A Level Business: Quality management and Operations strategy (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 practise sections 9.2 Quality management and 9.3 Operations strategy of the Cambridge International AS & A Level Business 9609 syllabus for examination in 2026, 2027 and 2028. Both are A Level topics. Learn the content first from the study guide and the revision notes. More Topic 9 questions are in the operations practice set. Course links: the Cambridge A Level Business hub, the checklist and the free diagnostics.

Questions

1. Define benchmarking. [2]

2. Foxlow Pottery makes plain dinner plates. Explain what is meant by saying the plates are “fit for purpose”, and why this may differ from a customer’s perception of their quality. [3]

3. Foxlow Pottery makes 12 000 plates a month. At present 5% are found faulty at final inspection, and each faulty plate costs 4.20 dollars in scrap and rework. Quality assurance would cost $2 100 a month in extra training and records and would cut the faulty rate to 2%. Calculate the net monthly change in cost and state one benefit of the change that the figures do not show. [4]

4. Ostmoor Bakery employs four quality checkers who inspect loaves after baking. The owner is considering Total Quality Management (TQM). Analyse the impact TQM might have on the bakery. [6]

5. Cobbleworth Cakes makes celebration cakes to order. Demand peaks at weekends and before festivals, and most customers ask for their own design. Explain why flexibility in volume and in specification matters to the business. [4]

6. Lindal Meals plans to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to forecast demand for its meal kits. Explain one benefit and one drawback of this decision. [4]

7. Identify two main features of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) programme and explain how one of them improves management information. [4]

8. Lindal Meals is launching a new range. Its project plan is shown as a network. Node 1 is the start. Activity A (choose menu, 3 days) runs from node 1 to node 2. Activity B (order packaging, 5 days) runs from node 1 to node 3. A dummy activity runs from node 2 to node 3. Activity C (test recipes, 4 days) runs from node 2 to node 4. Activity D (train packing team, 6 days) runs from node 3 to node 4. Activity E (launch event, 2 days) runs from node 4 to node 5, the end. (a) Find the minimum project duration and name the critical path. [3] (b) Calculate the total float and the free float of activity C. [3] (c) Activity A takes 6 days instead of 3. Explain the effect on the project. [2]

9. Cobbleworth Cakes is considering lean production. Analyse one limitation of kaizen and one limitation of JIT manufacturing for this business. [6]

10. Vennerby Joinery makes 40 wooden windows a day with 40 staff. It holds raw materials inventory worth $180 000, with a holding cost of 12% a year. A lean programme (JIT and quality circles) would cut that inventory to 60 000 dollars. In a one-month trial with a supplier, three deliveries arrived late, and the factory already runs at about 95% of capacity. Demand has been steady for three years. Evaluate whether Vennerby Joinery should adopt lean production. [10]

11. Ivelet Distribution runs three warehouses and has stock-outs on 8% of orders. An ERP programme costs $240 000 to install, then 30 000 dollars a year to run, and is expected to save 90 000 dollars a year. Justify whether Ivelet Distribution should install the programme. [6]

Answers

1. Benchmarking is comparing a business’s performance, processes or products with those of the best performers [1], then using the gaps found to set targets and improve [1]. Examiner insight: a definition earns more when it includes both the comparison and the purpose; “copying rivals” alone is incomplete.

2. Fit for purpose means the plates meet their specification and do the job they were made for [1]. A customer’s perception of quality is shaped by price, brand, appearance and past experience [1]. A plain plate that never chips is fit for purpose, but a buyer might still see it as low quality because it looks basic or is cheap [1]. Examiner insight: the contrast is easier to credit when you give a product-based example rather than two separate definitions.

3. Faulty plates now: 12 000 × 0.05 = 600, costing 600 × 4.20 = 2 520 dollars [1]. After: 12 000 × 0.02 = 240, costing 240 × 4.20 = 1 008 dollars [1]. Saving 2 520 − 1 008 = 1 512, so net change = 1 512 − 2 100 = a rise in cost of 588 dollars a month [1]. A benefit not shown: fewer customer returns and a better reputation [1]. Examiner insight: show each step so the reader can follow your reasoning, and state whether the result is a saving or an increase.

4. Fewer defects and less waste, because staff check their own work at each stage [1], so rework costs fall and customers receive more reliable loaves [1]. Less need for inspection: the four checkers might be redeployed or the posts removed [1], saving wages but possibly causing redundancy worries [1]. Training and culture change are costly, and bakers may resist added responsibility [1], so benefits may be slow to appear [1]. Examiner insight: answers gain credit by developing each effect for the bakery itself; a list of TQM features with no consequences is limited.

5. Volume: demand peaks at weekends and festivals, so the business must raise output quickly and cut it afterwards without leaving staff and ovens idle [1]; otherwise it loses sales at peaks or carries costs in quiet weeks [1]. Specification: most customers ask for their own design, so the business must be able to change decoration and flavour for each order [1]; being unable to do so would lose custom to rivals who can [1]. Examiner insight: tie each kind of flexibility to a fact in the stem, not just a definition.

