General feedback
Students should:
- read the question carefully to ensure that they do not miss important components of the question
- have a clear understanding of key words in the question and recognise the intent of the question and its requirements
- use the first page of the answer booklet for an extended response to develop a plan to assist in the logical sequencing of information
- engage with what the question is asking rather than presenting a pre-prepared response
- relate to the question throughout the response rather than just at the beginning
- sustain their judgements, where appropriate, throughout the response with a clear connection to the question
- use relevant business terms and concepts, where appropriate, to support their response
- apply relevant business case study/studies and contemporary business issues where appropriate
- present a sustained, logical and cohesive response that addresses the question where appropriate
- review their response to ensure that it addresses the question requirements.
Section II
Question 21
In better responses, students were able to:
- clearly identify another key business function and show the mutual relationship with operations for the business (a)
- apply knowledge of inventory management to the specific products in the stimulus by referring to strategies, for example, just in time (JIT) or first in first out (FIFO) (b)
- demonstrate a clear understanding of visibility and provide detailed discussion of its impacts on the business (c)
- make meaningful use of each stimuli to support key ideas.
Areas for students to improve include:
- providing understanding of the two-way relationship between operations and another key business function (a)
- naming inventory management strategies relevant to the stimulus (b)
- recognising the impact on visibility (customer contact) on the business as opposed to the customer (c)
- avoiding re-writing significant portions of the provided stimulus (a,b,c).
Question 22
In better responses, students were able to:
- clearly identify a relevant stakeholder and its role in human resources (a)
- demonstrate an understanding of corporate social responsibility and apply this knowledge to employees in the stimulus (b)
- demonstrate a clear understanding of maintenance as a function of the human resources process, using relevant examples to support an argument (c)
Areas for students to improve include:
- providing the effects of utilising corporate social responsibility for the business (b)
- demonstrating a clear understanding of how effective maintenance can be achieved in this business (c)
- understanding relevant syllabus terminology relating to human resources (a,b,c).
Question 23
In better responses, students were able to:
- correctly use the stimulus to reference how marketing and human resources are interdependent (a)
- clearly demonstrate how more than one economic factor can impact customer choice with reference to the stimulus (b)
- clearly suggest two forms of market segmentation with examples that contribute to growth for the business (c)
- consistently refer to stimulus material provided in their responses.
Areas for students to improve include:
- demonstrating understanding of the economic factors as opposed to only customer choice (b)
- demonstrating understanding of marketing segmentation as opposed to other marketing strategies (c)
- addressing the growth aspect of market segmentation reference to the business (c).
Question 24
In better responses, students were able to:
- effectively apply the information in the stimulus to the question
- correctly calculate the current ratio using the information in the stimulus (a)
- select an appropriate financial institution, making connection to the financial management of the business with cause and effect (b)
- provide clear implications for the impact of discounts on cash flow on working capital (b).
Areas for students to improve include:
- demonstrating understanding the elements of the financial statement
- applying financial knowledge to the information in the business scenario
- demonstrating understanding of the question and avoid rewriting the stimulus.
Section III
Question 25
In better responses, students were able to:
- provide a detailed description on the product differentiation strategy, using sophisticated business terminology and concepts
- provide multiple points for and/or against the current acquisition process and may draw from a range of aspects within the acquisition process, for example, identifying staffing needs, recruitment and selection
- provide detailed reasons in favour of at least two appropriate human resource strategies
- frequently integrate the stimulus in a business report format resulting in a sustained, logical and cohesive response.
Areas for students to improve include:
- applying the theoretical business concepts to the stimulus material, such as examples of product/service differentiation
- demonstrating an holistic understanding of the acquisition process, drawing out multiple reasons for and/or against
- selecting human resource strategies appropriate to the stimulus and explaining the reasons in favour of those strategies
- integrating appropriate business terminology and concepts to demonstrate extensive knowledge and understanding relevant to the question.
Section IV
Question 26
In better responses, students were able to:
- identify financial strategies and financial objectives from the syllabus
- make detailed links between how each strategy was able to achieve a financial objective
- apply case studies to show specifically how a business was able to use the strategy
- show comprehensive knowledge by linking a strategy to multiple objectives. For example, factoring improves liquidity but in the long term reduces profitability; or expense minimisation improves profitability, and this allows the business to achieve growth in the future
- use appropriate business terminology throughout.
Areas for students to improve include:
- referring to financial strategies from the syllabus, not strategies from other topics or general tasks of a business
- implementing case study knowledge and applying it to each strategy
- understanding the key term of 'how' requires the student to explain a connection between the strategy and the objective
- writing in detail and providing a sustained response.
Question 27
In better responses, students were able to:
- demonstrate a strong understanding of how operations strategies that are used by businesses can have an impact on corporate social responsibility
- link the effect of the operations strategy clearly to corporate social responsibility through a clear application of a case study
- present a sustained response using examples of different strategies and their effect on corporate social responsibility across multiple body paragraphs.
Areas for students to improve include:
- understanding the elements of corporate social responsibility in relation to operations management
- implementing case study knowledge and applying it to each strategy
- understanding the key term of 'how' requires the student to explain a connection between the strategy and corporate social responsibility
- writing in depth and providing a sustained response.
