Business Economics & Commerce

·Covered in this Diploma Program include:

Module 1 - Economic Systems and Activities

·The economic system, the focus of macroeconomics, microeconomics, business economics

·Planning and forecasting in business

·What influences wants and needs; utility; income

·The factors of production; uses and features of money

Module 2 - Demand & Supply

·Markets in business and economics, effects of price changes on the market

·Demand and quantity demanded, supply and quantity supplied, demand and supply curves

·Equilibrium price and quantity, and changes

·Factors affecting demand and supply

Module 3 - The Role of Commerce

·Commerce, goods and services, public and private sectors

·Enterprises, types of business units, companies, directors

·Commercial terms, capital, working capital, raising additional capital

·Types of income, the business plan

Module 4 - Price, Demand and Elasticity

·Price elasticity of demand, calculation, responsiveness, characteristics, use

·Price, quantity demanded, total expenditure, changes in total revenues

·Factors affecting price and price elasticity of demand, market structures

·Pricing objectives, pricing strategies, factors influencing prices, product factors

Module 5 - The Distributive Trade; Credit in Business; Discounts

·Channels of distribution, wholesale and retail trade and business

·Selecting the right channel(s) for products

·Credit policy, credit control, credit accounts, credit sale agreements, consumer protection acts

·Trade discount, RRP and list prices, quantity discount, other types of discount

Module 6 - Documents Used in Commerce

·Records, sources and types of information, their importance

·Business documents, business letters and forms

·Quotations, estimates and tenders, delivery notes, goods received notes

·Orders, order forms, invoices, proforma invoices, credit notes, statements of account, bank documents

Module 7 - Consumer Choice and Behaviour

·Determinants of consumer behaviour, preferences, incomes, budgets, prices

·Budget lines, possible purchases, trade-offs, forecasts and business predictions

·Consumer choice, utility, relative prices, marginal rate of substitution, indifference curves

·Price changes, cross price elasticity, substitution and income effects

Module 8 - Profit and Turnover

·Profits and capital, cost and selling prices, price setting by business people, the mark-up

·Profits and turnover, gross profit, its calculation, the trading account,

·Net profit, prime cost, indirect expenses, overheads, profit & loss account, distribution of profits

·Costs in manufacturing, types of fixed and variable costs, prime and supplementary costs

Module 9 - Business Finance

·The balance sheet, preparation, what it shows, layouts

·Interpreting financial statements, working capital, cash and funds flow, dangers of overtrading

·Accounting ratios, assessing the performance of a business

·Break-even analysis, minimum revenues, the break-even point, break-even charts

Module 10 - Production

·Considerations in production, the market, technology, processes, policy, product range, finance

·Production levels, the value of costing, optimum level, calculating production costs

·Economies of scale, horizontal, vertical and lateral integration, location, using resources

·Government involvement in commerce, reasons for involvement, taxation, rates

Module 11 - Commercial Services: Banking & Insurance

·Service providers, functions of a bank, banking and bank accounts, payments, charges

·Rates of interest, lending rate, bank credit facilities, loans, mortgages, overdrafts

·Insurance, risk, indemnity, types of risk, secondary functions of insurance

·Insurance contracts, classes of insurance, business insurance, categories of insurance

Module 12 - Transport, Communication, Advertising, Export & International Trade

·Transport, efficiency, rail, road, water, air, globalisation, documents used in transport

·Methods of communication, oral, written, mail, telecommunications, suitability

·Advertising and sales promotion, media, public relations

·International trade, export, government control, foreign exchange, duties, payments for exports