A Level Business: Leadership and Human resource management (HRM) strategy (Cambridge 9609) – Revision Notes

These notes condense sections 7.3 Leadership and 7.4 Human resource management (HRM) strategy of the Cambridge International AS & A Level Business 9609 syllabus for examination in 2026, 2027 and 2028. Both are A Level content, assessed through case studies on Paper 3 and Paper 4. For full explanations and worked examples, read the study guide.

Then test yourself with the practice questions. Related pages: section 2.1 HRM revision notes, motivation and management and the Topic 7 practice questions. Course links: the Cambridge A Level Business hub, the checklist and the free diagnostics.

All businesses are invented. Money is in dollars.

7.3.1 Leadership: key points

• Purpose: set direction, motivate people, make decisions, lead change.
• Roles: directors (strategy, accountable to owners); managers (plans, resources, departments); supervisors (daily work, front line); worker representatives (voice of employees, consultation).
• Qualities: vision, communication, decisiveness, integrity, empathy, delegation, adaptability.

Method for a “qualities” question:

1. Pick the qualities the case makes important.
2. Show how each helps (for example, empathy lifts morale).
3. Say whether the same qualities would matter in a different situation.

7.3.2 Theories: one-line recall

Theory	Core idea	Main weakness
Trait	Leaders are born with personal traits	No set of traits works in every situation
Behavioural	What leaders do matters; behaviour can be learned	Assumes one best behaviour
Contingency	Best leadership depends on the situation	Leader must judge the situation correctly and keep changing
Power and influence	Leaders act through sources of power	Some sources win compliance, not commitment
Transformational	Leader inspires followers to a shared vision	Depends on one person; vision can be wrong

Five bases of power (standard classification): legitimate, reward, coercive, expert, referent.

Transformational versus transactional: transformational inspires and develops; transactional trades rewards and penalties for results.

Must-know distinctions

• Trait versus behavioural: who the leader is, against what the leader does.
• Behavioural versus contingency: one best behaviour, against the best behaviour depending on circumstances.
• Legitimate versus referent power: power of the position, against power of personal admiration.
• Leader versus manager: a leader inspires direction and change; a manager organises resources to meet plans. One person can be both.

7.3.3 Emotional intelligence (EQ)

Goleman’s four competencies, as the syllabus lists them:

Competency	One-line meaning
Self-awareness	Understands own emotions, strengths and limits
Self-management	Controls own reactions and stays steady
Social awareness	Understands others’ feelings and needs
Social skills	Builds relationships, communicates, resolves conflict

Application: a leader who loses temper under pressure lacks self-management. One who ignores signs of stress in the team lacks social awareness. Link each to a consequence such as absenteeism or turnover.

7.4.1 HRM approaches

Hard HRM: employees as a cost to be controlled; tight targets; flexible, short-term contracts. Soft HRM: employees as an asset to be developed; training, involvement, long-term commitment.

Contract types to know: temporary, zero hours, part-time, full-time, annualised hours, flexi-time, home working, shift working, job sharing, compressed working hours, the gig economy.

Contract	One benefit to the business	One drawback to the business
Temporary	Matches seasonal demand	Training wasted when staff leave
Zero hours	No pay when no work	Low commitment
Part-time	Covers peak periods	More people to manage
Full-time	Continuity	Cost fixed in slack periods
Annualised hours	Hours follow demand; less overtime	Complex rotas
Flexi-time	Attracts and keeps staff	Cover gaps
Home working	Lower premises costs	Weaker supervision
Shift working	Longer operating hours	Fatigue; higher pay
Job sharing	Two sets of skills for one post	Handover errors
Compressed hours	Fewer days of travel and start-up	Tiredness
Gig economy	Pay by task; easy to scale	Little control over service

Quick checks.

• Compressed hours: 40 hours in 4 days is 40 / 4 = 10 hours a day.
• Job share: a 37.5-hour post shared equally is 37.5 / 2 = 18.75 hours each.
• Annualised hours: hours per year = hours per week x weeks; subtract the busy-season hours, then divide by the quiet weeks.

Poor performance: measure, cause, consequence

Measure	Standard form
Labour productivity	Output / number of employees
Labour turnover (%)	Leavers / average employees x 100
Absenteeism rate (%)	Days lost / days available x 100
Others	Defects, returns, complaints, appraisal results, missed targets

Worked reminder: Wetherlam Foods. Average staff 80; 12 left in the year, so turnover is 12 / 80 x 100 = 15%. With 250 working days, days available are 80 x 250 = 20,000. If 800 days were lost, absenteeism is 800 / 20,000 x 100 = 4%. Output of 9,000 trays last year and 9,900 this year from 45 workers gives 200 and 220 trays a worker, up 10%.

Causes: poor selection; no training; low motivation; weak leadership; unclear objectives; poor equipment or conditions; personal problems. Consequences: low output and quality; high unit cost; lost sales; falling morale; more absence and turnover.

