Fundamentals of business

Which of the following best describes the various stages of the business life cycle?

• Seed, start-up, growth, maturity, decline

• Seed, start-up, growth, maturity, post-maturity

• Seed, start-up, growth, maturity, post-maturity, decline

• Seed, start-up, growth, maturity, post-maturity, steady state

A clothing store encourages customers to use their own carry bags. What is the purpose of this action?

• To improve operational costs

• To comply with business regulations

• To be ecologically sustainable

• To show goodwill to customers

An analysis of the end-of-year financial statements of a business showed that an increase in operational costs - in particular the cost to lease the building - affected the business's overall performance. How would this be classified as part of a SWOT analysis?

• Strength

• Weakness

• Opportunity

• Threat

A business changes its organisational structure by grouping employees into departments based on their specialised skills. Which of the following could be seen as an initial advantage of the new structure?

• Greater worker participation in the decision-

  making process

• Increased productivity due to knowledge of

  tasks being performed

• Greater responsiveness to authority

• Increased control of the operations of the

  business

A business establishes an online presence to allow customers to purchase goods online. Which of the following is an internal factor that may have influenced this decision?

• The need to give customers the ability to

  purchase goods 24/7

• An online purchasing facility established by a

  rival business

• The modification by management of

  operational processes

• The owner's decision to create a positive work

  environment

Which of the following is a political influence on a business's operations?

• An increase in tariffs, or taxes paid on imports

• A reduction in pollution and greenhouse gas

  emissions

• Changes in business regulations to protect consumers from fraudulent business practices

• The provision of fair wages and conditions for

  workers within an industry

A business provides free samples of its product for customers to try. At which stage of the business life cycle is this strategy most likely to be used?

• Start-up

• Growth

• Maturity

• Post-maturity

Which business function would be involved in installing an automated robotic system in a business?

• Finance

• Human resources

• Marketing

• Operations

An intrapreneur can be defined as:

• an innovator who is able to use the resources of a business they work for to realise their goals without being exposed to the risks

• a leader who carefully follows instructions and implements all of the strategic planning to make a business successful for the owners or board of directors

• a leader or innovator who has the skill set and courage to take risks and turn a concept into a reality

• an innovator who takes risks for investors wanting to grow their wealth by supporting start-ups as they enter new markets

Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of IKEA, wanted to

'create a better everyday life for the many people'.

This is an example of a business's:

• vision statement

• mission statement

• strategic plan

• SMART goals