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Revision Notes

IB Business Management SL

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

Business Management SL · Revision Notes

Table of Contents

97 notes across 8 units. Click a unit to expand it, then open a sub-topic to see its notes.

SLSwitch to HL
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.

11 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

3▾
The Motivation Theories You Need→ Paying People Versus Motivating People→ Training Methods Compared→
2.5

Communication

1▾
Communication Channels and Where They Break Down→
3

Finance and Accounts

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

15 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

2▾
Reading a Statement of Profit or Loss→ Reading a Statement of Financial Position→
3.5

Profitability and Liquidity Ratios

2▾
Measuring Profitability→ Measuring Liquidity→
3.6

Cash Flow

3▾
Cash, Profit and Working Capital→ Building a Cash Flow Forecast→ Fixing a Cash Flow Problem→
3.7

Investment Appraisal

2▾
The Payback Period→ Average Rate of Return→
4

Marketing

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

14 notes▾
4.1

Introduction to Marketing

1▾
What Marketing Does and How Markets Work→
4.2

Marketing Planning

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

Market Research

2▾
Primary and Secondary Research Methods→ Choosing a Sample→
4.4

The Seven Ps of the Marketing Mix

9▾
Product and the Product Life Cycle→ Managing a Product Portfolio→ Branding and Brand Value→ Pricing Strategies→ Promotion and Advertising Methods→ Distribution Channels→ People in the Marketing Mix→ Process in the Marketing Mix→ Physical Evidence in the Marketing Mix→
5

Operations Management

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

6 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

Location

2▾
Deciding Where to Produce→ Outsourcing, Offshoring and Reshoring→
5.4

Break-Even Analysis

2▾
Contribution and the Break-Even Point→ Shifting the Break-Even Point and Its Limits→
6

The Business Management Toolkit

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

11 notes▾
6.1

The Toolkit Tools

8▾
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→
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.

7 notes▾
7.1

The Papers

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

Assessment Objectives

1▾
The Skills Examiners Reward→
7.3

Answering Each Question Type

4▾
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→
8

The Pre-Released Statement

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

16 notes▾
8.1

Pre-Released Statement: Latest Session

10▾
How the Pre-Released Statement Works→ Terms and Definitions You Need 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→ Bringing Decision Trees Into Your Answers→ Bringing Circular Business Models Into Your Answers→ Practice Questions on the Statement→
8.2

Pre-Released Statement: Previous Session

6▾
Getting Started With the Statement→ The Vocabulary to Revise→ Spotting the Key Themes→ Choosing the Right Toolkit Tool→ Background on the Industry→ Practice Questions to Try→

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