Section One - Question 1

Remember this is worth 10 marks. Getting a good number of marks here could be the difference between bands.

Read the question.
Read the Case Study. Use your highlighter if you see things that relate to the topics asked.

eg if it asks you for:

marketing
finance
operations
external factors (PESTEC)

look through the case study for such things.

Make sure you put them down as headings or else you will only get a maximum of 3 marks.

Identify PROBLEMS - not solutions.

Use bullet points. Don't waste time writing tons here.

Remember as well that some problems may be inferred and not hit you in the face. So think! Naturally 5 out of the 10 marks will be easy to come by, but the other 5 may be a bit harder.

The normal headings you may be asked are:

Marketing (customers, products, market research, pricing, advertising etc)
Finance (budgets and money)
Human Resources (employee problems, unions, job satisfaction, strikes, pay disputes etc)
Operations (buying in materials from suppliers, stock, quality control, making/producing the product)
Internal Organisation/Corporate Culture (what ethos has the firm got? What structure has it? Management style? What type of grouping?)
External Factors (PESTEC - Political Economic Social Technological Environmental and Competitive)
Other ( in here put anything else you can think of)

There may be a new one to do with using Technology, but use your common sense!

Make sure you write at least 10 points and spread them out.

eg. Don't have 6 in Marketing and none in Finance.