Financial & Non-financial Objectives (Edexcel IGCSE Business)

Survival

• Survival involves keeping a business operating for a certain amount of time such as its first year of operation
  
  
• Survival is also a key focus during periods of challenging business conditions or when strong competition emerges

• Camping Sous les Étoiles in France focused on survival during the 2020 global pandemic as travel restrictions limited holidays

Profit

• Profit is the difference between the total sales revenue and the total costs of the business
   
• Profit can be reinvested into a business or shared with business owners as a reward for risking their investment
  
  
• Profit maximisation involves making as much profit as possible

• Belgium's Brewery de Blaugies aims to maximise profits to fund the building of new production and distribution facilities that are needed for its planned expansion
  
  

Sales

• Selling increasing volumes of products can help a business to increase its market share
  
  
• High sales can also increase awareness of a business and its brands
  
  
• Large-scale businesses often benefit from lower average unit costs

• France's Le Creuset has increased sales of its luxury cookware across Europe by opening sales outlets and improving its online store

Market share

• Market share is the proportion of a market controlled by a particular company, brand or product
   
• Businesses with high market share can dominate the market and become well-known
  
  
• Market leaders may be able to charge higher prices than rivals and make more profit

• Since 2018 Ediya Coffee has increased the number of outlets it operates in South Korea and introduced a delivery service to gain market share from leading rival Paris Baguette 

Financial security

• Business owners may simply want to earn a living from the risk and effort they put in
  
  
• Satisficing may be enough for a business owner to pursue a desired lifestyle

• Reema Koch runs her small eco guesthouse in Malta during summer months and spends winter working with animal charities in Turkey

Objective

Explanation

Examples

Social

• Providing a reliable, high-quality service to a particular community dis the focus of many public sector organisations
  
  
• Charities and cooperatives are often focused on improving human well-being or the environment
  
  
• Businesses increasingly aim to meet the needs of a range of stakeholders by providing employment opportunities, being eco-friendly or contributing to the local community

• After visiting Argentina in 2006 Blake Mycoskie set up TOMS Shoes, pledging to donate one pair of shoes for every one sold

Personal satisfaction

• Achieving success by doing something enjoyable can be satisfying for business owners
  
  
• Spotting an opportunity and pursuing it as a business can be a matter of great pride

• Former schoolteacher and keen environmentalist Laura Hirsch established Grüne Kleinvolk in 2022 as a pre-schoolers' forest activity centre in Germany's Schwarzwald

Challenge

• Using and developing skills can present interesting challenges
  
  
• Some business owners love solving problems or enjoy seeing the results of hard work

• Since starting her interior design  business in Malta in 2013 Kristine Bonnici has achieved qualifications in accountancy, marketing and business leadership

Independence & control

• Independence to make their own decisions can be a key motivator for entrepreneurs 
  
  
• A business owner may want to control their own time and business direction without interference from others
  

• After being made redundant in 2020 sound engineer Vinay Patel set up a talent agency in Mumbai, focused on sourcing new talent for the city's successful film industry