BUSINESS COGNATE

SCHOOL BASED
ASSESSMENT
(S.B.A)

Topic

An investigation into some factors affecting the rapid decline in sales of jewelry at “Gold

Mart” in Mandeville, Manchester.

Candidate Names: Candidate Numbers:

1. Alleyah Bellafantie 1001610196
2. Jeanine Clarke 1001610382
3. Yashinna Goss 1001610781
Teacher: Mark Powell
Subject: Principles of Business, Principles of Accounts and Economics
Territory: Jamaica
Year of Examination: 2019

1|Page
 Table of Contents

Contents Pages

Acknowledgement 1

Introduction 2

Topic 3

Objectives 4

Background 5

Methodology 6

Presentation and Analysis 7

Conclusion 10

Recommendation 11

Bibliography 12

Appendix 13

Questionnaire 1 14

Questionnaire 2 16

2|Page
 Acknowledgement

“Teamwork makes the dream work” and so if members of a team work assiduously the

task at hand will be completed. Undoubtedly, with sincere gratitude and appreciation, we would

like to thank our teacher for his assistance throughout the process of completing our School

Based Assessment (S.B.A). We would also like to thank our parents for their continual support

and monetary assistance and our friends for their continued support. We would also like to

extend gratitude to “Gold Mart” for allowing us to do an extensive research on their business and

for giving us the needed information. Finally, we want to thank our heavenly father for giving us

the needed strength to complete S.B.A.

3|Page
 Introduction

This School Based Assessment (S.B.A) provides an outline of the objectives that a

researcher used to gather information on “Gold Mart” in Mandeville, Manchester. This

information will help the reader to understand the various setbacks a business faces and how to

overcome them. The solutions given are realistic and precise.

4|Page
 Topic

An investigation into some factors affecting the rapid decline in sales of jewelry at “Gold

Mart” in Mandeville, Manchester.

5|Page
 Objectives

1. To identify some of the factors affecting the rapid decline in sales at Gold Mart in

Mandeville, Manchester.

2. To identify at least three (3) marketing strategies that can use to increase sales at Gold

Mart jewelry store in Mandeville, Manchester.

3. To assess how the identified factors affect the overall performance of the business.

6|Page
 Background

“Gold Mart” is a partnership located in the parish of Manchester. It has been in operation

for over five years, providing the public primarily with jewelries, colognes, electronic devices

and body piercing services. Initially, the business provided jewelries only but over the years had

expanded into a provider of colognes, electronic devices and body piercing services.

The researchers have taken an interest in this topic because as business students we

would like to operate our own business in the near future. Operating a business has its

advantages and disadvantages as the demand for a product won’t always be the same. The

unemployment rate of a country will decrease as the business will provide job opportunities for

citizens. However, if there is a decrease in sales persons will have to be laid off which will result

in an increase of the country’s unemployment and crime rate, as persons will have to find other

means of attaining money.

By doing this research, we will also learn about the various factors affecting a business

profitability and to what degree will benefit us greatly. Since, a business’s main aim is to make a

profit and to satisfy the society’s wants and/or needs, the marketing strategies used will also be

examined. To a large extent, it will assess the effectiveness of these strategies.

7|Page
 Methodology

In order to collect the necessary data, the researchers used both primary and secondary

sources of information. A questionnaire consisting of fifteen (15) open and close-ended

questions was issued in order to gather information from the ten (10) employees on staff. The

researchers selected this method as it provides firsthand information pertinent to the research.

The researchers also used up-to-date Business textbooks to garner reliable information

for the research. This source provided the researchers with the different marketing strategies used

by a business along with some factors that may affect the sales of the business. While

researching this topic, there are several limitations as primary source of data collection was time-

consuming and costly. In addition, the responses received may not be the honest opinions of the

respondents.

Secondary source of information (the textbooks) had its limitations as well, as using these

books provided the researchers with only one perspective of the information which was quite

difficult to understand in some cases.

8|Page
 Presentation and Analysis of Data

The pie chart below shows some of the factors affecting the rapid decline in sales of jewelries

(Employees’ response based on questionnaire).

Factors Affecting Sales Number of Employees

Price 5

Poor Customer Service 1

Type of Material 3

Brand 1

Figure 1.0 shows that of the fifteen (15) questionnaires issued, five (5) workers, that is fifty

percent (50%) responded that sales are declining because of the price of the product. Therefore,

price is the main factor affecting the rapid declining in sales. Other factors include: Poor

9|Page
customer service (10%), type of material (30%) and brand (10%). The mean of the information

above is (5+1+3+1=10/4=2.5), while the mode is five (5) meaning that the price occurs the most.

The bar chart below shows some strategies that can be used to increase sales (Employees’

response based on questionnaire).

