OCR A Level Business: Contingency planning and crisis management (H431) – 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 the content heading Contingency planning and crisis management in the OCR A Level Business (H431) specification, Version 2.1 (January 2026), within Business objectives and strategy. All businesses and figures are invented.

Revise with the study guide and the revision notes. Related: the Objectives and Strategic Decisions guide and the strategy practice set. Course pages: OCR A Level Business hub and checklist.

Questions

1. Define the term “contingency plan”. [2]

2. Dunstaple Print Works runs two large printing presses and buys paper and ink from a small number of suppliers. Identify two events that could disrupt the business and for which it might prepare a contingency plan. [2]

3. Explain one purpose of crisis management for a business. [3]

4. Bellacombe Bikes stores most of its stock in a ground-floor room that could flood. The owner estimates a 5% chance of a flood in any year. Without a plan, a flood would cost £180,000. With a plan (moving stock onto high racking and a pre-arranged clean-up contract) the loss would be £45,000. The plan costs £4,000 a year. Use expected loss = probability x loss, which is a standard approach.

(a) Calculate the expected annual loss without a plan. [2] (b) Calculate the expected annual loss with the plan. [1] (c) Calculate the net annual benefit of the plan. [2]

5. Explain two differences between contingency planning and crisis management. [4]

6. Bellacombe Bikes also has a contingency plan for a fire in its workshop. The plan names a deputy to run repairs, a second site where work can continue and a script for telling customers. Analyse how this plan could affect two stakeholder groups of Bellacombe Bikes. [6]

7. Skerryvale Dental Group stores patient records and appointments on one computer system. A failure would close its clinics for six days. Daily sales revenue is £7,500 and compensation to patients would be £22,000. A contingency plan (off-site backups and a standby system) would cut the closure to one day and compensation to £6,000. The plan costs £14,000 to set up and £3,000 a year to maintain. Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of contingency planning for Skerryvale and its stakeholders. [9]

8. Rowanbridge Dairy recalled 9,200 cartons of yoghurt that had already been sold. Each was refunded at £2.60, and £4,800 was spent on notices and a helpline. For four weeks, weekly sales revenue of £64,000 fell by 25%. Calculate the total cost of the recall to Rowanbridge Dairy. [4]

9. A cyber-attack locked Dunstaple Print Works’ order system on a Monday. The managing director shut down the network within an hour and called an IT recovery firm that the business had already agreed terms with. Staff were told by text that morning. Customers were not contacted until Thursday, by which time two large customers had heard about it on a trade forum. Systems were restored by Friday. The two customers left, taking £180,000 of annual sales revenue. It then reviewed its procedures. Evaluate Dunstaple Print Works’ crisis management. [8]

10. Altamira Tiles buys 80% of the tiles it sells from one overseas supplier. Weekly sales revenue is £52,000. A port dispute could stop deliveries for three weeks. Assume sales of the imported tiles stop completely and are not recovered. Gross profit is 35% of sales revenue. Three options are being considered.

• Option A: hold three extra weeks of stock, costing £11,000 a year in storage and tied-up funds.
• Option B: approve a second supplier, costing £4,500 once, with tiles about 6% dearer when bought from them.
• Option C: take out insurance for £3,200 a year that pays for lost gross profit but does nothing to keep customers.

Recommend and justify a contingency plan for Altamira Tiles. [10]

11. A business has a detailed contingency plan for fire, yet a fire still requires crisis management. Explain why. [4]

Answers

1. A set of actions prepared in advance [1] for an unexpected event that could disrupt the business [1]. [2] Examiner insight: A definition gains credit for both “prepared in advance” and “unexpected, disruptive event”. Saying only “a plan for problems” is too vague, and describing it as something done after the event confuses it with crisis management.

2. Any two relevant events, one mark each, for example: a press breakdown or serious equipment failure [1]; a supplier of paper or ink failing to deliver [1]. [2] Examiner insight: Events tied to the business in the stem are safer than generic ones.

3. One purpose stated, for example to limit the damage caused by the crisis [1]; developed, for example by stopping the problem spreading or reducing the cost of repair or lost sales [1]; linked to a stakeholder or the business, for example protecting customer trust and the reputation so that sales revenue recovers [1]. [3] Examiner insight: A three-mark “explain” is usually a purpose, a development and a link to the business.

4. (a) Expected loss = 0.05 x £180,000 [1] = £9,000 [1]. [2] (b) 0.05 x £45,000 = £2,250 [1]. [1] (c) Saving = £9,000 - £2,250 = £6,750 [1]. Net of the £4,000 cost, the benefit is £2,750 a year [1]. [2] Examiner insight: Show the multiplication and the subtraction as separate steps. A common slip is to compare the plan’s cost with the loss itself instead of with the reduction in expected loss.

5. Difference 1: contingency planning takes place before an event, whereas crisis management takes place during and after it [1]; the first prepares and the second responds [1]. Difference 2: contingency planning is based on predicted possibilities and can be written calmly, whereas crisis management deals with the actual event and often needs decisions under time pressure [1]; so crisis management relies on judgement on the day [1]. [4] Examiner insight: “Differences” need both sides of each comparison, not two separate descriptions.

