Erik Said:

Business Studies students. Edexcel. GCSE Tomorrow?

We Answered:

1.
TQM - Total Quality Management
[Ensure you write a definition too - this gets you marks]
TQM is the process whereby the employees of a firm are encouraged to play an active role in ensuring the highest possible quality, as opposed to Quality Control where products are checked only at the end of production.

Advantages of TQM include that the workers feel more involved and therefore motivated, as they are given a say in what goes on in the business. This means they will work harder. Another advantage is that with workers checking quality throughout production and correcting any errors, the business won't have to pay extra money for someone to check quality at the end. Another advantage is that if errors found on products during production are corrected, there is less wastage which means lean production, more products making it to the tertiary sector and therefore more income for the business.

However disadvantages include the fact that workers may feel added pressure. Ontop of making products, they now have to check the products are all okay before they can move on. This can affect performance, especially if the workers are paid piece rate [paid per item they create] which can lead to lower quality products. In this case, the low quality products will go straight to the tertiary sector as the business will believe that products are of a high quality, which can affect sales and the reputation of the business.
Another disadvantage of TQM is that the workers may feel in the spotlight. They may feel that they are expected to contribute ideas, and that they may not be good enough if they don't do so, which can have a negative impact on motivation, happiness and therefore work, quality and output levels.

2. Note: Apprenticeships are not part of the syllabus - they are not featured in the Edexcel textbook even though they are mentioned in the case study - revise this but not in too much detail as you won't have learnt it
[Again, definition of apprenticeships]
Apprenticeships give students [or graduates] the chance to work with professionals in a trade to learn more about the work and gain experience.
Advantages - Helping young people learn from a professional who can teach them how to be successful
Disadvantages - Professional cannot focus on work if they are teaching someone else

3. "It offers sponsorship as well as attention graduate job fairs"
Sponsorship - The business allows students/graduates to come and work with them to gain experience and learn about the trade before actually getting a job. This helps their prospects as they will have appropriate experience. If they are very good, B&R will take them on as an actual employee and if not, they can always move on to a different firm who will like the experience and take them on.
B&R helps produce these students through the apprenticeships - It sort of.. makes them, which then creates gratitude from the student who will be motivated by the education they have received and the fact that B&R even let them have an apprenticeship that they will stay on.

Graduate job fairs - When students in university finish a degree, they are Graduates. They have learnt all they need to and can now go out and work. However, work is sometimes difficult to come by, especially for young people who may not be as valued as an older person with more experience. [Although young people may take lower wages but may not produce good products]. There is also more difficulty in today's economic climate where redundancies and businesses cutting back on costs leads to less jobs being given out.

4.
A managing director oversees the day-to-day running of the business. The managing director is not the chief/owner of the business, but they manage one branch/section.
The managing director will work on planning and strategies to make the business more successful and ensure that workers are happy.
The managing director sort of runs the business and answers to shareholders, but doesn't actually own it.

5. Pricing:
B&R would use retained profits as they are readily available. They may also consider loans which they can get easily because they are an Ltd.

6.
CAD - Computer Aided Design - very simple - Using computers to design something. Easy to use and with a computer, it can easily be changed, as opposed to long diagrams which need to then be re-done, which is time consuming. Architects use programs such as AutoCad as they regularly need to design things then change them.
CAM - Computer Aided Manufacture - speeds everything up and quality is always the same. Using computers to program robots to create things [e.g. for cars]. However, if the machine breaks, everyone is screwed and production stops. Machines like this are also EXPENSIVE.
CIM - Computer Intergrated Manufacture - Also important! - A combination of CAD & CAM - Using computers to design AND manufacture products

EXTRA:
B&R may find apprenticeships useless and may not like graduates with no exp