Principles of Business course outline based on the CSEC Principles of Business Syllabus effective from September 2017. The outline covers the course content for Grades 9 - 11.

1. Principles of Business
CURRICULUMFORMS3 - 5
A division of the Caribbean Secondary Education
Certificate Syllabus
Effective September 2017
Based on the followingallocationof periods
Form 3 3 – 35 minutes periods per week
Form 4 & 5 5 – 35 minutes periods per week

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Business Education Officer
Introduction
This curriculum breaks down the content of the CSEC Syllabus over a three year period. It should be
used in conjunction with the CSEC Syllabus.
Purpose
The purpose is to standardize when the content of CSEC Syllabus is being taught in all secondary
schools.
Teaching Strategies
In order to cater for the different learning styles in the classroom, teachers are urged to use various
teaching strategies and styles to meet the individual needs of their students. Besides the usual “chalk
and talk” teachers should try to incorporate as many of the following strategies:
● Independent Activities
● Cooperative Learning
● Visuals
● Simulations
● Peer Tutoring
● Hands-on
● Technology Integration
● Projects
● Games
Along with the different teaching styles there should be a variety of class activities to evaluate your
lessons to include:
❖ Questions & Answers
❖ Puzzles
❖ Quiz
❖ Games
❖ Web Quest
❖ Test
❖ Book Quest

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FORM 3
SECTION TOPIC CONTENT
1
Term 1
The Nature of
Business
a) Concepts, advantages and disadvantages of barter
b) brief history of trading instruments form subsistence
economy, including the use of the following
- bills of exchange - credit cards
- electronic transfer - tele-banking and e-
commerce
- cheques -money order
-debit card -bank draft
- bank transfers -telegraphic money
transfer
-M- money/mobile money and mobile wallets
c) reasons for establishing a business
d) forms of business organizations and arrangements
definition, formation, management and
characteristics of
- sole trader - partnership
- Co-operatives
- Companies (including privates and public
limited companies)
- franchise
e) types of economic systems
- traditional - command or planned
- free or capitalist - mixed (public and private)
f) Functional areas of a business
- Production
- Marketing
- Finance
- Human Resource
- Resource and Development
g) owners, employees, customers and all other
members of society

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h) Ethical and legal issues relating to the
establishment and operation of a business
i) Ethical and legal principles that must be adopted in
the establishment and operation of a business
j) The negative effects of unethical and illegal
practices on the business
- Misleading advertisements- unfair and
fraudulent practice on the population
- Withholding of tax- cheating the
government of revenue
- Unethical disposal of waste- pollution
- Money laundering- distortions in the
national economy
k) Careers in the fields of business
2
Term 1/2
Internal
Organization
Environment
a) Functional areas of a business
- production - finance
-marketing - personnel
b) The functions of management
- planning -organizing
-directing -controlling
-coordinating -delegating
-motivating
c) Management responsibilities to
- owners and shareholders -society
-employees -costumers
-government
d) The construction of simple organizational charts
- Line and staff
- Functional
- Line
d) the interpretation of simple organizational charts
- Chain of command
-Span of control
e) The characteristics of a good leader
f) The advantages and disadvantages of different leadership
styles:

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- Autocratic
- Democratic
- Laissez-Faire
g) Internal sources of conflict
h) Employer strategies and strategies used by employees
i) Conflict resolution strategies including mediation,
Arbitration and the value of trade union representation.
Grievance procedure
j) guidelines for establishing good relations between
managers and employees
-good communication with workers
-improve working conditions
-motivating workers
-practice good leadership
- financial methods
- non-financial methods
k) the value of teamwork within an organization
- definition - advantages
- disadvantages
l) The communication process and strategies for effective
communication within an organization
4
Term 2/3
Legal aspects
of business
a) definition and concepts of a contract
- Simple
- Specialty
b) offer and acceptance,competence of parties,
intentions to create legalrelations, consideration
c) Characteristics of a specialty contract
d) special contracts including mortgages, sale of land
and insurance
e) use of case studies of determine the validity of
contracts
f) concepts of offer and invitation to treat
g) concepts of offer and acceptance
h) definition of discharge, types of discharge and
methods of discharge

