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IB Business Management›Business Management HL
Revision Notes

IB Business Management HL

Clear, student-friendly revision notes for every sub-topic of the IB Business Management Higher Level course — the five units, the full fifteen-tool toolkit and the pre-released statement — written for what Papers 1, 2 and 3 actually ask.

Business Management HL · Revision Notes

Table of Contents

137 notes across 8 units. Click a unit to expand it, then open a sub-topic to see its notes. Notes marked HL are the Higher Level extension topics.

HLSwitch to SL
1

Introduction to Business Management

What a business is, who it answers to, and how it grows.

17 notes▾
1.1

What Is a Business?

4▾
What a Business Actually Does→ Primary, Secondary, Tertiary and Quaternary Sectors→ Entrepreneurs and Intrapreneurs→ Getting a New Business Off the Ground→
1.2

Types of Business Entity

4▾
The Private Sector and the Public Sector→ Sole Traders, Partnerships and Companies→ Social Enterprises That Make a Profit→ Charities and Other Non-Profit Organisations→
1.3

Business Objectives

3▾
From Aims to Tactics: How Goals Break Down→ What Businesses Usually Set Out to Achieve→ Corporate Social Responsibility→
1.4

Stakeholders

2▾
Who a Business Has to Answer To→ When Stakeholder Interests Pull Apart→
1.5

Growth and Evolution

3▾
Why Bigger Is Cheaper, Until It Is Not→ Should a Business Grow at All?→ Internal and External Routes to Growth→
1.6

Multinational Companies

1▾
Multinationals and Their Impact→
2

Human Resource Management

Planning a workforce, structuring it, leading it and keeping it motivated.

21 notes▾
2.1

Introduction to Human Resource Management

3▾
Planning the Workforce a Business Needs→ How Working Patterns Are Shifting→ Managing Change and Handling Resistance→
2.2

Organisational Structure

3▾
How Organisations Are Structured→ Reading Different Organisation Charts→ Flexible and Project-Based Structures→
2.3

Leadership and Management

1▾
Leadership Styles and When Each Works→
2.4

Motivation and Demotivation

8▾
Taylor, Maslow and Herzberg Explained→ The Later Motivation Theories→ Labour Turnover and Why Staff Leave→ Ways of Appraising Employees→ How Businesses Recruit→ Paying People to Perform→ Motivating Without Money→ Training Methods Compared→
2.5

Organisational Culture

2▾
HLThe Cultures Organisations Develop→ HLWhat Happens When Cultures Collide→
2.6

Communication

1▾
Formal and Informal Communication Channels→
2.7

Industrial and Employee Relations

3▾
HLWhere Workplace Conflict Comes From→ HLHow Each Side Responds to Conflict→ HLSettling a Dispute→
3

Finance and Accounts

Where the money comes from, where it goes, and what the numbers reveal.

21 notes▾
3.1

Introduction to Finance

1▾
Why Businesses Need Finance→
3.2

Sources of Finance

3▾
Raising Money From Inside the Business→ Raising Money From Outside the Business→ Picking the Right Source of Finance→
3.3

Costs and Revenues

2▾
Fixed, Variable, Direct and Indirect Costs→ Revenue and Revenue Streams→
3.4

Final Accounts

3▾
Reading a Statement of Profit or Loss→ Reading a Statement of Financial Position→ HLWorking Out Depreciation→
3.5

Profitability and Liquidity Ratios

2▾
Measuring Profitability→ Measuring Liquidity→
3.6

Efficiency Ratio Analysis

2▾
HLStock Turnover and Gearing→ HLDebtor Days and Creditor Days→
3.7

Cash Flow

3▾
Cash, Profit and Working Capital→ Building a Cash Flow Forecast→ Fixing a Cash Flow Problem→
3.8

Investment Appraisal

3▾
The Payback Period→ Average Rate of Return→ HLNet Present Value→
3.9

Budgets

2▾
HLCost Centres and Profit Centres→ HLBudgets and Variance Analysis→
4

Marketing

Finding out what customers want, then building the mix that delivers it.

