The Leaving Certificate Business course consists of seven units. Each of these seven units is divided into a number of distinct sub-units. These units and sub-units correspond to the syllabus, from which the leaving certificate papers are constructed each year. Within each of these sub-units, material is presented under a number of headings. These headings are taken from the syllabus. The student should learn the content matter of these headings.
Folder-large ring binder
Dividers
Book
Hardback copy
Unit 1. Introduction To People In Business
1.1; People and their relationships in business
1.2; Conflicting interests and how they are resolved
Unit 2. Enterprise
2.1; Introduction and definition of enterprise
2.2; Entrepreneurs and enterprise skills
Unit 3. Managing 1
3.1; Introduction and definition of management
3.2; Managers and management skills
3.3; Management activities
Unit 4. Managing 2
4.1; Household and business manager
4.2; Human resource management
4.3; Changing role of management
4.4; Monitoring the business
Unit 5. Business In Action
5.1; Identifying opportunities
5.2; Marketing
5.3; Getting started
5.4; Expansion
Unit 6. Domestic Environment
6.1; Categories of industry
6.2; Types of business organisations
6.3; Community development
6.4; Business and the economy
6.5; Government and business
6.6; Social responsibilities of business
Unit 7. International Environment
7.1; Introduction to the international trading environment
7.2; European union
7.3; International business.
Higher Level Paper
Section 1 – Short Answer Questions (80 marks). This section is compulsory.
Section 2 – Applied Business Question (80 marks). This section is compulsory.
Section 3 – Part 1: Questions 1,2 and 3 (60 marks)
Section 3 – Part 2: Questions 4,5,6 and 7 (60 marks)
Students must do section 1 and section 2. Then one question must be done from part 1, two questions must be done from part 2, and then a fourth question must be done from either part 2 or 3. Four long questions in total must be answered.
Exam Tip: The student is asked to answer 8 short questions out of the 10 given. However you should always do all 10 of the short questions. This allows you a mistake in a couple of your answers. Remember the best 8 will count.
Exam Tip: In the Applied Business Question always read the questions of the ABQ before reading the text. Underline the requirement of the question. This then makes the reading of the text a more meaningful read. Ideally you should read the text separately for each of the questions given. (A sample ABQ will be done at the end of the book)
Timing for the exam
For many years now I have met students coming out of the business exam commenting on how long the paper was and how impossible it was to get all the questions done in the three hours allowed. Some of them don’t even get a fourth question done. From the students point of view this must be disappointing and frustrating. However, what a lot of these students are really saying is that they spent too long on one or more of the questions. Time management is an important part of any exam, particularly one like business, which usually requires a lot of writing. In fact sometimes the difficulty for students is not that they don’t know something but rather that they know an awful lot about a certain topic and in fact must leave out some information that they know in order to complete a question in a reasonable time. It is hard for any student to leave out something that he/she knows but sometimes that is the reality. Remember it is possible to get maximum/very high marks in a question without going on and on. This book will be as much about exam preparation as a presentation of business information. At the end of each section I will present some exam/syllabus (remember the exam questions are taken from the syllabus) questions with marks assigned to them and show you how to answer these questions based on the marks assigned. Hopefully you will learn as you go through the book what you need to do the get maximum, or at least very high, marks in each question. The book will attempt to answer a very common question that a lot of students ask: “how much do I need to write?”
Total time available is 180 minutes for 400 marks. This works out as follows:
A 10 mark question 4 minutes
A 15 mark question 6 minutes
A 20 mark question 8 minutes
A 30 mark question 12 minutes
A 40 mark question 16 minutes
A 60 mark question 24 minutes
A 80 mark question 32 minutes
This timing structure allows 20 minutes for reading the paper, thinking, jotting down notes or themes, etc. Also a student could spend an extra couple of minutes on some question if necessary. It is possible that many students will find that they are able to do the Short Questions in a bit less than 32 minutes. This time saving could then be transferred to the Applied Business Question, which many students feel takes a bit longer than the 32 minutes allowed. Time discipline is very important.
Ordinary Level Paper
Section – Short Answer Questions (100 marks). This section is compulsory.
Section 2 – Part 1: Questions 1, 2 and 3 (75 marks)
Section 2 – Part 2: Questions 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 (75 marks)
Students must answer 10 out of the 15 short questions given in section 1. In part 1 of section 2 one question must be answered. Two questions must be answered from part 2. Then 1 question must be answered from either part 1 or part 2. Four long questions in total must be answered.
Exam Tip: Although asked to do 10 out of the 15 short questions you should always attempt to do the whole 15 if possible.
Exam Timing
Total time available is 150 minutes for 400 marks. This works out as follows:
A 10 mark question 3.5 minutes
A 20 mark question 7 minutes
A 30 mark question 10 minutes
A 75 mark question 25 minutes
A 100 mark question 35 minutes
This allows approximately 10–15 minutes for reading the paper.
Coláiste Éamann Rís 