Enterprise · AS Level Business

PT is based in country A and is a public sector business. PT broadcasts television programmes, as well as operating an online streaming service throughout country A. PT’s mission statement is: ‘Our vision is to target the mass market to strengthen the welfare and cultural health of our country’. 5 The government of country A has introduced a law to improve diversity and equality in the workplace. PT has been criticised for a lack of diversity and equality in terms of its female employees, who make up 40% of its 20 000 employees (see Table 1.1).

The directors of PT have agreed to implement a plan to improve diversity and equality, which includes:

• Encouraging male employees to take parental leave. 15
• Offering free childcare for all employees with children under the age of five.
• Setting targets for the selection of female employees for all positions in PT, including higher managerial positions.
• Ensuring all female employees are given equal access to training and development, especially for the qualities intrapreneurs need for success. 20

Zorba had always had a passion for flower arranging. When he was made redundant from his job as an engineer last year, he decided to use all of his savings to set up a flower shop called ZF. Although Zorba did not require any additional finance, he decided to write a business plan before setting up ZF. Table 2.1 shows an extract from his business plan, showing the 5 planned expenditure for ZF.

Zorba opened ZF at the start of January 2026. However, Zorba encountered a number of problems with Supply Chain Management during the first three months of ZF’s trading. 15 These included:

• Changeable weather conditions meant that Zorba could not always guarantee which types of flowers would be available.
• ZF was often forced to work over-capacity at times of high demand.
• The inventory is perishable and can be easily damaged when transported. 20 At the end of the first three months of trading, Zorba realised that he had no working capital left. The problem was that he had not been effectively managing his trade payables.

Kamal is a successful social media influencer. In 2020, Kamal launched his own social media platform, called Influencer Xperience (IX), operating in the quaternary sector of the economy. Kamal targeted other social media influencers with IX’s promotion. IX allows influencers to manage and publish videos on its platform. The unique selling point of IX is that it provides the influencers with better and more detailed information than any other platform. 5 IX is a free-to-use service for social media influencers. IX charges other businesses to advertise on the platform. The price of advertising space is set each month, using dynamic pricing, based on how many users click on an advertisement (price per click). Table 1.1 shows some data about advertising on IX’s platform.

IX’s operations are labour intensive and Kamal describes his management style as laissez-faire. IX has 30 employees who are all managed by Kamal (see Table 1.2).

CB is a public limited company that operates a chain of coffee shops in several countries.
The company was founded in 2010 by two friends, Shopra and Ben. They share a passion
for coffee and want to offer high-quality products to customers.
CB started with one coffee shop in country Q and gradually expanded, always locating in
high-income areas of major cities. CB operates in a dynamic business environment. There 5
is a high level of competition from other well-known coffee shop chains.
The company sources its coffee beans from fair trade suppliers who grow their coffee in
an environmentally friendly way. CB offers a wide range of coffee products to the mass
market. CB also offers other drinks and a variety of food items, such as sandwiches and
cakes. Recent research shows that customers are now looking for healthy food options. 10
CB’s customers are mainly young professionals, students and tourists. Customers enjoy
CB’s inviting atmosphere, comfortable seating areas, free Wi-Fi access and music. Its staff
are trained to be friendly, helpful and knowledgeable.
Table 1.1 shows some financial data for CB for 2023 and 2024.

Shopra believes that CB should continue to focus on the mass market. However, Ben 20 thinks that greater use of market segmentation will be more successful.

TRA is a quaternary sector business. It is the market leader in providing social media data to food manufacturers in country F. TRA’s market has grown by 40% over the last year. DF is a multinational business that specialises in non-alcoholic drinks. DF has asked TRA for data about a new bottle of water with pod attachments. The pods give a fruity flavour which is combined with sparkling water. TRA has sampled 8000 potential consumers on 5 social media to identify their favourite fruity flavour (see Fig. 1.1). None, 6% Watermelon, 14% Banana, 18% Lemon, 34% Strawberry, 28%

TRA employs 65 researchers. Since 2020, all of these employees work from home. They are provided with all the necessary IT equipment and a high-speed internet connection. However, motivation is poor, and this has led to high labour turnover. The Human Resource 10 Director has received some feedback from employees. Fig. 1.2 shows some of this feedback.

• I hate being so isolated – I never get to speak to any other employees.
• I have to use my own electricity, and the cost has doubled in the last two years.
• I know some employees are not working very hard, but they get paid the same as 15 me. It’s not fair!

SF is a private limited company that develops and maintains large-scale solar farms in
country X. SF operates as a capital intensive business.
Bob is an entrepreneur and the majority shareholder of SF. He invested into SF’s first solar
farm. SF took out high-interest bank loans to cover initial cash flow problems and provide
working capital. SF used internal (organic) growth over the next 10 years. 5
SF rents fields from farmers. Its main capital expenditure is solar panels, which are installed
on the rented fields. The solar panels generate electricity, which SF sells to energy providers.
Solar panel technology is constantly improving.
SF operates five solar farms in country X. A team of seven engineers maintain all of SF’s
solar farms. 10
Table 1.1 shows SF’s budgeted and actual data for 2024.

Bob has identified that SF can increase its revenue by using batteries to store electricity
generated by the solar panels. This electricity can then be sold at peak times for premium
prices. This will require significant investment into battery technology. 20
Bob wants to retain control of SF but is concerned about the investment required for further
growth. In 2024 the cost of renting new farmland and purchasing solar panels increased
significantly.
ZB is a multinational battery manufacturer that is keen to start a joint venture with SF. If the
joint venture goes ahead, ZB will insist that SF uses ZB batteries in all future solar farms. 25

Kaia left university with a degree in textile design. Using her entrepreneurial qualities, Kaia set up PB as a sole trader. Her current objective is to break even. Kaia uses job production to make blankets which are personalised with a picture. Each customer logs into the PB website and chooses the size of blanket. The customer then uploads a picture that they want printed onto the blanket. 5 Many of Kaia’s customers buy the blankets as gifts for special occasions. Kaia has employed a social media influencer to promote her blankets. The influencer will be paid a salary of $250 a week and a 5% commission on revenue that comes directly from the influencer. Fig 2.1 shows the revenue that came directly from the social media influencer in February. 10 Revenue ($) Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4

Kaia would like to relocate PB to larger premises. She is applying for external sources of finance, and she has written a five-year business plan to support her applications.