Edexcel IAL Business 1.3.1.3a Product & Market Orientation

Indicative content guidance
Answers must be credited by using the level descriptors (below) in line with the
general marking guidance. The indicative content below exemplifies some of
the points that candidates may make but this does not imply that any of these
must be included. Other relevant points must also be credited.
Knowledge, Application, Analysis, Evaluation - indicative content
- Ethical sourcing is when a business buys materials/products that are
produced using fair working conditions and/or with no negative impact
on the environment
- GoPro expects its suppliers to treat its employees fairly and provide a
safe working environment. This may provide good publicity and
enhance the reputation of GoPro leading to an increase in its sales of
cameras
- The ethical conduct may attract new investors who are ethically
minded, which will help to continue to grow the business and compete
with businesses such as Sony
- However, sourcing ethically can be costly. Suppliers paying fair wages
for example may push up the cost of the camera parts.
- It is important that the GoPro cameras remain competitive with Sony
and D / I. If the cameras become too expensive more people will revert
to taking videos on smartphones rather than buying a specific camera
- It is debateable whether consumers are concerned with ethical
sourcing or whether they are more concerned with the performance
or price of goods
- Consumers may not even be aware of the ethical stance of the
business when they make a decision about buying a product


Level

Mark

Descriptor

0

No rewardable material.

Level 1

1-2

Isolated elements of knowledge and understanding - recall based.
Weak or no relevant application to business examples.
Generic assertions may be presented.

Level 2

3-5

Accurate knowledge and understanding.
Applied accurately to the business and its context.
Chains of reasoning are presented, showing cause(s) and/or effect(s)
but may be assertions or incomplete.
An attempt at an assessment is presented that is unbalanced, and
unlikely to show the significance of competing arguments.

Level 3

6-8

Accurate and thorough knowledge and understanding, supported
throughout by relevant and effective use of the business
behaviour/context.
Logical chains of reasoning, showing cause(s) and/or effect(s).
Assessment is balanced, well contextualised, using quantitative and/or
qualitative information and shows an awareness of competing
arguments/factors.


Question
Number


Assess the benefits of using a product orientation approach for a business such as GoPro.

Indicative content

Indicative content guidance
Answers must be credited by using the level descriptors (below) in line with the
general marking guidance. The indicative content below exemplifies some of
the points that candidates may make but this does not imply that any of these
must be included. Other relevant points must also be credited.
Knowledge, Application, Analysis, Evaluation - indicative content
- Product orientation is where the business develops products based
on what it is good at producing, rather than researching the market
to find out what a consumer wants
- A market orientation approach means a business researches the
market and reacts to customer feedback
- One advantage is GoPro can save time and money by not
researching customer opinions. This keeps costs lower which may
lead to a lower price for the cameras
- GoProwas the first to create and sell the new technology. Collecting
consumer opinions on a new product/technology may not have
yielded significant insights from consumers
- Some products are argued to create a need or want in the customer,
especially products with a very high technological content like the
cameras
- However, new competitors such as Sonyhave put more pressure of
GoPro to react to consumer wants and become more market
orientated
- Market research identified new groups of people to sell to such as
firefighters and parents. Therefore, consumer research is important
to the growth of the business
- In the short term, a product orientation approach is likely to have
given GoPro first mover advantage and helped to establish the brand
- However, as competitors entered the market and consumers became
more knowledgeable about the technology, a market orientation
approach is a safer approach for GoPro


Level

Mark

Descriptor

0

No rewardable material.

Level 1

1-2

Isolated elements of knowledge and understanding - recall based.
Weak or no relevant application to business examples.
Generic assertions may be presented.

Level 2

3-4

Elements of knowledge and understanding, which are applied to the
business example.
Chains of reasoning are presented, but may be assertions or
incomplete.
A generic or superficial assessment is presented.

Level 3

5-7

Accurate and thorough knowledge and understanding, supported
throughout by relevant and effective use of the business
behaviour/context.
Analytical perspectives are presented, with developed chains of
reasoning, showing cause(s) and/or effect(s).
An attempt at an assessment is presented, using quantitative and/or
qualitative information, though unlikely to show the significance of
competing arguments.

Level 4

8-10

Accurate and thorough knowledge and understanding, supported
throughout by relevant and effective use of the business
behaviour/context.
A coherent and logical chain of reasoning, showing cause(s) and/or
effect(s).
Assessment is balanced, wide ranging and well contextualised, using
quantitative and/or qualitative information, and shows an awareness
of competing arguments/factors, leading to a supported judgement.


Question
Number


Evaluate the extent to which a democratic leadership style is the most appropriate for the Virgin Group.

Indicative content