AQA A LEVEL BUSINESS PAPER 1
BUSINESS 1 MAY 2025 COMBINED
QUESTION PAPER AND MARK
SCHEME COMPREHENSIVE ANSWER
GUIDE GRADED A+
◉ Analyse how widening a manager's span of control might affect
labour productivity within the department she manages. (12) Answer: -
employees lose focus of the businesses vision and objectives ->
productivity decreases - manages too many people at once to control
what is happening
-> employees may no longer feel valued -> labour productivity
decreases + quality of products produced
- productivity may not decrease if employees already trained + skilled ->
productivity may not change, cost per unit remains same
◉ Will the increased use of e-commerce lead to all retailers operating
only online? Justify your view (25) Answer: demands:
- understand meaning of e-commerce
- analyse reasons online retailing might continue to grow
- analyse possible limitations to growth of online retailing
- assess circumstances that might promote/negate online growth
- reasoned conclusion: whether all retailers will become purely online
providers.
cause online growth:
, - reduces costs, e.g. rents for city centre properties
- online ordering -> more accurate forecasts of demand
- flexible contracts, businesses can call in the exact number of workers
needed to process online orders.
- For shops, staffing levels based on previous experience -> over-staffing
or under-staffing is more likely
- online ordering provides more data on customers, enabling the retailer
to introduce more effective strategies
- lower costs -> lower prices (for goods with price elastic demand) or
higher profit margins (for goods with price inelastic demand)
- 24 hour online retailing is much more convenient for many customers
- customers benefit from greater price comparison if retailers are online.
restrict or prevent online growth:
- the decline in city centre retailing -> can lead to lower rents, making
stores more attractive - online retailing involves technology costs,
dissuades many (smaller) retailers from going online
- for products e.g. clothing, tactile experience can help customers decide
products. For these goods, some city centre shops likely to remain
- services, e.g. coffee shops and hairdressers, cannot operate online
- customers may have concerns about security of online retailing and
continue to use stores
past answer points:
- time saving methods, online is 24 hours, shops are not - sales every day
of the week at any time
BUSINESS 1 MAY 2025 COMBINED
QUESTION PAPER AND MARK
SCHEME COMPREHENSIVE ANSWER
GUIDE GRADED A+
◉ Analyse how widening a manager's span of control might affect
labour productivity within the department she manages. (12) Answer: -
employees lose focus of the businesses vision and objectives ->
productivity decreases - manages too many people at once to control
what is happening
-> employees may no longer feel valued -> labour productivity
decreases + quality of products produced
- productivity may not decrease if employees already trained + skilled ->
productivity may not change, cost per unit remains same
◉ Will the increased use of e-commerce lead to all retailers operating
only online? Justify your view (25) Answer: demands:
- understand meaning of e-commerce
- analyse reasons online retailing might continue to grow
- analyse possible limitations to growth of online retailing
- assess circumstances that might promote/negate online growth
- reasoned conclusion: whether all retailers will become purely online
providers.
cause online growth:
, - reduces costs, e.g. rents for city centre properties
- online ordering -> more accurate forecasts of demand
- flexible contracts, businesses can call in the exact number of workers
needed to process online orders.
- For shops, staffing levels based on previous experience -> over-staffing
or under-staffing is more likely
- online ordering provides more data on customers, enabling the retailer
to introduce more effective strategies
- lower costs -> lower prices (for goods with price elastic demand) or
higher profit margins (for goods with price inelastic demand)
- 24 hour online retailing is much more convenient for many customers
- customers benefit from greater price comparison if retailers are online.
restrict or prevent online growth:
- the decline in city centre retailing -> can lead to lower rents, making
stores more attractive - online retailing involves technology costs,
dissuades many (smaller) retailers from going online
- for products e.g. clothing, tactile experience can help customers decide
products. For these goods, some city centre shops likely to remain
- services, e.g. coffee shops and hairdressers, cannot operate online
- customers may have concerns about security of online retailing and
continue to use stores
past answer points:
- time saving methods, online is 24 hours, shops are not - sales every day
of the week at any time
