Integrating BUSS3 and the
BUSS4 research theme
Integrating BUSS3 and the BUSS4 research theme
• With no January BUSS3 sitting an opportunity
exists to start early with the BUSS4 research
theme in terms of both content as well as exam
technique
• Certain topics within the BUSS3 specification lend
themselves nicely to ‘drip-feeding’ elements of
the research theme along with introducing key
elements of essay technique in particular
paragraph development
Key will be keeping China
near the ‘front’ of
students minds
throughout BUSS3 without
switching students off
BUSS3 and BUSS4 integrated
Using objectives
and strategy
Relationship between
functional objectives,
corporate objectives
and strategy
A key corporate objective
might be to reduce
dependency on one
market in order to spread
the risk therefore a
strategy maybe to focus
on moving into a growing
emerging economy such
as China
Ikea to Accelerate China Store Openings to Shift Away From European Gloom
BUSS3 and BUSS4 integrated
Financial Strategies
and Accounts
Making investment
Decisions
Setting up a production
facility or sales outlets in
China is a significant
investment decision and
therefore investment
appraisal could be used
to find out the ‘least cost’
site
US firms reshoring from China
BUSS3 and BUSS4 integrated
Financial Strategies
and Accounts
Raising Finance and
Capital Expenditure
Setting up a production
facility or sales outlets in
China is a major capital
expenditure and would
also need significant
finance. How will the firm
raise it? An evaluation of
the best source of finance
L’Oreal seeks more China glow with $840 million bid for China skincare firm
BUSS3 and BUSS4 integrated
Marketing
Strategies
Market Analysis
A detailed analysis of the
Chinese economy and
demographic data can
help identify potential
opportunities and help
gather evidence for a
new strategy
The rising middle class fuels hotel boom in China
Fonterra pushes on with own brand China plan
BUSS3 and BUSS4 integrated
Marketing
Strategies
Selecting Marketing
Strategies
Using Ansoff's Matrix as a
model for analysing and
evaluating the potential
risks and rewards of
‘moving’ into China
Tesco in potential joint-venture with China Resources Enterprise
Starbucks long-term investment in the Chinese Coffee Shop Market
BUSS3 and BUSS4 integrated
Marketing
Strategies
Low cost versus
differentiation
Using Porter as a model
for analysing and
evaluating the potential
threat that China poses
other businesses in being
able to manufacture
products at a much lower
cost
Chinese imports threaten Kenya’s textile industry
BUSS3 and BUSS4 integrated
Marketing
Strategies
Marketing Plans
Using an example of a
business considering
expanding into China as a
vehicle to teach the concept
of marketing plans, in
particular, the influences on
the success of the
marketing plan (brand
perception may not be as
strong in china than in the
home market for example)
Starbucks long-term investment in the Chinese Coffee Shop Market
BUSS3 and BUSS4 integrated
Operational
Strategies
Choosing the right scale
of production:
economies and
diseconomies of scale
China has the worlds
largest population and a
middle class population
larger than the entire
population of America
giving the possibility of
huge economies of scale
YUM! China
BUSS3 and BUSS4 integrated
Operational
Strategies
Location
Issues relating to
international location
BUSS3 specification
makes specific reference
to exploring the reasons
for international location
which include global
markets, cost reduction
and avoidance of trade
barriers which links
nicely to the 4th bullet
Microsoft forms joint-venture with BesTV
Why Apple has to manufacture in China
How IKEA adapted its strategies to expand into China
BUSS3 and BUSS4 integrated
Human Resource
Strategies
Developing and
implementing
workforce plans
Using a business
expanding into China as a
context for determining
the future needs of the
workforce and
developing a workforce
plan
The war for talent in China
Developing BUSS4 Exam
Skills through BUSS3 (and
BUSS1/ BUSS2)
‘It’s a marathon, not a
sprint’
An essay is simply a
collection of strong and
well developed
paragraphs
BUSS3 Examiners Report – June 2013
‘students who were able to make selective,
well developed arguments which were
consistently focused on the question scored
high for analysis’
BUSS3 Examiners Report – June 2013
‘In preparing for this unit, centres should
stress the importance to their students of
planning their answers, being selective in
the number of arguments made and
ensuring that each argument is well
supported’
The Operations Director considers that it will
take at least 15 weeks to design and test the
new website. In the light of his concerns, assess
the value of using critical path analysis for
planning the car club proposal. Use numerical
evidence to support your answer (18 marks)
Definition of
Path Analysis
Critical
One
reasons
why
critical path analysis
might be valuable in
planning the car club
proposal is
However, a reason why
critical path analysis
may be of less value
when planning the
proposal is
Overall , I feel that
Connectives for BUSS3/ BUSS4
Involves giving students the beginning of a
paragraph and then supplying the students with a
range of suitable connectives and some relevant
source material
Students then produce a paragraph using the
beginning as supplied by the teacher, the
connectives and the source material
Practising strong paragraphs allows students to
develop the skill of making clear, well developed
arguments, supported by relevant source material,
with analysis drawn from it
Example of a connectives activity in
relation to the current research theme
Analyse ONE reason why IKEA have decided
to expand into China (13)
Ikea Group, the world’s largest furniture retailer,
will triple the pace of store openings in China to
capture faster growth in the second-largest
economy, Chief Executive Officer Mikael Ohlsson
said.
