setting goals related to other learning experiences in the school or
college or personal goals for the future.
In order to review the extent to which they have achieved their goals, learners will need to
record their experiences in some way, for example using a diary, for which they will need to be
prepared (although the diary itself will not be assessed). It is useful preparation if learners can
practise this skill by completing a diary of their learning experiences in school or college so that
learners understand which sorts of information is useful to record.
After their workplace experience has finished, learners should be given time to reflect on their
experience in the workplace and to evaluate the progress they have made towards their goals.
Talking through their progress in groups can be a useful way of helping to give learners a clear
focus on the experiences they have gained in the workplace.
Learners will need guidance on the format and content of job application documents, above all
the importance of showing how they have the skills, attributes and experience necessary for a
job as outlined in a job and person specification. They should have some practice at completing
an application form: real examples could be obtained from local or national employers. As well
as using hard copies, it would also be useful to practise using online application forms that are
readily available. It would be useful to look at different styles of CVs, as the choice of format
can be a matter of personal preference or can vary according to the sector. It would also help to
prepare examples of CVs and covering letters that are written in reply to a specific job
description and person specification, and encourage the learners to analyse the strengths and
weaknesses of these. Local businesses may also be able to help by providing examples of real
applications made for particular jobs (with personal identifying information removed. An
example or a template of a basic CV and covering letter could be used to provide guidance on
what they should include in their own.
As a starting point for interview preparation, learners could work in small groups to come up
with basic questions they think they could ask at an interview.
It is important to note that the unit content differentiates between interview techniques and
communication skills; this distinction will also be seen when it comes to assessment (in
assessment criteria and marking grids). As a confidence builder, learners should have the
opportunity to practise basic interview techniques prior to the assessed interview; recording
learners’ practice interviews for them to watch afterwards could help. Learners are likely to
require guidance and regular feedback on their progress in order to develop their interview
techniques and communication skills.
Before the learners are assessed, it will be beneficial for them to practise interviewing in pairs
for different types of jobs. After they do this, they should give each other feedback and try to
identify ways that they can improve next time. Again, local employers or human resources
could be invited to give advice on both applications and interviews.
The delivery of this can be linked to Unit 7: Teams and Communication in Business which deals
with written business communication.
Learners will need to have a broad understanding of the implications of key areas of legislation
covering contractual rights and responsibilities and of methods of performance management.
Newspaper articles and topical television reports can be a fruitful way of bringing this
potentially dry area to life. Learners could be encouraged to research and find recent and current
examples of disputes or developments in key areas of employment legislation. Many learners,
particularly those with part-time jobs will have some experience of methods of performance
management, an appraisal for example.
Learners need to know that there are different types of monitoring and appraisals – the centre
can probably provide examples from its own staffing systems. They also need to understand the
way in which goal setting is used, being linked across an organisation, with top level goals or
objectives then feeding through into departmental or team objectives and then down to
individual level. This might be most easily illustrated with goals that lend themselves easily to
measurement, for example sales or customer service targets.

outcome
LO.1 Know about sources of careers 1.1 Access careers and recruitment
information and recruitment methods information
LO.2 Be able to plan and set goals for their 2.1 Identify steps required to achieve their
career chosen career [EP3]
2.2 Set goals and success criteria [RL2]
2.3 Review progress towards goals, acting on
the outcomes [RL3]
LO.3 Be able to prepare for and take part in 3.1 Produce job application documents
job interviews as interviewee and
3.2 Prepare for an interview by preparing
interviewer
questions to ask and answer [IE1]
3.3 Demonstrate interview techniques as an
interviewee and interviewer
3.4 Communicate as an interviewer and
interviewee
LO.4 Understand the impact of 4.1 Assess the impact of employment
employment legislation, procedures legislation on employers and employees
and processes
4.2 Analyse strengths and weaknesses of
performance management methods
PLTS: This summary references where applicable, in the square brackets, the elements of the
personal, learning and thinking skills which are embedded in the assessment of this unit. By
achieving the criteria, learners will have demonstrated effective application of the referenced
elements of the skills. Annexe B lists the personal, learning and thinking skills and their
elements.
Key IE – independent enquirers

CT – creative thinkers
RL – reflective learners
TW – team workers
SM – self-managers
EP – effective participators

This unit will be assessed by an assignment connected to careers and your future employment.
You will need to:
• Use careers information to produce a career plan, which includes: information you have
researched on a chosen career and recruitment methods typically used; a short-to-medium-
term plan to help you achieve your career plan; and goals and success criteria for your
workplace experience [LO.1, LO.2(.1, .2)]
• Create job application documents, and then prepare for, and take part in, a job interview as
an interviewer and interviewee [LO.3]
• Use your workplace experience to:
○ assess the positive and negative effects of one area of employment legislation on the
organisation in which you are working and its employees; and analyse the strengths and
weaknesses of the performance management methods that the organisation uses [LO.4]
○ review what you have learned on your workplace experience, whether you have
achieved the goals you set in your career plan, and what you could do next to build on
this [LO.2(.3)].

assessed section, and exemplified within the unit sample assessment material (SAM). The
assignment for part of this unit is connected to workplace experience. This could be in the form
of a placement or it could be a part-time job that the learner is starting or is already doing, but
centres will not be able to complete the assessment for this unit without it. The job applied for in
the assessment of LO.3 must not be one that they have practised preparing as part of the
learning for this unit.
The assignment (and by extension the job in which learners are doing their workplace
experience) must be relevant to the Principal Learning in Business, Administration and Finance.
Evidence structure

