OCR. Business Studies SECOND EDITION. CD-ROM for students Questions and answers

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1 OCR AS Businss Studis SECOND EDITION CD-ROM for studnts Qustions and answrs

2 Contnts Introduction... 3 Qustions and answrs... 4 Sction A... 4 Sction B... 5 For furthr qustions and answrs, with xaminr commnts, and spcific contnt guidanc on ach unit, s our Studnt Unit Guids for OCR AS businss studis (availabl from autumn 2008). For mor information and to ordr copis onlin, visit or contact Bookpoint on OCR AS Businss Studis Unit 1: An Introduction to Businss OCR AS Businss Studis Unit 2: Businss Functions OCR AS Businss Studis Philip Allan Updats 2

3 Introduction Th qustions on this CD-ROM ar modlld on th nw xamination format for Unit F292: Businss Functions. Thir purpos is to giv you th opportunity to tackl xamination-styl qustions ithr as a st task for homwork or as an additional mock xamination. Your tachr may ask you ithr to complt Sctions A and B sparatly, or to answr both togthr to form a complt Unit 2 Businss Functions papr. If you ar answring just Sction A, you should spnd a maximum of 20 minuts. Howvr, if you ar answring both sctions, th tim allowd is 2 hours, assuming th cas matrial has bn pr-issud. Th cas study Bn s Biks that th Sction B qustions ar basd on is providd on pp of th OCR AS Businss Studis txtbook. Th amount of information offrd is not as dtaild as to b found in th actual Businss Functions cas study, but it still allows for a usful tst of your ability to answr undr xamination conditions. Unit F292: Businss Functions This papr consists of two sctions, A and B. Sction A This sction consists of six stand-alon qustions that rquir short answrs. Thy do not hav to b answrd in th contxt of th cas study. Do not spnd too much tim on this sction, spcially as th mark allocation for ach qustion is only 2 or 4 marks. It is much mor important to nsur that you lav sufficint tim for Sction B, which has four qustions ach worth 16 or 20 marks. It is ssntial that you ralis that a stat qustion rquirs just that. Thr is no nd for any laboration as this will not gain any additional marks and will tak up valuabl tim. For an outlin/xplain qustion, you do nd to offr som laboration. To nsur you gain Lvl 2 marks, it must b clar that you undrstand th trms in th qustion. Just stating two particular styls of ladrship in answr to Qustion 1(f ), for xampl, will only gain a Lvl 1 mark for th knowldg givn. If, howvr, you ar abl to giv som xplanation as to what th styls involv (.g. a lack of dlgation for an autocratic ladr), you will gain a Lvl 2 mark. Altrnativly, xplaining how an mploy may ract to such a styl of ladrship will also accss Lvl 2. Evn whn answring Sction A qustions it is a good ida to provid a contxt to show th xaminr that you undrstand th trms you hav usd. Sction B Th quality of your writtn languag will b assssd in your answrs to th qustions markd with an astrisk (*). Considration will b givn to th splling, punctuation and grammar. In addition, considration will b givn to th organisation of th answr and its clarity and cohsion. You should also notic from th mark schms providd for th qustions in this sction that in ordr to gain high marks you nd to dmonstrat Lvl 3 (analysis) and Lvl 4 (valuation). Rfr to th introduction to your OCR AS Businss Studis txtbook (pp. viii ix) for an xplanation of th diffrnt lvls of rspons and xampls of how to includ analysis and valuation in your answrs. OCR AS Businss Studis Philip Allan Updats 3

