WEB GCSE coursework - trinity.redbridge.sch.uk studies/Microsoft... · GCSE BUSINESS STUDIES...
Transcript of WEB GCSE coursework - trinity.redbridge.sch.uk studies/Microsoft... · GCSE BUSINESS STUDIES...
GCSE BUSINESS STUDIES COURSEWORK
CONTENTS PAGE
1. Title and Aims of the assignment. Pages ( )
2. Methodology. Pages ( )
3. Background research. Pages ( )
4. Survey / Questionnaires. Pages ( )
5. SWOT Analysis Pages ( )
6. Business Plan for my chosen business. Pages ( )
7. Marketing Plan. Pages ( )
8. Financial Plan. Pages ( )
9. Human Resources Plan. Pages ( )
10. External Factors / Influences. Pages ( )
11. Stakeholders
12. Information and Communication Technology. Pages ( )
13. Medium and Long Term Plans. Pages ( )
14. Bibliography Pages ( )
Important advice for students: Do not open a separate file every time you
do a new piece of work in a lesson. Instead keep everything in ONE single
file. This will make life so much easier for your self in the coming weeks
and months.
GCSE BUSINESS STUDIES COURSEWORK GUIDE
(worth 25% of your final grade)
You will need to buy a memory stick so that you can save the work that you
do in the lesson each week. This will also enable you to continue with your
work at home each week. It will also allow you to take full responsibility
for your coursework and to get as high a grade as possible. Good luck and
take pride in your work.
Section 1: Write out the title of the assignment / investigation.
Is there a gap in South Woodford for a new business enterprise?
You must now state clearly the aims of your investigation? What are you
trying to find out? These must be expressed in your own words.
The aims of my investigation are
• To research South Woodford as a business community.
• To carry out detailed market research into what type of businesses
currently exist in South Woodford.
• To carry out detailed market research amongst the general public in South
Woodford into their needs and wants.
• To determine whether there is a possible gap in South Woodford for a
new business enterprise.
• To identify a new business enterprise that will satisfy the needs of
potential customers and also generate a profit.
• To write a detailed business plan for the new business enterprise that I
have identified.
Section 2: Methodology.
This section needs to be carefully explained work and will need to include
the following:
2.1 Explain to the examiner the reasons why you are going to carry out Market
Research in South Woodford?
Explain to the examiner the difference between primary (field) research and
secondary (desk) research. Be sure to give precise definitions. Refer carefully
to pages 108 and 109 from your textbook.
The major source of primary research that you will be using is surveying
members of the public by asking them to complete your market research
questionnaires.
The major sources of secondary research that you will use are likely to include
the internet (finding relevant information about South Woodford as a business
area and finding out information about businesses who are located there), using
the business pages to identify your nearest competitors, using local
newspapers to find out about property prices.
2.2 What secondary research are you going to use and why?
For example, maps of South Woodford, actual photos that you have taken of
South Woodford during your visit, local newspaper articles on businesses
situated in South Woodford, any relevant internet based material, the yellow
pages and the business pages to find out the names and locations of your
competitors, Redbridge Council census information.
Your local library or the internet will be very valuable sources of information
for secondary data.
2.3 What primary research are you going to use and why? For example, the
preparation of customer and shop owner questionnaires, carrying out customer
and shop owner interviews during your research trip to South Woodford.
2.4 Explain clearly what you did in your lessons prior to your research trip to
South Woodford and why?
You will need to bring a disposable or digital camera with you when we
visit South Woodford to carry out market research. Photos of South
Woodford as a business environment will get you marks for research.
You will of course need to ask for permission to take photos in any of the
shops.
Section 3: Background Research. This section is very important and needs
to contain very good quality background research.
3.1 You will need to identify all the main types of businesses that currently
exist in South Woodford.
Remember it is very important that these are categorised into the main
different types of businesses. You should be able to obtain this information
from the internet (secondary research) but you may have to look carefully for it.
For example
Supermarkets Estate Agents Health and Beauty Charity Shops etc
Sainsburys
Marks and Spencers
Waitrose
3.2 You will need to show the examiner clearly where South Woodford is
located in relation to the South East of England and East London.
Remember, the examiner who perhaps lives in Liverpool or Newcastle will
probably have no idea where South Woodford is located.
Use relevant maps from the internet or any other source to help you do this.
3.3 Explain to the examiner what amenities / facilities are located in
South Woodford?
Is there a good range of supermarkets, restaurants (fast food and more upmarket
restaurants), pubs, cinemas, health gyms, library, beauty salons and other
entertainment facilities in South Woodford? Explain to the examiner why
these amenities are important to people who live in or near to South
Woodford.
Do these amenities cater for all different age groups, for example older people,
middle aged people, people in their 20’s and 30’s, teenagers, young children
and their parents ?
This may help you in trying to identify possible gaps in the market for a
business in South Woodford.
3.4 You will need to fully explain to the examiner what the transport facilities
to South Woodford are like.
What are they (names of motorways, major roads, north circular, buses, the tube
– central line)? Are they good or poor? You should collect and include bus
maps, tube maps etc. What are the names of the main dual carriageways and
motorways surrounding South Woodford?
You must explain to the examiner why good transport access to South
Woodford is likely to be important for potential customers and suppliers?
Sainsbury’s probably receives at least 5 large deliveries each day from its
suppliers.
3.5 What are the Parking facilities like in South Woodford?
Are there adequate parking facilities in South Woodford and along George
Lane? Is it possible for customers to use the parking available in the
supermarkets for a limited time period (maybe up to three hours)?
Where in South Woodford can potential customers park?
You must fully explain to the examiner why good parking facilities are
important for businesses located in South Woodford - think about both their
customers and their suppliers.
3.6 You will need to describe the general affluence (wealth and prosperity) of
the people who live and work in South Woodford.
What type of people live mainly in South Woodford - for example, what socio
economic grouping best describes the area?
South Woodford is probably best described as a white middle class community
– of course this does not mean that people of other ethnic backgrounds do not
live there. However, people in South Woodford need to have well paid jobs to
be able to afford to buy property in the area.
3.7 You will need to compare general property prices in South Woodford
with another nearby area. This other area should be either Ilford,
Walthamstow, Leyton or Leytonstone – it’s up to you to choose.
The easiest and most effective way to do this is to use the property
supplements that are usually included free with local newspapers – ask your
parents to show you one of these. They will also be available in your local
estate agents. You could also use estate agents websites (Churchill’s Estate
Agents, Haart Estate Agents etc) to get this information – however you may
find this actually takes longer to do.
You will need to compare the prices of one or two bed roomed flats in South
Woodford with one or two bed roomed flats in Walthamstow or three bed
roomed semi-detached houses in South Woodford with three bed roomed
semi-detached houses in Ilford.
You will need to cut out the details of the relevant house prices for the two
areas – I would suggest at least 10 pictures and prices for both areas so that
you can clearly identify which area is more expensive in terms of property.
The important thing to remember is that it would NOT be sensible or
reasonable to compare the property prices of two bed roomed flats in South
Woodford with three bed roomed semi-detached houses in Leyton. You always
have to ensure that you are comparing like with like in order to reach any
reliable conclusions.
What conclusion(s) are you able to reach about property prices in the two
areas that you have chosen? Is property generally more expensive in South
Woodford? If so, explain to the examiner why this may be the case as well as
the possible consequences.
3.8 Are there good schools located within a short distance of South Woodford?
What are the names of the different schools – both primary and secondary,
comprehensive and private schools?
Why are good schools so important to an area? Remember, good schools may
help to push up the prices of houses in South Woodford.
Section 4: Survey / Questionnaires. This is a very important section and
there will be a lot of marks awarded for it.
4.1 Target Customer Questionnaire - primary research
How many target customers (the sample size) are you going to question?
Explain to the examiner why you are carrying out primary research on potential
customers and why it is important to have an adequate sample size?
Examiners would expect to see about 20 fully completed questionnaires.
4.2 Target Customer Questionnaire results
Your results from your questionnaires must be arranged into appropriate
charts and graphs.
There are a lot of marks for this section. You must explain exactly what
the results and graphs show you.
In other words, what is the significance of the data and what conclusions can
you draw from your results?
You do not need to do a chart / graph for every question - it is important that
you select those questions that have the most significance for your
assignment.
4.3 Shopkeeper / Shop owners Questionnaire - primary research
How many shopkeepers are you going to question (the sample size)?
Explain to the examiner why you are carrying out primary research on existing
shopkeepers and why it is important to have an adequate sample size?
Examiners would expect to see about 10 fully completed questionnaires.
4.4 Shopkeeper Questionnaire results
Again, your results must be arranged into appropriate charts and graphs.
You must explain clearly what the results and graphs show you. What is the
significance of the data and what conclusions can you draw from the
results?
4.5 Constraints on my primary research trip to South Woodford
These could be expressed in terms of the day and time you carried out the
research, the relatively short length of time you had to carry out your research,
the weather conditions on the day, the customers and shop keepers attitudes
towards you as young people carrying out market research, some shops /
businesses might not have been open etc.
How could you have organised yourself better prior to the trip? If you had
more time to carry out your research, would you have been able to get more
reliable data?
Section 5: SWOT Analysis
In this section, you will need to carry out a SWOT analysis for any business
that currently exists in South Woodford.
For example: A SWOT analysis for SAINSBURYS is shown below. You can
only refer to this as a guide – it’s your teachers work after all!
Strengths
• Has a reputation for selling good quality and good value products
• Provides employment for people in the local area - including students
• It is a profitable business which is good news for its shareholders
• It has a hardworking and motivated workforce.
Weaknesses
• It adds to the traffic congestion in the area
• There is no room for further expansion in its current South Woodford
location
• It may mean that smaller independent local shops are forced out of
business
Opportunities
• It could provide a delivery service to customers – possibly for free or for
a low fee
• It could try to sell more of its products online by developing further its
website
• It could sponsor local community groups in order to generate good
publicity
• It could look to expand into countries outside of the UK – for example
Eastern Europe
Threats
• It faces a lot of competition in the area from Waitrose, Marks and
Spencers and Tesco
• A decline in the economy could mean that consumers cut back on their
spending – especially on luxury food items.
You might wish to do a SWOT analysis for Marks and Spencers, Waitrose,
Woolworths, Churchill’s Estate Agents, Barclays Bank, Pizza Express or any
other business in South Woodford that you think you know quite well.
Choose very carefully as some businesses will be more difficult to do than
others.
Section 6: Business Plan
You now need to decide upon the type of business you are going to plan to
establish in South Woodford.
If you decided to leave school at the end of your GCSE’s and wanted to set
up and run your own SMALL BUSINESS, what would it be? By carefully
making this decision, the work you do over the coming weeks and months
will be a lot more rewarding as you will be working on something that you
are genuinely interested in.
This is a very important decision as you will be writing a detailed business
plan for this business over the next few months. Explain to the examiner how
you reached your decision and your reasons for your choice.
Very good businesses to consider would include a FAST FOOD
RESTAURANT, A CAFE, A SANDWICH SHOP, A BEAUTY SALON, A
SMOOTHIE BAR, A BARBER SHOP, A HAIRDRESSERS.
