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AQA A-Level Business 7132
What Is Business?
Topic overviewWhy businesses exist and their objectivesRevenue, costs and profitCalculating and presenting business dataBusiness forms, sectors and liabilityShare capital, market capitalisation and dividendsWhat moves a share price, and how ownership shapes objectivesCompetition, market conditions and incomesInterest rates, demographics and environmental issues
Managers, Leadership and Decision Making
Topic overviewManagement, leadership and the four leadership stylesThe Tannenbaum Schmidt continuumChoosing a leadership style and its limitationsScientific and intuitive decision making, and expected valueReading a decision treeRisk, uncertainty and opportunity costWhat influences a management decisionStakeholders and stakeholder mappingStakeholder needs and managing the relationship
Marketing Management
Topic overviewWhy businesses set marketing objectivesBrand loyalty and calculating the marketing measuresPrimary and secondary market researchSampling methodsCorrelation, confidence intervals and extrapolationPrice and income elasticity of demandCalculating market share, market growth and sales growthSegmentation and the bases for itNiche and mass marketing, targeting and market mappingThe elements of the marketing mixProduct portfolio analysis and the Boston MatrixThe product life cycle and extension strategiesPricing, branding, place and the influences on the mix
Operational Management
Topic overviewOperational objectives: cost and qualitySpeed, flexibility and environmental objectivesAdded value and the trade-offs between objectivesLabour productivity and unit costsCapacity and capacity utilisationImproving capacity utilisationRaising labour productivity, and the obstaclesLean production and Just in TimeLabour-intensive and capital-intensive productionTechnology in operationsQuality control and quality assuranceThe benefits and costs of improving qualityMatching supply to demandThe inventory control chartInfluences on inventory and choosing a supplierSupply chain managementOutsourcing: benefits and drawbacks
Financial Management
Topic overviewFinancial objectives and return on investmentGross profit, operating profit and profit for the yearBudgets and variance analysisCash flow forecastsBreak-even, contribution and the margin of safetyBreak-even charts and how they shiftThe uses and limits of break-even analysisProfit margins, payables and receivablesInternal sources of financeShort-term external financeShare capital, loans, venture capital and crowd fundingChoosing a source of financeMethods of improving cash flowMethods of improving profitsThe difficulties and trade-offs in improving cash flow and profit
Human Resource Management
Topic overviewHuman resource objectives and their valueHard and soft human resource managementCalculating labour turnover and labour productivityEmployee costs as a percentage of turnover, and labour cost per unitUsing and interpreting human resource dataTypes of organisational structureSpan of control, hierarchy and delegationHuman resource flowThe value of a motivated workforce, and TaylorMaslow's hierarchy of needsHerzberg's two-factor theoryFinancial methods of motivationNon-financial methods of motivationChoosing and assessing methods of motivationEmployee involvement and the influences on itTrade unions, works councils and communication channelsThe value of good employer-employee relations
Analysing the Strategic Position of a Business
Topic overviewInfluences on the mission and corporate objectivesMission, objectives, strategy and tacticsFunctional objectives and their influencesSWOT analysis and its limitationsReturn on capital employed and the current ratioGearing and the ratios of working capitalFinancial statements and the categories of ratioUsing ratio analysis, and its limitsNon-financial measures of performanceBenchmarking and core competencesThe Triple Bottom LineCompetition law and labour market legislationEnvironmental legislation and government supportRegulators, infrastructure and environmental incentivesTrade policy and responding to political changeGDP, taxation and exchange ratesInflation, fiscal policy and monetary policyTrade, protectionism and responding to economic changeDemographic and social changeCorporate social responsibility and its criticsCarroll's pyramid and technological changePorter's five forces: entry and buyer powerSupplier power, rivalry and substitutesUsing five forces to shape strategyPayback period and average rate of returnNet present value and the time value of moneyInvestment criteria, risk and sensitivity analysis
Choosing Strategic Direction
Strategic Methods: How to Pursue Strategies
Topic overviewOrganic growth, external growth and retrenchmentEconomies and diseconomies of scale, synergy and overtradingMethods of external growthThe advantages and disadvantages of organic and external growthProduct and process innovation and its driversKaizen, research and development, and intellectual propertyThe causes of globalisation and its opportunitiesMethods of entering international marketsChoosing a country to trade with or invest inOff-shoring, re-shoring and multinationalsGlobal, multi-domestic and transnational strategiesDigital technology and the pressure to adopt itThe value and the limits of digital technology
Managing Strategic Change
Topic overviewTypes of change and Lewin's force field analysisFlexible organisations, restructuring and delayeringReasons for resistance and overcoming it through education, participation and supportOvercoming resistance: negotiation, manipulation and coercionOrganisational culture and Handy's four typesRecognising cultures and what shapes themChanging organisational culture and the difficultiesLeadership, communication and structure in implementationNetwork analysis and reading a network diagramFloat, the critical path and the value of network analysis
Problems with Strategy and Why Strategies Fail
Topic overviewUncertainty and cognitive bias in strategic decisionsResource and organisational barriers to implementationPlanned and emergent strategyReasons for strategic driftFinancial and non-financial measures of strategic performanceThe balanced scorecard, KPIs and the limits of evaluationThe value of strategic planningContingency planning and crisis management
Managing Strategic Change
- 10 subtopics
- 27 things to know
- Papers 1, 2 and 3
What Managing Strategic Change covers
Managing strategic change is examined on Papers 1, 2 and 3. It covers the kinds of change a business faces, the resistance it meets, the culture it has to work with, and the project planning used to implement a strategy.