4 Qustions and answrs Sction A Total: 18 marks Qustion 1 Answr all qustions. a Pricing is on componnt of th markting mix. Idntify two othr componnts of th markting mix. (2 marks) b Stat two advantags of budgting. (2 marks) c What is mant by th trm just-in-tim? (2 marks) d Whn bicycls ar sold at 100, th quantity sold at th local bik shop is 15. Aftr a pric incras of 20, th quantity sold falls to 10. Calculat th pric lasticity of dmand for th bicycls. (4 marks) Outlin two advantags of using flow production (4 marks) f Explain two styls of ladrship. (4 marks) Mark schm a Lvl 1 Any two from: promotion, plac or product. Candidats who rfr to spcific lmnts within th gnral mix will also b rwardd (.g. markt rsarch). (2 marks) b Lvl 1 Any two from: it nabls succss to b masurd; control of xpnditur; sns of dirction; hlps managmnt prioritis; allows for dlgation to dpartmnts; ncourags fficincy. (2 marks) c Lvl 1 Accpt any rfrnc to a mthod of rducing th lvl of stock hld; having stock dlivrd and usd on th lin straight away; on aspct of lan production; a way of rducing stock/costs; a mthod of incrasing fficincy/ comptitivnss. (2 marks) d Lvl 1 % chang in dmand Formula % chang in pric chang in dmand 15 to 10 chang in pric from 100 to 120 (1 4 marks) (1 mark) (1 mark) (1 mark) Answr 33.3% 20% = 1.67 (lastic) (1 mark) Lvl 2 Explanation/application/undrstanding. Ladrship styl xplaind by how mploys affctd, typ of bhaviour of ladr, typ of organisational structur, dgr of dlgation offrd or involvmnt of mploys. (3 4 marks) Lvl 1 Styls statd: dmographic, laissz-fair, autocratic, patrnalistic. (1 2 marks) OCR AS Businss Studis Philip Allan Updats 4

5 Qustions and answrs Sction B Qustions 2 5 ar basd on th cas study Bn s Biks, which is providd on pp of th OCR AS Businss Studis txtbook.your answrs should mak spcific rfrnc to th issus in th contxt of Bn s Biks. Total: 72 marks Qustion 2 Bn has dcidd that in ordr to spnd mor tim with Fiona, h will mploy Michal on a part-tim basis and dlgat mor jobs to Ronak and Jason. Evaluat th training implications of this dcision. (20 marks) Commntary Strongr answrs will includ two sparat lmnts: induction training for Michal and ongoing training for Ronak and Jason. Candidats only addrssing on will not b pnalisd in trms of th lvl awardd but will b rwardd at th lowr nd of th appropriat lvl. Induction training will b ncssary for Michal. Whn will this b don? Som off-th-job training (.g. in bicycl building and th lgal rquirmnts) will b ncssary. Michal will prsumably b paid for any tim spnt training off th job and so thr will b an xtra cost. It will also b ncssary for Bn to giv som training (.g. on whr th stock is stord and pricing) in th shop itslf. Michal s businss faild and Bn nvr thought that his brothr had th qualitis of an ntrprnur and so som businss/customr skills ar clarly lacking. In th short run at last it may thrfor b th cas that whil Michal is undrtaking on- and off-th job training Bn has to spnd mor tim at th shop not lss. Thr will b an opportunity cost to Bn s tim. Would it b a snsibl ida for Bn to allow Ronak/Jason to hlp train Michal? It would sav Bn tim but might b rgardd by Michal as Bn not bing intrstd in his own brothr. Ronak and Jason may b plasd with th trust shown in thm, but an issu hr is whthr thy ar comptnt nough th ffctivnss of th training dpnds on th skill of th trainr. Thir timkping is not good and Bn will not want his brothr to pick up any bad habits. Bn has assumd that Ronak and Jason will not mind xtra rsponsibility. This may wll b th cas and it may b wlcomd and b sn as motivating. Howvr, h nds to spak to thm about it first. H will also hav to considr whthr th xtra rsponsibilitis will rquir xtra rmunration (which is likly). Training is not a businss activity to b rgardd in isolation it is rlatd to othr important human rsourc issus. Th training for Ronak and Jason will dpnd on th typ of jobs Bn wishs to dlgat and so h must giv som thought as to what ths will b. It is vital that thy ar quippd with th corrct skills. Th cas stats, Bn thinks that th uniqu slling point of his businss is th advic and srvic h offrs. H crtainly knows a lot about biks and thir dsign, and his customrs valu his hlp. If th training dos not nsur that Ronak and Jason can provid this, Bn may los his USP. Will thy b traind togthr or singly? If th training is whn th shop is closd (as opposd to during lss busy priods) thn, as with Michal, prsumably thy will b paid. OCR AS Businss Studis Philip Allan Updats 5

