TOPIC 1: NATURE OF BUSINESS

Role of business

Types of Businesses

Influences

Growth and Decline

​Business growth and decline

• stages of the business life cycle: establishment, growth, maturity, post-maturity
• responding to challenges at each stage of the business life cycle
• factors that can contribute to business decline
• voluntary and involuntary cessation - liquidation

Students need to be able to:

• identify actual businesses at different stages in the business life cycle
• outline possible business strategies appropriate for different stages in the business life cycle
• identify problems that arise for stakeholders when companies go into liquidation

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Business Life Cycle

TASK: Create your own diagram of the business life cycle using the syllabus terms:

• establishment
• growth
• maturity
• post-maturity

TASK: Map The PANDORA Story into a business life cycle diagram

TASK: Business Studies Report

Over the past 10 years, Sam and Helen have established a reputation for providing quality leather goods.  Increased competition and pressure from low-cost imports has seen sales for their business fall.  They have also failed to keep pace with changing consumer tastes and preferences.

Write a business report to the owners of the business, describing the stages of the business life cycle, the challenges that the owners have most likely already faced and suggest strategies for the business to enter a path of renewal.

To see some Band 5/6 examples of a business report written in an HSC Exam go to the BOS Sample Page and look at Q26.

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Business cessation

READ: 

• Why small businesses fail in Australia (Huffington Post)
• Top reasons for small business failure (smartcompany)
• How to save a failing business (smartcompany)

TASK: Choose one of the following activities.

1. Watch the Dumb Ways to Die video below.  Rewrite the lyrics to be Dumb Ways to Fail.
   
2. Produce a brochure for businesses to advise them on how to avoid business failure.
3. Design a board or computer game for How to Succeed in Business (and Avoid Failure).

CHALLENGE: Include the impact on stakeholders when businesses go into liquidation.  Otherwise do the next task.

TASK: Identify problems that arise for stakeholders when companies go into liquidation

Liquidation

READ: Closing a Business (Business Victoria)

TASK: 

1. Outline how liquidation occurs.
2. Find a recent company that has gone into liquidation in the smh or some other newspaper.
3. Discuss how the company ended up in liquidation.
4. Identify the impact the liquidation had on stakeholders.