Business Management Advanced Higher Business Report

Aims To provide a guide through the business report. To highlight aspects of the business report which may help to improve candidate performance. To enable delegates to improve candidate performance through clearer guidance to pupils.

General points on the business report Small organisation — easy for candidates to understand the organisation’s structure and what it does. The strategy should be seen as a plan of action, a strategic action not an objective. Candidates should provide evidence.

Researching a business ‘First’ part of the project — the investigation. Marked as a NAB. A small organisation may make the NAB more challenging but will make for a better report and so is a price worth paying. 4

The business report ‘Second’ part. Involves explaining, analysing and evaluating — candidates need to do research eg customer questionnaire, interviews, surveys, on-line research. 5

Explanation — the strategy Explain what the strategy is and how the strategy fits in with the objectives. A simple strategy eg update the website, add a nail bar to the salon, change the menu. The strategy can be the business’s own idea or the candidate can come up with his or her own plan for the organisation. The strategy should NOT be fully in place when the candidate starts their report. Timeline — reference to a GANTT chart shown in the appendices should ensure a mark. 6

Explanation — the objectives Explain how the strategy fits in with the objectives. Explain how the strategy will help achieve the objectives, not the other way around. Objectives mentioned in the report must have been mentioned in the NAB. If not, and the candidate brings in a new objective, they must explain why it is new. 7

Analysis — the SWOT Say how the strategy relates to the SWOT eg why a particular strength/weakness led to the strategy or how the strategy might help the organisation take an advantage of a particular opportunity or reduce a threat. Strengths and weaknesses must be internal factors. Opportunities and threats must be external factors. If not candidates will not gain marks even if they have been marked correctly in the NAB. If candidates mention a strength, weakness, opportunity or threat in the report it must have been mentioned in the NAB. Candidates must make a link to an element of the SWOT with the strategy. Do not just re-write what was in the NAB. 8

Analysis — resources Candidates should provide evidence when explaining what resources are required eg a quote from a printer, a list of properties for sale from a website. 9

Evaluation — the functional areas Be careful not to overlap this with the previous section on resources. Explain the changes in the functional areas. 10

Evaluation — strengths and weaknesses of information used to decide on the future strategy The marks in this section are for information about the strategy. Candidates must state how the information collected helped the business decide on what its strategy would be. However: if the organisation came up with the strategy then the candidate must explain the strengths and weakness of the information the business collected eg the sales figures for the last 6 months. if the candidate came up with the strategy then they must refer to the information the candidate collected. Evidence should be shown eg a survey of customers showing that 80% found it hard to navigate the website. Marks are not awarded for finding out what the strategy is.

One way to lay out this section: Evaluation — strengths and weaknesses of information used to decide on the future strategy One way to lay out this section: The information the business used to decide on its strategy was: A questionnaire An interview Researching competitors on the internet

Evaluation — stakeholders Stakeholders must have been mentioned in the NAB to gain marks.

Overall evaluation Providing conclusions about the likely success of the strategy. Must be justified by evidence in the report eg the customer survey showed that 85% want better tasting products. Maximum of two theory marks for explaining how methods of measuring the success of the strategy would be used.

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