Business growth & integration

Item C: Solar Scene Ltd

Explain one negative impact a business may have on the environment.

Telesales staff at Solar Scene Ltd have excellent technical knowledge of the solar panels and can address concerns immediately.

Explain one reason why Solar Scene Ltd uses telesales to distribute solar panels.

The solar panel market is a growing market and in 2024 grew by 40%. The average sales revenue growth of competitors is 35%.

Analyse one way that the information in Solar Scene Ltd’s income statements would help potential investors decide whether to invest in the company.

Item D: Solar Scene Ltd

Explain one benefit for a business of using market segmentation.

Solar Scene Ltd has placed an order with its supplier for 8 solar panels. The total cost of the order is £12 000.

Using the information in Item D, calculate the cost of the order once the discount has been applied.

Show all workings.

Using the information in Table 2, calculate the gross profit margin for Solar Scene Ltd for 2024.

Show all workings.

Whilst the business grows, Karl will communicate with staff through monthly, instead of weekly, meetings.

Analyse one type of diseconomies of scale that may occur if Solar Scene Ltd expands quickly.

Item E: Solar Scene Ltd

Karl wants Solar Scene Ltd to expand into the business segment of the market. He is considering two options:

1. Apply for a government grant to build a factory in the UK

2. Merge with a manufacturer in China

Analyse the effect of each of these two options for Solar Scene Ltd.

Evaluate which of these two options will have the biggest impact on the ability of Solar Scene Ltd to be competitive in the business segment of the market.

Which of the following is a benefit to an entrepreneur of operating as a sole trader?

Which of the following is a method of internal recruitment?

Which of the following describes when induction training should take place?

Which of the following is correct for a flat organisational structure?

Which of the following is the most likely effect of a decrease in interest rates?

Which of the following is an example of a fixed cost?

Explain one method of growth used by a business when expanding organically or externally.

Explain why a business uses delayering.

Explain one way a person specification can be used as part of the recruitment process.

Businesses aim to meet the needs and wants of customers. Explain the meaning of the term ‘need’ using an example.

Explain one disadvantage to a business of expanding through external growth.

Land is one of the four factors of production.

Identify and explain two factors of production other than land.

Item A: Luscious Locks by E

Explain one benefit to a business of employing workers on a part-time contract.

Elaine makes all of the decisions in the business. She rarely consults with anyone.

Analyse one drawback for LLE of Elaine’s management style.

The college course would allow John to gain an advanced qualification in the latest hairstyling techniques.

Recommend whether Elaine should allow John to attend the college course. Give reasons for your answer.

Item B: Luscious Locks by E

Explain one benefit of growth to a business.

Elaine ordered 20 organic hair treatments for £300 in total.

Calculate the unit cost of each treatment. Show your workings.

The supplier has offered a 35% discount.

Calculate the total cost of 120 organic hair treatments with this discount. Use your answer to Question 2.5 in your calculation.

Show your workings.

Elaine orders the treatments to arrive just in time for each customer’s appointment.

Recommend whether Elaine should change to just-in-case stock control. Give reasons for your recommendation.

Item A: Xanthe’s Tech-Academy

Explain what is meant by ‘off the job’ training.

Xanthe has set a target to make 200% profit on top of costs each time the new course is run.

Two trainers will run the four-hour course with 30 people attending.

Using Table 1 calculate the selling price per person.

Xanthe believes increasing the range of courses offered will keep the business competitive.

Recommend whether XTA should introduce the new course ‘Using Web Conferencing Effectively’. Give reasons for your answer.

Item B: Xanthe’s Tech-Academy

Explain one benefit of internal recruitment.

Xanthe uses delegation to give employees greater levels of responsibility.

Analyse one benefit to XTA of using delegation to motivate employees.

Xanthe involves her employees in some decision making but she makes all major decisions herself.

Recommend whether Xanthe should create a taller organisational structure. Give reasons for your choice.

Item C: Emilios

Explain one way a business might measure its success, other than profit.

Explain one reason why Cornets Ltd decided to sell its ice cream cones through a wholesaler.

Emilios gives away free samples of its ‘flavour of the day’ to boost sales.

Analyse one drawback of Emilios offering free samples.

Item D: Emilios

Figure 1 Food preferences of the UK population – 2023 forecast

Emilios is introducing a range of vegan ice cream. To produce the new ice cream, it will need to purchase more equipment. The equipment will cost £12 000 and has an estimated life of eight years. Emilios predicts that using the equipment will lead to an additional profit of £28 800 over its lifetime.

