Year 11 Paper 5: People and Quality
Quality and supply chains, business ownership and growth, human resources, operations management and external influences on business.
Year 11 here means a typical teaching order, not a syllabus rule. No exam board defines what belongs to Year 11, and schools sequence the course differently. Check it against your own scheme of work before using it to decide what a class has covered.
Questions
Question 1 [3 marks]
Business Ownership and Growth
Explain one advantage to a business of becoming a private limited company rather than remaining a sole trader.
Question 2 [3 marks]
Human Resources
Explain one benefit to a business of employing part-time staff rather than only full-time staff.
Question 3 [3 marks]
Operations Management
Explain one drawback to a business of using flow production for a product with unpredictable, low demand.
Question 4 [3 marks]
Quality and Supply Chains
Explain one reason why choosing a reliable supplier is important for a business's production.
Question 5 [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 6 [4 marks]
External Influences on Business
The government increases the National Minimum Wage.
Explain two effects this could have on a business that employs a large number of staff on the minimum wage.
Question 7 [4 marks]
Operations Management
A print shop currently produces personalised mugs one at a time, fully bespoke to each customer's own photo, and is deciding whether to switch to batch production for a new standard range of ten fixed designs.
Explain two reasons why batch production would be more suitable for this new standard range than job production.
Question 8 [4 marks]
Human Resources
A retailer is deciding whether to train its new sales staff before they start serving customers.
Explain two benefits to the retailer of providing training for new staff.
Question 9 [5 marks]
External Influences on Business
A UK toy exporter sells a toy for 20 US dollars to an American retailer. When the pound is worth 1.25 dollars, this converts to 16 pounds for the exporter.
Calculate what the 20-dollar sale converts to in pounds if the pound weakens to 1.00 dollars, and explain what this means for the exporter's revenue from dollar sales.
Question 10 [5 marks]
Quality and Supply Chains
An online furniture retailer sources flat-pack wardrobes from a single overseas manufacturer to get the lowest possible unit price.
Explain two problems the retailer could face by depending on only this one distant manufacturer.
Question 11 [5 marks]
Operations Management
A hardware shop uses 40 units of a product per day on average, and its supplier takes 6 days to deliver a new order.
The shop also keeps 60 units of buffer stock in case of delays.
Calculate the shop's reorder level, the stock level at which a new order should be placed, and explain why the shop should place a new order at this level.
Question 12 [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 13 [6 marks]
Business Ownership and Growth
A cake decorating supplies retailer currently buys sugar paste in small orders of 200kg at 4 pounds per kg, a total of 800 pounds.
A supplier offers a bulk discount: order 1000kg at once and the price falls to 3.20 pounds per kg, but the retailer would need extra storage costing 150 pounds for the extra stock this order requires.
Calculate the total cost of the bulk order, including the extra storage cost, and evaluate whether the retailer should place the bulk order.
Question 14 [6 marks]
Human Resources
A care home employs 46 care assistants, each currently paid 20000 pounds a year. A rise in the minimum wage will increase this to 23000 pounds a year for every assistant.
To keep its total wage bill unchanged, management is considering reducing the number of care assistants instead of finding the extra money.
Calculate the current total wage bill, and the maximum number of care assistants the home could employ at the new pay rate without increasing this total wage bill, then evaluate whether cutting staff numbers this way is a good response to the wage rise.
Model solutions
| Question 1[3 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying that the owners gain limited liability | B1 |
| developing this, such as their personal assets being protected if the business fails and cannot pay its debts | B1 |
| concluding that this reduces the personal financial risk of running the business | B1 |
| Final answer: Limited liability protects the owners' personal assets if the business fails, reducing their personal financial risk | |
| Question 2[3 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying that part-time staff let the business match staffing more closely to when it is actually busy | B1 |
| developing this, such as avoiding paying full-time wages during quieter periods when there is not enough work to justify them | B1 |
| concluding that this reduces overall wage costs while still covering the busiest times adequately | B1 |
| Final answer: Part-time staff let the business match staffing to its busiest times, avoiding paying full-time wages during quieter periods and reducing overall wage costs | |
| Question 3[3 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying that flow production is designed to make identical items continuously in very large quantities | B1 |
| developing this, such as the business risking producing far more stock than it can sell if demand is low or uncertain | B1 |
| concluding that this ties up cash in unsold stock and could lead to waste, especially for perishable items | B1 |
| Final answer: Flow production makes very large quantities continuously; with low or uncertain demand, the business risks producing more than it can sell, tying up cash in unsold stock | |
| Question 4[3 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying that a reliable supplier delivers materials on time and to the agreed standard | B1 |
| developing this, such as production not being delayed or disrupted by late or poor-quality deliveries | B1 |
| concluding that this helps the business meet its own customers' orders on time and maintain quality | B1 |
| Final answer: A reliable supplier delivers on time and to standard, avoiding production delays and helping the business meet its own customers' orders | |
