Business Objectives and Strategy | Edexcel A-Level Business (9BS0)
Business Objectives and Strategy
- 137 questions
- 4 subtopics
- Theme 3: business decisions and strategy
- Paper 2 and Paper 3
Business objectives and strategy opens Theme 3 and is examined on Paper 2.
It covers the mission a business sets itself and the objectives that follow from it, the main theories of how to compete, and the tools used to read a business's own position and the world outside it.
Sample questions from Business Objectives and Strategy
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Corporate objectives
What happens to objectives at the functional level in the hierarchy?
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Functional objectives cascade down to individual departments, translating corporate objectives into departmental targets. -
Corporate objectives
Why might a mission statement be criticised for lacking authenticity?
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Because it may fail to reflect the actual behaviour and priorities of the organisation in practice. -
Theories of corporate strategy
Explain how a focus strategy can be combined with either cost leadership or differentiation.
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A business can pursue cost focus by being the lowest-cost provider within a niche segment, or differentiation focus by offering unique products tailored specifically to that segment's needs -
Theories of corporate strategy
How does scope distinguish strategic from tactical decisions?
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Strategic decisions affect the overall direction of the business; tactical decisions have a narrower, more limited scope. -
SWOT analysis
How might a firm's resources feature as an internal factor in a SWOT analysis?
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Resources such as equipment, raw materials, or capital can be identified as strengths if they provide competitive advantage, or weaknesses if they are lacking. -
SWOT analysis
In what way do economic conditions form part of the external analysis in SWOT?
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Economic growth can be an opportunity boosting demand; recession or rising costs can be a threat reducing profitability. -
Impact of external influences
Name five legal factors that would be examined in a PESTLE analysis.
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Employment law, consumer protection, health and safety regulations, competition law, and data protection. -
Impact of external influences
Which force in Porter's framework assesses the power that customers have in negotiations?
Show the answer
Bargaining power of buyers.
The 4 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate objectives | Mission statements, corporate aims and SMART objectives, how each follows from the one above, and the criticisms made of mission statements. | 20 |
| Theories of corporate strategy | Ansoff’s Matrix and the risk attached to each quadrant, Porter’s generic strategies and being stuck in the middle, portfolio analysis, distinctive capabilities, and strategic against tactical decisions and their impact on resources. | 51 |
| SWOT analysis | Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, which of them are internal and which external, and what the analysis is and is not good for. | 23 |
| Impact of external influences | PESTLE analysis across political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors, and Porter's five forces on the competitive environment. | 43 |
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.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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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.
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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.