Marketing Strategies Number of Employees

Coupons 0

Discounts 7

Showroom 1

Social Media Advertisement 2

Figure 2.0 shows that all ten (10) employees think that there are more than one marketing

strategies that may be used to increase sale. Out of all the responses, zero (0) indicated coupons,

seven (7) indicated discounts, one (1) indicated showroom and two (2) indicated social media

advertisement. Therefore, most of the employees believe that giving discounts is the most

10 | P a g e
effective marketing strategy that may be used to increase sales. Discount is therefore the modal

factor chosen. In addition, the mean of the information above is (0+7+1+2=10/4=2.5), while the

median is (1+2=3/2=1.5)

The pie chart below shows whether or not the declining in sales affects the employees’ salaries

(Employees’ response based on questionnaire).

Yes or No Number of Employees

Yes 4

No 6

Figure 3.0 shows that the percentage of employees that says the declining in sales does not affect

their salary is almost twice the amount of employees that says the declining in sales does affect

their salary. Therefore, the modal of this information is ‘No’ while the median is (6+4=10/2=5).

11 | P a g e
 Conclusion

After an intensive research on “Gold Mart” in Mandeville, Manchester, it can be

concluded that some factors affecting the rapid decline in sales are: the price of the product, the

type of material used, poor customer service and brand loyalty. Based on findings, employees at

Gold Mart think that the price of the product is the leading factor causing the declining in sales

while brand loyalty is the least. Furthermore, it can be proven that they do not take advantage of

the different types of marketing strategies available to a business. This is evident, as the

employees have suggested different ways in which the business can increase sales, that is

through giving discounts and using social media advertisement. As a result, some employees

believe that this decline in sales affects their salary while others don’t.

12 | P a g e
 Recommendation

The researchers recommend the following:

 “Gold Mart” should adopt other marketing strategies that will increase sales such as price

discounts and BOGO’s (also known as buy one get one at half price).

 They should also find cheaper ways of buying the products thus lowering the actual cost.

 They can promote their business online using platforms such as Instagram and Facebook.

In addition, they could also create their own business website, which would be of good

value as this promote sale on a larger scale.

13 | P a g e
 Bibliography

1. Book:

 Name: Principles of Business for CSEC ® Examinations 5th Edition Macmillan

 Name of Authors: Ivan Waterman, Dave Ramsingh and Alvin Ramsaroop

 Date of Publication: 2011

2. Websites:

 https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Jewelry-Watches/Gold-Mart-Mandeville-Ltd-

1532718573723381/

14 | P a g e
Questionnaire

Please place a tick in the box provided for the corresponding option

or otherwise respond on the lines provided. ALL INFORMATION

PROVIDED WILL REMAIN CONFIDENTIAL.

1. Age: 18-23 24-30 30-35 35 &

over

2. Sex: Male Female

3. How long have you been working here? Under 1 year

1-5 years t 6-10 years 10

years &over

4. Do you think there is a consistency in sales? Yes

No

5. During which seasons are the sales at its highest?

6. During which season are the sales at its lowest?

7. What type of jewelry is preferred?

8. What do you think determine the declining in sales?

15 | P a g e
9. What strategies do you think can be implemented to increase sales? Coupons

t Discount Show room Social Media Advertisement

10. Why do you think consumers prefer this business? Price Quality

g Brand loyalty Band wagon

11. What strategies have you tried to increase sales?

12. Were the strategies used in the business effective? Yes No

b) If yes, State how? ______________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

13. What type of material is mostly used for jewelry? Gold Silver

H Rose Gold Platinum

14 How do you react to the declining in sales as a business?

15. Does the declining in sales affect your salary? Yes No

16 | P a g e
 Questionnaire

Please place a tick in the box provided for the corresponding option or otherwise respond on the

lines provided. ALL INFORMATION PROVIDED WILL REMAIN CONFIDENTIAL.

1. Age: 17 and younger 18-26 27-30 31 & over

2. Sex: Male Female

3. How often you shop here? Always Sometimes Rarely

4. Why do you shop here?

5. Is the customer service effective? Yes No

6. Are the Prices reasonable? Yes No

7. Do you think, there products are of high quality? Yes No

8. Do you prefer any other jewelry store? Yes No

b) If yes, give reasons.

9. How do you determine what to buy? Price Material Brand

17 | P a g e
10. Do they provide a friendly environment for customers? Yes No

11. How well do their products meet your need? Poorly Okay Great

12. Which features are you attracted the most? Product Quality Price

t t Branding

13. If you could change one thing about the store, what would it be?

14. How do you rate the pricing of items? 1-3 4-6 7-10

15. Why do you prefer our items than a competitor?

18 | P a g e