outcome grid
LO.1, A Career plan Written evidence: chosen career
LO.2(.1, .2) and recruitment methods; plan;
goals and success criteria for
workplace experience
LO.3(.1) A Job application documents Written evidence: CV and covering
letter or application form
LO.3(.2) A Interview preparation Written evidence: questions they
(interviewer and interviewee) think they may be asked and
questions they could ask
LO.3(.3, .4) B Interviews (interviewer and Learner observation record:
interviewee) interview and communication skills
LO.3(.3, .4) A Written evidence: notes of
interview taken as interviewer
LO.4 A Workplace experience* Written evidence: employment
legislation; performance
management
LO.2(.3) A Written evidence: review of
workplace experience and goals
* This part of the assignment is based on learners’ experience at work, but assessment takes
place afterwards.
Level of demand
The extent of the career plan required in LO.2 is exemplified in the unit sample assessment
material (SAM). The job applied for in LO.3 should be appropriate for a Level 3 learner: this
should be a job that typically requires as a minimum relevant Level 3 qualifications and which
offers career advancement opportunities: the job should be one in which learners would be
expected to take responsibility for solving problems and for initiating and completing tasks,
some of which may be complex; they would need to be able to work with some autonomy and
to exercise judgement, within limited parameters; the jobs would have the potential to involve
learners in supervising others (for example temporary staff) in the completion of routine tasks.
Examples of appropriate jobs include: marketing officer, accounts officer, human resources
officer.
Assessment duration
The suggested guided learning hours (GLH) required to complete this assignment is 10 hours
per learner. Centres can structure this time as they see fit, but. it is recommended that the job
interview in which they are acting as interviewee lasts no longer than 20-25 minutes. The
suggested GLH for assessment does not include time spent in the workplace. Centres should
note that the total class assessment time is likely to be higher to allow time for separate
observations of interviews in LO.3.
Group work is permitted when the learner is taking part in an interview as an interviewer:
learners may work together at the preparation stage, but each must keep a record of their own
preparation; and at interview, each learner must take responsibility for asking questions.
Although information for the assessment for LO.4 will be collected without supervision, the
tasks must be written up under supervised conditions.
It is recommended that assessment takes place in stages after the relevant learning has taken
place rather than all at the end of the unit. See below for further guidance.
Learners will benefit most from this unit if the assessment for LO.1, LO.2 and LO.3 takes place
shortly before their workplace experience starts (unless this assignment is based around a job
that learners are already doing). This will help prepare them for the workplace and should
maximise the chances that it will be a mutually beneficial experience both for the learner and
the employer.
For their career plan in the first part of the assignment, learners should focus on one career: this
could be quite broad, eg ‘accountancy’ or ‘human resources’, or it could be more narrowly
focussed on a specific job and/or organisation. Their plan should follow the four steps listed in
the What you need to learn section, and should include further study or qualifications where
appropriate. Learners do not need to use all of the sources and types of information listed in the
What you need to learn for LO.1, nor to mention all types of recruitment methods, only what is
relevant. The plan that they set for themselves should be short-to-medium term: if they plan to
go into further study, then this may cover the next five or six years, which would probably cover
their education and the first couple of years in a job; if, on the other hand, they plan to go
straight into work, then this might be a shorter period, taking them through to the first few years
in their chosen occupation. The goals and success criteria that learners set for their workplace
experience may relate not only to what they want to improve, but also to what learner wants to
prove they can do. For example, it may be that a learner thinks that they are good at time
keeping, but they would have difficulty in coming up with evidence for this; they can therefore
use their goal setting and workplace experience to gather evidence of their existing
attributes/abilities which will be useful to them in future. Learners should try to ensure that their
goals are SMART.
There are different approaches possible for the job application and interview for the second part
of the assignment. The most coherent approach would be either to use a job that they have
found out about in the first part of the assignment or the job that the learners are going to do as
work experience in LO.4 and for the goals part of LO.2 or for centres to assess LO.3 last, after
the workplace experience has been completed: this would allow learners to make use of what
they have learned and been able to demonstrate during the workplace experience when making
their application, and could be contextualised as being an interview to recruit recent work-
experience participants into a permanent position within the organisation. Alternatively, the job
could be one that learners find for themselves, for example a job from a local newspaper or it
could come from a brief specially designed by the tutor. Whatever approach is taken, tutors will
need to ensure that learners have a job description and person specification to work from.
If the application is made using a CV and covering letter, learners can make use of previous
versions that they have created for practice purposes, but they should customise them for the
specific requirements of the job applied for.
The interview can be done as a role play, and a learner observation record must be completed
which covers the learner’s performance in both roles. Other members of staff, local employers
or a work-experience provider could take part in the interviews in the role of interviewer.
When it comes to acting as an interviewer, learners could perform in pairs (interviewing each
other) but as each learner must be observed, it is likely to be more convenient and less time-
consuming for centres if learners work in groups as part of an interview panel. It would be more
realistic if the interviewee in this case was someone not known to them, for example a learner
from another class.
The workplace experience, which forms the context for the assessment of the last part of the
assignment, could be in the form of a placement or it could be a part-time job done over a longer
period. The workplace experience must relate to some part of the Business, Administration and
Finance Diploma and therefore allow learners to apply some of the knowledge and skills that
they have developed or (if the workplace experience takes place early in the course) get a taster
of the knowledge and skills that they will focus on later. Learners doing full-time work
experience should complete this before they review their experiences. Ideally, this will also be
the case for learners doing part-time work experience, but if this proves impractical, they may
be able to complete this after at least half of the work experience is finished. During the
workplace experience, they will need to record their experiences in some way, for example
using a diary (although the diary itself will not be assessed) so that afterwards they have the
necessary information to allow them to write up their experiences.
Learners can find out about the impact of employment legislation on rights, responsibilities by
talking to existing members of staff or a mentor. They need to cover only one of the main areas
of legislation covered. Learners could also interview members of staff about the performance
management methods used, asking them about the benefits and disadvantages.
Marking grid A
focus available
LO.1 The learner produces a career plan The learner produces a career plan The learner produces a career plan
which includes some information which includes full information which includes full and accurate
Know about
accessed on a chosen career, accessed on a chosen career, information accessed on a chosen
sources of careers
demonstrating through their demonstrating through their career, demonstrating through
information and
planned activities limited planned activities reasonable their planned activities good
recruitment
awareness of what they will need awareness what they will need to awareness of what they will need
methods
to do in order to achieve their do in order to achieve their chosen to do in order to achieve their
chosen career. career. chosen career.
LO.2(.1, .2) The learner sets goals for their The learner sets goals for their The learner sets goals that fully
Be able to plan workplace experience that are workplace experience that mostly conform to SMART principles and
and set goals for SMART to a limited degree, and conform to SMART principles and success criteria for their workplace
their career also success criteria. The goals also success criteria. The goals experience. The goals relate well
have limited relevance to their relate in some ways to their to their chosen career.
chosen career. chosen career.
(0–4) (5–7) (8–9)
LO.2(.3) They review their progress by to They review progress by assessing They review progress by assessing
assessing briefly how far they how far they have achieved their how far they have achieved their
Be able to plan
have achieved their goals. There goals, providing some supporting goals, providing convincing
and set goals for
are limited ideas for how to build evidence. There are ideas for how supporting evidence. There are
their career
on this experience. to build on this experience. well thought out ideas for how to
build on this experience.
(0–2) (3–4) (5–6) 15

focus available
LO.3(.1) The learner completes the required The learner completes the required The learner completes the required
documentation, addressing some documentation, which is documentation, which is accurate,
Be able to prepare
of the requirements of the job reasonably accurate and well presented and fully addresses
for and take part
applied for. Appropriate addresses many of the the requirements of the job applied
in interviews as
style/register is used in some requirements of the job applied for. Appropriate style/register is
interviewee and
places. There may be some errors for. Appropriate style/register is used. Any errors will be minor
interviewer
or inconsistencies which detract generally used. There may be and few in number.
from the overall impression. some errors or inconsistencies but
these are minor.
(0–4) (5–7) (8–9)
LO.3(.2) The learner makes some The learner makes reasonable The learner prepares well for the
preparation for the interview as an preparation for the interview as an interview as an interviewee. In
Be able to prepare
interviewee and interviewer. In interviewee and interviewer. In both roles, they identify relevant
for and take part
both roles, they identify questions both roles, they identify relevant and perceptive questions to ask.
in interviews as
to ask. As interviewee, they questions to ask. As interviewee, As interviewee, they predict a
interviewee and
predict a few questions they may they predict a range of questions wide range of likely questions
interviewer
be asked and prepare answers to they may be asked and prepare they may be asked and prepare
them. answers to them. convincing answers to them.
(0–2) (3–4) (5–6)
LO.3(.3, .4) As interviewer, they make records As interviewer, they make records As interviewer, they make clear
of the interview, although these of the interview, some of which records of the interview.
Be able to prepare
are not clear. can be understood with effort.
for and take part
in interviews as
interviewee and
interviewer
(0–1) (2) (3) 18

focus available
LO.4 There is some attempt to assess The learner assesses the impact of The learner assesses the impact of
impact of the legislation, although the legislation in a way that the legislation in a way that
Understand the
this may focus mainly on only the addresses both positive and addresses both positive and
impact of
positive or negative effects and it negative effects, although it may negative effects and is well
employment
may consider the question from consider the question mainly from balanced, considering these from
legislation,
the point of view of the employer the point of view of employer or the perspective of employer and
procedures and
or the employee. employee. employee.
processes
They produce a basic analysis of They produce an analysis of both They produce a well argued
the methods of performance strengths and weaknesses of analysis of both strengths and
management, although this may methods of performance weaknesses of the methods of
focus mainly on either strengths management, although it may performance management,
or weaknesses, and may be focus mainly either on point of considering this from the point of
limited to the perspective of either view of the employer or employee view of both employee and
employee or employer. employer
(0–5) (6–9) (10–12) 12
Total marks 45
Marking grid B
focus available
LO.3 (.3, .4) The learner demonstrates a basic The learner demonstrates a The learner demonstrates a good
level of interview techniques as an reasonable level of interview level of interview techniques as
Be able to prepare
interviewee. techniques as an interviewee. interviewee.
for and take part
in interviews as They show adequate oral They show good oral They show very good oral
interviewee and communication skills, dealing well communication skills, dealing well communication skills, dealing well
interviewer with straightforward questions and with well with straightforward with well with both
those that they had predicted, questions, and showing some straightforward and also open-
although they manage less well ability to deal with open-ended ended and more difficult
with open-ended and more and more difficult questions. questions.
difficult questions.
Non-verbal communication skills Non-verbal communication skills Non-verbal communication skills
may be adequate, but are likely may be good, but are likely not to are good and sustained.
not to be sustained. be sustained at more difficult
moments.
(0–3) (4–6) (7–9)

The learner demonstrates a basic The learner demonstrates a The learner demonstrates a good
level of interview techniques as reasonable level of interview level of interview techniques as
interviewer. techniques as interviewer. interviewer.
(0–2) (3–4) (5–6) 15