Avoid being too ambitious in the type of business you plan to set up -unless
you are really prepared to do a lot of detailed research on your own,
outside of your lessons.
You will NOT be able to afford to set up a large business as you will be
lacking in finance (you might not have any savings at all). Banks will regard
you as very high risk and (may not agree to lend you much, if any, money) as
you will be completely lacking in practical experience of running a real
business.
6.1 You are now ready to write a Business Plan for your chosen business.
Explain to the examiner the reasons for and benefits of writing a business plan
for your small business? Refer to Pages 4 and 5 of your textbook.
6.2 Provide the examiner with a full description of your business. What
service(s) will you be providing or what product(s) will you be selling to your
customers?
6.3 Explain to the examiner what will be the unique selling point for your
business? How will you differentiate (means distinguish) your business from
your other competitors - in other words why should consumers buy the product
or service from your business?
6.4 What are your short term business objectives?
Is your short-term objective simply to survive or break even in the first year or
do you think you will make a profit from the start? If so, how much profit do
you think it will be - how did you arrive at the figure.
Short term business objectives might include
• To survive the first six months of being in business
• To breakeven within 12 months of setting up the business
• To have a sales turnover of £__________ in Year 1
• To have a sales turnover of £__________ in Year 2
• To make a profit of £___________ by the end of Year 2
Try to come up with sensible and realistic figures for your business – they
should try to base them on your sales forecasts.
Remember a company only makes a profit if their level of sales is greater than
all of their costs.
6.5 What type of business ownership are you going to set up as and why?
Will you be operating as a Sole trader, as a Partnership or as a Private limited
Company? It’s entirely up to you but you must explain your reasons.
The examiner will want you to explain the advantages and disadvantages for the
type of business ownership that you select. Refer to your textbook for this.
6.6 You must identify for the examiner the names of all your nearest
competitors (within a short radius of South Woodford). The easiest way to get
this information is to look it up in the business pages.
6.7 Who will your suppliers be and what products will they be supplying you
with? Where are they located?
Explain to the examiner what factors you will use when deciding what
suppliers to use?
For example, do your suppliers have to be located near your business? Do they
have to be able to give you trade credit – maybe 2 months? Do they have to be
entirely reliable and be able to make frequent deliveries? Will you use the
cheapest suppliers – will this affect the quality of what you are selling? These
are all important decisions for you to think about.
Section 7: Marketing Plan.
7.1 Explain to the examiner what group(s) of people will be your main target
market and why?
7.2 You now need to identify your Marketing Objectives for your chosen
business.
For example, Marketing Objectives might include
• To promote my business amongst my target market (be as specific as
possible) as strongly as possible during the first year of setting up.
• To spend £2000 of my Marketing budget in Year 1 on advertising my
business to my target market.
• To generate sales of £_________ in my first year.
• To generate sales of £__________ in my second year.
• To generate sales of £__________ in my third year.
• To increase sales by 20% fin each of the next three years.
• To increase the range of products that I sell by 20% within the next year.
• To introduce a loyalty card offering a 10% discount to my customers for
purchases greater than £_____.
7.3 What is the size of your Marketing Budget for your first year of trading –
remember the budget for a small business is not going to be tens of thousands of
pounds?
You will then need to explain to the examiner how you will use this money to
promote and advertise your business.
7.4 Product or Service Refer carefully to pages 118 and 119 of your textbook.
For example, if you were setting up a café, you would need to design an
attractive menu together showing the prices that you would charge for all
items on the menu.
Whatever business you decide to set up, the examiner will need to see a well
designed leaflet / brochure that fully shows ALL the products or services
(with PRICES) that you will be selling.
Will you products that you are selling or the service that you are providing be of
a high quality and a high price? If so, explain why. Perhaps you are targeting
a more economy or budget customer.
7.5 Pricing
What prices will you be charging for your different products or services?
What discounts (if any) might you use and why? When will you use discounts?
What pricing strategy are you going to use – you need to explain your choice
and reasons to the examiner? Are you going to use a
• Price penetration strategy – setting low prices for your products or service
to get customers interested in it and to build up market share.
• Competition pricing strategy – setting your prices based on those charged
by your competitors.
• Cost plus pricing strategy – setting your prices based on the cost of
buying your stock from your suppliers and then adding on a certain
percentage profit.
• Promotional pricing strategy – setting low prices for a short period of
time to encourage customers to buy it.
7.6 Promotion
Explain to the examiner what type of sales promotions you are going to use
within your business – such as special offers, price discounts, money off
coupons, vouchers, customer loyalty cards, prize competitions, free gift
campaigns, in shop displays. You need to provide the examiner with full
details of how you will use these possible sales promotions within your
business.
Explain to the examiner what type of advertising (local radio or newspapers,
specialist magazines, leaflets, posters on billboards etc) you will use to promote
your business.
You should therefore carefully design an advertisement that could be included
in local newspapers / local newsletters giving details of some of your sales
promotions. Think carefully about what the advertisement would need to
include. Remember, it needs to attract the attention of the readers as well as
looking very professional!
You could also design some leaflets / flyers giving details of any special
discounts (perhaps for a limited period of time). These could then be given to
your customers or handed out to members of the public or put in the letterboxes
of local residents.
Other possible ways to promote your business could include using
Public Relations (arranging press releases in local newspapers, sponsoring
local sports teams) and Direct Mail (sending promotional material to carefully
targeted customers).
You could design a Press Release that could be sent to local newspapers
giving details about your new business.
7.7 Place
Will you provide a delivery service (if appropriate) to your customers?
Is it appropriate to consider selling your products by mail order or even over the
internet? What would be the possible benefits of doing so?
8. Financial Plan.
8.1 Where will you obtain the finance needed to set up your business? –
refer to pages 54 and 55 of your textbook for further information.
Example
This is likely to be made up of some combination of the following: Try to
come up with what you think are realistic figures for your business.
Private savings £1000
Money borrowed from family or close friends £1000
Bank overdraft £2000
Bank loan £5000 borrowed at 8% per year
Government grants (if eligible) £500
Total finance available to start up your business £9500
Don’t forget that money borrowed from a bank or building society must be
repaid in full with interest. Remember that when you are setting up a
business, money is likely to be quite limited so you will need to minimise any
unnecessary costs.
8.2 You now have to decide how you are going to use this money to set up
your business.
For example, if you were setting up a small café in South Woodford, you would
have
1. Start up costs
2. Running costs – made up of variable and fixed costs
The start up costs of setting up a small café might include
The cost of all the equipment that you would need. These might include
Estimates
Kitchen equipment £1000
Microwave £100
Fridge / Freezer £300
Food display cabinets £500 (second-hand)
Tables and chairs £700
Plates and cutlery £200
General decoration costs £300
Builders fees for fitting out your shop £1500
Initial stock £500
Total start up costs £____________
Try to come up with what you think are fairly realistic figures for your
chosen business.
8.3 You now have to estimate your running costs – for example, your fixed and
variable costs using your own figures.
Example: Your fixed costs might include
Rent for the premises £600 per month
Business Rates £100 per month
Heating and lighting £100 per month
Your management salary £1200 per month
Total Fixed Costs £2000 per month
Your variable costs might include
Staff costs £800 per month
Stock £600 per month
Gas and electricity £100 per month
Total Variable Costs £1500 per month
Total Running Costs £3500 per month
8.4 Assuming that you expect to have 1500 customers per month, each
spending on average £5, you can now calculate the break even number of
customers for your business.
Ask for help from your teacher on this section if needed. Use the following
formula
Breakeven = Fixed costs per month
____________________________________
Average selling price – Variable cost per unit
Breakeven = £2000
____________________________________ = 500 customers
£5 - £1 per month
In the example shown above, we can see that a profit will only be made if you
have more than 500 customers per month.
8.5 You can now prepare a forecasted Profit and Loss Account for your first
year of trading of your chosen business. You can use the example shown as a
guide but you must come with your own forecasted figures.
Forecasted Profit and Loss Account for Year One
Sales Revenue £150,000 (100 customers per day X £5 X300 days)
Less cost of sales £90,000 (100 customers per day X £3 X 300 days)
Gross Profit £60,000
Less Salaries £14,400 (£1200 X 12 months)
Less Rent £8,400 (£700 X 12 months)
Less other expenses £7,200
Net Profit £30,000
Less Taxation £6,000 (at 20%)
Profit after tax £24,000
Profit taken out £10,000
Retained Profit £14,000 Profit reinvested back into the business
In the above example, you would explain to the examiner that the profit and loss
shows that the business is forecasted to make a profit of £24,000 (after paying
tax on your profits). The profit that the business makes could be higher or
lower depending on the real sales and real costs (remember these figures are
only forecasts).
You would now be able to use the forecasted profit and loss account as a target
to aim for and as a way of trying to convince a bank to lend you money when
trying to raise the finance needed to start your business.
8.6 You are now ready to prepare a Cash Flow Forecast for your business – see
pages 64 and 65 from your textbook.
A cash flow forecast shows the cash coming in and out of a business on a month
by month basis. You should complete it for a full 12 month period.
You need to tell the examiner that you understand that a profitable business can
still fail if it runs out of cash. Remember you will need cash on a month by
month basis in order to pay your workers their wages and to buy in more stock
from your suppliers.
An example of a cash flow forecast is shown below. Use a spreadsheet and
then cut and paste.
You will have to prepare your own cash flow forecast for your business and
provide an interpretation of the figures.
Cash Flow Forecast Jan Feb Marc April May June July Aug Opening bank balance 10,000 7500 5300 3100 1100 -900 -2100 -1800 Cash Sales 700 1000 1000 1200 1200 2000 3500 6000 Total Cash In (A) 700 1000 1000 1200 1200 2000 3500 6000 Salaries 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 Wages 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 Rent 700 700 700 700 700 700 700 700 Insurance 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Gas and Electricity 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Bank interest 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Stock 700 700 700 700 700 700 700 700 Total Cash Out (B) 3,200 3,200 3,200 3,200 3,200 3,200 3,200 3,200 Net Cash Flow (A-B) -2500 -2,200 -2200 -2000 -2000 -1200 300 2800 Closing Bank Balance 7,500 5,300 3,100 1,100 -900 -2,100 -1,800 1,000
Interpretation:
From looking at the last row of the cash flow forecast, you can see the business
has a positive cash position from January to April. However from the
months May to July, the firm’s cash position is negative – this means that the
firm will be short of cash during these months and therefore will have to
arrange a bank overdraft with their bank. However in this illustrated
example, by the end of August, the firm’s cash position has turned positive –
this is because the cash sales have increased significantly during August.
It is essential that you provide the examiner with an interpretation of the
Cash Flow Forecast for your business.
Section 9: Human Resources Plan.
It is very likely that at some stage in your business, you will need to recruit
staff to assist with the running of your business.
9.1 You should explain fully to the examiner, the different stages that you
would use when recruiting a new employee. These are likely to include
Identify the vacancy / position to be filled in the business.
Prepare a job description
Shortlist potential candidates
Interview suitable candidates – make selection
Issue contracts of employment to employee.
