web gcse coursework - trinity.redbridge.sch.uk studies/microsoft... · gcse business studies...

GCSE BUSINESS STUDIES COURSEWORK

CONTENTS PAGE

1. Title and Aims of the assignment. Pages ( )

2. Methodology. Pages ( )

3. Background research. Pages ( )

4. Survey / Questionnaires. Pages ( )

5. SWOT Analysis Pages ( )

6. Business Plan for my chosen business. Pages ( )

7. Marketing Plan. Pages ( )

8. Financial Plan. Pages ( )

9. Human Resources Plan. Pages ( )

10. External Factors / Influences. Pages ( )

11. Stakeholders

12. Information and Communication Technology. Pages ( )

13. Medium and Long Term Plans. Pages ( )

14. Bibliography Pages ( )

Important advice for students: Do not open a separate file every time you

do a new piece of work in a lesson. Instead keep everything in ONE single

file. This will make life so much easier for your self in the coming weeks

and months.

GCSE BUSINESS STUDIES COURSEWORK GUIDE

(worth 25% of your final grade)

You will need to buy a memory stick so that you can save the work that you

do in the lesson each week. This will also enable you to continue with your

work at home each week. It will also allow you to take full responsibility

for your coursework and to get as high a grade as possible. Good luck and

take pride in your work.

Section 1: Write out the title of the assignment / investigation.

Is there a gap in South Woodford for a new business enterprise?

You must now state clearly the aims of your investigation? What are you

trying to find out? These must be expressed in your own words.

The aims of my investigation are

• To research South Woodford as a business community.

• To carry out detailed market research into what type of businesses

currently exist in South Woodford.

• To carry out detailed market research amongst the general public in South

Woodford into their needs and wants.

• To determine whether there is a possible gap in South Woodford for a

new business enterprise.

• To identify a new business enterprise that will satisfy the needs of

potential customers and also generate a profit.

• To write a detailed business plan for the new business enterprise that I

have identified.

Section 2: Methodology.

This section needs to be carefully explained work and will need to include

the following:

2.1 Explain to the examiner the reasons why you are going to carry out Market

Research in South Woodford?

Explain to the examiner the difference between primary (field) research and

secondary (desk) research. Be sure to give precise definitions. Refer carefully

to pages 108 and 109 from your textbook.

The major source of primary research that you will be using is surveying

members of the public by asking them to complete your market research

questionnaires.

The major sources of secondary research that you will use are likely to include

the internet (finding relevant information about South Woodford as a business

area and finding out information about businesses who are located there), using

the business pages to identify your nearest competitors, using local

newspapers to find out about property prices.

2.2 What secondary research are you going to use and why?

For example, maps of South Woodford, actual photos that you have taken of

South Woodford during your visit, local newspaper articles on businesses

situated in South Woodford, any relevant internet based material, the yellow

pages and the business pages to find out the names and locations of your

competitors, Redbridge Council census information.

Your local library or the internet will be very valuable sources of information

for secondary data.

2.3 What primary research are you going to use and why? For example, the

preparation of customer and shop owner questionnaires, carrying out customer

and shop owner interviews during your research trip to South Woodford.

2.4 Explain clearly what you did in your lessons prior to your research trip to

South Woodford and why?

You will need to bring a disposable or digital camera with you when we

visit South Woodford to carry out market research. Photos of South

Woodford as a business environment will get you marks for research.

You will of course need to ask for permission to take photos in any of the

shops.

Section 3: Background Research. This section is very important and needs

to contain very good quality background research.

3.1 You will need to identify all the main types of businesses that currently

exist in South Woodford.

Remember it is very important that these are categorised into the main

different types of businesses. You should be able to obtain this information

from the internet (secondary research) but you may have to look carefully for it.

For example

Supermarkets Estate Agents Health and Beauty Charity Shops etc

Sainsburys

Marks and Spencers

Waitrose

3.2 You will need to show the examiner clearly where South Woodford is

located in relation to the South East of England and East London.

Remember, the examiner who perhaps lives in Liverpool or Newcastle will

probably have no idea where South Woodford is located.

Use relevant maps from the internet or any other source to help you do this.

3.3 Explain to the examiner what amenities / facilities are located in

South Woodford?

Is there a good range of supermarkets, restaurants (fast food and more upmarket

restaurants), pubs, cinemas, health gyms, library, beauty salons and other

entertainment facilities in South Woodford? Explain to the examiner why

these amenities are important to people who live in or near to South

Woodford.

Do these amenities cater for all different age groups, for example older people,

middle aged people, people in their 20’s and 30’s, teenagers, young children

and their parents ?

This may help you in trying to identify possible gaps in the market for a

business in South Woodford.

3.4 You will need to fully explain to the examiner what the transport facilities

to South Woodford are like.

What are they (names of motorways, major roads, north circular, buses, the tube

– central line)? Are they good or poor? You should collect and include bus

maps, tube maps etc. What are the names of the main dual carriageways and

motorways surrounding South Woodford?

You must explain to the examiner why good transport access to South

Woodford is likely to be important for potential customers and suppliers?

Sainsbury’s probably receives at least 5 large deliveries each day from its

suppliers.

3.5 What are the Parking facilities like in South Woodford?

Are there adequate parking facilities in South Woodford and along George

Lane? Is it possible for customers to use the parking available in the

supermarkets for a limited time period (maybe up to three hours)?

Where in South Woodford can potential customers park?

You must fully explain to the examiner why good parking facilities are

important for businesses located in South Woodford - think about both their

customers and their suppliers.

3.6 You will need to describe the general affluence (wealth and prosperity) of

the people who live and work in South Woodford.

What type of people live mainly in South Woodford - for example, what socio

economic grouping best describes the area?

South Woodford is probably best described as a white middle class community

– of course this does not mean that people of other ethnic backgrounds do not

live there. However, people in South Woodford need to have well paid jobs to

be able to afford to buy property in the area.

3.7 You will need to compare general property prices in South Woodford

with another nearby area. This other area should be either Ilford,

Walthamstow, Leyton or Leytonstone – it’s up to you to choose.

The easiest and most effective way to do this is to use the property

supplements that are usually included free with local newspapers – ask your

parents to show you one of these. They will also be available in your local

estate agents. You could also use estate agents websites (Churchill’s Estate

Agents, Haart Estate Agents etc) to get this information – however you may

find this actually takes longer to do.

You will need to compare the prices of one or two bed roomed flats in South

Woodford with one or two bed roomed flats in Walthamstow or three bed

roomed semi-detached houses in South Woodford with three bed roomed

semi-detached houses in Ilford.

You will need to cut out the details of the relevant house prices for the two

areas – I would suggest at least 10 pictures and prices for both areas so that

you can clearly identify which area is more expensive in terms of property.

The important thing to remember is that it would NOT be sensible or

reasonable to compare the property prices of two bed roomed flats in South

Woodford with three bed roomed semi-detached houses in Leyton. You always

have to ensure that you are comparing like with like in order to reach any

reliable conclusions.

What conclusion(s) are you able to reach about property prices in the two

areas that you have chosen? Is property generally more expensive in South

Woodford? If so, explain to the examiner why this may be the case as well as

the possible consequences.

3.8 Are there good schools located within a short distance of South Woodford?

What are the names of the different schools – both primary and secondary,

comprehensive and private schools?

Why are good schools so important to an area? Remember, good schools may

help to push up the prices of houses in South Woodford.

Section 4: Survey / Questionnaires. This is a very important section and

there will be a lot of marks awarded for it.

4.1 Target Customer Questionnaire - primary research

How many target customers (the sample size) are you going to question?

Explain to the examiner why you are carrying out primary research on potential

customers and why it is important to have an adequate sample size?

Examiners would expect to see about 20 fully completed questionnaires.

4.2 Target Customer Questionnaire results

Your results from your questionnaires must be arranged into appropriate

charts and graphs.

There are a lot of marks for this section. You must explain exactly what

the results and graphs show you.

In other words, what is the significance of the data and what conclusions can

you draw from your results?

You do not need to do a chart / graph for every question - it is important that

you select those questions that have the most significance for your

assignment.

4.3 Shopkeeper / Shop owners Questionnaire - primary research

How many shopkeepers are you going to question (the sample size)?

Explain to the examiner why you are carrying out primary research on existing

shopkeepers and why it is important to have an adequate sample size?

Examiners would expect to see about 10 fully completed questionnaires.

4.4 Shopkeeper Questionnaire results

Again, your results must be arranged into appropriate charts and graphs.

You must explain clearly what the results and graphs show you. What is the

significance of the data and what conclusions can you draw from the

results?

4.5 Constraints on my primary research trip to South Woodford

These could be expressed in terms of the day and time you carried out the

research, the relatively short length of time you had to carry out your research,

the weather conditions on the day, the customers and shop keepers attitudes

towards you as young people carrying out market research, some shops /

businesses might not have been open etc.

How could you have organised yourself better prior to the trip? If you had

more time to carry out your research, would you have been able to get more

reliable data?

Section 5: SWOT Analysis

In this section, you will need to carry out a SWOT analysis for any business

that currently exists in South Woodford.

For example: A SWOT analysis for SAINSBURYS is shown below. You can

only refer to this as a guide – it’s your teachers work after all!

Strengths

• Has a reputation for selling good quality and good value products

• Provides employment for people in the local area - including students

• It is a profitable business which is good news for its shareholders

• It has a hardworking and motivated workforce.

Weaknesses

• It adds to the traffic congestion in the area

• There is no room for further expansion in its current South Woodford

location

• It may mean that smaller independent local shops are forced out of

business

Opportunities

• It could provide a delivery service to customers – possibly for free or for

a low fee

• It could try to sell more of its products online by developing further its

website

• It could sponsor local community groups in order to generate good

publicity

• It could look to expand into countries outside of the UK – for example

Eastern Europe

Threats

• It faces a lot of competition in the area from Waitrose, Marks and

Spencers and Tesco

• A decline in the economy could mean that consumers cut back on their

spending – especially on luxury food items.

You might wish to do a SWOT analysis for Marks and Spencers, Waitrose,

Woolworths, Churchill’s Estate Agents, Barclays Bank, Pizza Express or any

other business in South Woodford that you think you know quite well.

Choose very carefully as some businesses will be more difficult to do than

others.

Section 6: Business Plan

You now need to decide upon the type of business you are going to plan to

establish in South Woodford.

If you decided to leave school at the end of your GCSE’s and wanted to set

up and run your own SMALL BUSINESS, what would it be? By carefully

making this decision, the work you do over the coming weeks and months

will be a lot more rewarding as you will be working on something that you

are genuinely interested in.

This is a very important decision as you will be writing a detailed business

plan for this business over the next few months. Explain to the examiner how

you reached your decision and your reasons for your choice.

Very good businesses to consider would include a FAST FOOD

RESTAURANT, A CAFE, A SANDWICH SHOP, A BEAUTY SALON, A

SMOOTHIE BAR, A BARBER SHOP, A HAIRDRESSERS.