Total marks 15
Assessment guidance

marking grid B.
Level 3 descriptors
Descriptor Meaning
Accurate Correct, without errors.
Adequate Only just sufficient.
Analyse/analysis Examine carefully in order to explain key features, causes, etc.
Appropriate Suitable/relevant.
Assess Judge the extent or degree of something.
Attempt to Tries, but has no or only limited success.
Convincing Believable, well argued.
A few One or two.
Few Not many.
Full/fully Complete/completely.
Generally Mostly/or most of the time but not completely or consistently.
Limited Incomplete or having a narrow scope; shows only basic ability
or understanding.
Mainly Mostly, but not exclusively.
Most/mostly The majority with one or two left out.
Open ended question A question which requires more than a yes/no answer.
Perceptive Showing good insight into the key requirements.
A range Between three and five.
Relevant/relevance Applicable to the subject.
Simple Basic, routine, straightforward.
A straightforward question A question that is routine or requires only a yes/no answer.
Some At least two; to a certain degree, partial.
Well balanced Giving appropriate weight to both sides.
Well presented Attractive and easy to read.
Well thought out Showing good judgement, thoughtful.
A wide range Six or more.

of this unit:

Independent enquirers Identifying questions to answer in preparation for the interview
[IE1]
Reflective learners Setting goals for their workplace experience [RL2]; reviewing
progress towards these goals and acting on the outcomes [RL3]
Effective participators Identifying what is required to achieve their chosen career,
breaking these down into manageable steps [EP3]
learning.

Independent enquirers Planning and carrying out research into career pathways or
workplace legislation [IE2]; preparing for their interview,
considering what employers are looking for as well as what they
themselves need from a job [IE3]; concluding which careers are
suitable for them, supporting these with reasoned arguments and
evidence [IE6]
Creative thinkers Generating ideas for different career options [CT1]; questioning
their own ideas about a suitable career [CT4]; adapting their own
ideas about their own skills or the suitability of their chosen career
in the light of their workplace experience [CT6]
Reflective learners Assessing their opportunities and achievements in the workplace
[RL1]; inviting feedback from people involved in their workplace
experience and dealing positively with it [RL4]; evaluating their
experiences of the workplace to inform plans for the future [RL5]
Team workers Adapting behaviour for the different roles of interviewer and
interviewee [TW3]; Showing fairness and consideration to others
taking part in interviews as an interviewer [TW4]
Self-managers Seeking out challenges or new responsibilities when taking part in
workplace experience [SM1]; working towards their goals set for
their workplace experience, showing initiative, commitment and
perseverance [SM2]; organising time and resources, prioritising
actions while preparing for a job interview [SM3]
Effective participators Planning and carrying out research into career pathways or
workplace legislation [IE2]; preparing for their interview,
considering what employers are looking for as well as what they
themselves need from a job [IE3]; concluding which careers are
suitable for them, supporting these with reasoned arguments and
evidence [IE6]


system used
Manage information storage to enable Saving documents prepared for their job applications
efficient retrieval
Troubleshoot

information
Select and use a variety of sources of Researching occupations for their career plans, making
information independently for a use of different information sources.
complex task
fitness for purpose

Enter, develop and format information Preparing interview documentation, using text and tables
independently to suit its meaning and to create CVs.
purpose, including:
• text and tables
• images
• numbers
• records.
Bring together information to suit Researching occupations for their career plans;
content and purpose preparing CVs and covering letters.
Present information in ways that are fit Researching occupations for their career plans, preparing
for purpose and audience CVs and covering letters.
present information

Mathematics
tackle it
each stage
situations
English
Speaking and listening – make a range Taking part in interviews as interviewers and
of contributions to discussions and interviewees.
range of contexts
Reading – compare, select, read and Gathering information from different sources to inform
understand texts and use them to their career plan.
and opinions
Writing – write documents, including Preparing documentation for interviews; reviewing their
extended writing pieces, work experience.
Work experience
Work experience is integral to this unit. For further information, see Assessment information for
assessors, above.
This unit can be delivered without specialist resources. However, there are specialist resources
that are useful and relevant, for example Cascaid’s Kudos software.
Reference material
Books
Anderson A, Barker D and Critten P – Effective Self Development: A Skills and Activity-based
Approach (Blackwell, 1996) ISBN 0631200150
Fry R – Your First Interview: for students and anyone preparing to enter today’s tough job
market (Career Press, 2002) ISBN 1564145867
Linn L – Landing your first real job (McGraw-Hill Education, 1996) ISBN 0070380619
Messina E N – Teenwork: Four Teens Tell All: A guide for finding jobs (Goodheart-Wilcox,
2005) ISBN 159070598X
Narms J – Employment Law for Business Students (Longman, 2007) ISBN 1405832762
Websites
www.alec.co.uk Alec
www.careeesa-z.co.uk Careers A-Z
www.careers-gateway Careersoft
www.connexions-direct.com Connexions
www.channel4.com/brilliantcareeers Brilliant Careers
www.support4learning.org.uk Support4Learning
There are a number of industry-specific websites that have useful career information, for
example:
www.acca.co.uk Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
www.cim.co.uk Chartered Institute of Marketing
www.cipd.co.uk Chartered Institute of Personnel and
Development
www.lawsociety.org.uk Law Society of England and Wales
List of annexes
Annexe A: Qualification codes 211

Annexe B: Personal, learning and thinking skills 213
Annexe C: Wider curriculum mapping 219
Annexe D: Glossary of terms 221
Annexe E: Internal Assessment of Principal Learning Units: Controls
for Task Setting, Task Taking and Task Marking 225
Annexe F: Learning outcomes and assessment criteria for each units 233
Annexe A: Qualification codes
The National Qualifications Framework (NQF) code is known as a Qualification Accreditation Number
(QAN). This is the code that features in the DfES Funding Schedules – Sections 96 and 97 and is to be
used for all qualification funding purposes. Each unit within a qualification will also have an NQF unit
code.
The qualification and unit codes will appear on the learner’s final certification documentation.
The QAN for the qualification in this publication is:
500/4187/3 Edexcel Level 3 Principal Learning in Business, Administration and Finance
This Principal Learning qualification contributes to the following Diploma qualifications:

500/4938/0 Edexcel Level 3 Advanced Diploma in Business, Administration and Finance
500/4947/1 Edexcel Level 3 Progression Diploma in Business, Administration and Finance
These qualification titles will appear on learners’ certificates.
Learners need to be made aware of this when they are recruited by the centre and registered with Edexcel.
Providing this happens, centres are able to describe the programme of study leading to the award of the
qualification in different ways to suit the medium and the target audience.
Other codes
The codes below will be required when making entries for individual units and the overall Principal
Learning qualification:
Unit codes Each unit is assigned a unit code. This unit code is Please refer to the
used as an entry code to indicate that a learner Edexcel
wishes to take the assessment for that unit. Centres Information
will need to use the entry codes only when entering Manual, available
learners for their examination or coursework on the Edexcel
moderation. website.
Cash-in codes The cash-in code is used as an entry code to Please refer to the
aggregate the learner’s unit scores to obtain the Edexcel
overall grade for the qualification. Centres will Information
need to use the cash-in codes only when entering Manual, available
learners for their qualification award. on the Edexcel
website.
Annexe B: Personal, learning and thinking skills
QCA — a framework of PLTS
A FRAMEWORK OF PERSONAL, LEARNING AND THINKING SKILLS 11-19 IN ENGLAND

