One of the most popular courses in the IBDP, Business Management, is a perfect introduction to what goes on behind the scenes at your favourite companies, their operations and reasons for success. In this article, I go over the syllabus, external and internal assessments, and the differences between standard and higher level content. Along the way, I have also included some tips and resources that I found extremely useful when studying.
The Subject
With one of the longest syllabuses in IB, Business Management has a lot of topics to cover. Nonetheless, the unit divisions, as explained below, have been done for the ease of students. Similar topics have been grouped together, and it is in perfect chronological order to build up on previous learnings.
Unit 1: Introduction to Business Management
As the name suggests, this unit is an introduction to the world of business. Students learn about everything from different business sectors, types of businesses and stakeholders to economies of scale and the ways in which a business can grow. It allows you to get a grasp of the main concepts of the subject, and teaches you how to apply this knowledge to existing business situations you may be aware of.
Unit 2: Human Resources
Can you imagine a business without humans? Maybe sometime in the future, but for now, the humans in every company need to be organised, which is what Human Resources is there for! Everything from the hiring process, to motivational strategies to leadership and conflict resolution is discussed here. A highly theoretical unit, you will get an insight into how Human Resources is the oil that keeps the gears of a company running.
Unit 3: Finance
The perfect unit for people who like and dislike maths! Seems strange right? The finance unit is all about the money: the sources of finance, budgeting, profits and loss and everything in between. For the maths lovers, it is a lovely break from all the theory you’ll have learnt thus far. For people on the other side of the spectrum, the maths in this unit is relatively simple, sticking only to addition, subtraction and a percentage here and there, so don’t worry too much!
Unit 4: Marketing
Arguably the best unit in Business Management, Marketing is where the fun is. Perfect for creative souls, you’ll learn about the importance of promotions and advertising, all the different components of an advert, and how a single marketing strategy can make or break a company.
Unit 5: Operations
The heart of every business, Operations is about the production process, creating quality goods and services, and then transporting these to customers. It also involves things like crisis management, research and development, and the importance of location.
Course Resource: Business Management Toolkit (BMT)
It is a collection of tools and concepts that students can use to examine various business situations across the syllabus. The toolkit allows one to analyse how successful a business is, plan for the future and help make decisions. They are extremely valuable in the IA, and the Business Management EE.
The Assessments
This section is all about the assessments that BM students are supposed to give to receive their diploma. As is with most IB subjects, the HL students give 3 assessments while SL students give 2 (excluding the internal assessment). Information regarding the assessments has been taken from the IB BM Guide, which you can refer to for additional information.
| Paper 1 | Paper 2 | Paper 3 | |
| HL/SL | HL and SL | HL and SL | HL |
| Marks | 30 | 50 (HL) and 40 (SL) | 25 |
| Length | 1h 30m | 1h 45m (HL) and 1h 30m (SL) | 1h 15m |
| Percentage Division | 25% (HL) and 35% (SL) | 30% (HL) and 35% (SL) | 25% |
| Question Details | IB will pre-release a 200 word introduction to a business scenario, which will be accompanied by a list of topics. Students are expected to spend ~5 hours researching these topics. In the exam, the entire case study is revealed. This means the pre-released 200 words, and the entire 600-800 word scenario are given together. Section A – Students answer all structured questions based on the case study. Section B – Students answer 1 out of the 2 extended response questions based on the case study. | Most of the questions here are quantitative (from the Finance Unit), and are based on stimulus material given in the exam booklet itself. The stimulus material will be a mix of written information and diagrams/infographics. In Section A, SL students receive and must respond to 2 structured questions. HL students receive and must respond to 3. In Section B, both SL and HL only respond to 1 of the 2 questions. It is a mix of 2 – 3 short answer questions, and 1 long answer question worth 10 marks. It will have elements of finance, but could be related to anything from the syllabus. You are recommended to use a tool from the BMT to answer the 10 marker. | Students will be given stimulus material consisting of emails, newspaper articles and more. These will provide an introduction to a business organisation. This paper is about social enterprises, and students have to identify from the stimulus material the following: The human need the social enterprise is attempting to fulfil. The challenges this business is facing. Question 3 tells students to create a decision making document (a business plan) that includes business recommendations for the social enterprise to combat said challenges already identified and improve everything else. |
Internal Assessment
Using one of the four business key concepts (creativity, change, ethics or sustainability), students will conduct research on a real life company and its decisions or problems. Since the report at the end of the assessment will be based on secondary research, it is recommended that information from the last two years be used, but this changes from school to school. It is worth 30% for SL students, and 20% for HL students. The word limit is 1800, and it is marked out of 25. It takes place over the school year (before your final exams), and is submitted as an academic paper to your BM teacher.
HL and SL Differences
The majority of higher and standard level differences lie in the contents of each unit. There are typically a few extra concepts towards the end of each unit reserved for HL students only. For example, organisational culture in the human resources unit, or budgets in the Finance unit. Another difference is that Paper 3 is attempted only by HL students.
Tips
- Practice papers are your best friend.
While the content may be simple, assessment questions are usually a bit more difficult. Thus, practice papers are a great way to revise and check how much you’ve actually learnt. This is especially useful for the Finance unit, which I would suggest practising the most for as techniques like memorisation or active recall likely won’t work as well here. Although, do keep in mind that the recent syllabus change means that some questions from past papers won’t be relevant for your studies. Check with your teacher before studying for something that won’t be in your exam.
- Know how to answer command terms
Focus in a question can be maintained if you know how to answer your command term. Make sure you know how you can answer each command term for all the assessments. This can save precious time! Don’t go on about a certain aspect when you’re only expected to list. Likewise, ensure that you don’t mistake a long-answer question for a short-answer one. There is a glossary of command terms at the end of the guide, so don’t hesitate to refer to that.
- Work smarter, not harder
Some elements of the assessments are done outside of school, such as the IA and Paper 1 research. This is where you have the opportunity to pick up the most marks, so ensure that you put in the maximum effort. Similarly, be smart when studying for your timed examinations. Ask your teacher which topics regularly appear in papers, and focus on those for a bunch of guaranteed marks.
Conclusion
Business Management is a class I always look forward to, and I hope that each one of you who decides to take it has the same sentiment a few classes in! Don’t let the amount of content deter you, and just work your way through the syllabus slowly. There’s no specific formula to being successful in this subject, so I encourage you to figure out what works best and stick with it throughout!
Some Resources
Note: Some of these may follow the old syllabus, so refer to the IB Business Management Guide before studying a certain topic.
https://www.businessmanagementib.com
https://www.revisionvillage.com/ib-business/hl