OxfordAQA IGCSE Business: Business operations (9225) – 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 practice set is aligned to the OxfordAQA International GCSE Business (9225) specification, version 3.1, for exams from May/June 2022 onwards. It covers section 3.3 Business operations: production processes, the role of procurement, the concept of quality and good customer services. Every business and figure here is invented. Start by learning the content from the study guide and the revision notes. The course hub and printable checklist list the rest of the course, and the free diagnostics help you find weak spots.

Questions

1. Define the term batch production. [2]

2. Identify the most suitable production method (job, batch, flow or cell) for each business. [3]

• A tailor who makes a suit to one customer’s measurements.
• A factory making 50,000 identical plastic cups every day on a continuous line.
• A bakery that makes 300 sausage rolls, then 300 cheese pasties, then 300 pies, each using the same ovens.

3. Explain two ways in which Kaizen could make a bicycle factory more efficient. [4]

4. Ormskirk Print Works buys 12,000 reams of paper a year. At present it takes 4 deliveries a year at 3.10 a ream and keeps 500 reams as buffer stock. Holding costs are 10% of the value of stock held each year. A supplier offers a just in time (JIT) service: 24 deliveries a year at 3.25 a ream. Every delivery, now and under JIT, costs 30.

(a) Calculate the yearly cost of holding the buffer stock. [2] (b) Calculate the net extra yearly cost of switching to JIT, assuming no buffer stock is held under JIT. [3] (c) Evaluate whether Ormskirk Print Works should switch to JIT. [4]

5. Sundridge Fabrics can buy cloth from two suppliers. Supplier A charges 8.00 a metre and 4% of the cloth is unusable. Supplier B charges 8.30 a metre and 1% is unusable. Unusable cloth is paid for but thrown away.

(a) Calculate the cost per usable metre from each supplier, to two decimal places. [3] (b) Explain why reliability of delivery is important to Sundridge Fabrics if it uses JIT. [2]

6. State three ways in which a business could identify quality problems. [3]

7. Pendragon Cycles sells 5,000 helmets a year. At present 4% are faulty and each faulty helmet costs 18 to replace and handle. A total quality management (TQM) programme costing 2,000 a year is expected to cut faults to 1%.

(a) Calculate the yearly cost of faulty helmets before and after the programme. [3] (b) Calculate the net financial gain from the programme. [2] (c) Explain one benefit of TQM that the figures above do not show. [2]

8. Explain two quality issues that may arise for a business that grows by using outsourcing or franchising. [4]

9. Explain two methods of good customer service that a shop selling laptops could use. [4]

10. Analyse why cell production might suit Ormskirk Print Works, which prints brochures in many designs for business customers. [4]

11. Savernake Joinery sells fitted kitchens and has 500 regular customers. It is considering a help line costing 9,000 a year. It expects that without one it would lose 6% of its regular customers, each worth 400 a year in sales contribution.

(a) Calculate the value of the customers the help line would keep, and the net gain or loss from the help line. [3] (b) Justify whether Savernake Joinery should introduce the help line. [6]

12. Trelawney Tea Rooms has opened a second site. It now takes orders on its website and answers questions on social media. Analyse one benefit and one risk to the business of using these tools for customer service. [4]

Answers

1. Production of a group (batch) of identical items [1], after which the same equipment is used for the next group or product [1]. [2] Examiner insight: A good definition shows what sets batch apart from the other methods. “Making products in batches” repeats the term and adds little.

2. Tailor: job [1]. Plastic cups on a continuous line: flow [1]. Bakery moving between recipes in groups: batch [1]. [3] Examiner insight: With “identify” questions, one clear label per case is enough. Naming two methods for the same case risks losing the mark if one is wrong.

3. First way: workers suggest small changes, such as a better tool layout, that cut time spent walking or searching [1], so each bicycle needs less labour time and unit cost falls [1]. Second way: staff spot causes of repeated faults and fix them [1], so there is less waste and rework, saving materials and time [1]. [4] Examiner insight: For each way, give the method and what it changes for the factory. A bare statement such as “it improves efficiency” repeats the question and is unlikely to earn credit.

4. (a) 500 x 3.10 = 1,550 value of stock [1]; 10% of 1,550 = 155 a year [1]. [2] (b) Extra deliveries: (24 - 4) x 30 = 600 [1]. Higher price: 12,000 x (3.25 - 3.10) = 1,800 [1]. Net extra = 600 + 1,800 - 155 = 2,245 a year [1]. [3] (c) For: JIT removes the 155 holding cost, frees storage space and cash, and reduces the risk of paper being damaged [1]. Against: frequent deliveries and the loss of the lower bulk price add 2,400 of cost, giving a net extra cost of 2,245 [1]. Production could also stop if a delivery arrived late [1]. Judgement: on these figures Ormskirk should not switch, unless it can negotiate the price or has other savings above 2,245 a year, such as renting less storage [1]. [4] Examiner insight: An evaluation should draw on the numbers in the stem and finish with a decision, stating what that decision depends on. Listing general pros and cons of JIT without the figures leaves the judgement unsupported.

5. (a) A: 8.00 / 0.96 [1] = 8.33 per usable metre [1]. B: 8.30 / 0.99 = 8.38 [1]. [3] (b) JIT means little or no spare stock is held [1], so a late delivery could stop production because there is nothing to use while waiting [1]. [2] Examiner insight: Show the division or the method as well as the answer. On a comparison, say which supplier is cheaper per usable metre and keep the unit in the answer.