Avoid being too ambitious in the type of business you plan to set up -unless

you are really prepared to do a lot of detailed research on your own,

outside of your lessons.

You will NOT be able to afford to set up a large business as you will be

lacking in finance (you might not have any savings at all). Banks will regard

you as very high risk and (may not agree to lend you much, if any, money) as

you will be completely lacking in practical experience of running a real

business.

6.1 You are now ready to write a Business Plan for your chosen business.

Explain to the examiner the reasons for and benefits of writing a business plan

for your small business? Refer to Pages 4 and 5 of your textbook.

6.2 Provide the examiner with a full description of your business. What

service(s) will you be providing or what product(s) will you be selling to your

customers?

6.3 Explain to the examiner what will be the unique selling point for your

business? How will you differentiate (means distinguish) your business from

your other competitors - in other words why should consumers buy the product

or service from your business?

6.4 What are your short term business objectives?

Is your short-term objective simply to survive or break even in the first year or

do you think you will make a profit from the start? If so, how much profit do

you think it will be - how did you arrive at the figure.

Short term business objectives might include

• To survive the first six months of being in business

• To breakeven within 12 months of setting up the business

• To have a sales turnover of £__________ in Year 1


• To make a profit of £___________ by the end of Year 2

Try to come up with sensible and realistic figures for your business – they

should try to base them on your sales forecasts.

Remember a company only makes a profit if their level of sales is greater than

all of their costs.

6.5 What type of business ownership are you going to set up as and why?

Will you be operating as a Sole trader, as a Partnership or as a Private limited

Company? It’s entirely up to you but you must explain your reasons.

The examiner will want you to explain the advantages and disadvantages for the

type of business ownership that you select. Refer to your textbook for this.

6.6 You must identify for the examiner the names of all your nearest

competitors (within a short radius of South Woodford). The easiest way to get

this information is to look it up in the business pages.

6.7 Who will your suppliers be and what products will they be supplying you

with? Where are they located?

Explain to the examiner what factors you will use when deciding what

suppliers to use?

For example, do your suppliers have to be located near your business? Do they

have to be able to give you trade credit – maybe 2 months? Do they have to be

entirely reliable and be able to make frequent deliveries? Will you use the

cheapest suppliers – will this affect the quality of what you are selling? These

are all important decisions for you to think about.

Section 7: Marketing Plan.

7.1 Explain to the examiner what group(s) of people will be your main target

market and why?

7.2 You now need to identify your Marketing Objectives for your chosen

business.

For example, Marketing Objectives might include

• To promote my business amongst my target market (be as specific as

possible) as strongly as possible during the first year of setting up.

• To spend £2000 of my Marketing budget in Year 1 on advertising my

business to my target market.

• To generate sales of £_________ in my first year.

• To generate sales of £__________ in my second year.

• To generate sales of £__________ in my third year.

• To increase sales by 20% fin each of the next three years.

• To increase the range of products that I sell by 20% within the next year.

• To introduce a loyalty card offering a 10% discount to my customers for

purchases greater than £_____.

7.3 What is the size of your Marketing Budget for your first year of trading –

remember the budget for a small business is not going to be tens of thousands of

pounds?

You will then need to explain to the examiner how you will use this money to

promote and advertise your business.

7.4 Product or Service Refer carefully to pages 118 and 119 of your textbook.

For example, if you were setting up a café, you would need to design an

attractive menu together showing the prices that you would charge for all

items on the menu.

Whatever business you decide to set up, the examiner will need to see a well

designed leaflet / brochure that fully shows ALL the products or services

(with PRICES) that you will be selling.

Will you products that you are selling or the service that you are providing be of

a high quality and a high price? If so, explain why. Perhaps you are targeting

a more economy or budget customer.

7.5 Pricing

What prices will you be charging for your different products or services?

What discounts (if any) might you use and why? When will you use discounts?

What pricing strategy are you going to use – you need to explain your choice

and reasons to the examiner? Are you going to use a

• Price penetration strategy – setting low prices for your products or service

to get customers interested in it and to build up market share.

• Competition pricing strategy – setting your prices based on those charged

by your competitors.

• Cost plus pricing strategy – setting your prices based on the cost of

buying your stock from your suppliers and then adding on a certain

percentage profit.

• Promotional pricing strategy – setting low prices for a short period of

time to encourage customers to buy it.

7.6 Promotion

Explain to the examiner what type of sales promotions you are going to use

within your business – such as special offers, price discounts, money off

coupons, vouchers, customer loyalty cards, prize competitions, free gift

campaigns, in shop displays. You need to provide the examiner with full

details of how you will use these possible sales promotions within your

business.

Explain to the examiner what type of advertising (local radio or newspapers,

specialist magazines, leaflets, posters on billboards etc) you will use to promote

your business.

You should therefore carefully design an advertisement that could be included

in local newspapers / local newsletters giving details of some of your sales

promotions. Think carefully about what the advertisement would need to

include. Remember, it needs to attract the attention of the readers as well as

looking very professional!

You could also design some leaflets / flyers giving details of any special

discounts (perhaps for a limited period of time). These could then be given to

your customers or handed out to members of the public or put in the letterboxes

of local residents.

Other possible ways to promote your business could include using

Public Relations (arranging press releases in local newspapers, sponsoring

local sports teams) and Direct Mail (sending promotional material to carefully

targeted customers).

You could design a Press Release that could be sent to local newspapers

giving details about your new business.

7.7 Place

Will you provide a delivery service (if appropriate) to your customers?

Is it appropriate to consider selling your products by mail order or even over the

internet? What would be the possible benefits of doing so?

8. Financial Plan.

8.1 Where will you obtain the finance needed to set up your business? –

refer to pages 54 and 55 of your textbook for further information.

Example

This is likely to be made up of some combination of the following: Try to

come up with what you think are realistic figures for your business.

Private savings £1000

Money borrowed from family or close friends £1000

Bank overdraft £2000

Bank loan £5000 borrowed at 8% per year

Government grants (if eligible) £500

Total finance available to start up your business £9500

Don’t forget that money borrowed from a bank or building society must be

repaid in full with interest. Remember that when you are setting up a

business, money is likely to be quite limited so you will need to minimise any

unnecessary costs.

8.2 You now have to decide how you are going to use this money to set up

your business.

For example, if you were setting up a small café in South Woodford, you would

have

1. Start up costs

2. Running costs – made up of variable and fixed costs

The start up costs of setting up a small café might include

The cost of all the equipment that you would need. These might include

Estimates

Kitchen equipment £1000

Microwave £100

Fridge / Freezer £300

Food display cabinets £500 (second-hand)

Tables and chairs £700

Plates and cutlery £200

General decoration costs £300

Builders fees for fitting out your shop £1500

Initial stock £500

Total start up costs £____________

Try to come up with what you think are fairly realistic figures for your

chosen business.

8.3 You now have to estimate your running costs – for example, your fixed and

variable costs using your own figures.

Example: Your fixed costs might include

Rent for the premises £600 per month

Business Rates £100 per month

Heating and lighting £100 per month

Your management salary £1200 per month

Total Fixed Costs £2000 per month

Your variable costs might include

Staff costs £800 per month

Stock £600 per month

Gas and electricity £100 per month

Total Variable Costs £1500 per month

Total Running Costs £3500 per month

8.4 Assuming that you expect to have 1500 customers per month, each

spending on average £5, you can now calculate the break even number of

customers for your business.

Ask for help from your teacher on this section if needed. Use the following

formula

Breakeven = Fixed costs per month

____________________________________

Average selling price – Variable cost per unit

Breakeven = £2000

____________________________________ = 500 customers

£5 - £1 per month

In the example shown above, we can see that a profit will only be made if you

have more than 500 customers per month.

8.5 You can now prepare a forecasted Profit and Loss Account for your first

year of trading of your chosen business. You can use the example shown as a

guide but you must come with your own forecasted figures.

Forecasted Profit and Loss Account for Year One

Sales Revenue £150,000 (100 customers per day X £5 X300 days)

Less cost of sales £90,000 (100 customers per day X £3 X 300 days)

Gross Profit £60,000

Less Salaries £14,400 (£1200 X 12 months)

Less Rent £8,400 (£700 X 12 months)

Less other expenses £7,200

Net Profit £30,000

Less Taxation £6,000 (at 20%)

Profit after tax £24,000

Profit taken out £10,000

Retained Profit £14,000 Profit reinvested back into the business

In the above example, you would explain to the examiner that the profit and loss

shows that the business is forecasted to make a profit of £24,000 (after paying

tax on your profits). The profit that the business makes could be higher or

lower depending on the real sales and real costs (remember these figures are

only forecasts).

You would now be able to use the forecasted profit and loss account as a target

to aim for and as a way of trying to convince a bank to lend you money when

trying to raise the finance needed to start your business.

8.6 You are now ready to prepare a Cash Flow Forecast for your business – see

pages 64 and 65 from your textbook.

A cash flow forecast shows the cash coming in and out of a business on a month

by month basis. You should complete it for a full 12 month period.

You need to tell the examiner that you understand that a profitable business can

still fail if it runs out of cash. Remember you will need cash on a month by

month basis in order to pay your workers their wages and to buy in more stock

from your suppliers.

An example of a cash flow forecast is shown below. Use a spreadsheet and

then cut and paste.

You will have to prepare your own cash flow forecast for your business and

provide an interpretation of the figures.

Cash Flow Forecast Jan Feb Marc April May June July Aug Opening bank balance 10,000 7500 5300 3100 1100 -900 -2100 -1800 Cash Sales 700 1000 1000 1200 1200 2000 3500 6000 Total Cash In (A) 700 1000 1000 1200 1200 2000 3500 6000 Salaries 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 Wages 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 Rent 700 700 700 700 700 700 700 700 Insurance 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Gas and Electricity 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Bank interest 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Stock 700 700 700 700 700 700 700 700 Total Cash Out (B) 3,200 3,200 3,200 3,200 3,200 3,200 3,200 3,200 Net Cash Flow (A-B) -2500 -2,200 -2200 -2000 -2000 -1200 300 2800 Closing Bank Balance 7,500 5,300 3,100 1,100 -900 -2,100 -1,800 1,000

Interpretation:

From looking at the last row of the cash flow forecast, you can see the business

has a positive cash position from January to April. However from the

months May to July, the firm’s cash position is negative – this means that the

firm will be short of cash during these months and therefore will have to

arrange a bank overdraft with their bank. However in this illustrated

example, by the end of August, the firm’s cash position has turned positive –

this is because the cash sales have increased significantly during August.

It is essential that you provide the examiner with an interpretation of the

Cash Flow Forecast for your business.

Section 9: Human Resources Plan.

It is very likely that at some stage in your business, you will need to recruit

staff to assist with the running of your business.