18 notes▾
4.1

Introduction to Marketing

2▾
What Marketing Does and How Markets Work→ Market Share and Market Growth→
4.2

Marketing Planning

2▾
Putting a Marketing Plan Together→ Standing Out From Competitors→
4.3

Sales Forecasting

1▾
HLHow Far Ahead Sales Can Be Predicted→
4.4

Market Research

2▾
Primary and Secondary Research Methods→ Choosing a Sample→
4.5

The Seven Ps of the Marketing Mix

10▾
Product and the Product Life Cycle→ Managing a Product Portfolio→ Branding and Brand Value→ Everyday Pricing Strategies→ HLPricing Tactics for Tougher Markets→ Promotion and Advertising Methods→ Distribution Channels→ People in the Marketing Mix→ Process in the Marketing Mix→ Physical Evidence in the Marketing Mix→
4.6

International Marketing

1▾
HLSelling in Foreign Markets→
5

Operations Management

Turning inputs into outputs without wasting time, money or goodwill.

16 notes▾
5.1

Introduction to Operations Management

1▾
What Operations Management Is For→
5.2

Operations Methods

1▾
Job, Batch, Mass and Flow Production→
5.3

Lean Production and Quality Management

2▾
HLLean Production and Cutting Waste→ HLControlling and Assuring Quality→
5.4

Location

2▾
Deciding Where to Produce→ Outsourcing, Offshoring and Reshoring→
5.5

Break-Even Analysis

2▾
Contribution and the Break-Even Point→ Shifting the Break-Even Point and Its Limits→
5.6

Production Planning

3▾
HLManaging the Supply Chain→ HLReading a Stock Control Chart→ HLCapacity, Productivity and Other Metrics→
5.7

Crisis Management and Contingency Planning

2▾
HLHandling a Business Crisis→ HLPlanning Before Trouble Hits→
5.8

Research and Development

1▾
HLInnovation, Research and Development→
5.9

Management Information Systems

2▾
HLThe Language of Information Systems→ HLStoring, Using and Losing Data→
6

The Business Management Toolkit

The fifteen tools examiners expect you to apply, not just name.

18 notes▾
6.1

The Toolkit Tools

15▾
Using SWOT Analysis→ Using the Ansoff Matrix→ Using STEEPLE Analysis→ Using the BCG Matrix→ Writing a Business Plan→ Using Decision Trees→ Working With Descriptive Statistics→ Circular Business Models→ HLUsing Force Field Analysis→ HLUsing Gantt Charts→ HLComparing Cultures With Hofstede→ HLPorter’s Three Generic Strategies→ HLUsing Contribution Analysis→ HLUsing Critical Path Analysis→ HLUsing Simple Linear Regression→
6.2

The Toolkit in Practice

3▾
Applying SWOT and STEEPLE to a Real Business→ Applying the BCG Matrix and Decision Trees→ Applying Business Plans and Descriptive Statistics→
7

Exam Skills and Assessment

What each paper asks for, and how to write answers that score.

9 notes▾
7.1

The Papers

3▾
What Paper 1 Asks For→ What Paper 2 Asks For→ HLWhat Paper 3 Asks For→
7.2

Assessment Objectives

1▾
The Skills Examiners Reward→
7.3

Answering Each Question Type

5▾
Scoring Full Marks on 2-Mark Questions→ Scoring Full Marks on 4-Mark Questions→ Scoring Full Marks on 6-Mark Questions→ Scoring Full Marks on 10-Mark Questions→ HLScoring Full Marks on 17-Mark Questions→
8

The Pre-Released Statement

Preparing the case study context before you walk into Paper 1.

17 notes▾
8.1

Pre-Released Statement: 2026 Session

10▾
Key Terms and Definitions to Learn→ The Themes Running Through the Statement→ Industry Background: Concrete and Construction→ Industry Background: Electronic Waste→ Bringing SWOT and STEEPLE Into Your Answers→ Bringing the Ansoff Matrix Into Your Answers→ HLBringing Porter’s Strategies Into Your Answers→ HLBringing Decision Trees and Force Field Analysis Into Your Answers→ Bringing Circular Business Models Into Your Answers→ Practice Questions on the Statement→
8.2

Pre-Released Statement: 2025 Session

7▾
Getting Started With the Statement→ The Vocabulary to Revise→ Spotting the Key Themes→ Choosing the Right Toolkit Tool→ Background on the Industry→ Trends Shaping the Industry→ Practice Questions to Try→

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