| Question 5[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 6[4 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying an effect, such as the business's wage costs increasing | B1 |
| developing it, such as reducing profit unless the business raises prices or cuts costs elsewhere | B1 |
| identifying a second effect, such as staff being more motivated or less likely to leave | B1 |
| developing it, such as higher pay improving morale and reducing costly staff turnover | B1 |
| Final answer: Two developed effects, such as higher wage costs reducing profit unless prices rise, and potentially higher staff motivation and lower turnover | |
| Question 7[4 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying a reason, such as all mugs in the new range using the same standard, unchanging design within each batch | B1 |
| developing it, such as allowing the same print setup to be reused across a whole batch, rather than reconfiguring machinery for every single mug | B1 |
| identifying a second reason, such as batches being produced faster than making each mug individually | B1 |
| developing it, such as this lowering the average cost per mug, letting the standard range be sold profitably at a lower price than the fully bespoke mugs | B1 |
| Final answer: Two developed reasons, such as the standard design letting the same print setup be reused across a batch, and batches being produced faster, lowering the average cost per mug | |
| Question 8[4 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying a benefit, such as staff being able to do their job more effectively and confidently from the start | B1 |
| developing it, such as reducing mistakes and improving customer service, which can increase sales | B1 |
| identifying a second benefit, such as staff feeling more valued and motivated | B1 |
| developing it, such as reducing staff turnover and the cost of recruiting and training replacements | B1 |
| Final answer: Two developed benefits, such as more effective, confident staff improving customer service, and higher motivation reducing costly staff turnover | |
| Question 9[5 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| dividing 20 by 1.00 | M1 |
| 20 pounds | A1 |
| correctly identifying that this is more pounds than the 16 pounds received before the pound weakened | B1 |
| explaining that a weaker pound means each dollar of foreign sales converts into more pounds | B1 |
| concluding that this increases the exporter's revenue from its existing level of dollar sales, without needing to sell more | B1 |
| Final answer: 20 dollars converts to 20 pounds when the pound is worth 1.00 dollars, more than the 16 pounds received before; a weaker pound means each dollar of sales converts into more pounds, increasing revenue from the same level of dollar sales | |
| Question 10[5 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| identifying a problem, such as the long shipping distance meaning a long lead time between ordering and receiving stock | B1 |
| developing it, such as any delay, from customs, weather or a shipping problem, leaving the retailer unable to fulfil orders for weeks | B1 |
| identifying a second problem, such as having no alternative supplier if the manufacturer has a problem, for example a factory fire or industrial dispute | B1 |
| developing it, such as production stopping, or faulty wardrobes reaching customers, with no other source of supply to fall back on | B1 |
| a concluding link, such as showing why relying on a single distant supplier for the lowest price carries real supply-chain risk | B1 |
| Final answer: Two developed problems, such as a long lead time meaning any shipping delay leaves orders unfulfilled for weeks, and having no alternative supplier if the manufacturer has a problem | |
| Question 11[5 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| lead-time demand = 40 times 6 | M1 |
| 240 units | A1 |
| adding the buffer stock of 60 units | M1 |
| a reorder level of 300 units | A1 |
| explaining that the shop should place a new order when stock falls to 300 units so it does not run out before the delivery arrives | B1 |
| Final answer: Reorder level = 300 units, made up of 240 units of lead-time demand plus 60 units of buffer stock | |
| Question 12[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 13[6 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| bulk material cost = 1000 times 3.20 | M1 |
| 3200 pounds, so total bulk cost including storage = 3350 pounds | A1 |
| correctly comparing cost per kg: the small order costs 4 pounds per kg, while the bulk order costs 3.35 pounds per kg (3350 divided by 1000), so the bulk order is cheaper per kg even after storage | B1 |
| identifying that the retailer must tie up far more cash in one large order and take on five times as much stock at once | B1 |
| developing this, such as the risk of some of the sugar paste going to waste if a particular colour or product line's demand falls before it is all used | B1 |
| a justified conclusion recommending the bulk order on cost grounds, provided the retailer is confident it can use the stock without much waste and can afford to tie up the cash upfront | B1 |
| Final answer: Bulk order cost, including storage, = 3350 pounds, 3.35 pounds per kg, cheaper than the small order's 4 pounds per kg; a justified recommendation to place the bulk order, provided the stock can be used without much waste | |
| Question 14[6 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| current wage bill = 46 times 20000 | M1 |
| 920000 pounds | A1 |
| maximum staff = 920000 divided by 23000 | M1 |
| 40 care assistants | A1 |
| identifying that cutting staff from 46 to 40 directly reduces the amount of care and attention each resident receives | B1 |
| a justified conclusion recommending against simply cutting staff to absorb the wage rise, since this could harm care quality, and suggesting other ways to fund it, such as raising fees | B1 |
| Final answer: Current wage bill = 920000 pounds; maximum staff at the new pay rate without increasing the bill = 40 care assistants; a justified judgement recommending against cutting staff purely to absorb the wage rise, since care quality could suffer | |