The framework comprises six groups of skills that, together with the functional skills of English,
mathematics and ICT, are essential to success in learning, life and work. In essence the framework
captures the essential skills of: managing self; managing relationships with others; and managing own
learning, performance and work. It is these skills that will enable young people to enter work and adult life
confident and capable.
The titles of the six groups of skills are set out below.
Team workers Self-managers
Independent enquirers
Reflective learners Creative thinkers
Effective participators
For each group there is a focus statement that sums up the range of skills. This is followed by a set of
outcome statements that are indicative of the skills, behaviours and personal qualities associated with each
group.
Each group is distinctive and coherent. The groups are also inter-connected. Young people are likely to
encounter skills from several groups in any one learning experience. For example an Independent enquirer
would set goals for their research with clear success criteria (Reflective learner) and organise and manage
their time and resources effectively to achieve these (Self-manager). In order to acquire and develop
fundamental concepts such as organising oneself, managing change, taking responsibility and
perseverance, learners will need to apply skills from all six groups in a wide range of learning contexts
11–19.
The Skills
Focus:
Young people process and evaluate information in their investigations, planning what to do
and how to go about it. They take informed and well-reasoned decisions, recognising that
others have different beliefs and attitudes.
Young people:
• identify questions to answer and problems to resolve
• plan and carry out research, appreciating the consequences of decisions
• explore issues, events or problems from different perspectives
• analyse and evaluate information, judging its relevance and value
• consider the influence of circumstances, beliefs and feelings on decisions and
events
• support conclusions, using reasoned arguments and evidence
Creative thinkers
Focus:
Young people think creatively by generating and exploring ideas, making original
connections. They try different ways to tackle a problem, working with others to find
imaginative solutions and outcomes that are of value.
Young people:
• generate ideas and explore possibilities
• ask questions to extend their thinking
• connect their own and others’ ideas and experiences in inventive ways
• question their own and others’ assumptions
• try out alternatives or new solutions and follow ideas through
• adapt ideas as circumstances change
Reflective learners
Focus:
Young people evaluate their strengths and limitations, setting themselves realistic goals
with criteria for success. They monitor their own performance and progress, inviting
feedback from others and making changes to further their learning.
Young people:
• assess themselves and others, identifying opportunities and achievements
• set goals with success criteria for their development and work
• review progress, acting on the outcomes
• invite feedback and deal positively with praise, setbacks and criticism
• evaluate experiences and learning to inform future progress
• communicate their learning in relevant ways for different audiences
Team workers
Focus:
Young people work confidently with others, adapting to different contexts and taking
responsibility for their own part. They listen to and take account of different views. They
form collaborative relationships, resolving issues to reach agreed outcomes.
Young people:
• collaborate with others to work towards common goals
• reach agreements, managing discussions to achieve results
• adapt behaviour to suit different roles and situations
• show fairness and consideration to others
• take responsibility, showing confidence in themselves and their contribution
• provide constructive support and feedback to others
Self-managers
Focus:
Young people organise themselves, showing personal responsibility, initiative, creativity
and enterprise with a commitment to learning and self-improvement. They actively
embrace change, responding positively to new priorities, coping with challenges and
looking for opportunities.
Young people:
• seek out challenges or new responsibilities and show flexibility when priorities
change
• work towards goals, showing initiative, commitment and perseverance
• organise time and resources, prioritising actions
• anticipate, take and manage risks
• deal with competing pressures, including personal and work-related demands
• respond positively to change, seeking advice and support when needed
• manage their emotions, and build and maintain relationships
Focus:
Young people actively engage with issues that affect them and those around them. They
play a full part in the life of their school, college, workplace or wider community by taking
responsible action to bring improvements for others as well as themselves.
Young people:
• discuss issues of concern, seeking resolution where needed
• present a persuasive case for action
• propose practical ways forward, breaking these down into manageable steps
• identify improvements that would benefit others as well as themselves
• try to influence others, negotiating and balancing diverse views to reach workable
solutions
• act as an advocate for views and beliefs that may differ from their own
(See www.qca.org.uk/qca_16953.aspx)
PLTS Performance Indicator (suggested recording sheet)
Name: Date:
Level of success
1 = low, 5 = high
Identify questions to answer and problems to resolve 1 2 3 4 5
Plan and carry out research, appreciating the consequences of decisions 1 2 3 4 5
Explore issues, events or problems from different perspectives 1 2 3 4 5
Analyse and evaluate information, judging its relevance and value 1 2 3 4 5
Consider the influence of circumstances, beliefs and feelings on decisions and
1 2 3 4 5
events
Support conclusions, using reasoned arguments and evidence 1 2 3 4 5
Creative thinkers
Generate ideas and explore possibilities 1 2 3 4 5
Ask questions to extend their thinking 1 2 3 4 5
Connect their own and others’ ideas and experiences in inventive ways 1 2 3 4 5
Question their own and others’ assumptions 1 2 3 4 5
Try out alternatives or new solutions and follow ideas through 1 2 3 4 5
Adapt ideas as circumstances change 1 2 3 4 5
Reflective learners
Assess themselves and others, identifying opportunities and achievements 1 2 3 4 5
Set goals with success criteria for their development and work 1 2 3 4 5
Review progress, acting on the outcomes 1 2 3 4 5
Invite feedback and deal positively with praise, setbacks and criticism 1 2 3 4 5
Evaluate experiences and learning to inform future progress 1 2 3 4 5
Communicate their learning in relevant ways for different audiences 1 2 3 4 5
Team workers
Collaborate with others to work towards common goals 1 2 3 4 5
Reach agreements, managing discussions to achieve results 1 2 3 4 5
Adapt behaviour to suit different roles and situations 1 2 3 4 5
Show fairness and consideration to others 1 2 3 4 5
Take responsibility, showing confidence in themselves and their contribution 1 2 3 4 5
Provide constructive support and feedback to others 1 2 3 4 5
Self-managers
Seek out challenges or new responsibilities and show flexibility when
1 2 3 4 5
priorities change
Work towards goals, showing initiative, commitment and perseverance 1 2 3 4 5
Organise time and resources, prioritising actions 1 2 3 4 5
Anticipate, take and manage risks 1 2 3 4 5
Deal with competing pressures, including personal and work-related demands 1 2 3 4 5
Respond positively to change, seeking advice and support when needed 1 2 3 4 5
Manage their emotions, and build and maintain relationships 1 2 3 4 5
Discuss issues of concern, seeking resolution where needed 1 2 3 4 5
Present a persuasive case for action 1 2 3 4 5
Propose practical ways forward, breaking these down into manageable steps 1 2 3 4 5
Identify improvements that would benefit others as well as themselves 1 2 3 4 5
Try to influence others, negotiating and balancing diverse views to reach
1 2 3 4 5
workable solutions
Act as an advocate for views and beliefs that may differ from their own 1 2 3 4 5
Note to learner: The circled number represents an indication of your PLTS performance so far.
Note to tutor: Indicate the level of success by circling the appropriate number during your feedback with
the learner.
Summary of the PLTS coverage throughout the programme
Personal, learning Unit

and thinking skill 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Independent enquirers , , ,
Creative thinkers ,
Reflective learners , , ,
Team workers , ,
Self-managers , ,
Effective participators , , ,
– required component; – opportunities for development
Annexe C: Wider curriculum mapping
Study of the Edexcel Diplomas in Business, Administration and Finance provides opportunities for the
learner to develop an understanding of spiritual, moral, ethical, social and cultural issues as well as an
awareness of citizenship, environmental issues, European developments, health and safety considerations
and equal opportunities issues.
The Edexcel Diplomas in Business, Administration and Finance make a positive contribution to wider
curricular areas as appropriate.
The specification contributes to an understanding of:
• moral and ethical issues – for example, various moral and ethical issues are dealt with in Unit 9:
Corporate Social Responsibility
• social and cultural issues – for example, differing attitudes to money are explored in the Unit 3:
Personal Finance and Financial Services.
Citizenship issues
Learners undertaking the Principal Learning in Business, Administration and Finance will have the
opportunity to develop their understanding of citizenship issues, especially the key concepts of rights and
responsibilities in Unit 6: Customer Service in Business and in Unit 10: Careers and Employment in
Business; and democracy and justice in Unit 9: Corporate Social Responsibility.
Environmental issues
Learners are led to appreciate the importance of environmental issues in various units, most explicitly in
Unit 8: Responding to Change in Business and Unit 9: Corporate Social Responsibility.
European developments
Much of the content of the Edexcel Diplomas in Business, Administration and Finance applies throughout
Europe even though the delivery is in a UK context. European legislation is addressed in Unit 8:
Responding to Change in Business and Unit 9: Corporate Social Responsibility.
Health and safety considerations
The Edexcel Diplomas in Business, Administration and Finance are practically based and so health and
safety issues are encountered throughout the units. Learners will develop awareness of the safety of others
as well as themselves in all practical activities. Learners will also explore health and safety issues across
the business, administration and finance sector, particularly in Unit 1: Business Enterprise, Unit 9:
Corporate Social Responsibility and in Unit 10: Careers and Employment in Business.
Equal opportunities issues
Equal opportunities issues are implicit throughout the Edexcel Diplomas in Business, Administration and
Finance.
Wider curriculum mapping
Level 3 Principal Learning in Business, Administration and Finance
Personal, learning and Unit

