Explain one advantage and one disadvantage of Yasin using a democratic leadership style.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2022). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1] Advantage: Better decisions
2. [1] Explanation: as employees are consulted – may offer additional ideas from own experience of doing the job.
3. [1] Advantage: Motivating for employees
4. [1] Explanation: asked to offer opinions before decisions are made - feel more trusted/valued – less likely to leave/lower labour turnover.
5. [1] Advantage: Employees work better
6. [1] Explanation: due to their sense of belonging/builds a relationship - more productive/positive.
7. [1] Disadvantage: Takes time to consult employees
8. [1] Explanation: Yasin and the employees could be more productive doing other jobs – less productive/less output produced.
9. [1] Disadvantage: Unpopular decisions may be difficult to make
10. [1] Explanation: such as making employees redundant – may be less effective if employees are asked for their opinions as the decision may affect them directly – therefore opinions may be biased.
11. [1] Disadvantage: Employees may not have the experience
12. [1] Explanation: to make suitable contributions – unable to make helpful suggestions.
13. [1] Disadvantage: Suggestions made by employees may be different to the objectives of management
14. [1] Explanation: may lead to conflict/confusion.
15. [1] Buying all ingredients from local suppliers Advantage: Ingredients obtained with less pollution from transportation as they will no longer be imported.
16. [1] Buying all ingredients from local suppliers Advantage: Support local community as flour produced by local businesses.
17. [1] Buying all ingredients from local suppliers Advantage: Delivery is cheaper / quicker - less impact on the environment.
18. [1] Buying all ingredients from local suppliers Advantage: Popular with customers - research showed 85% wanted this.
19. [1] Buying all ingredients from local suppliers Advantage: Can compete with local competitors - they already use local suppliers.
20. [1] Buying all ingredients from local suppliers Disadvantage: Costs of ingredients are likely to be higher than low-cost imports and may have to charge higher prices.
21. [1] Buying all ingredients from local suppliers Disadvantage: May not be able to purchase all the range of ingredients you want - may restrict the range of bread produced.
22. [1] Using only environmentally friendly packaging Advantage: Improves the brand image for the bakery – more attractive to consumers who are environmentally aware - target a different market segment.
23. [1] Using only environmentally friendly packaging Advantage: Will not be affected if new environmental laws demand sustainable packaging.
24. [1] Using only environmentally friendly packaging Advantage: Reliable supplier available (appendix 3).
25. [1] Using only environmentally friendly packaging Advantage: Less chance of pressure group activity.
26. [1] Using only environmentally friendly packaging Disadvantage: May reduce the quality of the bakery products if the packaging does not protect the bread as well.
27. [1] Using only environmentally friendly packaging Disadvantage: Takes time to source the environmentally friendly packaging, less time for Yasin to carry out other tasks.
28. [1] Using only environmentally friendly packaging Disadvantage: Likely to cost more than current packaging - not all customers will be willing to pay higher prices.
29. [1] Increasing wage rates to 20% above the legal minimum wage Advantage: Employees more motivated - Taylor's motivation theory - workers treated well/feel appreciated.
30. [1] Increasing wage rates to 20% above the legal minimum wage Advantage: Lower labour turnover as other employers may be less ethical.
31. [1] Increasing wage rates to 20% above the legal minimum wage Advantage: Easier to recruit new employees - as attracted by higher rates of pay by a good employer.
32. [1] Increasing wage rates to 20% above the legal minimum wage Disadvantage: Wage costs will be higher - increasing total costs - possibly lower profit.
33. [1] Increasing wage rates to 20% above the legal minimum wage Disadvantage: If other bakeries pay higher wage rates, then MB may not have any advantage and it may not motivate employees.
34. [1] Increasing wage rates to 20% above the legal minimum wage Disadvantage: The higher wage policy may not be known in the local community hence little effect on reputation.
35. [1] Justification (Local Suppliers): Buying from local suppliers is best because it supports local businesses, and this will make the bakery popular with local people. The business is small and relies on local customers and local people in the town may have relatives running other local businesses, improving MBs image and reputation. Paying higher wages may not be known by customers and therefore may not help to improve MB's ethical image and packaging may just be thrown away by customers who may not take much notice of what is used for packaging as they will be more interested in the product.
36. [1] Justification (Environmentally friendly packaging): Environmentally friendly packaging is most important even if the costs are slightly higher for the packaging as this should ensure the bakery packaging is sustainable which is a good marketing point which may be popular with many potential customers. Buying from local suppliers may not be possible if the range of ingredients isn't wide enough or increasing the wage may increase costs too much for MB to remain competitive.
37. [1] Justification (Higher Wages): Paying above the minimum wage will make the bakery a better place to work for the 3 employees and will make them less likely to leave. They will also tell their family and friends about the bakery, and this will improve the image of the bakery therefore attracting local people to buy their bread from BM.