Alevel-答案详解

Alevel-答案详解9707BusinessStudiesJune20031FOREWORD(1)BUSINESSSTUDIES(2)GCEAdvancedLevelandGCEAdvancedSubsidiaryLevel......................................................................2Paper9707/01ShortAnswer/Essay.(2)Paper9707/02DataResponse(5)Paper9707/03CaseStudy(7)Paper9707/04Essays..................................................................................................................................9ThisbookletcontainsreportswrittenbyExaminersontheworkofcandidatesincertainpapers.Itscontentsareprimarilyfortheinformationofthesubjectteachersconcerned.www.XtremePapers.comGCEAdvancedLevelandGCEAdvancedSubsidiaryLevelPaper9707/01ShortAnswer/EssayGeneralcommentsOverall,themajorityofcandidateswereabletoattemptallrequiredelementsofthisPaper,illustratingthatthePaperwasaccessible.InmanycasesthecandidatesdemonstratedabalancedperformanceacrossSectionAandSectionB,althoughtherewasevidenceofaninconsistentperformancebetweentheShortAnswersectionandtheEssay,withthehighermarkstendingtobegainedinSectionA.CandidatesfromsomeCentresshowedextremelygoodtechniqueinthestructureoftheiressayswithargumentsbeingpresentedinaclearandlogicalmanner.Thequalityoftheessaysinsomecaseswasoutstanding,bothintermsofthecontentandthestructure.ThequalityofwrittenEnglishwasalsoextremelyhighinmanycases.Candidatesaretobecongratulatedforwritingessaysthatcontainrelevantbusinesscontextexamplesandillustrations,togetherwithappropriateanalysisandevaluation.Therewasmoreevidencethissessionofcandidatesunderstandingthespecificrequirementsofeachquestionandapplyingandadaptingrelevantmaterial–thiswasparticularlyevidentintheEssaysectionofthePaper.TherewasalsoevidenceofgoodtimemanagementwithveryfewcandidatesrunningshortoftimetocompletethePaper.CommentsonspecificquestionsSectionAShortanswerQuestion1(a)Almostallcandidateswereabletodefineanddistinguishbetweensecondaryandtertiarylevelsofproduction.Somecandidatesgavetoomuchinformationandinsomecasesevendefinedprimarylevelofactivity.Thisapproachtakesprecioustimeawayfromlaterquestionsandshouldbediscouraged.However,mostcandidateswereabletoachievemaximummarksforthissection.(b)Thispartwasansweredwellbythemajorityofcandidates,withonlyasmallnumberofanswersmakingreferencetothebenefitstoabusinessratherthantoacountry.Manyanswersreferredtothebenefitsofemploymentopportunities,economicgrowth,exportpotentialandtourismarisingfromsuccessfulbusinessactivity.Somecandidatesrecognisedthevalueofextrataxrevenueforagovernment.Somecandidatesspenttoolongontheiranswerstothisquestionwithaconsequentimpactontimemanagementforlaterquestions.Bettercandidateswereabletorelatetheiranswerstoastrongcontextofbusinessfactsratherthansimplegeneralisations.Question2(a)Theterm‘addedvalue’gavesomedifficultytocandidateswithseveralconfusingitwithvalueaddedtax.Othersgaveamarketingapproachanswer.However,manyexcellentanswerswereseenthatcorrectlydefinedaddedvalueastherelationshipbetweenthecostofrawmaterials,theprocessestheyaresubjectedtoinordertoturnthemintoausefulproductandthesellingprice.Weakercandidatesconfused‘addedvalue’with‘markup’orprofit.The‘textbook’definition–thedifferencebetweenthevalueof‘inputs’andthevalueof‘outputs’inaproductiveprocess–wasanapproachthatwouldhavegainedfullmarksforthissection.