9.1 You should explain fully to the examiner, the different stages that you

would use when recruiting a new employee. These are likely to include

Identify the vacancy / position to be filled in the business.

Prepare a job description

Shortlist potential candidates

Interview suitable candidates – make selection

Issue contracts of employment to employee.

Arrange induction training for the new employee.

9.2 Explain to the examiner what personal characteristics and qualifications

(if any) you would be looking for in potential employees?

Explain to the examiner, what type of induction training as well as other

ongoing training you will provide to your employees and the reasons for

doing so.

9.3 You could prepare a Job Description for a job vacancy within your

business – this could be for a junior employee position or for a more senior

position such as an assistant manager. It’s up to you to decide.

9.4 How will you go about motivating your staff – using both financial and

non-financial incentives? What wages/salaries will you pay your staff? How

have you decided on these wage/salary levels? Will you provide any other

fringe benefits to your employees – if so, explain them to the examiner?

The examiners will be very impressed if you can show how you would use any

form of motivational theory (perhaps Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs,

Herzberg’s motivators, or McGregor’s Theory X or Y) to motivate your

staff.

You would need to look these up on any Business Studies revision site on the

internet.

9.5 As an employer, explain to the examiner, what employment legislation you

will need to follow and why.

Section 10: External Factors / Influences

These are likely to include some or all of the following

10.1 Competitors: You need to explain to the examiner why it is important

that you monitor carefully the actions and business decisions of your

competitors. They might have lower prices, better products or services, better

after sales service.

Who are your major competitors – remind the examiner of their names? Do

these businesses have their own websites?

You should explain to the examiner that you intend to visit / research your

competitors regularly in order to check the prices and quality of the products or

services that they are providing to their customers.

Based on what you see, you may then need to make changes to the way you run

your own business.

10.2 Interest Rates: You should explain to the examiner the consequences to

your business of any changes in interest rates.

Tell the examiner that you are aware that interest rates are set by the Bank of

England and these can go up or down over a period of time.

Tell the examiner what the current rate of interest is – at this moment in time,

interest rates are 5%. Ask your teacher, if you can’t find out yourself by

looking it up on the internet.

The Bank of England may decide to increase interest rates if they believe the

economy is growing too fast or if they want to encourage consumers to spend

less (especially on their credit cards) and avoid inflation.

Don’t forget that you will have borrowed money (probably from a bank) to set

up your business. If interest rates go up, this means that the amount of money

you have to pay back each month to the bank in interest will also have increased

Consequently, this will reduce the profits that you are likely to make and will

put a strain on your businesses cash flow.

You also need to explain to the examiner that an increase in interest rates will

also have an impact on your potential customers. When interest rates increase,

this means that consumers will have less disposable income to go out and

spend on goods and services. If your business is selling mostly luxury products

(things that consumers can often do without) your business is likely to be hit

hard by rising interest rates.

Don’t forget to also tell the examiner that the impact of rising interest rates will

depend upon on quickly and by how much the interest rate goes up by. If they

go up slowly and from a low level, the impact on most businesses may be quite

limited.

Finally, don’t forget to tell the examiner that you are aware that interest rates

can also be reduced by the Bank of England. This can occur when the Bank of

England wants to boost the economy and encourage consumers to go out and

spend their money on firms’ goods and services. This might occur if the

economy is starting to recover from a recession.

10.3 The State of the Economy: Explain to the examiner that the state of the

economy (especially in London and the South East) will have an impact on

the success of your business.

If the economy is growing and experiencing a boom, then consumers are likely

to have higher levels of disposable income to go out and spend on your firm’s

goods and services. However, if the economy is experiencing a recession,

consumers are likely to cut back on spending and will be saving more.

Don’t forget to tell the examiner that you are aware that that Britain’s economy

has been growing steadily over the last ten years or so and that this has been

good for businesses. In the early 1990’s Britain experienced a serious recession

and many businesses went bust. The population of London and the South East

is forecast to increase over the next 10 to 15 years – and so this should be good

news for businesses.

10.4 Exchange Rates: Tell the examiner that you know that an exchange rate

is the price of one currency expressed in terms of another. If you are selling any

of your products overseas or buying stock from abroad, you will be affected by

fluctuating (changing) exchange rates. Don’t forget that selling overseas may

be one of your medium term plans.

If the British Pound is strong against the American dollar, this will mean British

goods when sold in America will be more expensive. This may reduce the

demand for British goods sold in America. However, when the pound is strong

against the dollar, it means imports from America will be cheaper.

10.5 Taxation: Changes in taxation will have an impact upon your business.

Explain to the examiner that you are aware that the government imposes taxes

on consumers and businesses in order to pay for public services such as

education, the NHS, police, army, investment in new roads etc.

If taxes are increased, consumers will have less disposable income to spend on

your firm’s goods and services.

Businesses also pay taxes on their profits called Corporation Tax. If these are

increased by the government, this will mean that your firm’s profits may be

lower.

10.6 Business Ethics: the moral choices and decisions that you make may

influence the success of your business. Read and refer carefully to pages 132

and 133 of your textbook for help with this section.

You should explain to the examiner some of the moral decisions that you may

need to make within your business and the consequences of making them.

Possible examples of moral decisions could include

• To pay your staff a decent wage (above the national minimum wage)

and to ensure good working conditions are maintained for all employees

within your business.

• To ensure that you pay your suppliers fair prices for the goods that you

order as well as paying them on time.

• To minimise / reduce any damage that your business causes to the

environment and the local community.

Don’t forget to explain to the examiner that a decision to behave ethically and

in a socially responsible manner may mean that profits for your business may

be reduced. However, it may be the right thing to do and may in fact generate

good public relations for your business.

Your business might be targeted by pressure groups who may disagree with

some of your business activities – for example, firms that sell fur coats often

attract negative publicity from animal rights campaigners.

Section 11: Stakeholders.

Read and refer carefully to pages 8 and 9 of your textbook for help with this

section.

11.1 What are stakeholders? Stakeholders are individuals or groups of people

who have an interest in the success of a business.

Explain to the examiner who the major stakeholders within your business

are likely to be and most importantly what they are likely to be most

interested in.

These are likely to include

You and any other family members or friends who have invested money into

the business. You will want the business to survive, to be a success and to

make a profit on your investment.

Any staff that you have employed. They will want to receive a decent wage

and to enjoy good working conditions and job satisfaction. They might also be

interested in the possibility of being promoted within your business.

Your suppliers. They will be interested in receiving regular orders from your

business as well as being paid on time.

Your customers. They will be interested in receiving plenty of choice and

good value for money from the goods or services that they buy from you. They

will expect the products bought to be of good quality.

11.2 Be sure you explain to the examiner that each of the different stakeholder

groups that you have identified want different things from your business and

therefore trying to keep all of the stakeholders satisfied may be very difficult or

even impossible to achieve.

Explain to the examiner which stakeholder group(s) you think are most

important and explain clearly your reasons for this. Ask your teacher for help

with this section if you need it.

Section 12: Information and Communication Technology

12.1 What information and communication technology will you use within

your business and why?

This is likely to include some or all of the following

Electronic cash register – to help prevent mistakes.

Databases – to keep an up to date record of employee, customer and supplier

details.

Spreadsheets – to prepare and analyse budgets and keep a record of financial

information.

Email – to communicate with suppliers, customers.

The internet – to find out about suppliers, to pay bills, to design your own

webpage / website for online sales.

Desk Top Publishing – to design advertisements / menus.

Word processing and PowerPoint – to write a business plan and dealing with

all customer or supplier correspondence.

Section 13: Medium and Long Term Plans.

13.1 If your business proves to be a success, explain to the examiner what you

hope to achieve over the next 3 to 10 years. This might include some or all of

the following targets.

You decide and make the decisions for yourself – but try to be realistic!!

• To expand the business by establishing ____ new shops within East

London within three years.

• To expand the business by establishing ____ new shops within London

within three years.

• To expand the business by establishing a chain of _____ franchised shops

throughout the United Kingdom within seven years.

• To expand the business by establishing a chain of _____franchised shops

throughout the European Union within ten years.

13.2 My long term plan is

• To sell the business for £___________ after _____ years and then retire

to my private villa in the South of France.

• To pass on my business to my children when I retire.

• You decide!

13.3 Explain to the examiner, why it is important to plan ahead for your

business and what are the difficulties with doing so?

Section 14: Bibliography

14.1 You must provide the examiner with a brief list of all the sources of

information that you have used within your assignment.

This should include

The name and author of your textbook.

Major websites that you consulted.

Names of any people who gave you information or advice and their job position

(for example teachers, entrepreneurs).

Your project will be also given a mark based on the quality of your written

communication.

The font size and type should be the same throughout the assignment.

Don’t forget to do a spell check on all of your work.

TARGET CUSTOMER QUESTIONNAIRE

1. What is your marital status? Please tick

Single _____ A

Married _____ B

Divorced/ separated _____ C

Widowed _____ D

2. What age range do you fit into? Please tick

Less than 13 ______ A

13 - 19 ______ B

20 - 35 ______ C

36 - 65 ______ D

Over 65 ______ E

3. Where do you live? Please tick

South Woodford _____ A

Woodford Green _____ B

Chingford _____ C

Wanstead _____ D

Ilford _____ E

Walthamstow _____ F

Other - please specify _________________ G

4. Please state three types of shops or businesses that you would like to see

more of in South Woodford?

___________________

___________________

___________________

5. How many times per week do you normally visit South Woodford for

shopping purposes? Please tick

Once a week ______ A

Two or three times a week ______ B

Four or five times a week ______ C

More than five times per week ______ D

6. How many separate shops are you likely to buy something in, during your

visit to South Woodford today? Please tick

One ______ A

Two or three ______ B

Four or five ______ C

More than five ______ D

7. How would you describe the shops that exist in South Woodford? Please

tick

Excellent _______ A

Very Good _______ B

Good _______ C

Satisfactory _______ D

Poor _______ E

Very Poor _______ F

8. Do you think that there are adequate parking facilities for shoppers in South

Woodford? Please tick.

Yes ____________ A

No ________________ B

Thank you for your help in completing this questionnaire.

TARGET SHOPKEEPER QUESTIONNAIRE

1. What type of business organisation do you operate as? Please tick

Sole trader _____ A

Partnership _____ B

Private Limited company _____ D

Franchise _____ E

Public Limited Company _____ F

Other _____ G

2. How many years have you been trading in South Woodford? Please tick


1 - 3 ______ B

4 - 10 ______ C

More than 10 ______ D

3. How many competitors do you have within a radius of 10 miles? Please tick

None _____ A

1- 3 _____ B

4 - 7 _____ C

8 - 10 _____ D

More than 10 _____ E

4. How many customers on average do you receive each day? Please tick

1 -5 ______ A

6- 10 ______ B

11 - 20 ______ C

21 - 40 ______ D

More than 40 ______ E

5. Do you think there is adequate parking for your customers and suppliers in

South Woodford? Please tick

Yes ______ A

No ______ B

6. Did you write a business plan for your business before setting up? Please

tick

Yes ______ A

No ______ B

7. Is the demand for the products and services that you provide very sensitive

to changes in price? Please tick

Yes ______ A

No ______ B


to changes in consumers incomes? Please tick

Yes ______ A

No ______ B

9. Do you provide credit to your customers? Please tick

Yes ______ A

No ______ B

10. How would you describe the quality of the shops that exist in South

Woodford? Please tick

Excellent _______ A

Very Good _______ B

Good _______ C


Poor _______ E

Very Poor _______ F


You will need to obtain as much information as possible about the type of

business you want to set up by visiting / researching your potential

competitors.

