IB business management first assessment 2024
Business research project investigates one real organization through a conceptual lens. The toolkit and change, creativity, ethics and sustainability connect units; HL-only topics remain marked.
SL: Paper 1 90 min 35%, Paper 2 90 min 35%, research project 30%. HL: Paper 1 90 min 25%, Paper 2 105 min 30%, social-enterprise Paper 3 75 min 25%, research project 20%.
1 · Business organization and stakeholders
A business combines resources to provide goods or services. Ownership affects control, liability and access to finance.
Stakeholders include employees, customers, owners, suppliers and communities, whose interests may conflict.
Checked example
A price rise may support the café's equipment fund but reduce access for low-income customers.
A tiered offer could preserve a basic affordable meal while testing demand for optional products.
Limits and practice
Profit is not the only business objective. Do not assume a social enterprise has no need for revenue.
Evaluate growth using costs, control, culture and stakeholder effects, not sales alone.
Which decision most directly addresses both access and maintenance?
Answer: Keep a basic affordable meal and test optional products to support the fund.
2 · Human resources and motivation
Organizational structure sets reporting relationships and authority. Delegation passes authority for tasks while managers retain responsibility.
Motivation theories help explain behaviour; apply them to evidence about workers' needs and jobs.
Checked example
Giving experienced staff responsibility for ordering stock can improve autonomy and speed. Training and clear limits reduce ordering mistakes.
Compare delegation with tighter supervision when new workers need support.
Limits and practice
Do not identify a leadership style as universally best.
HL also examines corporate culture and employee relations; SL students should not be assessed on those extensions as mandatory content.
Which change most directly responds to the complaint?
Answer: Delegate suitable decisions with training and clear responsibility.
3 · Finance, accounts and appraisal
Profit compares revenue with expenses; cash flow records cash entering and leaving. Liquidity concerns meeting short-term obligations.
Finance choices differ in repayment, control, cost and suitability for the length of the need.
Checked example
Opening cash is 2,000, cash receipts 3,000 and payments 4,200. Net cash flow = 3,000 − 4,200 = −1,200.
Closing cash = 2,000 − 1,200 = 800. A forecast must also show when each payment occurs.
Limits and practice
A profitable investment may have a long payback and a cash shortage before benefits arrive.
HL adds debt/equity ratios and budgets; do not infer these requirements from an SL cash-flow exercise.
What is closing cash in this example?
Answer: 800, despite a negative net cash flow in the period.
4 · Marketing decisions
Segmentation groups customers with similar needs. Targeting chooses groups, and positioning defines the intended perception relative to rivals.
Primary research is gathered for the current purpose; secondary research was collected for another purpose.
Checked example
Before a launch, sample potential users as well as existing customers. Compare preferences with willingness to pay and actual trial purchases.
Align product, price, place, promotion, people, process and physical evidence with the chosen position.
Limits and practice
Large biased samples remain biased. Survey intention is not the same as purchase behaviour.
HL includes sales forecasting and international marketing: test assumptions and local context rather than transplanting one successful campaign.
Why is the customer-only survey weak for the new market?
Answer: It excludes non-customers whose needs may differ.
5 · Operations and break-even decisions
Operations transform inputs into outputs. Job, batch and flow production suit different volumes and levels of customization.
Break-even output equals fixed cost divided by contribution per unit when the simplifying assumptions hold.
Checked example
Fixed cost is 6,000, selling price is 50 and variable cost per unit is 30. Contribution = 50 − 30 = 20.
Break-even output = 6,000/20 = 300 units. At 400 units, margin of safety = 400 − 300 = 100 units.
Limits and practice
Break-even assumes stable unit prices and costs and that output is sold. It does not prove demand exists.
HL adds lean quality, planning, contingency, R&D and information systems; evaluation must connect these to context.
How many units must be sold to break even in this model?
Answer: 300 units.