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i) Preparation of various business documents,
including pro forma invoices, purchase requisitions,
statements of accounts and stock cards.
j) the concept of subrogation
k) the concept of proximate cause
l) the concept of pooling of risks
m) the concept of indemnity
n) the concept of utmost good faith
o) the concept of contribution
p) the concept of insurable interest
q) the value of insurance coverage in lowering the
risks associated with business

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Business Education Officer
FORM 4
SECTION TOPIC CONTENT
5
Term 1
Production
a) Factors of production: Land, Labour, Capital,
Enterprise/ entrepreneurial skill
b) Caribbean industries developed from agricultural
produce, mining, fishing and other areas
c) Differentiate between production and productivity
d) Explain the importance of productivity
e) Role of capital in production
f) Differentiate amongst types of capital
- Fixed
- Working
- Venture capital
g) Productivity as it relates to the efficiency of labour
h) Production levels: subsistence, domestic
consumption, surplus and export
i) types of production
- extractive - construction
- manufacturing - service
j) Cottage industries
- home-based - mainly manual
- small scale - use of local raw materials
-use of family members labour
k) Linkage industries
- backward - forward
l) Functions of a small business
m) Advantages and disadvantages of small business

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n) Explain how a rows internally and externally
o) Growth of a Business and effects on
- organizational structure - capital
- labour - scale of production
- use of technology - potential for export
6
Terms 1/2 Marketing
a) Definition of market and marketing
- New Trends such as social media marketing
and integrated marketing must be included
b) Marketing activities
- market research
i) Consumer taste
ii) Competition
iii) Consumer behaviour
- pricing
- packaging - branding
- sales promotion - advertising
- distribution
c) Marketing mix
- product - price
- place - promotion
d) Market Research
- concept - definition
e) Reasons for conducting market research. Identification of
- consumer taste - competition
- consumer behaviour
f) Factors that influence consumer behaviour
- price - price of substitutes
-quality - taste
-tradition - income
- spending patterns - brand loyalty
g) concept of trademark
h)concept of industrial design
i) concept of copyright
- producers or entrepreneurs - consumers

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j) concept of patent
k) methods of promoting sales
- advertising
i. Functions and forms
ii. Promotion including trading stamps and coupons,
loyalty points, rebates,bundling
iii. Loss leaders
iv. Social media
- public relations including business entertainment and the
offering of special awards and sponsorship
- sales promotion - personal selling
l) Selling
- salesmen and their approaches
- merchandising and adjusting of pricing policy
- methods of retailing: shops, department stores, mail
order, e-commerce,tele-marketing, vending machines
m) Terms of Sales
- cash - credit
- hire purchase - cash and trade discount
- Layaway - Consignment
n) Functions of consumer organizations
- the rights and protection of consumers( private
organizations and government)
- role of quality control organizations the Bureau of
Standards
- role of the Ombudsman
o) The roles of customer service
p) Forms of customer service
- Warranty
- After sales service
- Feedback
- Online chat
- Toll Free numbers/ call centers
- Surveys
8
Term 2
Business
Finance
a. Financial Institutions
Central Bank
Commercial Banks
Non-bank financial institutions
Micro-lending agencies

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Business Education Officer
Government agencies
Services offered by financial institutions
Night safe deposits
Online banking
Advisory services
Credit and debit cards
trustee work
deposit boxes
ATM/ABM services
E-trade
Settlement services
Remittance services
b. Functions of by financial institutions
Loans/credit facilities
Savings and deposits
Making payments
Investments
c. Regulatory role of the CentralBank in its dealings
with commercial banks
d. Roles and functions of Financial Regulatory Bodies
i) Central Bank
ii) Jamaica Deposit Insurance Company
( JDIC)
iii) Financial Services Commission (FSC)
e. Ways of managing personal income
- Savings
- Investment
- Financial advising
- Allocation of income relative to
commitments through the use of a budget
f. forms of savings
g. forms of investments
h. Types of short and long term financing
- Loans government agencies
- mortgages, debentures, shares,insurance,
investment and unit trusts
i. Personalsource of capital
- Friends and family

