Methods of Measuring Business Size
- A simple way to classify businesses is to consider their size
Diagram with the Criteria for Determining Business size
Business size can be measured in several ways, including the size of the workforce, the value of capital employed and the value of sales or output
Size of the workforce
- A measure of how many workers are in the business
- Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) employ less than 250 employees
- Large businesses have 250 or more employees
Value of capital employed by the business
- A measure of all the capital (money, equipment, buildings) that is currently invested in a business
Value of business sales
- The total sales revenue achieved during a trading period
- It is calculated using the formula Price x Quantity
Value of business output
- The financial worth of goods produced, even though they may not all be sold
- It is calculated using the formula Total Costs x Quantity
A Comparison of the size of two Businesses
Company | Size of the Workforce | Capital Employed | Value of Output |
Futuristic Microchips |
|
|
|
Tasty Satsumas |
|
|
|
- Futuristic Microchips is the largest organisation using the measures of number of employees and capital employed
- Tasty Satsumas is the same size as Futuristic Microchips in terms of the value of output
Stakeholder interest in business size
- Banks wish to know how likely any loans will be repaid
- Larger businesses may be less of a lending risk
- Larger businesses may be less of a lending risk
- Employees wish to know how secure their jobs are
- A growing business is likely to offer job security
- A growing business is likely to offer job security
- Suppliers may prefer to sell products to larger businesses
- Large business are likely to purchase in greater quantities
- Large business are likely to purchase in greater quantities
- Investors compare business size to distinguish between investment opportunities
- Competitors may set growth objectives or benchmark their progress against similar-sized rival businesses
- Governments apply different tax rates for small and large businesses
- Larger firms may need careful monitoring to ensure they do not abuse their market power
- Larger firms may need careful monitoring to ensure they do not abuse their market power
Exam Tip
When comparing business size, it is best to compare like with like, such as weighing up an orange producer with other fruit producers