10 topics · specification 7131/7132 · explanations and examiner marking in AQA’s own language
Studying AQA A-Level Business? Pick your board once and every answer, mark and flashcard elid gives you follows that specification. Free to start, no card needed. Open elid →
This is the full AQA A-Level Business specification, code 7131/7132, as elid holds it — 10 topics, each with the terminology AQA marks against. Every explanation and every mark elid gives you is written against this list, not a generic A-level one, because the same question answered in CAIE, Edexcel or OCR language loses marks it should have earned.
The AQA A-Level Business specification, topic by topic
What is business?
Assessed in Paper 1, 2, 3
Specification terms elid matches
Business objectives
Profit
Cash flow
Revenue
Costs
Sole trader
Partnership
Private limited company (Ltd)
Public limited company (Plc)
Ordinary share capital
Market capitalisation
Dividends
Interest rates
Demographic factors
Named studies and theories
Shareholder theory
Stakeholder theory
Managers, leadership and decision making
Assessed in Paper 1, 2, 3
Specification terms elid matches
Management styles
Leadership styles
Autocratic
Democratic
Laissez-faire
Paternalistic
Blake Mouton grid
Tannenbaum Schmidt continuum
Decision trees
Opportunity cost
Expected value
Net gains
Stakeholder mapping
Named studies and theories
Blake & Mouton (1964)
Tannenbaum & Schmidt (1958)
Mendelow (1991)
Marketing performance
Assessed in Paper 1, 2, 3
Specification terms elid matches
Marketing objectives
Market size
Market share
Market growth
Market segmentation
Targeting
Positioning
STP
Niche marketing
Mass marketing
Price elasticity of demand (PED)
Income elasticity of demand (YED)
Marketing mix (7 Ps)
Product life cycle
Named studies and theories
Boston Consulting Group
Product Life Cycle Model
Operational performance
Assessed in Paper 1, 2, 3
Specification terms elid matches
Operational objectives
Capacity utilisation
Labour productivity
Unit cost
Lean production
Just-in-time (JIT)
Quality assurance
Quality control
Total Quality Management (TQM)
Capital-intensive
Labour-intensive
Inventory control
Lead time
Reorder level
Named studies and theories
Lean Management
TQM principles
Financial performance
Assessed in Paper 1, 2, 3
Specification terms elid matches
Financial objectives
Gross profit
Operating profit
Profit for the year
Gross profit margin
Operating profit margin
Profit for the year margin
Cash flow forecast
Net cash flow
Break-even point
Contribution per unit
Margin of safety
Return on capital employed (ROCE)
Gearing ratio
Named studies and theories
Ratio analysis
Break-even model
Human resource performance
Assessed in Paper 1, 2, 3
Specification terms elid matches
HR objectives
Labour turnover
Labour retention
Absenteeism
Job design
Hackman and Oldham job characteristics model
Taylor scientific management
Mayo human relations school
Maslow hierarchy of needs
Herzberg two-factor theory
Financial motivators
Non-financial motivators
Works councils
Trade unions
Named studies and theories
Hackman & Oldham (1976)
Taylor (1911)
Mayo (1933)
Maslow (1943)
Herzberg (1959)
Strategic position
Assessed in Paper 1, 2, 3
Specification terms elid matches
SWOT analysis
PESTLE analysis
Porter's Five Forces
Threat of substitute products
Threat of New entrants
Bargaining power of buyers
Bargaining power of suppliers
Intensity of competitive rivalry
Named studies and theories
Porter (1979)
Strategic direction
Assessed in Paper 1, 2, 3
Specification terms elid matches
Ansoff matrix
Market penetration
Market development
Product development
Diversification
Porter's Generic Strategies
Cost leadership
Differentiation
Focus strategies
Bowman's Strategic Clock
Named studies and theories
Ansoff (1957)
Porter (1985)
Bowman (1995)
Strategic methods
Assessed in Paper 1, 2, 3
Specification terms elid matches
Organic growth
Inorganic growth
Mergers
Acquisitions
Takeovers
Joint ventures
Franchising
Internationalisation
Offshoring
Outsourcing
Innovation
Research and development (R&D)
Intellectual property
Patents
Named studies and theories
Bartlett & Ghoshal (1989)
Managing strategic change
Assessed in Paper 1, 2, 3
Specification terms elid matches
Lewin's Force Field Analysis
Kotter's 8-step change model
Resistance to change
Organisational Culture
Handy's cultural types
Power Culture
Role Culture
Task Culture
Person Culture
Strategic drift
Business planning
Contingency planning
Named studies and theories
Lewin (1951)
Kotter (1995)
Handy (1978)
How the papers are weighted
elid uses these weightings when it decides which topics deserve your revision time first.
Paper
Share of the qualification
Paper 1
33.3%
Paper 2
33.3%
Paper 3
33.3%
Marked the way AQA marks it
Paste an answer you have written and elid marks it point by point against the AQA scheme: which marking points you hit, which you missed, and the sentence that would have earned each missing one. It is the difference between being told an answer is “good” and being told exactly where the marks went.
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