(b)Thecandidatesthathadcorrectlydefinedtheterminpart(a)wereabletoidentifyappropriatepointssuchasthehigherprofitmarginsthatmightbeenjoyedandalltheaccompanyingbenefits.Generally,theperformancein(b)waslinkedtotheaccuracyoftheanswerto(a).Strongcandidatesrecognisedthepotentialbenefitofhighaddedvalueproductsintermsoffactorssuchascompetitiveadvantage,customerloyaltyanduniquesellingpoints.Question3Thisquestiononthefunctionsoftradesunionswasansweredwellbythemajorityofcandidates.Mostcandidateswereabletogaingoodmarksonthissection.Thebetteranswersexplainedtheroleofcollectivebargainingwithinthefunctionsofatradesunion.Weakeranswerswererestrictedtoidentifyingtheneedtoprotecttherightsofworkersintermsoftheirpayandworkingconditions.Somecandidates,however,misinterpretedthisquestionanddevelopedanon-relevantdiscussionontradegroupingsortradeassociations.Question4(a)Thiswasansweredwellbymostcandidateswhowereabletoidentifycorrectlythatrevenueexpenditurereferstotheday-to-dayexpensesofabusinesswhilecapitalexpenditurerelatestothepurchaseoffixedassets.WeakercandidatesconfusedrevenueexpenditurewithsalesrevenueandsomeinterpretedthequestionpurelyintermsofGovernmentspending.(b)Weakeranswerstothispartofthequestionassertedthatdifferentsourcesoffinancewererequiredduetothedifferentusesofassetspurchasedbutdidnotpursuethelineofargumentanyfurther.Goodanswersrelatedtotherelativesizeofamountsinvolvedandthedifferenceinthetime-scaleinvolved.Theseissueswerethenrelatedtoaspecificsourceoffinance,forexample,smallamountsofrevenueexpendituremetfromretainedprofitsorshort-termloansandlargeamountsofcapitalexpenditurerequiringlonger-termexternalfinancialsources.SectionBEssaysQuestion5(a)Differentapproachesweretakentothispartofthequestionandwereacceptable.Somecandidatesdiscussedthepersonalqualities,suchashonesty,thatmightbedesirable/essentialinaleader.Othercandidatesidentifiedessentialbusiness-relatedqualitiessuchastheabilitytomotivatetheirworkforcetogetherwiththeabilitytocommunicateeffectivelyinordertofocustheeffortsoftheworkforceonthekeyobjectivesofthebusiness.Managingchangewasalsoseentobeanimportantleadershiptask.Weakercandidatesfailedtoidentifydistinctiveleadershipqualitiesandsimplydiscussedthefunctionsofamanagerinaverydescriptiveway.(b)Themajorityofcandidateswhoattemptedthisquestionperformedbetterinthispartthaninpart(a).Weakercandidatesdidnotalwaysidentifyspecificallyaleadershipstylebutbyidentifyingsomerelevantfactors,thestylewasimplicitintheiranswer.MostcandidateschosetodiscussAutocraticandDemocraticleadershipstylesandwereabletoidentifymanyoftheappropriatecharacteristicsofeachstyle.However,manycandidatesdidnotaddresstheissueof‘appropriateness’andthustheiranswersdidnotfullyanswerthequestion.ManycandidatesreferredtoTheoryXandTheoryYworkersandhowdifferentstylesmightbeuseddependingonthetypeofworkerbelievedtobeintheworkforce.Goodanswersrecognisedthatcertainsituationsmightbedealtwithmoreeffectivelybyonetypeofleadershipratherthananother.Forexample,candidatesfrequentlyquotedtheneedforAutocraticleadershipinthearmedforceswheredecisionsmustbequickandobeyedwithoutquestion.Democraticleadershipwascorrectlyviewedasappropriateifarangeofideaswouldbebeneficialtoabusiness,e.g.inresearchestablishments.Goodanswerssometimesdrewtoaclosebyaffirmingthatitisnotalwayseffectivetoadoptonlyoneleadershipstyleandthattherearetimeswhenanyleadermustadoptadifferentstancewiththeirworkforceasaresultofprevailingconditions/events.Question6(a)Someverygoodanswerswereseentothisquestionwiththemostcommonpricingstrategiesbeingthatof‘penetrationpricing’and‘skimmingpricing’.Somecandidatesattemptedtocovertoomuchintheiranswersbyidentifying‘market-based’and‘competition-based’astheirtwostrategies.Thisthenledthemontoconsidermanyindividualstrategiesundereachofthesegeneralheadings.Insuchcasestheanswerswereoftensuperficialandlackedthedepthofdevelopmentthatcouldhavegainedthemhigherreward.Goodanswersfocusedontheappropriatenessofvarioustechniquesandrelatedthemtoparticularmarketsituations.Someverygoodanswersalsofocusedonthefactthatthequestionsaid‘consumergoods’anddiscussedpricingstrategiesinthecontextof,forexample,fastmovingconsumergoods.Suchanapproachlentanimmediateanalyticaltonetotheiranswers.Answersthatweregeneralinnaturestillmanagedtogaingoodmarksbydescribingveryclearlyhowandwheneachoftheiridentifiedstrategiesmightworkinthemarket.(b)ThemajorityofcandidateswereabletodemonstratesomeknowledgeoftheProductLifeCycleandmostcandidatesthendescribedpossiblepricechangesthatmightbeappropriateineachstage.Weakeranswersdescribedsomeofthemarketingstrategiesthatmightbeemployedinvariousstagesoftheproductlifecyclebutmadelittleornoreferencetoprice.Goodanswersreferredtopossiblereactionstothelevelofcompetitioninvariousstagesandhowpricemightbechangedtoretaincompetitiveness.Candidateswhowroteaboutcompetitivebehaviourandquestionedthevalidityoftheproductlifecyclegainedhighmarks.Question7Thisquestionwaswellansweredbythemajorityofcandidateswhochosetoanswerit.Mostoftheanswersmadereferencetothecostsofholdingstockbutalsoofferedsomeanalysisofthepotentialcostsofnotholdingstock,withmanycandidatesabletodeveloptheiranswersinawell-focusedandanalyticalmanner.Goodanswersalsowentontodiscussthebenefitsanddrawbacksofsomeacceptedstockmanagementsystems,suchasJIT,givingfullexplanationofhowtheyworkedinamanufacturingcontext.Thecontextualnatureofsomeanswerswasverywelldevelopedwithconsiderationbeinggiventostocksofrawmaterials,workinprogressandfinishedgoods.Answerscouchedinamoregeneralmannerwere,nevertheless,abletoreceivehighmarksduetothequalityoftheiranalysisandevaluation.Manycandidatesaddedappropriatediagramstotheiranswerswhichtheyexplainedandusedtogoodeffect.Thisquestiongaveaclearopeningtocandidatestoincluderelevantdiagramsandmanytookadvantageofthis.Afewinaccuratediagramswereseenbutthesewereveryfewinnumber,indicatingthatthisisatopicthatcandidateswereveryfamiliarwith.Paper9707/02DataResponseGeneralcommentsStandardsofperformanceonthisPapercontinuetoimproveformanyCentres,andthereisevidencethatpreviousadviceinthesereportsisbeingfollowed.Theareaofgreatestimprovementisintheuseofcontext(data)inansweringthequestions.Itwasverypleasingthattherewerefarfeweranswersthatwerepurelytextbook-basedandmostcandidatesmadereferencetothematerialgivenintheQuestionPaper.Insomeinstancesthereislittledatathatthecandidatecanuse,butthereisusuallysomethingofvalue,suchasthenatureofthebusiness,itslegalstatus,thetypeofproductandsoonthatmayhelpcandidatestodevelopananswer.Evaluationremainsadifficultareaformostcandidates.TimecouldusefullybespentbyTeachersinhelpingcandidatestoidentifyopportunitiesfordemonstratingevaluationskillsinhighermarkquestions.Forquestionsthatinvolvecalculations,itisimportantthatcandidatesshowtheirassumptionsandtheirworkings,sothatmarkscanbeawardedappropriatelyifmistakesaremade.Timespentonpartsofquestionsshouldreflectthemarksavailable.Themarksavailablealsogiveaclearindicationofthedepthrequired(forexample,athree-markcalculationquestionshouldbeastraightforwardapplicationofthedata).Onthisoccasion,therewaslittleevidencethatcandidatesranoutoftime,withmarksforQuestion2beingsimilartothoseforQuestion1forthefirsttime.CommentsonspecificquestionsQuestion1Part(a)ofeachquestioncanbeansweredwithoutreferencetotheCase.Thispartwasgenerallywellansweredinbothquestionsalthoughsomecandidateswrotelonganswers.Thisisnotneededandcouldwastevaluabletime–asentenceortwodefiningthetermtogetherwithanaddedexplanation/illustrationoranexampleshouldbesufficient.(a)(i)Manycandidatescoulddefineandexplaineconomiesofscale,sothereweregenerallygoodmarksforthisquestion.Acommonlackofunderstandingwasdemonstratedbyafairlylargenumberofcandidateswhorelatedfallingaveragecoststoproductionlevelsratherthanthescaleoftheoperations.(ii)Fiscalpolicywassometimesconfusedwithmonetarypolicywithmentionofinterestrates,ratherthanthecorrectapproachofusingtaxationandgovernmentexpendituretomanagetheeconomy.(b)ThiscouldbeansweredwithoutreferencetotheCase.Mostcandidatesansweredthisquestionwellwithgoodexamplesofwhygovernmentsencouragebusinesses,suchasthroughthebenefitsofincreasedcompetition,creationofemployment,generatingwealthandpayingtaxes.Betteranswersexplainedaswellasstatedthereasons.Candidateswhogaveareasonandthendevelopeditbeforemovingontothesecondreasontendedtogethighermarks.(c)Thereweresomeexcellentanswerstothisquestion.However,manycandidatesansweredthisquestionintermsofgenerallocationissuesratherthanputtingtheiranswerintotherequiredcontext.Thequestionwasaboutlocatingneartoasimilarbusinesssothequestionrequireddiscussionofissuesofproximityandeconomiesofconcentration(externaleconomiesofscale).Goodanswersconsideredthatbecausetherewasalreadyafurnituremakeratthelocation,therecouldbeareadymademarket,thelikelihoodofthenecessaryinfrastructure/resourcesbeingavailableandasuitablepooloflabourthatcouldbeattracted.(d)(i)Manycandidatesinvertedtheformulademonstratingalackofunderstandingoftheconceptofmarketshare(marketshare=firm’ssales/totalmarketsales).Candidatesneedtoberemindedtoshowtheirworking.(ii)Answerstothisquestionwereencouraginglygood,showingamarkedimprovementonpastperformanceinsimilarquestions.Mostcandidatesattemptedtoputtheirmarketingknowledgeintocontext,forexample,byrecognisingthattheproductwasfurniture,andusingthefactthatthebusinessalreadyhadareputationforqualityandhighprice.Thebestanswersdevelopedrealisticideaswithinsomemarketingobjectives(i.e.theydevelopedastrategy)ortheyattemptedtodemonstratewhichideaswerethemostlikelytoworkinthecircumstances,therebydemonstratingevaluativeskills.Weakeranswerstendedtoeithersimplylistideas(oftenlotsofthem)withoutanalysisortoprovideananswerthatcouldapplytoalmostanybusinessfacingincreasedcompetitionwithoutreferencetotheparticularcircumstancesinvolvingthisfirm.Question2(a)(i)Thedefinitionoffixedcostswasgenerallywellanswered,butasignificantnumberofcandidatesansweredthat“fixedcostsarecostswhicharefixed”.Thisisinsufficient.Asurprisinglylargenumberofcandidatesthoughtthatfixedcostsdidnotchangerelativetotime(incorrect)ratherthantolevelsofproduction(correct).Thebestmarkswereawardedtocandidateswhodistinguishedbetweentheshortrunandlongrun.