Year 13
Independent Research for BUSS4 Examination 2010

You have been distributed copies of the Research Theme for the June 2010 Unit 4 Examination. It is also available from the AQA Website:

http://web.aqa.org.uk/qual/gce/business/business_noticeboard.php?id=05&prev=05

In the examination it will be important that you can draw on real-life, contextual business examples which you have researched previously. It was for sharing these ideas that the class blog has been created.

Over the Easter Break, your task will be to collect evidence for the key parts of the theme. You should find this evidence in newspapers, magazines, or in the television news. It will be important that your evidence is specific and relevant.

You should use the following set of questions as a starting point:

1. How has the recession created opportunities and threats for businesses and industries?Have some businesses had opportunities created by this recession? Which ones? And by how much? Give evidence for the profit figures, tell me the types of businesses.
   Have some businesses been threatened by the recession? Which ones? Give evidence for the threats which you claim to exist. And most importantly, be specific.
   
2. What have been the long-term strategies and short-term plans adopted by businesses in the recession:
   Again, be specific. Give evidence for which businesses have changed. Use the A2 theory you have learned to describe these changes and whether they are strategic or tactical.
   
3. What are the factors influencing the strategies businesses adopt in the recession?
   Be specific. It might be helpful to compare and contrast two different businesses and look at what factors were different between them and compare the different strategies which were used.
   
4. What strategies could businesses have adopted to prepare for the recession?
   This is retrospective, but it helps to think of what businesses could have done better if they had the chance. Contingency planning might have a lot to say on this. What could businesses have done differently?
   
5. What are the possible impacts of the recession on stakeholders and on relationships between businesses and their stakeholders
   Are there any examples of stakeholder groups which have suffered during the recession? Stakeholder groups
   Are there any examples of businesses changing their approach to CSR reporting or their commitment to stakeholders as a result of the recession? For example, has a business had to cut back on some of its CSR programs
   
6. The case for and against different businesses and industries receiving government financial support during a recession.
   Think: Banks! Should the banks have been bailed out? You should provide evidence for this, but your answer here will be more of an argument.
   
   Due Date: First Lesson Back After Easer