n ASSESSMENT

SECTION

D Assessment

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Chapter School-based assessment – Papers 3/1 and 3/2 n

11 ASSESSMENT PAPER 3/1

AND PRIVATE CANDIDATES
PAPER 3/2

This chapter deals with paper 3/1, the school-based assessment (SBA)
for school candidates and paper 3/2, the paper for private candidates
not attending normal schools.

Paper 3/2
The written examination alternative to the SBA

Before we outline some hints, guidelines and pitfalls which school-based

students should take into account in preparing their projects for the SBA
paper 3/1, for candidates who are not attending school but studying the
subject as private candidates, there is an alternative paper – paper 3/2.
This alternative paper is not a project but a written examination, covering the
syllabus. Like the school-based paper 3/1, private candidates will be awarded
40 marks for this examination.
If a private candidate, or a candidate re-sitting the exam, has scored
50 per cent or higher in the previous examination, he/she is exempted from
writing paper 3/2 provided no more than one year has elapsed since taking
the previous examination. However, any student attempting the January
examination for the first time must write paper 3/2. Any student who has
failed paper 3/1 (the project) may not re-submit it, but must write the
examination paper 3/2 instead.
This examination is composed of 14 questions, and the sum total of
marks available is 40, which constitutes 20 per cent of the total marks for
this subject. You are allowed 1 hour for the examination, and students are
strongly advised to pay particular attention to the topic of Establishing a
business (Chapter 3 in this book) and all its objectives and contents.

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Paper 3/1 The school-based assessment

Students and teachers should pay particular attention to the following hints
and guidelines.
  1 For your report, you should use a normal folder. On the front cover of
the folder you should state the following information:
a  your name
b  your registration (examination) number at the top right-hand corner
c  your school’s name
d  your school centre number
e  the date on which you hand in your report to your teacher
f  the title of your topic in bold capital letters.
  2 There is no need to try to glamorize or decorate your folder, as you will
not receive marks for this.
  3 Your teacher will give or outline the topics on which your report should
be based, so that you will have enough time to prepare your report.
Give careful attention to the timeline as outlined by your teacher.
  4 Write up a preliminary report well before the end of the second term,
before the Easter holiday, and give it to your teacher for amendments,
corrections, advice, etc. You can then write your final report, say by the
end of the first month after the holidays. Your teacher has to mark your
report and then send it to the Ministry of Education by mid-May, just
days before the final examinations (your teacher will give you the precise
dates).
5 If you don’t send in your report on time, it may be failed or not graded,
and you stand to lose 20 per cent of the total marks in one go.
6 Your report must be less than 1,200 words. You are sure to be penalized
for writing over this limit. Do not copy, even short sections, from the
reports of other students, as you will be penalized for this.
  7 Choose a topic with which you are familiar, but remember it should not
be repeated from another subject, even if it resembles your Principles of
Business topic. You will lose marks for doing this.
  8 The report must be your own (personalized) work. Be independent about
writing your report (although you are allowed to do your investigative
research with others in your school, or with students from other schools).
  9 Your report must be accompanied with graphs, diagrams, newspaper
clippings, charts and examples, for instance a handbill used as a sample of
an advertisement, etc.
10 Examiners will pay attention to your grammar and spelling, etc. In your
writing try to achieve a smooth, coherent style, and remember that each
paragraph should convey a specific message.
11 You cannot fool the examiners! Do not include something in your report
if you have not investigated it. Make sure you make notes of your findings
as you do your research. You must also state your hypothesis, or the idea
which your research is designed to test out.
12 Many students trap themselves when, for example, their research findings
do not, or cannot, prove or substantiate their hypothesis, or what they
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had set themselves to find out. If this happens to you, be sure to state
your hypothesis and your research findings clearly, and give reasons why
you think your hypothesis was not proved. Do not try to twist your
findings to support your hypothesis. If appropriate, you could include a
comment in your recommendations, at the end of your report, about this.

n Your questionnaire
To test your hypothesis and formulate your report you need information,
and this is the purpose of your research. One way of researching is to devise
a questionnaire, in which you ask questions of the business owners/manager
you are researching. Depending on the type of questions you ask, you may
not get answers to all of them. For example, information about profits, sales,
etc. may be of a sensitive or confidential nature. You will need to be clear
about this in your report. The best and quickest way to get responses is to
make an appointment to meet personally, and talk on a one-to-one basis with
the business owner/manager. Explain in your report your method of asking
your questions. Writing, e-mailing or telephoning them may take time, and
may result in getting partial answers. Prepare yourself with a set of questions
to ask. Make your questions short and direct, to get a specific answer.
Business people do not have much time, and too many questions could put
them off from attending to your needs. You could spread your questions over
a number of appointments.
Choose a firm near to your home or school for your investigation, so
that you can reach it easily. You do not have to research a very big firm.
For example, you can investigate a corner shop, a parlour, a hairdresser or
a snow cone vendor as well as a big factory or supermarket. The questions
you would ask of a big firm are largely the same as for small firms. Most
important, you must state the type of business you are investigating in your
report. Describe the business (2 marks), and explain why it is located where
it is at present (4 marks). Find out what the firm produces, whether goods or
services or a combination of the two (4 marks).