For example, if you wanted to find out about running a sports shop, a cafe,

a beauty shop , a record shop or any other type of business, you would

want to speak to people who have actually run one.

You might want to prepare another questionnaire that you could complete

with the owners of this type of business. Ask me for help when you get to

this section.

Remember it is best to think about setting up a small business – if it proves to

be successful, you can think about expanding or moving to larger premises in

the future.

13. Appendices - to be included right at the end of your assignment

Any extra information that you may have refereed to in the main body of your

assignment.

These would be your completed questionnaires and any other secondary data

that you collected and referred to in your assignment.

14. Bibliography: Half a page at most

CUSTOMER QUESTIONNAIRE - EXAMPLE ONLY


Single _____ A

Married _____ B

Divorced _____ C

Widowed _____ D



13 - 19 ______ B

20 - 30 ______ C

31 - 65 ______ D

Over 65 ______ E




Chingford _____ C

Wanstead _____ D

Ilford _____ E

Walthamstow _____ F


4. What are your three favourite types of fast food restaurants? Please give in

rank order with one being your most favourite.

Chinese _____ A

Indian _____ B

Mexican _____ C

Kebab shops _____ D

Italian / pizza _____ E

Fish and chips _____ F

McDonalds _____ G

Burger King _____ H

Other (please specify) ________________________ I

5. Do you think there is demand for another take away in South Woodford?

Yes ___ A

No _____ B

6. If you answered yes to question 6, please specify the type of take away

Chinese _____ A

Indian _____ B

Mexican _____ C

Kebab shops _____ D



McDonalds _____ G

Burger King _____ H

Other (please specify) ____________________ I

7. On average, how many times per week do you buy food from a take away?


Twice a week. ______ B

Three or four times a week ______ C

Five or six times a week ______ D

Every day ______ E

8. How far are you prepared to travel to buy food from a take-away? Please tick

Less than 1 mile _______ A

More than 1 mile but less than 3 _______ B

More than 3 miles but less than 6 _______ C

More than 6 miles but less than 10 _______ D

More than 10 miles _______ E

9. When visiting a fast food restaurant, how much per person would you

normally spend? Please tick

Less than £3 _______ A

£3 to £5 _______ B

More than £5 but less than £10 _______ C

More than £10 _______ D

10. From the following characteristics or features of a fast food restaurant,

please rank the one that is most important to you?

Value for money ______ A

Choice of menu ______ B

Good Hygiene ______ C

Fast customer service ______ D

Friendly service ______ E

Free local delivery service available ______ F

Parking facilities available ______ G

11. How important is it that a free local delivery service is provided. Please

tick

Essential ______ A

Very important ______ B

Important ______ C

Not very important ______ D

12. Would you be prepared to pay a fee for a home delivery service? Please

tick

Yes ______ A

No ______ B

If yes, how much is the maximum you would pay? ________________


SHOPKEEPER / BUSINESS OWNER INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

1. Why did you decide to establish this business?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

2. What is the main aim of your business?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

3. What are your short term objectives?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

4. What are your long term objectives?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

5. How many years have you been in business?

________________________________________________________________

___________

6. Please list the range of products or services you provide?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

7. Did you business make a profit from the day you started trading?

Yes _______ No _________

If No, how long did it take for the business to break even?

________________________________________________________________

___________

8. How much personal capital did you invest into your business?

_______________ Thousand

9. How much finance did you need to borrow form your bank or other lending

institution?

_______________ Thousand

10. How many years have you been in your current location?

_______________ Years

11. Why did you choose to locate here?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

12. What factors did you consider when you were deciding upon your present

location?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

13. What is the unique selling point(s) of your business?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

14. What type of business organisation do you operate - please tick

Sole trader _________

Private limited company _________

Partnership _________

Other (please specify) _________

What are your normal opening hours

Monday to Friday _____________

Saturday _____________

Sunday _____________

15. What are the names of your nearest competitors?

__________________________________

__________________________________

__________________________________

__________________________________

16. Do you monitor closely your competitors ?

Yes ________ No___________

17. If yes, please explain how you do this?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

18. Do you conduct regular market research?

Yes ________ No___________

If yes, what type of market research do you do and how often?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

19. What advertising and promotional methods do you use?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

20. Do you charge different prices to different market segments - for example

do children or old age pensioners get charged a different price?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

21. What types of technology do you use within your business?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

22. How many employees do you have?

Full Time ____

Part Time ____

What organisational structure exists within this business? Please sketch out in

the space below

23. What research did you complete before deciding to set up your business?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

24. How long did you spend researching your business opportunity before

setting it up?

________________________________________________________________

___________

25. Did you write a business plan?

Yes ____ No ____

If yes, did you write the business plan in order to: (please tick)

(a) Obtain finance from the bank _____

(b) To assist you in running your business _____

(c) Both of the above reasons _____

26. What do you consider to be the most important parts to your business plan.

Please tick your top three with 1 being the most important

Business Idea ______

Financing proposals ______

Marketing plan ______

Cash Flow forecast ______

Break Even Analysis ______

Profit Forecast ______

Other (please specify) ______

Workforce Plan ______

27. In what ways has this business plan helped you to run your business

effectively.

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

28. What are the things you most enjoy about running your business?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

29. What are the things that you least enjoy about running your business?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

30. What do you consider to be the major strengths of your business?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

31. What do you consider to be the main weaknesses in your business?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

32. How do you intend to deal with these weaknesses?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

33. What are the main opportunities that exist for your business?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

34. What are the main threats that face your business?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

35. What are the main internal constraints that affect your business.

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

36. What are the main external constraints that affect your business.

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

37. What style of management do you tend to adopt and why?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

38.How do you ensure the quality of the product or services that you provide?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

39. Is the demand for your product or service very sensitive to changes in

price?

Yes ___ No ___


consumers income levels?

Yes ___ No ___

41. Is your business affected by changes in any of the following economic

variables?

Interest rates ______

Exchange rates ______

Inflation ______

Please explain in what way(s)

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

42. Which of these financial accounts do you prepare each year? Please tick

Balance sheet ____

Profit and loss account ____

Cash flow statement ____

Other (please specify) ____

43. What profit or loss did your business make this year?

________________________________________________________________

___________

44. Do you provide credit to your customers?

Yes __ No ___

If yes, how much credit on average do you give to them?

_______ Days

Thank you for taking the time to assist me in my project.

11 March 2005

Dear Laura,

I am so pleased that you are making a good recovery. Don’t worry, you will

be able to catch up on the work that you have missed - your health is the most

important thing. After Easter, we can go through together any areas that you

may need some extra help with.

I have enclosed a copy of the pre issued case study for Units 2 and 3.

Unit 2 - Operations Management and People Management - 30%

U

4 February Dear Parents,

I am writing to let you know about a new Business Studies resource that you might want to consider purchasing for your son / daughter. The resource consists of Revision Cards which cover all the main concepts on the syllabus. The Revision cards certainly look excellent to me and should save a lot of time for your son / daughter in the lead up to the exams. I attach a copy of the catalogue page which provides further details together with the relevant order form. The cards are not yet available in book shops and can only be bought directly from the publishers. I hope you find this information of interest and that it will help to maximise your son’s / daughter’s grade in Business Studies. Yours sincerely, James Sexton. Deputy Director of Sixth Form. 5 March 2004 Dear Parents, I write to inform you that your son / daughter will need to submit their GCSE Business Studies coursework to me on or before Monday 22 March. Your son / daughter is fully aware of this deadline date. In recent weeks, your son / daughter has been working very hard in lessons on their coursework. I would therefore be very grateful if you help to ensure that your son / daughter continues to devote as much time as possible between now and the 22 March to his / her coursework - this will help to ensure that the best mark possible is achieved. We will be using our remaining lessons to focus on the pre-issued case study which forms the basis of the 75% written examination. This case study is based on the Co-operative Bank - you might wish to discuss

some of the many interesting issues raised in the case study with your son / daughter. It will also be very important that your son / daughter sets aside some time most evenings for independent revision in this subject. Thank you for your continued support in the above matters. Yours sincerely, James Sexton. Deputy Director of Sixth Form. CC: M Loster, N Barnes, P McGrory. REPEAT OF PAGES 1 - 45

GCSE BUSINESS STUDIES COURSEWORK GUIDE

Be sure to buy a memory stick so that you can save the work that you do in the

lesson each week. It will also enable you to continue with your work at home

each week. This will enable you to take full responsibility for your coursework

and get as high a grade as possible. Good Luck!

Section 1: The title of the assignment / investigation.

Is there a gap in South Woodford for a new business enterprise?

Section 2: The aims of my investigation are

• To research South Woodford as a business community.

• To carry out detailed market research into what type of businesses

currently exist in South Woodford.

• To carry out detailed market research amongst the general public in South

Woodford into their needs and wants.

• To determine whether there is a possible gap in South Woodford for a

new business enterprise.

• To identify a new business enterprise that will satisfy the needs of

potential customers and also generate a profit.

• To write a detailed business plan for the new business enterprise that I

have identified.

Section 3: Methodology

Section 4: Background Research

You will need to identify the main types of businesses that currently exist in

South Woodford.

Remember it is important that these are categorised into the main different

types of businesses. You should be able to obtain this information from the

internet but you may have to look carefully for it.

For example:

Supermarkets

Sainsburys

Marks and Spencers

Waitrose

You will need to compare the property prices in South Woodford with another

nearby area. This other area should be either Ilford, Walthamstow, Leyton or

Leytonstone.

The easiest and most effective way to do this is to use the property supplements

that are usually included free with local newspapers – ask your parents to show

you one of these. They will also be available in your local estate agents.

You should compare the prices of one or two bed roomed flats in South

Woodford with one or two bed roomed flats in Walthamstow or three bed

roomed semi-detached houses in South Woodford with three bed roomed

semi-detached houses in Ilford. You should cut out the details of the relevant

house prices for the two areas – I would suggest at least 10 pictures and prices

for both areas so that you can identify which area is more expensive in terms of

property.

The important thing to remember is that it would be sensible or fair to compare

the property prices of two bed roomed flats in South Woodford with three bed

roomed semi-detached houses in Leyton. You always have to ensure that you

are comparing like with like in order to reach any firm conclusions.