Arrange induction training for the new employee.
9.2 Explain to the examiner what personal characteristics and qualifications
(if any) you would be looking for in potential employees?
Explain to the examiner, what type of induction training as well as other
ongoing training you will provide to your employees and the reasons for
doing so.
9.3 You could prepare a Job Description for a job vacancy within your
business – this could be for a junior employee position or for a more senior
position such as an assistant manager. It’s up to you to decide.
9.4 How will you go about motivating your staff – using both financial and
non-financial incentives? What wages/salaries will you pay your staff? How
have you decided on these wage/salary levels? Will you provide any other
fringe benefits to your employees – if so, explain them to the examiner?
The examiners will be very impressed if you can show how you would use any
form of motivational theory (perhaps Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs,
Herzberg’s motivators, or McGregor’s Theory X or Y) to motivate your
staff.
You would need to look these up on any Business Studies revision site on the
internet.
9.5 As an employer, explain to the examiner, what employment legislation you
will need to follow and why.
Section 10: External Factors / Influences
These are likely to include some or all of the following
10.1 Competitors: You need to explain to the examiner why it is important
that you monitor carefully the actions and business decisions of your
competitors. They might have lower prices, better products or services, better
after sales service.
Who are your major competitors – remind the examiner of their names? Do
these businesses have their own websites?
You should explain to the examiner that you intend to visit / research your
competitors regularly in order to check the prices and quality of the products or
services that they are providing to their customers.
Based on what you see, you may then need to make changes to the way you run
your own business.
10.2 Interest Rates: You should explain to the examiner the consequences to
your business of any changes in interest rates.
Tell the examiner that you are aware that interest rates are set by the Bank of
England and these can go up or down over a period of time.
Tell the examiner what the current rate of interest is – at this moment in time,
interest rates are 5%. Ask your teacher, if you can’t find out yourself by
looking it up on the internet.
The Bank of England may decide to increase interest rates if they believe the
economy is growing too fast or if they want to encourage consumers to spend
less (especially on their credit cards) and avoid inflation.
Don’t forget that you will have borrowed money (probably from a bank) to set
up your business. If interest rates go up, this means that the amount of money
you have to pay back each month to the bank in interest will also have increased
Consequently, this will reduce the profits that you are likely to make and will
put a strain on your businesses cash flow.
You also need to explain to the examiner that an increase in interest rates will
also have an impact on your potential customers. When interest rates increase,
this means that consumers will have less disposable income to go out and
spend on goods and services. If your business is selling mostly luxury products
(things that consumers can often do without) your business is likely to be hit
hard by rising interest rates.
Don’t forget to also tell the examiner that the impact of rising interest rates will
depend upon on quickly and by how much the interest rate goes up by. If they
go up slowly and from a low level, the impact on most businesses may be quite
limited.
Finally, don’t forget to tell the examiner that you are aware that interest rates
can also be reduced by the Bank of England. This can occur when the Bank of
England wants to boost the economy and encourage consumers to go out and
spend their money on firms’ goods and services. This might occur if the
economy is starting to recover from a recession.
10.3 The State of the Economy: Explain to the examiner that the state of the
economy (especially in London and the South East) will have an impact on
the success of your business.
If the economy is growing and experiencing a boom, then consumers are likely
to have higher levels of disposable income to go out and spend on your firm’s
goods and services. However, if the economy is experiencing a recession,
consumers are likely to cut back on spending and will be saving more.
Don’t forget to tell the examiner that you are aware that that Britain’s economy
has been growing steadily over the last ten years or so and that this has been
good for businesses. In the early 1990’s Britain experienced a serious recession
and many businesses went bust. The population of London and the South East
is forecast to increase over the next 10 to 15 years – and so this should be good
news for businesses.
10.4 Exchange Rates: Tell the examiner that you know that an exchange rate
is the price of one currency expressed in terms of another. If you are selling any
of your products overseas or buying stock from abroad, you will be affected by
fluctuating (changing) exchange rates. Don’t forget that selling overseas may
be one of your medium term plans.
If the British Pound is strong against the American dollar, this will mean British
goods when sold in America will be more expensive. This may reduce the
demand for British goods sold in America. However, when the pound is strong
against the dollar, it means imports from America will be cheaper.
10.5 Taxation: Changes in taxation will have an impact upon your business.
Explain to the examiner that you are aware that the government imposes taxes
on consumers and businesses in order to pay for public services such as
education, the NHS, police, army, investment in new roads etc.
If taxes are increased, consumers will have less disposable income to spend on
your firm’s goods and services.
Businesses also pay taxes on their profits called Corporation Tax. If these are
increased by the government, this will mean that your firm’s profits may be
lower.
10.6 Business Ethics: the moral choices and decisions that you make may
influence the success of your business. Read and refer carefully to pages 132
and 133 of your textbook for help with this section.
You should explain to the examiner some of the moral decisions that you may
need to make within your business and the consequences of making them.
Possible examples of moral decisions could include
• To pay your staff a decent wage (above the national minimum wage)
and to ensure good working conditions are maintained for all employees
within your business.
• To ensure that you pay your suppliers fair prices for the goods that you
order as well as paying them on time.
• To minimise / reduce any damage that your business causes to the
environment and the local community.
Don’t forget to explain to the examiner that a decision to behave ethically and
in a socially responsible manner may mean that profits for your business may
be reduced. However, it may be the right thing to do and may in fact generate
good public relations for your business.
Your business might be targeted by pressure groups who may disagree with
some of your business activities – for example, firms that sell fur coats often
attract negative publicity from animal rights campaigners.
Section 11: Stakeholders.
Read and refer carefully to pages 8 and 9 of your textbook for help with this
section.
11.1 What are stakeholders? Stakeholders are individuals or groups of people
who have an interest in the success of a business.
Explain to the examiner who the major stakeholders within your business
are likely to be and most importantly what they are likely to be most
interested in.
These are likely to include
You and any other family members or friends who have invested money into
the business. You will want the business to survive, to be a success and to
make a profit on your investment.
Any staff that you have employed. They will want to receive a decent wage
and to enjoy good working conditions and job satisfaction. They might also be
interested in the possibility of being promoted within your business.
Your suppliers. They will be interested in receiving regular orders from your
business as well as being paid on time.
Your customers. They will be interested in receiving plenty of choice and
good value for money from the goods or services that they buy from you. They
will expect the products bought to be of good quality.
11.2 Be sure you explain to the examiner that each of the different stakeholder
groups that you have identified want different things from your business and
therefore trying to keep all of the stakeholders satisfied may be very difficult or
even impossible to achieve.
Explain to the examiner which stakeholder group(s) you think are most
important and explain clearly your reasons for this. Ask your teacher for help
with this section if you need it.
Section 12: Information and Communication Technology
12.1 What information and communication technology will you use within
your business and why?
This is likely to include some or all of the following
Electronic cash register – to help prevent mistakes.
Databases – to keep an up to date record of employee, customer and supplier
details.
Spreadsheets – to prepare and analyse budgets and keep a record of financial
information.
Email – to communicate with suppliers, customers.
The internet – to find out about suppliers, to pay bills, to design your own
webpage / website for online sales.
Desk Top Publishing – to design advertisements / menus.
Word processing and PowerPoint – to write a business plan and dealing with
all customer or supplier correspondence.
Section 13: Medium and Long Term Plans.
13.1 If your business proves to be a success, explain to the examiner what you
hope to achieve over the next 3 to 10 years. This might include some or all of
the following targets.
You decide and make the decisions for yourself – but try to be realistic!!
• To expand the business by establishing ____ new shops within East
London within three years.
• To expand the business by establishing ____ new shops within London
within three years.
• To expand the business by establishing a chain of _____ franchised shops
throughout the United Kingdom within seven years.
• To expand the business by establishing a chain of _____franchised shops
throughout the European Union within ten years.
13.2 My long term plan is
• To sell the business for £___________ after _____ years and then retire
to my private villa in the South of France.
• To pass on my business to my children when I retire.
• You decide!
13.3 Explain to the examiner, why it is important to plan ahead for your
business and what are the difficulties with doing so?
Section 14: Bibliography
14.1 You must provide the examiner with a brief list of all the sources of
information that you have used within your assignment.
This should include
The name and author of your textbook.
Major websites that you consulted.
Names of any people who gave you information or advice and their job position
(for example teachers, entrepreneurs).
Your project will be also given a mark based on the quality of your written
communication.
The font size and type should be the same throughout the assignment.
Don’t forget to do a spell check on all of your work.
TARGET CUSTOMER QUESTIONNAIRE
1. What is your marital status? Please tick
Single _____ A
Married _____ B
Divorced/ separated _____ C
Widowed _____ D
2. What age range do you fit into? Please tick
Less than 13 ______ A
13 - 19 ______ B
20 - 35 ______ C
36 - 65 ______ D
Over 65 ______ E
3. Where do you live? Please tick
South Woodford _____ A
Woodford Green _____ B
Chingford _____ C
Wanstead _____ D
Ilford _____ E
Walthamstow _____ F
Other - please specify _________________ G
4. Please state three types of shops or businesses that you would like to see
more of in South Woodford?
___________________
___________________
___________________
5. How many times per week do you normally visit South Woodford for
shopping purposes? Please tick
Once a week ______ A
Two or three times a week ______ B
Four or five times a week ______ C
More than five times per week ______ D
6. How many separate shops are you likely to buy something in, during your
visit to South Woodford today? Please tick
One ______ A
Two or three ______ B
Four or five ______ C
More than five ______ D
7. How would you describe the shops that exist in South Woodford? Please
tick
Excellent _______ A
Very Good _______ B
Good _______ C
Satisfactory _______ D
Poor _______ E
Very Poor _______ F
8. Do you think that there are adequate parking facilities for shoppers in South
Woodford? Please tick.
Yes ____________ A
No ________________ B
Thank you for your help in completing this questionnaire.
TARGET SHOPKEEPER QUESTIONNAIRE
1. What type of business organisation do you operate as? Please tick
Sole trader _____ A
Partnership _____ B
Private Limited company _____ D
Franchise _____ E
Public Limited Company _____ F
Other _____ G
2. How many years have you been trading in South Woodford? Please tick
Less than 1 ______ A
1 - 3 ______ B
4 - 10 ______ C
More than 10 ______ D
3. How many competitors do you have within a radius of 10 miles? Please tick
None _____ A
1- 3 _____ B
4 - 7 _____ C
8 - 10 _____ D
More than 10 _____ E
4. How many customers on average do you receive each day? Please tick
1 -5 ______ A
6- 10 ______ B
11 - 20 ______ C
21 - 40 ______ D
More than 40 ______ E
5. Do you think there is adequate parking for your customers and suppliers in
South Woodford? Please tick
Yes ______ A
No ______ B
6. Did you write a business plan for your business before setting up? Please
tick
Yes ______ A
No ______ B
7. Is the demand for the products and services that you provide very sensitive
to changes in price? Please tick
Yes ______ A
No ______ B
8. Is the demand for the products and services that you provide very sensitive
to changes in consumers incomes? Please tick
Yes ______ A
No ______ B
9. Do you provide credit to your customers? Please tick
Yes ______ A
No ______ B
10. How would you describe the quality of the shops that exist in South
Woodford? Please tick
Excellent _______ A
Very Good _______ B
Good _______ C
Satisfactory _______ D
Poor _______ E
Very Poor _______ F
Thank you for your help in completing this questionnaire.
