Edexcel Business A Level Revision

Global competitiveness -  is the ability of a business, usually a MNC, to perform better than its rivals across markets in different countries. This can be achieved through performance on price and quality or customers' perception of these factors.  Competitive advantage - is an advantage over competitors gained by offering consumers greater value, either by means of lower prices or by providing greater benefits and service that justifies higher prices.    Cost competitiveness - the differences in unit costs between competitors. Outsourcing -  A practice used by companies to reduce costs by transferring portions of work to outside suppliers rather than completing it internally. Outsourcing is an effective cost-saving strategy when used properly. Offshoring -  When a company moves various operations to another country for reasons such as lower labour costs or more favourable economic conditions in that other country. This topic is split into two; ...

A key difference between offshoring and outsourcing is that the offshored element of the business is still part of the same global business but outsourcing means a completely separate business takes over the work. Offshoring - When a company moves various operations to another country for reasons such as lower labour costs or more favourable economic conditions in that other country. The key reasons for this is cost minimisation as the production process can be undertaken at a reduced costs in comparison to the domestic economy. Closeness to market will reduce transport costs for businesses and might allow for easier access to consumers, particularly if operating in the country being targeted e.g. Jaguar Land Rover have set up production in China. As well as this they will take advanatge of economies of scale from operating in larger international markets and having access to more specialised suppliers and services.  However, offshoring includes the fact that public and emp...

Flexible working - A range of employment options (e.g. part-time, job share) that provide an alternative to full-time permanent employment. Multi skilling - Is the practice of training employees so that they have the ability to do a range of tasks, or of recruiting who have several skills. Flexible hours/Flexi-time - Require the employee to work a certain number of hours in a given time period but mostly there are no fixed hours when they have to be on site. Outsourcing - Refers to the situation where business tasks or processes are undertaken by an external provider. Inputs are brought in from another business that may be local or oversees. Part-time work - A form of employment with less than 35 hours worked per week. Temporary work - Where an employee is hired for a set period of time Home working - Working from home in office-type jobs, or roles involving travel where home is used as a base.  FLEXIBLE WORKING Flexible working describes a range of employm...