9609_w22_qp_21

A paper of Business Studies, 9609

Questions:

Year:

2022

Paper:

Variant:

Drone Development (DD) DD produces a range of drones, which are unmanned aircraft flown by remote control. These drones are used to help farmers identify whether their fields have enough water. They can also help farmers to see how fast crops are growing on large farms. The drones are individually designed using Computer Aided Design (CAD). DD’s mission statement is: ‘To be the leading company in drone technology’. DD’s employees are skilled and highly motivated. This has enabled DD’s managers to use a laissez-faire style of leadership. The Research and Development (R&D) team at DD has developed a drone designed for high-volume production for the consumer market. The new drones will be called Robodz. Secondary research indicates that these drones can be used for taking aerial photographs and videos of sporting and other events, such as cycle races and outdoor parties. The drones will send photographs and videos directly to a user’s smartphone. There are few competitors in this market even though demand is growing particularly from consumers in the 30– 45 years age group. The Marketing Director has done primary research into the consumer market for drones. The results are shown in Table 1.1. Table 1.1: Important features of a drone for the consumer market (number of responses) Important Quite Important Unimportant Price Performance Colour Ease of use Durability Producing Robodz will mean changes in operations at DD: • greater cooperation between the design, production and marketing departments • each designer will have less opportunity for individual design • more automation will be involved. The Board of Directors has agreed to produce Robodz. Define the term ‘Computer Aided Design (CAD)’ (line 4). Explain the term ‘primary research’ (line 15). Refer to Table 1.1. Calculate the total percentage of consumers who stated that ‘ease of use’ is either important or quite important. Explain one possible limitation of the Marketing Director’s primary research. Analyse two factors that could influence the leadership style used as DD moves into the production of Robodz. Recommend a suitable marketing mix for the Robodz. Justify your recommendation.

3. Marketing (AS Level) → 3.2. Market research

Open

Move Well (MW) MW is a business that organises the transportation of people’s possessions when they move from one house or apartment to another. One of MW’s corporate objectives is to achieve internal growth. MW has expanded rapidly from a local business to a national business. It now has locations in many major cities in country Q. Local success was built on customer recommendations. National success is a result of carefully targeted advertising and effective use of social media. The growth of the business has put pressure on MW’s cash flow. MW receives payment from customers one week after the house move is completed, which is, on average, one month after the house move was booked. MW’s costs include rent, vehicle maintenance, fuel, local taxes, wages and advertising. Following some successful years, there has been a large decline in MW’s sales. This is due mainly to fewer people moving home in country Q. Each city location made a loss last year. The Managing Director, John, has noticed that the housing market is growing in some other countries. He thinks there is an opportunity for a new location in country P. Table 2.1 shows the forecast costs and revenue for the new location in country P. Table 2.1: Forecast costs and revenue for the new location in country P in year one ($000) Revenue Direct costs Indirect costs Effie, the Operations Manager, would prefer to achieve cost savings rather than expand into another country. She thinks a lot of time is wasted due to uncoordinated information systems which are not kept up to date. MW currently keeps its customer records on paper. It also has three separate computer-based systems. Table 2.2 shows details of the computer systems. Table 2.2: MW’s computer systems Computer system Process A Tracks vehicles used on each home move B Records employee pay and other HR data C Produces accounts and other management information Define the term ‘corporate objectives’ (line 3). Explain the term ‘internal growth’ (line 3). Refer to Table 2.1. Calculate the forecast profit margin for year one. Explain one method MW could use to improve its cash flow. Analyse two benefits to MW of introducing process innovation to update its information systems. Evaluate the factors that John needs to consider before opening the new location in country P.

5. Finance and accounting (AS Level) → 5.4. Costs

9. Operations management (A Level) → 9.1. Location and scale

Open