Automation is the use of machinery, software or control systems to carry out tasks that would otherwise be done by people.

State two drawbacks of investing heavily in automation.

The capital cost is high and slow to recover, and the equipment is inflexible if the product or the volume required changes.

How does automation change a business's cost structure?

Fixed costs rise with the investment while variable labour cost per unit falls, so contribution per unit rises; break-even output may rise or fall, but profit grows faster once it is passed.

What human resource consequences follow from automating a warehouse?

Roles are lost or redefined, so the business must manage redundancies or redeploy and retrain staff into maintenance and supervisory work.

Give two uses of artificial intelligence in a business.

Forecasting demand and stock requirements, and handling routine customer enquiries through chatbots.

OCR A-Level Business (H436) H436

Business Activity

Topic overview Buying, selling and adding value Spotting an opportunity and starting a business Entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs Risk, reward and uncertainty Business objectives: profit, growth, survival and sustainability SMART objectives and the usefulness of objectives Primary, secondary and tertiary sectors Sole traders and partnerships Private and public limited companies Liability, legal status and choosing an ownership structure Social enterprises and not-for-profit organisations The stakeholders of a business What each stakeholder wants from a business Conflicting stakeholder objectives Measuring the size of a business Organic growth and franchising Mergers, takeovers, integration and diversification Factors influencing the scale of operations Economies and diseconomies of scale Market power and overtrading Stages of the customer journey Customer experience and how it is measured

Marketing

Topic overview The purpose of marketing and the unique selling point Market orientation and product orientation Why a business researches its market Primary research: questionnaires, focus groups and observation Secondary research sources and their reliability Random, stratified and systematic sampling Qualitative and quantitative research data Market size, market share and market growth Consumer markets and business markets Mass markets and niche markets Segmenting a market into customer groups New product development, innovation and R&D The product life cycle and extension strategies The Boston Matrix and product portfolio analysis Skimming, penetration and cost-plus pricing Competitor, psychological, dynamic and freemium pricing Price and income elasticity of demand Advertising, sponsorship and public relations Sales promotion, direct mail and point of sale Branding and packaging Social media, influencers and content marketing Websites, search engine optimisation and pay-per-click advertising Distribution channels, e-commerce and intermediaries Why businesses forecast their sales Historical sales forecasting and the line of best fit Intuitive forecasting and forecasting for a new product Big data and artificial intelligence in marketing Gamification, virtual reality and augmented reality Complaints, reviews and the net promoter score

People

Topic overview Human resource management and workforce planning Full-time, part-time, permanent and temporary contracts Flexible, shift and remote working Organisational design, flexibility and intrapreneurship Tall, flat, matrix and divisional structures Levels of hierarchy, span of control and delayering Authority, delegation and centralisation Why motivation matters at work Salary, wages, piece rates and commission Bonuses, profit sharing, pensions and fringe benefits Recognition, empowerment and job design Work-life balance, wellbeing and inclusion at work Leadership, vision and company culture Autocratic, democratic and transformational leadership Employee voice, suggestion schemes and works councils Trade unions, collective bargaining and strikes Redundancy, fair dismissal and unfair dismissal Internal and external recruitment CVs, interviews and assessment centres The benefits of training and development Induction, on-the-job and off-the-job training Coaching, mentoring, shadowing and apprenticeships Employee turnover and retention Absenteeism and employee productivity

Operations

Topic overview The purpose of operations and the transformation process Added value and how it is calculated Ways of adding value: convenience, branding, design and facilities Sustainability as a way of adding value Automation, robotics and 3D printing in production AI, cloud services and digital technology in production Efficiency, effectiveness and productivity Measuring and improving productivity Production quality: purpose and standards Quality control and quality assurance Capacity utilisation and how it is calculated Managing capacity: increasing output, cutting capacity and outsourcing Types of inventory and the purpose of inventory control Inventory control charts, re-order levels and lead time Just In Time and inventory management systems The stages of supply chain management Logistics: procurement, transport and reliability of supply Key performance indicators in operations

Finance

Topic overview The finance function and business failure Assets, liabilities and capital Cash, profit and working capital Cost behaviour and sales revenue Contribution and the break-even point Break-even charts and the margin of safety Using contribution to make short-term decisions Levels of profit and profit margins Budgets and budget setting Budget variances Cash flow forecasting and its uses The structure of a cash flow forecast Remedies for a cash flow shortage Liquidity, the current ratio and the acid test Retained profit, owners' investment and asset sales Loans, overdrafts and other debt finance Share capital, venture capital, crowdfunding and grants Choosing a source of finance Financial statements and who uses them The income statement The statement of financial position (balance sheet)Return on capital employed and gearing Inventory turnover, receivable days and payable days Ratio analysis and its limitations

External Influences

Topic overview Demand, supply and the market mechanism Price, income and the drivers of demand Costs, capacity and the drivers of supply Rivalry, market share and competitor behaviour Imports, exports and the case for open trade Trade barriers and trade agreements Exchange rates and the value of the pound Culture, law and politics in overseas markets The forces behind a globalised market Political stability and the reach of government policy The business cycle and the state of the economy Interest rates, tax and subsidies Demographics, lifestyle and cultural change Shopping habits, communities and pressure groups Artificial intelligence, automation and robotics Cybersecurity, cloud services and connected devices

Strategy, Risk and Managing Change

Topic overview Business planning and the reduction of risk The uses and limitations of a business plan Business strategy and the interdependence of business decisions SWOT analysis PEST analysis The Ansoff matrix Porter's five forces Opportunity cost, risk and uncertainty in decision making The stages of making a business decision Corporate planning from objectives to evaluation Handy's four organisational cultures The payback period Average rate of return Net present value and discounted cash flow Judging an investment decision Contingency planning and disaster recovery Crisis management and the response to a crisis Insurance and the protection it gives a business Internal and external causes of change The effects of change on a business Barriers to change and resistance Lewin's force field analysis Critical path analysis and the critical path Total float, free float and the use of a network Monitoring change with quantitative and qualitative data Ethical treatment of workers and suppliers Ethical marketing and community engagement Consumer and employee protection law Pollution, waste and the environmental audit Sustainability, net zero and the circular economy ESG reporting

External Influences

Artificial intelligence, automation and robotics

2 things to know
Component 02

Overview

Recall questions on automation and its benefits, drawbacks and effects on costs and staff, uses and risks of artificial intelligence, drones, robots and quality, electric vehicle fleets, and technology as a competitive necessity.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

Define automation.

Key term

What are the main benefits of automating a production line?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
Define automation.
Model answer
Automation is the use of machinery, software or control systems to carry out tasks that would otherwise be done by people.
2
What are the main benefits of automating a production line?
Model answer
Unit costs fall because output per worker rises, and consistency improves because a machine repeats the task to the same tolerance every time.
3
State two drawbacks of investing heavily in automation.
Model answer
The capital cost is high and slow to recover, and the equipment is inflexible if the product or the volume required changes.
4
How does automation change a business's cost structure?
Model answer
Fixed costs rise with the investment while variable labour cost per unit falls, so contribution per unit rises; break-even output may rise or fall, but profit grows faster once it is passed.
5
What human resource consequences follow from automating a warehouse?
Model answer
Roles are lost or redefined, so the business must manage redundancies or redeploy and retrain staff into maintenance and supervisory work.
6
Give two uses of artificial intelligence in a business.
Model answer
Forecasting demand and stock requirements, and handling routine customer enquiries through chatbots.

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AContribution per unit falls.

BMany more units must be sold to cover fixed costs.

CCash inflows can drop before the extra volume arrives.

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Responsibility means the duty to carry out a task that has been given to you.

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