IB Business Management SL Topic 8 — The Pre-Released Statement Paper 1 Core idea ~10 min read

The Vocabulary to Revise

The Myt statement came with two sets of words: proper Business Management terms that could be defined in an exam, and industry words that are there so you do not stall on them. Learn each as one clean sentence and the define questions become the fastest marks on the paper.

What you need to know

Subject-specific terms come from the syllabus and can appear in a define question exactly as worded.
Additional terminology is industry vocabulary that is not in the guide at all.
The single most examinable pair here is internal versus external growth.
A 2-mark define is two statements, no case study needed.
Knowing the meaning is half the job. Know why the word is in this case study.
Words on the list that do not appear in the paragraphs usually turn up later in the full case study.

The one distinction to get right

Myt grew both ways at once, which is exactly why the examiner put both words on the list. If you can separate them cleanly you will pick up marks that other students throw away.

The bottom line in each panel is your ready-made application sentence. Learn those two and you can apply either term instantly.

Subject-specific key terms

Term	What it means	Why it matters for Myt
Multinational company	A business that operates in several countries, usually with headquarters in one and factories, offices or stores in others.	Myt has factories on six continents, which brings different rules, tastes and taxes in each market.
Internal growth	Growth from within: launching new products, opening new outlets or raising sales. Also called organic growth.	Myt expanded from a single root beer to over 30 different drinks this way.
External growth	Growth by merging with or acquiring another business.	Buying Lotssa Coffee and Honest Water in 2023 gave Myt instant scale in two new markets.
Portfolio	The full range of products or services a business offers.	Over 30 drinks, plus coffee shops and bottled water. A wide portfolio to manage and market.
Diversification	Moving into a new industry or product market, usually to spread risk and find new profit.	Coffee shops and bottled water are outside soft drinks. Healthy snacks would go further still.
Manufacturer	A company that processes, produces and packages a product from raw materials or components.	Honest Water manufactures bottled water, competing with established water brands.
Modernisation	Updating factories or equipment to improve efficiency, quality or environmental impact.	Myt wants to modernise its factories to make them greener and cheaper to run.
Green factories	Factories that use less energy, create less waste and are more environmentally friendly.	The stated goal, likely through renewable energy and cutting water and plastic waste.
Healthy snacks market	Snacks made with natural ingredients, lower sugar or added health benefits.	The market Myt is considering entering, and a very competitive one.
Corporate social responsibility	A business acting ethically and contributing positively to society, for example by cutting pollution, treating workers fairly or supporting communities.	Myt says it wants to improve its CSR, which sits awkwardly beside criticism of its sugar levels.

Additional terminology

Term	What it means	Where it fits
Avatar	A digital character or picture that represents a person online, in a game, a website or a virtual meeting.	Myt is considering computer-generated avatars in its adverts, which is a technology and marketing hook.
Biodegradable	A material that breaks down naturally in the environment without causing harm, usually with the help of bacteria or fungi.	Drinks firms use it for packaging claims. Note that these materials often need the right conditions to break down properly.
Chain (of a business)	A group of shops, restaurants or factories owned by the same company, selling the same products.	Lotssa Coffee is a chain of more than 4,000 shops across 35 countries.
Pressure group	An organisation that tries to influence businesses or governments to change their policies on issues such as the environment, human rights or health.	Environmental and health groups are among Myt’s loudest critics, and they shape public opinion.
Recycling	Collecting and reprocessing waste materials so they can be used again in new products.	Central to the plastic bottle problem, and to any circular business model answer about Myt.
Social media influencer	A person with a large online following who can affect what other people buy by promoting products.	Myt’s main promotional tool. Cheap reach, but the firm does not control what the influencer says next.

The influencer double edge. Influencers can build a brand quickly, but the same platforms carry “de-influencing”, where creators tell followers to buy less. If a question asks whether influencer marketing is sustainable in the long term, that is your counter-argument ready-made.

WORKED EXAMPLE

Define the term external growth. [2]

Statement 1 Growth that happens when a business expands by merging with another business [1] Statement 2 or by acquiring one, rather than by increasing its own sales or launching its own new products [1] 2 marks Contrasting it with internal growth in the second statement is a neat way to earn the second mark.

WORKED EXAMPLE

Explain one reason why Myt’s acquisition of Lotssa Coffee can be described as diversification. [2]

Step 1: the point Diversification means entering a new industry or product market, rather than expanding within the one you already operate in [1] Step 2: apply it Myt manufactures bottled and canned drinks, but Lotssa Coffee runs a chain of coffee shops, which is a retail and hospitality business with different customers, staffing and supply chains [1] 2 marks The detail that earns the application mark is “coffee shops”, not “coffee”. The business model is what is different.

Exam tip

Learn internal and external growth as a pair. Defining one by contrast with the other is efficient and accurate.
Say “organic growth” once if you use internal growth. It shows you know both names.
Attach one Myt fact to each term. One fact is all you need for an application mark.
Watch for terms not in the paragraphs. Biodegradable and avatar are likely to appear in the full case study.
Keep definitions to two sentences. Longer answers do not score higher.
Group the words into growth words, health words and green words. Easier to recall under pressure.

Common mix-up

Calling an acquisition internal growth because the company got bigger. The test is how, not whether.
Confusing portfolio with market share. Portfolio is the range of products; share is how much of the market you hold.
Treating diversification and external growth as the same thing. A firm can diversify by building something new itself.
Saying biodegradable means it always breaks down. The right conditions are usually needed, which is why recycling still matters.
Defining CSR as “being nice”. Be specific: acting ethically towards stakeholders and society.
Adding case study detail to a define question. It earns nothing.

Up next: Spotting the Key Themes — the six big ideas running under the Myt statement and what each one points at.

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The Vocabulary to Revise

What you need to know

The one distinction to get right

Subject-specific key terms

Additional terminology

Exam tip

Common mix-up

Want this explained one-to-one?

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