You will need to obtain as much information as possible about the type of
business you want to set up by visiting / researching your potential
competitors.
For example, if you wanted to find out about running a sports shop, a cafe,
a beauty shop , a record shop or any other type of business, you would
want to speak to people who have actually run one.
You might want to prepare another questionnaire that you could complete
with the owners of this type of business. Ask me for help when you get to
this section.
Remember it is best to think about setting up a small business – if it proves to
be successful, you can think about expanding or moving to larger premises in
the future.
13. Appendices - to be included right at the end of your assignment
Any extra information that you may have refereed to in the main body of your
assignment.
These would be your completed questionnaires and any other secondary data
that you collected and referred to in your assignment.
14. Bibliography: Half a page at most
CUSTOMER QUESTIONNAIRE - EXAMPLE ONLY
1. What is your marital status? Please tick
Single _____ A
Married _____ B
Divorced _____ C
Widowed _____ D
2. What age range do you fit into? Please tick
Less than 13 ______ A
13 - 19 ______ B
20 - 30 ______ C
31 - 65 ______ D
Over 65 ______ E
3. Where do you live? Please tick
South Woodford _____ A
Woodford Green _____ B
Chingford _____ C
Wanstead _____ D
Ilford _____ E
Walthamstow _____ F
Other - please specify _________________ G
4. What are your three favourite types of fast food restaurants? Please give in
rank order with one being your most favourite.
Chinese _____ A
Indian _____ B
Mexican _____ C
Kebab shops _____ D
Italian / pizza _____ E
Fish and chips _____ F
McDonalds _____ G
Burger King _____ H
Other (please specify) ________________________ I
5. Do you think there is demand for another take away in South Woodford?
Yes ___ A
No _____ B
6. If you answered yes to question 6, please specify the type of take away
Chinese _____ A
Indian _____ B
Mexican _____ C
Kebab shops _____ D
Italian / pizza _____ E
Fish and chips _____ F
McDonalds _____ G
Burger King _____ H
Other (please specify) ____________________ I
7. On average, how many times per week do you buy food from a take away?
Once a week ______ A
Twice a week. ______ B
Three or four times a week ______ C
Five or six times a week ______ D
Every day ______ E
8. How far are you prepared to travel to buy food from a take-away? Please tick
Less than 1 mile _______ A
More than 1 mile but less than 3 _______ B
More than 3 miles but less than 6 _______ C
More than 6 miles but less than 10 _______ D
More than 10 miles _______ E
9. When visiting a fast food restaurant, how much per person would you
normally spend? Please tick
Less than £3 _______ A
£3 to £5 _______ B
More than £5 but less than £10 _______ C
More than £10 _______ D
10. From the following characteristics or features of a fast food restaurant,
please rank the one that is most important to you?
Value for money ______ A
Choice of menu ______ B
Good Hygiene ______ C
Fast customer service ______ D
Friendly service ______ E
Free local delivery service available ______ F
Parking facilities available ______ G
11. How important is it that a free local delivery service is provided. Please
tick
Essential ______ A
Very important ______ B
Important ______ C
Not very important ______ D
12. Would you be prepared to pay a fee for a home delivery service? Please
tick
Yes ______ A
No ______ B
If yes, how much is the maximum you would pay? ________________
Thank you for your help in completing this questionnaire.
SHOPKEEPER / BUSINESS OWNER INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Why did you decide to establish this business?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
2. What is the main aim of your business?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
3. What are your short term objectives?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
4. What are your long term objectives?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
5. How many years have you been in business?
________________________________________________________________
___________
6. Please list the range of products or services you provide?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
7. Did you business make a profit from the day you started trading?
Yes _______ No _________
If No, how long did it take for the business to break even?
________________________________________________________________
___________
8. How much personal capital did you invest into your business?
_______________ Thousand
9. How much finance did you need to borrow form your bank or other lending
institution?
_______________ Thousand
10. How many years have you been in your current location?
_______________ Years
11. Why did you choose to locate here?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
12. What factors did you consider when you were deciding upon your present
location?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
13. What is the unique selling point(s) of your business?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
14. What type of business organisation do you operate - please tick
Sole trader _________
Private limited company _________
Partnership _________
Other (please specify) _________
What are your normal opening hours
Monday to Friday _____________
Saturday _____________
Sunday _____________
15. What are the names of your nearest competitors?
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
16. Do you monitor closely your competitors ?
Yes ________ No___________
17. If yes, please explain how you do this?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
18. Do you conduct regular market research?
Yes ________ No___________
If yes, what type of market research do you do and how often?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
19. What advertising and promotional methods do you use?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
20. Do you charge different prices to different market segments - for example
do children or old age pensioners get charged a different price?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
21. What types of technology do you use within your business?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
22. How many employees do you have?
Full Time ____
Part Time ____
What organisational structure exists within this business? Please sketch out in
the space below
23. What research did you complete before deciding to set up your business?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
24. How long did you spend researching your business opportunity before
setting it up?
________________________________________________________________
___________
25. Did you write a business plan?
Yes ____ No ____
If yes, did you write the business plan in order to: (please tick)
(a) Obtain finance from the bank _____
(b) To assist you in running your business _____
(c) Both of the above reasons _____
26. What do you consider to be the most important parts to your business plan.
Please tick your top three with 1 being the most important
Business Idea ______
Financing proposals ______
Marketing plan ______
Cash Flow forecast ______
Break Even Analysis ______
Profit Forecast ______
Other (please specify) ______
Workforce Plan ______
27. In what ways has this business plan helped you to run your business
effectively.
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
28. What are the things you most enjoy about running your business?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
29. What are the things that you least enjoy about running your business?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
30. What do you consider to be the major strengths of your business?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
31. What do you consider to be the main weaknesses in your business?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
32. How do you intend to deal with these weaknesses?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
33. What are the main opportunities that exist for your business?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
34. What are the main threats that face your business?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
35. What are the main internal constraints that affect your business.
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
36. What are the main external constraints that affect your business.
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
37. What style of management do you tend to adopt and why?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
38.How do you ensure the quality of the product or services that you provide?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
39. Is the demand for your product or service very sensitive to changes in
price?
Yes ___ No ___
40. Is the demand for your product or service very sensitive to changes in
consumers income levels?
Yes ___ No ___
41. Is your business affected by changes in any of the following economic
variables?
Interest rates ______
Exchange rates ______
Inflation ______
Please explain in what way(s)
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
42. Which of these financial accounts do you prepare each year? Please tick
Balance sheet ____
Profit and loss account ____
Cash flow statement ____
Other (please specify) ____
43. What profit or loss did your business make this year?
________________________________________________________________
___________
44. Do you provide credit to your customers?
Yes __ No ___
If yes, how much credit on average do you give to them?
_______ Days
Thank you for taking the time to assist me in my project.
11 March 2005
Dear Laura,
I am so pleased that you are making a good recovery. Don’t worry, you will
be able to catch up on the work that you have missed - your health is the most
important thing. After Easter, we can go through together any areas that you
may need some extra help with.
I have enclosed a copy of the pre issued case study for Units 2 and 3.
Unit 2 - Operations Management and People Management - 30%
U
4 February Dear Parents,
I am writing to let you know about a new Business Studies resource that you might want to consider purchasing for your son / daughter. The resource consists of Revision Cards which cover all the main concepts on the syllabus. The Revision cards certainly look excellent to me and should save a lot of time for your son / daughter in the lead up to the exams. I attach a copy of the catalogue page which provides further details together with the relevant order form. The cards are not yet available in book shops and can only be bought directly from the publishers. I hope you find this information of interest and that it will help to maximise your son’s / daughter’s grade in Business Studies. Yours sincerely, James Sexton. Deputy Director of Sixth Form. 5 March 2004 Dear Parents, I write to inform you that your son / daughter will need to submit their GCSE Business Studies coursework to me on or before Monday 22 March. Your son / daughter is fully aware of this deadline date. In recent weeks, your son / daughter has been working very hard in lessons on their coursework. I would therefore be very grateful if you help to ensure that your son / daughter continues to devote as much time as possible between now and the 22 March to his / her coursework - this will help to ensure that the best mark possible is achieved. We will be using our remaining lessons to focus on the pre-issued case study which forms the basis of the 75% written examination. This case study is based on the Co-operative Bank - you might wish to discuss
some of the many interesting issues raised in the case study with your son / daughter. It will also be very important that your son / daughter sets aside some time most evenings for independent revision in this subject. Thank you for your continued support in the above matters. Yours sincerely, James Sexton. Deputy Director of Sixth Form. CC: M Loster, N Barnes, P McGrory. REPEAT OF PAGES 1 - 45
GCSE BUSINESS STUDIES COURSEWORK GUIDE
Be sure to buy a memory stick so that you can save the work that you do in the
lesson each week. It will also enable you to continue with your work at home
each week. This will enable you to take full responsibility for your coursework
and get as high a grade as possible. Good Luck!
Section 1: The title of the assignment / investigation.
Is there a gap in South Woodford for a new business enterprise?
Section 2: The aims of my investigation are
• To research South Woodford as a business community.
• To carry out detailed market research into what type of businesses
currently exist in South Woodford.
• To carry out detailed market research amongst the general public in South
Woodford into their needs and wants.
• To determine whether there is a possible gap in South Woodford for a
new business enterprise.
• To identify a new business enterprise that will satisfy the needs of
potential customers and also generate a profit.
• To write a detailed business plan for the new business enterprise that I
have identified.
Section 3: Methodology
Section 4: Background Research
You will need to identify the main types of businesses that currently exist in
South Woodford.
Remember it is important that these are categorised into the main different
types of businesses. You should be able to obtain this information from the
internet but you may have to look carefully for it.
For example:
Supermarkets
Sainsburys
Marks and Spencers
Waitrose
You will need to compare the property prices in South Woodford with another
nearby area. This other area should be either Ilford, Walthamstow, Leyton or
Leytonstone.
The easiest and most effective way to do this is to use the property supplements
that are usually included free with local newspapers – ask your parents to show
you one of these. They will also be available in your local estate agents.
You should compare the prices of one or two bed roomed flats in South
Woodford with one or two bed roomed flats in Walthamstow or three bed
roomed semi-detached houses in South Woodford with three bed roomed
semi-detached houses in Ilford. You should cut out the details of the relevant
house prices for the two areas – I would suggest at least 10 pictures and prices
for both areas so that you can identify which area is more expensive in terms of
property.
The important thing to remember is that it would be sensible or fair to compare
the property prices of two bed roomed flats in South Woodford with three bed
roomed semi-detached houses in Leyton. You always have to ensure that you
are comparing like with like in order to reach any firm conclusions.
What conclusion are you able to reach about property prices in the two areas?
Is property generally more expensive in South Woodford? If so, explain why
this could be and the possible consequences.
