Business Studies 12 – TERM 1 – WEEK 1 – Micro environment

Micro environment

• The various components and features of the micro (internal) business environment
– Vision, mission statement, goals and objectives
– Organisational culture
– Organisational resources
– Management and leadership
– Business organisational structure
– Eight functions and activities of the business
• The eight business functions (general management, purchasing, production, marketing, public relations, human resources, administration and financing)
– General Management – (top, middle and lower management); levels of management and management tasks (planning, organising, activating, leading, directing and controlling) including risk management
o Business organisational structure
o The responsibilities of the various levels of management and the alignment between these levels
– Administration – handling of information/data, management of information, office practice and information technology e.g. computers, faxes, phones, etc.
– Financing – classification of types of financing, sources of financing, budgeting, introduction to investments, types of capital
– Purchasing: procedures, activities of purchasing functions, cash and credit stock control. The stipulations (nature/purpose/rights and responsibilities/remedies, if any) of the National Credit Act 34 of 2005 and the National Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008, and
their impact on the purchasing and marketing functions
– Public Relations: importance of public relations, methods of PR/
media, brochures, direct contact, etc.
• The role and importance of the functions within the business
• The relationship between the business functions and how these functions differ in the different types of enterprises (e.g. sole trader versus departments in large industries)
– Organisational resources e.g. human, physical/material, financial and information resources
• The interrelation between the business functions and how they operate in small, medium and big business contexts
• The levels of general management and the tasks associated with each level; use this information to analyse management levels within a public or private organisation

• The concept of quality – (definition)
– Quality in relation to the various business functions
o Quality in the Human Resources function
o Quality products
o Quality administration processes
o Quality and a healthy financial function
o Quality management, i.e. planning, organising, leading and controlling
o Quality promotion of business image and its impact on different business structures (sole traders versus large businesses)
• The correlation between management and the success of business in
achieving its objectives; strengths and weaknesses