Organisational structure & design

Which of the following is an advantage of job production?

Which of the following pairs of legal structures both benefit from limited liability?

Which of the following is an economic influence on businesses?

Which of the following is a method of digital communication?

Which of the following is the formula for average unit costs?

Which of the following describes the lean production technique of just-in-time (JIT)?

Identify two factors a business may consider when choosing a supplier.

Explain one reason why a person might want to become an entrepreneur.

Explain one reason why the training of current employees may be needed.

Explain one disadvantage to a business of decentralisation.

Explain what is meant by opportunity cost for a business.

State and describe two documents which may be produced during the recruitment and selection process of employees.

Item A: D@SO Ltd

D@SO Ltd receives a discount from suppliers for buying in bulk. It holds a buffer stock which helps during busy times such as Christmas when demand is unpredictable.

A local supplier can deliver raw materials within 24 hours. If D@SO Ltd switches to this supplier, it would be able to order small quantities when customer orders are received. The current stock storage room could then be used to expand the production area. However, prices from the new local supplier are higher than those from the current supplier in China.

Figure 1 Exchange rate of Chinese yuan to British pound 2025

Explain one benefit for a business of using a lean production approach.

A business is exporting products to China.

Explain how the change in the value of the British pound (£) against the Chinese yuan from January to October would affect the price of its products in China.

Use the data in Figure 1 in your answer.

Using the data in Figure 2, on page 7, explain the change in the import costs and how a business could respond to this change.

D@SO Ltd has set an aim of increasing profits.

Recommend whether D@SO Ltd should introduce just-in-time (JIT) stock control. Give reasons for your recommendation.

Item B: D@SO Ltd

Explain one reason why a business may need to recruit a new employee.

Gwen managed 5 experienced production employees before D@SO Ltd expanded and increased production staff to 12.

Analyse how the organisational structure of the production department will change with the expansion.

The two employees who have applied to job share have worked for the business for 5 years and know the other employees well.

Recommend whether D@SO Ltd should allow the two employees to job share the supervisor’s role. Give reasons for your recommendation.

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.

Which of the following is true for a public limited company?

Which of the following costs is an example of a variable cost?

Which of the following statements describes job production?

If an employee changes from full-time employment to job sharing, which of the following is true?

Which of the following is likely to be an effect of delayering in an organisation?

Which statement is most likely to be correct when interest rates rise?

Identify two stakeholders of a business.

Explain one cost of maintaining quality during the production of a product.

Explain one disadvantage to a business of poor customer service.

Describe one characteristic of an entrepreneur.

Explain what is meant by ‘induction training’.

State and explain two financial methods of rewarding employees.

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.

Which of the following is a financial method of motivation?

Which of the following is an example of on the job training?

Which of the following is correct when a business uses just-in-case stock control rather than just-in-time stock control?

Which of the following is a benefit of using a website to provide information to customers?

Which of the following describes the total quality management approach (TQM)?

Which of the following is one of the four factors of production?

Explain one detail that could be agreed between partners in a partnership.

Explain one reason why it is important for a business to have an internal organisational structure.

Explain one example of how a business would meet the requirements of consumer law to provide safe goods or services.

Explain one reason for completing a job analysis.

Explain one reason why a business would set objectives.

Explain two benefits to a business of using internal recruitment.

Item C: Fone ltd

Using Item C, explain one advantage to Fone ltd of being a private limited company when expanding the business.

The business has decided to expand by introducing car phone holders to its product range.

Using Item C, explain the opportunity cost of this decision.

There have been 500 applications received for the team leader’s job and the business now needs to shortlist only the most suitable applicants.

Using Item C, analyse one way the person specification can be used to decide which applicants to invite for an interview.

Item D: Fone ltd

Identify one reason for diseconomies of scale occurring.

Using the information in Table 2, calculate the average number of phone cases per month produced from April to June.

Demand for the new ultra-thin phone cases is increasing.

Analyse one advantage to Fone ltd of introducing its new flow production process.

Item E: Fone ltd

Introduce a new lean production technique

Each department can have a group of up to three employees making suggestions on how to improve the process to lead to higher productivity.

It will be optional to join these groups.

Groups can be set up immediately and will have responsibility for reviewing roles and tasks within the department and suggesting changes.

There will be a bonus of £5000 for each department (to be shared within the department) if they improve productivity in the next three months.

Change the organisational structure and recruit internally for new assistant managers within each department

Internal recruitment for assistant managers can be completed within a month.

This will result in a pay rise of £5000 for successful applicants.

Assistant managers will have the authority to make some decisions and will oversee training.

Figure 1 Current organisational structure of Fone ltd

Table 3 Information about employees’ productivity in each department at Fone ltd

Anita wants to increase the productivity of all employees quickly and plans to use two options to achieve this.

1. Introduce a new lean production technique to each department.

2. Change the organisational structure and recruit internally for new assistant managers within each department.

Analyse the effect of each of these two options on all employees at Fone ltd.

Recommend which option Fone ltd should introduce first to improve productivity of all its employees in the short term.

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.

Item A: JAA Toys

Explain one reason why the objectives of a business may change over time.

Jameel expects to produce and sell 40 toys per month at a price of £30 each.

Each toy will cost £6.50 to make. Other business costs will be £80 per month.

Jameel plans to take some money from the business’ profits.

Calculate how much Jameel would take each month if he pays himself 80% of the profit.

Jameel would have three months to make the 100 toys for the local toy shop.

Recommend whether Jameel should create a business plan before making a decision about accepting the order. Give reasons for your recommendation.

Item B: JAA Toys

Explain one way in which health and safety law might decrease the profits of a business.

Jameel will manage all the employees himself.

Analyse one drawback of a flat organisational structure for JAA Toys.

It is difficult for Jameel to predict demand and there are times when he has few orders.

Recommend whether Jameel should use zero-hour contracts for the new employees. Give reasons for your recommendation.