AQA AS Business Unit 1 - Possible Evaluation Questions

The following list is not intended as an exhaustive list of all the possible evaluative questions that might be set on BUSS1 – merely an indication of the key specification areas which lend themselves to longer, evaluative questions.

STARTING A BUSINESS

The relative risks and rewards facing an entrepreneur for the case study start-up
Assessing the main opportunity costs involved in the decision to start the business
Evaluating whether the start-up might be best done as a franchise rather than a standalone business
Evaluating the overall attractiveness of the target market segment for the start-up
The importance of one or more characteristics of the entrepreneur in determining whether a start-up will be successful (e.g. experience, determination, leadership)
How motivated is the entrepreneur to making the start-up successful?
Evaluating the importance of finance to the start-up compared with other factors (e.g. location, strength of the business idea)
Evaluating the importance of protecting the new business idea (e.g. through patents)
Evaluating the appropriateness of the sample size or method chosen to obtain market research
The relative importance and/or suitability of research carried out for a business plan
Evaluating the usefulness of different kinds of research – e.g. primary v secondary, qualitative v quantitative
Assessing which factors are likely to be most important in determining the demand for the start-up’s products
Judging the importance of effective market segmentation to the new business
Evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of choosing one form of legal structure over another (e.g. sole trader v limited company)
Assessing the pros and cons of protection to shareholders through limited liability
Assessing the suitability of different sources of finance for the start-up
Evaluating the likelihood that external providers of finance (e.g. business angel, bank) will provide funds to the start-up
Assessing the most important factors affecting the ability of the business to raise sufficient finance
Evaluating the pros and cons of the entrepreneur investing substantial personal funds in the start-up
The relative importance of various factors considered by the entrepreneur in choosing a business location
Evaluating the implications of the choice of business location for the potential success of the business (e.g. availability of skilled labour, proximity to target customers)
The pros and cons of using full-time v part-time / permanent v temporary employees during the start-up phase
Evaluating the usefulness of consultants and advisers to business planning process
Assessing the benefits and drawbacks of flexible working to the start-up

FINANCING A BUSINESS

Evaluate the importance of profit as an objective for the start-up (compared with, say cash flow, survival etc)
Assessing the implications of changes to costs and/or revenues on the business profit
Assessing the main reasons why a start-up might have found the early trading period more difficult than expected (or assumed in the business plan)
Evaluating the factors that determine how easy it is to set prices for a start-up
Assessing the importance or usefulness of breakeven analysis to the entrepreneur
Evaluating the limitations of breakeven analysis for the business
Evaluating the viability of the business idea based on breakeven calculations
Assessing the pros and cons of producing a cash flow forecast
The usefulness and relevance of information used to construct a cash flow forecast
Evaluating the main causes of cash flow problems experienced by the business
The pros and cons of using budgets to control costs and cash flow
Evaluating why the start-ups budgeting process may have experienced problems
Weighing up the potential objectives of the entrepreneur in starting the business
Assessing the main risks taken by the entrepreneur compared with the potential rewards
Evaluating the main causes of a business failure
Assessing the most appropriate way for the entrepreneur to determine the success of the business
Judge the success of the business compared with evidence of the objectives set before trading began
Evaluating how significant were events outside of the start-ups control (e.g. sudden drop in market demand)