Grade 10 Business Studies Term 2 Week 7: Forms of Ownership – Non-Profit Companies, Profit Companies & Co-operatives

Your Week Ahead

This week your Grade 10 Business Studies class wraps up the Forms of Ownership topic by focusing on three forms that learners often find the most interesting to compare: non-profit companies, profit companies, and co-operatives. These are all registered entities with formal structures, so the week gives you a great opportunity to help learners see how the purpose of a business shapes everything from its ownership model to how it handles profit. That connection between purpose and structure is something that will serve learners well right through to Grade 12.

By this point in Term 2, learners should already have a working understanding of simpler forms of ownership like sole traders and partnerships. Now they are stepping into more complex terrain. The Companies Act (2008) underpins both profit companies (including private companies, personal liability companies, state-owned companies, and public companies) and non-profit companies, so it is worth spending a moment reminding learners of that legal context. Co-operatives fall under the Co-operatives Act (2005), which gives them their own distinct flavour worth highlighting.

Coming into this week, learners should know the basic meaning of ownership, liability, and profit distribution from earlier in the Forms of Ownership section. If any learners are still shaky on those concepts, a quick five-minute recap at the start of Day 1 will go a long way. The comparison work later in the week builds directly on that foundation, so the stronger that base is, the better the higher-order work will go.

This Week’s Lesson Plan

Day 1: Introduce profit companies. Cover the definition, the four sub-forms under the Companies Act, key characteristics, and the main advantages and disadvantages. Use real South African examples like listed JSE companies and well-known private companies to make the content concrete.

Day 2: Introduce non-profit companies (NPCs). Cover the definition, characteristics, how surplus funds must be reinvested rather than distributed, and the advantages and disadvantages. Discuss familiar local examples such as NPO schools, charities, and religious organisations that may have NPC status.

Day 3: Introduce co-operatives. Cover the definition, the types of co-operatives (consumer, worker, financial services, social, and housing), characteristics including the one-member-one-vote principle, and the advantages and disadvantages. Agricultural co-operatives like grain co-ops are a useful South African example here.

Day 4: Comparison and consolidation. Learners work through a structured comparison of all three forms using a table format covering formation, ownership, profit distribution, liability, and governance. Close with a short written activity or classwork exercise to prepare for assessment.

Download Your Lesson Plan

Download the full 4-day lesson plan as a Word document. Includes detailed activities, differentiation notes, and assessment guidance.

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