GCSE Business Short Paper B
Covers The Marketing Mix, Operations Management, Quality and Supply Chains and 3 more.
Questions
Question 1 [3 marks]
Operations Management
A small bakery makes trays of 24 identical cupcakes at a time, then switches its equipment to make a different batch of, for example, brownies.
Explain one advantage to the bakery of using batch production rather than making each item completely individually.
Question 2 [3 marks]
The Marketing Mix
Explain one reason why a new energy drink brand might use a penetration pricing strategy when it first launches.
Question 3 [3 marks]
Human Resources
A warehouse manager wants to motivate staff without increasing the wage budget.
Explain one non-financial method the manager could use to motivate staff.
Question 4 [5 marks]
External Influences on Business
A cafe employs 8 staff on the minimum wage, each working 30 hours a week. The minimum wage rises from 10 pounds to 11 pounds an hour.
Calculate the extra weekly wage cost this rise creates for the cafe, and the extra cost over a year, assuming 52 weeks.
Question 5 [5 marks]
Quality and Supply Chains
A manufacturer of children's car seats is considering applying for an independently recognised safety quality standard for its products.
Explain two benefits to the manufacturer of gaining this recognised quality standard.
Question 6 [5 marks]
Business Ownership and Growth
A small factory produces 2000 units a month with total costs of 24000 pounds.
After expanding, it produces 5000 units a month with total costs of 45000 pounds.
Calculate the average cost per unit before and after the expansion, and state whether the business has benefited from economies of scale.
Question 7 [4 marks]
Quality and Supply Chains
A cafe has always bought its coffee beans from whichever supplier is cheapest that month, switching suppliers frequently.
Explain two benefits to the cafe of instead building a long-term relationship with one trusted supplier.
Question 8 [6 marks]
External Influences on Business
The government introduces a new tax on drinks with a high sugar content. A soft drinks manufacturer currently makes several high-sugar drinks that would be affected.
Evaluate the likely impact of this tax on the soft drinks manufacturer.
Question 9 [6 marks]
Operations Management
A growing online homeware retailer currently packs and ships every order itself from a small rented unit, which is close to reaching full capacity.
It is considering outsourcing this entire packing and shipping process to a specialist fulfilment company instead.
Evaluate whether the retailer should outsource its packing and shipping to the fulfilment company.
Model solutions
| Question 1[3 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying that identical items are made together in a group, or batch | B1 |
| developing this, such as allowing some economies of scale on each batch while still offering a variety of different products | B1 |
| concluding that this lowers the average cost per item compared with making every single item one at a time | B1 |
| Final answer: Making identical items together in a batch allows some economies of scale while still offering variety, lowering the average cost per item compared with making each one individually | |
| Question 2[3 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying that a low initial price is set | B1 |
| developing this, such as attracting customers away from established rival brands quickly | B1 |
| concluding that this helps the new brand build market share and awareness before it later raises prices | B1 |
| Final answer: A low launch price attracts customers from established rivals, helping the brand build market share and awareness before prices rise later | |
| Question 3[3 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying a method, such as giving staff more responsibility or recognition for good work | B1 |
| developing it, such as staff feeling more valued and involved in decisions affecting their own work | B1 |
| concluding that this can increase motivation and effort without needing to increase pay | B1 |
| Final answer: Giving staff more responsibility or recognition makes them feel more valued, increasing motivation and effort without needing to increase pay | |
| Question 4[5 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| extra weekly cost = 8 times 30, times 1 | M1 |
| 240 pounds | A1 |
| extra annual cost = 240 times 52 | M1 |
| 12480 pounds | A1 |
| identifying that the cafe may need to raise its prices, reduce staff hours, or accept lower profit to cover this extra cost | B1 |
| Final answer: Extra weekly wage cost = 240 pounds; extra annual wage cost = 12480 pounds; the cafe may need to raise prices, cut hours, or accept lower profit | |
| Question 5[5 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying a benefit, such as reassuring parents that the car seats meet an independently checked safety standard | B1 |
| developing it, such as this building customer trust and potentially increasing sales, especially for a safety-critical product | B1 |
| identifying a second benefit, such as being able to display the standard on packaging and in marketing | B1 |
| developing it, such as this helping the product stand out from competitors that do not hold the standard | B1 |
| a concluding link, such as this justifying the cost and effort of gaining the standard through increased customer confidence and sales | B1 |
| Final answer: Two developed benefits, such as reassuring parents about safety and standing out from competitors in marketing, both increasing customer confidence and justifying the cost of gaining the standard | |
| Question 6[5 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| average cost before = 24000 divided by 2000 | M1 |
| an average cost before of 12 pounds per unit | A1 |
| average cost after = 45000 divided by 5000 | M1 |
| an average cost after of 9 pounds per unit | A1 |
| concluding that this shows economies of scale, since the average cost per unit has fallen as output has increased | B1 |
| Final answer: Average cost before = 12 pounds per unit; average cost after = 9 pounds per unit; yes, this shows economies of scale, as average cost has fallen with higher output | |
| Question 7[4 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying a benefit, such as the supplier getting to know the cafe's specific needs and order patterns over time | B1 |
| developing it, such as the supplier prioritising the cafe over newer customers during a shortage | B1 |
| identifying a second benefit, such as trust built over time leading to better terms, for example loyalty discounts or more flexible payment | B1 |
| developing it, such as this reducing cost or improving cash flow compared with always negotiating from scratch with an unfamiliar supplier | B1 |
| Final answer: Two developed benefits, such as the supplier prioritising the cafe during a shortage, and trust over time leading to better terms such as loyalty discounts or flexible payment | |
| Question 8[6 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying a negative impact, such as the tax increasing the cost of making the high-sugar drinks | B1 |
| developing it, such as the manufacturer needing to raise prices or accept lower profit margins on these products | B1 |
| identifying a positive or adaptive impact, such as the manufacturer reformulating recipes to reduce sugar content and avoid the tax | B1 |
| developing it, such as this potentially also appealing to increasingly health-conscious customers, opening up new sales | B1 |
| a further point, such as the cost and time needed to reformulate recipes, or smaller manufacturers finding this harder to afford than larger rivals | B1 |
| a justified overall conclusion on whether the impact is likely to be more positive or negative for this manufacturer, with a reason | B1 |
| Final answer: A justified judgement weighing the short-term cost of the tax or reformulation against the longer-term opportunity to appeal to health-conscious customers by reducing sugar content, considering the cost of reformulating recipes | |
| Question 9[6 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| a point in favour, such as the fulfilment company handling a much larger volume of orders than the retailer's own unit, removing the current capacity constraint | B1 |
| developing it, such as letting the retailer keep growing sales without needing to find and fit out a larger unit itself | B1 |
| a point against, such as losing direct control over how carefully and quickly orders are packed and shipped | B1 |
| developing it, such as a mistake or delay by the fulfilment company still damaging the retailer's own reputation, even though the retailer did not cause it directly | B1 |
| a further factor, such as comparing the fulfilment company's fee per order with the cost of the retailer expanding its own unit and hiring more staff itself | B1 |
| a justified conclusion weighing the removed capacity constraint and avoided expansion cost against the loss of direct control over fulfilment | B1 |
| Final answer: A justified judgement weighing the removed capacity constraint and avoided cost of expanding its own unit against the loss of direct control over how orders are packed and shipped | |