thinking skill 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Moral and ethical
Social and cultural
Citizenship issues
Environmental issues
European developments
Health and safety

considerations
Equal opportunities issues
Annexe D: Glossary of terms
There are some terms that you may come across in the specification, which have a particular meaning
within the context of the Diploma. You are therefore advised to familiarise yourself with the
definitions of the terms in this glossary.
Term Definition
Additional learning Units or qualifications that learners choose to include in their
Diploma. Additional learning is complementary in character. It
consists of further learning and can include national curriculum
entitlement areas and/or learning options such as languages,
music or science that relate to individual needs, interests and
aspirations, provided these do not duplicate learning in Principal
Learning and Generic Learning.
Applied learning Acquiring and applying, knowledge, skills and understanding
through tasks set in sector contexts that have many of the
characteristics of real work or are set within the workplace.
Most importantly, the purpose of the task in which learners
apply their knowledge, skills and understanding must be
relevant to real work in the sector.
Assessment criteria Specify the standard a learner is expected to meet to
demonstrate that a learning outcome, or set of learning
outcomes, has been achieved. Assessment criteria should be
sufficiently detailed to support a consistent judgement that a
learning outcome has been achieved – there are no minimum or
maximum number of assessment criteria that relate to each
learning outcome. The criteria should not dictate the method of
assessment to be used.
Diploma A defined set of qualifications that have been combined
according to a set of rules. The Diplomas are designed to
support progression to further study, training and employment.
Experiential learning A process that stresses the central role of experience in learning
related to the world of work. Learners reflect on their
experience, draw out and articulate lessons learnt (generalise),
and then apply their learning to new situations or activities.
External assessment Assessment tasks are set and candidates’ work is assessed by
Edexcel.
Formative assessment This is concerned with the short-term collection and use of
evidence as guidance of learning, mainly in day-to-day
classroom practice.
Functional skills Functional skills are core elements of English, mathematics and
ICT, providing the essential knowledge, skills and
understanding needed to operate confidently, effectively and
independently in life and at work.
Term Definition
Generic Learning Generic Learning enables learners to develop and apply the
skills and knowledge necessary for learning, employment and
personal development.
The Generic Learning component of the Diploma is made up of
the following constituent parts:
• functional skills
• personal, learning and thinking skills
• a project
• work experience.
Generic skills Generic skills are relevant to learning, training and working in
all lines of learning and all sectors. They include functional
skills and personal, learning and thinking skills.
Internal assessment Tasks are set and marked against criteria provided by Edexcel
and subjected to external moderation. Internal assessment is
normally supervised and conducted under controlled conditions.
Level The level at which a qualification or unit is positioned for
accreditation. Levels are defined in terms of complexity,
autonomy and range of achievement.
Line of learning The broad subject areas that each Diploma will cover. There are
17 lines of learning, including: Creative and Media; Information
Technology; Society, Health and Development; Engineering;
Construction and the Built Environment.
Personal, learning and The framework of skills, which will equip all young people for
thinking skills (PLTS) successful employment and lifelong learning. PLTS require
learners to be:
• independent enquirers
• creative thinkers
• reflective learners
• team workers
• self-managers
• effective participators.
Principal Learning Learning modules and units of assessment that the learner must
include in their Diploma. Principal Learning includes a
minimum of 50 per cent of applied learning and consists of
knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes that support
progress through the line of learning into the sectors concerned.
Opportunities to develop and apply generic skills are also
integrated into Principal Learning.
Project A freestanding qualification within the Diploma.
Term Definition
Specialist learning Units or qualifications that learners choose to include in their
Diploma. Specialist learning allows the learner to take up
further, more specialist learning, within their line of learning. It
consists of qualifications and units that will support progression
across the range of progression pathways within a chosen sector,
as identified and recommended by the employers and higher
education advisers on the Diploma Development Partnership.
Summative assessment This serves to inform an overall judgement of achievement.
Transcript A report of the units and qualifications that make up a learner’s
programme and achievement. It lists the learner’s units and
grades for each of the components of their Diploma
qualification and also records work experience and personal,
learning and thinking skills.
Work experience A component of the Diploma, which enables learners to utilise
and develop their knowledge and skills in the actual workplace.
Annexe E: Internal Assessment of Principal Learning
Units: Controls for Task Setting, Task Taking and
Task Marking
This annexe should be read in association with the latest edition of the Joint Council for
Qualifications document ‘GCSE, GCE, ELC, Functional Skills, Principal Learning in the Diploma
and Project Qualifications – Instructions for conducting coursework’, available from the JCQ
website, www.jcq.org.uk
Section 1: Introduction
It is a requirement of the Criteria for accreditation of Diploma qualifications at Levels 1, 2 and 3 that:
‘Internal assessment [of Principal Learning] must normally be supervised and conducted under
controlled conditions to ensure reliability and fairness.’
Further guidance from the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency has identified three stages
of assessment for which control must be specified:
• Task setting
• Task taking (controls on time, resources, supervision, and collaboration)
• Task marking.
Further to the areas specified above, this annexe in collaboration with the individual specifications also
sets the parameters for:
• guidance and support;
• submission, revision, re-working;
• the involvement of parents/carers;
• malpractice; and the authentication of learners’ work.
This annexe details the controls that normally apply to all Edexcel Principal Learning internally assessed
units. However tutors and assessors must also apply any specific controls or additional requirements that
may be identified within the Assessment information for assessors section in individual units.
There are three levels of control that can apply to each stage.
High control Where the assessment requirements are tightly prescribed.

Medium control Where the assessment requirements are specified in terms of parameters
that allow consortia some flexibility to suit local circumstances.
Limited control Where the assessment requirements are specified in terms of broad
parameters that allow consortia to determine the details of the assessment.
Section 2: Edexcel Controlled Assessment Profile
In Edexcel’s internally-assessed Principal Learning units, some aspects are subject to medium control and
others have limited control. The table below shows the standard profile for all Edexcel Principal Learning
internally-assessed unit specifications. Individual unit specifications will indicate where a divergence has
occurred from this profile.
Aspect Level 1 Level 2 Level 3

Task setting Limited Limited Limited
Time Limited Limited Limited
Resources Limited Limited Limited
Supervision Medium Medium Medium
Collaboration Limited Limited Limited
Marking Medium Medium Medium
Section 3: Assessment controls

3.1 Task setting
Limited control
Edexcel will publish, as part of its tutor support materials, at least one model assignment for each
internally assessed unit. It is recommended that these model assignments are used in the assessment of
each unit. However in order that these assignments can best meet learner interests and local needs they
will include guidance for tutors and assessors to show the ways in which they may be adapted and
contextualised. If the tutor decides to either adapt or write their own assignments then each assignment
must meet the following conditions:
• each internally assessed unit must be assessed through a single coherent assignment which addresses
the overall theme of the unit to emphasise how the different learning outcomes all relate to each other.
Each assignment may be broken down into a series of related tasks
• assignments must have an applied work-related context
• across all tasks, assignments must address all learning outcomes and assessment criteria, and must
give access to the full range of marks
• the evidence produced must conform to the requirements published in the How you will be assessed
section of the relevant unit specification
• in some units the marking grid is divided into parts A and B. All tasks which will be marked against
the A grid must generate learner evidence that can be re-assessed at a later stage during internal
standardisation activity or external moderation
• where tutors decide to set their own assignments, another person, who understands the requirements of
the specification, must check that each new assignment is appropriate for the line of learning and the
level, and also that a new assignment will allow candidates full access to the marking criteria. This is
especially important when a new tutor/assessor is required to produce assignments. Suitable people
may include a Domain or Lead Assessor. This review process must be documented and the evidence
of the review must be made available for the external moderator if requested
• if the assignment is to be produced outside the teaching institution, for example by a supervisor at the
learner’s work experience placement, then the tutor or assessor at the teaching institution responsible
for that unit, must sign off the assignment for validity before the learner attempts the assignment.
In addition to these requirements, further guidance on writing assignments is provided in this
specification, in the section ‘Assessment and grading of the principal learning specifications’.
Complexity
If the level of complexity of the evidence required is not already identified within the specification, then
an indication can be assumed from the amount of time set within the specification for the production of the
assessment evidence, considering the level at which the specification is being taken. The expectations of
what a Level 1 learner can accomplish in 10 hours are far different from that which can be expected from
a Level 3 learner in the same time period.
Unless it is otherwise specified, learners should be set a task of equivalent complexity, whether they are
expected to achieve marks at mark band 1 of the marking grid or mark band 3.
3.2 Task taking (controls on time, resources, supervision, and collaboration)
If not specified within the unit, it is to be assumed that tasks or the whole assignment will normally be
attempted at the end of the learning process.
Time – limited control

