AQA GCSE Business: Technology and Ethical/Environmental Considerations — Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, in the style and at the standard of the examination. They are not reproduced past-paper questions — examination boards hold copyright in their own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers available free from your board.

Related: Technology and Ethical/Environmental Considerations study guide | Technology and Ethical/Environmental Considerations revision notes

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Section A

1. State two named environmental impact areas from the specification. [2]

2. State the four functional areas of a business named at the start of Topic 2. [4]

Section B

3. Explain how e-commerce affects a business’s marketing and operations functions. [4]

4. Explain how digital communication changes the way a business communicates with its employees. [4]

5. A clothing retailer is deciding whether to switch to Fairtrade cotton, which costs 20% more than its current supply. Analyse the trade-off this decision presents. [6]

6. Explain the difference between “environmental considerations” and “sustainability” as the specification defines them. [4]

7. A bakery installs solar panels to reduce its energy costs and carbon footprint, at a significant upfront cost. Analyse the trade-off this decision presents. [6]

8. Evaluate whether a small business should prioritise ethical sourcing over minimising costs. [9]

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Answers

1. Any two: traffic congestion, recycling, disposing of waste, noise and air pollution [1 each].

2. Business operations, human resources, marketing, finance [1 each].

3. E-commerce mainly affects marketing, by giving the business access to wider, often global, markets without needing a physical presence in every location [1] [1]. It also affects operations, since selling online changes how the business must fulfil orders — for example, needing a reliable delivery/logistics system rather than relying solely on in-store sales [1] [1].

4. Digital communication mainly affects human resources, by changing the speed and reach of how a business communicates with employees — for example, using email or a messaging platform for instant, wide-reaching internal announcements rather than slower traditional methods [1] [1] [1]. This can improve efficiency but also creates an expectation of faster response, changing working patterns [1].

5. Ethical action: switching to Fairtrade cotton [1]. Cost: the 20% higher input cost reduces the business’s profit margin compared with its current supply [1] [1]. Benefit: stakeholders, particularly customers who value ethical sourcing, may view the business more favourably, potentially increasing sales or loyalty [1] [1]. Judgement: whether the trade-off is worthwhile depends on how much the retailer’s specific customer base values ethical sourcing and whether the reputational benefit outweighs the higher cost [1].

6. Environmental considerations relate to the direct physical impacts of business activity, such as traffic congestion, recycling, waste disposal, and noise/air pollution [1] [1]. Sustainability relates specifically to global warming and the use of scarce resources, focused on meeting present needs without compromising future generations’ ability to meet their own [1] [1]. The two are related — both trade off against profit — but are named as distinct areas in the specification [implicit].

7. Sustainable action: installing solar panels [1]. Cost: the significant upfront cost reduces available capital or profit in the short term [1] [1]. Benefit: lower ongoing energy costs over time, and a reduced carbon footprint that may improve the bakery’s reputation with environmentally-conscious customers [1] [1]. Judgement: worthwhile if the bakery can afford the upfront cost and expects to operate long enough to recover it through lower energy bills, or if local customers particularly value sustainability [1].

8. Arguments for prioritising ethical sourcing: it can build stakeholder trust and reputation, potentially increasing sales among ethically-conscious customers and attracting positive publicity [1] [1]; it may build more reliable, longer-term supplier relationships than always switching to the cheapest available option [1]. Arguments for prioritising cost minimisation: a small business typically has limited cash flow and lower profit margins than a larger competitor, so absorbing higher input costs is riskier and could threaten its survival [1] [1]; if the business’s target customers are price-sensitive, ethical sourcing costs may need to be passed on as higher prices, risking lost sales to cheaper competitors [1]. Judgement: the right balance depends on the specific market the business operates in — a small business selling to an ethically-conscious niche customer base may benefit significantly from ethical sourcing as a point of differentiation, while one competing mainly on price in a highly competitive market may not be able to absorb the cost without losing its customer base [1] [1].

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Where marks are usually lost

• Describing e-commerce or digital communication without naming the specific functional area it affects.
• Discussing an ethical, environmental or sustainability action only in terms of its benefits, without stating the genuine cost or profit trade-off.
• Treating “environmental considerations” and “sustainability” as identical rather than related but distinct.
• Ending an analysis or evaluation question without a reasoned judgement.

Approaching technology and ethical/environmental questions

For every technology question, name the specific functional area (marketing, operations, human resources or finance) affected before describing the effect, since answers that describe the technology in isolation score lower than those that link it explicitly to the business. For every ethics, environmental or sustainability question, use the same four-step structure every time: name the action, state its cost, state its benefit, then reach a reasoned judgement — this reusable template is what the specification’s repeated use of the word “trade-off” is signalling should be practised, and applying it consistently is worth more than trying to write a different structure for each scenario.