n The principles of your investigation

The examiners are interested in seeing how you apply the principles or the
theoretical bases you have learnt in studying Principles of Business, and to
what level of competency you can apply those principles. There are three
topics from which you must choose for your report.

n The three choices for your report

The three topics you must choose from are all based on Section 3 of the
syllabus, which covers the subject of establishing a business. There are three
different aspects of establishing a business which are specified in the syllabus:
(a) production, (b) marketing, and (c) finance. On the front cover of your folder
you must say which one of these is your chosen topic, and state this as follows:
n Establishing a business: Production
n Establishing a business: Marketing
n Establishing a business: Finance
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The topic that you choose gives you the focus for your investigation, and
should inform the hypothesis you devise.
The following guidelines cover some of the features you should research or
investigate for each type of topic.

The Production function

You will need to include the following aspects/features or issues about the
firm, whatever its size. If you do not include them, you are sure to lose
marks.
  1 You must describe the business (type of business, size, etc.). (2 marks)
  2 Say why (find out from the owner) it is located where it is at present.
(4 marks)
  3 Find out the number and type of employees (labourers, skilled workers,
etc.). (4 marks)
  4 Find out about the start-up capital that was needed (land, machines,
money, working capital, etc.). (4 marks)
  5 Find out about the role/function of the owner/manager. (4 marks)
  6 State the type of production involved (labour intensive, capital intensive).
(2 marks)
  7 State the levels of production (for domestic sales or export). (2 marks)
  8 State how the quality of the product is controlled. (2 marks)
  9 State the level of technology used by the firm (number of machines,
computers, other equipment however simple, or manual labour only).
(2 marks)
10 Describe what links the firm has with other businesses (e.g. suppliers
of raw materials, links to customers, where customers are located,
distribution outlets, exports, etc.). (4 marks)
11 Find out what is the firm’s potential or prospects for growth/expansion.
If the owner says there is no such potential/prospect, then say so in your
report and explain why. (4 marks) Then in your recommendations at the
end of your report you could say what the firm could do to improve its
potential for growth.
12 You must state any government regulations affecting the business (find
out if the firm is a registered company/sole trader, if it has a licence to
operate with a Certificate of Origin, etc.) and if there is any legislation
controlling the business. (2 marks)
13 Report on ethical issues about the firm (for example, the gender balance
of the employees). (2 marks)
14 Four marks are available for the writing up and presentation of the report,
so it is important to check your spelling and grammar, and to include
relevant diagrams, charts, etc. (4 marks)
All of the above features of the Production function give you a total of
40 marks, or 20 per cent of the total marks in the overall Principles of
Business examinations.

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In addition to the guidelines given opposite, you should also investigate the
following aspects of the firm:
n Find out how much the firm produces daily, weekly, or monthly. Try to get
figures for last week, month, year, etc., and make comparisons with present
output in a chart.
n Find out about the production costs, profits and losses, for last week, year,
etc., and make comparisons in a graph, pie chart, etc. Please note: if the
owner/manager of the business refuses to give this information, say this
in your report. Consider why this is, and whether you would make any
recommendations in your report as a result.
n Try to find out where the owner got the start-up capital to establish the
business. Did family members help, and are they involved in running the
business? Find out the borrowing requirements of the owner/manager.
n Ask questions on any other relevant issues to your investigation.
Make notes while you investigate.

