IB Business Exam Guide

“Students must be familiar with the command terms used to understand the depth of treatment required in examination questions. Command terms guide students to present an answer in the way examiner is expecting.”
Author: Jerry GrzegorzekIBDP Business Management Teacher & IB Examiner & EE Supervisor and Cambridge IGCSE & AS & A2 Business Studies Teacher

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The final examination in IBDP Business Management (formally called External Assessment) is quite challenging for many students around the world. It requires using higher level skills of analyzing (AO2) and evaluating (A03), processing a high amount of information as well as proper time management. You need to be able to identify a problem, handle data, think critically, judge, provide logical reasoning and justify your business decision-making, all in the context of various companies.

The External Assessment is scheduled for May and November examination sessions. There are two papers in IBDP Business Management for both Standard Level (SL) and Higher Level (HL) students: Paper 1 and Paper 2. Papers for HL students are longer and have more questions as HL students have more units to learn, especially in HR and Operations Management.

IB examiners mark for External Assessment, while work produced for Internal Assessment is marked by school teachers and externally moderated by the IB.

Important: Visit the official IBO page for the most updated information about this subject.

Paper 1

Paper 1 includes a long case study (around 3-6 pages) with all questions related to that case study. The case study is about a hypothetical (imaginary) company, but often based on the real-life story, e.g. a Hispanic singer emigrating to the US to start a company in the music industry. The case study is released by IB between 3 and 6 months before the examination session takes place. For examinations in May, the pre-seen case study is usually published on the Internet by the IB at the end of December or in early January. The purpose of the pre-seen case study is to assess the students’ ability to apply business management knowledge to a given situation.

In addition to this pre-released case study, there is also additional information given to the students. But, this part is not published earlier – the students will discover it when opening their Paper 1 during the examination session. It usually contains economic data, e.g. inflation rates, unemployment, etc., as well as what happed to the company after the case study ended. The case study almost always ends with a critical decision to be made by the managers about the future course of the business. This unseen material is necessary to answer questions in sections B and C.

The case study in Paper 1 is the same for both SL and HL students, but November examinations will have a different case study from the one used for examinations in May.

Paper 1 for Standard Level (SL)

For SL students, Paper 1 lasts for 1 hour and 15 minutes and the weighting is 35% of the total grade. It contains Section A and Section B. The total number of marks available is 50 marks. In Section A, students answer three of four structured questions (10 marks per question). In Section B, students answer one compulsory structured question (20 marks). All questions in Section A and B are based on Syllabus content: Units 1-5.

Paper 1 for Higher Level (HL)

For HL students, Paper 1 lasts for 2 hour and 15 minutes and the weighting is 35% of the total grade. It contains Section A, Section B and Section C. The total number of marks available is 70 marks. In Section A, students answer three of four structured questions (10 marks per question). In Section B, students answer one compulsory structured question (20 marks). In Section C, students answer one compulsory extended response question primarily based on HL extension topics (20 marks). All questions in Section A, B and C are based on syllabus content: Units 1-5 including HL extension topics. In Section C, HL students will have to make a choice recommending the best option company should choose. This question is mainly based on HL topics, requires using additional unseen material and must incorporate a tool into the answer, e.g. decision tree or force field analysis. To score 20 marks, more than one business tool is necessary.

TOP TIPS FOR PAPER 1

Identify all the key terms in the case study

Produce a timeline of events to see what exactly happened and when.

Construct an organisational chart as well as financial statements of the organization.

Produce a stakeholder map listing both internal and external stakeholders.

Construct SWOT Analysis and STEEPLE Analysis to gain understanding about internal and external environments of the business

List all of the problems faced by the business considering all business functions: Finance, Marketing, HR and Operations.

Paper 2

Paper 2 includes a few shorter case studies in Sections A and B, and an essay about business concepts in Section C. In Paper 2, Section C is required for both SL and HL students.

For SL students, Paper 2 lasts for 1 hour and 45 minutes and the weighting is 40% of the total grade. The total number of marks available is 50 marks. All questions in Section A, B and C are based on Syllabus content: Units 1-5. For HL students, Paper 2 lasts for 2 hour and 15 minutes and the weighting is 40% of the total grade. The total number of marks available is 80 marks. All questions in Section A, B and C are based on syllabus content: Units 1-5 including HL extension topics.

Paper 2 is very similar for both SL and HL students. The only major difference is that HL students answer one more structured questions in Section B comparing with SL students.

Paper 2 Section A

For both SL and HL students, Section A in Paper 2 has a quantitative focus – both case studies and questions are mainly based on Unit 3: Finance. The students are usually asked to construct Income Statement (Profit & Loss Account) or Balance Sheet or Cash Flow Forecast, as well as to calculate Ratios and comment on results. Both SL and HL students answer one of two structured questions based on stimulus material with a quantitative focus (20 marks).

Paper 2 Section B

For both SL and HL students, Section A in Paper 2 consists case studies mainly related to Marketing, Human Resources and Operations Management. In Section B, SL students answer one of three structured questions based on stimulus material (20 marks), while HL students answer two of three structured questions based on stimulus material (20 marks per question).

Paper 2 Section C

In Section C, both SL and HL students answer one of three extended response questions (20 marks). The principal focus in this section is on two of the six business concepts that underpin the business management course: Change, Culture, Ethics, Globalization, Innovation and Strategy. Students are required to write an essay to address the question in relation to one real-world organization which must not be the case study organization featured in Paper 1. Section C is based on syllabus content: Units 1-5, and including HL extension topics for HL students. It is not unit specific but generic – covering knowledge across several units. Students should spend around 30 minutes of the examination time on this section.

TOP TIPS FOR PAPER 2: SECTION A & B

Students must be familiar with the command terms used to understand the depth of treatment required in examination questions. Command terms guide students to present an answer in the way examiner is expecting.

Some of them include you to:

Define (2 marks), provide general knowledge about a business key term, e.g. a sole trade. Do not forget to apply to the case study.

Explain (4 marks), describe giving reasons – explain possible reasons for a decision or explain possible solutions to a problem. Apply your knowledge of concepts and theories to the stimulus material.

Comment, write an explanation of, or commentary on, the information given in relation to a problem or issue, or value (quantitative information).

Analyze or Examine (6 marks), break down information and understand the implications, specific causes or problems of what you have been presented with in the stimulus material (both quantitative and qualitative information). Use appropriate techniques to analyze data and business practices to investigate the problem.

Discuss or Evaluate (10 marks), remember that evaluation involves making a judgement – judge in weighing up the relative importance of different points or sides in an argument to reach a conclusion. Draw conclusions from the evidence presented. When evaluating, it is often possible to draw a number of conclusions. Examiners are less concerned with the particular conclusion drawn as there is no ‘Right’ answer, but more interested in the quality of your argument to support your judgement. Also, comment on the reliability of information or evidence.