6 Qustions and answrs At th nd of any training thr should b an valuation of how ffctiv it has bn. How might Bn do this? Mark schm Lvl 4 Som valuation shown by supportd judgmnt on th training issus,.g. a sns of stratgy as to Bn s training prioritis. (Should h train Ronak and Jason first and thn mploy his brothr? Why?) (15 20 marks) Lvl 3 Som analysis of training issu(s) in th contxt of Bn s Biks. Lvl 2 Som application/undrstanding of training issu(s). (9 14 marks) (4 8 marks) Lvl 1 Knowldg rcalld about th natur of training. Knowldg of on- and/ or off-th-job training statd. (1 3 marks) Answr Th first thing Bn nds to do is dcid if h should mploy his brothr right away and train him or if h should train his two xisting staff so that thy ar rady for whn Michal arrivs. I think that h should train Jason and Ronak first so that thy will know vrything or almost vrything that Michal could ask thm. This will b things lik what biks ar popular with what ag groups, and th law rlating to th biks is important too (i.. bll and whl rflctor). Bn nds to sort out thir bad timkping too this could b part of th training. It will not mak a good imprssion on Michal if th popl who alrady work at Bn s Biks do not know th answrs to qustions h might hav! This answr bgins wll. Th candidat is starting to think stratgically, though this thinking could b xprssd bttr. Th point about timkping is a good on, but could hav bn dvlopd in th contxt of th training. For Lvl 3 thr would hav to b som analysis such as what th ffct of this bad imprssion might b. It is also worth noting that xclamation marks should gnrally b avoidd. Bn must think about what h wants to dlgat to Jason and Ronak. As h has bn told by Fiona that h must spnd lss tim in th shop h will b thinking of arriving latr and going arly and laving Jason and Ronak to opn and clos for him. This could man training in things lik th alarm systm and cashing up and storing cash at th nd of th day. H must also ask thm first if thy ar actually willing to do th xtra work. If h didn t do this thn any plans h might mak for training would hav bn a big wast of his tim. It says in th cas that h is busy and strssd and thr ar othr jobs h could hav bn doing. A valid assumption is statd about Bn s likly intntions and what follows on th typ of training that will thrfor b ncssary supports it at Lvl 3.Th final sntnc of this paragraph xmplifis opportunity cost (in trms of tim) in contxt. Bn must also find out if thy ar willing to stay bhind aftr work or start arly. H must nsur that th training tim suits thm, othrwis thy will not b committd to it and again h will b wasting his tim and so h will not b abl to spnd lss tim in th shop which is what h wants to do. Th candidat rcogniss that Bn s objctiv is to spnd lss tim in th shop Lvl 3 again. OCR AS Businss Studis Philip Allan Updats 6

