QUESTION 4 Pyranha is Europe’s largest specialist manufacturer of canoes and kayaks that are exported to 50 countries. Pyranha was founded by Graham Mackereth in 1971. The kayaks are made from a unique plastic that comes in a variety of colours. Pyranha work extensively with their main supplier of plastic raw material, Resinex, to always be at the forefront of plastic technology. A Pyranha kayak will stay stronger and better looking for longer than many of its competitors. Pyranha’s brand name is recognised around the world as the cutting edge of kayak design and innovation. It is committed to constantly making improvements to the whole production process to support this objective. This philosophy is why Pyranha has become the first choice for ‘serious paddlers’ as Pyranha’s design team are paddlers themselves. Pyranha, a family business, is still run by its founder and head designer, Graham Mackereth. Its competitors are large businesses, whose interests are very different from the passion that drives Pyranha. Over 40 years of research and development has gone in to producing award winning designs and they are proud to advertise that Pyranha is a company run ‘by Enthusiasts, for Enthusiasts’. The brand name of Pyranha has been a great name for the business. Its website states, ‘We’re aggressive and we’re focused on being the best. We do not try to be the cheapest, but to design and make the very best for the market sector. We use the best materials and technology. Why? Because we paddle our own kayaks and we always want to paddle further, easier and in greater comfort and safety.The production facility includes custom-built energy efficient ovens which are the most advanced in the industry allowing Pyranha to get the best performance out of the plastics used. Pyranha was the first in the industry to develop the computer controlled moulding process. Keeping high standards of quality is the top priority at Pyranha and rigorous tests are completed to ensure that each boat is tough enough to be used in the harshest conditions. Pyranha’s demand for high quality also extends to its imported components from Finland, US and Hong Kong. Pyranha has an ethical policy which includes issues such as waste, energy and the environment. They have been recycling since the mid-90s long before most companies thought about their environmental impact. Pyranha do not know where their kayaks will be paddled so all are built to the same high standard. From kids to champions, Graham wants everyone to enjoy the world’s biggest water sport’  

4d. Graham is thinking of retiring and the business needs to recruit a new Managing Director .In the words of  one of the employees ,”It will be difficult to find someone who can fill the shoes of Graham .”Advise if the business should recruit internally or externally .Outline the process the business will have to go through in recruiting a replacement for Graham basing on your choice of either recruiting internally or externally . (12)

4b. Pyranha has an ‘ethical policy which includes issues such as waste, energy and the environment.Assess why Pyranha chooses to act ethically ? (6)

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4e. In order to maintain the high levels of quality in production that Pyranha is well known for ,the business ensures all employees go through training .Pyranha mainly uses on the job training .Explain what on the job training is and state the benefits  to Pyranha of using it . (8)

3b. Explain why this answer is correct (3)

Question 3 Software   3.1 The network uses Windows Server operating system.   3.1.1 Name 3 functions of an operating system. (3) 3.1.2 There are other operating systems available.   a. Name one operating system which is OSS(Open Source Software) and available free of charge. (2) b. Motivate why the clinic chose to go the much more expensive route of using Windows, rather than the operating system referred to in a. (3) 3.2 In addition to the PC, the Doctor also uses a tablet (not a tablet PC).   3.2.1 Tablets have their operating systems stored on a chip. What do we call this type of operating system? (1) 3.2.3 Operating systems are always being updated. Explain briefly how one would update/upgrade the operating system. (3)    

2.1 He has a core2 quad PC running at 3GHz (Gigahertz) with a high performance graphic card with its own memory.   2.1.1 What component does core2 quad refer to? (1) 2.1.2 Explain briefly what is meant by core2 quad. (3) 2.2 The PC has 16GB (Gigabyte) of memory. What type of memory is being referred to? (1) 2.3 It also has a 1 TB (Terabyte) hard drive.         2.3.1 What is the EXACT ratio between 1GB and 1TB? (1) 2.3.2 Why is the hard drive so much larger than memory? Explain briefly. (3)    

3a. In September 2013, Apple launched two new iPhones with features such as fingerprint registration technology and a range of bright colours. The main reason for Apple to launch new iPhones is to (1)

Question 6 – Logic Gates and Circuits   (a)              Draw a logic circuit to represent the logic expression:     X = NOT (A OR C) OR (A AND NOT B)       (5) (b) Complete the truth table for the logic expression: The answer must be done on your exam pad.     X = NOT (A OR C) OR (A AND NOT B) (4)