Examination Practice - Page 29.

(a) One job being specifically advertised in figure 3 i the role of senior manager.

(b) Expansion is the main reason why global resources are recruiting in the UK because with expansion the company will gain a much largr annual income.

(c) (i) "Areyou Ex Management" suggests some applicants left other jobs.
(ii) ''Ready for a change?'' suggests some applicants may be with another business.

(d) Its could be hard for some recruits to work abroad because for a starter there will be an obvious language barrier and i may be difficult to some who have families etc as there may be commitments or other reasons why a recruit may need to stay in the UK.

Examination Practice - Page 47.

(a) Identify TWO decisions by Sainsbury that are likely to de-motivate staff. Explain why each could de-motivate.





- One thing that will definatly de-motivate staff would be the fact that they aren't getting their christmas bonus. This will de-motivate them because obviously they aren't getting their christmas bonus which has been given out for 25 years and this will make the outraged and feel less important and therefore will not work as hard as they would if they were getting paid bonus for their work. Another reason would be that instead of the bonusthey get a 5% extension on their store discount which is not exactly as good as a bonus so this might make the employees feel like they aren't being appreciated for their efforts during the year.





(b) Explain likely effects that these decisions might have on general staff at the business in terms of:

i) Production - With the staffs bonuses being taken away they will most probably feel less imporant to their employers and will feel de-motivated and therefore won't be working as hard as usual which will result in poorer quailty or quantity of products.

ii) The working environment - The working envrironment at Sainsburys would be no where near as good as it would usally be because the staff have had their christmas bonus taken away, people working there would feel degraded and wouldn't be as motivated to keep their environment joyful and perhaps even clean.

iii) Absenteeism - As result of the bonus being cut from employees people may begin to feel less important and feel as if they are not being valued as a member of staff and because of this they may not attend work as regulary because they might feel that if the company can't be bothered with them then they can't be bothered with the company

(c) Whether or not the decisions mad would cost the company more than it saves all comes down to how de-motivated the staff are. If they became offendended by the decision then production among other vital things could decrease and this could cost the company money as they aren't up to their usual level of production etc... However if the staff were not to bothered by the decision then the company would save money.

Pinnacle Wash - Celebrity Car Wash.

This idea seems like the kind of idea that could make Paul Dalton very rich. The reason i say this is because When he's charging $11,500 per car, and reportedly he has alot of customers then he should surely be making alot of money. He uses methods of washing the cars which are supposed to be absolutely amazing, such as the rare Brazillian wax he uses called Zymol Royale wax, which Dalton claims the wax finish lasts up to a year. The only problem i can see with this product is if his prices are actually to high... $11,500 is alot of money just to have your car washed, but then again celebrities can most probably afford this so fair play to Paul Dalton for making his prices high for what seems to be a very good car was.

U-boatworx 'affordable' recreational submarine.

The idea thaty people can own their own submarine and us it to explore the wonders of the under water world is brilliant i think. The website for this product is well set out but dosen't say how much the submarines cost on the website how much the cost, however the approximate price is apparently around $130,000 and i personally think this isn't affordable at all. Thats about the same price as a fairly expensive sports car and they aren't exactly affordable. I think this is a good idea and would most probably make alot of money selling to people who have a fairly decent amount of money, however the downside is the fact that this product is apparently affordable and yet the price isn't exactly affordable to those who are on a more standard salary.

Water Purifying Drinking Straw.

Unfortunatly i couldn't get onto the website to get further information about this product but from what i do know this product seems like a very good one. This idea is brilliant to help those places where it is unsafe to drink water as it could be infested with diseases, the straw helps prevent things such as shigella, salmonella, staphyloccus aureus and E .Coli. So this straw could be one way to help stop the deaths of thousands of people due to drinking dirty water. So i think Vestergaard Frandsen has come up with a genius idea that will surely make him a well deserved profit.

Practise Exercise.

1. Define the term 'enterprise'...

- Almost any business or organisation can be called an enterprise but the term usually refers to the process by which new businesses are formed and new products and services created and brought to the market. Enterprises are usually led by an entrepreneur.