7 Qustions and answrs H will nd to mak sur that all th training has bn undrstood. This mans Bn must tst thm on all th things thy hav bn traind on and thy must b abl to ask qustions. If Bn dosn t do this h will nvr know if thy can do th jobs proprly and h will only nd up having to com back to work to sort out problms. This paragraph dmonstrats analysis in contxt (Lvl 3). In valuation, Bn should train his two staff first, but h must mak sur thy ar willing to accpt th nw work h wants to dlgat to thm. H nds to b clar about what h wants thm to do. If not it will b a wast of tim. Onc h knows that thy will do th work h must find out whn thy can train and if this is outsid normal hours agr to train thm. Again, if h dosn t do this it will b a wast of tim as thy will not b intrstd. Finally, h must mak sur that thy undrstand all that h has taught thm and that thy can do it all on thir own. If h dos all of this thn thy will b fully rady to giv Michal all th hlp h nds whn h arrivs. This will mak Bn s lif asir and so h will b abl to start spnding mor tim with Fiona soonr. Do not start your final paragraph lik this.th mr us of th word valuation dos not triggr Lvl 4. In this cas, what follows is valuativ. Th candidat dos not simply summaris th prvious points but dvlops a sns of stratgy, which is prcisly what is rquird rathr than a sris of points such as Bn might do this and Bn could do that. Finally, th whol paragraph is put into th contxt of spnding mor tim with his fiancé which is th objctiv bhind th training in th first plac. Michal has bn largly (but not compltly) ignord, but this dos not mattr as th support for Bn s cours of action for his two xisting staff has bn clarly dvlopd and thr is a sns of stratgy bhind it. Total: 17/20 marks (Lvl 4) OCR AS Businss Studis Philip Allan Updats 7

8 Qustions and answrs Qustion 3* Using th cash-flow forcast for yar 5, discuss th possibl changs that could b mad by Bn s Biks in ordr to improv th situation. (16 marks) Cash flow and cash-flow forcast for 5th yar of trading ( s) Month January April July Octobr Dcmbr Cash inflows/incom Sals rvnu 11,000 25,000 40,200 25,500 52,000 Cash outflows/xpnditur Cost of purchass 10,500 21,000 30,150 19,125 39,000 Hating and lighting Las paymnts ,500 1,500 1,500 Othr costs 2,000 2,000 2,000 2,200 2,200 Nt cash inflow (1,800) 200 6,210 2,335 8,950 Forcastd sals figurs Includs wags, rats, advrtising and intrst on a loan Commntary Possibl changs includ: incrasing sals, but this may incur additional costs in th short run, which would not hlp th cash-flow situation accpting th ida of a nw partnr to gain a cash injction which could thn b usd for ithr incrasing sals and/or rducing costs slling off stock at rducd prics, ovrdrafts, rducing crdit priods and holding lss stock Mark schm Lvl 4 Som valuation shown by supportd judgmnt mad about th suggstd changs for Bn s Biks. Commnt on th lack of dtaild information; th cash-flow forcast is only for 3 months and th months ar not qually sprad; nor is it known how accurat th forcast is or what vnts may happn to affct th cash flow of th businss. Comparison of mthods of improving th cash flow followd by slction of on as bing th most appropriat for Bn s Biks, with justification. Complx idas ar xprssd clarly and fluntly using a styl of writing appropriat to th complx subjct mattr. Sntncs and paragraphs, consistntly rlvant, ar wll structurd, using appropriat tchnical trminology. Thr may b fw, if any, rrors of splling, punctuation and grammar. (12 16 marks) Lvl 3 Som analysis of th possibl changs that could b mad to improv th cashflow situation with spcific rfrnc to th contxt. Suggstions as to th implications for Bn s Biks if a particular mthod of improving th cash flow is applid. OCR AS Businss Studis Philip Allan Updats 8