Where it is assessed
Papers 1, 2 and 3
All three papers may draw on any part of the specification.
Check the AQA specification ↗The 10 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Types of change and Lewin's force field analysisInternal and external change, incremental against disruptive, and driving and restraining forces.Open →
- Flexible organisations, restructuring and delayeringRestructuring, delayering, flexible contracts, organic and mechanistic structures, and knowledge management.Open →
- Reasons for resistance and overcoming it through education, participation and supportKotter and Schlesinger's four reasons for resistance to change, their first three methods of overcoming it, and when each method is appropriate.Open →
- Overcoming resistance: negotiation, manipulation and coercionThe remaining three methods, what each achieves, and the risks that come with them.Open →
- Organisational culture and Handy's four typesWhy culture matters, and the power, role, task and person cultures.Open →
- Recognising cultures and what shapes themWhere each culture is found, and how leadership, size, industry, history and workforce shape it.Open →
- Changing organisational culture and the difficultiesWhat prompts a culture change, why employees resist, and what leadership must do.Open →
- Leadership, communication and structure in implementationThe part leadership, communication and organisational structure play in carrying out a strategy.Open →
- Network analysis and reading a network diagramWhat a network diagram shows, how activities are represented, and how it is amended.Open →
- Float, the critical path and the value of network analysisCalculating total float, identifying the critical path, and what network analysis is used for.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
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What do negotiation and agreement, and facilitation and support, involve, and when is each most appropriate?
Evaluation
What does coercion involve, and what does it risk?
Key term
When is an organic structure appropriate, and when a mechanistic one?
Evaluation
Why do flexible organisations cope better with change, how does knowledge management help, and what is self-interest as resistance?
Evaluation
What does education and communication involve, and what happens without it?
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Why might negotiation and agreement be needed to overcome resistance?
Process
Define 'explicit and implicit coercion' as a method of managing resistance to change.
Process
What are the potential negative consequences of using coercion?
Key term
When is participation and involvement most appropriate for overcoming resistance?
Key term
When is negotiation and agreement most appropriate for overcoming resistance?
Evaluation
How does organisational culture affect employees and strategic change?
Numbers
Where are role, power and task cultures typically found?
Who and when
How does work happen in a role culture, and how in a task culture?
Key term
What characterises a person culture?
Process
How do industry and size influence the culture that develops?
Process
How do history and traditions influence organisational culture?
Key term
What costs are involved in changing organisational culture?
Key term
What role must senior leadership play for culture change to be successful?
Numbers
What is a network diagram, how are activities shown on it, and how are predecessor activities identified?
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What is the critical path, what float do its activities have, and why is identifying it valuable?
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What is total float, and how is it calculated?
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What is total float, what happens when an activity with float is delayed, and how does network analysis track progress?
Numbers
What are network diagrams for, what is the critical path, and how is it identified?
Evaluation
When is total float calculated, and how does structure affect implementation?
Process
What role does leadership play in aligning employee efforts during strategic implementation?
Numbers
State the formula for calculating total float.
Take Managing Strategic Change further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Incremental change vs Transformational change
Incremental change: continuous adjustment in small steps. Transformational change: fundamental rapid alteration of the organisation.
Driving force vs Restraining force
Driving force: pressure supporting organisational change. Restraining force: pressure opposing organisational change.
Culture vs Structure
Culture: shared organisational values and assumptions. Structure: formal arrangement of roles and authority.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What is internal change in an organisation?
Model answer
Change that originates from within the organisation, such as restructuring, new leadership, or changes to processes and systems.
- 2
Give three examples of internal change.
Model answer
Restructuring, new leadership, and changes to processes and systems.
- 3
What is external change?
Model answer
Change driven by factors outside the organisation, such as market conditions, technological developments, legislation, or competitor actions.
- 4
Identify four external factors that might drive organisational change.
Model answer
Market conditions, technological developments, legislation, and competitor actions.
- 5
Define incremental change.
Model answer
Small, gradual adjustments to existing practices over time, allowing adaptation without major disruption.
- 6
Why might an organisation prefer incremental change over more radical approaches?
Model answer
It allows adaptation without major disruption, making the transition smoother and less risky.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Managing Strategic Change revision questions
- What does Managing Strategic Change cover in AQA A-Level Business?
- 10 subtopics: types of change and lewin's force field analysis, flexible organisations, restructuring and delayering, reasons for resistance and overcoming it through education, participation and support, overcoming resistance: negotiation, manipulation and coercion, organisational culture and handy's four types, recognising cultures and what shapes them, changing organisational culture and the difficulties, leadership, communication and structure in implementation, network analysis and reading a network diagram and float, the critical path and the value of network analysis. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Managing Strategic Change organised?
- By the AQA 7132 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Managing Strategic Change, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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