What conclusion are you able to reach about property prices in the two areas?

Is property generally more expensive in South Woodford? If so, explain why

this could be and the possible consequences.

Section

You need to carry out a SWOT analysis for any business that currently exists

in South Woodford.

For example: Sainsburys You can only refer to this as a guide – it’s your

teachers work!

Strengths

• Has a reputation for selling good quality and good value products

• Provides employment for people in the local area - including students

• It is a profitable business which is good news for its shareholders

• It has a hardworking and motivated workforce.

Weaknesses

• It adds to the traffic congestion in the area

• There is no room for further expansion in its current South Woodford

location

• It may mean that smaller independent local shops are forced out of

business

Opportunities

• It could provide a delivery service to customers – possibly free or for a

low fee

• It could try to sell more of its products online by developing further its

website

• It could sponsor local community groups in order to generate good

publicity

Threats

• It faces a lot of competition in the area from Waitrose, Marks and

Spencers and Tesco

• A decline in the economy could mean that consumers cut back on their

spending – especially on luxury food items.

You might wish to do a SWOT analysis for Marks and Spencers, Waitrose,

Woolworths, Churchill’s Estate Agents, Barclays Bank, Pizza Express or any

other business in South Woodford that you think you know quite well. Choose

carefully as some businesses will be more difficult to do than others.

Business Plan

What are your short term objectives? These might include

• To survive the first six months of being in business

• To breakeven within 12 months of setting up the business



• To make a profit of £___________ by the end of Year 2

Try to come up with sensible and realistic figures – they should be based on

your sales forecasts.

Medium Term Plans

If your business proves to be a success, explain to the examiner what you hope

to achieve over the next 3 to 10 years. This might include some or all of the

following targets.

You decide and make the decisions for yourself – but try to be realistic!!

• To expand the business by establishing ____ new shops within East

London within three years.

• To expand the business by establishing ____ new shops within London

within three years.

• To expand the business by establishing a chain of _____ franchised shops

throughout the United Kingdom within seven years.

• To expand the business by establishing a chain of _____franchised shops

throughout the European Union within ten years.

My long term plan is

• To sell the business for £___________ after _____ years and then retire

to my private villa in the South of France.

• To pass on my business to my children when I retire.

• You decide!

Section 9 External Influences

You need to explain what external influences may affect the success of your

business.

These are likely to include

Competitors: You need to explain to the examiner why it is important that you

monitor carefully the actions and business decisions of your competitors.

Who are your major competitors – remind the examiner of their names? Do

these businesses have their own websites?

You should explain to the examiner that you intend to visit / research your

competitors regularly in order to check the prices and quality of the products or

services that they are providing to their customers.

Based on what you see, you may need to make changes to the way you run your

own business.

Interest Rates: You should explain to the examiner the consequences to your

business of any changes in interest rates.

Tell the examiner that you are aware that interest rates are set by the Bank of

England and these can go up or down over a period of time.

Tell the examiner what the current rate of interest is – at this moment in time,

interest rates are 5%. Ask your teacher, if you can’t find out yourself by

looking it up on the internet.

The Bank of England may decide to increase interest rates if they believe the

economy is growing too fast or if they want to encourage consumers to spend

less (especially on their credit cards) and avoid inflation.

Don’t forget that you will have borrowed money (probably from a bank) to set

up your business. If interest rates go up, this means that the amount of money

you have to pay back each month to the bank in interest will also have increased

Consequently, this will reduce the profits that you are likely to make and will

put a strain on your businesses cash flow.

You also need to explain to the examiner that an increase in interest rates will

also have an impact on your potential customers. When interest rates increase,

this means that consumers will have less disposable income to go out and

spend on goods and services. If your business is selling mostly luxury products

(things that consumers can often do without) your business is likely to be hit

hard by rising interest rates.

Don’t forget to also tell the examiner that the impact of rising interest rates will

depend upon on quickly and by how much the interest rate goes up by. If they

go up slowly and from a low level, the impact on most businesses may be quite

limited.

Finally don’t forget to tell the examiner that you are aware that interest rates can

also be reduced by the Bank of England. This can occur when the Bank of

England wants

to boost the economy and encourage consumers to go out and spend their

money

on firms’ goods and services. This might occur if the economy is starting to

recover from a recession.

The State of the Economy: Explain to the examiner that the state of the

economy (especially in London and the South East) will have an impact on

the success of your business.

If the economy is growing and experiencing a boom, then consumers are likely

to have higher levels of disposable income to go out and spend on your firm’s

goods and services. However, if the economy is experiencing a recession,

consumers are likely to cut back on spending and will be saving more.

Don’t forget to tell the examiner that you are aware that that Britain’s economy

has been growing steadily over the last ten years or so and that this has been

good for businesses. In the early 1990’s Britain experienced a serious recession

and many businesses went bust. The population of London and the South East

is forecast to increase over the next 10 to 15 years – and so this should be good

news for businesses.

Exchange Rates: Tell the examiner that you know that an exchange rate is the

price of one currency expressed in terms of another. If you are selling any of

your products overseas or buying stock from abroad, you will be affected by

fluctuating (changing)

exchange rates. Don’t forget that selling overseas may be one of your medium

term plans.

If the British Pound is strong against the American dollar, this will mean British

goods when sold in America will be more expensive. This may reduce the

demand for British goods sold in America. However, when the pound is strong

against the dollar, it means imports from America will be cheaper.

Taxation: Changes in taxation will have an impact upon your business.

Explain to the examiner that you are aware that the government imposes taxes

on consumers and businesses in order to pay for public services such as

education, the NHS, police, army, investment in new roads etc.

If taxes are increased, consumers will have less disposable income to spend on

your firm’s goods and services.

Businesses also pay taxes on their profits called Corporation Tax. If these are

increased by the government, this will mean that your firm’s profits may be

lower.

Business Ethics: the moral choices and decisions that you make may

influence the success of your business. Read and refer carefully to pages 132

and 133 of your textbook for help with this section.

You should explain to the examiner some of the moral decisions that you may

need to make within your business and the consequences of making them.

Possible examples of moral decisions could include

• To pay your staff a decent wage (above the national minimum wage)

and to ensure good working conditions are maintained for all employees

within your business.

• To ensure that you pay your suppliers fair prices for the goods that you

order as well as paying them on time.

• To minimise / reduce any damage that your business causes to the

environment and the local community.

Don’t forget to explain to the examiner that a decision to behave ethically and

in a socially responsible manner may mean that profits for your business may

be reduced.

Stakeholders. Read and refer carefully to pages 8 and 9 of your textbook for

help with this section.

What are stakeholders? Stakeholders are individuals or groups of people who

have an interest in the success of a business.

Explain to the examiner who the major stakeholders within your business are

likely to be. These are likely to include

You and any other family members or friends who have invested money into

the business. You will want the business to survive, to be a success and to

make a profit on your investment.

Any staff that you have employed. They will want to receive a decent wage

and to enjoy good working conditions and job satisfaction. They might also be

interested in the possibility of being promoted within your business.

Your suppliers. They will be interested in receiving regular orders from your

business as well as being paid on time.

Your customers. They will be interested in receiving plenty of choice and

good value for money from the goods or services that they buy from you. They

will expect the products bought to be of good quality.

Be sure you explain to the examiner that each of the different stakeholder

groups that you have identified want different things from your business and

therefore trying to keep all of the stakeholders satisfied may be very difficult or

even impossible to achieve.

Explain to the examiner which stakeholder group(s) you think are most

important and explain clearly your reasons why. Ask your teacher for help with

this section if you need it.

Section

Now that you have carried out your detailed market research, you must now

decide what type of business enterprise you are going to set up in South

Woodford. This is a very important decision as you will be writing a detailed

business plan for this business over the next few months.

Remember it is best to think about setting up a small business – if it proves to

be successful, you can think about expanding or moving to larger premises in

the future.

Very good businesses to consider could include a fast food restaurant, a café,

a sandwich shop, a beauty salon, a smoothie bar, a barber shop, a

hairdressers.

Avoid being too ambitious in the type of business you’d like to plan to set

up -unless you are really prepared to do a lot of detailed research on your

own, outside of the classroom.

Financial Plan

Where will you obtain the finance needed to set up your business – refer to

pages 54 and 55 of your textbook for further information?

Example

This is likely to be made up of some combination of the following: Try to

come up with what you think are realistic figures for your business.

Your own private savings £1000

Money borrowed from family or close friends £1000

Bank overdraft £2000

Bank loan £5000 borrowed at 8% per year

Government grants (if eligible) £500

Total finance available to start up your business £9500

Don’t forget that money borrowed from a bank or building society must be

repaid in full with interest. Remember that when you are setting up a business,

money is likely to be quite limited so you will need to minimise any

unnecessary costs.

You now have to decide how you are going to use this money to set up your

business.

If you were setting up a small café in South Woodford, you would have

1. Start up costs

2. Running costs – made up of variable and fixed costs

The start up costs of setting up a small café might include

The cost of all the equipment that you would need

Estimates

Kitchen equipment £1000

Microwave £100

Fridge / Freezer £300

Food display cabinets £500 (second-hand)

Tables and chairs £700

Plates and cutlery £200

General decoration costs £300

Builders fees for fitting out your shop £1500

Initial stock £500

Total start up costs £____________

Try to come up with what you think are fairly realistic figures for your

chosen business.

You now have to estimate your running costs – ie your fixed and variable costs

using your own figures

Your fixed costs might include

Rent for the premises £600 per month

Business Rates £100 per month

Heating and lighting £100 per month

Your management salary £1200 per month

Fixed Costs £2000 per month

Your variable costs might include

Staff costs £800 per month

Stock £600 per month

Gas and electricity £100 per month

Variable Costs £1500 per month

Total Running Costs £3500 per month

Assuming that you have 1500 customers per month, each spending on average

£5, you can now calculate the break even number of customers for your

business.

Ask for help from your teacher on this section if needed. Use the following

formula

Breakeven = Fixed costs per month

____________________________________

Average selling price – Variable cost per unit

Breakeven = £2000

____________________________________ = 500 customers

£5 - £1 per month

In the example shown above, we can see that a profit will only be made if you

have more than 500 customers per month.

You can now prepare a forecasted profit and loss account for your first year of

trading of your chosen business. You can use the example below as a guide

but you must come with your own forecasted figures.

Forecasted Profit and Loss Account for Year One

Sales Revenue £150,000 (100 customers per day X £5 X

300 days)

Less cost of sales £90,000 (100 customers per day X £3 X 300 days)

Gross Profit £60,000

Less Salaries £14,400 (£1200 X 12 months)

Less Rent £8,400 (£700 X 12 months)

Less other expenses £7,200

Net Profit £30,000

Less Taxation £6,000 (at 20%)

Profit after tax £24,000

Profit taken out £10,000

Retained Profit £14,000 Profit reinvested back into the business

In the above example, you would explain to the examiner that the profit and loss

shows that the business is forecasted to make a profit of £24,000 (after paying

tax on your profits). The profit that the business makes could be higher or

lower depending on the real sales and real costs.

