AQA GCSE BUSINESS 8132/1 Paper 1 Influences of operations and HRM on business activity Version: 1.0 Final *Jun* IB/G/Jun23/E10 8132/1 / QUESTION PAPER & MARKING SCHEME/ [MERGED] Marl( scheme June 2023

GCSE BUSINESS 8132/1 Paper 1 Influences of operations and HRM on business activity Version: 1.0 Final *Jun* IB/G/Jun23/E10 8132/1 Thursday 18 May 2023 Afternoon Time allowed: 1 hour 45 minutes Materials For this paper you must have: • a calculator. Instructions • Use black ink or black ball-point pen. • Fill in the boxes at the top of this page. • Answer all questions. • You must answer the questions in the spaces provided. Do not write outside the box around each page or on blank pages. • If you need extra space for your answer(s), use the lined pages at the end of this book. Write the question number against your answer(s). • Do all rough work in this answer book. Cross through any work you do not want to be marked. Information • The marks for each question are shown in brackets. • The maximum mark for this paper is 90. Please write clearly in block capitals. Centre number Candidate number Surname Forename(s) Candidate signature I declare this is my own work. GCSE BUSINESS Paper 1 Influences of operations and HRM on business activity For Examiner’s Use Question Mark A B C TOTAL 2 *02* IB/G/Jun23/8132/1 Do not write outside the Section A box Answer all questions in the spaces provided. For questions with four responses, only one answer per question is allowed. For each question completely fill in the circle alongside the appropriate answer. CORRECT METHOD WRONG METHODS If you want to change your answer you must cross out your original answer as shown. If you wish to return to an answer previously crossed out, ring the answer you now wish to select as shown. 0 1 . 1 Which of the following is true for a public limited company? [1 mark] A It can issue shares. B It does not have profit as an objective. C It is owned by the government. D Its owner(s) have unlimited liability. 0 1 . 2 Which of the following costs is an example of a variable cost? [1 mark] A Advertising B Interest C Packaging D Rent 3 *03* Turn over ► IB/G/Jun23/8132/1 Do not write outside the 0 1 box . 3 Which of the following statements describes job production? [1 mark] A An employee focuses on a limited number of tasks. B Each employee is given an individual task. C Items are produced individually to meet the exact requirements of a customer. D The business aims to complete each task with minimum waste. 0 1 . 4 If an employee changes from full-time employment to job sharing, which of the following is true? [1 mark] A They keep their current salary. B They keep the same job role along with someone else. C They work their current number of hours each week. D They work their current start and finish times each day. 0 1 . 5 Which of the following is likely to be an effect of delayering in an organisation? [1 mark] A Decrease in delegation. B Decrease span of control. C Improved staff communication. D Improved staff loyalty. Question 1 continues on the next page 4 *04* IB/G/Jun23/8132/1 Do not write outside the 0 1 box . 6 Which statement is most likely to be correct when interest rates rise? [1 mark] A Businesses increase their expansion plans. B Businesses need to reduce production to match sales. C Consumer spending rises so businesses will employ more staff. D Demand of luxury and non-essential products rise. 0 1 . 7 Identify two stakeholders of a business. [2 marks] 1 2 0 1 . 8 Explain one cost of maintaining quality during the production of a product. [2 marks] 0 1 . 9 Explain one disadvantage to a business of poor customer service. [2 marks] 5 *05* Turn over ► IB/G/Jun23/8132/1 Do not write outside the 0 1 box . 10 Describe one characteristic of an entrepreneur. [2 marks] 0 1 . 11 Explain what is meant by ‘induction training’. [2 marks] 0 1 . 12 State and explain two financial methods of rewarding employees. [4 marks] Method 1 Method 2 Turn over for Section B 20 6 *06* IB/G/Jun23/8132/1 Do not write outside the Section B box Answer all questions in the spaces provided. 0 2 Item A: Xanthe’s Tech-Academy Xanthe’s Tech-Academy (XTA) is a company that sells off the job training to other businesses, and courses for individuals to improve their IT skills. It has a reputation for high quality classroom-based IT courses where attendees gain a certificate. It has a very small training facility in the centre of Manchester which only allows for up to 20 individuals to train each day. Courses range in length from one to three days and prices start at £100 per day for attendees. It operates in a competitive market. XTA’s customers are locally based. Many of its business customers are cutting back on training to save costs. Many people are increasingly working from home, and the owner Xanthe is considering expanding the business to target this new market segment. She would like to introduce a new online training course called ‘Using Web Conferencing Effectively’. The course will be run by employees working from home and offered in the evenings to anyone in the UK who has access to the internet and a device with a webcam. Table 1: Costs for new course ‘Using Web Conferencing Effectively’ Wages (per hour per trainer) £15 XTA other costs for running new course (per trainee) £5 0 2 . 1 Explain what is meant by ‘off the job’ training. [2 marks] 7 *07* Turn over ► IB/G/Jun23/8132/1 Do not write outside the 0 2 box . 2 Xanthe has set a target to make 200% profit on top of costs each time the new course is run. Two trainers will run the four-hour course with 30 people attending. Using Table 1 calculate the selling price per person. [5 marks] Question 2 continues on the next page 8 *08* IB/G/Jun23/8132/1 Do not write outside the 0 2 box . 3 Xanthe believes increasing the range of courses offered will keep the business competitive. Recommend whether XTA should introduce the new course ‘Using Web Conferencing Effectively’. Give reasons for your answer. [9 marks] Extra space 9 *09* Turn over ► IB/G/Jun23/8132/1 Do not write outside the box Question 2 continues on the next page 10 *10* IB/G/Jun23/8132/1 Do not write outside the box Item B: Xanthe’s Tech-Academy After the successful expansion into online learning courses, Xanthe has recruited five new employees to help meet demand. Currently XTA has a flat organisational structure, with Xanthe managing all 22 employees. Xanthe likes to get to know all the employees and uses delegation to give employees greater levels of responsibility. For example, employees have been given responsibility to design new courses. Staff retention is high and XTA has a number of employees who have worked for the business for many years. Customers often comment on the excellent levels of customer service. The five new employees have been trained to a high level, however some mistakes have been made on a course which they were involved with. Xanthe was not working when the mistakes occurred and has received several complaints from customers. Xanthe is considering adding levels of hierarchy within the business to create a taller organisational structure. This will involve adding the roles shown in the table below. All jobs will be recruited internally and there will be an increased salary for the responsibility. Table 2: New roles to be created Roles Who they will report to Responsibilities 1 x Assistant manager (classroom courses) 1 x Assistant manager (online courses) Xanthe Developing courses. Effectively marketing and selling. Staff training. 1 x Supervisor (classroom courses) 1 x Supervisor (online courses) Assistant managers Day to day running of the courses. Stand in for assistant managers when they are absent. Monitor junior staff. 0 2 . 4 Explain one benefit of internal recruitment. [2 marks] 11 *11* Turn over ► IB/G/Jun23/8132/1 Do not write outside the 0 2 box . 5 Xanthe uses delegation to give employees greater levels of responsibility. Analyse one benefit to XTA of using delegation to motivate employees. [6 marks] Extra space Question 2 continues on the next page 12 *12* IB/G/Jun23/8132/1 Do not write outside the 0 2 box . 6 Xanthe involves her employees in some decision making but she makes all major decisions herself. Recommend whether Xanthe should create a taller organisational structure. Give reasons for your choice