Section
You need to carry out a SWOT analysis for any business that currently exists
in South Woodford.
For example: Sainsburys You can only refer to this as a guide – it’s your
teachers work!
Strengths
• Has a reputation for selling good quality and good value products
• Provides employment for people in the local area - including students
• It is a profitable business which is good news for its shareholders
• It has a hardworking and motivated workforce.
Weaknesses
• It adds to the traffic congestion in the area
• There is no room for further expansion in its current South Woodford
location
• It may mean that smaller independent local shops are forced out of
business
Opportunities
• It could provide a delivery service to customers – possibly free or for a
low fee
• It could try to sell more of its products online by developing further its
website
• It could sponsor local community groups in order to generate good
publicity
Threats
• It faces a lot of competition in the area from Waitrose, Marks and
Spencers and Tesco
• A decline in the economy could mean that consumers cut back on their
spending – especially on luxury food items.
You might wish to do a SWOT analysis for Marks and Spencers, Waitrose,
Woolworths, Churchill’s Estate Agents, Barclays Bank, Pizza Express or any
other business in South Woodford that you think you know quite well. Choose
carefully as some businesses will be more difficult to do than others.
Business Plan
What are your short term objectives? These might include
• To survive the first six months of being in business
• To breakeven within 12 months of setting up the business
• To have a sales turnover of £__________ in Year 1
• To have a sales turnover of £__________ in Year 2
• To make a profit of £___________ by the end of Year 2
Try to come up with sensible and realistic figures – they should be based on
your sales forecasts.
Medium Term Plans
If your business proves to be a success, explain to the examiner what you hope
to achieve over the next 3 to 10 years. This might include some or all of the
following targets.
You decide and make the decisions for yourself – but try to be realistic!!
• To expand the business by establishing ____ new shops within East
London within three years.
• To expand the business by establishing ____ new shops within London
within three years.
• To expand the business by establishing a chain of _____ franchised shops
throughout the United Kingdom within seven years.
• To expand the business by establishing a chain of _____franchised shops
throughout the European Union within ten years.
My long term plan is
• To sell the business for £___________ after _____ years and then retire
to my private villa in the South of France.
• To pass on my business to my children when I retire.
• You decide!
Section 9 External Influences
You need to explain what external influences may affect the success of your
business.
These are likely to include
Competitors: You need to explain to the examiner why it is important that you
monitor carefully the actions and business decisions of your competitors.
Who are your major competitors – remind the examiner of their names? Do
these businesses have their own websites?
You should explain to the examiner that you intend to visit / research your
competitors regularly in order to check the prices and quality of the products or
services that they are providing to their customers.
Based on what you see, you may need to make changes to the way you run your
own business.
Interest Rates: You should explain to the examiner the consequences to your
business of any changes in interest rates.
Tell the examiner that you are aware that interest rates are set by the Bank of
England and these can go up or down over a period of time.
Tell the examiner what the current rate of interest is – at this moment in time,
interest rates are 5%. Ask your teacher, if you can’t find out yourself by
looking it up on the internet.
The Bank of England may decide to increase interest rates if they believe the
economy is growing too fast or if they want to encourage consumers to spend
less (especially on their credit cards) and avoid inflation.
Don’t forget that you will have borrowed money (probably from a bank) to set
up your business. If interest rates go up, this means that the amount of money
you have to pay back each month to the bank in interest will also have increased
Consequently, this will reduce the profits that you are likely to make and will
put a strain on your businesses cash flow.
You also need to explain to the examiner that an increase in interest rates will
also have an impact on your potential customers. When interest rates increase,
this means that consumers will have less disposable income to go out and
spend on goods and services. If your business is selling mostly luxury products
(things that consumers can often do without) your business is likely to be hit
hard by rising interest rates.
Don’t forget to also tell the examiner that the impact of rising interest rates will
depend upon on quickly and by how much the interest rate goes up by. If they
go up slowly and from a low level, the impact on most businesses may be quite
limited.
Finally don’t forget to tell the examiner that you are aware that interest rates can
also be reduced by the Bank of England. This can occur when the Bank of
England wants
to boost the economy and encourage consumers to go out and spend their
money
on firms’ goods and services. This might occur if the economy is starting to
recover from a recession.
The State of the Economy: Explain to the examiner that the state of the
economy (especially in London and the South East) will have an impact on
the success of your business.
If the economy is growing and experiencing a boom, then consumers are likely
to have higher levels of disposable income to go out and spend on your firm’s
goods and services. However, if the economy is experiencing a recession,
consumers are likely to cut back on spending and will be saving more.
Don’t forget to tell the examiner that you are aware that that Britain’s economy
has been growing steadily over the last ten years or so and that this has been
good for businesses. In the early 1990’s Britain experienced a serious recession
and many businesses went bust. The population of London and the South East
is forecast to increase over the next 10 to 15 years – and so this should be good
news for businesses.
Exchange Rates: Tell the examiner that you know that an exchange rate is the
price of one currency expressed in terms of another. If you are selling any of
your products overseas or buying stock from abroad, you will be affected by
fluctuating (changing)
exchange rates. Don’t forget that selling overseas may be one of your medium
term plans.
If the British Pound is strong against the American dollar, this will mean British
goods when sold in America will be more expensive. This may reduce the
demand for British goods sold in America. However, when the pound is strong
against the dollar, it means imports from America will be cheaper.
Taxation: Changes in taxation will have an impact upon your business.
Explain to the examiner that you are aware that the government imposes taxes
on consumers and businesses in order to pay for public services such as
education, the NHS, police, army, investment in new roads etc.
If taxes are increased, consumers will have less disposable income to spend on
your firm’s goods and services.
Businesses also pay taxes on their profits called Corporation Tax. If these are
increased by the government, this will mean that your firm’s profits may be
lower.
Business Ethics: the moral choices and decisions that you make may
influence the success of your business. Read and refer carefully to pages 132
and 133 of your textbook for help with this section.
You should explain to the examiner some of the moral decisions that you may
need to make within your business and the consequences of making them.
Possible examples of moral decisions could include
• To pay your staff a decent wage (above the national minimum wage)
and to ensure good working conditions are maintained for all employees
within your business.
• To ensure that you pay your suppliers fair prices for the goods that you
order as well as paying them on time.
• To minimise / reduce any damage that your business causes to the
environment and the local community.
Don’t forget to explain to the examiner that a decision to behave ethically and
in a socially responsible manner may mean that profits for your business may
be reduced.
Stakeholders. Read and refer carefully to pages 8 and 9 of your textbook for
help with this section.
What are stakeholders? Stakeholders are individuals or groups of people who
have an interest in the success of a business.
Explain to the examiner who the major stakeholders within your business are
likely to be. These are likely to include
You and any other family members or friends who have invested money into
the business. You will want the business to survive, to be a success and to
make a profit on your investment.
Any staff that you have employed. They will want to receive a decent wage
and to enjoy good working conditions and job satisfaction. They might also be
interested in the possibility of being promoted within your business.
Your suppliers. They will be interested in receiving regular orders from your
business as well as being paid on time.
Your customers. They will be interested in receiving plenty of choice and
good value for money from the goods or services that they buy from you. They
will expect the products bought to be of good quality.
Be sure you explain to the examiner that each of the different stakeholder
groups that you have identified want different things from your business and
therefore trying to keep all of the stakeholders satisfied may be very difficult or
even impossible to achieve.
Explain to the examiner which stakeholder group(s) you think are most
important and explain clearly your reasons why. Ask your teacher for help with
this section if you need it.
Section
Now that you have carried out your detailed market research, you must now
decide what type of business enterprise you are going to set up in South
Woodford. This is a very important decision as you will be writing a detailed
business plan for this business over the next few months.
Remember it is best to think about setting up a small business – if it proves to
be successful, you can think about expanding or moving to larger premises in
the future.
Very good businesses to consider could include a fast food restaurant, a café,
a sandwich shop, a beauty salon, a smoothie bar, a barber shop, a
hairdressers.
Avoid being too ambitious in the type of business you’d like to plan to set
up -unless you are really prepared to do a lot of detailed research on your
own, outside of the classroom.
Financial Plan
Where will you obtain the finance needed to set up your business – refer to
pages 54 and 55 of your textbook for further information?
Example
This is likely to be made up of some combination of the following: Try to
come up with what you think are realistic figures for your business.
Your own private savings £1000
Money borrowed from family or close friends £1000
Bank overdraft £2000
Bank loan £5000 borrowed at 8% per year
Government grants (if eligible) £500
Total finance available to start up your business £9500
Don’t forget that money borrowed from a bank or building society must be
repaid in full with interest. Remember that when you are setting up a business,
money is likely to be quite limited so you will need to minimise any
unnecessary costs.
You now have to decide how you are going to use this money to set up your
business.
If you were setting up a small café in South Woodford, you would have
1. Start up costs
2. Running costs – made up of variable and fixed costs
The start up costs of setting up a small café might include
The cost of all the equipment that you would need
Estimates
Kitchen equipment £1000
Microwave £100
Fridge / Freezer £300
Food display cabinets £500 (second-hand)
Tables and chairs £700
Plates and cutlery £200
General decoration costs £300
Builders fees for fitting out your shop £1500
Initial stock £500
Total start up costs £____________
Try to come up with what you think are fairly realistic figures for your
chosen business.
You now have to estimate your running costs – ie your fixed and variable costs
using your own figures
Your fixed costs might include
Rent for the premises £600 per month
Business Rates £100 per month
Heating and lighting £100 per month
Your management salary £1200 per month
Fixed Costs £2000 per month
Your variable costs might include
Staff costs £800 per month
Stock £600 per month
Gas and electricity £100 per month
Variable Costs £1500 per month
Total Running Costs £3500 per month
Assuming that you have 1500 customers per month, each spending on average
£5, you can now calculate the break even number of customers for your
business.
Ask for help from your teacher on this section if needed. Use the following
formula
Breakeven = Fixed costs per month
____________________________________
Average selling price – Variable cost per unit
Breakeven = £2000
____________________________________ = 500 customers
£5 - £1 per month
In the example shown above, we can see that a profit will only be made if you
have more than 500 customers per month.
You can now prepare a forecasted profit and loss account for your first year of
trading of your chosen business. You can use the example below as a guide
but you must come with your own forecasted figures.
Forecasted Profit and Loss Account for Year One
Sales Revenue £150,000 (100 customers per day X £5 X
300 days)
Less cost of sales £90,000 (100 customers per day X £3 X 300 days)
Gross Profit £60,000
Less Salaries £14,400 (£1200 X 12 months)
Less Rent £8,400 (£700 X 12 months)
Less other expenses £7,200
Net Profit £30,000
Less Taxation £6,000 (at 20%)
Profit after tax £24,000
Profit taken out £10,000
Retained Profit £14,000 Profit reinvested back into the business
In the above example, you would explain to the examiner that the profit and loss
shows that the business is forecasted to make a profit of £24,000 (after paying
tax on your profits). The profit that the business makes could be higher or
lower depending on the real sales and real costs.
You would be able to use the forecasted profit and loss account as a target to
aim for and as a way of trying to convince a bank to lend you money when
trying to raise the finance needed to start your business.
