PASTON SIXTH FORM
COLLEGE
Business
SUMMER RESEARCH
BOOKLET
Name: ………………………………………………………
Welcome to Business A level at Paston Sixth Form College.
We are excited that you have chosen this popular and exciting A level as part of your study
programme at the College.
Before you start Business in September, we would like you to carry out a few simple
investigations in order to fully prepare yourself for the course you are about to undertake.
You may find that you are interested in a particular area of Business (such as Marketing,
Finance, Accounting, Human Resources) and wish to undertake some research of your own
– we would be delighted to have a look at your work when you join us later in the year.
Have a go at researching the areas suggested on the next few pages and bring this
completed document (and anything else you have done) with you to your first lesson.
We have also included a list of websites and books which may be of interest to you and
which will certainly aid your understanding of Business as the course progresses. I am sure
that some summer reading would be useful!
Please enjoy your research and remember that the more you put into your studies, the
more you will get out of them!
If you have any questions about the Business course then please feel free to e mail on:
[email protected]
Looking forward to seeing you all in September from
Andrina
Task One – Form of Ownership
In the UK there are a number of different forms of business, which fall into
either the public or private sector.
The public sector is the part of the economy that is owned and controlled by the
government or local authorities. In the UK this means a number of public services such
as the police force, fire service, the BBC and the NHS, as well as local council-run
services such as rubbish collection. The public sector used to include a number of key
nationalised industries and utilities such as coal, steel, water and telephone, but these
have largely been sold off to the private sector through a privatisation process.
The private sector is that part of the economy where a business is owned and
controlled by an individual or a group of individuals such as sole traders, private
limited companies, public limited companies, charities and mutuals.
Research and complete the following questions on business forms:
Questions
1. Explain what is meant by the privatisation process.
2. Explain the difference between an unincorporated business and an incorporated business.
3. Explain what a mutual is.
4. Produce a leaflet which explains what the following forms of business are, along with their
advantages and disadvantages: sole trader, private limited company, public limited company.
Task Two – Leadership Styles and Models
Nearly everyone in the workplace has a manager they are accountable
to, but what does a manager do?
In 1916, French engineer Henri Fayol created the first principles of the
classic management theory. According to him, the five key functions of
managers are to:
Draw up a plan of action

 Organise work
 Command people under them by giving instruction
 Coordinate the resources for which they are responsible (for
example, money, people or time)
 Control activities and people by measuring and correcting them to enable performance to fit plans
The role of managers therefore includes setting objectives, analysing, making decisions, reviewing and
leading.
There are several theories and models that categorise managers according to how they approach and deal
with leadership. The five main styles of leadership are: autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire, bureaucratic
and charismatic. The two main models of leadership are known as The Tannenbaum Schmidt continuum
and The Blake Mouton grid.
Research and answer the following questions on leadership styles and models:
Questions
1. Explain the characteristics of the 5 main styles of leadership.
2. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each of these leadership styles.
3. Explain the Tannenbaum Schmidt continuum model and their theory on leadership, a diagram may
help you here.
4. Explain the Blake Mouton grid model and their theory on leadership, again you may wish to use a
diagram to help your explanation.
Task Three – The Marketing Mix
The marketing mix is the combination of marketing activities
that an organisation engages in in order to best meet the
needs of its targeted market. Traditionally, the marketing mix
was developed for fast-moving consumer goods and consisted
of the four Ps: price, product, place and promotion. As the
service sectors have become more aware of marketing, the
mix has been developed to include people, process and the
physical environment.
Price – strategies, skimming, penetration, psychological, costplus, loss leader etc
Product – design, technology, usefulness, convenience, value, quality, packaging, branding, accessories,
warranties
Place – retail, wholesale, mail order, internet, direct sales, peer-to-peer, multi-channel
Promotion – special offers, advertising, endorsements, user trials, direct mailing, leaflets/posters, free
gifts, competitions, joint ventures
People – employees, management, culture, customer services
Process – especially relevant to service industries, how are services consumed?
Physical environment – smart, run down, interface, comfort, facilities
Research and complete the following questions:
Questions
1. Give an explanation as to what the following pricing strategies and tactics are; price skimming,
penetration pricing, price leaders, price takers (strategies), loss leader, psychological pricing
(tactics).
2. With the use of a diagram, explain the five stages of a products life cycle
3. Explain the Boston Matrix with regards to product portfolio (a diagram may help your explanation)
4. Explain the difference between, giving examples, above-the-line promotions and below-the-line
promotions.
5. Explain the following methods of distribution channels; direct, modern, traditional and multichannel.
Task Four - Motivation
Having a motivated work force is beneficial to a business for
several reasons. It improves efficiency and productivity as the
employees enjoy their job and want to do well. It reduces costs as
the labour turnover (the amount of people leaving a business) is
low meaning less capital being spent on recruiting and training
new staff. Business tend to use a combination of monetary
benefits (i.e. bonuses, piece rate, commissions) and nonmonetary benefits (i.e. pension schemes, private health care, job
enrichment and empowerment). There are several theories as to what and how motivates the workforce.
Research and complete the following questions:
Questions
1. Explain the following motivational theories and what the general ideas behind them are as to how
they help motivate a work force; Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Herzberg two factor theory and
Taylor’s scientific management (it may be helpful for you to use diagrams to support your
explanations).
Task Five – Sources of Finance
Businesses source there finance from a wide range of place. These can be
considered internal (coming from within the business) or external (gaining
finance from an outside source). The source of finance will depend on the size
and how long the finance is needed for and the repayment period (if any).
Research and complete the following questions:
Questions
1. Produce a table which gives a definition with advantages and disadvantages of each of the
following sources of finance, along with whether it is an internal/external source of finance and if it
is considered use for the short/long term; debt factoring, overdraft, retained profits, share capital,
loans, venture capital.
Your table could look something like this:
Source of
Finance
Debt
Factoring
Explanation
Advantages
Disadvantages
Internal/External Short/Long
Term
Please bring this completed booklet plus any extra work to your first business lesson – thank you