The Business Basics
Maclay’s New AP Business with Personal Finance Class
For Marauders interested in management, marketing, hospitality or finance, Maclay’s newest AP course offers a chance to explore business concepts before entering college or the workforce. AP Business with Personal Finance is an introductory college-level course being offered for the first time this year, translating business concepts into skills students can apply outside of the classroom.
“[Business] is the job field that I'm most interested in,” senior Molly Burton said. “I'm interested in obtaining a better understanding of business and how I can go about [working] once I have entered that field.”
The class was introduced at Maclay to foster opportunities for students interested in business-related fields. With the Upper School previously offering classes like Intro to Entrepreneurship, Risk & Rewards, Personal Finance and DECA, the new course builds on the school’s existing business curriculum while providing a broader introduction.
“We jumped at the opportunity to have it,” AP Business with Personal Finance teacher Stephanie Amidon said. “We've had DECA [the business and class] a couple years and with all of the interest from that and in the business and finance world, the timing of the launch of the course really partnered well with the needs of our students.”
The course is part of College Board’s new AP Career Kickstart initiative, which exposes students to skills and concepts that are useful for future careers. Rather than specializing in one aspect of business, AP Business with Personal Finance touches on a range of topics, giving students an overview of how different parts of the business world connect. The AP exam includes 60 multiple-choice questions and four free-response questions.
“Even if you choose not to open your own business, there are still a lot of good skills and life takeaways, just in the idea of being entrepreneurial,” Amidon said. “Identifying needs in societies and [learning] how to become a better employee or a more educated employee or business owner still [provides] a lot of skills.”
The five units cover different aspects of the business world. Unit one, which is Business, Competition and New Ideas, introduces business creation, competitiveness, decision-making and consumer behavior. Unit two, Marketing, focuses on market research, customer behavior, branding and strategies to capture target audiences. Unit three involves both Personal Saving and Borrowing, which covers saving, credit, debt and more, and Business Finance, which introduces financial statements, revenue, profitability and analyzes capital. Unit four, Management and Strategy, examines how businesses organize leadership, resources and strategies to reach their goals while considering internal and external factors. Unit five, Budgeting and Investing, takes financial concepts and connects them to individual decisions, including budgeting, setting financial goals and evaluating investments.
Along with learning the concepts, students are given a chance to apply them in real-world scenarios. Case studies on companies like Bombas and Malama ia Floral Design allow students to examine businesses, identify problems and opportunities and evaluate decisions. The class also facilitates public speaking, presentations and research assignments which require students to communicate their findings and explain their evidence.
Recently in the class students were able to apply course concepts through assignments based on a PESTEL analysis. The analysis requires students to examine political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal factors affecting a business. Students gave a presentation analyzing a company of their choice, where they evaluated potential risks and developed strategic recommendations.
“[My favorite part of the class so far was] probably the PESTEL analysis [of Red Lobster],” Burton said. “I really appreciated the understanding of how a PESTEL analysis works and how that can work with my field or whatever business I'm interested in studying.”
The largest project in the course is the yearlong Business Canvas Project, which can be done in groups of up to three. Students identify a business idea and gradually build a model for how that business could operate. After each unit, students apply what they have learnt to their canvas, using what they have learnt to evaluate their assumptions. The project also connects to the AP exam through a free-response question based on the Business Canvas.
“The goal of a…business canvas model is really to determine the viability of a business before you invest your time and effort into a real 40-page business plan,” Amidon said.
While the class covers business-specific concepts, students also gain skills they can use in the present, like communication and collaboration.
“This [class] has helped a lot with emailing businesses, especially getting my gig [playing music at a local business],” junior Sabrina Federici said. “I know who to email and how the business actually works before I [went] asking if I can work there. It’s a really useful class. It helps a bunch because I [further] understand what's going on around me, like where I spend my money.”
Students interested in any realm of business may find the course interesting as an introduction into the field. This course is also suited for students looking to explore career options and gain a better understanding of the behind-the-scenes in how businesses operate. For Marauders interested in earning the Business and Entrepreneurship Core concentration, this course is a perfect way to work towards that goal.
“I would [recommend this class], especially for somebody who wants to do some kind of business or wants to go into econ or something like that,” Federici said. “It's a good base-level class. It gives you everything you need to know without a lot of details [that] you can find out yourself or in different classes or courses.”
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