Aims:



1. To develop an interest in the theory and practice of business, trade and industry.



2. To familiarise candidates with theoretical foundations, organising, managing and handling operations of a business firm.



3. To provide a study of the more important aspects of the commercial world.



4. To provide knowledge of the activities of commerce in the marketing of goods and services.







CLASS XI



There will be one paper of 3 hours duration of 100 marks divided into two parts.



Part 1 (30 marks) will consist of compulsory short answer questions testing knowledge, application and skills relating to elementary / fundamental aspects of



the entire syllabus.



Part 2 (70 marks) will have nine questions out of which candidates will be required to answer seven questions and each question will carry 10 marks.







1. Nature and Purpose of Business



(i) Definition and concept of business; classification of business activities.



(ii) Business objectives and necessity.



(iii) Commerce: branches of commerce; economic basis of commerce.



(iv) Human wants and their satisfaction; classification of wants, characteristics of wants.



(v) Division of labour: specialisation and localisation factors affecting labour.



(vi) Classification of human activities - economic and non-economic.







2. Forms of Business Organisations



(i) Sole trader - objective; formation; merits and demerits.



(ii) Partnership - formation; features; types of partners.



(iii) Partnership - registration; dissolution under different circumstances.



(iv) Evaluation of partnership; merits and demerits.



(v) Comparison of sole proprietorship and partnership.



(vi) Joint-stock company: meaning; characteristics; merits and demerits; causes of popularity.



(vii) Types of companies - public and private companies - differences; advantages and disadvantages.



(viii) Public enterprise - meaning; role and growth; forms of organisation. Departmental undertakings; Public Corporations and Government companies including public utility services.



(ix) Co-operative forms of organisation - meaning; characteristics; formation. Different types of co-operatives.







3. Stock Exchange



(i) Meaning and importance.



(ii) Functions and services.



(iii) Major Stock Exchanges in India (BSE, NSE, DSE, ASE) - types and locations.



(iv) Types of operators - Brokers, Jobbers, Bulls and Bears.



(v) Terms used in Stock Exchange - ex-dividend, cum dividend, spot delivery, forward delivery.







4. Inland Trade



(i) Channel of distribution: direct / indirect - factors influencing the choice of channel.



(ii) Wholesale trade; necessity and objectives.



(iii) Services to retailer, customer and producer.



(iv) Survival or elimination of wholesalers.



(v) Retail trade - necessity and objectives.



(vi) Functions of retailers. Factors affecting the establishment of a retail outlet. Threat to small retailers - survival of small retailers.



(vii) Types of retail organizations: departmental store, chain store, mail order houses, tele shopping, franchise, consumer cooperative stores including super bazaars.



(viii) Consumer protection: rights of consumers, methods of consumer protection.



(ix) Documents used in home trade: enquiry catalogues - invoice, debit note, credit note, cash discount and trade discount.



(x) Role of Chambers of Commerce and Industry.







5. Foreign Trade



(i) Meaning, difference between internal trade and external trade.



(ii) Characteristics of international trade.



(iii) Export trade - objectives and purpose.



(iv) Procedure of export trade.



(v) Import trade - objectives and purpose.



(vi) Procedure of import trade.



(vii) Documents involved in international trade.



(viii) Balance of payment. International financial institutions - WB, ADB, etc.







6. Warehousing



(i) Warehousing: meaning, objective, and necessity.



(ii) Functions of warehousing.



(iii) Types of warehouses: private; public; bonded and cold storage - meaning, advantages of each, documents used - warehouse receipt, warehouse warrant, delivery order.







7. Insurance



(i) Insurance - objectives and purpose.



(ii) Risks in business - insurable and noninsurable.



(iii) Principles of insurance.



(iv) Types of insurance: fire, marine, life insurance - methods of taking out policies, submission of claims.



(v) Functions of Life Insurance Corporation.



(vi) Lloyds of London – insurance underwriter.







Teaching and Learning Activities



1. Nature and Purpose of Business



Select a few products/services which students are familiar with. Distribute these to different groups and ask them to trace their origin, the various people and activities involved until these reach consumers. Thereafter, a discussion based on their experiences and findings should be arranged.



2. Forms of Business Organisation



Pay a visit, along with the class to a nearby business locality. Make a list of various business firms and classify them into sole-proprietorship,



partnership, etc. Explore a few establishments which have changed from Sole proprietorship to Partnership and the reasons for the change. Make a list of all the joint stock companies in the same locality, find the proportion of public limited companies and private limited companies among them.



3. Inland Trade



Visit a wholesale market in the city and observe the modes of operation. Discuss with some retailers in the locality as to how they would be affected if the wholesalers were eliminated. Find out the proportion of large retailers to small retailers and the effect of the presence of large retailers on small retailers. Make a list of articles that are sold on hire-purchase basis and assess their popularity and mode of transaction. Collect some blank samples of Invoices, Credit



Notes, Debit Notes, etc. and let the students practice preparing some on the same lines. Visit or read about the Chambers of Commerce and Industry and find out the services provided by them.



4. Foreign Trade



Go through the local Yellow Pages and list the names of exporters and also find out which products are more popular in the export-market. Discuss with the owner of a well-established export-house, the difficulties they face in export trade. Compare these with the difficulties faced by the traders in the home market. Collect and display the documents used in foreign trade (like Indent, Letter of Credit, Bill of lading, Charter Party, etc.)



5. Warehousing



If possible, visit a warehouse / cold storage facility and have a first hand experience of its method of operation.



6. Insurance



Collect newspaper clippings on the theme of insurance. Meet an LIC agent and discuss with him, the way he operates, canvasses about insurance, calculates premium, etc. Arrange for a lecture by an officer from the General Insurance Co. on the methods of taking policies and submission of claims etc.



Visit a nearby LIC Office to see how it handles the Life Insurance business. Collect literature on Lloyds, circulate it in the class, and then hold a discussion.