9 Qustions and answrs Rlativly straightforward idas ar xprssd with som clarity and fluncy. Argumnts ar gnrally rlvant, though may stray from th point of th qustion. Thr will b som rrors of splling, punctuation and grammar, but ths ar unlikly to b intrusiv or obscur maning. (7 11 marks) Lvl 2 Som undrstanding of th issus rlatd to th cash flow for th businss. No ral suggstions/xplanations for changs that will improv th cash flow of this businss. Simpl commnts mad rlatd to cash flow. Thr ar likly to b rrors of splling, punctuation and grammar, som of which may b noticabl and intrusiv. (3 6 marks) Lvl 1 Som knowldg of cash flow in gnral trms. Som simpl idas ar xprssd. Thr will b som rrors of splling, punctuation and grammar that ar noticabl and intrusiv. Writing may also lack lgibility. (1 2 marks) Answr Th tabl shows that th cash flow for th businss is forcastd to b rally poor. In som of th months it is a ngativ figur. Bn has only bn going for 4 yars and thrfor may not b sortd in trms of how to mak mony. If h was to introduc onlin ordring this may sav him a lot in costs, which could b usd to ithr buy th shop nxt door and sav on his las paymnts or rduc th staff costs in th shop. Th answr dos not indicat why th forcast cash flow is rally poor. It rfrs to th fact that thr is a ngativ figur in som months, but no figurs ar quotd or any particular month citd to support this. Th suggstion that Bn should introduc onlin sals is Lvl 1.Th xplanation of th consquncs would accss Lvl 2, but Lvl 3 could not b gaind as thr is no link to th qustion.to accss Lvl 3 th candidat ndd to xplain that this would rduc xpnditur and thrfor rduc th outflows, which in turn would hlp improv th nt cash flow. Slling mor biks will incras his rvnu and thrfor his cash flow will b vn mor positiv for th rst of th yar. Although tru, this statmnt dos not offr sufficint xplanation or analysis to warrant Lvl 3. How will it improv th cash flow? How will it b achivd? Judging from th tabl, is it likly to occur? With th growth of cycl paths thr is a good possibility that Bn will b abl to sll mor biks and this will man h has mor rvnu. If h slls mor biks h may b abl to buy th biks for lss mony du to conomis of scal. This will man that h has mor mony to covr th costs of th ovrhad in th businss. This is an attmpt to provid analysis in th contxt of th cas and mak a link btwn th suggstion and th outcom. If th candidat had mad it clar that as a rsult of th conomis of scal gaind from bulk buying, Bn s unit costs would fall and Bn would not hav to spnd as much and thrfor his cash outflows would b rducd, a high Lvl 3 would hav bn gaind. OCR AS Businss Studis Philip Allan Updats 9

10 Qustions and answrs A good candidat might hav gon on to point out that to gain th savings via conomis of scal, Bn would nd to buy mor biks and so would b holding mor stock and it would thrfor dpnd on th tim of yar, in trms of his sals, if this was a good stratgy. His brothr may b abl to injct mony into th businss to hlp th cash flow. This may man that Bn is abl to pay off any loans that h has and thrfor this will improv his cash flow. It may also allow him to rduc th numbr of mploys and h can solv th problm of Ronak and Jason. Although th candidat is on th right lins, thr is again a lack of dvlopmnt in th contxt of th cas and th qustion. This paragraph is bordrlin Lvl 2/3. If th candidat had mad it clar how Bn s brothr s mony would affct th cash flow, Lvl 3 would hav bn rachd. Furthrmor, if th answr had also dvlopd how Bn s brothr bcoming a partnr would hlp rduc th numbr of mploys in trms of th cash flow, a highr Lvl 3 mark would hav bn gaind. H could also us factoring to rduc his dbtors. Just mntioning anothr possibl mthod of improving th cash flow would at bst b a Lvl 1 mark for knowldg. Howvr, thr is no rason to bliv that this is a viabl option, as th cas givs no indication of any dbts and it is highly unlikly that a factoring businss would b involvd. You ar xpctd to slct appropriat mthods in th contxt of th cas. Ovrall, this candidat has attmptd to apply som businss studis knowldg to th qustion. Howvr, thr wr svral missd opportunitis to us th information providd in th tabl and th cas. Information in th cas is thr for you to us. Thr is no vidnc of any valuation.th candidat could hav suggstd that th bst mthod for Bn s Biks would b to form a partnrship with his brothr bcaus (justification) it would not hav any ngativ ffcts on th cash flow of th businss, unlik trying to incras sals, whr outflows would hav to incras to gnrat furthr sals. Altrnativly, valuativ commnts on th rliability of th forcasts in th first plac th lack of dtaild information, th lack of knowldg about what happns in th othr months not listd would also b rwardd. Th idas prsntd ar xprssd with som clarity.th points raisd ar rlvant and any rrors in grammar or splling ar not intrusiv. Total: 8/16 marks (Lvl 3) OCR AS Businss Studis Philip Allan Updats 10

