Reasons for growth-
increase market
share, be more
trusted, benefit from
economies of scale,
increase revenue
Drawbacks of
growth- risk,
cost, poor
customer
service,
time/effort
Types of Growth- Internal/Organic- growing from within the business e.g. opening new stores, adding more products. External Growth- growing from outside the business- e.g. takeovers or mergers-
horizontal- taking over/merging with a similar business/same industry, Vertical- takeover/merger with a business in same industry but different stage of production. Diversification- takeover/merger
with a business in different industry.
Changing aims/objectives- might change
to focus on growth,
ethical/environmental, profit
maximisation. Might focus on reducing their social costs and increasing their social benefits.
Private Limited Company- privately owned company, owned by shareholders, shares can only be sold to family and friends. Limited
liability. Public Limited Company- shares sold on stock market, easier to raise finance but have to publish accounts. Both types need to pay dividends to shareholders
Marketing
Price- price skimming- high initial price, then reduced. Penetration pricing-
low initial price then increased. Cost-plus pricing- adding a profit mark up
to the total cost of producing the product, Loss leader- selling product at a loss to hope to get other profitable sales.
Product- Product portfolio- range of products a business sells. Product Life Cycle- details the life span of a product from
launch to being taken off market (introduction, growth, maturity,
decline). In decline- can add an extension strategy e.g. new colours,
new size.
Place- how product gets from producer to consumer (distribution channel)- wholesaler- buys in bulks-
distributes to retailers, telesales- sales through telephone, mail order- sales through mail, Internet
selling
Promotion- sales promotion- e.g. BOGOF, Sponsorship, advertising, Direct Marketing. Promotional Mix
refers to combination of promotion methods used by a business.
Finance
Sources of finance- retained profit, sale and leaseback, mortgage, bank loan, share issue.
Profit and loss account- gross profit= revenue - cost of sales, net profit= gross profit - overheads. Gross profit margin-
gross profit/sales revenue x 100, Net profit margin = net profit/sales revenue x 100
Balance sheet- snapshot of financial health of a business. Details the assets and liabilities of a business. Using balance sheet you can calculate the current ratio and acid test
ratio to test the liquidity of the business- how easily the business can pay off its short term debts
People in Business
Types of training- induction, on the job, off the job. Employees have yearly appraisals to assess how they are working and identify their training needs
Organisational structure- details the different levels of management, lines of authority
and responsibility, span of control.
A business can either be centralised or decentralised. If it is centralised, all decisions are made at head
office by senior managers. Decentralised- decision making power is spread out to managers in branches
and divisions of the business
Operations Management
Flow production- large scale, continuous. Allows for specialisation and division of labour
Lean production- minimising waste- Kaizen- continuous improvements, Just in Time production, Lean design.
Economies and diseconomies of scale, outsourcing, Total Quality Management