6. Stakeholder 1, for example employees: the deputy and second site mean work and pay can continue after a fire [1]; this reduces the chance of lost hours or redundancy [1]; employees feel more secure, though they may need training [1]. Stakeholder 2, for example customers: the script and second site mean they are told promptly and repairs continue [1]; so bike repairs are delayed less and they are less likely to take their business elsewhere [1]; the benefit to them is greater if the plan is tested, since an untried script may not work [1]. [6] Examiner insight: Answers that gain credit show a chain: plan feature, effect on the group, consequence.

7. Without a plan the loss is 6 x £7,500 + £22,000 = £67,000 [1]. With a plan it is £7,500 + £6,000 = £13,500, so the saving if the failure happens is £53,500 [1]. Advantage to the business: the saving exceeds the first-year cost of £14,000 + £3,000 = £17,000, so the plan would pay for itself if the failure occurred once that year [1]. Advantage to stakeholders: patients get care back in one day, not six, and staff keep working, which protects trust and jobs [1]. Disadvantage: the cost is paid every year even if no failure happens [1], and the plan may be untested or out of date, so the one-day recovery is not guaranteed [1]. A plan also cannot cover every event [1]. Judgement: the plan looks worthwhile because the loss avoided is large against the cost [1]; but the answer depends on how likely a failure is [1]. [9] Examiner insight: Use the stem figures to support the judgement. “It depends” is stronger when you say on what, and then decide.

8. Refunds: 9,200 x £2.60 = £23,920 [1]. Direct recall cost = £23,920 + £4,800 = £28,720 [1]. Lost sales revenue = 0.25 x £64,000 x 4 = £64,000 [1]. Total cost = £28,720 + £64,000 = £92,720 [1]. [4] Examiner insight: The lost sales revenue is spread over four weeks, so multiply by four. Leaving out either the recall cost or the lost sales revenue gives a total that is too low.

9. Strengths: shutting down the network within an hour limited the damage [1]; using a recovery firm agreed in advance shows some preparation and sped up recovery to Friday [1]; telling staff the same morning gave clear instructions and avoided rumour [1]. Weaknesses: customers were not told until Thursday, and two large customers heard first on a forum [1]; this damaged trust and contributed to the loss of £180,000 of annual sales revenue [1]. The later review shows learning, which reduces the chance of a repeat [1]. Judgement: the technical response was effective, but the communication to customers was poor, so the response was only partly successful [1]; losing two large customers probably costs more over time than the outage itself [1]. [8] Examiner insight: Evaluate against criteria such as speed, communication and recovery, and use case evidence for each. Praise or criticism without a criterion reads as opinion.

10. Recommendation: approve a second supplier (Option B) [1]. Action: set up the supplier, agree prices and trial orders so it can take over at short notice [1]; the owner should decide when to switch [1]. Justification using figures: three weeks of lost sales on the imported tiles would be 0.80 x £52,000 x 3 = £124,800 of sales revenue [1], or £43,680 of gross profit at 35% [1]. The one-off cost of £4,500 is small against this [1]. Alternatives: Option A costs £11,000 every year, which over four years is £44,000, about the gross profit at risk [1]. Option C pays out for lost profit but does not retain customers or supply [1]. Limitation: tiles from the second supplier are about 6% dearer, which lowers margin if used often, and the supplier may not match the quality [1]. Judgement: Option B is the best balance of cost and protection, but only if the supplier is tested before it is needed [1]. [10] Examiner insight: A recommendation needs to be specific and supported by the stem figures.

11. The event will not match the plan exactly, so managers must make judgements about what is actually happening [1]. Decisions have to be made quickly, as the situation changes, and not all will be covered by the plan [1]. Stakeholders such as employees, customers and the media need communication tailored to the event [1]. The business also needs to contain the problem, recover and review afterwards, which a plan written in advance cannot fully do [1]. [4] Examiner insight: The strongest point is that a plan guides but does not replace judgement.

Where marks are usually lost

• Describing a contingency plan as a response after the event.
• Naming a stakeholder group but not explaining the effect on it.
• Listing advantages and disadvantages with no judgement.
• Not comparing the reduction in expected loss with the plan’s cost.
• Forgetting to multiply weekly figures by the number of weeks.
• Recommending generic measures that do not fit the case.
• Judging crisis management only on the final outcome.

Frequently asked questions

Are these OCR A Level Business H431 past paper questions? No. They are original practice questions written for Marlbridge on the content heading Contingency planning and crisis management. Use them alongside OCR’s own past papers.

What is a common slip when judging whether a contingency plan is worth its cost? Comparing the plan’s cost with the full loss instead of with the reduction in expected loss. Show the multiplication and the subtraction as separate steps.

What should you check when a calculation uses weekly figures? Multiply weekly figures by the number of weeks affected, and include every cost, such as both the direct recall cost and the lost sales revenue.

How do you evaluate a business’s crisis management in an exam answer? Judge it against criteria such as speed, communication and recovery, using evidence from the case for each. Praise or criticism without a stated criterion, or judging only by the final outcome, earns less.

How specific should a contingency plan recommendation be? Very specific. Name the action, how it would work and why it fits the business, supported by the figures in the stem; generic measures that could fit any business score poorly.

Next steps

• Re-read the study guide and use the revision notes for methods.
• Go to the OCR A Level Business hub or the printable checklist.
• Try the free diagnostics.
• Book a free trial class.

Official syllabus

These questions follow the OCR A Level in Business (H431) specification, Version 2.1 (January 2026), published by OCR, content heading Contingency planning and crisis management within Business objectives and strategy.