Business Subjects
The Business Department is responsible for the delivery of the following subjects:
Business Studies, Enterprise, Accounting, Business and Economics.
Staff:
Mr P Fitzpatrick (Subject Co-ordinator)
Mr E Keegan (Secondment)
Mr B McNamara
Ms P Scott
Junior Cycle
At Junior Cycle, Business Studies pupils gain a broad range of knowledge and practical skills from the three strands of business: accounting, economics, and business management.
Within the course, there are two key areas of study which are The Household and The Business. This combination enables pupils to gain key business skills from both perspectives.
Both areas seek to teach pupils important practical skills including household budgeting, banking, calculating interest and bookkeeping. Pupils also learn the basics of how economic and insurance markets work. And, as you would expect, we examine company structures, management, and marketing.
The Junior Cycle course thus provides an excellent foundation for pupils who seek to study one of the three Leaving Certificate business-related subjects: Economics, Accounting, and Business.
Form 4 - Transition Year programme
There are three business options available to be taken through the Transition Year programme all of which are year long courses. All courses are designed so that pupils who did not take Business Studies for the Junior Certificate gain an insight into Business Subjects before deciding on their subject choices for the Leaving Certificate, or refresher options for those who did take Business Studies for the Junior Certificate.
Accounting & Economics
* Foundation course for both Accounting and Economics
(This is advisable if you have not studied Business for Junior Certificate but wish to take either subject for Leaving Certificate).
* Topics include: Business Final Accounts, How Markets Work, and Government and the Economy
Business Studies
* Basic Business knowledge
* Problem Solving
* Gathering, processing, and presenting information
* Philosophy of Business
Enterprise
* Mini Company
* Computer assisted learning, presentation skills
* Business surveys, Business analysis
Senior Cycle
All three Business subjects are offered as option courses at Leaving Certificate through the different option groups. Each subject is taught for five periods a week and presents students with many opportunities for careers in a wide variety of areas.
Accounting
Success in the subject will require that a pupil has a good knowledge of basic Book-Keeping either from the Junior Certificate Business Studies or the Preparatory Option in Transition Year. This means thoroughly understanding Double-Entry and how a transaction passes through the Books of First Entry to the Ledger from which the Final Accounts and Balance Sheet may be prepared.
The syllabus is broadly the same for Ordinary Level and Higher Level. The two main elements are financial and management accounting. The main topics covered under management accounting are costing and budgeting. Topics in the financial section would include bank reconciliation statements, control accounts, suspense accounts, incomplete records, club accounts, manufacturing accounts, tabular statements, cash flow statements, analysis and interpretation of final accounts of limited companies, published accounts and final accounts of both a sole trader and a limited company. There is some mention of accounting in relation to computers and information technology.
The subject is useful for those considering a career in the Business area or going on to study in this area at Third Level. Many professional exams have an Accounting element as part of the course.
It is obviously particularly relevant to those considering Accounting as a career – a qualification which many still regard as a good foundation for higher level careers in industry and commerce.
Business
The topics to be covered include:
1. People in Business - consumers, investors, employers, employees, and unions
2. Enterprise - entrepreneur: characteristics and skills
3. Managing - management skills, communication, finance, insurance, tax, and accounts
4. Business in Action - marketing, ownership, finance, and business plans
5. Domestic Environment - types of industry, business structures, government and economy
6. International Environment - foreign trade, trading blocs, and European Union
This course therefore provides a general overview of Business and would be of value from both a general education perspective and to those intending to take a Business-related course at third level or planning a career in Business.
As far as examination pressures allow, attention will be given to oral work and current topics and when appropriate, the approach will be from a practical viewpoint.
Economics
This is a two year course taught to Higher Level Leaving Certificate.
Some of the topics covered in the Leaving Certificate Economics course are:-
1. Markets. How they operate and how prices are determined.
2. Competition. Perfect Competition and Monopoly. What are they? How do they affect consumers?
3. The Government and Economy. What are the objectives of Government economic policy and how do they affect the community?
4. Employment and Taxation.
5. Money, Inflation, Interest Rates, and Exchange Rates. What causes changes in Interest Rates and Exchange Rates and how do these changes affect everybody?
6. Trade. Why is trade so important to Ireland? What influences the level of exports and imports and how do changes in these affect the whole economy?
The benefits of studying Economics include:
* developing a better understanding of current affairs
* becoming more informed about how this country is governed
* being able to understand and interpret information about our economy and the EU
* being able to collect and analyze information
* learning to think clearly and logically
* learning to form and present a reasoned opinion on economic matters
* developing an understanding of key concepts in economics
This will be to the advantage of the pupil who continues on to 3rd level for courses in Arts, Science, Engineering, Medicine, and Business Studies.
Relevant Links
www.PDST.ie
www.BSTAI.ie