AQA A-Level Business 3.7 to 3.10 Strategic position and direction overview quiz quiz

The rate of inflation

The threat of new entrants

The level of employee motivation

The product life cycle

Penetration, development, diversification

Growth, survival, retrenchment

Cost leadership, differentiation, focus

Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities

Opportunities and threats

Strengths and opportunities

Weaknesses and threats

Strengths and weaknesses

Market penetration

Diversification

Product development

Market development

Because it relies solely on selling the firm's existing products into familiar markets

Because both the product and the market are new to the firm

Because it never spreads risk across a range of different business activities at all

Because it is by far the cheapest and simplest growth strategy for any firm to attempt

Being the clear market leader that dominates the whole of its industry with the largest share

Holding far too much unsold stock in the warehouse partway through the financial year

Being neither the lowest-cost producer nor clearly differentiated

Operating consistently at full production capacity with no spare slack in the system

The rise in unit (average) costs that occurs when a firm grows too large to manage well

The total fixed costs of a business that must be paid regardless of the level of output

The amount of profit earned on each individual unit that the firm produces and then sells

The fall in unit (average) costs as a firm increases its scale of output

A merger is a mutual combination of two firms; a takeover is one firm buying control of another

A merger is always a hostile purchase forced through, whereas a takeover is by definition always friendly

They are completely identical processes and the two terms can be used interchangeably in every case

A takeover can only ever legally apply to sole traders and never to limited companies of any kind

Buying a direct competitor outright in order to grow market share quickly

Opening new outlets and increasing sales from within

Merging with a long-established rival firm operating in the same market

Acquiring a key supplier further back along the supply chain

Announce the change suddenly and offer no explanation whatsoever to any of the affected staff

Ignore all staff concerns entirely and press ahead regardless of how the workforce feels

Communicate clearly, involve and consult staff, and provide training and support

Make as many compulsory redundancies as possible to force the remaining staff to comply