Business AS-P1 Test Feb
Q1) (a) Define the term social enterprise. [2]
A) Social enterprise are those organizations whose primary objective is not to
earn profit but to help the community, however they do earn a profit but they
reinvest it into the organization.
(b) Explain one weakness of family businesses. [3]
A) One of the weaknesses of a family business is the challenges faced in the
continuity of the business. When a family business is started, the individuals share
a common goal and hence work towards it, however once the family and business
expand new people join the business with different mindsets and everyone sees
the businesses in a different way and hence gradually the business starts facing
difficulties due to lack of a common goal within the operators of business and
eventually it shuts down.
Q2) (a) Define the term dismissal. [2]
A) Dismissal is being sacked from a job due to incompetence or breach of
discipline, it could be due to inability to do certain tasks, negative attitude at work,
or damaging the employer’s property.
(b) Explain how one human need may be satisfied at work. [3]
A) One of the human needs that can satisfied at work are the social needs of a
worker. A way through which an organization can do this is using quality circles,
this when a group of voluntary employees sit together to discuss various
decisions a business has to take, this promotes team work within an organization
not only satisfying the social needs of a worker but also promoting the idea that
everyone is equally as needed in an organization and eventually increasing the
productivity of the environment.
Q3) (a) Define the term equality. [2]
A) Practices and policies aimed at creating a fair organization where everyone is
treated the same way and has the opportunity to fulfil their potential.
Business AS-P1 Test Feb 1
(b) Explain one benefit to a business of employing a diverse workforce. [3]
A) One of the advantages of a diversified workforce is more customer attraction.
When a business has a diverse workforce, it can take advantage of employees
who understand local customs and cultural differences and are able to attract a
wide range of customers who come from different backgrounds. This helps the
business not only maintain a good reputation in the market of being fair but also
bringing an increase in sales which in turn increases the profits of the business.
Q4) Analyze one reason why labor productivity is important to a business. [5]
A) Labour productivity is important to a business because it directly affects
efficiency and profitability. Higher productivity means that employees can
produce more goods or services in a given time, reducing labor costs per unit. For
example, a car manufacturing company with highly productive workers can
assemble more parts in a day as a comparison to low labour productivity, lowering
production costs and increasing output. This leads to the business offering
competitive prices and achieving higher profit margins, allowing it to invest in
growth or improve employee training which further increases the efficiency.
Q6) (a) Analyse two benefits to a business of using external recruitment to employ
a manager. [8]
A) One of the benefits of using external recruitment to employ a manager is that it
provides access to a vast talent pool in comparison to internal recruitment. When
a business hires externally, it can attract potential managers from different
industries and backgrounds, increasing the chances of finding a highly skilled and
experienced manager. For example, a retail company looking to hire a manager
could find someone with years of experience in a similar industry, bringing
expertise that previously weren’t part of the company. This helps the business
come up with newer and better ideas potentially making its own space and name
within the market and capturing a major share of it, which further leads to a larger
customer base and higher profit margins.
A2) Another benefit of external recruitment is that it helps avoid workplace
jealousy amongst already existing employees who may have seen themselves as
Business AS-P1 Test Feb 2
suitable candidates for the position. When a company promotes an internal
candidate, other employees who were not selected may feel demotivated and
disliked which can directly effect the efficiency and productivity of their work.
When a firm hires a manager externally, it avoids internal conflicts that could arise
if one employee were promoted over others, maintaining a more positive and fair
work environment. This helps the business maintain its relations with its
employees and possibly lowering the risk of high labour turnover which a
business could face due to an unfair workplace environment.
(b) ‘A motivated workforce is the most important factor for the success of a low-
price airline.’ Evaluate this view. [12]
A) Motivation is what makes a worker work hard in an organization, it’s the internal
and external factors which encourages a person to take decisions that lead to
achieving a goal. A low price airline is a type of airline which operates in the same
routes as any other airline but offering prices lower than the market due to less
services provided by them, such as no on flight food, smaller leg room, or less
comfortable seating spaces. A motivated workforce is one of the most important
factors when it comes to achieving success in a low price airline. When the
airline’s workforce is motivated their productivity is automatically increased which
means they are able to provide a better environment on board to the customers
and treat them better, furthermore a motivated workforce is also able to assist the
passengers better than a less motivated workforce in any case of emergency such
as turbulence. This helps the business maintain a recurring customer base due to
a good on board experience with the workforce potentially increasing its market
share, not only that but it also helps the business maintain an image and name of
its own within the market attracting more customer towards itself further leading
towards higher revenue generation which in turn generates higher profit margins.
However, a motivated workforce is not the only factor on which the success of a
low price airline depends on, factors such as the quality of seating, emergency
supplies, financial stability, and on-board hygiene factors also matter when it
comes success of a low price airline. When an airline isn’t able to provide proper
and comfortable seating space to its customers, the airline presumably maintains
a bad image of its own from the beginning which degrades the name of the airline
in the market severely damaging the reputation of the airline. Furthermore if an
airline is unable to maintain its hygiene standards which is one of the most crucial
Business AS-P1 Test Feb 3
factors of success in a low price airline, the airline will mostly not last very long
due to the human nature of disliking anything which doesn’t come with proper
hygiene, and due to this the airline may not ever be able to recover from the
negative reviews it gets. When an airline is unable to maintain financial stability,
regardless of how vast its customer base is, the ineffective cost management
would waste the funds and resources of the businesses most probably leading to
the failure of the airline. So in my opinion a motivated workforce is indeed an
important factor for the success of a low price airline, but it is certainly not the
most important as factors mentioned above are just as important. If a low-price
airline is able to take care of the various factors mentioned above all together,
then the success of that airline is certainly most likely.
Business AS-P1 Test Feb 4
