About the course
This course introduces students to the world of business. Students will develop an understanding of the functions of business, including accounting, marketing, information and communication technology, human resources and production, and of the importance of ethics and social responsibility. This course builds a foundation for further studies in business and helps students develop the business knowledge and skills they will need in their everyday lives.
Introduction to Business
Course Credit
1
Course Price
$ 550.00
Course Developer
My Learning Oasis
Prerequisite(s) (Text)
None
Course Code
Department Head & Contact Information
BBI1O/BBI2O
Manisha Sharma (manisha@mylearningoasis.com)
Course Type
Open
Grade Level
Grade
9,10
Course Development Date
June 10th, 2021
Course Outline
The Basics of Business
This unit explores the fundamentals of a business and compares the characteristics of a small business to a large one. They will explore the benefits and detriments of owning a business versus franchising one. They will analyse how doing business with international companies affects the local businesses. They will explore how doing some of their transactions with foreing businesses can actually benefit the local businesses. They will explore what it takes to make a business venture successful, especially with international businesses being a fixture in every country.
Estimated Hours of Instructions: 25 hours
The Parts of a Business
In this unit students will explore the various parts that make up a business. They then look at these parts, such as, manufacturing, production rate, management, marketing, human resources, natural resources, designs, people’s skill, hierarchy, and political influences, and the relative importance they must play to ensure success. They will set up their own business in a group setting (fictitious or not) and start building it as the class progresses. In it, other groups or the teacher, on an on-going basis, may subject the business to various challenges, which they have to solve.
Estimated Hours of Instructions: 25 hours
Employer and Employee Relations
Students will explore what are the key characteristics of a company to attract great employees. They will examine what is needed to keep the employees safe mentally and physically. Students will explore what constitutes human rights violations and how companies can improve their relations with their employees. They will explore ethical and moral issues that may arise within a business and how to mitigate them.
Estimated Hours of Instructions: 12 hours
The Financial Side of Business
In this unit, students will examine all of the costs that may be associated with starting up and running a small business. They will be introduced to the concepts of fixed and variable costs.
They will first of all do a thorough market research on a business proposal that they may have (for a project). After evaluating the cost, they will build a business plan, which they will be introduced to. Students will then explore ways in which they can secure financing for their businesses. They will look at grants, loans, mortgages, inputs from venture capitalists, or partnerships. They will then evaluate if their business will be successful or not, after knowing the interest rates that financial institutions are going to give them.
Estimated Hours of Instructions: 23 hours
The Entrepreneurial Spirit
With the knowledge base that the students now have, they will now develop a more robust business model, including start-up costs, marketing costs, pofits, carrying cost for two years, assuming no profit will be made in the first two years. They will look at the traits of other similar businesses, successful or not, and draw similarities with their own.
Estimated Hours of Instructions: 16 hours
Final Assessment Project
This project is worth 30% of the final grade. Students will complete a business plan to help prepare them for the world of business.
Estimated Hours of Instructions: 9 hours
Total 110 hours
Resources
The course material (class notes and necessary handouts) will be provided by the teacher.
The students will be required to have:
● Access to a library or the Internet to do research.
● Access to internet as well as electronic devices for note taking and communication for those taking the class online.
Overall Curriculum Expectations
A. Business Fundamentals
A1 demonstrate an understanding of how businesses respond to needs, wants, supply, and demand
A2 compare types of businesses
A3 demonstrate an understanding of ethics and social responsibility in business
A4 demonstrate an understanding of the benefits and challenges for Canada in the field of international business
B. Functions of a Business
B1 explain the role of production in business
B2 explain the role of human resources in business
B3 demonstrate an understanding of sound management practices in business
B4 demonstrate an understanding of the importance and role of marketing in business
B5 demonstrate an understanding of the importance and role of accounting in business
B6 demonstrate an understanding of the importance and role of information and communication technology in business
C. Finance
C1 demonstrate an understanding of income and spending issues facing individuals and businesses
C2 demonstrate an understanding of how banks and other financial institutions operate
C3 demonstrate an understanding of effective investment practices
C4 analyse the role and importance of credit in personal and business finance
D. Entrepreneurship
D1 describe characteristics and skills associated with successful entrepreneurs and demonstrate an understanding of the contributions to Canadian business of selected entrepreneurs
D2 analyse the importance of invention and innovation in entrepreneurship
Special Accommodations
Only Some students are able, with accommodations, to be part of a regular course curriculum and to demonstrate independent learning.
These accommodations allow access to the course without any dilution of the knowledge and skills the student is expected to demonstrate. These required accommodations to facilitate the student’s learning will be identified in his or her IEP (see IEP Standards, 2000, page 11*).