6. Benefit: better forecasts of demand [1], so less over- or under-buying of fresh ingredients and fewer wasted meal kits [1]. Drawback: the system costs money to buy and run, and staff need training [1], and wrong or old data produces poor forecasts that could lead to stock-outs [1]. Examiner insight: “benefit” and “drawback” each need a reason; naming only “faster” or “expensive” is thin.

7. Features (any two): one shared database for all departments [1]; real-time updating, or linked modules [1]. Explanation: a single database means finance, sales and purchasing see the same current data [1], so managers receive accurate reports without waiting for each department [1]. Examiner insight: identify first, then explain only the feature you chose; extra explanation of the second does not add credit.

8. (a) Forward pass: node 2 = 3; node 3 = larger of 5 and 3 + 0 = 5; node 4 = larger of 3 + 4 = 7 and 5 + 6 = 11, so 11; node 5 = 11 + 2 = 13 [1]. Critical path B, D, E [1]. Minimum duration 13 days [1]. (b) Total float C = LFT node 4 − EST node 2 − 4 = 11 − 3 − 4 = 4 days [1]. Free float C = EST node 4 − EST node 2 − 4 = 11 − 3 − 4 = 4 days [1]. C can overrun by 4 days without delaying the project or the start of E [1]. (c) A’s total float is 2 days (LFT node 2 is 5, so 5 − 0 − 3 = 2) [1]. A 3-day overrun exceeds that by 1 day, so the project takes 14 days [1]. Examiner insight: the dummy is easy to omit; without it you may treat D as depending only on B. Show the forward pass values.

9. Kaizen: improvements are small and gradual, so gains are slow [1], and the owners may lose patience or find staff stop making suggestions if none are used [1], so the benefit is uncertain. JIT: cake ingredients arrive only as needed, with almost no inventory [1], so a late delivery of eggs or flour could stop production and miss customer deadlines [1], especially at festival peaks when demand is high [1]; this could damage reputation [1]. Examiner insight: the strongest limitation answers follow a chain from cause to consequence for this particular business.

10. Calculation: holding cost now 180 000 × 0.12 = 21 600; after 60 000 × 0.12 = 7 200; saving 14 400 dollars a year [2]. For: lower holding costs, less storage space, fewer waste and damage risks, and quality circles may improve quality and staff involvement [2]. Against: three late deliveries in a month show supplier risk, and with almost no inventory, a late delivery halts production [1]; the factory already runs at about 95% of capacity, so there is little spare capacity to catch up after a delay [1]; the savings must also be set against supplier and training costs [1]. Judgement: lean looks worthwhile because demand is steady and the saving is large, but only if suppliers become reliable [1]; a sensible approach is to introduce quality circles and kaizen first and move to JIT only after supplier deliveries improve, perhaps keeping buffer inventory for key materials [1], and the recommendation depends on how much the late-delivery losses outweigh the 14 400 saving [1]. Examiner insight: an evaluation scores best with a judgement that rests on a stated condition, such as supplier reliability, and that uses the figures given.

11. Net saving = 90 000 − 30 000 = $60 000 a year [1]; payback = 240 000 ÷ 60 000 = 4 years [1]. For: live inventory records and shared data could cut the 8% stock-out rate across three warehouses [1], protecting sales [1]. Against: installation is costly and disruptive, and staff need training [1]. Judgement: install, provided the business can wait four years for payback and savings are realistic; if the forecast saving is overstated, the case is weaker [1]. Examiner insight: “justify” needs a recommendation backed by evidence; a calculation alone, with no decision, leaves the question unanswered.

Where marks are usually lost

• Giving a definition of TQM, QC or QA with no effect on the business when asked to analyse.
• Saying TQM means hiring more inspectors.
• Writing about customer perception when the question asks for fit for purpose.
• Leaving out the dummy activity or the backward pass in a network.
• Confusing total float with free float, or giving a float with no interpretation.
• Listing lean strategies with no limitation, or limitations that do not fit the business.
• Writing “it depends” in an evaluation without saying what it depends on.
• Not using figures from the case study.

Next steps

• Revision notes
• Study guide
• Cambridge A Level Business hub and 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 9.2 Quality management and section 9.3 Operations strategy, both A Level topics, including TQM, benchmarking, flexibility, ERP, lean production and critical path analysis.

Does TQM mean hiring more inspectors? No. Saying TQM means hiring more inspectors is a common error; under TQM, quality is the responsibility of all staff throughout the process.

What are common mistakes in network analysis? Leaving out a dummy activity or the backward pass, confusing total float with free float, and giving a float figure with no interpretation.

What does “it depends” need in an evaluation? Say what the decision depends on, such as a stated condition from the case, and use the figures given. “It depends” on its own earns little.

Official syllabus

Cambridge International AS & A Level Business 9609 syllabus for examination in 2026, 2027 and 2028, published by Cambridge University Press & Assessment (Cambridge International Education): sections 9.2 and 9.3.