The Marketing function

If you choose this topic, you must find out about the following issues for your
report:
  1 Give a description of the type of business you are investigating (what it
does, how big it is, etc.). (2 marks)
  2 Find out how the marketing department is organized (sales departments,
strategy, marketing mix, constraints in marketing, sales personnel, pricing,
etc.). (4 marks)
  3 Find out if the firm does market research (sales targets, niche market,
pricing, competition; get figures on sales forecasts and potential for
growth and development). (6 marks)
  4 Find out exactly what the firm makes. If possible, visit its warehouse to
see samples. Describe them in your report. Find out about branding, and
how the product is packaged, weighed or wrapped. Attach a sample in
your report if possible. (4 marks)
  5 Pricing policy of the firm – find out the production cost, profit margin
and selling price per unit. Find out if different customers are charged
different prices, and why. Find out about credit sales, bad debts, etc.
(2 marks)
  6 Find out about channels of distribution; if wholesalers buy the product, or
if it is sold to the end user. If possible, include a picture or description of
typical customers. Find out if the firm has its own distribution vehicles.
(4 marks)
  7 Ask about the promotion mix in marketing, whether personal selling, over
the counter, advertising, sales promotion techniques, merchandizing, etc.
(4 marks)
  8 Investigate how government regulations affect the firm’s operations; ask
the owner to show you the firm’s Certificate of Origin which permits the
firm to operate. Find out if legislation hinders the firm from expansion,
etc. (2 marks)
  9 Find the type, level and extent of technology the firm uses, e.g. tractors,
machines, computers, conveyor belt, etc. When you visit the firm, ask if
you can take a picture to include in your report. (4 marks)
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10 Find out about complaints by customers, if any. Try to find out if

the firm is at fault (making faulty or sub-standard products, price too
high, etc., and say so in your report. Then in your last paragraph with
recommendations you can say what the firm can do to improve the
situation. (2 marks)
11 For investigating ethical issues, try to find out the relationship with
customers, perhaps by interviewing a sample group of customers.
Find out if customers grumble often, or not at all, and why. Find out
about the fears and prejudices of customers, and investigate the firm’s
environmental impact and policies. (2 marks)
12 You are awarded up to 4 marks for the way in which you write up your
report, communicating your ideas in a coherent manner with good
grammar/spelling, etc. (4 marks)
13 Do not forget to make your recommendations. All diagrams, graphs,
charts, pictures, etc. must be carefully and correctly labelled and
numbered. The number of pages you use for your report is not
important, as long as you write it up in fewer than 1,200 words.

The Financial function

If you choose this topic, you will be judged on the following issues/features
of the business:
  1 Give a description of the firm, what sort of business it does, its size and
location. (2 marks)
  2 Find out how much money the owner first needed as start-up capital, and
how much it needs daily/monthly to run the business (its operating or
working capital). Find out the purpose for which finance is needed, the
borrowing requirements of the firm. Find out if it lends money to others,
and if so, to whom. (4 marks)
  3 Draw an organization chart of the Finance Department, or one for the
whole firm, showing the different functional areas and responsibilities.
(4 marks)
  4 Find out the production costs – for raw materials, labour, machines, daily
running costs, etc. Find out sources of raw materials, whether these are
imported or obtained locally, what the transport costs are, how much the
firm pays, e.g. on phone bills or charges on loans, etc. (3 marks)
  5 Find out about the firm’s capital goods. (3 marks)
  6 For finding out about the sources of finance you can get 2 marks – ask
if the firm gets help (subsidies) from the government to promote its
business, or if grants are given. Find out if sales revenues are enough
for the firm to prosper and if not, why not. Find out the borrowing
requirement of the firm and its sources. Find out how much has been
borrowed in the past. (2 marks)
  7 In the event that the firm borrows money, find out what collateral
security it offers. If the firm lends money to customers or other firms,
what collateral security does it accept in return for the loans?
(2 marks)
  8 Find out about the capital instruments which the firm has or owns; for
example, if it has stocks/shares in other firms, or if it has outstanding
debts on loans. (4 marks)
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  9 You need to report on the performance potential/projections of the firm.

Find out if the firm makes enough money to keep it going profitably/
viably. Find out if production costs allow a comfortable profit level,
and if not, why not. Then report on this and make recommendations
in your final section. Also, you must produce a balance sheet for the
firm, showing the assets it owns, its liabilities or the debts it owes, and
its present capital. Put in money values for machines, plant, land, etc.
as capital assets. Include present stocks and unfinished goods – ask the
owner for the value of these, and tally up a balance sheet alongside the
report on performance and profit levels. (4 marks)
10 Report on the use of technology, the methods used to make payments
and receipts to workers and customers of the firm, and the method used
to enter wages in payrolls, etc. Say if this is computerized or not, and if
not, why not. (2 marks)
11 Find out what government regulations hinder the firm from growing or
expanding. Find out the relationship between the Central Bank and the
Finance Department of the firm, the interest rate, etc. (2 marks)
12 For reporting on ethical issues relating to the firm you can get 2 marks.
You could observe whether the firm operates with integrity and in
a principled manner, and even if staff eat or read newspapers while
customers wait for service. Note how they talk to customers, etc., and
include this in your report. (2 marks)
13 As usual, you can get up to 4 marks for writing up a good report with
correct grammar and spelling, and conveying your message to the
examiners in a coherent manner, complete with diagrams, graphs, charts,
etc. (4 marks)

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