Assessing Competitiveness | Edexcel A-Level Business (9BS0)
Assessing Competitiveness
- 107 questions
- 3 subtopics
- Theme 3: business decisions and strategy
- Paper 2 and Paper 3
Assessing competitiveness is the fifth section of Theme 3.
It covers how a business is read from the outside: the two financial statements it publishes, the ratios calculated from them, and the human resource measures that show how well it is using its people.
Sample questions from Assessing Competitiveness
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
-
Interpretation of financial statements
How do managers use the statement of comprehensive income?
Show the answer
To evaluate business performance, identify areas for cost reduction, and inform strategic decisions. -
Interpretation of financial statements
What is the relationship between net assets and equity?
Show the answer
Net assets equals total equity; both represent the residual value belonging to shareholders. -
Ratio analysis
State the formula for calculating return on capital employed.
Show the answer
ROCE = (Operating profit ÷ Capital employed) × 100 -
Ratio analysis
What type of business decisions does ROCE inform?
Show the answer
Decisions about capital investment and whether projects generate adequate returns. -
Human resources
Calculate the absenteeism rate when days lost to absence = 90 days, total possible working days = 13300 days.
Show the answer
Absenteeism rate = (90 ÷ 13300) × 100 = 0.677 %. -
Human resources
What is meant by consultation as an HR strategy?
Show the answer
Seeking employee views and input on decisions before they are made
The 3 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Interpretation of financial statements | The statement of comprehensive income and the statement of financial position, the accounting equation, and what each line in them represents. | 48 |
| Ratio analysis | Gearing and return on capital employed, how each is calculated, what a high or low value suggests, and the decisions the ratios inform. | 26 |
| Human resources | Labour productivity, labour turnover and retention, absenteeism, and the financial and non-financial strategies used to improve them. | 33 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
-
Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
-
Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
-
Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
Edexcel A-Level Business Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 2,305 questions with their answers.