O Level Business: Achieving quality production and Location decisions (Cambridge 7115) – 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 4.3 (Achieving quality production) and 4.4 (Location decisions) of the Cambridge O Level Business Studies 7115 syllabus for examination in 2026. All businesses and figures are invented, and all money amounts are in dollars. Read the study guide first if a topic is new, and use the revision notes for a quick recap. The earlier operations management practice set covers other parts of section 4. Course pages: Cambridge O Level Business hub and printable checklist.

Questions

1. Define the term “quality”. [2]

2. State what is meant by “quality assurance”. [2]

3. Evenlode Furniture makes 2 400 chairs a day. An inspector checks a sample of 150 chairs and finds 6 with faulty joints. Each faulty chair costs 18 to repair. (a) Calculate the percentage of faulty chairs in the sample. [1] (b) Estimate how many faulty chairs are made in a day. [1] (c) Calculate the daily cost of repairing them. [1]

4. Lamorna Clinic is a private health clinic. Explain one reason why quality is important to a service business such as this. [3]

5. Explain one difference between quality control and quality assurance. [3]

6. Hartsfell Foods wants to introduce quality assurance in its sauce factory. Outline two ways in which it could do this. [4]

7. Dunmarrow Textiles makes 5 000 shirts a week. At present about 4% are faulty. Each faulty shirt costs 4.00 to rework. The owner is considering a quality assurance system that she expects to cut the faulty rate to 1.5%. (a) Calculate the weekly cost of reworking faulty shirts at present. [2] (b) Calculate the weekly saving if the faulty rate falls to 1.5%. [3] (c) Justify whether Dunmarrow Textiles should introduce the system. [4]

8. Oakrill Cafe plans to open a coffee kiosk. Explain one location factor the owner should consider. [3]

9. Zeldon Electronics is choosing between Country A and Country B for a factory making 50 000 speakers a year. Costs per speaker: in Country A labour is 3.40, parts 8.10 and shipping 1.10, with no import tariff. In Country B labour is 1.90, parts 8.10 and shipping 2.30, and the importing market charges a tariff of 6% of labour plus parts. (a) Calculate the cost of one speaker made in Country B, including the tariff. [3] (b) Calculate how much more or less it would cost to make 50 000 speakers a year in Country B rather than Country A. [3] (c) Identify two other factors Zeldon Electronics should consider when choosing a country. [2]

10. Gorsebank Toys wants to build a factory near a residential area. Explain how legal controls might affect its location decision. [4]

11. Gorsebank Toys later considers relocating its warehouse. (a) Outline two reasons why a business might relocate. [2] (b) Explain one risk of relocating. [3]

12. Vennor Printing employs 9 staff, with total wages of 270 000 a year at either site. It is choosing between two premises for a new print shop.

	Site P (town centre)	Site Q (industrial estate)
Rent per month	4 800	2 900
Transport and delivery costs per year	16 000	31 000
Extra walk-in orders (contribution per year)	12 000	none

Site P has limited parking. Site Q has good road links and room to expand. (a) Calculate the total annual cost (rent, wages and transport) of each site. [4] (b) Recommend and justify which site Vennor Printing should choose. [6]

Answers

1. Quality is how well a product or service [1] meets the needs and expectations of the customer [1]. [2] Examiner insight: Answers gain credit for linking quality to what the customer needs; “good” or “expensive” alone does not define it.

2. Quality assurance is organising the whole business so that faults are prevented [1] at every stage of production or service, rather than being found at the end [1]. [2] Examiner insight: “Prevent” and “every stage” are the two ideas to include. A definition that only says “checking quality” describes control rather than assurance.

3. (a) 6 ÷ 150 × 100 = 4% [1] [1] (b) 4% of 2 400 = 96 chairs [1] [1] (c) 96 × 18 = 1 728 a day [1] [1] Examiner insight: Show each step. Part (b) rests on the assumption that the sample represents the whole day, which is worth stating if the question allows.

4. Reason, for example: patients who receive poor care or find mistakes in their treatment will not return [1]. This reduces the clinic’s sales revenue [1] and may harm its reputation, so fewer new patients are attracted [1]. (Also credit: legal claims, or staff morale.) [3] Examiner insight: Apply the reason to a clinic. A general statement that quality “keeps customers” gains less than one explaining what happens to this clinic’s patients.

5. Quality control finds faults, by checking items during or after production [1], whereas quality assurance aims to prevent faults, by setting standards and methods across all stages [1]. Therefore control deals with faults already made, and assurance reduces faults being made at all [1]. [3] Examiner insight: A difference needs both sides. Writing only what control does, with nothing on assurance, leaves the contrast incomplete.

6. Any two methods, each with how it helps (1 + 1 each). For example: introduce written quality standards for every stage [1], so every worker knows what is acceptable and faults are avoided [1]. Check and approve suppliers [1], so ingredients arrive at the required standard before production starts [1]. (Also credit: training workers, planned machine maintenance, workers checking their own work, using customer feedback.) [4] Examiner insight: “Outline” means setting out the main points, but a method plus its purpose usually works better than a bare list.

7. (a) 4% of 5 000 = 200 faulty shirts [1]; 200 × 4.00 = 800 per week [1] [2] (b) 1.5% of 5 000 = 75 faulty shirts [1]; 75 × 4.00 = 300 [1]; saving = 800 − 300 = 500 per week [1] [3] (c) Introduce it: the saving of 500 a week is about 26 000 over a year, if the rate falls as expected [1]. Fewer faulty shirts also mean fewer returns and a better reputation [1]. However, the system has set-up and training costs not given, and the 1.5% is only an expectation [1]. Judgement: it should go ahead if the set-up cost is recovered within a reasonable time, because it prevents repeated waste [1]. [4] Examiner insight: A justified decision uses the figures you have calculated and also names what is unknown. A one-sided “yes, it saves money” gains less than an answer that weighs cost against saving.

