A Level Business: Motivation and Management (Cambridge 9609) – Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions, and they do not replicate the exam’s exact structure, question count or mark tariffs – examination boards hold copyright in their own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers from your board or school.

These questions cover sections 2.2 Motivation and 2.3 Management of the Cambridge International AS & A Level Business 9609 syllabus for examination in 2026, 2027 and 2028 (AS Level content). Learn the content first from the study guide and the revision notes. Wider Topic 2 questions are in the HRM practice set. Course links: the Cambridge A Level Business hub, the checklist and the free diagnostics.

Questions

1. Define the term empowerment. [2]

2. Wyndham Croft Bakery pays a packer £0.42 for every tray of pastries packed. Last week the packer packed 1,150 trays.

(a) Calculate the packer’s pay for the week. [2] (b) State one disadvantage to the bakery of paying by piece rate. [2]

3. Garrow Dene Opticians offers all staff free private health cover. One assistant, on a short fixed-term contract, says it makes no difference to her effort.

(a) Using Maslow’s hierarchy, identify the level of need the health cover mainly meets. [2] (b) Explain one reason why it may not motivate this assistant. [2]

4. Drivers at Fieldhead Coaches say their pay is fair but they are never thanked, and the rest-room is cold. Using Herzberg’s theory, identify one hygiene factor and one motivator from this description and explain how a manager should respond to each. [4]

5. Dunsley Quay Hotel offers housekeepers a team bonus. A housekeeper rates the chance that effort leads to a cleaned-room target as 0.7, the chance that hitting the target leads to a bonus as 0.5, and the value of the bonus as 6 out of 10. Use motivational force = expectancy × instrumentality × valence.

(a) Calculate the motivational force. [2] (b) The hotel switches to an individual bonus, raising instrumentality to 0.9. Calculate the new force. [1] (c) Explain, using Vroom’s theory, why the force changed. [2]

6. Explain one difference and one similarity between autocratic and paternalistic management. [4]

7. At Garrow Dene Opticians the practice manager (i) greets a visiting inspector and signs the visit record, (ii) moves money from the marketing budget to buy a new eye-test machine, and (iii) settles a dispute between two staff over holiday cover.

(a) Identify the Mintzberg role shown in each of (i), (ii) and (iii). [3] (b) State one way Mintzberg’s view of management differs from Fayol’s. [1]

8. A Dunsley Quay Hotel events manager earns £2,150 a month basic plus 3% commission on event bookings above £20,000 a month. Bookings last month were £48,000.

(a) Calculate the manager’s total pay last month. [3] (b) Explain one risk to the hotel of paying commission. [2]

9. Fieldhead Coaches wants to involve its drivers in running the business. Analyse two ways in which the drivers could participate in management and control. [6]

10. Harlow Dene Print Works prints 24,000 sheets a week. Under the old supervisor 8% were spoiled. A new supervisor changed the shift planning, and 5% are now spoiled. Each spoiled sheet wastes paper costing £0.06.

(a) Calculate the number of good sheets per week before and after the change. [2] (b) Calculate the percentage increase in good sheets. Give your answer to two decimal places. [1] (c) Analyse how the supervisor has contributed to business performance, and state one reason for caution in crediting the supervisor. [3]

11. Lowther Beck Cycles pays each mechanic £14 an hour for an 8-hour day, completing 14 repairs a day. About 5% of repairs have to be redone after customer complaints. The owner can pay £8.50 per repair, or keep hourly pay and introduce job enrichment (mechanics plan their own jobs and diagnose faults) with team working. Evaluate which the owner should choose. [10]

Answers

1. Empowerment is giving employees the authority to take decisions about their own work [1], with the resources needed to carry them out [1]. Examiner insight: answers that only say “giving power” or “making staff happy” tend to lack the idea that authority over their own work is passed down.

2. (a) Pay = trays × rate per tray = 1,150 × 0.42 [1] = £483.00 [1]. (b) Quality may fall because the packer rushes to pack more trays [1], which could lead to damaged pastries and customer complaints [1]. Examiner insight: a disadvantage needs a consequence for the business named in the question. “It is unfair” is weaker than saying what happens to quality, cost or sales.

3. (a) Safety needs [1], because health cover gives security against the cost of illness [1]. (b) The assistant’s contract is short [1], so her main worry may be job security or income, which a benefit does not fix; lower needs must be met before a higher one motivates [1]. Examiner insight: applying the theory to the facts about this person earns more than reciting the five levels.

4. Hygiene factor: the cold rest-room (working conditions) [1]. The manager should fix it, because poor conditions cause dissatisfaction, though fixing them will not by itself motivate for long [1]. Motivator: recognition [1]. The manager should thank drivers and recognise good work, which creates satisfaction and so can raise effort [1]. Examiner insight: pay is a hygiene factor in the theory, but the case says it is fair, so naming it as the problem would be a misreading. Choose from the evidence given.

5. (a) 0.7 × 0.5 × 6 [1] = 2.1 [1]. (b) 0.7 × 0.9 × 6 = 3.78 [1]. (c) Instrumentality rose [1], so the housekeeper sees a clearer link between her own performance and the reward; the force rises because it is a product of the three scores [1]. Examiner insight: show the multiplication line; a bare final number leaves the working unclear. The explanation should refer to the changed link, not to the bonus being bigger.

