Back to Northern Ireland Business Studies
Northern Ireland · CCEAQ&A
Business StudiesQ&A by dot point
A short Q&A bank for every Northern Ireland Business Studies syllabus dot point. Each question and answer is drawn directly from our worked dot-point page, so you can scan key concepts before opening the long-form answer.
Unit 1 Business Operations
- Health and safety: the importance of health and safety legislation in the workplace, the responsibilities of employers and employees, and the benefits to a business of a safe working environment.3Q&A pairs
- Methods of production: job, batch and flow production, their advantages and disadvantages, and how lean production and just-in-time stock control cut waste, with the method chosen to suit the product.3Q&A pairs
- Quality: the meaning and importance of quality, the difference between quality control and quality assurance, quality standards such as BS EN ISO 9000, and the benefits of producing high-quality goods and services.3Q&A pairs
Unit 1 Creating a Business
- Business aims and objectives: the difference between an aim and an objective, common objectives such as survival, profit, growth, market share and providing a service, and why objectives differ between businesses and change over time.3Q&A pairs
- Entrepreneurs and enterprise: the reasons people start a business, the characteristics and role of an entrepreneur, the rewards and risks, and the resources (the factors of production) a new business needs.3Q&A pairs
- Stakeholders: the groups that have an interest in a business (owners, employees, customers, suppliers, the local community and the government), what each wants from the business, and how stakeholder interests can conflict.4Q&A pairs
- The public sector and social enterprises: the difference between the private and public sectors, what the public sector provides, and the aims and features of social enterprises, including not-for-profit organisations.3Q&A pairs
- Types of business ownership: sole trader, partnership, private limited company and public limited company, with their advantages and disadvantages, and the meaning of limited and unlimited liability.3Q&A pairs
Unit 1 Marketing
- Business location: the factors that influence where a business locates, including nearness to the market, costs, labour, suppliers and transport, and how the best location depends on the type of business.3Q&A pairs
- Competition and customer service: how a business competes (on price and on non-price factors), the effect of competition on a business, and the importance and benefits of good customer service.3Q&A pairs
- E-business and m-business: selling and trading online and through mobile devices, the advantages and disadvantages for the business and the customer, and the impact on the marketing mix and on growth.3Q&A pairs
- Market research: the difference between primary and secondary research and between quantitative and qualitative data, common research methods, the idea of a sample, and how research reduces risk.3Q&A pairs
- The marketing mix (the four Ps): product, price, place and promotion, the main pricing methods and promotion methods, and how the four Ps must work together and suit the target market.3Q&A pairs
Unit 2 Business Growth
- Business success and failure: how success is measured, the internal and external causes of business success, and the main reasons businesses fail.3Q&A pairs
- Methods of business growth: internal (organic) growth and external growth through merger and takeover, the types of integration, and the benefits and drawbacks of growth including economies of scale.3Q&A pairs
Unit 2 Finance
- Break-even: fixed, variable and total costs, contribution per unit, calculating break-even output, the margin of safety, and interpreting a break-even chart.3Q&A pairs
- Cash flow forecasting: the meaning of cash flow, completing and interpreting a cash flow forecast including net cash flow and the opening and closing balances, and the difference between cash and profit.3Q&A pairs
- Financial statements and ratios: the statement of comprehensive income and the statement of financial position, and calculating and interpreting the gross profit margin and net profit margin.3Q&A pairs
- Sources of finance: internal and external sources, short-term and long-term finance, and how a business chooses a source that suits its need, cost and circumstances.3Q&A pairs
Unit 2 Human Resources
- Motivation: why motivation matters, financial methods such as wages, salaries, bonuses and commission, and non-financial methods such as job enrichment, teamwork, fringe benefits and praise.3Q&A pairs
- Recruitment and selection: the stages of recruitment, the job description and person specification, internal versus external recruitment, and the methods used to select the best candidate.3Q&A pairs
- Training and appraisal: induction, on-the-job and off-the-job training, the benefits of training to the business and the employee, and the purpose of staff appraisal.3Q&A pairs