Emilios currently pays a cleaning company a fixed amount to clean the ice cream shop every evening after closing time. The ice cream shop is quiet in the mornings and sometimes Emilios’ staff do not have much to do.

A low-cost supermarket chain has recently opened in a nearby town. The supermarket is known for its cheap ‘value’ range of foods. The supermarket sells all the ingredients Emilios uses to make its ice cream. Emilios has calculated that the cost of buying its ice cream ingredients from the wholesaler has increased by 25% over the last two years.

The UK population is forecasted to be 68.26m in 2023.

Using Figure 1, calculate the predicted number of vegans in the UK in 2023.

Show all workings.

Give your answer to two decimal places.

Using Item D, calculate the average rate of return for the new equipment if Emilios purchases it.

State the formula for the average rate of return and show your workings.

Emilios is looking to maintain standards at the ice cream shop while reducing costs.

Analyse one action Emilios could take to reduce its costs.

Item E: Emilios

Emilios wants to increase sales revenue during the winter months. It is considering two options to achieve this. Both options will cost the same to set up. The options are:

• develop a new product range of ice cream desserts to sell to the restaurant chain

• expand by opening an ice cream shop in the town centre.

Analyse the effect of each of these two options on Emilios.

Evaluate which of these two options will have the biggest impact on sales revenue for Emilios.

Item A: Premium Motors

Identify two objectives of a business.

Premium Motors has received a booking for a wedding in Manchester that requires four cars. Premium Motors will make £50 profit per car.

The costs will be as follows:

• driver £50 per car

• petrol £20 per car

• £200 payment towards fixed costs.

Calculate Premium Motors’ revenue for this booking.

Since Premium Motors started 10 years ago it has expanded slowly using organic growth.

Recommend whether Premium Motors should now take over LLC. Give reasons for your recommendation.

Item B: Premium Motors

Explain one economic change that can affect a business.

Janet is considering introducing a new induction training programme for the new drivers to ensure a high level of customer service.

Analyse one benefit of introducing the new induction training for drivers.

Premium Motors has developed the new website to provide information about cars before making a booking. Janet is thinking of adding the option to book cars directly on the website.

Recommend whether Janet should use e-commerce to improve customer service at Premium Motors. Give reasons for your recommendation.

Which of the following characteristics of an entrepreneur is the ability to develop new ideas/products?

Which of the following describes the chain of command?

Which of the following is a definition of a part time contract of employment?

Which of the following is the formula for total costs?

Which of the following is the next stage in the selection process after the closing date for job applications?

Enterprise is one of the four factors of production. Which of the following is a definition of enterprise?

State two financial methods of motivation.

Explain one method a business may use to expand.

Explain one benefit of job production to a business.

Explain one benefit to shareholders of limited liability.

Identify two stages of the process of procurement.

State and explain two employment laws.

Which element of the marketing mix involves selecting a channel of distribution?

Which source of finance is available to a limited company but not a sole trader?

Which pricing method involves calculating the costs of production and adding a percentage to make a profit?

What is the name for the category of products in the Boston Matrix labelled X below?

Which method of growth involves employing another business to produce products or provide services?

Which of the following would be on a statement of financial position?

Explain what is meant by the term ‘economies of scale’.

Identify two ways business activity can have an impact on the environment.

Way 1

Way 2

Explain one way a business can minimise risk.

Explain one way that promoting a good or service can increase sales.

Use the break-even chart below to calculate the margin of safety in units if the actual number of units sold was 700.

Show all workings.

State and explain two extension strategies that can extend the life cycle of a product.

Item A: TradeUp

Identify the business sector that provides services to customers.

Calculate the average number of TradeUp stores opened each year from 2017 to 2019.

Show all workings.

Analyse one benefit for TradeUp of expanding through franchising.

Amelia is considering using a focus group of six customers to gain feedback on her idea.

Advise Amelia whether it is a good idea to use a focus group for her research. Give reasons for your advice.

Item B: TradeUp

Table 1 Extract of Income Statement for year ending April 2020

Explain one factor that influences pricing decisions.

Amelia is aiming to reduce cost of sales in 2021 so she can improve her gross profit. She predicts her sales revenue will stay the same.

Calculate the difference in the gross profit margin between 2020 and 2021 if Amelia increases gross profit by 25%.

State the formula for gross profit margin and show your workings.

Recommend whether Amelia should relocate her TradeUp store from the town centre to the retail park.

Give reasons for your answer.