Lesson 3.7.1.2

3.7.1.2 Strategy, tactics and SWOT analysis Quiz: AQA Business, Unit 7

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 3.7.1.2, Strategy, tactics and SWOT analysis: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Business (7132), Unit 7: Analysing the strategic position of a business, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Which statement best distinguishes strategy from tactics?

    • Strategy is short-term action taken by managers every week, while tactics are the long-term plans set by the board
    • Strategy concerns staff and their pay only, while tactics concern customers and their buying decisions only
    • Strategy and tactics mean the same thing and are used interchangeably by most managers in everyday business life
    • Strategy is a long-term plan to achieve objectives, while tactics are short-term actions used to carry it out

  2. What do the letters in SWOT stand for?

    • Sustainability, Wealth, Operations and Trade
    • Sales, Wages, Output and Turnover
    • Strategy, Workforce, Objectives and Tactics
    • Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

  3. Which of the following is an internal factor that can be a strength?

    • A new competitor entering the market
    • A rise in consumer demand for healthy food
    • A change in government tax rules
    • A strong brand reputation with loyal customers

  4. Which of the following is an example of an opportunity in a SWOT analysis?

    • A key machine that is regularly out of service and causes delays to production schedules each month
    • High levels of debt on the balance sheet that reduce the firm's ability to borrow for new projects
    • Growing consumer demand for ethical and sustainable products that the business can supply
    • A competitor cutting its prices sharply to win market share from the business in its core region

  5. Which of the following is an example of a threat in a SWOT analysis?

    • Access to a patent that protects a unique product from copying by rivals for the next several years
    • Experienced managers with a proven record of delivering projects on time and within their agreed budgets
    • A new competitor entering the market with lower prices and a wider product range than the business offers
    • A large cash reserve held in the bank that gives the business flexibility to invest when it chooses

  6. Which of these is a weakness that a business might identify in a SWOT analysis?

    • An established distribution network across the country
    • Government support for new research projects
    • A highly skilled and well-motivated workforce
    • Dependence on a single supplier for a key component

  7. A restaurant plans to open a second site, a long-term strategy. It also runs a one-month discount promotion. Which is the tactic?

    • Opening the second restaurant site
    • The overall mission of the business
    • The one-month discount promotion
    • The corporate objective of growing sales

  8. Which of the following best describes an example of a tactical decision?

    • Deciding to enter a new overseas market over the next decade
    • Choosing a legal structure for the company as a whole
    • Setting a mission that defines the business's purpose
    • Running a short-term price cut to clear excess stock

  9. A firm identifies a strong brand (strength) and growing demand for healthy food (opportunity). Which strategic response does this best support?

    • Close the brand and sell generic products so that the business can compete on price alone in the market
    • Ignore demand because the market for healthy food is too small to be worth any serious investment
    • Reduce advertising to cut costs in every area of the business, including the brand and its promotion
    • Launch a healthy product range under the existing brand to meet the growing demand

  10. A business's SWOT analysis lists a threat of rising raw material prices. Which response is a tactical action?

    • Merging with a rival business in a long-term deal
    • Negotiating short-term bulk-buy discounts with suppliers
    • Changing the mission statement to focus on local markets
    • Deciding to diversify into unrelated industries over ten years

  11. Which is a limitation of SWOT analysis?

    • It is a snapshot at one point in time and relies on judgement, so it may not show how the position will change
    • It only applies to large multinational businesses and cannot be used by small firms with few employees
    • It provides exact numerical forecasts for every factor it lists, so managers can rely on it without further analysis
    • It removes the need for managers to make decisions because the analysis already identifies the best course of action

  12. Evaluate the value of SWOT analysis for a business choosing its strategy.

    • It guarantees that the chosen strategy will succeed in every market the business enters over the coming decade
    • It replaces the need for financial analysis because it is more accurate than ratios, forecasts and cash flow statements
    • It helps identify strategic options by matching strengths to opportunities, but its value depends on the quality of evidence used
    • It is only valuable for start-ups with no existing customers, since established firms already know their own position

  13. Which matching of SWOT elements would produce a strategy that uses an internal strength to exploit an external opportunity?

    • Strength of skilled staff matched with growing overseas demand for the firm's specialist products
    • Threat of new regulation matched with a weak supply chain that depends on a single distant supplier
    • Weakness of poor cash flow matched with a falling market that has seen demand decline for two years
    • Weakness of high costs matched with rising competitor prices in the home market over several years

  14. Why might a SWOT analysis produce misleading conclusions?

    • Managers may label factors subjectively, and important external changes may be overlooked if the analysis is not updated
    • It is only completed once a year by external consultants who have no knowledge of the business's market
    • It cannot list any opportunities or threats, so it only records the internal position of the business
    • It always uses audited financial data that is completely accurate, so its conclusions are not affected by bias

  15. A firm's SWOT shows strong finances and a threat of rising competition. Which strategy would best use the strength to counter the threat?

    • Withdraw from the market immediately without any analysis, because rising competition makes every investment too risky
    • Invest the cash in product development to differentiate the business from its rivals in the market
    • Hold all cash without investing, so that the business avoids any risk of spending money on new projects
    • Reduce quality to lower costs as far as possible, even though this will weaken the brand and its customer base

  16. Which is a strategic objective rather than a tactic?

    • Discounting a product for two weeks during the summer to clear excess stock from the warehouse
    • Offering a free sample to customers this week in the local shopping centre to encourage trial of the brand
    • Running a social media advert for the next month to promote a single product line to young shoppers
    • Becoming the market leader in a region over the next five years through sustained product and service investment

  17. A business with a weak SWOT position in one area must choose between a strategy of growth and one of consolidation. What is the most important factor to consider?

    • Whether the business can build its strengths and address weaknesses before taking on the risks that growth would bring
    • Whether the colour of the logo would be attractive to customers in the region where the business plans to grow
    • Whether the business has any employees at all, since growth is only possible for firms with a workforce
    • Whether competitors have a larger advertising budget than the business in its existing market segments only

  18. A tactic is to cut prices by 5% for three months to match a rival. What is the main risk of this tactic?

    • Lower margins and the possibility of a price war, which can damage long-term profitability if rivals keep cutting prices
    • Customers will never buy the product again after the discount ends, so sales will fall permanently
    • The business will be forced to change its mission statement to reflect the new lower price point
    • Staff will automatically be dismissed by the business to cover the lost revenue from the lower prices

  19. A competitor announces a new product that threatens sales. Which is the most appropriate tactical response?

    • Change the business mission so that it no longer mentions the product that the competitor has copied
    • Decide to enter an entirely new industry over the next ten years to reduce dependence on one product
    • Sell the whole business to a larger firm without first analysing the competitor's product or its market
    • Launch a short-term promotional offer on the existing product range to protect customer loyalty

  20. Which of these is a weakness rather than a threat in a SWOT analysis of a small bakery?

    • A large supermarket opening a bakery counter nearby that competes directly for local customers
    • Limited cash reserves that prevent the business from buying new equipment quickly when demand rises
    • New food hygiene regulations introduced by the government that will apply to all food businesses
    • A rise in the price of flour caused by poor harvests in the main wheat-growing regions of the world

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