O Level Business: Recruitment, selection, training and communication (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 practise sections 2.3 (Recruitment, selection and training of employees) and 2.4 (Internal and external communication) of the Cambridge O Level Business Studies 7115 syllabus for examination in 2026. All businesses are invented. Learn the content first from the study guide and revision notes. Hub: Cambridge O Level Business. Checklist: printable checklist.

Questions

1. Lanternhouse Hotel has a vacancy for a receptionist. Identify three stages in recruitment and selection, in a sensible order, between deciding that a vacancy exists and the new employee starting work. [3]

2. Define the terms dismissal and redundancy, and give one example of each. [4]

3. Eastmoor Grocers needs 28 hours of checkout cover each week. It can offer one full-time contract of 40 hours, or employ two part-time staff for 14 hours each. All staff earn Rs 420 an hour.

(a) Calculate the weekly wage cost of each option. [2] (b) Calculate the saving from the part-time option as a percentage of the full-time cost. [1] (c) The second part-time employee needs induction training costing Rs 3,000 once. Calculate how many weeks of saving are needed to cover it, to 1 decimal place. [2]

4. Explain why training is important to (a) a business [4] and (b) its employees. [2]

5. Explain one benefit and one limitation of induction training for a business. [4]

6. Westcombe Clinic employs 15 cleaners and orderlies, each paid Rs 36,000 a month. The legal minimum wage rises to Rs 39,000 a month.

(a) Calculate the extra monthly wage cost for the clinic. [2] (b) Calculate the percentage rise in pay for each worker. [2] (c) Analyse one effect of the change on the clinic and one on the workers. [3]

7. Explain how (a) laws against discrimination and (b) laws on health and safety affect an employer. [6]

8. Kingsdene Plastics has 40 employees on an average Rs 30,000 a month. A new automated press line needs only 2 operators instead of the 6 press operators now employed, each paid Rs 28,000 a month. Adil (9 years) and Bushra (7 years) have already trained on the new controls. Chand (5 years), Dania (3 years), Ejaz (2 years) and Farah (1 year) can operate only the old presses.

(a) Calculate the monthly wage saving if 4 operators are made redundant, and show it as a percentage of the total wage bill, to 1 decimal place. [3] (b) Recommend which operators to make redundant and justify your choice. [5]

9. Oakridge Print Works has 120 staff on three shifts. A safety rule changes tomorrow. Managers can hold a 15-minute briefing for every employee, or post a notice and send an email. Staff time is worth Rs 450 an hour.

(a) Calculate the cost of staff time for the briefings. [2] (b) Recommend and justify how to communicate the change. [6]

10. Pellham Garments has 80 staff. Orders pass through four management levels, many sewing staff speak a different first language from their supervisors, and supervisors receive about 40 emails a day. Explain two communication barriers in this business, the problem each could cause, and how each could be reduced. [8]

11. Lanternhouse Hotel wants to replace its paper noticeboard and weekly meetings with a messaging app for its 60 staff, who work rotating shifts. Some have no smartphone. Evaluate whether the hotel should make the change. [8]

12. Wolverley Opticians needs a supervisor. Zainab, an internal candidate, has 5 years as a dispenser and is trusted by customers, but has never led a team. She would be paid Rs 60,000 a month. Hamid, an external candidate, has 6 years as a supervisor elsewhere and asks Rs 72,000 a month. Advertising externally cost Rs 15,000. Recommend who to employ and justify your answer, referring to both candidates. [8]

Answers

1. Any three in a logical order, for example: identify the need and write a job description and person specification [1]; advertise and shortlist applicants [1]; interview, make the offer and agree the contract [1]. [3] Examiner insight: An answer is more secure when the stages are in a logical order and each is a distinct step, not three ways of saying “interview”.

2. Dismissal: the employer ends the contract because of the employee’s conduct or performance [1]. Example: repeated breaking of safety rules after warnings [1]. Redundancy: the job is no longer needed, so the employee loses the post through no fault of their own [1]. Example: a task is automated [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Definitions that mention the reason (the person versus the job) tend to earn the credit; an example alone does not show you know the difference.

3. (a) Full-time: 40 × 420 = Rs 16,800 [1]. Part-time: 2 × 14 × 420 = Rs 11,760 [1]. [2] (b) (16,800 − 11,760) ÷ 16,800 × 100 = 30% [1]. [1] (c) Weekly saving 5,040 [1]; 3,000 ÷ 5,040 = 0.6 weeks [1]. [2] Examiner insight: Show each cost separately before subtracting; a single wrong figure is easier to trace and give credit around when the working is visible.

4. (a) Any two developed points, such as: trained staff work faster and make fewer errors, so productivity rises [1] [1]; trained staff can use new equipment and work safely, so accidents and waste fall [1] [1]. [4] (b) Employees gain skills and confidence [1] and improve their chances of promotion or higher pay [1]. [2] Examiner insight: Answers that say only “workers get better” gain little; a point that explains the effect on output, cost or safety is what makes it a developed point.

5. Benefit: new staff learn the rules, layout and duties quickly [1], so they make fewer early mistakes [1]. Limitation: it takes time before the new person is productive [1], and wages are paid while they are not yet doing normal work [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Keep the benefit and the limitation about induction itself, not about training in general.

6. (a) Extra per worker 39,000 − 36,000 = Rs 3,000 [1]; × 15 = Rs 45,000 a month [1]. [2] (b) 3,000 ÷ 36,000 × 100 [1] = 8.3% (1 decimal place) [1]. [2] (c) Clinic: its wage costs rise, so profit falls or prices must rise [1] [1]. Workers: pay is higher, so their living standard improves [1]. [3] Examiner insight: An analysis mark usually needs a consequence (so profit falls), not just a statement that the cost rises.

