Syllabus: AQA - GCSE Business
Module: Business in the Real World
Lesson: 3.1.4 Stakeholders

Introduction

The AQA GCSE Business specification includes a dedicated unit on stakeholders under 3.1.4 in the “Business in the real world” topic. It asks students to explore who stakeholders are, what interests they hold, and how their influence can shape business decisions. It’s a core concept that connects with everything from ethics to strategy, and it offers rich opportunities for contextualised teaching. This article unpacks the content for classroom use, with insights for teachers, SLT, careers leads, and headteachers looking to align curriculum delivery with outcomes that matter.

Key Concepts

Based on AQA GCSE Business 3.1.4, students must:

• Identify key stakeholders in a business: including owners, employees, customers, suppliers, local community, government, and pressure groups.

• Understand each stakeholder’s interests and how these may conflict or align.

• Recognise how and why stakeholders influence business decisions.

• Explain potential conflicts between stakeholder groups and how businesses might manage these tensions.

• Apply stakeholder theory to real business contexts to demonstrate understanding.

Real-World Relevance

Stakeholder conflict isn’t just a textbook example—it’s playing out right now. Consider:

• Amazon warehouse workers campaigning for better conditions, while shareholders press for cost savings.

• Local councils balancing the economic benefits of new developments (like a new retail park) against public concern for traffic and the environment.

• Greggs, which navigated a public backlash after altering its vegan sausage roll recipe—balancing customer expectation, supplier capability, and media pressure.

Using current examples makes this topic stick. Try a class debate on local development or explore Tesco’s supplier relations post-Brexit. These give students a lens to see stakeholders not as abstract groups, but as real people with real influence.

How It’s Assessed

AQA typically assesses stakeholder content through:

• Multiple-choice and short-answer questions testing definitions and stakeholder groups.

• Case study questions asking students to explain the impact of business decisions on stakeholders.

• “Discuss” or “justify” questions, where students analyse conflicts and evaluate stakeholder priorities.

Command words include: explain, analyse, evaluate, and justify. Encourage students to reference stakeholder interests and possible consequences in their responses. AQA often rewards application—so specific stakeholder impacts in a given scenario are key to high marks.

Enterprise Skills Integration

This topic plugs naturally into decision-making and problem-solving:

• Students evaluate trade-offs in stakeholder conflicts.

• Discussions can simulate business meetings, building communication and negotiation skills.

• Tools like MarketScope AI from Enterprise Skills can be used to model how changes in business behaviour affect stakeholder perceptions—great for interactive sessions.

You can also use Pitch Deck Analyser for group work on launching a product while managing stakeholder concerns. Both tools help build practical understanding of balancing competing needs.

Careers Links

Stakeholder understanding is core to roles like:

• Project managers (balancing deliverables with stakeholder satisfaction)

• HR professionals (negotiating between employees and management)

• Corporate social responsibility (CSR) officers (working with community and environmental stakeholders)

• Policy advisors (understanding pressure groups and government expectations)

Mapped to Gatsby Benchmark 4 (Linking curriculum learning to careers) and Benchmark 5 (Encounters with employers), this topic is ideal for guest speakers or employer case studies.

Teaching Notes

Tips for delivery:

• Use role play or stakeholder mapping exercises to engage mixed ability groups.

• Have students represent stakeholder groups during business decision debates—this encourages empathy and evaluation.

• Use local businesses for live examples: reach out to employers or look at recent local news stories.

Common pitfalls:

• Students often oversimplify: e.g., “the government just wants taxes.” Push for depth.

• Lack of real examples in answers. Drill the habit of “name a stakeholder, explain their interest, and link to consequence.”

Extension ideas:

• Explore ethical dilemmas in business (e.g., profit vs. planet).

• Compare stakeholder management in different sectors: e.g., charities vs. private firms.