You would be able to use the forecasted profit and loss account as a target to

aim for and as a way of trying to convince a bank to lend you money when

trying to raise the finance needed to start your business.

You are now ready to prepare a Cash Flow Forecast for your business – see

pages 64 and 65 from your textbook. A cash flow forecast shows the cash

coming in and out of a business on a month by month basis. You should

complete it for a full 12 month period.

You need to tell the examiner that you understand that a profitable business can

still fail if it runs out of cash. Remember you will need cash on a month by

month basis in order to pay your workers their wages and to buy in more stock

from your suppliers.

An example of a cash flow forecast is shown below.

You will have to prepare your own cash flow forecast for your business and

provide an interpretation of the figures.

Cash Flow Forecast Jan Feb Marc April May June July Aug Opening bank balance

10,000 7500 5300 3100 1100 -900 -2100 -1800

Cash Sales 700 1000 1000 1200 1200 2000 3500 6000 Total Cash In (A) 700 1000 1000 1200 1200 2000 3500 6000 Salaries 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 Wages 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 Rent 700 700 700 700 700 700 700 700

Insurance 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Gas and Electricity 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Bank interest 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Stock 700 700 700 700 700 700 700 700 Total Cash Out (B) 3,200 3,200 3,200 3,200 3,200 3,200 3,200 3,200 Net Cash Flow (A-B) -2500

-2,200 -2200 -2000 -2000 -1200 300 2800

Closing Bank Balance 7,500 5,300 3,100 1,100 -900

-2,100

-1,800 1,000

Interpretation:

From looking at the last row of the cash flow forecast, you can see the business

has a positive cash position from January to April. However from the months

May to July, the firm’s cash position is negative – this means that the firm will

be short of cash during these months and therefore will have to arrange a bank

overdraft with their bank. However in this illustrated example, by the end of

August, the firm’s cash position has turned positive – this is because the cash

sales have increased significantly during August.

Marketing Plan

You need to identify your Marketing objectives for your chosen business.

For example

Marketing objectives might include

• To promote my business amongst my target market as strongly as

possible during the first year of setting up

• To spend £5000 of my Marketing budget in Year 1 on advertising my

business to my target market

• To generate sales of £_________ in my first year

• To generate sales of £__________ in my second year

• To generate sales of £__________ in my third year

• To increase sales by 20% fin each of the next three years

• To increase the range of products that I sell by 20% within the next year

• To introduce a loyalty card offering a 10% discount to my customers for

purchases greater than £_____

What is the size of your Marketing budget for your first year of trading – the

budget for a small business is not going to be tens of thousands of pounds?

You will need to explain to the examiner how you will use this money to

promote and advertise your business.

Market Research: Explain to the examiner the difference between primary

(field) research and secondary (desk) research. Be sure to give precise

definitions. Refer carefully to pages 108 and 109 of your textbook.

The major source of primary research that you will be using is surveying

members of the public by asking them to complete your market research

questionnaires.

The major sources of secondary research that you will use are likely to include

the internet (finding relevant information about South Wood ford as a business

area and finding out information about businesses who are located there), using

the business pages to identify your nearest competitors, using local

newspapers to find out about property prices.

Product Refer carefully to pages 118 and 119 of your textbook.

If you were setting up a café, you would need to design an attractive menu

together with the prices that you would charge.

Whatever business you decide to set up, you will need to design a professional

leaflet that fully shows all the products or services (with their prices) that you

will be selling.

What pricing strategy are you going to use – you need to explain your reasons

to the examiner? Are you going to use a

• Price penetration strategy – setting low prices for your products or service

to get customers interested in it and to build up market share.

• Competition pricing strategy – setting your prices based on those charged

by your competitors.

• Cost plus pricing strategy – setting your prices based on the cost of

buying your stock from your suppliers and then adding on a certain

percentage profit.

• Promotional pricing strategy – setting low prices for a short period of

time to encourage customers to buy it.

Promotion

Explain to the examiner what type of sales promotions you are going to use

within your business – such as special offers, price discounts, money off

coupons, vouchers, customer loyalty cards, prize competitions, free gift

campaigns. You need to provide full details of what these would entail for your

business.

You should therefore carefully design an advertisement that could be included

in local newspapers / local newsletters giving details of some of your sales

promotions. Think carefully about what the advertisement would need to

include. Remember, it needs to attract the attention of the readers as well as

looking professional!

You could also design some leaflets / flyers giving detailed of any special

discounts (perhaps for a limited period of time). These could then be given to

your customers or handed out to members of the public or put in the letterboxes

of local residents.

You could design a press release that could be sent to local newspapers giving

details about your new business.

Technology

You should explain what type of technology you will use within your business

and what you would use it for? This is likely to include some or all of the

following

Electronic cash register – to help prevent mistakes

Databases – to keep an up to date record of employee, customer and supplier

details

Spreadsheets – to prepare and analyse budgets and keep a record of financial

information

Email – to communicate with suppliers, customers

The internet – to find out about suppliers, to pay bills, to design your own

webpage / website for online sales

Desk Top Publishing – to design advertisements / menus

Word processing and PowerPoint – to write a business plan and dealing with all

correspondence.

Human Resource Plan

It is very likely that at some stage in your business, you will need to recruit staff

to assist with the running of your business.

You should explain to the examiner, the different stages that would use when

recruiting a new employee.

Identify the vacancy / position to be filled in the business.

Prepare a job description –

Shortlist candidates

Interview suitable candidates – make selection

Issue contracts of employment.

Explain what personal characteristics are you looking for in potential

employees?

Explain what type of training you will provide to your employees and the

reasons for doing so.

How will you go about motivating your staff – using both financial and non

financial incentives. The examiners will be very impressed if you can show

how you would use motivational theory (Maslow, Herzberg)

What are your obligations as an employer towards your employees?

TARGET CUSTOMER QUESTIONNAIRE


Single _____ A

Married _____ B

Divorced/ separated _____ C

Widowed _____ D



13 - 19 ______ B

20 - 35 ______ C

36 - 65 ______ D

Over 65 ______ E




Chingford _____ C

Wanstead _____ D

Ilford _____ E

Walthamstow _____ F


4. Please state three types of shops or businesses that you would like to see

more of in South Woodford?

___________________

___________________

___________________

5. How many times per week do you normally visit South Woodford for

shopping purposes? Please tick


Two or three times a week ______ B

Four or five times a week ______ C

More than five times per week ______ D

6. How many separate shops are you likely to buy something in, during your

visit to South Woodford today? Please tick

One ______ A

Two or three ______ B

Four or five ______ C

More than five ______ D

7. How would you describe the shops that exist in South Woodford? Please

tick

Excellent _______ A

Very Good _______ B

Good _______ C


Poor _______ E

Very Poor _______ F

8. Do you think that there are adequate parking facilities for shoppers in South

Woodford? Please tick.

Yes ____________ A

No ________________ B


CUSTOMER QUESTIONNAIRE - EXAMPLE ONLY


Single _____ A

Married _____ B

Divorced _____ C

Widowed _____ D



13 - 19 ______ B

20 - 30 ______ C

31 - 65 ______ D

Over 65 ______ E




Chingford _____ C

Wanstead _____ D

Ilford _____ E

Walthamstow _____ F


4. What are your three favourite types of fast food restaurants? Please give in

rank order with one being your most favourite.

Chinese _____ A

Indian _____ B

Mexican _____ C

Kebab shops _____ D



McDonalds _____ G

Burger King _____ H

Other (please specify) ________________________ I

5. Do you think there is demand for another take away in South Woodford?

Yes ___ A

No _____ B

6. If you answered yes to question 6, please specify the type of take away

Chinese _____ A

Indian _____ B

Mexican _____ C

Kebab shops _____ D



McDonalds _____ G

Burger King _____ H

Other (please specify) ____________________ I

7. On average, how many times per week do you buy food from a take away?


Twice a week. ______ B

Three or four times a week ______ C

Five or six times a week ______ D

Every day ______ E

8. How far are you prepared to travel to buy food from a take-away. Please tick

Less than 1 mile _______ A

More than 1 mile but less than 3 _______ B

More than 3 miles but less than 6 _______ C

More than 6 miles but less than 10 _______ D

More than 10 miles _______ E

9. When visiting a fast food restaurant, how much per person would you

normally spend? Please tick

Less than £3 _______ A

£3 to £5 _______ B

More than £5 but less than £10 _______ C

More than £10 _______ D

10. From the following characteristics or features of a fast food restaurant,

please rank the one that is most important to you?

Value for money ______ A

Choice of menu ______ B

Good Hygiene ______ C

Fast customer service ______ D

Friendly service ______ E

Free local delivery service available ______ F

Parking facilities available ______ G

11. How important is it that a free local delivery service is provided. Please

tick

Essential ______ A

Very important ______ B

Important ______ C

Not very important ______ D

12. Would you be prepared to pay a fee for a home delivery service? Please

tick

Yes ______ A

No ______ B

If yes, how much is the maximum you would pay? ________________


TARGET SHOPKEEPER QUESTIONNAIRE

1. What type of business organisation do you operate as? Please tick

Sole trader _____ A

Partnership _____ B

Private Limited company _____ D

Franchise _____ E

Public Limited Company _____ F

Other _____ G

2. How many years have you been trading in South Woodford? Please tick


1 - 3 ______ B

4 - 10 ______ C

More than 10 ______ D

3. How many competitors do you have within a radius of 10 miles. Please tick

None _____ A

1- 3 _____ B

4 - 7 _____ C

8 - 10 _____ D

More than 10 _____ E

4. How many customers on average do you receive each day ? Please tick

1 -5 ______ A

6- 10 ______ B

11 - 20 ______ C

21 - 40 ______ D

More than 40 ______ E

5. Do you think there is adequate parking for your customers and suppliers in

South Woodford? Please tick

Yes ______ A

No ______ B

6. Did you write a business plan for your business before setting up? Please

tick

Yes ______ A

No ______ B


to changes in price? Please tick

Yes ______ A

No ______ B


to changes in consumers incomes? Please tick

Yes ______ A

No ______ B

9. Do you provide credit to your customers? Please tick

Yes ______ A

No ______ B

10. How would you describe the quality of the shops that exist in South

Woodford? Please tick

Excellent _______ A

Very Good _______ B

Good _______ C


Poor _______ E

Very Poor _______ F


4. Which of the following types of shops or businesses do you would think

would do well in South Woodford?

___________________

___________________

___________________

SHOPKEEPER / BUSINESS OWNER INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

1. Why did you decide to establish this business?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

2. What is the main aim of your business?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

3. What are your short term objectives?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

4. What are your long term objectives?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

5. How many years have you been in business?

________________________________________________________________

___________

6. Please list the range of products or services you provide?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

7. Di d you business make a profit from the day you started trading?

Yes _______ No _________

If No, how long did it take for the business to break even?

