IB Business Management HL study plan
IB Business Management HL · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Finance and accounts
Build a one-page formula sheet covering contribution per unit, break-even quantity and value, margin of safety, gross and net profit margins, and the main profitability and liquidity ratios
Construct a full set of final accounts (income statement and balance sheet) from a trial balance for a sole trader, then repeat it as a limited company
Classify ten given business transactions into current and non-current assets and liabilities, and identify which ones change working capital
Compute and interpret ROCE, gearing, stock turnover, debtor days and creditor days for a single case, writing one sentence of meaning for each
Your checkpoint
A handwritten or typed formula sheet plus one fully reconciled income statement and balance sheet produced without notes, checked against a model answer
Finance and accounts
Evaluate the payback period, average rate of return, and discounted cash flow (NPV) for one investment appraisal case, and recommend a project with justification
Prepare a cash flow forecast for six months and explain two reasons why a profitable firm can still fail on cash
Distinguish internal and external sources of finance (share capital, debentures, leasing, overdraft, trade credit, crowdfunding) and match each to a stated business situation
Explain the effect of a share issue, a bank loan and a sale-and-leaseback on the balance sheet and on gearing
Your checkpoint
A 400-word investment appraisal report for one case that includes a table of payback, ARR and NPV figures and a justified recommendation
Business organization and environment
Compare sole trader, partnership, private and public limited company, franchise and social enterprise on ownership, liability, finance access and control
Apply the Ansoff matrix and the Boston Consulting Group matrix to a named real company and justify each placement
Analyse how PESTLE factors and STEEPLE analysis affect one industry, giving a specific example per factor
Explain stakeholder conflict in a single decision (for example a factory relocation) and evaluate two stakeholder management strategies
Distinguish economies and diseconomies of scale, and internal versus external growth, using one merger case
Your checkpoint
A 500-word structured evaluation of one real company's growth strategy that uses the Ansoff matrix and at least two stakeholder perspectives
Human resource management
Draw and interpret organisational charts, and distinguish span of control, chain of command, delayering and delegation with examples
Compare autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire and situational leadership against two named business scenarios
Apply Maslow, Herzberg and Taylor to a motivation problem and recommend one financial and one non-financial motivator
Explain the stages of the recruitment and selection process, including job analysis, job description, person specification and induction
Distinguish training, appraisal and dismissal procedures, and evaluate one method of workforce planning
Your checkpoint
A 600-word human resource case response that diagnoses a staff-turnover problem using at least two motivation theories and proposes a costed action plan
Human resource management
Compare the main organisational structures (functional, product, geographic, matrix) and evaluate one for a stated firm
Explain employer and employee representative bodies, collective bargaining, and the causes of industrial action
Evaluate the impact of flexible working, home working and zero-hours contracts on employer and employee
Apply the Hackman and Oldham job characteristics model or another job design framework to redesign one role
Your checkpoint
A one-page comparison table of four organisational structures with a written recommendation for one named company, plus a short justification of the recommendation
Marketing
Distinguish market orientation from product orientation, and product from market-led marketing, with one example each
Complete a full marketing mix (4Ps or 7Ps) plan for a new product, including pricing strategy, distribution channel and promotion mix
Compute and interpret market share, market growth and sales growth from given data, and apply the product life cycle to one product
Evaluate two methods of primary market research (for example questionnaire and focus group) on cost, reliability and bias
Explain branding, differentiation and the role of social media and e-commerce in the promotion mix
Your checkpoint
A 600-word marketing plan for a new product that includes a completed marketing mix, a market share calculation, and a justified pricing decision
Operations management
Compare job, batch, mass and flow production on cost, flexibility and quality, and select one for a stated product
Compute and interpret labour productivity, capital productivity, capacity utilisation and unit cost from given figures
Explain the role of stock management, including buffer stock, lead time and the trade-off between holding stock and stockouts
Evaluate one quality management approach (quality control, quality assurance, TQM, benchmarking) for a named firm
Assess the impact of lean production and just-in-time on cost and on supply chain risk
Your checkpoint
A 500-word operations case analysis that calculates at least three productivity or capacity ratios and recommends one production method with justification
Business organization and environment & Human resource management & Finance and accounts & Marketing & Operations management
Complete two full timed paper-1 style case studies (pre-released style) under exam conditions and self-mark against mark schemes
Write four 10-mark and two 15-mark structured answers that explicitly show application, analysis and evaluation chains
Review and re-test every formula on the finance sheet plus the key definitions from all five domains
Audit personal weak points from weeks 1-7 and close the two weakest with targeted practice
Your checkpoint
Two timed mock papers with self-marked scores, a written weakness audit, and a one-page final revision sheet covering all five domains
Milestones
Week 2: Produce final accounts and an investment appraisal from blank paper with no notes; score at least 80% on a self-made finance calculation test
Week 4: Explain the Ansoff and BCG matrices, PESTLE and the main motivation theories from memory in under 20 minutes, and complete one timed 10-mark answer at band-appropriate quality
Week 6: Write a full marketing mix plan and a full human resource action plan in 45 minutes each without referring to notes
Week 8: Score at least 70% on both timed mock papers and show that every calculation error from earlier weeks has been corrected