6. Difference: in an autocratic style the manager instructs without explaining or showing concern for views [1], whereas a paternalistic manager explains decisions and acts out of concern for staff welfare [1]. Similarity: in both, the manager makes the decision rather than sharing it [1], so staff have limited influence over the outcome [1]. Examiner insight: a similarity needs a stated common feature, and a difference needs both sides. Defining each style separately without comparing them leaves the comparison undone.

7. (a) (i) Figurehead [1]. (ii) Resource allocator [1]. (iii) Disturbance handler [1]. (b) Fayol set out what managers should do (their elements), whereas Mintzberg described what managers actually do in practice, in a fragmented, reactive working day [1]. Examiner insight: give the role name, not just a description of the task. Accept sensible wording if it matches the role.

8. (a) Qualifying bookings = 48,000 − 20,000 = 28,000 [1]. Commission = 0.03 × 28,000 = £840 [1]. Total = 2,150 + 840 = £2,990 [1]. (b) The manager may pressure clients into bookings they do not need [1], which could damage the hotel’s reputation and lead to cancellations [1]. Examiner insight: in a calculation, show the threshold step. Only the bookings above the threshold earn commission, which is a common slip.

9. Works council or consultation committee [1]: drivers’ representatives meet managers regularly to discuss rotas and routes, which gives managers practical ideas and may reduce resistance to change [1], but managers can still ignore the advice, so drivers may become cynical [1]. Employee share ownership [1]: drivers who own shares share in decisions and profit, which may raise commitment and care of vehicles [1], but it can slow decision making and exposes drivers’ savings to business risk [1]. Examiner insight: analysis means a consequence is developed in context. Naming a method and describing it gains less than saying what it changes for these drivers.

10. (a) Before: 24,000 × 0.92 = 22,080 [1]. After: 24,000 × 0.95 = 22,800 [1]. (b) (22,800 − 22,080) / 22,080 = 720 / 22,080 = 3.26% [1]. (c) Better shift planning means 720 more good sheets from the same inputs [1], and 720 fewer spoiled sheets, saving £43.20 a week of paper (720 × 0.06) [1]. Caution: the improvement may be due to new machinery, different job mix or staff training rather than the supervisor, so more evidence is needed [1]. Examiner insight: a calculated percentage should be given to the accuracy the question asks, and the final part scores best when it uses the figures just found rather than general statements about managers.

11. Piece rate: Taylor’s view suggests pay linked to output should raise repairs [1]. At 14 repairs the current cost is £112 / 14 = £8.00 per repair, while piece rate costs £8.50, £0.50 more per repair [1]. At 17 repairs a mechanic would earn £144.50, a strong incentive [1], but the business gains only if the extra repairs earn more than the higher cost [1]. Piece rate may also worsen the existing quality problem as mechanics rush, increasing the 5% redone [1]. Job enrichment and team working draw on Herzberg’s motivators and Mayo’s social needs [1]; skilled mechanics who plan and diagnose may take more care, so fewer repairs need redoing [1]. However, results are slower and uncertain, planning takes time, and the mechanics’ pay stays flat, so some may want more money [1]. Judgement: the owner should choose enrichment and team working [1], because quality is the stated problem and piece rate would reward speed rather than care; the case does not show that extra output is the constraint, so the higher cost is hard to justify [1]. Examiner insight: evaluation needs a decision supported by the case evidence. Listing the two methods’ good and bad points without a stated choice and a reason leaves the judgement unmade.

Where marks are usually lost

• Defining a term loosely, without the key feature such as authority, link or welfare.
• Giving a calculation answer without the working line or the unit.
• Applying commission to the full sales figure instead of only the part above the threshold.
• Naming a theory level or factor without tying it to the facts given.
• Treating pay as a motivator under Herzberg’s theory without noting it is a hygiene factor.
• Describing a participation method without any consequence for the business.
• Crediting a manager for a change without allowing for other causes.
• Concluding an evaluation question with no clear recommendation.

Next steps

• Read the revision notes and the study guide.
• Go to the Cambridge A Level Business hub and the checklist.
• Try all free 10-minute diagnostics.
• Book a free trial class.

Frequently asked questions

Which sections of Cambridge AS and A Level Business 9609 do these questions cover? Section 2.2 Motivation and section 2.3 Management, including motivation theories, financial and non-financial methods, management roles and leadership styles.

What is the common mistake with commission calculations? Applying the commission rate to the full sales figure when it is paid only on sales above a threshold. Show the threshold step in your working.

How do I use a motivation theory in an answer? Tie the theory, level or factor to the facts given about the person or business in the case. Naming a theory level without applying it earns little.

What should I consider when judging a manager’s effect on performance? Use the figures to show the change, but allow for other possible causes before crediting the manager alone, and finish with a clear judgement or recommendation.

Official syllabus

Cambridge International AS & A Level Business 9609, syllabus for examination in 2026, 2027 and 2028, published by Cambridge University Press & Assessment, sections 2.2.1 to 2.3.1.