You are now ready to prepare a Cash Flow Forecast for your business – see
pages 64 and 65 from your textbook. A cash flow forecast shows the cash
coming in and out of a business on a month by month basis. You should
complete it for a full 12 month period.
You need to tell the examiner that you understand that a profitable business can
still fail if it runs out of cash. Remember you will need cash on a month by
month basis in order to pay your workers their wages and to buy in more stock
from your suppliers.
An example of a cash flow forecast is shown below.
You will have to prepare your own cash flow forecast for your business and
provide an interpretation of the figures.
Cash Flow Forecast Jan Feb Marc April May June July Aug Opening bank balance
10,000 7500 5300 3100 1100 -900 -2100 -1800
Cash Sales 700 1000 1000 1200 1200 2000 3500 6000 Total Cash In (A) 700 1000 1000 1200 1200 2000 3500 6000 Salaries 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 Wages 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 Rent 700 700 700 700 700 700 700 700
Insurance 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Gas and Electricity 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Bank interest 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Stock 700 700 700 700 700 700 700 700 Total Cash Out (B) 3,200 3,200 3,200 3,200 3,200 3,200 3,200 3,200 Net Cash Flow (A-B) -2500
-2,200 -2200 -2000 -2000 -1200 300 2800
Closing Bank Balance 7,500 5,300 3,100 1,100 -900
-2,100
-1,800 1,000
Interpretation:
From looking at the last row of the cash flow forecast, you can see the business
has a positive cash position from January to April. However from the months
May to July, the firm’s cash position is negative – this means that the firm will
be short of cash during these months and therefore will have to arrange a bank
overdraft with their bank. However in this illustrated example, by the end of
August, the firm’s cash position has turned positive – this is because the cash
sales have increased significantly during August.
Marketing Plan
You need to identify your Marketing objectives for your chosen business.
For example
Marketing objectives might include
• To promote my business amongst my target market as strongly as
possible during the first year of setting up
• To spend £5000 of my Marketing budget in Year 1 on advertising my
business to my target market
• To generate sales of £_________ in my first year
• To generate sales of £__________ in my second year
• To generate sales of £__________ in my third year
• To increase sales by 20% fin each of the next three years
• To increase the range of products that I sell by 20% within the next year
• To introduce a loyalty card offering a 10% discount to my customers for
purchases greater than £_____
What is the size of your Marketing budget for your first year of trading – the
budget for a small business is not going to be tens of thousands of pounds?
You will need to explain to the examiner how you will use this money to
promote and advertise your business.
Market Research: Explain to the examiner the difference between primary
(field) research and secondary (desk) research. Be sure to give precise
definitions. Refer carefully to pages 108 and 109 of your textbook.
The major source of primary research that you will be using is surveying
members of the public by asking them to complete your market research
questionnaires.
The major sources of secondary research that you will use are likely to include
the internet (finding relevant information about South Wood ford as a business
area and finding out information about businesses who are located there), using
the business pages to identify your nearest competitors, using local
newspapers to find out about property prices.
Product Refer carefully to pages 118 and 119 of your textbook.
If you were setting up a café, you would need to design an attractive menu
together with the prices that you would charge.
Whatever business you decide to set up, you will need to design a professional
leaflet that fully shows all the products or services (with their prices) that you
will be selling.
What pricing strategy are you going to use – you need to explain your reasons
to the examiner? Are you going to use a
• Price penetration strategy – setting low prices for your products or service
to get customers interested in it and to build up market share.
• Competition pricing strategy – setting your prices based on those charged
by your competitors.
• Cost plus pricing strategy – setting your prices based on the cost of
buying your stock from your suppliers and then adding on a certain
percentage profit.
• Promotional pricing strategy – setting low prices for a short period of
time to encourage customers to buy it.
Promotion
Explain to the examiner what type of sales promotions you are going to use
within your business – such as special offers, price discounts, money off
coupons, vouchers, customer loyalty cards, prize competitions, free gift
campaigns. You need to provide full details of what these would entail for your
business.
You should therefore carefully design an advertisement that could be included
in local newspapers / local newsletters giving details of some of your sales
promotions. Think carefully about what the advertisement would need to
include. Remember, it needs to attract the attention of the readers as well as
looking professional!
You could also design some leaflets / flyers giving detailed of any special
discounts (perhaps for a limited period of time). These could then be given to
your customers or handed out to members of the public or put in the letterboxes
of local residents.
You could design a press release that could be sent to local newspapers giving
details about your new business.
Technology
You should explain what type of technology you will use within your business
and what you would use it for? This is likely to include some or all of the
following
Electronic cash register – to help prevent mistakes
Databases – to keep an up to date record of employee, customer and supplier
details
Spreadsheets – to prepare and analyse budgets and keep a record of financial
information
Email – to communicate with suppliers, customers
The internet – to find out about suppliers, to pay bills, to design your own
webpage / website for online sales
Desk Top Publishing – to design advertisements / menus
Word processing and PowerPoint – to write a business plan and dealing with all
correspondence.
Human Resource Plan
It is very likely that at some stage in your business, you will need to recruit staff
to assist with the running of your business.
You should explain to the examiner, the different stages that would use when
recruiting a new employee.
Identify the vacancy / position to be filled in the business.
Prepare a job description –
Shortlist candidates
Interview suitable candidates – make selection
Issue contracts of employment.
Explain what personal characteristics are you looking for in potential
employees?
Explain what type of training you will provide to your employees and the
reasons for doing so.
How will you go about motivating your staff – using both financial and non
financial incentives. The examiners will be very impressed if you can show
how you would use motivational theory (Maslow, Herzberg)
What are your obligations as an employer towards your employees?
TARGET CUSTOMER QUESTIONNAIRE
1. What is your marital status? Please tick
Single _____ A
Married _____ B
Divorced/ separated _____ C
Widowed _____ D
2. What age range do you fit into? Please tick
Less than 13 ______ A
13 - 19 ______ B
20 - 35 ______ C
36 - 65 ______ D
Over 65 ______ E
3. Where do you live? Please tick
South Woodford _____ A
Woodford Green _____ B
Chingford _____ C
Wanstead _____ D
Ilford _____ E
Walthamstow _____ F
Other - please specify _________________ G
4. Please state three types of shops or businesses that you would like to see
more of in South Woodford?
___________________
___________________
___________________
5. How many times per week do you normally visit South Woodford for
shopping purposes? Please tick
Once a week ______ A
Two or three times a week ______ B
Four or five times a week ______ C
More than five times per week ______ D
6. How many separate shops are you likely to buy something in, during your
visit to South Woodford today? Please tick
One ______ A
Two or three ______ B
Four or five ______ C
More than five ______ D
7. How would you describe the shops that exist in South Woodford? Please
tick
Excellent _______ A
Very Good _______ B
Good _______ C
Satisfactory _______ D
Poor _______ E
Very Poor _______ F
8. Do you think that there are adequate parking facilities for shoppers in South
Woodford? Please tick.
Yes ____________ A
No ________________ B
Thank you for your help in completing this questionnaire.
CUSTOMER QUESTIONNAIRE - EXAMPLE ONLY
1. What is your marital status? Please tick
Single _____ A
Married _____ B
Divorced _____ C
Widowed _____ D
2. What age range do you fit into? Please tick
Less than 13 ______ A
13 - 19 ______ B
20 - 30 ______ C
31 - 65 ______ D
Over 65 ______ E
3. Where do you live? Please tick
South Woodford _____ A
Woodford Green _____ B
Chingford _____ C
Wanstead _____ D
Ilford _____ E
Walthamstow _____ F
Other - please specify _________________ G
4. What are your three favourite types of fast food restaurants? Please give in
rank order with one being your most favourite.
Chinese _____ A
Indian _____ B
Mexican _____ C
Kebab shops _____ D
Italian / pizza _____ E
Fish and chips _____ F
McDonalds _____ G
Burger King _____ H
Other (please specify) ________________________ I
5. Do you think there is demand for another take away in South Woodford?
Yes ___ A
No _____ B
6. If you answered yes to question 6, please specify the type of take away
Chinese _____ A
Indian _____ B
Mexican _____ C
Kebab shops _____ D
Italian / pizza _____ E
Fish and chips _____ F
McDonalds _____ G
Burger King _____ H
Other (please specify) ____________________ I
7. On average, how many times per week do you buy food from a take away?
Once a week ______ A
Twice a week. ______ B
Three or four times a week ______ C
Five or six times a week ______ D
Every day ______ E
8. How far are you prepared to travel to buy food from a take-away. Please tick
Less than 1 mile _______ A
More than 1 mile but less than 3 _______ B
More than 3 miles but less than 6 _______ C
More than 6 miles but less than 10 _______ D
More than 10 miles _______ E
9. When visiting a fast food restaurant, how much per person would you
normally spend? Please tick
Less than £3 _______ A
£3 to £5 _______ B
More than £5 but less than £10 _______ C
More than £10 _______ D
10. From the following characteristics or features of a fast food restaurant,
please rank the one that is most important to you?
Value for money ______ A
Choice of menu ______ B
Good Hygiene ______ C
Fast customer service ______ D
Friendly service ______ E
Free local delivery service available ______ F
Parking facilities available ______ G
11. How important is it that a free local delivery service is provided. Please
tick
Essential ______ A
Very important ______ B
Important ______ C
Not very important ______ D
12. Would you be prepared to pay a fee for a home delivery service? Please
tick
Yes ______ A
No ______ B
If yes, how much is the maximum you would pay? ________________
Thank you for your help in completing this questionnaire.
TARGET SHOPKEEPER QUESTIONNAIRE
1. What type of business organisation do you operate as? Please tick
Sole trader _____ A
Partnership _____ B
Private Limited company _____ D
Franchise _____ E
Public Limited Company _____ F
Other _____ G
2. How many years have you been trading in South Woodford? Please tick
Less than 1 ______ A
1 - 3 ______ B
4 - 10 ______ C
More than 10 ______ D
3. How many competitors do you have within a radius of 10 miles. Please tick
None _____ A
1- 3 _____ B
4 - 7 _____ C
8 - 10 _____ D
More than 10 _____ E
4. How many customers on average do you receive each day ? Please tick
1 -5 ______ A
6- 10 ______ B
11 - 20 ______ C
21 - 40 ______ D
More than 40 ______ E
5. Do you think there is adequate parking for your customers and suppliers in
South Woodford? Please tick
Yes ______ A
No ______ B
6. Did you write a business plan for your business before setting up? Please
tick
Yes ______ A
No ______ B
7. Is the demand for the products and services that you provide very sensitive
to changes in price? Please tick
Yes ______ A
No ______ B
8. Is the demand for the products and services that you provide very sensitive
to changes in consumers incomes? Please tick
Yes ______ A
No ______ B
9. Do you provide credit to your customers? Please tick
Yes ______ A
No ______ B
10. How would you describe the quality of the shops that exist in South
Woodford? Please tick
Excellent _______ A
Very Good _______ B
Good _______ C
Satisfactory _______ D
Poor _______ E
Very Poor _______ F
Thank you for your help in completing this questionnaire.
