Key term
CCEA AS-Level Business 3210
Enterprise and Entrepreneurship
The Central Purpose of Business Activity
Forms of Business Ownership
Stakeholder Groups
Markets and Market Forces
Quality Management
Topic overviewWhat is quality?Total quality management, quality assurance and quality control definedThe advantages and disadvantages of TQMThe advantages and disadvantages of quality assurance and quality controlISO 9000 certification and the quality policyQuality control and quality assurance reviewedTQM, control and assurance comparedThe approaches to quality, and the case for and against TQMQuality control and quality assurance weighedISO 9000 certification, and how quality is measuredQuality as a dimension of competitiveness
Productivity and Investment
Organisational Design
Topic overviewHierarchy, span of control, chain of command and delegationCentralised, decentralised, tall, flat and matrix structuresCentralisation versus decentralisation, delayering, and the effects of designCentralisation and decentralisation weighedTall and flat structures weighedOutsourcingCentralisation, structure and outsourcing
Investing in People
Topic overviewSuccession planning, skills audits and the factors behind people investmentThe benefits and drawbacks of investing in peopleMethods of recruitment and selectionTraining and appraisal methodsOnline recruitment and selectionOnline training and appraisalInduction training: content, benefits and drawbacksOn-the-job training: methods, advantages and drawbacksOff-the-job training: methods, advantages and drawbacksContinuing professional developmentChoosing a training methodInternal and external methods of recruitmentInternal versus external recruitment weighedThe stages of selection, and the methods usedPsychometric testing: what it measures and what it missesPsychometric testingThe purpose of appraisal, and its benefits and drawbacksTechnology in the appraisal processOnline recruitment and selection technologyOnline training and appraisal technologyThe benefits and drawbacks of online HR processes
Motivation
Topic overviewTaylor's scientific management and Maslow's hierarchyHerzberg's two-factor theory, and the limits of each theoryTaylor and Maslow reviewedHerzberg's hygiene factors and motivators in detailMonetary and non-monetary methods of motivationLeadership styles, and choosing a method of motivationThe monetary methods of paymentThe monetary methods weighed, and calculating commissionJob design, empowerment, team working and flexible workingRecognition and development, and how non-monetary methods link to theory
Principles of Management and Leadership
Market Size, Share and Growth
The Degree of Competition in a Market
Market Research
The Marketing Mix
Elasticity of Demand
The Product Life Cycle
Market Planning and Strategy
E-Business and E-Commerce
Sources of Finance
Break-Even Analysis
Cash Flow
Cash Flow Forecasts
Budgeting
Productivity and Investment
- 4 subtopics
- 12 things to know
- Unit AS 1
What Productivity and Investment covers
Productivity and investment is examined in Unit AS 1, Introduction to Business. It covers the methods of production, and what determines productivity, innovation, research and development, and the need for investment, production methods, and what determines productivity, innovation, research and development, and organisational design and centralisation, structure and outsourcing.
Where it is assessed
Unit AS 1
Introduction to Business, written examination, 20% of A level.
Check the CCEA specification ↗The 4 subtopics
Each one has its own page. CCEA AS Business students sit this topic in the first year.
- The methods of production, and what determines productivityFlow production, cell production and mechanism by which worker motivation affects productivity.Open →
- Innovation, research and development, and the need for investmentInnovation in a business context, research and development (R&D) and four reasons why businesses need investment.Open →
- Production methods, and what determines productivityJob production, batch production and lean production.Open →
- Innovation, research and development, and organisational designResearch and development (R&D) and organisational design.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
What is flow production, and when does each of job, batch and flow production suit a business?
Key term
What is innovation in a business context?
Key term
Define research and development (R&D).
Key term
What is job production?
Key term
What is lean production?
Key term
Define innovation.
Key term
What is research and development (R&D)?
Key term
What is flow production?
Key term
How does available finance influence a business's innovation and R&D activities?
Key term
In what circumstances is job production most appropriate?
Key term
How does availability of finance influence innovation and R&D?
Take Productivity and Investment further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Job production vs Flow production
Job production: making one customised item at a time, in very low volumes. Flow production: a continuous line turning out standardised items without stopping.
Innovation vs Research and development
Innovation: turning a new idea into a product, service or process that creates value. Research and development: the systematic investigation that generates those ideas in the first place.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What is flow production?
Model answer
A continuous process where products move along a production line with each stage completed in sequence without stopping.
- 2
Define cell production.
Model answer
A method that organises workers into teams (cells) responsible for completing a whole unit of work or a significant part of the production process.
- 3
Under what circumstances is job production most appropriate?
Model answer
When products are customised, high-value, or produced in very low volumes.
- 4
When is batch production the most suitable method to use?
Model answer
When there is demand for a variety of similar products in moderate quantities.
- 5
For what type of products and demand conditions is flow production best suited?
Model answer
Standardised products with high and continuous demand.
- 6
Why might a business choose cell production over other methods?
Model answer
When it wants to combine efficiency with worker motivation and flexibility.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Productivity and Investment revision questions
- Is Productivity and Investment examined at AS in CCEA Business?
- Yes. It sits in Unit AS 1, which you take in the first year, so it is on the AS paper as well as counting towards the full A level.
- What does Productivity and Investment cover in CCEA AS-Level Business?
- 4 subtopics: the methods of production, and what determines productivity, innovation, research and development, and the need for investment, production methods, and what determines productivity and innovation, research and development, and organisational design. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Productivity and Investment organised?
- By the CCEA 3210 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Productivity and Investment, 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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