OxfordAQA A-Level Business: Implementing a strategy (9725) – 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.

Section 3.4.5 Implementing a strategy is the focus of this set. It is written to the OxfordAQA International AS and A-level Business (9725) specification, Version 1.1, for International AS exams May/June 2027 onwards and International A-level exams May/June 2028 onwards. Unit 4: Business strategy tests this International A-level only content. If you are sitting the older 9625 specification, practise from that specification instead. Every business in these questions is invented.

The study guide works through every technique, while the revision notes give the network rules in steps. Also useful: other 9725 Business topics, a 9725 Business tick-list and quick diagnostics.

Questions

1. Other than leadership, state two factors that affect the successful implementation of a strategy. [2]

2. Explain what is meant by total float in network analysis. [2]

3. Halsetown Theatre is staging a new play. Times are in days.

Activity	Duration	Depends on	Nodes
A Cast the play	2	–	1 → 2
B Read-through and blocking	5	A	2 → 3
C Design the set	3	A	2 → 4
D Build the set	4	C	4 → 5
E Rehearse with lighting and music	6	B	3 → 6
F Paint and fit the set	2	D	5 → 6
G Preview performances	3	E, F	6 → 7

Calculate the Earliest Start Time and Latest Finish Time at each node, and identify the critical path and minimum project duration. [4]

4. Using your answer to question 3, calculate the total float on activity D and explain what it means for Halsetown’s production manager. [3]

5. Kittermoor Ciders is launching a new cider. Times are in days. Activities: A Order apples (3, nodes 1 → 2); B Clean tanks (4, nodes 1 → 3); C Press apples (2, nodes 2 → 4); D Prepare bottling line (5, nodes 3 → 5); E Blend and filter (3, nodes 4 → 5); F Bottle first batch (2, nodes 5 → 6).

Node	EST	LFT
1	0	0
2	3	?
3	4	4
4	?	6
5	9	9
6	?	?

(a) Complete the four missing values. [4] (b) The apple press breaks, so activity C takes 4 days instead of 2. State the effect on the project duration and the new critical path. [2]

6. Brisworth Dental is opening a second clinic as part of its growth strategy. Explain one benefit to Brisworth of using project management for the opening. [3]

7. Vannick Software’s objective is to double subscription revenue from schools in three years. Its sales team is paid commission only on one-off licence sales. Explain why the links between objectives, strategy and functional decisions are important for Vannick. [4]

8. Sallowfield Cameras spent fifteen years improving its compact digital cameras while most buyers began taking photos on their phones. Explain two possible reasons for this strategic drift. [4]

9. Trevanna Coffee, a chain of cafés, plans to expand overseas through franchising. Analyse how leadership and communication could affect the success of this strategy. [6]

10. Morrowfield Hotels operates in a market where booking habits and technology change quickly. Analyse the value of strategic planning to Morrowfield. [6]

11. Carnbray Foods has won a trial contract to supply a supermarket with a new ready-meal range. The supermarket wants the first delivery within 12 weeks and may offer a three-year contract if the trial succeeds. Times are in weeks.

Activity	Duration	Depends on
A Agree recipes	2	–
B Order packaging	3	A
C Test kitchen trials	4	A
D Install new production line	5	A
E Train line staff	2	D
F Pilot production	3	C, E
G Deliver first order	1	B, F

Further information: a contractor can install the line in 4 weeks for an extra £18,000. Carnbray’s last two launches both overran. The production director has just resigned; the operations manager will run the launch alongside her current job.

(a) Calculate the minimum project duration and identify the critical path. [2] (b) Evaluate whether network analysis will allow Carnbray to implement this strategy successfully. [12]

Answers

1. Any two from: resources [1]; quality of planning and monitoring; communication; external factors [1]. [2] Examiner insight: “State” needs only the factor named; leadership is excluded by the question, so naming it earns nothing.

2. Total float is the length of time an activity can be delayed [1] without delaying the completion of the whole project [1]. [2] Examiner insight: Include “the whole project”; without it the definition is incomplete.

3. Forward pass: node 2 = 2, node 3 = 7, node 4 = 5, node 5 = 9 [1]; node 6 = highest of 7 + 6 = 13 and 9 + 2 = 11, so 13; node 7 = 16 [1]. Backward pass: node 7 = 16, node 6 = 13, node 5 = 11, node 4 = 7, node 3 = 7, node 2 = lowest of 7 − 5 = 2 and 7 − 3 = 4, so 2, node 1 = 0 [1]. Critical path A → B → E → G, minimum duration 16 days [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Check that 2 + 5 + 6 + 3 = 16; if the critical path durations do not add to the project length, an earlier node value is wrong.

4. Total float = LFT at node 5 − duration − EST at node 4 [1] = 11 − 4 − 5 = 2 days [1]. Building the set can start up to 2 days late or overrun by 2 days without delaying the previews, so the manager could move set builders to help elsewhere for up to 2 days [1]. [3] Examiner insight: Use the LFT of D’s end node, not its start node; using node 4’s LFT gives a wrong float.