6. Any three from: inspecting products [1]; customer complaints [1]; returns and refunds [1]; customer reviews or surveys; staff reports of faults (maximum three marks). [3] Examiner insight: Three different methods are needed. Two versions of the same idea, such as “complaints” and “customers complaining”, would be counted as one.

7. (a) Before: 5,000 x 0.04 = 200 faulty; 200 x 18 = 3,600 [1]. After: 5,000 x 0.01 = 50 faulty [1]; 50 x 18 = 900 [1]. [3] (b) Saving = 3,600 - 900 = 2,700 [1]. Net gain = 2,700 - 2,000 = 700 a year [1]. [2] (c) Customers are more loyal and the reputation of the brand improves, because fewer helmets fail [1], which may increase repeat sales or let the business charge higher prices [1]. Other acceptable benefits: staff feel more involved, or less waste of materials and time. [2] Examiner insight: Part (c) asks for something not in the figures, so repeating the cost saving does not answer it. Link the benefit to a business result such as sales.

8. Outsourcing: the business has less direct control over how the other firm works [1], so standards could slip, but customers will still blame the business [1]. Franchising: independent owners run outlets under the brand [1], so one outlet with poor service or products could damage the reputation of every outlet [1]. Other accepted issues: new staff need training, or managers have less contact with daily work as the business grows. [4] Examiner insight: Each issue needs its consequence. Saying “quality may fall” twice is a single point.

9. Product knowledge: staff who understand processors, memory and battery life [1] can match a laptop to the customer’s needs, so fewer are returned and the customer is satisfied [1]. Post-sales service: a help line or user training for setting up a new laptop [1] gives confidence after purchase and encourages repeat custom [1]. Other acceptable methods: customer engagement such as a friendly greeting and listening to the customer. [4] Examiner insight: “Explain” needs a method and a reason it helps. Use the laptop context rather than listing generic service ideas.

10. Cell production splits the factory into small teams, each handling a whole job [1]. Each brochure design can be handled by one team from start to finish [1], so the print works can switch between many designs more easily than on a continuous line [1], and the team feels responsible for the quality of what it produces, helping to keep customers satisfied [1]. [4] Examiner insight: “Analyse” asks for a linked chain running from the method to the business setting: define it, apply it to brochures, then give the effect.

11. (a) Customers lost without the help line: 500 x 0.06 = 30 [1]. Value kept: 30 x 400 = 12,000 [1]. Net gain = 12,000 - 9,000 = 3,000 [1]. [3] (b) For: the net gain is 3,000 a year on these figures [1]; good post-sales service also builds loyalty and reputation, which may bring new customers [1]. Against: the 6% loss is an estimate, and if fewer than 23 customers would really leave, the help line would cost more than it keeps [1]; staff must be trained and the line staffed well, or poor service could cause dissatisfaction [1]. Other options such as better product knowledge might protect customers at lower cost [1]. Judgement: introduce it, because the expected gain is positive and the downside is limited, but review the number of customers actually kept after a year [1]. [6] Examiner insight: A “justify” answer should weigh both sides using the figures and then commit to a decision with a reason. Noting that the 6% is an estimate shows awareness of the limits of the data.

12. Benefit: the website lets customers order at any hour without queueing [1], which may raise sales and make the experience easier [1]. Risk: a poor or slow reply on social media is public and visible to many people [1], which may damage the reputation of the tea rooms [1]. Other acceptable points: social media gives quick feedback; online orders need reliable delivery. [4] Examiner insight: Pick one benefit and one risk as asked and develop each. Extra points beyond what is asked usually earn nothing more.

Where marks are usually lost

• Defining a term by repeating it, for example “batch production is production in batches”.
• Naming a production method without linking it to the business in the stem.
• Giving only the benefits of JIT, or only the costs, when the question asks you to evaluate.
• Forgetting to subtract the buffer stock holding cost when finding the net extra cost of JIT.
• Comparing suppliers on price per unit instead of price per usable unit.
• Writing “quality will improve” without saying what that means for sales, costs or reputation.
• Giving two customer service methods that are really the same idea.
• Ending a “justify” or “evaluate” answer without a decision.
• Leaving out units or workings on calculations.

Frequently asked questions

How do you evaluate JIT in an exam answer? Weigh both the benefits and the costs of JIT for the business in the question, using any figures given, and then reach a decision. Giving only benefits or only costs will not reach the evaluation marks.

Are stock control charts examined in OxfordAQA IGCSE Business? No. The OxfordAQA International GCSE Business (9225) specification says students will not be asked to draw or interpret stock control charts.

Which part of the 9225 specification do these questions cover? They cover section 3.3 Business operations of OxfordAQA International GCSE Business (9225): production processes, procurement, quality and customer service.

Next steps

• Revise with the revision notes and re-read the study guide.
• Browse the OxfordAQA IGCSE Business hub and tick off topics on the printable checklist.
• Try all the free 10-minute diagnostics at /diagnostics/.
• Book a free trial class at /trial/.

Official syllabus

OxfordAQA International GCSE Business (9225) specification, version 3.1, OxfordAQA, for International GCSE exams May/June 2022 onwards. Section 3.3 Business operations (3.3.1 to 3.3.4).