Each unit has a time for assessment allocated. This is defined as ‘the time to be spent generating evidence
for assessment’, and covers all tasks and/or aspects of the assessment which carry marks in the unit
marking grid. Activities to support the assessment such as setting up equipment or researching data are not
included in the time allowance if they do not carry marks. While it is not a requirement that this time
should be observed to the minute for internal assessments, it should be taken as strong guidance and
variance should not normally be by more than plus or minus 10%. Learners given significantly less time
may well be disadvantaged in relation to the quality and breadth of work they can produce, while those
given significantly more may well be disadvantaged by an excess of time spent on assessment rather than
learning.
Resources – limited control

Unless otherwise stated in the individual unit specification, learners are entitled to have full access to all
resources seen fit for purpose by the centre tutor/assessor. Any specific resources (for example equipment,
published material) required or prohibited for assessment will be detailed in the individual unit.
Supervision – medium control

Learners must normally be supervised by the centre tutor/assessor whilst producing evidence for the
summative assessment activity, unless otherwise stated in the individual unit specification. Supervision is
defined as normal classroom/workshop/studio working conditions, with the tutor/assessor being present in
the same room whilst the summative assessment evidence is produced by the learner, but not requiring
examination conditions.
Where supervision is relaxed:
• because it is not possible to directly supervise the activity that is required to produce summative
assessment evidence, eg researching data, then the tutor/assessor must authenticate the learner work
following the process identified in the section headed ‘Authentication’; or
• because the most suitable environment for producing the evidence means the tutor/assessor cannot be
present, eg work experience, the tutor/assessor must ensure an appropriate person supervises the
evidence production. All such evidence must be authenticated (see Authentication below) and, where
this covers performance evidence, a signed learner observation record must be completed with enough
reliable information to allow the tutor to accurately assess the evidence (see 3.4 Task marking below).
It is not permissible for summative assessment evidence to be produced in the learner’s home
environment, without the direct supervision of their assessor.
Due to the nature of producing an artefact, its production as part of the summative assessment will often
be dictated by the availability of materials, equipment etc, therefore it may well be produced outside of the
centre. However, the assessor must be confident that the work is that of the learner. In order to be
confident, Edexcel requires one of the following situations to apply:
• the work is carried out under the direct supervision of the teaching centre assessor. This is the most
desirable option
• the learner demonstrates to the teaching centre assessor equivalent levels of skill in each of the
processes included in the production of the final artefact. Ideally this would be in the course of the
regular teaching/learning programme, but exceptionally, if the assessor feels a skill has been assessed
at a level beyond expectations, the assessor may require the learner to repeat that skill before
authenticating the work.
If the artefact can only be produced remotely, for example during work experience, the assessor must have
enough reliable information to allow them to both accurately assess the outcome and have a signed learner
observation record from an appropriate person who directly observed the learner producing the artefact.
An ‘appropriate person’ is defined as someone with a supervisory role within the workplace (or
equivalent), and who has the required skills. This person must not be a family member, and must record
and supply the required information for the assessor.
Collaboration (Group work) – limited control

