Growing the Business

What Growing the Business covers

Growing the Business is examined in Paper 2, Building a business (Theme 2). It covers organic and inorganic business growth, public limited companies and finance for growth, changes in business aims and objectives, business and globalisation and ethics, the environment and business.

The 5 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• Organic and inorganic business growthOrganic growth through innovation, research and development, new markets and technology, inorganic growth by merger or takeover, and the advantages and problems of each.Open →
• Public limited companies and finance for growthPublic limited companies and stock market flotation, their costs and pressures, and financing growth through retained profit, selling assets, sale and leaseback, loan capital and share capital.Open →
• Changes in business aims and objectivesWhy objectives change with market conditions, technology, law and performance, entering and exiting markets, and changing the size of the workforce or the product range.Open →
• Business and globalisationGlobalisation, imports and exports, moving production overseas, multinationals, tariffs and trade blocs, the effect of leaving the EU, and adapting the marketing mix abroad.Open →
• Ethics, the environment and businessEthical behaviour and Fairtrade, the trade-offs between ethics, the environment and profit, sustainability, UK law on plastic waste, and how pressure groups influence businesses.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Growing the Business further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Organic growth vs Inorganic growth

  Organic growth: expansion from within by selling more of a firm's own products. Inorganic growth: expansion by joining with or buying another firm.

• Merger vs Takeover

  Merger: two firms agreeing to join together as one new business. Takeover: one firm buying a controlling stake in another.

• Tariff vs Trade bloc

  Tariff: a tax charged on goods brought into a country. Trade bloc: a group of countries that remove barriers to buying and selling between members.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What is organic growth?

   Model answer

   Organic growth is expansion from within, by a business selling more of its own products. Organic growth is also called internal growth.

2. 2

   How can innovation help a business grow organically?

   Model answer

   Innovation brings new or improved products to market that competitors cannot yet offer. New products can attract new customers and raise sales.

3. 3

   What is research and development (R&D)?

   Model answer

   Research and development is the investigation and testing that turns new ideas into products. R&D is costly and slow, and many ideas never reach the market.

4. 4

   Why might a pharmaceutical company spend heavily on research and development?

   Model answer

   A new medicine can be patented and sold without direct competition for many years. The high returns can repay years of costly testing.

5. 5

   How can changing the marketing mix open up a new market for a business?

   Model answer

   A business can adapt its product, price, promotion or place to appeal to a new segment. A toy maker might launch a range aimed at adult collectors.

6. 6

   How can technology help a business reach new markets?

   Model answer

   A website with online payment lets a business sell to customers far beyond its local area. Social media can promote the business to new groups cheaply.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Growing the Business revision questions

What does Growing the Business cover in Edexcel GCSE Business?

5 subtopics: organic and inorganic business growth, public limited companies and finance for growth, changes in business aims and objectives, business and globalisation and ethics, the environment and business. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Growing the Business organised?

By the Edexcel 1BS0 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.