2. What is an entrepreneur?

- Entrepreneurs are individuals who have an idea that they develop by setting up a new business and encouraging it to grow. They take the risk and the profits that come with success or the losses that come with failure.

3. Give three examples of successful entrepreneurs...

a) Levi Roots - Reggae Reggae Sauce
b) Sir Alan Sugar - Amstrad
c) Bill Gates - Microsoft

4. Identify four characteristcs of successful entrepreneurs...

i) Passion & determination
ii) Ability to realise and take advantage of opportunities.
iii) Vision & creativity
iv) Being able to take risks

5. Explain why the ability to take risks is important in developing a successful buisness...

- Taking risks can be a very vital part of a businesses success. It's important for a business to take certain risks because if they don't take these risks then they might not progress further into success. So taking risks could be the only path for some businesses to succeed even more in making profit.

6. Define the term 'opportunity cost' and gives examples of how it might apply to you as a student, to your school or college, and to a business...

- The 'real cost' of taking a particular action or the next best alternative forgone. This could apply to a student because they could have decided to take a certain subject but didn't get into the class and instead of choosing a subject they are good at they chose a class with their mates in it. This could apply to a school by letting one of their best teachers go over something stupid such as being late to lessons. This could apply to a business by loosing an outstanding applicant for a job role and giving it to the next person they thought ws right for the job, with time another outstanding applicant would have surely turned up for the job.

7. Suggest three reasons why an individual might become an entrepreneur...

-
i) Because they feel they have a genually good idea that will make money and they want to sell it.
ii) Because they feel their product can help people/the environment and they want to sell this to help those people or the environment.
iii) They want a quick way to make alot of money.

8. Why are an enterprising culture and people with entrepreneurial skills important for the UK economy?

- These kinds of thing are important for our economy because they contribute towards our country getting out of recession. If more entrepreneurs step forward to start up an enterprise then the rates of unemployment would decrease and then more people would have money to spend on products to help start to rebuild Britains economy.

9. Explain 3 ways in which government supports enterprise and entrepreneurs.

i) Holding enterprise weeks to raise awareness about enterprise
ii) Cutting down corperation taxes.
ii) Improving support for new & small businesses

10. State two organisations other than central government that provide support new businesses...

i) Enterprise Insight
ii) Young Enterprise

6 Questions For Discussion.

1. To what extent are passion and determination sufficient for business success?

- Passion & determination are very important values to have to make a business successful. Without these attributes a business cannot drive itself to become it's full potential and make a decent profit. The more passion and determination a business has the harder it can push to become as successful as possible and this is surely one of the most important goals of any business. So i personally believe these two attributes are very vital to any business wanting to go far and become successful.

2. Are there certain characteristics that all successful entrepreneurs have?

- Characteristics vary between successful entrepreneurs. Some are greedy and just care about how much money they earn whereas others such as Levi Roots have great personalities and seem to be great company. So all of these characteristics are important if your an entrepreneur because if the persons main goal is to make as much money as possible then they have the determination to reach this goal (most probably) and those who seem more enthusiastic about their work do well because it's their passion and they enjoy what they do.

3. What appear to be the main reasons for becoming an entrepreneur?

- There are a few reasons why people become entrepreneurs. One being it is somebodies passion to run their own business selling a product the came up with or providing a service they thought up. Another reason is people want an easy route to success and by producing a product they invented and trying to get people to invest and help sell your product is one way this is possible. Another reason could be the fact someone has come up with helpful idea and want to sell it to help people.

4. Is the ability to cope with uncertainty, make mistakes and take risks an essential characteristic of a successful entrepreneur?

- Yes, because if somebody who is trying to sell their product can't cope with making a mistake then they wouldn't be able to handle the business because they could panic and the business could completely collapse. Also if they aren't willing to take risks this could be costly because this could stop the businesses successfulness progressing but also if an entrepreneur took too many risks this could be costly to the business because it could make a huge loss if the risk turned into a mistake.