8. Factor, for example: closeness to customers or footfall [1]. A kiosk relies on passing trade, so a site near offices or a station gives more potential customers [1]. This raises sales but rent may be higher there, so the owner should compare extra sales with the extra rent [1]. (Also credit: competitors, visibility, access, rent.) [3] Examiner insight: The factor must be linked to a kiosk. Naming “rent” alone, without saying why it matters here, stays at the first mark.

9. (a) Tariff = 6% × (1.90 + 8.10) = 6% × 10.00 = 0.60 [1]; sum of labour, parts and shipping = 1.90 + 8.10 + 2.30 = 12.30 [1]; total = 12.30 + 0.60 = 12.90 [1] [3] (b) Country A: 3.40 + 8.10 + 1.10 = 12.60 [1]; difference = 12.90 − 12.60 = 0.30 more in Country B [1]; × 50 000 = 15 000 more per year in Country B [1] [3] (c) Any two from: political stability, skills of the workforce, exchange rates, size of the market, infrastructure, government incentives, culture and language, legal controls [1] [1] [2] Examiner insight: Where a tariff is charged on only part of the cost, work out that base first. Giving the unit difference but not the annual total leaves the question unanswered.

10. Governments can limit how land is used [1], so building a factory in a residential area may be refused or need permission [1]. Environmental rules on noise or waste may add costs or delay [1]. Therefore Gorsebank Toys may have to choose a different site, such as an industrial area, even if the cost of land elsewhere is higher [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Explain the effect on the decision, not just that laws exist. Describing the control generally is enough; guessing at the name of a specific law adds no credit.

11. (a) Any two, for example: premises have become too small [1]; rent or running costs have risen (or the lease is ending, or customers and suppliers have moved) [1] [2] (b) Risk, for example: production or deliveries are disrupted during the move [1], causing late orders and lost sales [1], which may harm customer relationships if the delay is long [1]. (Also credit: staff leaving, customers unable to find the new site, moving costs.) [3] Examiner insight: Move beyond naming the risk. “Staff may leave” gains one mark; adding why that harms the business gains the rest.

12. (a) Site P: rent = 4 800 × 12 = 57 600 [1]; total = 57 600 + 270 000 + 16 000 = 343 600 [1] Site Q: rent = 2 900 × 12 = 34 800 [1]; total = 34 800 + 270 000 + 31 000 = 335 800 [1] [4] (b) Recommendation, for example Site P [1]. Site Q costs 7 800 a year less (343 600 − 335 800) [1], but Site P brings 12 000 a year of extra contribution from walk-in orders, so its effective cost is 331 600, which is 4 200 less than Site Q [1]. Walk-in trade also raises the visibility of the business [1]. Against this, Site P has limited parking, which could put some customers off, and Site Q has good road links and room to expand [1]. Judgement: Site P is better in the short term, but if the business expects to grow quickly, Q’s room to expand could outweigh the 4 200 difference [1]. (Credit a reasoned recommendation of Site Q if it uses the data and weighs Site P.) [6] Examiner insight: For “recommend and justify”, a clear choice supported by the figures and a comparison with the rejected site gains more than a list of site features.

Where marks are usually lost

• Defining quality as a high price or luxury instead of meeting customer needs.
• Describing quality control when asked about quality assurance, or the other way round.
• Writing “it improves quality” as a benefit without saying what the business gains.
• Giving a location factor without linking it to the type of business in the question.
• Choosing the cheapest option without weighing customers, access or growth.
• Missing the base of a percentage, such as applying a tariff to the wrong cost.
• Stopping at the unit difference when the question asks for an annual figure.
• Naming a law you are unsure of, instead of describing how legal controls affect a site.
• Recommending a site with no reason drawn from the case.

Frequently asked questions

Are these Cambridge O Level Business Studies 7115 past paper questions? No. They are original questions written for Marlbridge on sections 4.3 (Achieving quality production) and 4.4 (Location decisions), with invented businesses and figures. Use them alongside the official past papers.

What assumption should you state when estimating faults from a sample? State that the sample represents the whole output, because the estimate depends on it. Show each step from the sample proportion to the total number of faulty items.

How do you avoid mistakes when a tariff is charged on only part of the cost? Work out the base the tariff applies to first, such as labour plus materials, before taking the percentage. If the question asks for an annual figure, multiply the unit difference by the yearly output rather than stopping at the unit figure.

Do you need to name specific laws in location questions? No. Describing how legal controls affect a site is enough, and guessing at the name of a specific law adds no credit. Explain the effect on the decision, such as a refusal, extra cost or a delay.

How do you answer a “recommend and justify” question on location? Make a clear choice, support it with figures from the case and compare it with the rejected site. A list of site features without a decision gains less.

Next steps

• Review the revision notes and the study guide.
• Check your syllabus coverage with the printable checklist and the course hub.
• Take the free 10-minute diagnostics to find weak areas.
• For help with this topic, book a free trial class.

Official syllabus

Cambridge International, Cambridge O Level Business Studies 7115 syllabus, for examination in 2026 (version 2, published December 2025), sections 4.3 and 4.4.