AQA Unit 2 BUSS2: Managing a Business
Jan 22, 2016
AQA Unit 2BUSS2: Managing a Business
AQA Unit 2
Recap of Unit 1• Unit 1 (also known as BUSS1: Planning and Starting a Business) concentrates on the issues faced by new businesses.
• The focus is on small businesses, either before start-up or after they have been trading for a short period of time.
• The Unit 1 exam consists of:• Section A — short-answer questions requiring definitions, explanations and calculations.• Section B — questions requiring extended analytical and evaluative responses.
• The majority of marks (63%) on Unit 1 are awarded for demonstrating content and application.
AQA Unit 2
Unit 2
• Unit 2 focuses on established, medium-sized businesses
operating in the UK.
• You will be expected to consider the challenges such firms
face and the methods that can be used to improve their
performance.
• It is important that you carry out your own research into real
businesses currently operating in the UK to develop your
understanding.
AQA Unit 2
Unit 2 content (1)
• Unit 2 content covers the key functional areas of business.
• Finance: using budgets, improving cash flow, measuring
and increasing profit.
• People in Business: improving organisational structures,
developing an effective workforce (recruitment, selection
and training), developing and retaining an effective
workforce (motivating employees).
AQA Unit 2
Unit 2 content (2)
• Operations Management: making operational decisions,
developing effective operations (quality), developing
effective operations (customer service), working with
suppliers, using technology in operations.
• Marketing and the Competitive Environment: effective
marketing, designing an effective marketing mix, using the
marketing mix (product, promotion, pricing, place),
marketing and competitiveness
AQA Unit 2
Unit 2 assessment
• The Unit 2 exam is worth a total of 80 marks.
• It lasts for 1 hour 30 minutes.
• It consists of two compulsory, multi-part data-response
questions.
• Each data-response question is worth a total of 40 marks.
• The businesses used in the exam may be real or fictional.
• The Unit 2 exam accounts for 60% of your AS (30% of the
overall A-level).
• Remember that, as with other units, quality of written
communication is assessed within AO4 Evaluation.
AQA Unit 2
Mark allocation for Units 1 and 2
Assessment objective
Unit 1(%)
Unit 2 (%)
Content 35 27
Application 28 23
Analysis 20 28
Evaluation 18 22
AQA Unit 2
Tips for answering questions
• Content earns fewer marks than in Unit 2. However, examiners can
only award marks for other skills if content is accurate and relevant.
• Make sure you take time to read — and use — the information in
each data response in order to earn application marks.
• Demonstrating analysis will earn more marks than any other skill in
Unit 2. Build up a logical argument for any causes or consequences
that you identify, e.g. ‘if this happens, it could lead to X…which
could result in Y…’
• Evaluation requires judgement or recommendations. This means
reaching a clear conclusion following logically from the points made
and the evidence presented.
AQA Unit 2
Unit 2 key terms (1)
• Adverse variance
• Advertising
• Branding
• Competitiveness
• Customer service
• Degree of competition
• Delegation
• Direct selling
• Distribution channels
• External recruitment
• Empowerment
• Factoring
• Favourable variance
• Financial incentives
• Induction training
• Internal recruitment
• Job description
• Job enlargement/enrichment
• Labour productivity
• Labour turnover
AQA Unit 2
Unit 2 key terms (2)• Levels of hierarchy
• Loss leader
• Marketing mix
• Mass marketing
• Merchandising
• Motivation theories
• Net profit margins
• Niche marketing
• On-the-job/off-the-job training
• Operational targets
• Organisational structure
• Overdraft
• Person specification
• Price skimming
• Price penetration
• Pricing strategies
• Pricing tactics
• Promotional mix
• Portfolio analysis
• Product life cycle
AQA Unit 2
Unit 2 key terms (3)
• Profitability
• Psychological pricing
• Quality
• Quality assurance
• Quality control
• Quality standards
• Rationalisation
• Sale and leaseback
• Sales promotions
• Short-term loans
• Span of control
• Sub-contracting
• Suppliers
• Team working
• Technology
• Total Quality Management
(TQM)
• Training
• Unique selling point (USP)
• Variance analysis
AQA Unit 2
And finally…
• Effective revision is the key to exam success.
• Make sure that you begin your revision in good time and
have access to the following resources:• A complete set of accurate and up-to-date class notes.• A textbook containing chapters written for the current
AQA Unit 2 specification.• A copy of the AQA Unit 2 specification.• Unit 2 past papers, mark schemes and examiners’
reports (download from www.aqa.org.uk).