Past Exam Papers
2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 Mark Schemes 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 Examiner Reports 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 |
Unit 3: Strategic Business Decisions
3.3.1 Corporate objectives and strategy 1 Corporate objectivesCorporate aims. „Mission statements. „Corporate objectives. 2 Stakeholder influences on corporate objectives. Stakeholder objectives. Stakeholder conflicts. 3 Corporate culture. (Charles Handy). Characteristics of strong and weak corporate cultures. Difficulties in changing an established corporate culture. „ 4 Corporate strategy. Mergers and takeovers. Boston matrix. Competitive advantage. Porter’s strategic matrix. PESTLE. 3.3.2 Making strategic and tactical decisions 1 Decision making models. SWOT analysis. Ansoff’s matrix. 2 Investment appraisal. Simple payback. Average rate of return. Discounted cash flow (net present value only). 3 Decision trees Nature and purpose of decision trees. 4 Critical Path Analysis (CPA) 5 Contribution Nature and purpose of contribution. 6 Business contingency planning 3.3.3 Assessing competitiveness 1 Interpretation of financial statements Gross profit margin. Profit for the year margin. Return on capital employed (ROCE). Current and Acid test ratio. Gearing. 2 Human resource competitiveness. Labour productivity. Labour turnover. 3.3.4 Company growth 1 Nature of company growth. Organic and inorganic growth. Horizontal, vertical and conglomerate mergers/takeovers. Joint ventures. Economies of scale. 2 Effects of growth Positive effects of growth. Negative effects of growth. |
Unit 4: Business in a Global Context
4.3.1 International markets 1 Reasons for the increased growth of international trade. Political change. Improvements in transport and communication. Increasing trade liberalisation. Increasing specialisation by countries. Reduction of international trade barriers. World Trade Organization (WTO). EU. ASEAN. NAFTA. Increase in FDI. 2 Conditions that prompt businesses to trade internationally. Push factors. Pull factors. Outsourcing and offshoring. „ 3 Global mergers and takeovers 4.3.2 Changing global economy 1 Growing economies. GDP per capita. Literacy rates. „Emergence of the BRICS economies. Emergence of the MINT economies. 4.3.3 Business location 1 Assessment of a country as a market 2 Assessment of a country as a production location 4.3.4 Other considerations before trading internationally 1 Trade barriers Protectionism. „Tariffs. „Import quotas. Other trade barriers. „ 2 Ethical considerations. 3 Social/cultural differences in doing business. Religion. Cultural differences. Diet. Language. Inappropriate branding and promotion. Gender roles. 4.3.5 Global marketing 1 Global marketing strategy and global localisation (glocalisation). „Ethnocentric. Geocentric. Polycentric. Marketing mix (4Ps) for global markets. „ 2 Global niche markets 4.3.6 Multinational corporations (MNCs) 1 Potential positive impact of multinationals on overseas countries. 2 Potential negative impact of multinationals on overseas countries. 3 Controlling multinationals. Political influence. Legal control. Pressure groups. Social media. |
Past Exam Papers
2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 Mark Schemes 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 Examiner Reports 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 |