11 Qustions and answrs Qustion 4* Bn dos not do much markting. Discuss possibl promotion stratgis that h could us for Bn s Biks. (16 marks) Commntary Two answrs to this qustion ar givn hr to highlight th diffrncs btwn a good and a poor answr. Th first answr dos not dvlop th points raisd and dos not us th contxt of th cas, apart from mntioning at th nd that biks ar involvd. Such an approach will not arn nough marks for a satisfactory grad. In th scond answr th candidat dos try to dvlop th issu and uss th contxt of th cas ffctivly. H/sh maks a clar attmpt to prioritis th importanc of th mthods discussd. Mark schm Lvl 4 Som valuation shown by supporting any judgmnt mad about promotion stratgis that Bn may or may not find appropriat. Complx idas ar xprssd clarly and fluntly using a styl of writing appropriat to th complx subjct mattr. Sntncs and paragraphs, consistntly rlvant, ar wll structurd, using appropriat tchnical trminology. Thr may b fw, if any, rrors of splling, punctuation and grammar. (12 16 marks) Lvl 3 Som analysis of appropriat promotion stratgis that could b implmntd by Bn, with spcific rfrnc to th contxt. Rlativly straightforward idas ar xprssd with som clarity and fluncy. Argumnts ar gnrally rlvant, though may stray from th point of th qustion. Thr will b som rrors of splling, punctuation and grammar, but ths ar unlikly to b intrusiv or obscur maning. (7 11 marks) Lvl 2 Som undrstanding shown of how promotion stratgis may oprat, without any ral attmpt to discuss th issus facd by Bn s Biks. Thr ar likly to b rrors of splling, punctuation and grammar, som of which may b noticabl and intrusiv. (3 6 marks) Lvl 1 Som knowldg of promotion stratgis in gnral. Som simpl idas ar xprssd. Thr will b som rrors of splling, punctuation and grammar that ar noticabl and intrusiv. Writing may also lack lgibility. (1 2 marks) OCR AS Businss Studis Philip Allan Updats 11

12 Qustions and answrs Answr Candidat A Bn could us advrtising to attract customrs. Possibl placs for advrts includ tlvision, radio, th intrnt and nwspaprs. This has th advantag of th businss bing wll covrd, as many popl will s th advrtismnts. Th drawbacks of this for Bn s businss ar that Bn might not b abl to afford such national mdia covrag. Mass mdia covrag is not spcific to his businss. As a small shop Bn could us incntivs to prsuad customrs to com again. For Bn this could includ bonus points, loyalty cards or pric rductions. Bn rlis havily on word of mouth as a main sourc of promotion for his businss. To chang this cultur Bn might dcid to hold public rlations (PR) vnts. This would allow Bn to mak sur th businss is wll known. H could also us dirct markting. This is an xampl of informativ and prsuasiv promotion. It includs mail shots and is oftn supportd by catalogus. This is an asy way of gtting th products to a customr, but it is xpnsiv and customrs can find it a nuisanc rciving mail that thy didn t want. Promotion nds to b ffctiv for th businss. Tlvision advrtising may hav hug covrag, but in Bn s cas thr is no point in advrtising his biks on national tlvision. It is thrfor mor ffctiv prhaps to advrtis in bik magazins which his targt audinc will b rading. This answr attmpts to considr diffrnt mthods of advrtising. Thr is som mntion of othr mthods of promotion that could b usd but littl discussion of ths. Th national mdia approach is (corrctly) discountd, but th candidat only considrs dirct markting as an altrnativ. Thr is no attmpt to show how Bn might us th diffrnt mthods.th final suggstion of using bik magazins at last rcogniss that th businss is a bik shop. Ovrall, th answr dsrvs som crdit for considring th mthods with limitd, dscriptiv discussion.th simpl commnts mad ar rlatd to th qustion. Total: 5/16 marks (Lvl 2) Candidat B Promotion is all about communication and tlling customrs about nw products. Th aim is to prsuad customrs to buy that product. Bn has th advantag of living in a bikloving town, h should thrfor hav no problm maximising on popl s lov for th product to hlp him incras his sals. To do this Bn must us a varity of diffrnt promotion stratgis. Advrtising is th most common and most usd form of promotion. It includs abov-thlin forms of mdia lik tlvision, cinma and radio. Abov-th-lin is dirct advrtising through consumr mdia. Advrtising can also includ indirct advrtising such as product placmnt. Bn only has on shop and livs in a small ara. Thr is no nd for mass mdia covrag as this is pointlss as nobody from far away will visit a small bik shop. Bn should us small advrtismnts in th local papr this is a chap and ffctiv option. H could also us advrtismnts on th local radio and flyrs around th town cntr. OCR AS Businss Studis Philip Allan Updats 12