Some units may require learners to work as part of a group. In other units, unless it is specifically
forbidden, tutors may choose to have learners working collaboratively. When producing assignments
which require or allow learners to work in groups, tasks must be written to allow each group member to
fully meet the requirements of the assessment criteria.
Learners must not have their assessment opportunities reduced by the poor performance of other group
members. Where this becomes apparent the tutor or assessor should intervene, or provide suitable
alternative activities which do not greatly add to the learners’ workloads.
Group tasks should not rely on the performance of individual members of the group to allow other group
members to meet all of the assessment criteria.
It is important that each learner is assessed on their individual contribution to the achievements of the
group. Where several individuals contribute to a single piece of work, individual contributions must be
clearly shown on the work to enable external moderation to take place. This can be indicated by learners
or through the tutor’s annotations.
Guidance and support
At the start of the assignment learners will often be required to plan out their programme of work. The
tutor/assessors should agree these plans and where appropriate agree milestones where they can monitor
learners’ responses. Appropriate intervention is to be encouraged to ensure learners have every
opportunity of success. However, if the planning process forms part of the assessment criteria, care must
be taken to ensure that the plan remains the learner’s own work.
Within some unit specifications, the level of assistance given to a learner is a discriminating factor used to
decide a learner’s positioning within the marking bands. To aid the assessor in selecting the appropriate
level of assistance given to the learner a glossary of descriptors is included in the units and should be used
for guidance when marking the learners work. In some cases, where a glossary doesn’t exist, the following
definitions should be used:
• Assistance – The learner has to be guided and advised to make progress, and responds to ideas
suggested. The tutor/assessor needs to direct significant aspects of the work.
• Limited assistance – The learner suggests ideas for themselves, but makes use of guidance and advice
from the tutor/assessor to make progress. The tutor/assessor assists in some aspects of the work, but
generally does not direct it.
• Independently – The learner develops ideas themselves, using the tutor/assessor as an advisor rather
than as a director. The tutor/assessor facilitates the work but does not need to direct its progress.
It is expected that all learners should develop as independent learners, but this does not mean that they
should not be given any support in order to be able to research, write up and complete their reports. The
hallmark of the independent learner, whatever the level, is knowing when and whom to ask for support in
helping to carry the work forward.
All learners must be fully and equally briefed at the start of any task or assignment about the requirements
of that task, including how they will be marked. They should be given the opportunity to ask any questions
in order to clarify the requirements.
Once the assignment is under way, the tutor should respond to questions and requests for advice, but
should normally refrain from intervening unasked. Responses can advise the learner on such matters as
further sources of information, and can point out where further work is needed, but must always stop short
of actually stating what to write.
In some units the amount of support and guidance a learner may receive in the course of carrying out the
task or assignment is specified. This occurs, for example, when differentiation between mark bands is
achieved in part by the support the learner needs to complete a practical task safely.
Tutors or assessors must always intervene where matters of health and safety are concerned. When this
happens, the assessor should make a judgement about the appropriate marks that can be applied to the
learner’s work in the light of the intervention, and attach to the work a record of the intervention and
justification for the marks awarded.
3.3 Feedback, re-working and submission
All Principal Learning awarding bodies are required to follow the instructions for feedback,
re-working and submission specified by the JCQ.
Candidates are free to revise and redraft a piece of coursework without teacher involvement before
submitting the final piece. Candidates should be advised to spend an appropriate amount of time on the
work commensurate with the marks available.
Teachers may review coursework before it is handed in for final assessment. Provided that advice remains
at the general level, enabling the candidate to take the initiative in making amendments, there is no need to
record this advice as assistance or to deduct marks. Generally one review should be sufficient to enable
candidates to understand the demands of the assessment criteria. Advice may be given in either oral or
written form.
Having reviewed the candidate’s coursework it is not acceptable for teachers to give, either to individual
candidates or to groups, detailed advice and suggestions as to how the work may be improved in order to
meet the assessment criteria. Examples of unacceptable assistance include:
• detailed indication of errors or omissions
• advice on specific improvements needed to meet the criteria
• the provision of outlines, paragraph or section headings, or writing frames specific to the coursework
task(s)
• personal intervention to improve the presentation or content of the coursework.
As indicated above, a clear distinction must be drawn between any interim review of coursework and final
assessment for the intended examination series. Once work is submitted for final assessment it may not be
revised: in no circumstances are ‘fair copies’ of marked work allowed. Adding or removing any
material to or from coursework after it has been presented by a candidate for final assessment will
constitute malpractice.
Where coursework is submitted in digital format there may be instances where the construction of the e-
coursework does not attract any marks, in which case this construction may be done by the teacher instead
of the candidate.
If a candidate requires additional assistance in order to demonstrate aspects of the assessment, the teacher
should award a mark which represents the candidate’s unaided achievement. The authentication statement
should be signed and information given on the Candidate Record Sheet.
Teachers must keep live coursework secure and confidential at all times whilst in their possession. It is not
acceptable for teaching staff to share coursework with other candidates.
There may be occasions when a learner needs to retake a task or assignment. This is acceptable at the
discretion of the tutor, but the assignment should normally be set in a different context so that the learner
is not repeating exactly the same tasks which they have had the chance to practise beforehand. Individual
units will have further guidance where appropriate.
Authentication
All candidates must confirm that any work they submit for assessment is their own.
Where learners are required to gather information and resources, tutors or assessors should take the
opportunity to discuss authentication and plagiarism at the outset.
Where learner observation records and practical activity logs are required Edexcel will provide exemplar
pro formas. Centres may choose to develop their own documentation, but they must record at least the
information contained within the exemplar pro formas.
Once the assignment has been completed the assessor may need to interview or test the learner on their
understanding of the information and/or the resources that they have identified and used. This may be
necessary if, for example:
• the assessor needs to confirm the authenticity of the work
• the unit marking grid carries marks for information and/or resource gathering.
It will be up to the centre assessor to decide on the appropriate format, although the activity should be of a
‘closed book’ nature.
If the assessor decides to interview the learner, the assessor is required to question the learner regarding
their information or resources until the assessor is sufficiently satisfied with the authentication. Whilst the
interview is in progress the learner should not have access to the information or resources unless the
individual unit specifies otherwise. It can be either a group or individual interview.
If the assessor decides to test the learner, the assessor is required to follow the usual testing format, with
learners working in silence, and placed in a manner so that they do not see other learners’ responses. The
questions are at the discretion of the assessor, as is the length and timing of the test. Learners are not
permitted to view the questions prior to the test and should not have access to their work during the test
unless the individual unit specifies otherwise.
The documented outcome could be either notes following an interview with one or a group of learners and
signed by the assessor, or marked test papers.
Each candidate is required to sign a declaration before submitting their coursework to their subject
tutors/assessors for final assessment, to confirm that the work is their own and that any assistance given
and/or sources used have been acknowledged. Ensuring that they do so is the responsibility of the
candidate’s centre.
It is also a requirement that tutors/assessors confirm to the awarding body that all of the work submitted
for assessment was completed under the required conditions and that they are satisfied that the work is
solely that of the individual candidate concerned. Where assessment is supervised by someone other than
the tutor, additional confirmation is required from the person who has supervised the assessment.
All tutors/assessors who have assessed the work of any candidate entered for each component must sign
the declaration of authentication.
3.4 Task marking (standardisation and marking) — medium control
Marking
Edexcel requires all consortium assessors to use only Edexcel authorized documentation in the assessment
of its Principal Learning internal assessed units. All Edexcel Principal Learning internal assessed unit
specifications have mark descriptors, and these must be used when assessing learner work. Consortium
assessors must not try to re-interpret the mark descriptors, or use any other unauthorised publication which
aims to do so.
If written evidence and artefacts are completed under the supervision of someone else (see Supervision
above), this person may comment upon what is produced, but only the tutor can allocate marks.
Where performance evidence is observed by someone other than the tutor, this person must record their
comments on the learner observation record. It is then the responsibility of the tutor to judge this evidence
and allocate marks.
Standardisation
All Principal Learning awarding bodies are required to follow the instructions for standardisation
specified by the JCQ.
Centres should use reference and archive materials (such as exemplar material provided by the awarding
body or, where available, work in the centre from the previous year) to help set the standard of marking
within the centre.
Prior to marking, a trial marking exercise should be undertaken. Teachers mark the same relatively small
sample of work to allow for the comparison of marking standards. The exercise can take place at
appropriate stages during the course and has three beneficial effects: it helps to bring about greater
comparability in the marking standards; it may identify at an early stage any teachers whose standards are
out of line with that of their colleagues; and it alleviates a heavy marking load at the end of the course.
Where the work for a unit has been marked by more than one teacher in a consortium, standardisation of
marking should normally be carried out according to one of the following procedures:
Either a sample of work which has been marked by each teacher is re-marked by the teacher who is in
charge of internal standardisation – normally the Domain Assessor;
Or all the teachers responsible for marking a component exchange some marked work (preferably at a
meeting led by the Domain Assessor) and compare their marking standards.
Where standards are found to be inconsistent, the discrepant teacher(s) should make adjustments to their
marks or re-consider the marks of all candidates for whom they were responsible. The new marks should
be checked by the teacher in charge of internal standardisation.
Following completion of the marking and of internal standardisation, the coursework must be retained
within the consortium and not returned to the candidates.
Consortia should retain evidence that internal standardisation has been carried out.
Annexe F: Learning outcomes and assessment criteria
for each unit
The following sections state the learning outcomes and assessment criteria for each unit that are presented
on the National Database of Accredited Qualifications, NDAQ. Each section outlines the intermediary
stage in generating the marking grid from the learning outcomes via assessment criteria.
Unit title: Level 3 Unit 1 Business Enterprise
outcome
LO.1 Know the factors that impact on the 1.1 Identify problems that can affect the
chances of business success success of a business
1.2 Identify ways of dealing with problems
LO.2 Be able to develop a viable business 2.1 Develop an idea for a product or service
idea that is viable, creative and innovative
[CT1]
LO.3 Be able to produce a business plan 3.1 Plan a business venture
3.2 Assess and manage risks [SM4]
LO.4 Be able to present a business idea 4.1 Communicate the plan for a business to an
audience
4.2 Present a persuasive case for investing in a
business idea [EP2]
LO.5 Be able to structure a business 5.1 Plan the structure of a business enterprise
5.2 Assess the requirements of an identified
job role
LO.6 Be able to run and review a business 6.1 Collaborate with others to work towards
the goal of implementing a business
enterprise [TW1], showing initiative,
commitment and perseverance [SM2]
6.2 Take decisions when setting up, running
and closing down a business, adapting
plans as required [CT6]
6.3 Evaluate experiences of being involved in
a business enterprise to inform future
progress [RL5]
PLTS: This summary references where applicable, in the square brackets, the elements of the personal,
learning and thinking skills which are embedded in the assessment of this unit. By achieving the criteria,
learners will have demonstrated effective application of the referenced elements of the skills. Annexe B
lists the personal, learning and thinking skills and their elements.

TW – team workers
Unit title: Level 3 Unit 2 Business Administration and Events
outcome
LO.1 Understand the importance of 1.1 Explain the importance of effective

effective administration and administration and information
information management management for meetings and events
LO.2 Be able to use project management 2.1 Plan time and resources for a business
skills to plan a business event event [SM3]
2.2 Manage information effectively
LO.3 Be able to organise and support a 3.1 Organise a meeting
meeting
3.2 Provide support for a meeting
3.3 Carry out follow-up activities
3.4 Review success of a meeting
LO.4 Be able to assess risks to health and 4.1 Assess risks to health and safety relevant
safety to a business event
learners will have demonstrated effective application of the referenced elements of the skills. Annexe B of
this document lists the personal, learning and thinking skills and their elements.

TW – team workers
Unit title: Level 3 Unit 3 Personal Finance and Financial Services
outcome
LO.1 Understand how to make the most of 1.1 Identify the concept, purpose and sources
personal financial transactions of money and its use in everyday financial
transactions
1.2 Assess the types and providers of financial
products and services in terms of their
nature, risk, reward, and suitability for
personal needs
1.3 Outline the protection that is available to
consumers of financial services
1.4 Undertake foreign currency calculations,
showing an understanding of how changes
in foreign currency rates affect consumers
1.5 Assess the advantages and disadvantages
of buying financial services and products
on the internet
LO.2 Understand the key influences on 2.1 Explain how individual attitudes and
personal finance and financial cultural differences influence personal
services financial decisions
2.2 Analyse the effects of the personal life
cycle and external influences on their own
financial needs and decisions
LO.3 Understand the relevance and value of 3.1 Evaluate a range of sources of financial
sources of financial information and advice, judging their relevance and value
advice in differing situations
LO.4 Be able to make appropriate personal 4.1 Identify the risks and repercussions of
financial decisions getting into debt
4.2 Make financial plans that take into account
appropriate individual and external factors
Unit title: Level 3 Unit 4 Business Finance and Accounting
outcome
LO.1 Know the nature and purpose of 1.1 Describe the key roles within business
business finance and accounting finance and accounting
1.2 Identify the different internal and external
sources of capital and other forms of
business finance
LO.2 Know how financial information is 2.1 Describe the different sources and uses of
used in business and the factors that financial information in business
influence this
2.2 Describe how business is influenced by
corporate taxation and auditing
2.3 Identify uses of financial software in
business
LO.3 Be able to prepare and interpret 3.1 Construct financial statements from given
financial statements information
3.2 Interpret business financial performance
using appropriate analytical tools
LO.4 Be able to construct and interpret 4.1 Outline the importance of budgetary
forecasts control
4.2 Apply relevant budgeting techniques in the
preparation of simple budgetary statements
4.3 Use breakeven analysis and cost
classifications to assess given financial
information
Unit title: Level 3 Unit 5 Marketing and Sales in Business
outcome
LO.1 Know the principles of marketing 1.1 Apply marketing principles to market a
product
LO.2 Be able to plan the marketing of a 2.1 Develop a plan for marketing a product or
product or service service
2.2 Analyse a current market using relevant
techniques
LO.3 Be able to carry out market research 3.1 Select an appropriate market research
method [IE2]
3.2 Collect market research data [IE2]
3.3 Interpret market research data
LO.4 Be able to market a business online 4.1 Plan how to market a business online
LO.5 Be able to apply sales techniques and 5.1 Prepare for the sales process
skills
5.2 Communicate effectively with customers
in a sales situation
5.3 Use selling skills to influence others by
dealing with objections [EP3]
5.4 Evaluate effectiveness of a sales
transaction

