Gold Theme Park (GT) Gold Park was a mine where gold was extracted until 2012. Although there was still some gold in the mine, the direct costs of extracting it became too high. The area around Gold Park has become a tourist destination. There has recently been development of hotels and other accommodation. A new marina complex has also been built which attracts boat owners to use the local lakes and rivers. Kayo is an entrepreneur who purchased the mine in 2015. She converted the mine into GT, a theme park where customers can learn about gold mining and have fun. GT now includes a museum, guided underground tours of the mine and a roller coaster ride around the park. There is also a restaurant and gift shop. Kayo employs some of the people who previously worked in the gold mine to work as tour guides in the theme park. She also employs some younger workers, who require training, as customer service representatives. Kayo believes that developing intrapreneurship is important to the ongoing success of GT. Table 1.1 shows some data about GT over the past three years. Table 1.1 Data about GT | | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |:------------------|:-----|:-----|:-----| | Revenue (m) | 3.4 | 3.2 | 2.8 | | Number of employees | 54 | 55 | 47 | | Profit (m) | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.2 | | Number of visitors (m) | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.65 | GT's Marketing Director has conducted some primary market research to find out why visitor numbers have fallen. The findings indicate that many potential customers think the park is not fun and the price of entry is too high. Kayo has now asked the Marketing Director to conduct some secondary market research to help improve GT.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2023). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1] Induction
2. [1] On-the-job
3. [1] Off-the-job
4. [1] Costs that are directly related to the production process.
5. [1] Costs that are directly attributed to operations/a cost centre.
6. [2] (Application to GT) These are amounts/things payable by GT / incurred by GT, for example, wages of tour guides, which are directly related to the theme park's operations.
7. [1] Formula: total costs = total revenue – profit (or total costs = total variable costs + total fixed costs if derived correctly).
8. [1] Costs in 2020: $3.4m – $0.9m = $2.5m.
9. [1] Costs in 2022: $2.8m – $0.2m = $2.6m.
10. [1] Change in costs: $2.6m – $2.5m = $0.1m (OFR applies).
11. [3] Final Answer: $0.1m (or 4% with % sign).
12. [1] Knowledge of an appropriate way to measure the size of a business (e.g., revenue, number of employees, number of visitors, market share, capital employed).
13. [2] (Developed Application to GT) For example, by number of employees: GT had 54 employees in 2020, which decreased to 47 in 2022. Or by revenue: GT's revenue fell from $3.4m in 2020 to $2.8m in 2022, indicating a decrease in size.
14. [1] Knowledge of a source of secondary market research (e.g., competitor websites, government tourism reports, industry journals).
15. [1] Application of the source to GT (e.g., comparing GT's prices to competitors, understanding local tourism trends).
16. [2] Analysis of how the source helps GT (e.g., allows price adjustments, identifies popular activities) and/or its limitations (e.g., data might be outdated, not specific enough).
17. [1] Knowledge of a second source of secondary market research (e.g., market research reports, online reviews/feedback platforms).
18. [1] Application of the second source to GT (e.g., finding out why other parks are considered 'fun', identifying common complaints).
19. [2] Analysis of how the second source helps GT (e.g., informs improvements, helps address 'not fun' perception) and/or its limitations (e.g., reliability of online reviews, lack of specific details).
20. [2] Knowledge: Intrapreneurship is where employees within a business act like entrepreneurs, coming up with innovative ideas to improve profitability, often involving problem-solving or identifying opportunities.
21. [2] Application: For GT, this involves encouraging employees (e.g., former gold mine workers, younger customer service staff) to generate new ideas to address falling visitor numbers (from 0.8m to 0.65m), declining revenue ($3.4m to $2.8m), and falling profit ($0.9m to $0.2m) by making the park more 'fun' or adjusting prices.
22. [2] Analysis (Advantage): Intrapreneurship can lead to innovative solutions from within, leveraging employees' unique insights into GT's operations and theme, which can be cheaper and more effective than external consultants. This could improve visitor experience, increase numbers, and boost profitability.
23. [2] Analysis (Disadvantage): However, GT's employees may lack the necessary experience or strategic vision to provide adequate solutions for significant problems like rapidly falling profits. This could lead to a waste of resources and time, especially if quick solutions are needed, and intrapreneurship might not deliver them rapidly enough.
24. [6] Evaluation: The importance of intrapreneurship for GT's success is highly conditional. It depends on the employees' capability to generate viable, timely, and innovative ideas that truly address the park's issues (e.g., making it 'fun' and competitively priced). If employees can deliver such solutions, it's crucial. However, if the workforce lacks the skills, or if implementation is slow given GT's rapid financial decline, then intrapreneurship might not be the most critical factor, with other immediate interventions potentially more vital for short-term survival.