IB Business Management:
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THE IB BUSINESS MANAGEMENT PRE-RELEASED CASE STUDY
Both Higher and Standard Level Paper 1 exams include questions based on a case study. For the May 2018 exams this case study is entitled: Afghan Sun. You will be given questions to the case study when you sit the exam. The case study is the same for both higher and standard level, but the questions used are different.
The main aim of this paper is to assess your ability to answer questions on a given case example. You are expected to show your ability to apply business knowledge and understanding across the full range of topics covered in the syllabus.
The main aim of this paper is to assess your ability to answer questions on a given case example. You are expected to show your ability to apply business knowledge and understanding across the full range of topics covered in the syllabus.
Afghan Sun Mocks for SL and HL Paper 1 EXAMINATIONS, May 2018
Includes comprehensive model answers and mark schemes for each question because we want to show students exactly what they need to do in exams to get that 7. The IB Business Management Paper 1 HL and SL mock exams for May 2018 are now available in the secure teachers' assessment area. We will release these to our student members before the end of March. They are an excellent study aide.
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One of the real perks to having an IB Business Management membership is having immediate access to the Paper 1 case study teaching and student revision materials. The mock exams you prepare (so quickly!) are just like the real exams my students sit and save me hours and hours and hours of work. My students and I really appreciate all of the hard work that goes into making Business Management easier and more fun. Thanks again! -- Allie Stevens, IB Business Management teacher |
SL and HL Paper 1 mocks for May 2018 examinations and model answers can be found in the secure teachers' assessment area.
Afghan Sun
Download your own copy of the IB Business Management Paper 1 examination case study: Afghan Sun, and start your analysis (or let us help you with that analysis!).
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Key Insight!With just $20,000 in other costs in the first year growing to $50,000 in the second year we can tell that salaries at AS are going to be very low. In addition to these salaries, other significant overhead expenses must be accounted for in these figures. Expenses such as:
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Key Insight!A real difficulty here for AS is that they cannot ship large quantities of their product to the same place, and that transport of the product will take a long time and bribes will likely have to be paid to ‘local security forces’. “protection payments for safe passage are a significant potential source of funding for the Taliban.” How can AS have a sustainable business model where, in all probability, single power systems need to be transported securely, across long distances characterised by roading that is “in extreme states of disrepair”, AND where the price of its product must be kept very low due to the peculiar characteristics of its target market? |
Over 40 pages of analysisThe best IB Business Management brains have applied their critical thinking skills to the case study and developed key insights.
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Student Learning activitiesIB Business Management have developed key learning resources to help students think and learn about the case study, developing their own key insights and extending their critical thinking skills. Many more to follow!
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SWOT AnalysisBoth a student SWOT analysis activity and a comprehensive SWOT analysis. Exam Tip! The IB examiner is not looking for a nicely set out quadrant with brief bullet-pointed outlines of the identified Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Each point identified must be explained in the context of the case study, and then linked to the strategic decision in a summary conclusion
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Key Insight!In finance, risk is the probability that an actual return on an investment will be lower than the expected return. The greater the degree of risk the lower the discounted cash flows will be, and the higher the rate of return must be to account for the elevated risk. In purely financial terms, the investment that is required to establish and maintain operations at AS carries much risk. It is highly unlikely that the venture would be pursued on commercial terms alone. Large scale manufacturing is a difficult proposition, the target market has low disposable income, and the vagaries of doing business in Afghanistan would require a highly experienced team on the ground. Afghanistan ranks an extremely poor 183 out of 190 countries in the global ‘ease of doing business’ rankings. Therefore, the social good that the business aims to achieve must be credited – a qualitative factor in the investment decision. |
Key Insight!The current marketing mix of AS as it now stands is:
Further, we have no indication of just how important a priority electricity is in the target market. A very low price seems to be inconsistent with AS’s plans for manufacturing the product themselves. The lowest price would be achieved by purchasing the systems off a large, low cost global manufacturer that had economies of scale. This would result in the lowest unit cost to AS, the lowest price to its customers, a greater uptake of the product, and the greatest social good being achieved. Effective marketing in remote, rural Afghan villages seems almost impossible. First, distribution costs are going to be very high, and in a cost-plus pricing system, such high variable costs inflate the price of the product and appears incongruent with PRICE. Second, promotion of the product is something that needs to be carefully considered. Local agents and personal selling will be expensive, again conflicting with PRICE. However, it would seriously need to be considered as above the line promotion would be all but impossible in rural villages without electricity, and literacy rates are astonishingly low. |
Paper 1 - The Case Study: Format
Start your folder. Start knowing the case study. Start practising.To achieve the maximum mark you are capable of, you really need to know the case study inside-out and back-to-front. It is very much in the student's interest to pick out the key IB Business Management terms and concepts as they read their way through the pre-released case study.
The dedicated Members' Case Study: Afghan Sun. will open soon and our first resources available. More to follow! |