7. (a) The employer must hire, pay and promote on ability, not on characteristics such as gender or religion [1]. This widens the choice of staff [1] but means checking that recruitment and promotion procedures are fair [1]. (b) The employer must provide safe conditions and equipment [1], which adds cost for equipment, training and inspection [1] but reduces accidents and days lost [1]. [6] Examiner insight: Describe the law in general terms and then state the effect on the employer; reciting rules from one country is not needed.

8. (a) 4 × 28,000 = Rs 112,000 a month [1]. Wage bill 40 × 30,000 = 1,200,000 [1]. 112,000 ÷ 1,200,000 × 100 = 9.3% [1]. [3] (b) Recommend making Chand, Dania, Ejaz and Farah redundant [1]. Adil and Bushra can already run the new line, so no retraining cost or delay [1] [1]. Their experience (9 and 7 years) helps with the new line [1]. Cost: the business loses 5 years of experience in Chand and risks lower morale among staff who stay; if other vacancies exist, some of the four could be moved [1]. [5] Examiner insight: A named choice supported by facts from the stem gains credit; naming the downside of your own recommendation separates a reasoned answer from a list.

9. (a) 120 × 0.25 = 30 hours [1]; 30 × 450 = Rs 13,500 [1]. [2] (b) Recommend a notice and email, followed by short briefings at the start of each shift [1]. The change is urgent and affects safety, so staff must hear it before tomorrow [1]. A notice and email reach all three shifts at almost no cost [1] but do not show that anyone understood [1]. Briefings allow questions and confirm understanding [1], and 30 hours of staff time is a modest price compared with an accident [1]. [6] Examiner insight: Link the method to urgency, complexity and number of receivers; “email is quick” alone does not justify a recommendation.

10. Barrier 1: language differences between sewing staff and supervisors [1]. Problem: instructions misunderstood, so garments are made wrongly [1]. Reduction: translated instructions or bilingual supervisors [1], which keep the message clear for the receiver [1]. Barrier 2: four management levels, so orders pass through several people [1]. Problem: delay or distortion of orders [1]. Reduction: shorten the chain or let urgent orders go directly [1], which cuts the number of handovers [1]. [8] Examiner insight: Tie each barrier to a detail from the stem; answers gain strength when each barrier is tied to Pellham, not left generic.

11. Benefit: the app reaches staff on rotating shifts at once, so nobody misses news [1] [1]. Benefit: messages are cheap and recorded [1]. Limitation: staff without a smartphone are excluded and may miss safety or shift news [1] [1]. Limitation: informal messages may be misread or ignored in a flood of chat [1]. Judgement: adopt the app for shift news but keep a noticeboard and a monthly meeting until everyone has access, because the hotel needs every employee informed [1] [1]. [8] Examiner insight: An “evaluate” answer needs both sides and a decision that follows from them; ending with “it depends” and no choice leaves the judgement unproved.

12. Recommend Hamid [1]. He already has 6 years of supervising, so should lead from day one [1], while Zainab has never led a team [1]. Cost: Hamid asks Rs 12,000 more a month, which is 20% above Zainab’s pay (12,000 ÷ 60,000), or Rs 144,000 a year [1] [1]. Rs 15,000 has already been spent on advertising [1]. Alternative view: Zainab is trusted by customers and cheaper, and promotion would motivate others [1]. Final judgement: if supervision skill is the urgent need, the extra pay is justified; Zainab could be trained for later promotion [1]. [8] Examiner insight: Use the figures given and weigh them against the business need; either candidate can earn credit if the reasoning uses the data.

Where marks are usually lost

• Defining dismissal and redundancy without saying whether the reason concerns the person or the job.
• Listing training benefits with no effect on the business, such as output, errors or safety.
• Giving a calculation with no working or no unit, such as Rs or hours.
• Recommending without referring to the facts in the case.
• Giving a recommendation with no downside or alternative view.
• Naming a communication method without linking it to urgency, complexity or the number of receivers.
• Describing a legal control without its effect on the employer or the employee.
• Naming a barrier without a problem and a way to reduce it.

Frequently asked questions

Are these Cambridge O Level Business Studies 7115 past paper questions? No. They are original practice questions written for Marlbridge on sections 2.3 (Recruitment, selection and training of employees) and 2.4 (Internal and external communication). Use them alongside the official past papers.

Do you need to quote employment laws from a particular country? No. Describe the law in general terms and then state its effect on the employer or employee. Reciting rules from one country is not needed.

How do you justify a communication method in an exam answer? Link the method to how urgent and how complex the message is and how many people must receive it. A claim such as “email is quick” on its own does not justify a recommendation.

What makes a recommendation on who to employ score well? A named choice supported by facts and figures from the stem, weighed against what the business needs, plus the downside of your own choice. Either candidate can earn credit if the reasoning uses the evidence.

How should an “evaluate” answer end? With a decision that follows from both sides of the argument. Ending with “it depends” and no choice leaves marks unearned.

Next steps

• Review the revision notes and the study guide.
• Compare with the wider People in business practice questions.
• See the Cambridge O Level Business hub and the checklist.
• Take the free diagnostics to find weak spots.
• Book a free trial class.

Official syllabus

Cambridge O Level Business Studies 7115, syllabus for examination in 2026 (Version 2), published by Cambridge University Press & Assessment (Cambridge International). Sections 2.3 and 2.4 of the subject content.