Y11 Examiners Reports

Hi All

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/5dzbcegkdxfaku3/mmtWLRbuOS

If you are wondering what revision to do tonight download these and read through the 2011/2012 one at minimum. It will help with technique.

Good luck to everyone tomorrow I am sure you will be Awesome!

I am in from 9am to 11am tomorrow before your exam in room E3 if you wanted to pop in and ask questions etc. Remember a calculator and black pens and a ruler to help you spot where graph lines meet if you are asked.

Mr Oates

Y12 Unit 1 Exam Feedback

Hi Guys

I have seen the paper and as usual some real zingers in the 4 mark section. Glad we talked about debentures in the run up revision session. Plus making clear what operating profit was! Never would have seen that as a first question.

The only confusion for us is question 8 where it asks to "show your working" but there is some debate as to whether you would show any.

Product trails came up for an 8 marker which is good given I have 4 of you ask me what they were and their advantages/disadvantages.

Section B had a good range: Supply side factors, differentiation, product trials, business ownership, unemployment and exchange rates.

My hope is that you recalled limited companies can obtain finance easier, have the unlimited liability and as such are seen as more reliable to use as a supplier.

Mr Oates

Internet Browsers Market Share

Hi Guys

Great article HERE on the market share for internet browsers and how the market is being affected by new product launches from Microsoft as they use extension strategy's to keep their browsers popular.

Another article HERE for a live track which is a bit more up to date. You can also use to to see operating systems and so on are being used on different platforms. Very good data!

Y11/Y12 Business Ethics Resources

Hi Guys

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/iqejoiiqw29i4qi/CcjLfsWxcc

This link is for some resources on my dropbox which includes a PowerPoint and some useful articles.

Y12 Exchange Rates & Interest Rates

Exchange Rates: "The value of one currency against another"

This video is awesome and explains exchange rates and goes into some added details about currency wars. Great Unit 1 revision!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11722578

Also this video explains interest rates much better than I ever have in class. This is likely not saying much but there we go...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8444939.stm

Possible exam question: "The pound is said to be weak against the euro at present. Explain what this means to an importing UK based business."

P.S. Added value is NOT COST PLUS PRICING!!!!

BEP Refresh

Break-even = Fixed Costs/Contribution per unit

Contribution per unit = Selling Price-Cost Price

e.g. FC=$9000 & VC per unit = $25 & Selling price = $35.

How many units need to be sold?

9000/CPU(SP35-VC25)

BE = 9000/10

BE = 900 Units


Margin of safety = The difference between predicted total revenue and the break even point. In other words the level of profit a business expects to make against the level at which it will cover its costs.

Larger MOS = Stronger chance of making a profit and less susceptible to changes in market conditions. Also can be used to help with securing finance etc.

MOS = Predicted Sales-BEP

E.G. Predicted units sold from example above is 1000 therefore MOS = 1000-900 = 100 Units. This is about 10% so you could argue that this is a small margin if the product was quite low value and it was a new business unsure of its actual sales and predicting BEP for the first time. Therefore they need to lower prices or increase advertising to ensure they sell more units.

Y11 New Exam Paper Practice

Hi Y11

I hope your revision is going well for your final Exam which as you know is worth 50% of your final grade.

Below are some link's to the exam paper and mark scheme we did in your mock and also two additional papers you can use to test your knowledge. Remember using past papers and a mark scheme works well for revision. To find the mark scheme for each paper just scroll down below the question paper.

http://www.edexcel.com/migrationdocuments/GCSE%20New%20GCSE/GCSE%20SAMS%20Business%20Studies%20Booklet%202010.pdf

http://www.edexcel.com/migrationdocuments/GCSE%20New%20GCSE/Edexcel%20GCSE%202009%20Business%20-%20SAM.pdf

http://www.edexcel.com/migrationdocuments/GCSE%20New%20GCSE/GCSE-SAMS-Business-Studies-Booklet-2008.pdf

I would also advise going to the below site and searching for the examiner reports. Here you can see past answers and how the exam board marked them plus advice from the exam board. If you look at the final bullet points for each year you will find very useful tips on what students have done wrong each year in general so you can prepare more fully. Remember to look for Unit 3 for your exam paper.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/5dzbcegkdxfaku3/mmtWLRbuOS

http://www.edexcel.com/quals/gcse/gcse09/Business/Business/Pages/default.aspx

If any of you want help or advice during study leave feel free to email me directly or arrange to come in. I am available after-school most days and will happily help you go through past papers and questions if you need to.

My main advice is to:

• Ensure you read at least 2 examiner reports from the past two years. 
• Focus on the theory you are least confident with first and attempt any questions you can find on these.
• Use question papers and mark schemes to plan out how you will answer questions in advance.
• Remember that questions come up again in different forms so all practice is good practice
• Make sure you go into the exam with lots of energy and confidence

Remember Tutor2U, GCSE Bitesize and Business Studies Online are all great websites.