It is likely that IEP for many or all courses will reflect the same accommodations. The instructions and accommodations are geared to meet the diverse needs of learners. The three types of accommodations that are going to be used are:
i) Instructional accommodations - changes in teaching/learning strategies facilitated by different styles of presentation; methods of organization; the use of technology and multimedia.
ii) Environmental accommodations - Certain classroom settings and preferential seating may benefit these students.
iii) Assessment: assessment procedures that enable the student to demonstrate his or her learning, such as Multiple Intelligence Theory, giving more time to complete tasks (see page 29 of the IEP Resource Guide, 2004, for more examples). For students who require accommodations for only the mathematics courses, the assessment and evaluation of their achievement will be based on the appropriate course curriculum expectations and the achievement levels outlined in this document. The IEP box on the students’ Provincial Report Cards will not be checked, and no information on the provision of accommodations will be included.
* Taken from: Ministry of Education, Ontario. Extracted from The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 and 10: Business Studies, 2006; (Pg 21-22) Date of extraction: Sunday, March 14, 2021
Program Considerations For English Language Learners
Students from a variety of cultural and linguistic backgrounds. For many of these students, English is not their spoken language. They may be coming from highly sophisticated educational systems, while others may have come from regions where access to formal schooling was limited. These students offer a rich addition to the classroom experience by way of their background knowledge and experience. All teachers will assist with their English- language development. In mathematics the teachers will include appropriate adaptations and strategies in their instructions and assessments to facilitate the success of the English language learners in their classrooms. Some of these strategies and adaptations are: modification of some or all of the course expectations so that they are challenging but attainable for the learner at his or her present level of English proficiency, given the necessary support from the teacher.
Teaching/Learning Strategy
The key learning strategy at My Learning Oasis Elite Private School is Constructivism. This format facilitates learning by many techniques, most or all of which will be adopted in the classroom. The most dominant of these is group learning. The facilitator places students of different backgrounds in the same group so that they can feed off each other. Each may bring to the table a different reasoning strategy to facilitate problem-solving. Now, each student becomes a learner and a teacher at the same time, as he/she has to communicate his/her solution. This builds the students' knowledge base and by default, increases their confidence to speak in a crowd, albeit a small group at the beginning. The famous educationalist, Vygotsky, proved that by placing students in a group they function at the upper level of their zone of proximal development, each one scaffolding the other. This strategy is further enhanced by the teacher asking leading questions as opposed to giving the answer outright, then allowing for group discussion.
The students are encouraged to make connections between what they have learnt and their life experiences, then share with the group. The effect of this strategy is intrinsic motivation and learning. Each student develops an expanded appreciation of the topic at hand by seeing how it applies in different settings around the world by way of listening to their group members. This Constructivist approach will be further accentuated by implementing “fish-bowling”. There are many ways to implement this technique. The one that will mostly be used will be by dividing up the larger problem (technical, mathematics, science, or otherwise) into smaller bits and have each student thoughtfully master one part. That student then teaches the group and facilitates a discussion reflection about the strategy (computational or otherwise) used in the solution. Each student in turn does this.
The above techniques enable students to reflect on the material learnt, make real life connections, and develop problem solving skills. One important by-product of the technique of Constructivism is that each student develops an appreciation of each other’s culture. This cultivates healthy people’s skill, which is not only important for the professional world but for life itself.
Constructivism lends itself well to students whose first language is not the language of instruction and who is new to the class. While other strategies will be used for students having difficulty with the English Language, this technique will definitely be used to enhance their English skill.
Assessment And Evaluation
At My Learning Oasis, course facilitators do not wait for a quiz or exam to determine how well a student is doing. Here, evaluation is an on-going exercise. The pedagogical techniques (refer to Teaching and Learning Strategies) used at My learning Oasis are perhaps the best techniques suited for on-going assessment, hence, they being an integral part of our delivery methodologies. Concrete assessments are made through projects and assignments.
However, the evaluation is based on “our flavor” of the Mastery Teaching technique. This ensures that the emphasis is on the quality of learning and NOT grading. Students' projects and homework will continuously be evaluated and re-evaluated with appropriate guidance to meet the school’s and Ministry’s expectations.
At My Learning Oasis, we will work with the students until the projects meet a minimum of a B-grade, unless in extreme circumstances where the willful negligence of the students force lower grades. While this is a lot more taxing on the facilitator, it does not matter because My Learning Oasis is a Learner-centered institution NOT a Grade-Centered nor a Teacher-Centered institution. Four categories of knowledge and skills are outlined in the achievement chart - knowledge and understanding, thinking, communication, and application. Student’s work is assessed and evaluated with respect to these categories, and that achievement of particular expectations is considered within the appropriate categories. A final grade will then be recorded for this course and if that grade is 50% or higher, a credit is granted to the student and recorded for this course. The final grade for this course will be determined as follows:
● For material evaluated throughout the course, seventy percent of the grade will be assigned. This portion of the grade should reflect the student's consistency in his/her level of achievement throughout the course, although special consideration should be given to more recent evidence of achievement.
● Thirty percent of the grade will be based on a final evaluation, which is administered towards the end of the course
Final Exam 30%
Grading for all course work, projects, presentation, participation, interim quizzes and exams 70%
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