Aragón PAU Business and Business Model Design common mistakes
Aragón PAU Business and Business Model Design · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
In the 'empresa y su entorno' question, the candidate lists stakeholders (accionistas, trabajadores, clientes, proveedores, sociedad) but never classifies them as internos/externos or primarios/secundarios, and never states the conflicting interest between two of them.
Textbook stakeholder tables get memorised as a flat list, so the candidate treats the task as recall rather than as an analysis of objectives and conflicts; under exam pressure the classification axis (internal/external, primary/secondary, or the Freeman/Mendelow power-interest grid) is the first thing dropped.
What to do instead
Before writing, pick one classification axis explicitly and use it as the paragraph structure: name each group, place it on the axis, and finish with one sentence of the form 'X wants A, Y wants B, and the conflict is resolved by ...'. Practise with three sectors (a supermarket chain, a public hospital, an app start-up) until the axis choice becomes automatic.
When asked about the economic environment, the candidate defines GDP, inflation or unemployment correctly but cannot link the indicator to a concrete effect on a named company's costs, demand or financing.
Macro variables are studied as definitions to be reproduced, and candidates do not rehearse the transmission mechanism (e.g. rate rise → higher financial cost → lower investment; inflation → input costs vs. pricing power), so the answer stays descriptive instead of applied.
What to do instead
Prepare a one-page 'transmission map' per variable with three arrows each (demand, costs, finance) and a real Aragón or Spanish example. In the exam, always finish each indicator with the sentence 'For a firm like [X], this means ...' before moving on.
In the strategy question the candidate names a generic strategy ('diferenciación' or 'liderazgo en costes') without justifying it against the firm's resources, and mixes Porter's generic strategies with Ansoff's growth matrix or the BCG matrix in the same paragraph.
Several frameworks are taught in the same unit and share vocabulary (cost, differentiation, growth), so under time pressure the candidate grabs whichever name surfaces first and uses it as a label rather than as an argument; the answer then reads as a list of models.
What to do instead
Use a fixed funnel: (1) state the firm's key resource or capability, (2) say which generic strategy it supports and why rivals cannot copy it, (3) only then mention the growth option. Keep a separate sheet per framework with 'question it answers' at the top, and never cite two frameworks in one sentence.
In the functional-areas question the candidate describes what marketing, production or HR 'is' in general terms instead of explaining how that area supports the chosen competitive strategy, and omits the inter-area coordination (e.g. operations capacity vs. sales forecast).
Functional areas are revised as isolated definitions, and candidates do not practise the 'coherence' angle that the exam actually rewards; they also run out of time and write the first definition that comes to mind.
What to do instead
For each functional area memorise one sentence linking it to strategy ('operations supports cost leadership through scale and standardisation') and one coordination example. In the answer, open with the strategy chosen in the previous section and make every area sentence refer back to it.
In business model design the candidate lists the nine Canvas blocks but leaves out the value proposition's link to the customer segment, and cannot state which block is the model's real source of advantage or how the revenue model differs from the pricing tactic.
The Canvas is memorised as a nine-item checklist to be reproduced, so the candidate fills blocks mechanically without testing internal consistency; the distinction between revenue model (how value is captured) and price (a number) is rarely rehearsed.
What to do instead
Answer in three moves: value proposition for a named segment, the block that makes the model hard to imitate (key resource, channel or cost structure), then the revenue model in one sentence ('subscription', 'freemium plus advertising', 'razor-and-blades'). Rehearse by taking a known company and writing the three moves in under five minutes.
When asked to propose an innovation, the candidate offers a generic idea ('improve the app', 'use social media') without classifying the innovation type (product, process, organisational, or incremental vs. radical) and without saying what it changes in the business model.
Innovation questions feel open-ended, and candidates default to brainstorming rather than to the typology they were taught; they also confuse 'using a new technology' with 'innovating the model'.
What to do instead
Always label the innovation on two axes (object: product/process/organisation; degree: incremental/radical) and then name the Canvas block it modifies. Prepare three worked examples per axis in advance so that in the exam you only have to choose and adapt one.
In financial management the candidate computes a ratio or a break-even point correctly but does not interpret the number, and presents a balance sheet analysis without comparing it to the sector or to the previous year.
Quantitative questions are treated as arithmetic drills, and the interpretation step is the one that gets cut when time is short; candidates also lack a habit of asking 'compared to what?'.
What to do instead
Adopt a two-sentence rule for every calculation: 'The value is X, which means ...; compared with Y it implies ...'. Before the exam, build a small reference table of typical values (current ratio, debt ratio, margin) so that the comparison is possible without data in the prompt.
The candidate mixes up economic profitability (rentabilidad económica, return on assets) with financial profitability (rentabilidad financiera, return on equity), and uses profit and cash flow interchangeably in the same answer.
The two ratios share the word 'rentabilidad' and differ only in the denominator, and profit-versus-cash is a distinction that is stated in class but rarely tested by the candidate on themselves, so the confusion survives until the exam.
What to do instead
Memorise the pair as 'assets → economic; equity → financial' and write the denominator explicitly every time. For profit vs. cash, rehearse one example where a firm is profitable but illiquid (a sale on long credit terms) and state it in the answer whenever the question mentions liquidity.
In the legal section the candidate identifies the type of company (sociedad anónima, sociedad limitada, sociedad cooperativa) but cannot state the minimum capital, the liability regime of the partners, or which body adopts a given decision.
Legal content is memorised as a list of forms without a decision structure, and the specific figures and organs blur together; candidates also skip this domain when revising because it feels less 'analytical'.
What to do instead
Build a comparison grid with columns: minimum capital, liability, number of partners, governing bodies, transfer of shares. Fill it from official sources for SA, SL and cooperativa, then answer legal questions by reading down the relevant column rather than recalling prose.
When a case mentions hiring, dismissal, or a contract with a consumer, the candidate answers with general principles of labour or consumer law but does not cite the applicable rule or the consequence (indemnity, nullity, right of withdrawal).
Regulatory questions are answered from intuition about what is 'fair', and candidates have not practised converting a short case into 'norm → application → consequence'; they also fear citing a wrong article and so cite none.
What to do instead
Use a three-line template for every regulatory case: applicable norm (statute or directive by name), application to the facts, legal consequence. Rehearse with five short cases covering dismissal, temporary contract, consumer withdrawal and competition law, and accept naming the rule generically rather than omitting it.