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- Personalsavings
- Government grants
- Loans
- Equity
- Venture Capital
- Crowd funding
j. Types of bookkeeping systems( single and double
entry)
k. Explain the purpose of basic financial statements:
income statement ( profit and loss) and statement of
financial position ( balance sheet); statement of cash
flow

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Business Education Officer
3
Term 3
Establishing
a Business
a. The concept of entrepreneurship
b) Role of the entrepreneur in conceptualizing,
planning, accessing funds, organizing, operating
and evaluating the Performance of a business
c) Importance of entrepreneurial organizational skills
d) The role of the entrepreneur in economic
development
e) Personaltraits and leadership qualities
- creative - innovative
- flexible - goal-oriented
- persistent - persevering
propensity to take calculated risks
f) Reasons for wanting to start a business
-desire for financial independence
- self-fulfilment - self-actualization
g) steps for establishing a business
- conceptualization - research
-identification of resources -creation of business
plan
- acquisition of funds - operation of the business
h) Reasons for preparing a business plan
- To ensure that carefulresearch is conducted
into the feasibility of the business
- To attract potential investors
- To source financing
- To guide the operations of the business
when making decisions
i) Elements of a business
j) Primary and secondary sources for conducting
research
k) Reason why a feasibility study
l) Explain the relationship between planning and the
operation of a business
- The necessity for short-term, medium-term
and long –term planning in operating a business
m) Regulatory practices instituted by governments for
the establishment and conduct of different types of
businesses
- Local, regional and global rules for
establishing and conducting business, including
local government(municipal, village council, parish

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Business Education Officer
council regulations)
n) Factors affecting location of a business
- geographical
- Availability of raw materials and supplies
- Infrastructure
- Power and water
- Telecommunications
- Transport
- Health facilities
- Labour supply
- Governmental regulation
o) Explain the significance of collateral in accessing
capital to establish a business
- Concept
- Evaluation of different types
- The value of collateral

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Business Education Officer
FORM 5
SECTION TOPIC CONTENT
8
Term 1
Role of
Government in
an Economy
a) Responsibilities of government in an economy
- security of the State
-protection and general welfare of citizens
-job security and severance benefits to workers
-protection of the environment
-maintenance of a safe environment for investors
- regulation of business activity in terms of providing clear
guidelines as how to set up businesses
b) Adherence by businesses to laws
c) Consumer protection legislation
d) Direct taxes and indirect taxes
i) Direct taxes refer to those taxes where the burden of the
taxes and the payments of them fall on the same
individual. This type of tax is usually applied to income
and capital and is paid by individuals. Examples of
direct taxes: Income tax, Corporation tax, Capital gains
tax, capital transfer tax
ii) Indirect tax refers to those taxes where the burden and
payment of the taxes fall on different individuals. This
type of taxes is levied on goods and services and is
usually paid by the manufactures or importers.
Examples of indirect taxes: Custom duty, Excise duty,
Purchase tax, Stamp duty, Consumption tax such as
GCT, SCT and VAT
e) Purpose for taxation
- To curb inflation by reducing the supply of
money in the economy
- To remove competition from local g remove
competition from local good in order to protect infant or
fledgling industries by taxing imports at high rates

