BUSINESS THEORIES (AQA A-LEVEL) 2025/2026
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs - ANSWER-(bottom) 1. Basic physical needs
2. Safety
3. Social Needs
4. Self-Esteem
(top) 5. Self Actualisation
Herzberg's Hygiene and Motivating Factors - ANSWER-Hygiene factors: company
policy, supervision, working conditions, pay, relations with other employees
Motivating factors: Personal achievement, recognition, interesting work, personal
development
Hackham and Oldham - ANSWER-Believed that jobs needed to be designed to focus
around people to make them motivated.
Five Key Elements: Skill Variety, Task Identity, Task Significance, Autonomy, Feedback
Taylor's Scientific Management - ANSWER-Created in 20th century. Believed workers
were motivated by money.
Favoured division of labour and piece-rate pay (paid for level of productivity)
Bartlett and Ghosal's International Business Strategies - ANSWER-Measured against
pressure to reduce costs and pressure for local responsiveness (adapting products for
different locations/markets)
International Strategy (Bartlett and Ghosal) - ANSWER-- Demands in other markets
similar to home market (low local responsiveness) and low pressure to reduce costs
- Centralised structure (decisions made at head office)
Multidomestic Strategy (Bartlett and Ghosal) - ANSWER-- Demands in different markets
are very different but there is low pressure to reduce costs. Products will be adapted for
different markets.
- Decentralised structure
- Different branches will look and work differently and knowledge won't be shared
between separate branches.
Global Strategy (Bartlett and Ghosal) - ANSWER-- Demands of different markets are
similar but high pressure to reduce costs
- Business structure will be centralised and the business will coordinate operations
across countries to take advantage of economies of scale.
- Products remain standardised, innovation takes place centrally with knowledge passed
on to different branches.
, Transnational Strategy (Bartlett and Ghosal) - ANSWER-- Pressure to meet costs and
meet local needs are both high
- Developing knowledge and ideas locally and sharing them globally.
- Balance between centralisation and decentralisation with responsibilities passed down
to each branch based on experience and capabilities.
Power Culture (Handy's Organisational Culture Types) - ANSWER-- Centralised
structure where decision making limited to few people.
- Employees likely to be more resistant to change.
- This type may struggle when business grows and cannot be run from the centre.
Role Culture (Handy's Organisational Culture Types) - ANSWER-- Common in
bureaucratic firms where authority is defined by job title - decisions come from senior
management.
- Usually have poor communication between departments so they respond slowly to
change - bad in new or expanding markets.
- Avoid risks so change is quite rare
- High resistance to change from employees because they're not used to it.
Person Culture (Handy's Organisational Culture Types) - ANSWER-- Common in loose
organisations of individual workers (eg. accountants, soliciors)
- Objectives defined by the personal ambitions - firms must ensure individuals actually
have common goals
- Decisions made jointly so employees are likely to be comfortable with change - but
making decisions may be difficult due to employee self-interest.
Task Culture (Handy's Organisational Culture Types) - ANSWER-- Emphasis on getting
specific tasks done.
- Respond well to management by objectives e.g.. specific targets for
departments/employees.
- Generally have low resistance to change because employees are used to it.
Boston Matrix - ANSWER-- Compares market growth with market share.
4 Components: Question Marks (high m. growth, low m. share), Dogs (low m. share,
low m. growth), Rising Stars (high m share, high m. growth), Cash Cow (low m growth,
high m. share)
Greiner's Model of Growth - ANSWER-The model shows that each phase of growth is
followed by a crisis.
Phase 1: Creativity -> Leadership crisis
Phase 2: Direction -> Autonomy crisis
Phase 3: Delegation -> Control Crisis
Phase 4: Coordination -> Red Tape crisis
Phase 5: Collaboration -> Growth crisis
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs - ANSWER-(bottom) 1. Basic physical needs
2. Safety
3. Social Needs
4. Self-Esteem
(top) 5. Self Actualisation
Herzberg's Hygiene and Motivating Factors - ANSWER-Hygiene factors: company
policy, supervision, working conditions, pay, relations with other employees
Motivating factors: Personal achievement, recognition, interesting work, personal
development
Hackham and Oldham - ANSWER-Believed that jobs needed to be designed to focus
around people to make them motivated.
Five Key Elements: Skill Variety, Task Identity, Task Significance, Autonomy, Feedback
Taylor's Scientific Management - ANSWER-Created in 20th century. Believed workers
were motivated by money.
Favoured division of labour and piece-rate pay (paid for level of productivity)
Bartlett and Ghosal's International Business Strategies - ANSWER-Measured against
pressure to reduce costs and pressure for local responsiveness (adapting products for
different locations/markets)
International Strategy (Bartlett and Ghosal) - ANSWER-- Demands in other markets
similar to home market (low local responsiveness) and low pressure to reduce costs
- Centralised structure (decisions made at head office)
Multidomestic Strategy (Bartlett and Ghosal) - ANSWER-- Demands in different markets
are very different but there is low pressure to reduce costs. Products will be adapted for
different markets.
- Decentralised structure
- Different branches will look and work differently and knowledge won't be shared
between separate branches.
Global Strategy (Bartlett and Ghosal) - ANSWER-- Demands of different markets are
similar but high pressure to reduce costs
- Business structure will be centralised and the business will coordinate operations
across countries to take advantage of economies of scale.
- Products remain standardised, innovation takes place centrally with knowledge passed
on to different branches.
, Transnational Strategy (Bartlett and Ghosal) - ANSWER-- Pressure to meet costs and
meet local needs are both high
- Developing knowledge and ideas locally and sharing them globally.
- Balance between centralisation and decentralisation with responsibilities passed down
to each branch based on experience and capabilities.
Power Culture (Handy's Organisational Culture Types) - ANSWER-- Centralised
structure where decision making limited to few people.
- Employees likely to be more resistant to change.
- This type may struggle when business grows and cannot be run from the centre.
Role Culture (Handy's Organisational Culture Types) - ANSWER-- Common in
bureaucratic firms where authority is defined by job title - decisions come from senior
management.
- Usually have poor communication between departments so they respond slowly to
change - bad in new or expanding markets.
- Avoid risks so change is quite rare
- High resistance to change from employees because they're not used to it.
Person Culture (Handy's Organisational Culture Types) - ANSWER-- Common in loose
organisations of individual workers (eg. accountants, soliciors)
- Objectives defined by the personal ambitions - firms must ensure individuals actually
have common goals
- Decisions made jointly so employees are likely to be comfortable with change - but
making decisions may be difficult due to employee self-interest.
Task Culture (Handy's Organisational Culture Types) - ANSWER-- Emphasis on getting
specific tasks done.
- Respond well to management by objectives e.g.. specific targets for
departments/employees.
- Generally have low resistance to change because employees are used to it.
Boston Matrix - ANSWER-- Compares market growth with market share.
4 Components: Question Marks (high m. growth, low m. share), Dogs (low m. share,
low m. growth), Rising Stars (high m share, high m. growth), Cash Cow (low m growth,
high m. share)
Greiner's Model of Growth - ANSWER-The model shows that each phase of growth is
followed by a crisis.
Phase 1: Creativity -> Leadership crisis
Phase 2: Direction -> Autonomy crisis
Phase 3: Delegation -> Control Crisis
Phase 4: Coordination -> Red Tape crisis
Phase 5: Collaboration -> Growth crisis
