Practise how business aims, ownership, sectors, location and external influences shape decisions in Edexcel case-study questions.
IKEA is a well-known home furniture retailer with stores throughout the world. It was started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad when he was given some money by his father for doing well at school. He wanted to produce furniture at a price that people could afford to buy.
He realised that transporting furniture to customers was difficult as goods were often damaged. He developed flat packs to avoid damage. A flat pack contained all the materials needed to self-assemble a table, a chair or a bed.
All IKEA stores are run as franchises.
Which one of the following is a financial business objective?
Select one answer.
A Canadian supplier of timber charges IKEA $19.75 Canadian Dollars (CAD) per load.
The exchange rate is $ 1 CAD=6.58 Swedish Krona (SEK).
Which one of the following would be the cost to IKEA for 1,000 loads in Swedish Krona?
Select one answer.
151.98 SEK
3001.52 SEK
19750.00 SEK
129 955.00 SEK
Analyse the benefits to IKEA of all its stores being franchises.
Ocean Vibes is a boat tour business located in two tourists resorts in Portugal. During the tours, it collects wildlife research. The idea came from two young scientists, Alfredo and Pedro, who share a passion for the environment, boats and science. Ocean Vibes employs boat tour guides and a sales team in each of the two resorts.
The main goal of Ocean Vibes is to connect tourism with science. It offers dolphin and bird-watching tours to tourists and uses the boat tours to collect research data on the wildlife. Its tour guides are knowledgeable, passionate and respectful of the environment.
Customers can book the boat tours online or in the tourist resorts. They are encouraged to leave reviews on Ocean Vibes' website.
Every month Ocean Vibes provides a boat tour for students and researchers who wish to study the wildlife.
There are many other businesses offering boat tours in Portugal which makes competing in the industry a challenge.
Which one of the following is an example of a public service provided by the government?
Select one answer.
Clothing retailer
Police force
Mobile phone provider
Grocery store
Define the term primary sector.
Define the term shareholder.
The price of an Ocean Vibes boat tour is €60 (euros) per person.
The exchange rate is € 1=£ 0.95 (UK pounds)
Calculate the price of a boat tour in UK pounds (£). You are advised to show your working.
(2)
£
Explain one advantage to an individual of being a sole trader.
Employee satisfaction is one way to measure success in a business.
Analyse why Ocean Vibes should measure employee satisfaction.
Cadbury was founded in 1842 when John Cadbury opened a shop in Birmingham in the UK. The shop sold cocoa and drinking chocolate. Cadbury is now one of the major chocolate manufacturers in the world.
In 1918 the first overseas Cadbury factory was opened in Hobart, Tasmania in Australia. Another factory opened in South Africa in 1938. Cadbury chocolates are sold across the world and other factories have been opened. Cadbury produces many well-known brands, such as Dairy Milk, Buttons and Crunchie. It also produces ice cream and cakes.
Cadbury is now part of Mondelez, the largest snack business in the world.
Which one of the following types of business ownership would usually be formed by a business of two solicitors?
Select one answer.
Sole trader
Partnership
Public Corporation
Public Limited Company
Define the term sole trader.
Explain one advantage for businesses if banks reduce their interest rates.
Analyse two factors that could influence Cadbury when locating a new factory.