4. Which of the following types of shops or businesses do you would think
would do well in South Woodford?
___________________
___________________
___________________
SHOPKEEPER / BUSINESS OWNER INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Why did you decide to establish this business?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
2. What is the main aim of your business?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
3. What are your short term objectives?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
4. What are your long term objectives?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
5. How many years have you been in business?
________________________________________________________________
___________
6. Please list the range of products or services you provide?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
7. Di d you business make a profit from the day you started trading?
Yes _______ No _________
If No, how long did it take for the business to break even?
________________________________________________________________
___________
8. How much personal capital did you invest into your business?
_______________ Thousand
9. How much finance did you need to borrow form your bank or other lending
institution?
_______________ Thousand
10. How many years have you been in your current location?
_______________ Years
11. Why did you choose to locate here?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
12. What factors did you consider when you were deciding upon your present
location?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
13. What is the unique selling point(s) of your business?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
14. What type of business organisation do you operate - please tick
Sole trader _________
Private limited company _________
Partnership _________
Other (please specify) _________
What are your normal opening hours
Monday to Friday _____________
Saturday _____________
Sunday _____________
15. What are the names of your nearest competitors?
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
16. Do you monitor closely your competitors ?
Yes ________ No___________
17. If yes, please explain how you do this ?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
18. Do you conduct regular market research?
Yes ________ No___________
If yes, what type of market research do you do and how often?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
19. What advertising and promotional methods do you use?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
20. Do you charge different prices to different market segments - for example
do children or old age pensioners get charged a different price?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
21. What types of technology do you use within your business?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
22. How many employees do you have?
Full Time ____
Part Time ____
What organisational structure exists within this business? Please sketch out in
the space below
23. What research did you complete before deciding to set up your business?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
24. How long did you spend researching your business opportunity before
setting it up?
________________________________________________________________
___________
25. Did you write a business plan?
Yes ____ No ____
If yes, did you write the business plan in order to: (please tick)
(a) Obtain finance from the bank _____
(b) To assist you in running your business _____
(c) Both of the above reasons _____
26. What do you consider to be the most important parts to your business plan.
Please tick your top three with 1 being the most important
Business Idea ______
Financing proposals ______
Marketing plan ______
Cash Flow forecast ______
Break Even Analysis ______
Profit Forecast ______
Other (please specify) ______
Workforce Plan ______
27. In what ways has this business plan helped you to run your business
effectively.
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
28. What are the things you most enjoy about running your business?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
29. What are the things that you least enjoy about running your business?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
30. What do you consider to be the major strengths of your business?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
31. What do you consider to be the main weaknesses in your business?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
32. How do you intend to deal with these weaknesses?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
33. What are the main opportunities that exist for your business?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
34. What are the main threats that face your business?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
35. What are the main internal constraints that affect your business.
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
36. What are the main external constraints that affect your business.
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
37. What style of management do you tend to adopt and why?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
38.How do you ensure the quality of the product or services that you provide?
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
39. Is the demand for your product or service very sensitive to changes in
price?
Yes ___ No ___
40. Is the demand for your product or service very sensitive to changes in
consumers income levels?
Yes ___ No ___
41. Is your business affected by changes in any of the following economic
variables?
Interest rates ______
Exchange rates ______
Inflation ______
Please explain in what way(s)
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
________________________________________________________________
___________
42. Which of these financial accounts do you prepare each year? Please tick
Balance sheet ____
Profit and loss account ____
Cash flow statement ____
Other (please specify) ____
43. What profit or loss did your business make this year?
________________________________________________________________
___________
44. Do you provide credit to your customers?
Yes __ No ___
If yes, how much credit on average do you give to them?
_______ Days
Thank you for taking the time to assist me in my project.
Important advice for students : Do not open a separate file every time you
do a new piece of work in a lesson. Instead keep everything in ONE single
file. This will make life much easier for yourself in the coming weeks and
months.
YEAR 10 & 11 GCSE BUSINESS STUDIES COURSEWORK
1. Title and Aim of the assignment. Page ( ) This is a small section -
maybe a quarter of a page. It should include
1.1 Title: Is there a gap in the South Woodford for a new business enterprise?
1.2 You must state clearly the aims of your investigation at the start of your
project? What are you trying to find out? ie is possible to find a suitable gap in
the market so that a new business can be established that will make a profit as
well as satisfying consumers needs.
2. Methodology. Pages ( ) This section should be about 1 page of
carefully explained work.
2.1 Explain the reasons why you are going to carry out some Market Research?
2.2 How are you going to find out the information that you need?
2.3 What secondary research are you going to collect and use and why? ie
leaflets, maps, photos, local newspaper articles related to business, internet
based material, council census information.
Your local library or the one in South Woodford will be a very valuable source
of information for secondary data.
I also suggest that you bring a disposable camera with you when you visit South
Woodford. Photos of South Woodford as a business environment will get you
marks.
2.4 What primary research are you going to use and why? ie customer and
shop owners questionnaires, customer and shopowners interviews etc.
2.5 Explain clearly what you did in your lessons prior to your research trip to
South Woodford and why?
3. Background research. Pages ( ) This section is likely to be 4 or 5
pages of very good quality background research.
3.1 You need to explain clearly where South Woodford is located in relation to
the South East of England and East London. Remember, the examiner reading
your coursework will probably have no idea where South Woodford is.
Use maps from the internet or any other source to help you do this.
3.2 You need to tell the examiner what businesses currently exist in South
Woodford? Don’t forget to name all the major supermarkets, restaurants,
bars/pubs, names of estate agents and other businesses. Provide as full a list as
possible.
3.3 You need to fully explain to the examiner what the transport facilities to
South Woodford are like.
What are they? Are they good or poor? You should collect and include bus
maps, tube maps etc. What are the names of main dual carriageways and
motorways surrounding South Woodford.
You must explain why good transport access to South Woodford is likely to be
important for potential customers and suppliers?
3.4 Parking facilities in South Woodford.
Are there adequate parking facilities in South Woodford and along George
Lane? Is it possible for customers to use the parking available in the
supermarkets?
Where in South Woodford is it possible for potential customers to park?
You must fully explain why good parking facilities are important for businesses
located in South Woodford - think about both your customers and your
suppliers.
3.5 Affluence (wealth) of people who live or work in South Woodford.
What type of people live mainly in South Woodford - ie what socio economic
grouping best describes the area (see page 62 from your textbook) ? Is it a
wealthy area, middle class or more working class area?
How would you best describe the ethnic mix of people who live in South
Woodford?
You need to obtain house price information on South Woodford by visiting
estate agents - very often local newspapers such as the Guardian will have
property supplements that can prove very helpful - use the internet if needed to
obtain this information.
What do high property prices tell you about the affluence/ wealth of the people
who can afford to live in South Woodford?
Are there good schools nearby?. What are the names of the different schools -
primary and secondary? Why are good schools so important to an area - do
you think good schools may push up the prices of houses in South Woodford -
explain why?
You must compare the price of houses in South Woodford with the price of
houses in another one location - perhaps Walthamstow, Ilford, Chingford or
where ever you live. Remember, the easiest way to do this is to use the
property supplements that often come free with local newspapers.
For example, you may want to compare the prices of three bed roomed semi
detached houses in South Woodford with those of three bed roomed semi
detached houses in Leytonstone. Which area is more expensive to buy property
in? What does this tell you about the area and the people who can afford to live
there?
3.6 Local amenities / facilities in South Woodford.
What supermarkets exist there?
Are there good restaurants, pubs, cinemas, gyms, beauty salons and other
entertainment facilities in South Woodford.
Do these amenities cater for different age groups ie older people, middle aged
people , people in their 20’s and 30’s, teenagers, young children and their
parents ? This may help in trying to identify possible gaps for a business in
South Woodford.
Explain why having a variety of amenities in an area such as South Woodford is
so important for local residents.
4. Survey. Pages ( ) This is a very important section and there will
be alot of marks awarded for it.
4.1 Target Customer Questionnaire - primary research
How many target customers (the sample size) are you going to question?
Explain why you are carrying out primary research on potential customers and
why it is important to have an adequate sample size? Suggestion 20 fully
completed questionnaires.
4.2 Target Customer Questionnaire results
Your results from your questionnaires must be arranged into appropriate charts
and graphs.
There are a lot of marks for this section. You must explain exactly what the
results and graphs show you. In other words, what is the significance of the
data and what conclusions can you draw from your results? You do not need to
do a chart / graph for every question - it is important that you select those
questions that have the most significance for your assignment.
4.3 Shopkeeper / Shop owners Questionnaire - primary research
How many shopkeepers are you going to question (the sample size). Explain
why you are carrying out primary research on existing shopkeepers and why it
is important to have an adequate sample size? Suggestion 10 questionnaires.
4.4 Shopkeeper Questionnaire results
Again, your results must be arranged into appropriate charts and graphs. You
must explain clearly what the results and graphs show you. What is the
significance of the data and what conclusions can you draw from the results?
4.5 Constraints on my primary research trip to South Woodford
These could be expressed in terms of the day and time you carried out the
research,, the relatively short length of time you had to carry out your research,
the weather conditions on the day, the customers and shop keepers attitudes
towards you as young people carrying out market research, some shops /
businesses might not have been open etc.
How could you have organised yourself better prior to the trip? If you had
more time to carry out your research, would you have been able to get more
reliable data?
5. Based on your Market Research findings from Section 4, you must now
identify two possible business gaps in the South Woodford market.
Pages ( ) This should take about one page to complete.
You need to carry out a SWOT Analysis for EACH of the gaps
What would be the possible current strengths and weaknesses of setting up
this type of business?
What would be the possible future opportunities and future threats of setting
up this type of business?
5.1 Gap Number 1
5.2 Gap number 2
5.3 You now need to decide upon the type of business you are going to plan to
establish. Explain how you reached your decision and your reasons.
If you decided to leave school at the end of your GCSE’s and wanted to set up
and run your own business, what would it be? By carefully making this
decision, the work you do over the coming weeks and months will be alot more
interesting as you will be working on something that you are genuinely
interested in.
However, be careful not to try to be too ambitious - remember all large
businesses started as very small businesses that simply grew over the years.
You will not be able to afford to set up a large business as you will be lacking
in finance (you might not have any savings at all), Banks will regard you as
very high risk and (may not agree to lend you much, if any, money) and you
will be completely lacking in practical experience of running a business.
Some good business ideas might include planning to set up a restaurant (you
can decide what type), a computer games shop, a beauty salon, a coffee shop,
Speak to your parents as they might have some very good ideas
6. You now need to write a Business Plan for your chosen business.
Pages
( ). This section should be 2 or 3 pages of quality work.
You will need to obtain as much information as possible about the type of
business you want to set up by visiting / researching your potential
competitors.
For example, if you wanted to find out about running a sports shop, a cafe,
a beauty shop , a record shop or any other type of business, you would
want to speak to people who have actually run one.
You might want to prepare another questionnaire that you could complete
with the owners of this type of business. Ask me for help when you get to
this section.
6.1 Explain the reasons for and benefits of writing a business plan? Read
page 35 from your textbook.