(ii)Alargenumberofcandidatesconfusedproductivitywithproductionsothattheydidnotdemonstratethatproductivityconcernedtherelationshipofoutputstoinputs.However,manycandidatesansweredthiseffectively,oftenusinglabourasanexampleofaninput.(b)(i)Manycandidatesknewandcouldapplythebreak-evenformula(fixedcosts/unitcontribution)usingavarietyofacceptableassumptions(e.g.thatcontributionperunitwas$8or$10wasequallyacceptable,orthatfixedcostsmightchange).Somecandidateswereunabletorecalltheformula.(ii)Manycandidatesknewtheelasticityformulaandwereabletoapplyiteffectively.Asurprisinglylargenumberofcandidatesgottheformulaupsidedown,whileothersdidnotrecognisethatthenecessarypercentageswereincludedinthedataandsoundertookunnecessarycalculations.Afewcandidatestriedtoworkwithchangesratherthanpercentagechanges.(iii)Manycandidateswereabletointerprettheiranswerto(ii)whichwasthattheproductwaselastic(inelasticwasallowedwhenthecalculationin(ii)hadbeenperformedincorrectly).Fewcandidateswereabletodeveloptheiranswerfurtherbydescribingtheimpactofpricechangesonrevenue,i.e.apricereductionleadstoanincreaseinrevenueforanelasticproduct.(c)Thiswasadifficultquestion,andmanycandidatesstruggledtoputtheiranswerintocontext.Mostcandidatesknewthetheoryofinvestmentappraisalwell.Onewaytoincorporatecontextwastomakereferencetothefactthattheinvestmentrelatedtomachinery(withimplicationsforanacceptableARRorPayback)ortorecognisethatabusinessofthissize/typemaywellwantafastpayback.AlthoughnotontheASsyllabus,asignificantnumberofcandidatesreferredtoNPVorIRR–theseweresuitablyrewarded.(d)Thisquestionwasgenerallywellanswered.ManyanswersmadegoodreferencestotheoristssuchasTaylor,HerzbergandMaslowandensuredthattheiranswerswereincontext.Thebestanswersusedevaluationskills.Forexample,somecandidatesobservedthatthereactionoftheworkforcewilldependonwhethertheemployeeswillbemotivatedbythepossibilityofextramoneyorde-motivatedbytheuncertaintythatthenewschemecreated.Theanswerthensoughttoproduceabalancedjudgementorastrategyforintroduction.AlargenumberofcandidatesincorrectlydiscussedTheoryX/YworkerswhereasMcGregor’stheoryisaboutmanagementattitudestowardsworkersandnotabouttheworkersthemselves.Paper9707/03CaseStudyGeneralcommentsThereweresomeencouragingsignsthatthelevelofBusinessStudiesknowledgedemonstratedbyamajorityofcandidateswashigherthaninprevioussessions.ThePaperprovedtobeveryaccessiblewithveryfewareasofmisunderstandingormisinterpretationofquestionsfromaveragecandidates.Thegreatmajorityofcandidateswereabletogainmarksbydemonstratingknowledgeonfranchising,employer/employeerelationships,marketresearchandthejustintimestockholdingconcept.Asissooftenthecase,thegreatdifferencesinthetotalmarksfinallyawardedtocandidateswasduetothewiderangeofevidenceprovidedconcerningtheotherthreeassessmentcriteria–Application,AnalysisandEvaluation.Thebestanswerswereprovidedbycandidateswhohadnotonlybeenexceptionallywelltaughtintermsofsubjectcontentbutwhohadaverysoundgraspofhowtousetheirknowledgetoanalyseanddiscussimportantissuesinthecontextofthecasestudybusiness.ItishopedthatthesecandidatesandtheirTeachershadbenefitedfrompreviousReportsinwhichthecentralsignificanceofputtinganswersintothecontextofthecasestudybusinesshasbeenstressed.Mostcandidateswhofailtoreachpassstandardandmanymorewhomightbedisappointedwithlowpassgrades,answerallofthequestionsinisolationtothebusinessinthecase.Itisalmostasiftheyhadreadthequestionsbutnotthecasestudy–and,asaresult,answerstendedtobealltextbookbasedandnotadaptedtotheproblemsfacedbythisbusiness.Theworstexamplesofthisareillustratedinthenextsection.AshasbeensuggestedinpreviousReports,candidatesandtheirTeachersarestronglyrecommendedtousepastcasestudyPapersandtheMarkSchemesintheirexaminationpreparations.BystudyingtheseandbyconcentratingonhowExaminersawardmarksforanswersthatshowapplication,analysisandevaluationmostcandidatesareabletomakeprogressindevelopingtheirownanswersintherightdirection.AcquiringBusinessStudiesknowledgeisanessentialprerequisiteforALevelsuccessbutitisneverenough.Theskillofselectivityisessential–whatknowledgedoesacandidateneedtoanswerthisquestion?Theskillofapplicationisexpected–whatknowledgedoesacandidateneedtoapplytothisproblemforthisbusiness?AnalysiscanthenbedemonstratedbyusingBusinessStudiesconcepts,theoriesandtechniquestoassistinexplainingtheanswerindetail.Finally,theskillofevaluationmustbedemonstratedinansweringthosequestionsthataskfordiscussionorarecommendation–andherethecandidateisexpectedtoshowjudgementinweighinguptheevidencetocometoaconclusiontothequestioninthecontextofthecasestudy.CommentsonspecificquestionsQuestion(a)(i)ThisquestionproducedthebestanswersinthewholePaper.Nearlyallcandidateshadaccesstoappropriateinformationandwereabletodrawuponthemanyhintsandreferencesmadeinthecasestudy.Althoughsomecandidateswerenotawareofwhatfranchisingwas,theywereusuallyabletogainsomecreditforreferringtothestrengthsandweaknessesofthetwocharactersformingtheirownbusiness.(ii)Somecandidatesappearedconfusedbyreferencetoeconomicconstraints.Thisisacrucialspecificationtopicandiswellcoveredbytherecommendedtextbooks.Evidencewasavailableinthepassagebutthiswas,onoccasions,justliftedfromthecasewithnofurtheranalysisordevelopment.Betteranswersanalysedthelikelyimpactofbothaneconomicboomandresultinginflationonthisbusiness.Inaddition,goodreferencesweremadetotheneedtoimportsuppliesandsotheleveloftheexchangeratecouldwellprovetobeanimportantconstraint–thisshowedgoodapplicationandanalysis.Veryfewcandidatesgainedaccesstoevaluationmarks.Thequestionwasreallyasking,“towhatextentwouldthisbusinessbeaffectedbytheseconstraints?”Thereallyablecandidateswereabletodiscussthesignificanceofpriceandincomeelasticityofdemandfortherestaurant’sproductsasbeingareallyinfluentialfactorindeterminingthedegreetowhichthebusinesswouldbeeitherpositivelyoradverselyaffectedbymacro-economicchanges.Afewcandidatesreferredtomicroeconomicfactorssuchaschanginglevelsofcompetitionintheindustryandtheywerewellrewarded.Otherswroteaboutfinanciallimitationsinsteadofeconomicconstraintsandthesepointswerenotrewardedunlesstheywerewithinthecontextofgovernmentchangesininterestrates.Question(b)Answerstothisquestionsufferedseverelyfromsimpleconcentrationontextbookmaterialwiththemajorityofcandidatesfailingtoapplyoranalysetheiranswersinthecontextofthefastfoodbusiness.CandidateknowledgewasextensiveandcoveredthefullrangeofHumanResourceandmotivationalsubjecttopicsbutitwasrareforacandidatetostandbackfromtheirproposalsandaskthemselves“Wouldtheseworkinthisbusiness?”Itdoesnotrequireextensiveknowledgeofthecateringbusinesstoaskwhether“qualitycircles”,“workscouncils”,“democraticleadership”andthemanyothersuggestionsputforwardwouldbeappropriateforShivaniandRashidandtheirsmallbusiness.Hereisasmallsectionofagoodansweranditcontainsallfouroftheassessmentskills:“AsShivanihasexperienceofthecate