________________________________________________________________

___________

8. How much personal capital did you invest into your business?

_______________ Thousand

9. How much finance did you need to borrow form your bank or other lending

institution?

_______________ Thousand

10. How many years have you been in your current location?

_______________ Years

11. Why did you choose to locate here?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

12. What factors did you consider when you were deciding upon your present

location?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

13. What is the unique selling point(s) of your business?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

14. What type of business organisation do you operate - please tick

Sole trader _________

Private limited company _________

Partnership _________

Other (please specify) _________

What are your normal opening hours

Monday to Friday _____________

Saturday _____________

Sunday _____________

15. What are the names of your nearest competitors?

__________________________________

__________________________________

__________________________________

__________________________________

16. Do you monitor closely your competitors ?

Yes ________ No___________

17. If yes, please explain how you do this ?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

18. Do you conduct regular market research?

Yes ________ No___________

If yes, what type of market research do you do and how often?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

19. What advertising and promotional methods do you use?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

20. Do you charge different prices to different market segments - for example

do children or old age pensioners get charged a different price?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

21. What types of technology do you use within your business?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

22. How many employees do you have?

Full Time ____

Part Time ____

What organisational structure exists within this business? Please sketch out in

the space below

23. What research did you complete before deciding to set up your business?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

24. How long did you spend researching your business opportunity before

setting it up?

________________________________________________________________

___________

25. Did you write a business plan?

Yes ____ No ____

If yes, did you write the business plan in order to: (please tick)

(a) Obtain finance from the bank _____

(b) To assist you in running your business _____

(c) Both of the above reasons _____

26. What do you consider to be the most important parts to your business plan.

Please tick your top three with 1 being the most important

Business Idea ______

Financing proposals ______

Marketing plan ______

Cash Flow forecast ______

Break Even Analysis ______

Profit Forecast ______

Other (please specify) ______

Workforce Plan ______

27. In what ways has this business plan helped you to run your business

effectively.

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

28. What are the things you most enjoy about running your business?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

29. What are the things that you least enjoy about running your business?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

30. What do you consider to be the major strengths of your business?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

31. What do you consider to be the main weaknesses in your business?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

32. How do you intend to deal with these weaknesses?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

33. What are the main opportunities that exist for your business?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

34. What are the main threats that face your business?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

35. What are the main internal constraints that affect your business.

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

36. What are the main external constraints that affect your business.

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

37. What style of management do you tend to adopt and why?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

38.How do you ensure the quality of the product or services that you provide?

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________


price?

Yes ___ No ___


consumers income levels?

Yes ___ No ___

41. Is your business affected by changes in any of the following economic

variables?

Interest rates ______

Exchange rates ______

Inflation ______

Please explain in what way(s)

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

________________________________________________________________

___________

42. Which of these financial accounts do you prepare each year? Please tick

Balance sheet ____

Profit and loss account ____

Cash flow statement ____

Other (please specify) ____

43. What profit or loss did your business make this year?

________________________________________________________________

___________

44. Do you provide credit to your customers?

Yes __ No ___

If yes, how much credit on average do you give to them?

_______ Days

Thank you for taking the time to assist me in my project.

Important advice for students : Do not open a separate file every time you

do a new piece of work in a lesson. Instead keep everything in ONE single

file. This will make life much easier for yourself in the coming weeks and

months.

YEAR 10 & 11 GCSE BUSINESS STUDIES COURSEWORK

1. Title and Aim of the assignment. Page ( ) This is a small section -

maybe a quarter of a page. It should include

1.1 Title: Is there a gap in the South Woodford for a new business enterprise?

1.2 You must state clearly the aims of your investigation at the start of your

project? What are you trying to find out? ie is possible to find a suitable gap in

the market so that a new business can be established that will make a profit as

well as satisfying consumers needs.

2. Methodology. Pages ( ) This section should be about 1 page of

carefully explained work.

2.1 Explain the reasons why you are going to carry out some Market Research?

2.2 How are you going to find out the information that you need?

2.3 What secondary research are you going to collect and use and why? ie

leaflets, maps, photos, local newspaper articles related to business, internet

based material, council census information.

Your local library or the one in South Woodford will be a very valuable source

of information for secondary data.

I also suggest that you bring a disposable camera with you when you visit South

Woodford. Photos of South Woodford as a business environment will get you

marks.

2.4 What primary research are you going to use and why? ie customer and

shop owners questionnaires, customer and shopowners interviews etc.

2.5 Explain clearly what you did in your lessons prior to your research trip to

South Woodford and why?

3. Background research. Pages ( ) This section is likely to be 4 or 5

pages of very good quality background research.

3.1 You need to explain clearly where South Woodford is located in relation to

the South East of England and East London. Remember, the examiner reading

your coursework will probably have no idea where South Woodford is.

Use maps from the internet or any other source to help you do this.

3.2 You need to tell the examiner what businesses currently exist in South

Woodford? Don’t forget to name all the major supermarkets, restaurants,

bars/pubs, names of estate agents and other businesses. Provide as full a list as

possible.

3.3 You need to fully explain to the examiner what the transport facilities to

South Woodford are like.

What are they? Are they good or poor? You should collect and include bus

maps, tube maps etc. What are the names of main dual carriageways and

motorways surrounding South Woodford.

You must explain why good transport access to South Woodford is likely to be

important for potential customers and suppliers?

3.4 Parking facilities in South Woodford.

Are there adequate parking facilities in South Woodford and along George

Lane? Is it possible for customers to use the parking available in the

supermarkets?

Where in South Woodford is it possible for potential customers to park?

You must fully explain why good parking facilities are important for businesses

located in South Woodford - think about both your customers and your

suppliers.

3.5 Affluence (wealth) of people who live or work in South Woodford.

What type of people live mainly in South Woodford - ie what socio economic

grouping best describes the area (see page 62 from your textbook) ? Is it a

wealthy area, middle class or more working class area?

How would you best describe the ethnic mix of people who live in South

Woodford?

You need to obtain house price information on South Woodford by visiting

estate agents - very often local newspapers such as the Guardian will have

property supplements that can prove very helpful - use the internet if needed to

obtain this information.

What do high property prices tell you about the affluence/ wealth of the people

who can afford to live in South Woodford?

Are there good schools nearby?. What are the names of the different schools -

primary and secondary? Why are good schools so important to an area - do

you think good schools may push up the prices of houses in South Woodford -

explain why?

You must compare the price of houses in South Woodford with the price of

houses in another one location - perhaps Walthamstow, Ilford, Chingford or

where ever you live. Remember, the easiest way to do this is to use the

property supplements that often come free with local newspapers.

For example, you may want to compare the prices of three bed roomed semi

detached houses in South Woodford with those of three bed roomed semi

detached houses in Leytonstone. Which area is more expensive to buy property

in? What does this tell you about the area and the people who can afford to live

there?

3.6 Local amenities / facilities in South Woodford.

What supermarkets exist there?

Are there good restaurants, pubs, cinemas, gyms, beauty salons and other

entertainment facilities in South Woodford.

Do these amenities cater for different age groups ie older people, middle aged

people , people in their 20’s and 30’s, teenagers, young children and their

parents ? This may help in trying to identify possible gaps for a business in

South Woodford.

Explain why having a variety of amenities in an area such as South Woodford is

so important for local residents.

4. Survey. Pages ( ) This is a very important section and there will

be alot of marks awarded for it.

4.1 Target Customer Questionnaire - primary research

How many target customers (the sample size) are you going to question?

Explain why you are carrying out primary research on potential customers and

why it is important to have an adequate sample size? Suggestion 20 fully

completed questionnaires.

4.2 Target Customer Questionnaire results

Your results from your questionnaires must be arranged into appropriate charts

and graphs.

There are a lot of marks for this section. You must explain exactly what the

results and graphs show you. In other words, what is the significance of the

data and what conclusions can you draw from your results? You do not need to

do a chart / graph for every question - it is important that you select those

questions that have the most significance for your assignment.

4.3 Shopkeeper / Shop owners Questionnaire - primary research

How many shopkeepers are you going to question (the sample size). Explain

why you are carrying out primary research on existing shopkeepers and why it

is important to have an adequate sample size? Suggestion 10 questionnaires.

4.4 Shopkeeper Questionnaire results

Again, your results must be arranged into appropriate charts and graphs. You

must explain clearly what the results and graphs show you. What is the

significance of the data and what conclusions can you draw from the results?

4.5 Constraints on my primary research trip to South Woodford

These could be expressed in terms of the day and time you carried out the

research,, the relatively short length of time you had to carry out your research,

the weather conditions on the day, the customers and shop keepers attitudes

towards you as young people carrying out market research, some shops /

businesses might not have been open etc.

How could you have organised yourself better prior to the trip? If you had

more time to carry out your research, would you have been able to get more

reliable data?

5. Based on your Market Research findings from Section 4, you must now

identify two possible business gaps in the South Woodford market.

Pages ( ) This should take about one page to complete.

You need to carry out a SWOT Analysis for EACH of the gaps

What would be the possible current strengths and weaknesses of setting up

this type of business?

What would be the possible future opportunities and future threats of setting

up this type of business?

5.1 Gap Number 1

5.2 Gap number 2

5.3 You now need to decide upon the type of business you are going to plan to

establish. Explain how you reached your decision and your reasons.

If you decided to leave school at the end of your GCSE’s and wanted to set up

and run your own business, what would it be? By carefully making this

decision, the work you do over the coming weeks and months will be alot more

interesting as you will be working on something that you are genuinely

interested in.

However, be careful not to try to be too ambitious - remember all large

businesses started as very small businesses that simply grew over the years.

You will not be able to afford to set up a large business as you will be lacking

in finance (you might not have any savings at all), Banks will regard you as

very high risk and (may not agree to lend you much, if any, money) and you

will be completely lacking in practical experience of running a business.

Some good business ideas might include planning to set up a restaurant (you

can decide what type), a computer games shop, a beauty salon, a coffee shop,

Speak to your parents as they might have some very good ideas

6. You now need to write a Business Plan for your chosen business.

Pages

( ). This section should be 2 or 3 pages of quality work.

You will need to obtain as much information as possible about the type of

business you want to set up by visiting / researching your potential

competitors.

For example, if you wanted to find out about running a sports shop, a cafe,

a beauty shop , a record shop or any other type of business, you would

want to speak to people who have actually run one.

You might want to prepare another questionnaire that you could complete

with the owners of this type of business. Ask me for help when you get to

this section.

6.1 Explain the reasons for and benefits of writing a business plan? Read

page 35 from your textbook.

6.2 Provide a detailed description of your business. What service(s) will you

be providing or what product(s) will you be selling to your customers? This

need to be done in as much detail as possible.

