EDEXCEL GCSE BUSINESS · PAPER 2
Exam Practice: Ethics, the Environment and Business
Ethics, the environment and business · Growing the business · Lesson 4 of 4 · 15 marks · 20 minutes
Name Date
Answer all questions. Use the context of the business in the question where one is given.
Question 1 DEFINE [1 mark]
Define the term 'sustainability'.
Question 2 OUTLINE [2 marks]
Outline one way a pressure group could affect a business's marketing mix.
Question 3 EXPLAIN [3 marks]
Explain one way that behaving ethically could increase a business's profit.
Question 4 JUSTIFY [9 marks]
|
SOURCE FreshBite PLC sells sandwiches and salads in 400 shops. It uses single-use plastic packaging. An environmental pressure group has started a social media campaign against it. Option 1: Switch to fully compostable packaging, adding 8p to the cost of each item. Option 2: Keep the plastic packaging but launch a recycling scheme in its shops. |
Justify which one of these two options FreshBite PLC should choose.
Answers
Check your answer only once you have written one.
Question 1 [1 mark]
Meeting the needs of today without harming the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
▸ Meeting present needs without harming future generations / not using up resources 1 mark
Question 2 [2 marks]
A pressure group campaign could force the business to change its product (1), for example removing an ingredient such as palm oil that damages rainforests (1).
▸ A way identified linked to one of the 4Ps 1 mark
▸ Developed 1 mark
Question 3 [3 marks]
It could attract more customers (1). Many customers prefer to buy from businesses they see as ethical, and may pay a higher price for ethically made products (1). This increases the business's sales and revenue, which can outweigh the extra costs of behaving ethically (1).
▸ A way identified, e.g. more customers / reputation / staff loyalty / avoiding scandal 1 mark
▸ First linked point of explanation 1 mark
▸ Second linked point of explanation 1 mark
Question 4 [9 marks]
Option 1 removes the cause of the campaign. Compostable packaging shows FreshBite is serious about the environment, which should end the pressure group's campaign and attract customers who care about plastic waste. However, 8p per item across 400 shops is a large extra cost, which will either reduce profit or raise prices, and price-sensitive customers may go elsewhere. Option 2 is cheaper, and shows some action. But the pressure group is likely to see it as "greenwashing", continuing its campaign, and customers may still see FreshBite as a plastic polluter, damaging its reputation. On balance FreshBite should choose Option 1, because the social media campaign threatens its reputation across all 400 shops, and a half-measure is unlikely to stop it. However, this depends on whether it can pass on some of the 8p cost without losing too many customers.
▸ AO2 (Application, 3 marks): uses the context - 400 shops, the campaign, 8p per item, the two options Level 1-3
▸ AO3a (Analysis, 3 marks): chains of reasoning about each option Level 1-3
▸ AO3b (Evaluation, 3 marks): a justified choice with a supported judgement Level 1-3