© Boardworks Ltd 2012 1 of 14 1.2 The Business Context in which Organizations Operate Unit 1: Business Purpose 1.2 The Business Context in which Organizations

© Boardworks Ltd 20121 of 14

1.2 The Business Context in which Organizations OperateUnit 1: Business Purpose

1.2 The Business Context in which Organizations Operate

Unit 1: Business Purpose



Contents


For more detailed instructions, see the Getting Started presentation

Teacher’s notes included in the Notes Page

Flash activity (these activities are not editable) Extension activity Web addresses

SoundPLTS


The growth and decline of the sectors

The decline of primary and secondary industries

The growth of the tertiary sector

In this section, you will consider the relative growth and decline of businesses in the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors.



Profitable business

This is because businesses:

What sort of businesses do you think are the most profitable in the UK today?

Within the UK, certain types of business activity are more common than others.

are attracted towards activities that are profitable

avoid activities that are not profitable.


Growth and decline


Assignment: In the news!


In the news! Businesses in growth and decline

Currently in the UK there is a general decline in thenumber of businesses that deal with raw materials, but a growth in those which provide services.

In 2009, for example, over 14 times more people were employed in jobs in distribution, restaurants and hotels than in jobs connected to agriculture, forestry or fishing.

Look for recent news articles about businesses which are in growth or decline.

What type of business activity are these businesses involved in?

What do you think the reasons are behind their growth and decline?


What does this graph suggest about the growth and decline of the different sectors?

UK employment by sector


Trends in business activity: employment

In the past, Britain was more dependent on the primary and secondary sectors for income and jobs.

An increase in employment in a sector usually means that sector is growing.

Can you think of any reasons why increased employment in a sector might be a misleading

indication of overall performance?

Today, the fastest growing sector in the UK is the tertiary sector, representing over 80% of the workforce.


What does this graph suggest about the growth and decline of the different sectors?

UK output by sector


Trends in business activity: output


Decline: primary and secondary sectors


Growth: tertiary sector

The growth in the tertiary sector has occurred for a number of reasons:

Increases in disposable income have resulted in consumers spending more money on services, e.g. in restaurants, at the cinema, or on holidays.

Many tertiary businesses in the UK sell their services abroad as well as at home.

The tertiary sector has less scope for automation than the primary and secondary sectors, meaning that workers cannot be as easily replaced by machines.

Can you think of any tertiary businesses on which automation might have had a negative impact?


technological developments(new gadgets are brought out, and demand shifts to these, as the older versions become out-of-date).

Changes in business activity

The reasons for the growth and decline of business activities are constantly changing. They are particularly affected by:

How has each of the above factors affected the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors?

consumer wants and needs(influenced by trends, seasons, lifestyle and advertising)

number of people employed in the business(whether activity relies on manpower or automation)

value of the goods and services provided(how expensive they are and whether they are considered good value for money)


Wheel of Misfortune

Documents

© Boardworks Ltd 2012 1 of 14 1.2 The Business Context in which Organizations Operate Unit 1: Business Purpose 1.2 The Business Context in which Organizations