IGCSE Business: Motivating employees (Cambridge 0264) – 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.

This set covers section 2.4 (Motivating employees) of the Cambridge IGCSE Business 0264 syllabus for examination in 2027, 2028 and 2029. Both papers are based on all the subject content. Revise first with the study guide and revision notes. See also the course hub, the printable checklist and the free diagnostics. All businesses and figures are invented. Money amounts are in dollars unless stated.

Questions

1. State two reasons, other than pay, why people work. [2]

2. Define the term labour turnover. [2]

3. A machinist at Yarrow Fold Garments is paid 0.24 for each panel she sews. She sewed 1,450 panels last week. A colleague on time-based pay works 40 hours at 8.40 an hour.

(a) Calculate the machinist’s pay for the week. [2] (b) State who earned more, and give one disadvantage to the business of paying by piece-rate. [2]

4. A new care assistant at Halcyon Mews Care Home is on a one-month contract and worries each week about next month’s income. Using Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, identify the level of need that is not yet met and explain your answer. [3]

5. Classify each of the following as a Herzberg hygiene factor or a motivator. [4]

(a) The temperature and cleanliness of the workplace. (b) Being given responsibility for running a new project. (c) The basic hourly rate of pay. (d) Public recognition for an outstanding result.

6. Explain one way a factory owner who follows Taylor’s ideas might try to increase output. [3]

7. Peveril Contact Centre offers a sales adviser a choice. Option A is a fixed salary of 2,400 a month. Option B is a base salary of 1,200 a month plus 3% commission on sales. The adviser expects monthly sales of 85,000.

(a) Calculate the commission under Option B. [2] (b) Calculate total monthly pay under Option B. [1] (c) Calculate the monthly sales at which Option B pays the same as Option A. [2]

8. Moorcote Bakery made a profit of 180,000 this year. The owner will share 10% of it equally among 24 employees. Each employee’s normal monthly pay is 1,500.

(a) Calculate the amount each employee receives. [2] (b) Express this amount as a percentage of normal monthly pay. [1] (c) Explain one disadvantage of profit sharing as a method of motivation. [2]

9. Distinguish between job rotation and job enrichment. [4]

10. Hartsgill Packaging produced 21,600 units a month last year with an average of 80 employees, and 8 employees left. This year it produced 21,000 units a month with an average of 70 employees, and 14 left.

(a) Calculate labour turnover for each year. [2] (b) Calculate labour productivity (units per employee) for each year. [2] (c) Analyse one reason why the owner may still be worried even though productivity has risen. [2]

11. Tansley Reach Joinery employs 15 skilled staff. Wages are above the local average, but four people have left in a year and the owner has little spare cash. She is considering two options. Option A is a bonus of 5% of each employee’s annual pay of 20,000. Option B is a training course costing 450 per employee.

(a) Calculate the total cost of each option. [2] (b) Evaluate which option the owner should choose. Justify your decision. [6]

12. Peveril Contact Centre has 40 agents on an average salary of 28,000 a year. Agents say the work is repetitive: they read scripts and pass difficult calls on. Absenteeism is high and many agents have left. The manager is choosing between a 4% pay rise and a plan to let agents resolve whole complaints themselves, with an employee of the month award.

(a) Calculate the annual cost of the 4% pay rise for all agents. [2] (b) Using Herzberg’s theory, explain why the pay rise may not improve motivation. [3] (c) Recommend and justify which plan the manager should choose. [5]

Answers

1. Any two from the following, one mark each: job security or steady income; social contact or friendship; status or recognition; job satisfaction or sense of achievement; using or developing skills. [1] [1] [2] Examiner insight: Two different reasons are needed, so “security” and “a steady income” would be one point said twice, and answers that restate “money” are outside what the question asks.

2. The rate at which employees leave a business and have to be replaced [1], usually shown as a percentage of the average number employed in a period [1]. [2] Examiner insight: A definition earns its second mark by adding a precise feature, such as the time period or the percentage form; repeating the word “turnover” alone is unlikely to show understanding.

3. (a) Pay = number of panels × rate = 1,450 × 0.24 [1] = 348 [1]. (b) The machinist earned more (348 compared with 40 × 8.40 = 336) [1]. One disadvantage: workers may rush and quality may fall, causing rejected or reworked garments [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Show the multiplication. A comparison needs both figures stated, and a disadvantage should be tied to the business, such as its cost of reworking, rather than just “it is unfair”.

4. The safety need [1]. The assistant’s job and income are not secure because of the short contract [1]. Maslow said a lower-level need must be mostly met before higher needs such as social belonging drive behaviour, so security comes first [1]. [3] Examiner insight: Naming the level earns little unless a link to the stem follows. Use the clue given (a one-month contract) and say why that clue points to that level.

5. (a) Hygiene factor [1]. (b) Motivator [1]. (c) Hygiene factor [1]. (d) Motivator [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Pay is the item most often placed in the wrong group. In Herzberg’s theory it is a hygiene factor, which prevents dissatisfaction, and only recognition and responsibility count as motivators.

6. Taylor believed money is the main motivator [1]. The owner could pay workers by output, for example piece-rate pay [1], so that those who produce more earn more and have a reason to work faster, which raises output [1]. [3] Examiner insight: A developed point has three links: the theory’s belief, the method, and the effect on output. Stopping at “pay more money” gives only partial credit.

7. (a) Commission = 3% × 85,000 [1] = 2,550 [1]. (b) Total = 1,200 + 2,550 = 3,750 [1]. (c) Commission needed = 2,400 − 1,200 = 1,200 [1]. Sales = 1,200 ÷ 0.03 = 40,000 [1]. [5] Examiner insight: In part (c) the working back from the target pay is the method. Say what the figure means: below 40,000 of sales the fixed salary pays more, so the risk lies with the adviser.

