Table of Contents
Introduction
IB Business Management External Assessment course consists of two examination papers at SL and three examination papers at HL that are externally set and externally marked. They are designed to allow students to demonstrate their competencies in relation to the business management assessment objectives. All questions on the examination papers are based on specifications in this guide.
The external components contribute 70% to the final assessment at SL and 80% to the final assessment at HL.
Paper 1 overview
Duration: 1 hour 30 mins
Max. Marks: 30
Paper 1 is the same for SL and HL students. Three months prior to the examination the IB will release a statement with two elements. The first element will be a small number of topics that provide context to the case study. These topics will not be topics that are in the guide but ones that students are asked to research for approximately five hours. Topics in the pre-released statement will build on topics contained in the syllabus. The aim is to assess students’ knowledge around important contemporary business topics that could not have been anticipated when the guide was written.
The second element will be the first 200 words, approximately, of the case study itself. The release of this portion of the case study will provide additional context and will reduce the number of words to be read during the examination period. The aim of the paper is to assess students’ knowledge of the business management syllabus. The examination is based upon one case study, of approximately 800 to 1,000 words, that students do not see before the examination. Most questions will be qualitative, although some minor calculations could be part of the assessment.
Click here to download Specimen Paper
Paper 2 overview
Duration: HL: 1 hour 45 mins, and SL: 1 hour 30 mins
Max. Marks: HL: 50, and SL: 40
Paper 2 will be based on stimulus material. SL and HL students will sit different examinations, but these will be similar in intent and form. The aim of the examination is to assess students’ knowledge of the business management syllabus. Most questions will be quantitative, though some questions may not have a quantitative element. Students will receive an examination booklet with questions based on the stimulus material seen for the first time during the examination. The stimulus material will be presented in parts. Each part has a question; students will read each part and answer the question before reading the next part.
The stimulus material will be a combination of written and diagrammatic stimulus such as charts and infographics. For SL only, one of the stimulus options in section B of the examination may be on a social enterprise. HL students will be assessed on a social enterprise in paper 3. Section A will be assessed against AO1, AO2 and AO4 levels whereas Section B will be assessed against all four levels including AO3.
Click here to download Specimen Paper
Paper 3 overview ( HL only)
Duration: 1 hour 15 mins.
Max. Marks:25
Paper 3 will be about a social enterprise and requires students to identify and describe a human need and the potential organizational challenges facing the social entrepreneur wanting to meet this need. Further to this, students are required to write a decision-making document that includes a business recommendation. Only HL students will sit this examination. The paper will consist of stimulus followed by questions. The stimulus material will consist of a short introduction to an organization, supported by a visual representation of a product, and five or six excerpts from various documents (such as emails, Twitter feeds, newspaper articles, and so on).
The paper will have the following three tiers of questions.
AO1 questions—assesses students’ ability to describe the human need in the stimulus material.
AO2 questions—assesses students’ ability to explain the key challenges facing the social entrepreneur or social enterprise in the setting of the stimulus material.
AO3/AO4 questions—assesses students’ ability to recommend a plan for the organization in meeting the identified human need. In doing so, students will be required to demonstrate knowledge and understanding, and their ability to explain, synthesize and evaluate evidence, and formulate a recommendation.
