Business Management HL closely follows the syllabus content and is designed to complement your studies, as well as being central to your revision programme. The depth and breadth of study of each topic and sub-topic is shown using Assessment Objectives (AOs) that also indicate the requirements of examination questions. Each Assessment Objective is linked to command terms that are used in examination questions.
Content and theory are presented in a format that is easy to digest and review, but also in sufficient depth to support a detailed examination response. Where this guide covers business tools and techniques, examples are included to illustrate the steps required to manipulate the type of data provided in examination questions.
Business Management is a dynamic subject and its content, theories and tools do not come to life fully until they are applied to real business activity. This guide explores a key feature of Business Management – the integration of business concepts, content and contexts. All questions in Business Management examinations are related to a business organisation. There are three ways that this is achieved:
- information provided in a pre-seen statement in advance of a detailed unseen case study on a fictional organisation;
- a range of examination questions that include a short section of unseen stimulus material providing background information and/or data on a fictional organisation; and
- a compulsory question on unseen stimulus material on a social enterprise.
This guide includes examples of the types of questions you may be asked in Business Management examinations. Business Management questions cover a range of content from different units, although individual parts may test your knowledge of single unit’s content, for example stakeholder conflict. So, you may be asked to apply marketing, accounting and human resource content when answering different parts of a single question.
Exemplar data response questions in Appendix 3 of the study guide include stimulus materials and questions covering a range of business functions at ‘stepped’ skill levels. Exam-style questions, linked to the relevant assessment objective, are placed at the end of each course unit to illustrate the type of questions that could be asked on that unit, and to test your factual knowledge.
