Transcript
The SL Business & Management IA
How important is this IA?
• The Extended Essay is worth:
1.5 points
• The Business IA is worth:
2.5 points
To write a commentary based on 3-5 documents covering a common theme, 1,500 words.
Your Task:
Meaning
• You have to write a commentary on a real issue or problem, not a fictional one, with a title presented as a question.
• The commentary must refer directly to a single business organisation, but may consider industry-wide issues that impact on that organisation.
There are two parts to the IA:
Commentary
25 / 25
=
25 % of the final
mark=
Every mark you get
1% of your final
mark
Or:
How will you do this?
• Stage 1 – Find the supporting documents & identify the tools & techniques to use. May – June
• Stage 2 – Use the tools & techniques to analyse the supporting documents
June – August
• Stage 3 – Write up final draft of the Report
September - October
An Example question
How can British Airways resolve the
industrial dispute with its cabin crew?
An Example question
What impact will the recall of Toyota cars have on the brand?
An Example question
How will the introduction of pay per view for Times online
be profitable?
An Example question
Will the merger of Continental and
United Airlines be a success?
The Format:1. Title (in the form of a question)
2. Introduction (including a description of methodology)
3. Findings (based on the supporting documents)
4. Analysis of the findings
5. Conclusion(s)
6. Bibliography and references
7. Appendices: supporting documents
Stage 1 - The Supporting Documents:
Supporting Documents Some secondary sources:
• market research surveys
• articles from local, national or international press
• financial reports
• business accounts
• business plans
• mission statements
• web based surveys
• extracts from co’ websites
• gov’t and other statistics
• academic publications
Some primary data:
• questionnaires
• interviews• discussions with focus
groups • observations
• surveys
Supporting Documents
To achieve the highest levels of each assessment criterion, it is strongly recommended that the supporting documents will present a range of ideas and views.
The selection of three to five documents, for instance, published by a single company or three to five surveys of similar populations would not provide balance or objectivity.
Tools & Techniques
Decision Making Model
Ratio Analysis & Final Accounts
Forecasting SWOTAnalysis
Product Life Cycle
Motivational Theory
TQM CSR
Marketing Mix Stakeholder Conflicts
Economies of scale
PEST Analysis
Investment Appraisal
Motivational Theory
Break Even Analysis
BCG Matrix
Benchmarking Ansoff Matrix Channels of Distribution
Leadership Theory
Communication Theory
Organisational Charts
Stage 2 - Using the tools & techniques
• Confirming the tools & techniques
• Applying the tools & techniques
• Writing the first Draft
The data Sources
• You must collect secondary data. • You may want to collect primary –
but you don’t have to.• There are two factors that are
important when deciding what type data to collect:
1. How is it to be used?2. How reliable is the data source?
An example – A Product Positioning Map
If your commentary is a marketing one then you may well decide to introduce a product position map.
High Price
Low Quality
High Quality
Low Price
Apple
Oregon
Creativeiriver
Source:
• “I did a survey of 20 ’randomly’ selected students from my school – as they are the ones who use MP3 players the most.”
High Price
Low Quality
High Quality
Low Price
Apple Nano
MPman
Oregon
Rio
SharpCreative (Muvo)
Beosound
Archos
iriver
Ministry of Sound
Apple Shuffle
Apple Photo
Source:
•“What Hi Fi? Sound & Vision Awards 2005”
Survey criterion – System: MP3, AAC or WMA; Radio, Microphone, Storage capacity, USB, FireWire, Battery life, Dimensions & Weight
The Techniques to use
We recommend two general points
1. Use 3 or 4 techniques.
2. Use at least 1 qualitative and 1 quantitative technique.
Stage 3 - The final write-up
There are four elements in this stage:
1. Reworking the first draft 2. Writing the analysis & evaluation
3. Writing a conclusion & recommendation 4. Producing the completed project
Writing the analysis & evaluation
You need to consider:
• How to link the analysis to more than one of your supporting documents
• Be succinct and ordered
• Integrate your data, analysis and evaluation
• Avoid relying too heavily on one document
• Avoid unsupported generalisations
• Be critical – don’t take everything for granted
Assessment Criteria
Total = 25 marks
D = 3 marks
E = 3 marks
F = 3 marks
A = 4 marks
B = 6 marks
C = 6 marks
Assessment criterion ‘A’: supporting documents
• There are three to five supporting documents. • The documents cover a range of ideas and
views. • The supporting documents are contemporary in
nature, written within the last two years. • The relevant parts of the supporting documents
are highlighted. • The documents are relevant to the issue or
problem being examined. • Different types of documents are included.
Assessment criterion ‘B’: Choice and application of business
tools, techniques and theory • Business tools and techniques are included in the
commentary. • Business theory is included in the commentary. • The tools, techniques and theory are relevant to the
question posed.
• The commentary includes a range of tools, techniques
and theories.
Assessment criterion ‘C’: Use, analysis and synthesis of
data • There is evidence that data is used,
analysed and synthesized.
• Data from the supporting documents is used to help answer the question posed.
• The ideas are written in a clearly structured and logical manner.
Assessment criterion ‘D’:Conclusions
• The conclusion(s) are relevant and answer the question posed in the title.
• The conclusions are supported by the data from the supporting documents.
• The conclusions are a logical extension of the arguments.
Assessment criterion ‘E’: Evaluation and critical thinking
• Judgments are made.
• All judgments are substantiated.
• The nature of the supporting documents has been considered.
• The reasons why the problem or issue exists have been discussed.
Assessment criterion ‘F’: Presentation
• The written commentary is within the word limit. • Sources are provided for all the supporting documents. • Sources are provided for any quotations used in the written commentary.
• The referencing is consistent throughout. • An appropriate bibliography is provided. • Subject-specific terminology has been used throughout the commentary.
• The title question has been answered. • The word count is provided on the commentary. • The commentary is focused on the issue or problem identified. • The commentary follows a logical structure from identifying the issue or
problem through to he conclusion.
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