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GCE MAY 2008 : (A2 1) Objectives and The Business Environment People in Organisations, Accounting and Finance, Marketing and Operations Management

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ADVANCED General Certificate of Education 2008 Business Studies Assessment Unit A2 1 Modules 4 and 5: Objectives and The Business Environment, People in Organisations, Accounting and Finance, Marketing and Operations Management A2T11 assessing [A2T11] THURSDAY 22 MAY, MORNING TIME 1 hour 40 minutes. INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES Write your Centre Number and Candidate Number on the Answer Booklet provided. Answer any two questions out of four. You are provided with an insert answer page for use with Question 4(b) in this paper. INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES The total mark for this paper is 60. Quality of written communication will be assessed in all questions except Questions 2(b) and 4(b). Figures in brackets printed down the right-hand side of pages indicate the marks awarded to each question or part question. At the conclusion of the examination, attach the insert answer page securely to the Answer Booklet with the treasury tag supplied. ADVICE TO CANDIDATES You are advised to take account of the marks for each part question in allocating the available examination time. A2T1S8 3644 Answer any two questions. 1 Study the information below and answer the questions that follow. Motivating Employees Orla Rooney is a Production Supervisor in Compex plc, a computer manufacturing company. She has been employed by the company for almost ten years and enjoys her job, although it can be very demanding at times. Orla has direct responsibility for sixteen semi-skilled assembly line workers and has to ensure that her team regularly meets weekly production targets. She finds it difficult to keep all of them motivated all of the time. Three weeks ago, a new Operations Manager, Gareth Foley, was appointed within the company. One of his first actions was to meet all the Production Supervisors in order to hear their views on the best ways to improve productivity within Compex plc. At first Orla was impressed by his enthusiasm, but when he started to talk about motivating workers by applying Maslow s hierarchy of needs, she began to get slightly worried. These worries were increased recently when Orla and the other Production Supervisors received an e-mail from Gareth, which stated that he intended to increase their span of control to twenty workers. He believes that this reduction in supervision would help to motivate the assembly line operatives. Thinking about her weekly production target, Orla did not feel quite so confident about this. She had never heard of Maslow before and wondered if his theory worked in practice. (a) Explain briefly Maslow s hierarchy of needs. [4] (b) Discuss how a business such as Compex plc might motivate workers by applying Maslow s hierarchy of needs in the workplace. [8] (c) Evaluate whether Gareth should widen the span of control of the Production Supervisors within Compex Ltd. [18] A2T1S8 3644 2 2 Read the information below and answer the questions that follow. Critical Path Analysis Build It Ltd, a local building firm, is experiencing problems. Although there has been a boom in the housing market in recent years, the firm is struggling to complete its contracts on time because of poor management of the building process. Bricklayers and plasterers working on the firm s latest project, a new housing development in Omagh, are often idle as suppliers fail to deliver materials on time. On other occasions sub-contractors such as plumbers and electricians are not on-site when they should be. If houses are not completed on time Build It Ltd must pay a penalty fee and its reputation is damaged. Rob Williams, the site foreman of Build It Ltd has been instructed by the owners to improve the building process so that houses are completed efficiently and on time. In order to do this he decides to conduct a critical path analysis so that he can determine the length of time it takes to complete a house. Rob has identified nine main activities in the building process and these are shown in the table below. Activity Duration (weeks) Dependant on: A 10 B 5 A C 4 A D 3 B E 2 D F 3 D G 1 E H 6 C, F I 2 G, H (a) Explain what is meant by the following terms associated with critical path analysis: (i) The critical path (ii) Total float [4] (b) Draw and complete the critical path analysis, clearly stating: (i) The critical path (ii) The duration of the project [8] (c) Evaluate the usefulness of critical path analysis to a firm such as Build It Ltd. A2T1S8 3644 [18] [Turn over Study the information below and answer the questions that follow. Overseas Marketing and the Extended Marketing Mix SetSail plc manufactures exclusive motorboats in its factory in Bangor, Co Down. The company has expanded several times over the past 15 years and it is becoming more widely known. One reason for the firm s growth has been the rise in disposable income in the UK which has increased demand for luxury goods. Despite this growth, SetSail s potential expansion is limited by the size of the domestic market. This has resulted in the firm seeking orders from abroad and may require additional support from the bank. SetSail plc s Marketing Director, Don Ficher, initially encouraged the company to focus its overseas marketing activities within the European Union, mainly because of the lack of trade barriers. However, some of the other Directors now want the firm to move into new international markets such as the USA and Canada where there is a high demand for luxury goods. They believe that this move would be successful despite the trade barriers that may exist. In the past SetSail plc has always used the four Ps when marketing its products. However, Don is now considering using the Extended Marketing Mix in order to meet the changing expectations of consumers, but feels the disadvantages may outweigh any benefits the firm might gain. (a) Explain two ways in which banks can assist a firm such as SetSail plc to market its products internationally. [4] (b) Discuss how a business such as SetSail plc might have benefitted from operating within the EU. [8] (c) Evaluate whether SetSail plc should extend its marketing mix. A2T1S8 3644 4 [18] 4 Read the information below and answer the questions that follow. Decision Trees Noel Philips, the Marketing Manager of Crisspo Ltd, has judged that one of the firm s snack products may be nearing the end of its product life cycle. If the product, Crizbits, is allowed to remain unchanged, Noel estimates that there is a 0.8 probability of annual sales falling to 48,000 and only a 0.2 probability that sales may be maintained at their current level of 360,000. Crizbits could be modified slightly by introducing a new flavour, but the cost of achieving this would be 90,000. Noel would then have to decide how much to spend promoting the new flavour. He estimates that a modest advertising campaign costing 28,000 would have a 0.4 probability of success, raising annual sales to 600,000. If the advertising campaign failed, sales of the new flavour would probably reach 420,000. On the other hand, spending 120,000 to heavily advertise the new flavour might bring sales of 1,000,000 if successful. Given the strength of the brand name, Noel reckons that there would be a 0.9 probability of this occurring. Even failure of such an expensive advertising campaign would bring sales of 500,000. Noel has decided to use decision tree analysis to assist him in deciding how to proceed. He believes that calculating the expected value of each decision will provide him with all the information he needs to achieve the best outcome for Crisspo Ltd. (a) Explain what is meant by the expected value of each decision . [4] (b) Discuss which option would be best for Crisspo Ltd, by completing a decision tree and using it to analyse the situation. [8] A blank decision tree is attached for use with this question. You should attach it to your Answer Booklet with the treasury tag supplied. (c) Evaluate the usefulness of decision tree analysis to a business such as Crisspo Ltd. THIS IS THE END OF THE QUESTION PAPER A2T1S8 3644 [18] Permission to reproduce all copyright material has been applied for. In some cases, efforts to contact copyright holders may have been unsuccessful and CCEA will be happy to rectify any omissions of acknowledgement in future if notified. SP (SC) T55033/4 Decision Tree for use with Question 4 GCE Business Studies Advanced Assessment Unit A2 Modules 4 and 5 A2T1S8 3644.02 SP (SC) T55033/4

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Additional Info : Gce Business Studies May 2008 Assessment Unit A2 1 Modules 4 and 5: Objectives and The Business Environment, People in Organisations, Accounting and Finance, Marketing and Operations Management
Tags : General Certificate of Education, A Level and AS Level, uk, council for the curriculum examinations and assessment, gce exam papers, gce a level and as level exam papers , gce past questions and answer, gce past question papers, ccea gce past papers, gce ccea past papers

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