Improving performance: match the strategy to the cause

Cause	Strategy
Skills gap	Training, coaching, mentoring
Low motivation	Financial or non-financial motivators, recognition
Unclear aims	Clear objectives, feedback, appraisal, MBO
Weak supervision	Leadership development
Poor conditions	Better equipment, hours or workspace
Persistent failure	Warnings, redeployment, dismissal

Management by Objectives (MBO)

Steps: set business objectives, cascade them, agree individual objectives with each employee, provide resources, monitor and review, reward and reset.

• Useful when: staff are skilled and trusted, and results can be measured.
• Limits: time-consuming; targets can be out of date; may encourage a focus on what is measured; poorly suited where tasks are routine and tightly controlled.

IT and AI in HRM

Area	Role of IT or AI	Main risk
Recruitment	Online applications; automated screening	Hidden bias; good candidates rejected
Training	Online courses and tracking	Less personal feedback
Records and payroll	Central database; fewer errors	Data security and privacy
Performance	Data tracking; spotting patterns	Staff feel watched
Staff queries	Chatbots	Impersonal; cannot handle complex cases

Judgement line: these tools save time and cost, but people decisions still need human oversight.

Quick self-test

1. State two roles of a supervisor.
2. Name the five types of leadership theory in the syllabus.
3. Which theory says leaders are born?
4. Which of Goleman’s competencies is shown by a manager who keeps calm during a complaint?
5. Define labour turnover and give the standard form of the calculation.
6. A firm has an average of 60 employees and 9 leave. Calculate labour turnover.
7. A worker’s contract is 1,500 hours a year. Busy season needs 36 hours a week for 20 weeks. How many weekly hours remain over 30 quiet weeks?
8. Give one advantage and one disadvantage to a business of a zero hours contract.
9. State the first two steps of implementing MBO.
10. Give one risk of using AI to screen job applications.
11. Output rises from 3,000 to 3,300 units with 30 employees both years. Calculate the percentage change in labour productivity.

Answers

1. Directing day-to-day work; solving problems on the spot; passing information between staff and managers (any two).
2. Trait, behavioural, contingency, power and influence, transformational.
3. Trait theory.
4. Self-management.
5. The rate at which employees leave over a period; leavers / average employees x 100.
6. 9 / 60 x 100 = 15%.
7. 36 x 20 = 720 hours. (1,500 - 720) / 30 = 780 / 30 = 26 hours a week.
8. Advantage: pays only for hours needed. Disadvantage: staff insecurity, so low commitment and high turnover.
9. Set the business objectives, then cascade them to departments, with individual objectives agreed with each employee.
10. It may copy bias from past data and reject suitable candidates.
11. Productivity 100 to 110 units a person: 10% rise.

Command words and case-study skills

The syllabus defines the command words you will meet. Use them as follows with these topics.

Command word	Meaning in the syllabus	What to do here
Define	Give precise meaning	State the idea exactly, for example labour turnover
Identify	Name, select or recognise	Pick the competency or contract type from the case
Calculate	Work out from given facts	Show formula, working and unit
Explain	Set out reasons and relationships, with evidence	Give the cause, then the effect on the business
Analyse	Examine in detail to show meaning and relationships	Build a chain from the case data
Evaluate	Judge or calculate the quality, importance, amount or value	Weigh both sides, then decide
Justify	Support a case with evidence or argument	Make a choice and back it with case facts

Pattern for a leadership or HRM evaluation: state the choice, give one reason for it using case data, give one limit, then conclude by saying what the answer depends on, such as the skills of the workforce or the urgency of the problem.

Where marks are usually lost

• Describing a leadership theory without applying it to the leader in the case.
• Treating one style or theory as best in every situation.
• Listing all four competencies of EQ instead of choosing the relevant one and applying it.
• Dividing leavers by the opening headcount, not the average.
• Writing about the effect on employees when the question asks about the business.
• Giving a strategy for poor performance that does not match the cause in the case.
• Describing MBO without saying that objectives are agreed, reviewed and linked to business objectives.
• Concluding without a judgement in an evaluate or justify answer.

Frequently asked questions

What are Goleman’s four competencies of emotional intelligence? Self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and social skills, as listed in the Cambridge 9609 syllabus. In an exam, choose the relevant competency and apply it to the leader in the case rather than listing all four.

What is the difference between hard and soft HRM? Hard HRM treats employees as a cost to be controlled, with tight targets and flexible, short-term contracts. Soft HRM treats employees as an asset to be developed through training, involvement and long-term commitment.

What are the five bases of power? Legitimate, reward, coercive, expert and referent power. Reward and coercive power can win compliance, while expert and referent power are more likely to win commitment.

How do you calculate the absenteeism rate? Divide the days lost to absence by the days available and multiply by 100. Days available is the number of employees multiplied by the working days in the period.

Official syllabus

Cambridge International AS & A Level Business 9609 syllabus for examination in 2026, 2027 and 2028, published by Cambridge University Press & Assessment. These notes cover sections 7.3.1 to 7.3.3 and 7.4.1.