13 Qustions and answrs Th nxt forms of promotion ar considrd to b blow-th-lin activitis. Bn could us his knowldg about biks to prform dirct slling whr th customrs ar approachd dirctly and told about th product. Bn could us dirct markting bcaus of th fact h has a lot of rpat custom, which although good can soon dry up and h nds to find nw customrs. Dirct markting includs mail shots and catalogus snt to customrs. Point-of-sal promotion stratgy is whr Bn could sll mostly small parts. This involvs placing small pics, usually on offr, by th cash dsk. This will hopfully prompt th customr to buy th product. Incntivs ar a good ida bcaus of th rpat custom that th shop gts. Customrs fl that kping on shopping thr will lad to bonuss and loyaltis for thm. In my opinion, Bn should try to assss what has workd wll in th past and also carry out simpl markt rsarch to discovr mor about th typ of customrs thy currntly hav and what thir intrsts might b. H could thn start with simpl mthods of advrtising (laflts tc.) followd by othr mthods of promotion. Promotion is all about bing ffctiv to your particular businss and its nds. If Bn taks up stratgis of advrtising locally and offring incntivs to customrs, thn I fl h would hav run a succssful markting campaign. This answr maks a good attmpt to considr diffrnt mthods of promotion in rlation to th cas study. Abov-th-lin tchniqus ar considrd and ffctivly dismissd.th ffctivnss of diffrnt blow-th-lin mthods is also considrd and th candidat maks a simpl attmpt to prioritis th diffrnt mthods suggstd and to prsnt a possibl stratgy with som notion of what to do whn. Th answr could hav bn improvd by linking th advantags and disadvantags of diffrnt mthods of promotion mor closly to th contxt of Bn s Biks. Idas ar xprssd clarly and in an appropriat styl, using rlvant businss studis concpts throughout and producing a wll-structurd answr. Total: 12/16 marks (Lvl 4) OCR AS Businss Studis Philip Allan Updats 13

