Cambridge International AS & A Level
BUSINESS 9609/42
Paper 4 Business Strategy October/November 2024
1 hour 15 minutes
You must answer on the enclosed answer booklet.
* 8 3 5 7 0 1 5 0 3 5 *
You will need: Answer booklet (enclosed)
INSTRUCTIONS
● Answer all questions.
● Follow the instructions on the front cover of the answer booklet. If you need additional answer paper,
ask the invigilator for a continuation booklet.
INFORMATION
● The total mark for this paper is 40.
● The number of marks for each question or part question is shown in brackets [ ].
This document has 4 pages. Any blank pages are indicated.
DC (CE/JG) 336959/2
© UCLES 2024 [Turn over
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Puli Insurance (PI)
PI only sells its own car and home insurance. It was set up as a private limited company in 1988 by
Kwami Puli to sell insurance to customers in country D. Kwami was Managing Director (MD) until 2019
when he retired. His son, Idir, became the new MD. Kwami remains the largest shareholder of this
family business.
Timeline of PI
2020 Idir believes that PI has poor employee performance. He dismisses the Human
Resource (HR) manager and adds the role to his own duties.
Idir commissions an independent business analyst to report on the HR issues
in the company (see Appendix 1).
2021 Idir reviews the existing organisational structure (see Appendix 2) and makes
recommendations to the Board of Directors (see Appendix 3), which are
quickly adopted.
2022 All PI managers are sent on a five day off-the-job training course to encourage
intrapreneurship.
Trade union membership (as proportion of total workforce) increases to 60%.
2023 Idir implements a ‘paperless office’ policy which orders all employees to use
electronic communication whenever possible. All employees are issued with a
smartphone for business use only.
2024 Idir is interviewed by a trade magazine about his first five years as MD of PI
(see Appendix 4).
Developing a new business strategy
Idir wants to target pet owners to sell them pet insurance (to pay for medical treatment for domesticated
animals). The market for pet insurance in country D is growing rapidly and is set to reach $5bn by 2026.
The market segment is dominated by two large competitors and it will require significant investment to
enter successfully. Idir believes that PI could gain economies of scale by selling to this market.
Idir will need advice on what accounting data he should use to help him develop this new business
strategy.
Appendix 1 Extract from a report outlining the HR issues in PI in 2020
PI Industry average in country D
Labour turnover 2% 15%
Absenteeism 12% 5%
Lateness 27% 10%
Management average emotional
120 80
quotient (EQ) score
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Appendix 2 Organisational structure of PI in 2021
Managing Director
Board of Directors Company Secretary
Car Insurance Manager Home Insurance Manager
Marketing Operations HR Finance Marketing Operations HR Finance
Manager Manager Manager Manager Manager Manager Manager Manager
Sales and Operations HR Finance Sales and Operations HR Finance
marketing employees employees employees marketing employees employees employees
employees employees
(9) (5) (3) (2) (9) (5) (5) (2)
The number in brackets indicates the number of employees.
Appendix 3 Summary of Idir’s recommendations to the Board of Directors in 2021
• Delayer the organisation structure by combining the car and home insurance sections of the
business, making the car and home insurance managers redundant.
• Reduce the number of functional managers and employees through involuntary redundancy.
• Decentralise decision making to the remaining functional managers.
• Introduce financial penalties for lateness and financial incentives for 100% attendance.
• Increase use of information technology (IT), especially in sales.
Appendix 4 Extract from a 2024 interview in a trade magazine
It has been an exciting journey since I took over from my father. He believed in soft HR and I do not.
Our labour turnover has risen, but our cost of sales is low, and we have the highest gross profit margin
in the industry.
We’ve doubled sales since 2020 with half the number of employees. Now there is almost no lateness
or absenteeism. No other insurance business in country D has better trained employees than PI. I am
proud to have led PI through the last five years and I look forward to increasing shareholder returns in
the future!
Answer both questions.
1 Evaluate the success of Idir’s strategy for improving employee performance between 2020 and
2024. [20]
2 Advise Idir on what accounting data he should use to help him develop a new business strategy
for PI to sell pet insurance. [20]
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