9.1.2

Challenges of Growth

Test yourself on Challenges of Growth

Test your knowledge with free interactive questions on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

Challenges of Growth and Retrenchment

Though growth is an objective of many businesses, it brings challenges along with benefits and these must be considered by businesses:

Technical economies of scale

Technical economies of scale

  • Technical economies of scale occur when a business is able to adopt advanced technological approaches to production as a result of their scale and size.
  • For example, Coca Cola’s production line is likely to be more efficient than a competitor with a much less advanced production system; this reduced Coca Cola’s cost for every unit produced.
Purchasing economies of scale

Purchasing economies of scale

  • Purchasing economies of scale occur when a business is able to take advantage of bulk ordering discounts.
  • For example, Amazon may buy 30,000 units of a product from a manufacturer and will pay less per unit than an independent retailer only purchasing 100 units.
Managerial economies of scale

Managerial economies of scale

  • Managerial economies of scale occur when a business is large enough and able enough to introduce specialist staff for each of its functions.
  • For example, Tesco will employ a Human Resource director whereas a much smaller retailer may not have the capacity for such a specialist role. Specialist staff members are more efficient, more productive and make fewer mistakes and this reduces cost per unit produced.
Economies of scope

Economies of scope

  • Economies of scope occur when a business is able to spread its costs over several markets or products.
  • For example, the cost of McDonald’s advertisements can be spread across its portfolio which reduces the cost of advertisement attributed to each product.
Diseconomies of scale

Diseconomies of scale

  • As businesses grow, communication becomes more difficult; decision making becomes slower which can increase overall costs.
  • As businesses grow, it becomes much harder to motivate staff as relationships are harder to manage; demotivation can affect productivity and therefore increase unit costs.
  • As businesses grow, it becomes harder to control and co-ordinate and this can cause mistakes and errors, therefore increasing unit costs.

Challenges of Growth

Though growth is an objective of many businesses, it brings challenges along with benefits and these must be considered by businesses:

Synergies

Synergies

  • Synergies occur when two or more businesses combine and are worth greater than the individual sum of each.
Overtrading

Overtrading

  • Overtrading occurs when a business experiences liquidity problems associated with the cost of growth.
Jump to other topics
1

What is Business?

1.1

Nature & Purpose of Business

1.1.1Why Businesses Exist1.1.2Business Aims & Objectives1.1.3End of Topic Test - The Nature of Business
1.2

Different Business Forms

1.2.1Key Business Terms1.2.2Sole Traders1.2.3Limited Liability1.2.4Non-Profit Organisations & Social Enterprises1.2.5Social Enterprises1.2.6Franchising1.2.7Shareholders1.2.8End of Topic Test - Different Businesses1.2.9A-A* (AO3/4) - Franchising at Blockbuster
1.3

Businesses Operate Within an External Environment

1.3.1External Environments1.3.2A-A* (AO3/4) - Interest Rates in the UK
2

Managers, Leadership & Decision Making

2.1

Management, Leadership & Decision Making

2.1.1Managers2.1.2Management Theories2.1.3Management vs Leadership2.1.4Leadership Styles2.1.5End of Topic Test - Management
2.2

Management Decision Making

2.2.1Scientific Decision Making2.2.2Influences on Decision Making2.2.3Intuition Decision Making2.2.4A-A* (AO3/4) - Cost Leadership2.2.5End of Topic Test - Management Decisions
2.3

Role & Importance of Stakeholders

2.3.1Stakeholders
3

Marketing Management

3.1

Setting Marketing Objectives

3.1.1Setting Marketing Objectives3.1.2Market Calculations
3.2

Understanding Markets & Customers

3.2.1Market Research3.2.2Methods of Market Research3.2.3Interpreting PED & YED
3.3

Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning

3.3.1Segmentation3.3.2Niche & Mass Markets3.3.3Market Mapping
3.4

Using the Marketing Mix

3.4.1Marketing Mix3.4.2Pricing Decisions & Price Skimming3.4.3Pricing Decisions & Price Penetration3.4.4Promotional Decisions3.4.5Promotional Decisions 23.4.6Promotional Decisions 33.4.7Distribution Decisions3.4.8Distribution Decisions 23.4.9Social Media & Influencers3.4.10Digital Marketing3.4.11Evaluating Digital Marketing3.4.12A-A* (AO3/4) - The Marketing Mix & Promotion3.4.13A-A* (AO3/4) - Pricing & Competition
4

Operational Management

4.1

Setting Operational Objectives

4.1.1Setting Operational Objectives
4.2

Analysing Operational Performance

4.2.1Operations Data4.2.2Capacity4.2.3A-A* (AO3/4) - The Problem with Operations Data
4.3

Increasing Efficiency & Productivity

4.3.1Productivity & Efficiency4.3.2Lean Production4.3.3Technology & Efficiency4.3.4A-A* (AO3/4) - Toyota Production System
4.4

