37 exam-style questions on Location — topic 5.4 of Operations management in the IB Business Management syllabus — with answers and explanations. Samples below; the full set is free with an account.
A manufacturer decides to relocate its plant nearer to its raw material suppliers to cut transport costs on heavy inputs. State the type of location factor that is driving this decision.
Answer: A quantitative factor
Transport costs that can be measured in monetary terms are a quantitative location factor; qualitative factors (e.g. manager preference, quality of life) cannot be measured directly in money.
Which of the following is the clearest example of a qualitative factor influencing where a business locates?
Answer: The founder's preference to stay near home
The founder's personal preference cannot be measured in monetary terms, making it a qualitative factor; subsidies, land cost and wage rates are all quantitative.
A firm moves a manufacturing process from an overseas contractor to a supplier in its home country. Identify the term for this decision.
Answer: Reshoring
Reshoring (also called onshoring) is returning previously offshored operations to the home country, often due to rising foreign wages, quality concerns or transport risk. The work stays with an outside supplier, so it is not insourcing.
Explain why a coffee shop chain would prioritise footfall and visibility over land cost when choosing a location. Which statement best captures the reasoning?
Answer: As a retail business, revenue depends on passing footfall
Market-oriented retail and service businesses locate near customers because sales depend on convenient access and footfall, even if prime sites cost more.
Distinguish which of these is primarily an ethical or sustainability consideration in a location decision, rather than a purely financial one.
Answer: Choosing a site with the lowest carbon footprint
Minimising the carbon footprint reflects sustainability/ethical concerns; the other options are financial cost-minimising factors.
Suggest one reason a government might offer grants or tax breaks to attract a firm to a particular region.
Answer: To create jobs and boost the region
Governments use incentives to attract investment that creates jobs and boosts economic activity in a region, often one with high unemployment.
That was 6 of 37 Location questions.
Practise all 37 freeCompleteAO4 · 2–4 marks
Fill in what is missing in the table, diagram or calculation — check every blank.
DistinguishAO2 · 4–6 marks
Make the difference clear for BOTH terms — a definition of one of them is only half an answer.
ExplainAO2 · 4–6 marks
Give reasons or causes: say what happens AND why, linking each step with 'because' or 'so that'.
37 Location questions — free with an account. Spaced repetition, streaks and full exam simulations included.
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