Introduction to POB
Yvonne Harvey, Contributor

Students from select communities pose with Commissioner of Police, Lucius Thomas, (left in back row); Deputy Commissioner of Police, Jevene Bent, and Acting Assistant Commissioner of Police, Leon Rose. The students received their scholarships from the commissioner at his annual presentation ceremony on the lawn of his Old Hope Road office in St. Andrew, recently. - Norman Grindley /Deputy Chief Photographer

Hello my friends. Those of you who were successful in the May/June 2006 exams must be really pleased.

However, if you were not successful, there is always next year. Do not give up.

Welcome to another session of lessons in principles of business. Whether you will be doing the exam in 2007 or 2008, I hope this will be beneficial to you.

Please note that those of you who will sit the exam in 2008 will be examined in the subject based on a revised syllabus. This syllabus is now available.

Please ensure that you obtain your personal copy. If you are doing the exam in 2007, you should use the syllabus effective for teaching from September 1997 for examinations from May/June 1999.

This introductory lesson will consist of the fundamentals of principles of business. Let me begin with an outline of the general objectives of the course at the general and basic proficiencies.

The general objectives of the principles of business syllabus are as follows:

1. To help candidates gain insight in, and develop an understanding of business practices.

2. To help candidates develop an understanding of the role of business practices in the socio-economic systems of the Caribbean.

3. To expose candidates to a perspective which is intended to help them appreciate how their own subsequent career roles or functions will contribute to the economic structure of their territory.

4. To enable candidates to make sound decisions as consumers of goods and services through insight gained into business practice.

5. To provide the candidates with the necessary background for study in specialised areas of business.

Principles of business is examined at two levels, the basic proficiency and the general proficiency. The general proficiency examination requires a greater depth of knowledge and analysis than the basic proficiency examination and is therefore usually attempted by students whose aim is to proceed to advanced business courses such as CAPE management of business and CAPE economics. At both levels, the syllabus is extensive; therefore much serious work needs to be done.

The principles of business syllabus is divided into 13 units, under THREE sections as follows:

PROFILE 1 (Section A) Organisational Principles (units1-4)

PROFILE 2 (Section B) Production and Marketing (units 5-7)

PROFILE 3 (Section C) Finance and Introduction to economics (units 8-13)

Your syllabus will indicate the topics under each section/profile and the personal or learning objectives that pertain to these areas.

At the end of your course, you will be examined in three separate papers as follows:

PAPER 1 - The multiple-choice paper. There will be 60 multiple-choice questions for both basic and general proficiencies. The syllabus will explain the exact breakdown of these questions under each proficiency. You will be given 1 1/2 hours to complete this paper.

PAPER 2 - The essay paper. This paper is divided into two sections. Section one has three compulsory questions, one from each profile/section mentioned above. There will be six questions in section two, two under each of the profile headings. You are required to answer one question from each profile, that is, three questions in all. You will be given two hours for the Basic Proficiency and 2 1/2 hours for the General Proficiency. I will discuss the marks given for each question under each section and profile as we approach the time of the examinations.

PAPER 3 - The School Based Assessment (SBA) or Case study examination (3) consists of the SBA project or for private candidates it will consist of answering questions on a case given in the examination. This paper, for all candidates, whether Basic or General Proficiency will account for 20 per cent of the final marks.

Your teacher/lecturer will guide you at an early stage regarding this paper. Further guidance is also given in many of the principles of pusiness textbooks, for example, CXC Principles of Business by Karlene Robinson and Sybile Hamil. Some additional information can be obtained from economics textbooks. This is especially so for profile three of the SBA.

The total requirements of both proficiencies mean that students should aim to complete the ENTIRE syllabus before attempting the examination.

Now that you have it straight in your minds what is required of you in the final analysis, we can begin to go through some of the areas on the syllabus. We will begin next week on PROFILE 1 (Section A) Organisational Principles. Unit 1, The Nature of Business and the Business Environment, will be our first task. You may wish to do some reading in preparation for this lesson.

See you next week.