14 Qustions and answrs Qustion 5* Bn fls that th uniqu slling point of his businss is th advic and srvic h offrs. Discuss how Bn could nsur a high-quality srvic to his customrs. (20 marks) Commntary Thr ar svral routs into th qustion.you could considr som of th following points: Markt rsarch. Bn nds to nsur that h stocks th right products not just biks, but complmntary products as wll. H nds to kp an y on th dmographics of th ara. Youngr popl rquir diffrnt modls from childrn/oldr popl. If h cannot mt consumr xpctations this will b sn as a poor-quality srvic and popl may go to a rival stor instad. Bn must kp up to dat with th products availabl so that h can continu to offr appropriat advic and support to his customrs. H will nd to train Jason, Ronak and his brothr in ths too. Th motivation of his staff is important although this dos not sm to b an issu at th momnt. Bn s supplirs ar ky stakholdrs. H nds to nsur that dlivris ar on tim and that if h is out of stock a rplacmnt can b dlivrd swiftly. This could man paying promptly. This may worsn his cash flow but should strngthn th rlationship with his supplirs. An ffctiv systm of stock control so that Bn and his mploys know what is in stock. Chcking th stock for dfcts, scratchs tc. will nsur that th customr rcivs a quality product. Thr ar issus hr such as who will do this and whn. Mark schm Lvl 4 Som valuation shown by supportd judgmnt,.g. a wighting of th importanc of th quality issus. Complx idas ar xprssd clarly and fluntly using a styl of writing appropriat to th complx subjct mattr. Sntncs and paragraphs, consistntly rlvant, ar wll structurd, using appropriat tchnical trminology. Thr may b fw, if any, rrors of splling, punctuation and grammar. (15 20 marks) Lvl 3 Som analysis of quality issu(s) in contxt of Bn s Biks Rlativly straightforward idas ar xprssd with som clarity and fluncy. Argumnts ar gnrally rlvant, though may stray from th point of th qustion. Thr will b som rrors of splling, punctuation and grammar, but ths ar unlikly to b intrusiv or obscur maning. (9 14 marks) Lvl 2 Som application/undrstanding of quality issu(s). Gnral commnts about quality issus with littl contxt. Som simpl idas ar xprssd in an appropriat contxt. Thr ar likly to b som rrors of splling, punctuation and grammar, som of which may b noticabl and intrusiv. (4 8 marks) Lvl 1 Knowldg rcalld about th natur of quality/quality control in a businss. Thr will b som rrors of splling, punctuation and grammar that ar noticabl and intrusiv. Writing may also lack lgibility. (1 3 marks) OCR AS Businss Studis Philip Allan Updats 14

15 Qustions and answrs Answr Quality is vry important in any businss. If Bn dos not pay attntion to it his whol businss will suffr. First, all th stock must b good. Th cas says Bn liks to chck all dlivris prsonally. This taks up quit a lot of his tim but h blivs that it is worth th troubl. I think so too. H may spnd tim on it but h knows it s right. This opning paragraph suggsts that thr is going to b a sns of dvloping prioritis in addrssing quality issus, but this dos not continu in th rst of th answr. Bn nds to nsur that h has th right biks if not h won t hav what popl want and this is not good as in futur thy will go to Halfords instad so h will los out so th right stock at all tims is vry important. This long sntnc (which dos hav som valid points) dos not hlp th dvlopmnt of th answr. Som contxt is usd but th answr achivs Lvl 2 at bst. JIT could b usd to mak sur h dos not wast any mony but for this to work h nds a good rlationship with thm or thy will not dlivr and so thr is a poor quality srvic. Stock control is valid, but JIT in this contxt is crtainly not.th thm prsumably mans supplirs. Morovr, th qustion is not about saving th businss mony. Rally h nds a systm of TQM in plac. This mans vryon (Jason and Ronak and Michal) always know what to do about quality and thn Bn will hav a quality srvic and quality products at all tims. This is anothr throwaway rfrnc to a businss concpt. If TQM is appropriat, how should Bn dvlop it? Ovrall, this is a wak answr that is much too short for a 16-mark qustion. Th ton is man in th strt (apart from passing rfrncs to JIT and TQM, th formr bing inappropriat and th lattr not dvlopd) rathr than that of a studnt of AS businss studis. Som simpl commnts ar mad, but th sntncs ar long and intrusiv.th answr is not clarly xprssd and is thus lss radabl. If tim allows in th xamination, it is always a good ida to rad through your answrs.this will hlp you to nsur that your answr xprsss clarly what you want to say. Total: 6/20 marks (Lvl 2) OCR AS Businss Studis Philip Allan Updats 15