6.2 Provide a detailed description of your business. What service(s) will you
be providing or what product(s) will you be selling to your customers? This
need to be done in as much detail as possible.
6.3 What will be the unique selling point for your business? How will you
differentiate your business from your other competitors - in other words why
should consumers buy from you?
6.4 What are your short term business objectives? Is your short term objective
simply to survive or break even in the first year or do you think you will make a
profit from the start. If so, how much profit do you think it will be - how did
you arrive at the figure.
Remember a company only makes a profit if their level of sales is greater than
all of their costs.
6.5 What type of business enterprise are you going to set up as and why?
Will it be a Sole trader, a Partnership or a Private limited company. The
examiner will want you to explain the advantages and disadvantages. Read
pages 10 -12 from your textbook for help on this.
6.6 You must identify the names of all your nearest competitors - use the
yellow pages or the internet to get this information.
6.7 Who will your suppliers be and what products will they be able to supply?
Where are they located? What factors will be important to you when deciding
what suppliers to use?
7. Marketing Plan. Pages ( ) This section is likely to be about two
pages of quality material.
7.1 Who will be your main target market and why?
7.2 What level of sales are you forecasting to sell in your first year?
Remember sales is not the same as profit!
7.3 What marketing mix will use use during your first year?
PRODUCT
Will you be selling a range of products or will you focus on a small number?
Explain
Will you products be of a high quality? If so, explain why.
What after sales service will you provide to your customers?
How will you products be packaged? Explain
PRICE - see page 69 for more information
What prices will you charge for your different products and why?
What discounts might you use and why? When will you use discounts?
PLACE
Where will you sell / distribute your product?
Will you provide a delivery service?
Will you consider selling your products by mail order or over the internet?
What would be the possible benefits of doing so.
PROMOTION - see page 70 and 71 for more information
What will be the size of your promotions budget?
How will it be spent to promote your business? Which of the following will use
you and why?
Advertising (local radio or newspapers, specialist magazines, leaflets, posters on
billboards etc),
Sales Promotions (special offers, price discounts, free gifts, prize competitions,
in shop displays)
Public Relations, (arranging press releases in local newspapers, sponsoring
local sports teams)
Direct Mail (sending promotional material to carefully targeted customers)
7.4 How might your marketing mix change over time? - assuming your business
is successful.
8. Financial Plan. Pages ( ) This section is likely to be about two or
three pages of quality material.
8.1 What is your financial objective in the short term? Is it simply to survive
or to break even in the first year? Or do you think you can make a profit in the
first year? If so, how much profit do you think you can achieve and why?
8.2 What are the start up costs for your business? These are likely to include
buying a first stock of materials, equipment such as computers, machines etc.
Will you be renting / leasing a premises? How much do you think this will
cost?
8.3 What will your variable costs be? These include things such as your
employees wages, stock, electricity, rent for the premises, business taxes etc
8.4 Where will you obtain the finance needed to start up your business? How
much will you require? How much of your own savings will you be putting
into the business? What size bank loan will you need to take out?
8.5 Prepare a Cash Flow Forecast for the first year. I will give you an
example of a cash flow forecast that can be used as a guide.
You will need to interpret and explain what your cash flow forecast tells you.
You need to explain to the examiner that an overdraft will need to be arranged
with your bank if there are certain months when your cash outflows are greater
than your inflows.
8.6 What possible constraints exist for your business? Are there any licenses
needed, health and safety requirements.
9. Human Resources Plan. Pages ( ) This section is likely to be
about two or three pages of quality material.
9.1 What type of employees are you looking for and why? What type of job
positions are likely to be available? What skills will they need to have?
9.2 How many staff, if any, will you need to employ?
9.3 How and where will you recruit staff? Read pages 48 and 49.
9.4 What personal skills / qualifications (if any) will your employees need to
have and why?
You could prepare a Job Description and a Person Specification for a specific
job vacancy within your business. Read page 50 for an example.
9.5 What wages/salaries will you pay your staff? How have you decided on
these wage/salary levels?
9.6 Will you provide any other fringe benefits?
9.7 As an employer, what employment legislation will you need to follow and
why? Read page 57 from your textbook carefully.
9.8 How will you motivate your staff? What financial and non financial
incentives will you offer to your employees. Read pages 46 and 47 from your
textbook for help.
9.9 Are you able to use any of the theories of motivation within your
assignment. These include Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Mayo’s theory of job
satisfaction or McGregor’s theory X or Y. Read page 45 from your textbook.
9.10 What type of training, if any, will you provide for your staff and why?
Read pages 52 and 53 for further ideas.
9.11 Will you have to appoint any managers / assistant managers?
10. External Factors. Pages ( ) This section is likely to be about
one page of quality material. Read page 72 from your textbook for more
information.
10.1 What external factors are likely to impact upon your business? These
could include
Existing or new business competitors - they might have lower prices, better
products or services, better after sales service.
Consumers tastes may change and therefore your product(s) might become
unfashionable.
The UK government might introduce more rules and regulations which may
increase your costs and make it more difficult for you to run your business.
The UK economy might go into a downturn leading to a recession and low
consumer confidence. Consumers are then likely to save more and spend less as
they have less disposable income.
Interest rates might go up increasing the cost to you of paying back any money
you have borrowed to finance your business. Consumers will also have less
money to spend.
If you are trading abroad or buying stock from foreign countries, explain how
exchange rate movements may affect your business.
Your business might be targeted by pressure groups who may disagree with
some of your business activities - ie firms that sell fur coats often attract
negative publicity from animal rights campaigners.
11. Information and Communication Technology. Pages ( ) This
section is likely to be about three quarters of a page of quality material.
11.1 What information and communication technology will you use within
your business and why?
11.2 What will you use word processing, spreadsheets and databases for within
your business? Spreadsheets are often for preparing financial accounts.
Databases are often use to keep a record of customers, suppliers and employees
details.
11.3 Will you be using email and the internet? If so, what for?
12. Medium and Long Term Plans. Pages ( ) This section is likely to
be about three quarters of a page of quality material.
12.1 What are your future plans for the business in the medium (3 to 5 years)
and long term (more than 5 years)? If you business is successful, do you have
any plans to open more branches locally or perhaps across the UK? What
would be the possible advantages and disadvantages of doing so?
12.2 Why is it important to plan ahead for your business and what are the
difficulties with doing so?
13. Appendices - to be included right at the end of your assignment
Any extra information that you may have refereed to in the main body of your
assignment.
These would be your completed questionnaires and any other secondary data
that you collected and referred to in your assignment.
14. Bibliography: Half a page at most
You must a brief list of all the sources where you obtained information for your
assignment.
This should include
The name and author of your textbook
Names of any people who gave you extra help and their position
Your project will be also given a mark based on the quality of your written
communication.
The font size and type should be the same throughout the assignment.
You must to do a spell check on all of your work.
YEAR 10 & 11 GCSE BUSINESS STUDIES COURSEWORK
CONTENTS PAGE
1. Title and Aim of the assignment. Pages ( )
2. Methodology. Pages ( )
3. Background research. Pages ( )
4. Survey. Pages ( )
5. Four possible gaps in the South Woodford market. Pages ( )
6. Business Plan for my chosen business. Pages ( )
7. Marketing Plan. Pages ( )
8. Financial Plan. Pages ( )
9. Human Resources Plan. Pages ( )
10. External Factors. Pages ( )
11. Information and Communication Technology. Pages ( )
12. Medium and Long Term Plans. Pages ( )
13. Appendices ( )
14. Glossary ( )
15. Bibliography ( )
50%
33.3%
12.5%
4.2%
Frequency
What is your marital status?
Single 50%
Married 33.3%
Divorces/ seperated 12.5%
Widowed 4.2%
What conclusions can you draw from this information?
26.7%
17.8%
8.9%
15.6%
17.8%
8.9%4.4%
Frequency
Where do you live?
South Woodford 26.7%
Woodford Green 17.8%
Chingford 8.9%
Wanstead 15.6%
Ilford 17.8%
Walthamstow 8.9%
Other 4.4%
What conclusions can you draw from this information?
30.4%
21.7%
34.8%
13.0%
Frequency
Visits per week to South Woodford?
Once a week 30.4%
two or three 21.7%
Four or five 34.8%
More than 5 13.0%
What conclusions can you draw from this information?
15.4%
46.2%
11.5%
26.9%
Frequency
Question 6
A 15.4%
B 46.2%
C 11.5%
D 26.9%
31.8%
36.4%
18.2%
9.1%4.5%
FREQUENCY
EXISTING SHOPS
EXCELLENT 31.8%
VERY GOOD 36.4%
SATISFACTORY 18.2%
POOR 9.1%
VERY POOR 4.5%
What conclusions can you draw from this information?
11 March 2005
Dear Laura,
I am so pleased that you are making a good recovery. Don’t worry, you will
be able to catch up on the work that you have missed - your health is the most
important thing. After Easter, we can go through together any areas that you
may need some extra help with.
I have enclosed a copy of the pre issued case study for Units 2 and 3.
Unit 2 - Operations Management and People Management - 30%
Unit 3 - External Influences and Objectives and Strategy - 40%
It is recommended that you carry out research using this case study. It is the
business concepts and ideas within the case study which should be researched.
After Easter, I will be going through the case study in detail during lessons and
I will be distributing lots of materials and resources that will help you when
preparing for these 2 exams.
In the meantime, any background reading on Units 2 or 3 that you are able to
do from your revision textbook will prove very helpful.
I also think you will find your revision cards very helpful when covering these
areas of the syllabus.
With every good wish,
Mr Sexton.
4 February Dear Parents, I am writing to let you know about a new Business Studies resource that you might want to consider purchasing for your son / daughter. The resource consists of Revision Cards which cover all the main concepts on the syllabus. The Revision cards certainly look excellent to me and should save a lot of time for your son / daughter in the lead up to the exams.
I attach a copy of the catalogue page which provides further details together with the relevant order form. The cards are not yet available in book shops and can only be bought directly from the publishers. I hope you find this information of interest and that it will help to maximise your son’s / daughter’s grade in Business Studies. Yours sincerely, James Sexton. Deputy Director of Sixth Form. 5 March 2004 Dear Parents, I write to inform you that your son / daughter will need to submit their GCSE Business Studies coursework to me on or before Monday 22 March. Your son / daughter is fully aware of this deadline date. In recent weeks, your son / daughter has been working very hard in lessons on their coursework. I would therefore be very grateful if you help to ensure that your son / daughter continues to devote as much time as possible between now and the 22 March to his / her coursework - this will help to ensure that the best mark possible is achieved. We will be using our remaining lessons to focus on the pre-issued case study which forms the basis of the 75% written examination. This case study is based on the Co-operative Bank - you might wish to discuss some of the many interesting issues raised in the case study with your son / daughter. It will also be very important that your son / daughter sets aside some time most evenings for independent revision in this subject. Thank you for your continued support in the above matters.
Yours sincerely, James Sexton. Deputy Director of Sixth Form. CC: M Loster, N Barnes, P McGrory. REPEAT OF PAGES 1 - 45