Course Description
Business Management is a two year IB course designed to give students an understanding of business concepts, theories, principles, practices and skills. A fundamental feature of the course is based on integrating and linking the material in order to give students a holistic overview. In addition, students will apply tools and techniques of analysis to enhance the understanding of complex business activities and to think critically. They will also develop an understanding of how external forces affect the business environment and think in an integrated way so as to make decisions on the strategies and future directions of an organization.
Objectives:
- Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of business terminology, concepts, principles and theories.
- Identify the business issues, interpret the data, apply appropriate methods and tools, and recommend strategies and solutions.
- Analyze and evaluate business decisions and strategies, and show evidence of critical thinking.
- Apply skills and knowledge learned in the subject to hypothetical and real life business situations.
- Communicate effectively using the appropriate tools and format.
- Be aware of ethical considerations
- Understand how external factors (such as social, economic, cultural, technological, legal, environmental) affect a business.
- Synthesize knowledge from all modules covered in order to develop a framework for decision making and strategic planning.
Topics to be Covered:
Unit 1: Business organization and environment
1.1 Introduction to business management
1.2 Types of organizations
1.3 Organizational objectives
1.4 Stakeholders
1.5 External environment
1.6 Growth and evolution
1.7 Organizational planning tools (HL only)
Unit 2: Human resource management
2.1 Functions and evolution of human resource management
2.2 Organizational structure
2.3 Leadership and management
2.4 Motivation
2.5 Organizational culture (HL only)
2.6 Industrial/employee relations (HL only)
Unit 3: Finance and accounts
3.1 Sources of finance
3.2 Costs and revenues
3.3 Break-even analysis
3.4 Final accounts (some HL only)
3.5 Profitability and liquidity ratio analysis
3.6 Efficiency ratio analysis (HL only)
3.7 Cash flow
3.8 Invested appraisal (some HL only)
3.9 Budgets (HL only)
Unit 4: Marketing
4.1 The role of marketing
4.2 Marketing planning
4.3 Sales forecasting
4.4 Market research
4.5 The four P’s
4.6 The extended marketing mix of seven P’s (HL only)
4.7 International marketing (HL only)
4.8 E-commerce
Unit 5: Operations Management
5.1 The role of operations management
5.2 Production methods
5.3 Lean production and quality management (HL only)
5.4 Location
5.5 Production planning (HL only)
5.6 Research and development (HL only)
5.7 Crisis management and contingency planning (HL only)
ATL Skills:
Thinking: Developing critical thought, posing problems, asking questions, implementing strategies, evaluating, analysing, integrating material.
Communication: The ability to evaluate, analyse and discuss in written form, to interpret data clearly, and use technical and analytical tools to present a problem.
Social: Collaborative work through teams and class discussions.
Self-management: Setting goals, keeping up, managing time and tasks effectively
Research: Through the Internal Assessment, mainly primary data, but also secondary, are described, interpreted, analyzed and evaluated; recommendations are made and limitations of the research considered.
Assessment:
School grades:
Tests 50%, Quizzes 20%, Weekly Homework 20%, Participation 10%
IB Assessment (Exams are externally assessed, research project/commentary are internally assessed)
(HL): Exam 75% (Paper 1: 35% Paper 2: 40%), Research Project 25%
(SL): Exam 75% (Paper 1: 30% Paper 2: 45%), Written Commentary25%
