10 TIPS FOR BUSINESS MANAGEMENT EE

(1) The research question:

● Must follow the format theory + organisation or industry.
● Must be focused on one issue and not “two questions in one”.
● Is expected to be “ambitious”, to mean that it will lead to an
evaluative analytical discussion and not a descriptive narration
of decisions and techniques implemented by the firm.
● MUST avoid domestic small business organisations which are
more appropriate for HL Internal Assessment.
● Must not have an already obvious (ready) answer. This is also
the case where the student already knows the conclusion and
goes backward to create a research question.

Good RQ’s Inappropriate RQs that need to be further

improved; they can be used as starting
points but need to be fine-tuned.

(1) To what extent does Tesla
generate a paradigm shift in the
automobile industry?
(2) How effective has Apple been in ambition)
maintaining its ethical standards
with its assembly subcontractor
Foxconn?
(3) How effective has Amazon's
growth strategies been in
maintaining market leadership in
the e-commerce sector?
(4) Can Uber be considered a
shared-economy business model?
(1) How did Huawei handle the
trade war crisis between USA and
China? (no BM theoretical
framework and “how did” lacks
(2) How did Coca-Cola develop its
emotional marketing strategy?
(descriptive, lacks ambition)
(3) How effective has Under Armour
been in increasing market share
and in improving profitability
through the use of influencers?
(two questions in one)
(4) To what extent are product and
promotional strategies of value to
commodity brands? (lacks focus)
(2) The student must obtain a wide range of secondary research
sources to include the following:

● University level books and academic journals (There are plenty

of free online data-bases. I also suggest that school libraries
purchase a couple of university-level textbooks which students
can use to complement the highschool level texts used for the
DP BM course.)
● Company documents
● Industry and government data
● Periodicals, newspaper articles and reliable “blogs”. Students
must be taught how to determine reliable sources.

(3) To obtain the higher markbands students must use topics, tools and
techniques that GO BEYOND the BM subject guide. The most
commonly used university level topics and tools are:
● Michael Porter’s Competitive Advantage strategy
● M Porter´s Five Forces
● Triple Bottom Line
● Carroll´s Model of Corporate Social Responsibility
● Blue Ocean Strategy
● Henry Mintzberg’s Organizational Design models
● Metaphors of Organizational Culture

(4) Avoid the following:

● Subjective student-created analyses presented in SWOT,
PEST, Force Field, Fishbone Diagram.
● Use of Wikipedia
● Heavy reference to information placed in the Appendix section.
Only data in the main body are considered in the marking
process.
(5) Students must collect both quantitative and qualitative materials to
develop a strong argument. Avoid descriptive narrative discussion in
which the student presents data and goes one step further to interpret
the information. To reach markband 8 and above in criterion C, the
discussion must present different perspectives and techniques to
analyse the decision implemented by the firm.

(6) The “Conclusion” must not simply repeat the information already
presented in the analysis section. The student must answer the RQ
directly and new knowledge must emerge.

(7) Be very careful with RQ´s “to what extent” and “how effective…”
because the student must be able to collect relevant data to measure
the “extent of...” and “effectiveness of...”. On the contrary, what
seemed to be an “ambitious” appropriate RQ would prove to be
“empty”.

Be careful of unfocused wide RQs as it will be “self-punishing” -- to

lead to a hodge-podge of information and to a weak conclusion.

(8) It is very easy to get full marks in criterion D “Presentation”. Must

have consistent in-text referencing including all images, graphs,
charts obtained from online sources.

(9) To obtain higher markband 5-6 in criterion E, the student must reflect
on the learning process and not simply describe the steps taken to
arrive at the end product. Examiners want to “hear” the student’s
voice: his/her interests, his/her challenges and how he/she overcame
the obstacles. The reflection must be personalised and not a generic
“all-for-one” type which can apply to any and all EE’s whether BM,
Spanish, English, History. A generic-type reflection obtains maximum
of 3 marks in criterion E.
 (10) Markbands:

LETTER RANGE** CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EE

A Excellent 27 to 34 Extensive research including academic
university-level texts and journals. Proper
business terminology, use of topics and
tools beyond the DP BM guide. Displays
critical thinking at all times including in
the RPPF. To keep in mind that
“excellence is not perfection”, a student
can obtain an “A” with 27 marks A5 B5
C8-9 D4 E5
B Very Good 21 to 26 Evidence of research using a wide range
of sources, mostly from media, company
and industry sources. Very good use of
business terminology, topics and tools
learned in the course but not beyond.
The discussion is an analysis of data and
not just a description or interpretation of
information but there is room for potential
improvement.
C Satisfactory 14 to 20 Evidence of research but the RQ was not
properly focused. The EE was more of a
story, a pamphlet to narrate the decision
of the firm. Good use of terminology but
analysis is basic and subjective with
errors in use of SWOT, PEST, etc.
D Limited 7 to 13 Short EE which lacked planning and
engagement. Limited use of BM
terminology and tools to apply to
research. A short bibliography,
seemingly rushed to complete the
mandatory requirement of the DP. The
essay obtains a few points here and
there particularly D3-4 and E3-4 to get
out of the “E” mark.
E 0 to 6 This is very rare in Business
Unacceptable Management. It sometimes happens
when the EE is not about BM, i.e. the
centre committed a mistake in enrolment
of the student and had to upload a
History, Chemistry or Physics EE instead
of BM.
I always say that it takes more effort to
get an “E” than it is to obtain the “pass
mark D”.

** Range subject to adjustments after grade award in each marking

session

Prepared by Anna Maria Zosa exclusively for Business

Management Online Workshop Participants November 2020.
DO NOT SHARE IN OTHER SITES OR ONLINE RESOURCES.