6.3 What will be the unique selling point for your business? How will you

differentiate your business from your other competitors - in other words why

should consumers buy from you?

6.4 What are your short term business objectives? Is your short term objective

simply to survive or break even in the first year or do you think you will make a

profit from the start. If so, how much profit do you think it will be - how did

you arrive at the figure.

Remember a company only makes a profit if their level of sales is greater than

all of their costs.

6.5 What type of business enterprise are you going to set up as and why?

Will it be a Sole trader, a Partnership or a Private limited company. The

examiner will want you to explain the advantages and disadvantages. Read

pages 10 -12 from your textbook for help on this.

6.6 You must identify the names of all your nearest competitors - use the

yellow pages or the internet to get this information.

6.7 Who will your suppliers be and what products will they be able to supply?

Where are they located? What factors will be important to you when deciding

what suppliers to use?

7. Marketing Plan. Pages ( ) This section is likely to be about two

pages of quality material.

7.1 Who will be your main target market and why?

7.2 What level of sales are you forecasting to sell in your first year?

Remember sales is not the same as profit!

7.3 What marketing mix will use use during your first year?

PRODUCT

Will you be selling a range of products or will you focus on a small number?

Explain

Will you products be of a high quality? If so, explain why.

What after sales service will you provide to your customers?

How will you products be packaged? Explain

PRICE - see page 69 for more information

What prices will you charge for your different products and why?

What discounts might you use and why? When will you use discounts?

PLACE

Where will you sell / distribute your product?

Will you provide a delivery service?

Will you consider selling your products by mail order or over the internet?

What would be the possible benefits of doing so.

PROMOTION - see page 70 and 71 for more information

What will be the size of your promotions budget?

How will it be spent to promote your business? Which of the following will use

you and why?

Advertising (local radio or newspapers, specialist magazines, leaflets, posters on

billboards etc),

Sales Promotions (special offers, price discounts, free gifts, prize competitions,

in shop displays)

Public Relations, (arranging press releases in local newspapers, sponsoring

local sports teams)

Direct Mail (sending promotional material to carefully targeted customers)

7.4 How might your marketing mix change over time? - assuming your business

is successful.

8. Financial Plan. Pages ( ) This section is likely to be about two or

three pages of quality material.

8.1 What is your financial objective in the short term? Is it simply to survive

or to break even in the first year? Or do you think you can make a profit in the

first year? If so, how much profit do you think you can achieve and why?

8.2 What are the start up costs for your business? These are likely to include

buying a first stock of materials, equipment such as computers, machines etc.

Will you be renting / leasing a premises? How much do you think this will

cost?

8.3 What will your variable costs be? These include things such as your

employees wages, stock, electricity, rent for the premises, business taxes etc

8.4 Where will you obtain the finance needed to start up your business? How

much will you require? How much of your own savings will you be putting

into the business? What size bank loan will you need to take out?

8.5 Prepare a Cash Flow Forecast for the first year. I will give you an

example of a cash flow forecast that can be used as a guide.

You will need to interpret and explain what your cash flow forecast tells you.

You need to explain to the examiner that an overdraft will need to be arranged

with your bank if there are certain months when your cash outflows are greater

than your inflows.

8.6 What possible constraints exist for your business? Are there any licenses

needed, health and safety requirements.

9. Human Resources Plan. Pages ( ) This section is likely to be

about two or three pages of quality material.

9.1 What type of employees are you looking for and why? What type of job

positions are likely to be available? What skills will they need to have?

9.2 How many staff, if any, will you need to employ?

9.3 How and where will you recruit staff? Read pages 48 and 49.

9.4 What personal skills / qualifications (if any) will your employees need to

have and why?

You could prepare a Job Description and a Person Specification for a specific

job vacancy within your business. Read page 50 for an example.

9.5 What wages/salaries will you pay your staff? How have you decided on

these wage/salary levels?

9.6 Will you provide any other fringe benefits?

9.7 As an employer, what employment legislation will you need to follow and

why? Read page 57 from your textbook carefully.

9.8 How will you motivate your staff? What financial and non financial

incentives will you offer to your employees. Read pages 46 and 47 from your

textbook for help.

9.9 Are you able to use any of the theories of motivation within your

assignment. These include Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Mayo’s theory of job

satisfaction or McGregor’s theory X or Y. Read page 45 from your textbook.

9.10 What type of training, if any, will you provide for your staff and why?

Read pages 52 and 53 for further ideas.

9.11 Will you have to appoint any managers / assistant managers?

10. External Factors. Pages ( ) This section is likely to be about

one page of quality material. Read page 72 from your textbook for more

information.

10.1 What external factors are likely to impact upon your business? These

could include

Existing or new business competitors - they might have lower prices, better

products or services, better after sales service.

Consumers tastes may change and therefore your product(s) might become

unfashionable.

The UK government might introduce more rules and regulations which may

increase your costs and make it more difficult for you to run your business.

The UK economy might go into a downturn leading to a recession and low

consumer confidence. Consumers are then likely to save more and spend less as

they have less disposable income.

Interest rates might go up increasing the cost to you of paying back any money

you have borrowed to finance your business. Consumers will also have less

money to spend.

If you are trading abroad or buying stock from foreign countries, explain how

exchange rate movements may affect your business.

Your business might be targeted by pressure groups who may disagree with

some of your business activities - ie firms that sell fur coats often attract

negative publicity from animal rights campaigners.

11. Information and Communication Technology. Pages ( ) This

section is likely to be about three quarters of a page of quality material.

11.1 What information and communication technology will you use within

your business and why?

11.2 What will you use word processing, spreadsheets and databases for within

your business? Spreadsheets are often for preparing financial accounts.

Databases are often use to keep a record of customers, suppliers and employees

details.

11.3 Will you be using email and the internet? If so, what for?

12. Medium and Long Term Plans. Pages ( ) This section is likely to

be about three quarters of a page of quality material.

12.1 What are your future plans for the business in the medium (3 to 5 years)

and long term (more than 5 years)? If you business is successful, do you have

any plans to open more branches locally or perhaps across the UK? What

would be the possible advantages and disadvantages of doing so?

12.2 Why is it important to plan ahead for your business and what are the

difficulties with doing so?

13. Appendices - to be included right at the end of your assignment

Any extra information that you may have refereed to in the main body of your

assignment.

These would be your completed questionnaires and any other secondary data

that you collected and referred to in your assignment.

14. Bibliography: Half a page at most

You must a brief list of all the sources where you obtained information for your

assignment.

This should include

The name and author of your textbook

Names of any people who gave you extra help and their position

Your project will be also given a mark based on the quality of your written

communication.

The font size and type should be the same throughout the assignment.

You must to do a spell check on all of your work.

YEAR 10 & 11 GCSE BUSINESS STUDIES COURSEWORK

CONTENTS PAGE

1. Title and Aim of the assignment. Pages ( )

2. Methodology. Pages ( )

3. Background research. Pages ( )

4. Survey. Pages ( )

5. Four possible gaps in the South Woodford market. Pages ( )

6. Business Plan for my chosen business. Pages ( )

7. Marketing Plan. Pages ( )

8. Financial Plan. Pages ( )

9. Human Resources Plan. Pages ( )

10. External Factors. Pages ( )

11. Information and Communication Technology. Pages ( )

12. Medium and Long Term Plans. Pages ( )

13. Appendices ( )

14. Glossary ( )

15. Bibliography ( )

50%

33.3%

12.5%

4.2%

Frequency

What is your marital status?

Single 50%

Married 33.3%

Divorces/ seperated 12.5%

Widowed 4.2%

What conclusions can you draw from this information?

26.7%

17.8%

8.9%

15.6%

17.8%

8.9%4.4%

Frequency

Where do you live?

South Woodford 26.7%

Woodford Green 17.8%

Chingford 8.9%

Wanstead 15.6%

Ilford 17.8%

Walthamstow 8.9%

Other 4.4%


30.4%

21.7%

34.8%

13.0%

Frequency

Visits per week to South Woodford?

Once a week 30.4%

two or three 21.7%

Four or five 34.8%

More than 5 13.0%


15.4%

46.2%

11.5%

26.9%

Frequency

Question 6

A 15.4%

B 46.2%

C 11.5%

D 26.9%

31.8%

36.4%

18.2%

9.1%4.5%

FREQUENCY

EXISTING SHOPS

EXCELLENT 31.8%

VERY GOOD 36.4%

SATISFACTORY 18.2%

POOR 9.1%

VERY POOR 4.5%


11 March 2005

Dear Laura,

I am so pleased that you are making a good recovery. Don’t worry, you will

be able to catch up on the work that you have missed - your health is the most

important thing. After Easter, we can go through together any areas that you

may need some extra help with.

I have enclosed a copy of the pre issued case study for Units 2 and 3.

Unit 2 - Operations Management and People Management - 30%

Unit 3 - External Influences and Objectives and Strategy - 40%

It is recommended that you carry out research using this case study. It is the

business concepts and ideas within the case study which should be researched.

After Easter, I will be going through the case study in detail during lessons and

I will be distributing lots of materials and resources that will help you when

preparing for these 2 exams.

In the meantime, any background reading on Units 2 or 3 that you are able to

do from your revision textbook will prove very helpful.

I also think you will find your revision cards very helpful when covering these

areas of the syllabus.

With every good wish,

Mr Sexton.

4 February Dear Parents, I am writing to let you know about a new Business Studies resource that you might want to consider purchasing for your son / daughter. The resource consists of Revision Cards which cover all the main concepts on the syllabus. The Revision cards certainly look excellent to me and should save a lot of time for your son / daughter in the lead up to the exams.

I attach a copy of the catalogue page which provides further details together with the relevant order form. The cards are not yet available in book shops and can only be bought directly from the publishers. I hope you find this information of interest and that it will help to maximise your son’s / daughter’s grade in Business Studies. Yours sincerely, James Sexton. Deputy Director of Sixth Form. 5 March 2004 Dear Parents, I write to inform you that your son / daughter will need to submit their GCSE Business Studies coursework to me on or before Monday 22 March. Your son / daughter is fully aware of this deadline date. In recent weeks, your son / daughter has been working very hard in lessons on their coursework. I would therefore be very grateful if you help to ensure that your son / daughter continues to devote as much time as possible between now and the 22 March to his / her coursework - this will help to ensure that the best mark possible is achieved. We will be using our remaining lessons to focus on the pre-issued case study which forms the basis of the 75% written examination. This case study is based on the Co-operative Bank - you might wish to discuss some of the many interesting issues raised in the case study with your son / daughter. It will also be very important that your son / daughter sets aside some time most evenings for independent revision in this subject. Thank you for your continued support in the above matters.

Yours sincerely, James Sexton. Deputy Director of Sixth Form. CC: M Loster, N Barnes, P McGrory. REPEAT OF PAGES 1 - 45

web gcse coursework - trinity.redbridge.sch.uk studies/microsoft... · gcse business studies...

Documents