8. (a) Pool = 10% × 180,000 = 18,000 [1]. Each = 18,000 ÷ 24 = 750 [1]. (b) 750 ÷ 1,500 × 100 = 50% [1]. (c) Any one developed disadvantage, for example: the payout depends on profit, which employees cannot fully control [1], so a fall in profit for outside reasons cuts the reward and can reduce motivation [1]. [5] Examiner insight: A disadvantage needs a consequence for the business or workers. “It is not fair” does not explain how motivation changes.

9. Job rotation moves a worker between different tasks [1] at the same level of responsibility [1]. Job enrichment gives a worker more challenging tasks and more responsibility [1], often with more control over how the work is done [1]. [4] Examiner insight: For a “distinguish” question, make the contrast clear in both halves of the answer. The key difference is that rotation adds variety only, while enrichment adds responsibility.

10. (a) Last year: 8 ÷ 80 × 100 = 10% [1]. This year: 14 ÷ 70 × 100 = 20% [1]. (b) Last year: 21,600 ÷ 80 = 270 units per employee [1]. This year: 21,000 ÷ 70 = 300 units per employee [1]. (c) Labour turnover has doubled, so the business pays more to recruit and train replacements [1]. New workers need time to learn, so rising productivity may not last, and the skills of those leaving are lost [1]. [6] Examiner insight: Include units for productivity. Analysis questions reward a chain (higher turnover, higher recruitment and training cost, future risk to output) and not just a statement that turnover has gone up.

11. (a) Option A: 5% × 20,000 = 1,000 each, × 15 = 15,000 [1]. Option B: 450 × 15 = 6,750 [1]. (b) Evaluate, 6 marks:

• Bonus: rewards effort and may please staff in the short term [1], but costs 15,000, which is more than twice the training cost, when cash is limited [1].
• Training: cheaper and develops skills [1]. It can lead to promotion and shows staff they are valued, which may cut turnover [1]. A risk is that better-trained staff leave for higher pay elsewhere.
• Judgement: wages are already above average, so pay is a weak reason for people leaving (Herzberg’s hygiene factor) [1]. Option B, training, is the better choice because it costs less and tackles recognition and development, though it should be combined with a clear route to promotion to keep the trained staff [1]. [8] Examiner insight: For “evaluate” and “justify”, the final judgement must follow from the evidence in the case. A balanced discussion that never reaches a decision, or a decision with no reason, leaves the top marks unreached.

12. (a) 4% × 28,000 = 1,120 per agent [1]. × 40 = 44,800 [1]. (b) Pay is a hygiene factor [1]. A rise only removes dissatisfaction with pay and does not create satisfaction [1]. The agents’ complaint is that the work is repetitive, which a motivator such as responsibility would address, so the effect would soon fade [1]. (c) Recommend the second plan, letting agents resolve whole complaints with an employee of the month award [1]. Resolving complaints is job enrichment: it adds responsibility and variety, which meets esteem needs [1]. The award gives recognition at little cost compared with 44,800 [1]. A limit: agents need training, and some may find the extra responsibility stressful, so there is a short-term cost [1]. Overall, the plan fits the problem (repetition, absence and leavers) better than a pay rise that does not change the work, so it is the better choice [1]. [10] Examiner insight: Strong recommendations tie the choice to the particular problem in the case and weigh at least one limit. Quoting the comparison cost from part (a) shows you are using the stem’s data.

Where marks are usually lost

• Giving a single reason when two are asked for, or restating the same reason twice.
• Omitting working in pay calculations, so one slip costs every mark.
• Treating pay as a Herzberg motivator instead of a hygiene factor.
• Naming a Maslow level without linking it to a clue in the stem.
• Describing job rotation as adding responsibility.
• Giving advantages of a method but no disadvantage or limit.
• Not using case data (staff numbers, costs, current pay) in the answer.
• Ending an “evaluate” or “justify” answer without a decision, or with a decision unsupported by reasons.

Frequently asked questions

Are these Cambridge IGCSE Business 0264 past paper questions? No. They are original questions written for Marlbridge for revision of section 2.4 (Motivating employees). They do not reproduce past-paper questions or copy the exam’s structure or mark tariffs, so use them alongside your board’s official past papers.

How do you avoid losing marks in motivation pay calculations? Show every step of the working, such as the rate multiplied by the quantity, and state the units. If only a final figure is written, one slip can cost every mark, and where a comparison is asked you should state both figures.

How do you apply Maslow’s hierarchy to a case study question? Name the level of need that is not met, then use a clue from the stem, such as a detail about pay, job security or recognition, to explain why that level applies. Naming a level without linking it to the case earns little credit.

How do you answer an “evaluate” or “recommend” question on motivation? Weigh the options using the case data, such as costs, staff numbers and current pay, and note at least one limit. Then reach a clear decision with a reason, because a balanced discussion with no judgement, or a judgement with no reason, leaves the top marks unreached.

What does a “distinguish between” question need? Explain what each of the two terms means and make the key difference clear in both halves of the answer. Describing only one term, or listing features without a contrast, does not show the distinction.

Next steps

• Recap with the revision notes and the study guide.
• Return to the course hub and the printable checklist.
• Try all the free 10-minute diagnostics.
• Book a free trial class.

Official syllabus

This set follows section 2.4 of the Cambridge IGCSE Business 0264 syllabus for examination in 2027, 2028 and 2029, published by Cambridge University Press & Assessment (Cambridge International Education).