Zimbabwe Lower 6 Curriculum - Business Studies

The Zimbabwe Lower 6 Business Studies curriculum, part of the Advanced Level program, covers the following key areas:

1. Business and the Environment: This section explores the nature and purpose of business activity, encompassing different levels (primary, secondary, tertiary) and sectors (public, private). It also examines legal structures like sole traders, partnerships, cooperatives, and limited companies. Economic systems (free market, command, mixed), international business, privatization, business size and growth, business strategy (objectives, constraints, and causes of success/failure), stakeholders, and corporate culture are also covered.

2. Managing Human Resources: This section delves into organizational structures (functional, divisional, matrix), motivation theories, leadership styles, management functions, business communication, and human resource management practices (labor relations, health and safety, training, and development).

3. Marketing: This section focuses on market analysis (size, segmentation, share, competitors), research and development, niche vs. mass marketing, demand concepts (elasticity), product portfolio planning (product life cycle, Boston and Ansoff Matrices), and the marketing mix (product, price, place, promotion).

4. Operations Management: This section covers production stages, location decisions, production processes (capital vs. labor intensity), productivity measurement, work study, production methods (job, batch, flow), capacity utilization, costing approaches (absorption, contribution), break-even analysis, stock management, operational efficiency (economies of scale, lean production), and quality control/assurance.

5. Business Finance and Accounting: This section explores the need for business finance (start-up capital, expansion, capital expenditure vs. revenue expenditure, working capital), sources of finance (short-term, long-term, internal, external), money and capital market institutions (banks, stock exchange, World Bank, IMF), the need for business accounts, published accounts (balance sheets, profit and loss accounts, cash flow statements), ratio analysis (profitability, liquidity, financial efficiency, gearing, investor ratios), investment appraisal (payback, average rate of return, discounted cash flow), managing cash flows, budgets and budgeting, and business plans.

6. Information for Decision Making: This section examines sources of information, data collection, presentation methods (tables, graphs, charts), data analysis (decision trees, time series analysis, network analysis, cost-benefit analysis, investment appraisal, linear programming), and information technology.