5. Should the government provide more money to support start-up businesses?

- At this time i think they should because with the recession causing mass numbers of unemployment in the UK this would perhaps convince more people to start up businesses and this could cause numbers of unemployment to decrease. If the government was to use more money to support business i think they should split the money equally between big & small businesses because this way more big business can recruit staff and smaller ones can set-up.

6. Can government agencies ever be really effective in providing advice for entrepreneurs?

- The agencies could be effective in the fact they know whats going on in the economy and can give reccomendations on what they shoud do financially but otherwise i don't see how they could be of much help because any successful entrepreneur should know how to run their business themselves and new entrepreneurs should speak to more experienced people for advice.

Air-Powered Car.

This enviromentally friendly idea is good to reduce carbon emissions and is a clever way of doing it. Enviromentalists would most probably buy this car so i would imagine it would make a profit and if not i'm sure it would break even. The only problem with this product is its image, it looks very ugly... I'm sure with development of the image the air-powered car would become a huge success.

Sugar Jewellery.

Out of all the ideas i've posted about this product is the worst one in my eyes. The reason i believe this is because it has no actual benefit to society. The only promise this product actually has on making a profit is if a younger range of customers catch onto this idea and it becomes a new trend.

Waterless Urinals.

Again this environmentally friendly product is a very good idea. The ZeroFlush waterless urinal is a great way to save water and at the same time have a good-working urinal. Some people might think that this idea is unhygeinic an would have a rather nasty smell to it, but infact the ZeroFlush has low bacteria levels in a waterless environment which leaves the urinal odour free. With this product being environmentally friendly places such as protest festivals (protests against destroying the environment) and also places such as the Eco friendly night club, which i wrote about in a post below, and this means the business should make a fairly decent profit. All in all i think this product is clever and would sell very well.

Fair Trade Vending Machines.

Personally out of all the business ideas i've been asked to evaluate because the idea is good and is for a good cause. The idea of putting these vending machines in places such as colleges and universties is good because lots of students will use these and this way more money can go towards the cause fair trade helps and also give a slight profit to the company to keep it going and help with marketing prices.

Cheeseburger In a Can.

The idea of a cheeseburger in a can strikes me as an interesting one. Personally i think this particular product from the Trek'n Eat range isn't very good because burgers aren't exactly hard to make, all a camper might need is a disposable barbeque, some burger patties and some buns and maybe some cheese if they wish and they can make their own burger quite simply. However for those who simply can't cook to save their lives this idea might be what they've always wanted, especially if they enjoy burgers. So in conclusion, unless the person is absolutey hopeless a cooking then the cheeseburger in a can is an unnecessary.

Self-Powering Eco Nightclub.

Andrew Charalambous' idea to have an Eco friendly nightclub is very interesting. The idea that the movement of people dancing generates about 60% of the clubs electricity is genius in my eyes. Also with the supposed global warming dilemma our world faces this idea can be very helpful towards making our world greener, and I'm sure this can bring a fairly decent profit to Mr Charalambous. Also with the club having waterless urinals and being made out of old CD's and mobiles and the tables being made out of old magazines, this would have cut the costs of the club itself and made the club even more Eco Friendly. So overall i personally think this idea is a good one and believe the business will bring a decent profit in a year.

Books for Business Studies

At the moment i have AQA Business Studies for AS by Ian Marcouse, Malcolm Surridge and Andrew Gillespie. Unfortunatly at the moment i haven't had much opportunity to look through this book as we have been working on the book supplied by my school and they don't allow us to take them home.

Business work.

1. If the Lapdesk was adapted i think that the product would sell reasonably well beause the idea is a good one and students would benefit from this idea as it would be very helpful in lessons such as lectures.

2. I would invest £25,000 in the business because the idea is a good one and i think the product would make a reasonably large amount of sales, also with 50% this woud mean i would get a decent amount of the profit, and as i'd be confident in the lapdesk making alot of sales this would be an investment i'd definatly take.

3.If the £25,000 was used for marketing i'd use the money to set up a website which the lapdesk could be bought from. Also i'd use the money to create a television advertisement to raise awareness of the lapdesk, perhaps also take out newspaper adverts in some national papers such as The Times.