Social Influences (Cambridge (CIE) A Level Business): Revision Note

Plenty of educated, healthy people to hire, so recruitment is easy and cheap

A smaller skilled pool of labour, so firms compete, pay more or import talent

Pay gaps are smaller and predictable, so labour costs stay steady

Big pay gaps emerge as low-skilled labour is cheap but top talent is expensive

Many move into the middle class, so there is broad, reliable demand for goods and services

Spending power sits with a few wealthy groups so firms target budget or luxury segments

Anyone with a good idea can get education and funding, so more new firms are set up and fresh ideas generated

Barriers in class, caste, location block ideas, so fewer businesses are set up and innovation is slower

A large pool of well-qualified staff, especially in maths and science, makes hiring easy

A shortage of engineers, IT and health workers makes vacancies hard to fill

New recruits arrive work-ready, so firms spend less time and money on basic training

Companies must run extra training programmes or recruit overseas, raising costs

Availability of talented workers attracts technology, biotech and finance firms to set up R&D and head offices

Skills gaps make global investors cautious about setting up high-tech factories or research labs

Graduate salaries create a broad middle class that buys a wide range of goods

Many workers stuck in low-paid jobs limit demand for anything beyond essentials

Women take part in every occupation, so firms can choose from almost the whole population when hiring

Many skilled women are shut out of top jobs

Companies struggle to fill senior roles and may need to pay more to recruit

Mixed-gender teams bring different views, leading to better problem-solving and faster innovation

If almost everyone in a team is male, with similar backgrounds and experiences they may all think in the same way

This can slow down product design and decision-making

Equal-pay audits, flexible leave and gender-neutral adverts signal fairness

This strengthens the brand and is attractive to investors

A large pay gap and few female directors hurt global image

Some investors demand change before investing

Clear rules mean fewer discrimination claims

Stock-exchange quotas and mandatory pay-gap reporting force rapid change

Firms that lag behind face fines or bad press

More employees work shorter weeks, vary start and finish times

They may work compressed hours to balance work with study, parenting or leisure

Bigger talent pool includes parents, students and retirees

Rotas and payroll are more complex

Companies increasingly use project-based workers rather than employing permanent staff

Lower fixed wage bills

Harder to build loyalty and maintain consistent quality

Technology allows many roles to be done partly or fully from home, and some businesses have trialled 32-hour weeks

Save money on office space

Can recruit staff from anywhere

Need effective online communication

Demand is rising for skills in renewable energy, electric vehicles, cybersecurity, cloud services and e-commerce

New markets open up

Shortage of skilled staff can push wages up

Routine or data-heavy activities are increasingly handled by robots, software or AI assistants

Faster output and lower long-term costs

High up-front technology investment spending and staff retraining.

Workers expect mental health support, flexible leave and meaningful work

Better morale and fewer sick days

Extra cost if financial benefits are improved

Adapting flavours, sizes or features to suit diverse preferences

• e.g. halal menus, skin-tone cosmetics and multilingual packaging

Using inclusive images and language

Avoiding stereotypes

Scheduling promotional campaigns around festivals such as Diwali, Ramadan or Lunar New Year

Training staff in cultural sensitivity

Offering interpretation

Respecting religious dress or service needs

Recruiting from a wider talent pool

Supporting faith-based leave

Flexible dress codes

Clear guidelines on language use

Cross-cultural teamwork training and mentoring

Setting up outlets in multicultural districts

Sourcing authentic ingredients

Partnering with minority-owned suppliers

Meeting equality laws and demonstrating corporate social responsibility