Improving Quality

4.4.1Measuring & Identifying Quality4.4.2Total Quality Management4.4.3Evaluating Total Quality Management4.4.4Quality Assurance & Quality Control
4.5

Managing Inventory & Supply Chains

4.5.1Inventory4.5.2Improving the Supply Chain4.5.3Outsourcing
4.6

Business & The External Environment

4.6.1Business Considerations from Globalisation
5

Financial Management

5.1

Setting Financial Objectives

5.1.1Setting Financial Objectives5.1.2Influences on Financial Objectives5.1.3Profit5.1.4Revenue & Costs5.1.5Cash-Flow & Budgets
5.2

Analysing Financial Performance

5.2.1Break-Even & Profitability Analysis5.2.2A-A* (AO3/4) - Assessing Financial Performance
5.3

Sources of Finance

5.3.1Internal Sources of Finance5.3.2External Sources of Finance5.3.3Crowdfunding5.3.4Factors for Financing5.3.5A/A* (AO3/4) - Debt
5.4

Improving Cash Flow & Profits

5.4.1Improving Cash Flow & Profits
6

Human Resource Management

6.1

Setting Human Resource Objectives

6.1.1Setting Human Resource Objectives6.1.2Human Resource Management
6.2

Analysing Human Resource Performance

6.2.1Analysing Human Resource Performance6.2.2Analysing Human Resource Performance 2
6.3

Improving Org Design & Human Resource Flow

6.3.1Organisational Design6.3.2Human Resource Flow
6.4

Improving Motivation & Engagement

6.4.1Motivating & Engaging Employees6.4.2Different Incentives6.4.3Evaluating Incentives6.4.4Taylor's Theory6.4.5Maslow's Theory6.4.6Herzberg's Theory6.4.7A-A* (AO3/4) - Amazon & Netflix Org Design6.4.8A-A* (AO3/4) - Taylorism & Jack Welch
6.5

Improving Employer-Employee Relations

6.5.1Improving Employer-Employee Relations
7

Strategic Position of a Business (A Level Only)

7.1

Mission, Objectives, Strategy

7.1.1Business Mission & Corporate Objective7.1.2Mission, Corporate Objectives & Strategy7.1.3SWOT Analysis7.1.4A-A* (AO3/4) - SWOT Analysis
7.2

Financial Ratio Analysis

7.2.1Financial Ratios
7.3

Assessing Overall Performance

7.3.1Non-Financial Data7.3.2Core Competences7.3.3Assessing Business Performance
7.4

Assessing Political & Legal Change

7.4.1Political & Legal Change
7.5

Assessing Economic Change

7.5.1Economic Environment
7.6

Assessing Social & Technological Change

7.6.1Social & Technological Environment7.6.2Lifestyle & Technological Environment7.6.3Corporate Social Responsibility
7.7

The Competitive Environment

7.7.1Choosing Areas of Competition7.7.2Choosing How to Compete
7.8

Investment Appraisal

7.8.1Investment Appraisal
8

Choosing Strategic Direction (A Level Only)

8.1

Markets to Compete & Products to Offer

8.1.1Product Decisions
8.2

How to Compete

8.2.1Porter's Five Forces8.2.2A-A* (AO3/4) - The 5 Forces
9

Pursuing Strategies (A Level Only)

9.1

Assessing a Change in Scale

9.1.1Growth & Retrenchment9.1.2Challenges of Growth9.1.3Sourcing Resources & Entering Markets9.1.4A-A* (AO3/4) - Diversification9.1.5A-A* (AO3/4) - Diseconomies of Scale
9.2

Assessing Innovation

9.2.1Assessing Innovation
9.3

Globalisation & Internationalisation

9.3.1Internationalisation9.3.2Managing Internationalisation9.3.3Impact of Internationalisation9.3.4A-A* (AO3/4) - Internationalisation in Guatemala
9.4

Greater Use of Digital Technology

9.4.1Assessing Use of Digital Technology9.4.2Impact of Digital Technology
10

Managing Strategic Change

10.1

Managing Change

10.1.1Managing Change
10.2

Managing Organisational Culture

10.2.1Managing Organisational Culture10.2.2Organisational Structures
10.3

Managing Strategic Implementation

10.3.1Managing Strategic Implementation
10.4

Problems with Strategy & Why They Fail

10.4.1Problems with Strategy

Practice questions on Challenges of Growth

Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

  1. 1
    What type of economy of scale occurs when a business can introduce specialist staff?Multiple choice
  2. 2
    Which of the following are generally features of diseconomies of scale?True / false
  3. 3
    _When two or more businesses combine, they are worth greater than the individual sum of each._ Which of the following terms does this describe?Multiple choice
Answer all questions on Challenges of Growth

Unlock your full potential with Seneca Premium

  • Unlimited access to 10,000+ open-ended exam questions

  • Mini-mock exams based on your study history

  • Unlock 800+ premium courses & e-books

Get started with Seneca Premium

Growth & Retrenchment

Sourcing Resources & Entering Markets