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- To lower employment by encouraging persons to
buy local produce thus encouraging linkages among
sectors
- To achieve greater equality in the distribution of
wealth and income by taxing the higher income earners
so as to provide social services for the majority of
citizens
f) Forms of government assistance to business
- lending capital and technical assistance
- training and human resource development
- research and information centres
- subsidies and grants
g) Impact of social services provided by government
- health care - National Insurance Scheme
- education - roads and transportation
7
Term 1
Logistics and
Supply
Chain
a) Definition of:
- Logistics
- Supply Chain operations
b) Explanation of the components of
logistics: forward and reverse flow of
goods; storage of goods; services such as
insurance and related information
between destinations
c) The distribution chain
- Manufacturer
- Wholesaler
- Retailer
- Consumer
d) Modes of transportation and their
suitability for different goods
- Air
- Rail
- Road
- Marine( cruise and cargo)
- Pipeline
- Digital delivery
e) Transport documents including import licenses, bill of
lading and airways
f) Role to fast track sourcing of commodities; ensure
security of supply; cost of reduction

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g) Importance of transport in domestic, regional and
foreign trade
h) Advantages and Disadvantages of supply chain
operations
- Advantages: better quality of life; wealth
creation; new and innovative job opportunity including
entrepreneurship, for example telemarketing
- Disadvantages: globalization, counterfeiting,
product complexity, rapid product obsolescence,
regulatory complexity, management blunders, changing
market conditions, natural disasters, and political
instability
- Logistics improve competitiveness
- Competitive advantages
- Comparative cost advantage outsourcing through
i) Second party
ii) Third party
iii) Fourth party
i) Problems likely to be encountered in distribution
- Relationship between the availability of airports,
habour and docking facilities and the efficient
distribution of goods.
- Delayed shipment, spoilage, misdirection of
goods, inadequate warehousing facilities, lack facilities,
lack of proper security measures, industrial unrest, and
ineffective communication
j) Measures to mitigate problems in distribution
k) Forms of technology
- Portnet
- Telemarketing, e-commerce
- Global logistics providers such as Fedex, DHL,
and Amazon Logistics
- Logistics hubs
10
Technology
and Global
Business
Environment
a) Definition and concept of business technology
b) Roles of technology in a business
c) Ways in which technology has influenced banking and
commerce
d) Types of technology
- Traditional
- Digital Communication technologies
e) Definition of e-commerce and e-business
f) Ways in which technology which technology can

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improve business
- Speed and time
- Easier storage
- Improved sharing of information
- Automation
g) Benefits of technology to business
h) Consequences of unethical use of ICT
- Security
- Privacy
- Distraction
- Impact on human
- Intellectual property infringement
i) Indicators of a country’s standard of living (SOL)
- Level of consumption of goods and services
- Average disposable income of the population
- Level of national ownership of capital
equipment
- Access to modern technology
- Level of investment in research and technology
j) Indicators of quality of life (QOL)
-Extent of security enjoyed (level of crime)
- Availability of health, educational and
recreational facilities
- Diet and nutrition
- Life expectancy
- Rate of infant mortality
- Access to public utilities such as electricity,
portable water and technology
k) Define and explain how concepts after growth and
development and impact standard of living and quality
of life.
- National Income (NI)
- Gross National Product (GDP)
- Gross Domestic Product(GNP)
- Per Capita (PI)
l) How education can improve the workforce leading to
increase in output.
m) Reasons why countries trade with each other
n) Major Economic Institutions and Systems:
- Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
- Caribbean Single Market and Economy(CSME)

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- Caribbean Development Bank (CDB)
- World Bank
- International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development(IBRD)
- Organization of American States(OAS)
- International Monetary Fund (IMF)
- World Trade Organization(WTO)
o) Major economic problems in the Caribbean
p) Possible solutions of economic problems
- access to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
- development of human resources
- development of manufacturing sector
Students should be tested using past paper question under exam conditions.
Teachers shouldfollow the guidelines for the SBA Assignments as outlined in the
Syllabus. Students should be given clearguidelines on their SBA Projects as
outlined in the Syllabus. The SBA component should begin no later than Term 1
in Form 5.
Term 2 Form 5 should be used for completion of SBA Projects, revisionand
further practice of PastPapers.