I85PREP
⌘ K
NSSCAS Business Studies (8245) study materials
NSSCAS Business Studies (8245) study resources

NSSCAS Business Studies (8245): Business strategy, analysis and decision-making

NSSCAS Business Studies (8245) · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

All guide sections

Business strategy, analysis and decision-making

Domain overview

Business strategy, analysis and decision-making examines how firms choose long-term direction under uncertainty. The exam tests analytical models, stakeholder impact, risk and implementation, and expects a justified recommendation rather than a list of tools.

Core rules and concepts

  • Strategy is long-term and concerned with scope, advantage and resource allocation. Objectives are targets; strategy is the route to them.
  • SWOT summarises internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats. PESTLE analyses macro forces. Porter's five forces assesses competitive intensity: rivalry, new entrants, substitutes, buyer power and supplier power.
  • Ansoff's matrix classifies growth: market penetration, product development, market development and diversification. Diversification carries the highest unfamiliarity risk.
  • Decision trees compare options using expected values: multiply each outcome by its probability and sum. They clarify risk but depend on estimated probabilities.
  • Implementation needs resources, responsibilities, timings and contingency plans.

Worked example

A Namibian retailer with a strong brand in one town considers opening in a second town with the same products. In Ansoff terms this is market development. A decision tree shows a 0.6 chance of N$200,000 annual profit and a 0.4 chance of a N$50,000 loss. Expected value = (0.6 × 200,000) + (0.4 × −50,000) = N$100,000. That positive figure does not settle the decision: the firm must compare the investment cost, the risk of a loss, competitor response and whether management capacity can support a second site. The recommendation should state conditions, such as a pilot lease.

Traps that cost marks

Do not present SWOT as four unconnected lists; pair strengths with opportunities. A strategy is not the same as a tactic. Expected value is not a guarantee and ignores the spread of outcomes. Do not treat sunk costs as relevant. Avoid recommending diversification merely because growth sounds desirable.