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2013 Notes from the Marking Centre – Business Studies

Introduction

This document has been produced for the teachers and candidates of the Stage 6 Business Studies course. It contains comments on candidate responses to the 2013 Higher School Certificate examination, highlighting their strengths in particular parts of the examination and indicating where candidates need to improve.

This document should be read along with:

• the Business Studies Stage 6 Syllabus
• the 2013 Higher School Certificate Business Studies examination
• the marking guidelines
• Advice for HSC students about examinations
• other support documents developed by the Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards NSW to assist in the teaching and learning of Business Studies in Stage 6.

Section II

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• understanding the effect of rewards on business performance and dispute resolution on workplace conflict (Q.21)
• outlining two indicators relevant to human resource management (Q.22a)
• understanding issues relating to supply chain management as a part of operations and applying this to a specific business scenario (Q.23)
• knowledge of financial management as it relates to payment for imports and protection against currency fluctuations (Q.24)
• providing a judgement that showed points for and/or against adopting a niche market approach (Q.25).

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• applying relevant detail to support a response (Q.21)
• knowledge of the effect of decisions on a business’s gearing (Q.22)
• responding to the specific scenario given in the question (Q.23)
• identifying the risks of conducting international business (Q.24)
• providing an informed judgement that incorporated the stimulus information (Q.25).

Section III

Question 26

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• providing reasons for marketing strategies such as branding, product differentiation and product mix, and pricing methods and/or pricing strategies in relation to the problems identified in the hypothetical situation
• providing reasons for financial strategies such as cash flow management, working capital and profitability management to address the issues identified in the hypothetical situation
• using business report format and referring to the stimulus.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• focusing on the issues of the hypothetical business rather than addressing all dot points from the syllabus
• recognising that a SWOT analysis is not always appropriate in a report question
• recognising that additional case study material that is not related to the stimulus is not necessary.

Section IV

Question 27

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• demonstrating the relationship between several operations, strategies and influences on operations and making a judgement based on outcomes, quality, value or results
• presenting a sustained application of one or several case studies to support an assessment of operational strategies
• using relevant business terminology.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• providing a judgement based on value, quality, outcomes or results of strategies that management can use to respond to influences on operations
• using the case study to support a judgement
• demonstrating an understanding of contemporary events that may affect strategies that can be used, for example carbon tax, GFC, recent interest rate movements
• applying their judgement to both strategy and influence
• addressing specific influences of operations rather than the more general terms from the Preliminary course
• distinguishing between strategies and influences.

Question 28

Candidates showed strength in these areas:

• making evident the relationships between several human resources strategies and influences on human resources and making judgements based on outcomes, quality, value or results
• integrating case studies by presenting a sustained application of one case study or several case studies to draw out valid assessment of human resources strategies
• using relevant business terminology
• demonstrating knowledge of the topic.

Candidates need to improve in these areas:

• using the case study to support the judgement or relationships made between human resources strategies and influences
• providing a judgement based on value, quality, outcomes or results of strategies
• making a judgement, applying it to both strategy and influence
• distinguishing between and linking strategies and influences.