5. (a) Node 2 LFT = 6 − 2 = 4 [1]. Node 4 EST = 3 + 2 = 5 [1]. Node 6 EST = 9 + 2 = 11 [1]. Node 6 LFT = 11 [1]. (b) C has 1 day of float, so 2 extra days delay the project by 1 day, to 12 days [1]. The new critical path is A → C → E → F (3 + 4 + 3 + 2 = 12) [1]. [6] Examiner insight: State the float before the effect; it shows why the project slips by 1 day, not 2.

6. Project management gives the opening a named manager with a timetable and budget [1]. Tasks such as fitting out treatment rooms then have clear owners and deadlines [1], so Brisworth can spot delays early and open on the date promised to patients, protecting revenue and reputation [1]. [3] Examiner insight: One benefit developed into its effect on Brisworth’s opening date scores better than two benefits stated briefly.

7. The strategy only works if functional decisions support it [1]. Vannick’s commission scheme rewards one-off licences, so sales staff are paid to push what the strategy is moving away from [1]. Linking HR decisions to the objective, for example by paying commission on new subscriptions, would make the sales effort pull towards doubling subscription revenue [1]. Linked targets also let managers measure whether each function is contributing, so problems are spotted early [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Use the commission scheme in the case; a general list of reasons for alignment stays at knowledge level.

8. Past success: compact cameras had been profitable for years [1], so managers assumed improving them would keep working and saw no need to change [1]. Poor environmental scanning: the firm may not have tracked how quickly phone cameras improved [1], so it reacted only after sales had fallen too far to recover [1]. [4] Examiner insight: Each reason needs a linked consequence for Sallowfield; two bare reasons with no development earn limited credit.

9. Leadership: Trevanna’s directors must choose franchisees carefully and keep standards consistent abroad [1]. Clear brand rules and regular visits would protect quality, so the brand’s reputation grows in each new country [1]. Rushing to sign franchisees to hit expansion targets could create poor outlets that damage the brand at home too [1]. Communication: franchisees need clear manuals, training and regular contact [1]. In a country with a different language, misunderstandings about recipes or service could cut quality and sales [1]. Two-way communication also tells Trevanna what local customers want, so it can adapt the menu [1]. [6] Examiner insight: Tie every point to franchising in another country; definitions of leadership or communication add little.

10. Strategic planning makes Morrowfield analyse its market and strengths before committing large sums, such as hotel refurbishments [1], reducing the chance of investing in the wrong thing [1]. It gives every hotel a shared direction and targets, such as occupancy, to monitor progress against [1]. However, booking habits change quickly, so a detailed five-year plan may date within a year [1]. If managers stick rigidly to it, Morrowfield risks strategic drift [1]. Planning is most valuable if Morrowfield sets a clear direction but reviews the plan often [1]. [6] Examiner insight: Weighing the value against the fast-changing market is what lifts this answer beyond description.

11. (a) Paths: A–D–E–F–G = 2 + 5 + 2 + 3 + 1 = 13; A–C–F–G = 10; A–B–G = 6. Minimum duration 13 weeks; critical path A → D → E → F → G [1]. This is 1 week longer than the 12-week deadline [1]. (b) Network analysis shows Carnbray, before it commits, that the current plan misses the deadline by 1 week [1]. It also shows where to act: installing the line (D) is critical, so paying the contractor £18,000 to cut D to 4 weeks reduces the project to 12 weeks [1]. B has 7 weeks of float and C has 3 weeks, so staff from those activities could help with training or pilot runs [1]. Once the launch starts, the network becomes a monitoring tool, showing each week whether critical activities are on time [1].

However, even with the contractor, A–D–E–F–G has zero float, so any overrun on it misses the deadline [1]. Carnbray’s last two launches overran, suggesting unreliable time estimates [1], and the network is only as good as its estimates [1]. It also ignores quality: rushed pilot production could fail the supermarket’s standards and lose the three-year contract [1].

Other implementation factors are weak. The operations manager is running the launch alongside her existing job, so leadership and monitoring may suffer [1], and communication with the supermarket and line staff depends on her limited time [1].

Judgement: network analysis is necessary but not sufficient. It shows that 12 weeks is possible only with the contractor and with no margin [1]. Given the overruns and the leadership gap, Carnbray should negotiate a 14-week deadline or appoint a dedicated launch manager first; the £18,000 is worth spending only if the long-term contract is likely [1]. [14] Examiner insight: Use the calculated 13 weeks and the zero-float result as evidence in the evaluation, then reach a judgement that depends on the case facts.

Where marks are usually lost

• Taking the lower value when two arrows enter a node on the forward pass.
• Taking the higher value when two arrows leave a node on the backward pass.
• Calculating float as LFT − EST and leaving out the duration.
• Naming a critical path without stating the project duration.
• Assuming any delay extends the project, instead of comparing it with the float.
• Defining strategic drift without explaining why the business failed to adapt.
• Ending an evaluation with no clear judgement about what the business should do.

Next steps

• Recap the rules with the implementing a strategy revision notes
• Rework the examples in the implementing a strategy study guide
• Find gaps quickly: all free 10-minute diagnostics
• Move on to another topic from the 9725 Business topic list
• Tick off 3.4.5 on the 9725 Business progress checklist
• Book a free trial class

Official syllabus

OxfordAQA International AS and A-level Business (9725) specification, Version 1.1, for International AS exams May/June 2027 onwards and International A-level exams May/June 2028 onwards. Published by OxfordAQA.