TW – team workers
Unit title: Level 3 Unit 6 Customer Service in Business
outcome
LO.1 Understand the benefits of customer 1.1 Explain the importance of providing
satisfaction effective customer service to internal and
external customers
LO.2 Know the factors that impact on the 2.1 Identify features of good customer service
customer experience
2.2 Describe how customers can vary
2.3 Identify advantages and disadvantages of
outsourced customer services
LO.3 Understand how customer service 3.1 Describe steps taken to maintain customer
standards are maintained service standards
3.2 Assess effectiveness of customer service
3.3 Use reasoned arguments and evidence
[IE6] to recommend ways of improving
customer service
LO.4 Know the challenges of providing 4.1 Describe the challenges of providing
customer service online customer service online from the
perspective of customer and organisation
[IE3]
LO.5 Be able to handle challenging 5.1 Deal appropriately with customers in
customer service transactions challenging customer service transactions

TW – team workers
Unit title: Level 3 Unit 7 Teams and Communication in Business
outcome
LO.1 Understand the importance of 1.1 Assess the effectiveness of

effective business communication communications
LO.2 Be able to communicate effectively 2.1 Select appropriate formats for business
using networking skills and different communication
forms of business communication
2.2 Communicate in writing using appropriate
language
2.3 Use networking skills to communicate
effectively for business purposes
LO.3 Understand the factors that contribute 3.1 Compare teams and team leaders
to successful team working
3.2 Assess team effectiveness
3.3 Recommend improvements that would
make the teams more effective
LO.4 Be able to work effectively as a team 4.1 Work effectively as a team member and
leader and member team leader [TW1] dealing with any
conflict that arises
4.2 Show consideration and fairness to other
team members [TW4]
4.3 Provide constructive support and feedback
as a team leader [TW6]
4.4 Respond positively to feedback provided
by others [RL4]

TW – team workers
Unit title: Level 3 Unit 8 Responding to Change in Business
outcome
LO.1 understand the causes and the impact 1.1 Identify internal and external causes of
of change in business change
1.2 Explain how internal and external factors
drive changes across an organisation
LO.2 understand the impact of change on 2.1 Identify different responses to change
employees
2.2 Discuss theories of change
2.3 Explain ways people can manage reactions
to change
2.4 Explain how impact and success of change
can be measured
Unit title: Level 3 Unit 9 Corporate Social Responsibility
outcome
LO.1 Know the corporate social 1.1 Identify issues relevant to corporate social
responsibility issues facing responsibility
organisations
1.2 Assess positive and negative impacts of
businesses
LO.2 Understand the importance for 2.1 Discuss the benefits for businesses of
organisations of acting responsibly demonstrating corporate social
responsibility
LO.3 Understand responsible business 3.1 Identify responsible business practices
3.2 Assess the benefits to communities and
other interest groups of responsible
business practices
3.3 Discuss the advantages and disadvantages
of different ways of strengthening
corporate social responsibility
Unit title: Level 3 Unit 10 Careers and Employment in Business
outcome
LO.1 Know about sources of careers 1.1 Access careers and recruitment
information and recruitment methods information
LO.2 Be able to plan and set goals for their 2.1 Identify steps required to achieve their
career chosen career [EP3]
2.2 Set goals and success criteria [RL2]
2.3 Review progress towards goals, acting on
the outcomes [RL3]
LO.3 Be able to prepare for and take part in 3.1 Produce job application documents
job interviews as interviewee and
3.2 Prepare for an interview by preparing
interviewer
questions to ask and answer [IE1]
3.3 Demonstrate interview techniques as an
interviewee and interviewer
3.4 Communicate as an interviewer and
interviewee
LO.4 Understand the impact of 4.1 Assess the impact of employment
employment legislation, procedures legislation on employers and employees
and processes
4.2 Analyse strengths and weaknesses of
performance management methods
3355db150410S:\LT\PD\DIPLOMAS\DP020775 PL IN BUSINESS, ADMIN AND FINANCE L3 (PHASE 2) ISSUE 2.DOC 1-249/1
Further copies of this publication are available from
Edexcel Publications, Adamsway, Mansfield, Notts, NG18 4FN
Telephone 01623 467467
Fax 01623 450481
Email: publications@linney.com
Publications Code DP020775 April 2010
For more information on Edexcel and BTEC qualifications

please visit our website: www.edexcel.com
Edexcel Limited. Registered in England and Wales No. 4496750

Registered Office: One90 High Holborn, London WC1V 7BH. VAT Reg No 780 0898 07

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Specification

Edexcel Level 3 Principal Learning in Business,

Authorised by Roger Beard

Introduction to Edexcel’s Diplomas 1

How are the Diplomas structured? 2

Structure and aims of Principal Learning in Business,

Programme design and delivery 12

Access and recruitment 15

Professional development and training 17

List of annexes 209

What are the Diplomas?

Each Diploma will be available at three levels:

Foundation Diploma — 600 Guided Learning Hours (GLH)

Additional and specialist learning * 120 GLH

Higher Diploma — 800 Guided Learning Hours (GLH)

Additional and specialist learning * 180 GLH

Advanced Diploma — 1080 Guided Learning Hours (GLH)

Additional and specialist learning * 360 GLH

Progression Diploma (Level 3) — 720 Guided Learning Hours (GLH)

Functional skills and personal, learning and thinking skills (PLTS)

Additional and Specialist Learning (ASL)

The Edexcel Diplomas in Business, Administration and Finance: Principal

Edexcel Level 3 Principal Learning in Business, Administration and Finance

Unit Title GLH Assessment

Level Unit number(s) Unit title(s)

Calculation of the Principal Learning grade

Calculation of the Diploma grade

Delivery of applied learning

Personal, learning and thinking skills (PLTS)

Access and recruitment

Access arrangements and special considerations

Unit 1: Business Enterprise

Principal Learning unit

Guided Learning Hours: 90

What you need to learn

LO.3 Be able to Planning for a business involves making a number of important

Teaching this unit

Delivery guidance for LO.1

Delivery guidance for LO.2

Delivery guidance for LO.3

Delivery guidance for LO.4

Delivery guidance for LO.5

Delivery guidance for LO.6

Assessment information for learners

This unit will be assessed by an assignment connected to running a business enterprise.

Assessment information for assessors

Learning Marking Activity/section Evidence

Instructions and controls for taking assessment assignments

Setting Time Resources Supervision Collaboration Marking

Limited Limited Limited Medium Limited Medium

See Annexe E for further information.

Guidance for assessment

Assessment Mark Band 1 Mark Band 2 Mark Band 3 Maximum marks

(0–2) (3–4) (5–6) 6

• Each internally-assessed unit has either 60, 75 or 90 available marks in total.

Delivery of personal, learning and thinking skills (PLTS)

Skill When learners are …

Skill When learners are …

Functional skills — Level 2

ICT — Use ICT systems

ICT — Find and select

ICT — Develop, present and

Skill When learners are …

Unit 2: Business Administration and Events