China has the worlds largest
population
The expansion in China will allow the company
to reduce its reliance on Europe
The European Economy is currently experiencing falling
consumer confidence
80% of IKEA’s sales come from Europe
The demand is there,” said the Swedish
executive, sitting in a living-room display at the
company’s Amsterdam store. Customers in the
world’s most populous nation have “the
dream, the wish, the need to furnish and the
fit with Ikea is very good.
One reason why IKEA has targeted China as a market to
expand into is…..
(connectives are like seasoning, they can be used more than once!)
Worlds largest population
European economy = falling confidence
80% IKEA sales come from Europe
Ansoff
Demand
‘Therefore’
‘Because’
‘This means that’
‘Which in turn’
Assessing students paragraphs
My Ten Year Old Brother
My Ten Year Old Brother is a teaching and
learning strategy from ‘Lessons are for
learning’ by Mike Hughes
It is a technique designed to develop
analysis
My Ten Year Old Brother
1 The teacher asks a student to explain a
concept or argument to a fictitious 10 year
old brother
2 Students in pairs taking turns to be the 10
year old whilst the teacher circles
My Ten Year Old Brother
The activity forces students to explain
concepts in depth especially if the
imaginary brother throws in the inevitable
‘how’, ‘why’, ‘what's that mean’
C
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Reset
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Set
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Start
Click to start
A Grade Evaluation
A Grade Evaluation
GOOD Evaluation directly answers the question set
AND provides a clear and overall response to the
question as well as being built on prior analysis
REASONABLE Evaluation often addresses some part
of the question but often fails to fully address the
question set
DevelopingEvaluation
Evaluation
Skills
Developing
Skills
Better questioning in lessons by asking students evaluative
questions or probing further with words such as ‘how’ and
‘why’
Encouraging students to re-read the question BEFORE
writing their evaluation
Planning their arguments AND their evaluation before
they start to write
Group and collaborative learning activities that require
students to work together and justify responses
Developing
Evaluation
Skills
(in lessons)
Developing
Evaluation
Skills
When using case studies or written material in
lessons encourage students to spend 3 or 4
minutes (after they have read it) picking out:
• The most significant issue
• The most significant point
• The biggest opportunity
• The biggest risk
Then ask students to explain WHY
Four Corners
Four Corners is a powerful activity that
encourages higher order thinking and helps
students ability to evaluate. It is also
excellent for collaborative learning giving
students an opportunity to review and
reflect on other students thoughts, views
and opinions
• At the start of the lesson label the four corners
of the room with:
– Strongly Agree
– Agree
– Disagree
– Strongly Disagree
• Then read out a definitive statement
that forces students to make a decision
The slowdown of the Chinese economy is
the biggest threat to businesses currently
operating in China
A joint venture is the best way of entering
the Chinese market
• After the statement has been read out
then the students need to write down
whether they strongly agree, agree,
disagree, strongly disagree and a brief
justification as to why they chose that
option and why they rejected the others
• Once that has taken place the students
then need to move to their relevant
corner
Developing
Evaluation
Skills
(in exams)
Developing
Evaluation
Skills
Trying to encourage students to find the
MOST SIGNIFICANT POINT/ ARGUMENT and
then using that as the basis for their final
evaluation/ conclusion
Teaching the Research
Theme and Further Exam
Skills
Common Section A issues
•
Not focusing on and losing sight of the question
•
Lack of fully developed arguments
•
Students not discriminating in their choice of
arguments (students MUST be selective)
•
Lack of planning
•
In general, poor essay writing skills (points 1 – 3
linked)
Principal Examiners Advice
Students should ask themselves:
• WHAT is the precise question I am
answering?
• WHAT answer do I want to give?
• HOW do I explain and support my
arguments
Students need to focus on
the analytical arguments
and THEN think of how
they can provide evidence
Students should spend
time choosing the right
question and plan how
they want to answer it
An opening paragraph
with a clear focus on the
question set, outlining the
key arguments and the
key issues can work
wonders for setting the
scene
(Probably) the two most
important words to help
students achieve better
marks
WHY?
HOW?
The use of case studies in
lessons should be used to
build arguments (why)
not to be repeated as
stories
The Jan 2010 Examiners
Report
Themes from the Examiners Report
(Applied)
Many students lacked the knowledge of how cultures
might be different, that there may be political or legal
issues when trading with (China)
One might reasonably expect students to know whether or
not the Chinese currency is weak or strong, what ACTUAL
cultural barriers exist, what the state of the economy is and
the key demographic issues
It is NOT enough to say that there may be ‘cultural’ issues
when dealing with China or that China is ‘big’ or has ‘low
wage costs’
(However) a ‘general
knowledge’ approach to
researching China is likely
to be very limited
Themes from the Examiners Report
(Applied)
In better answers, it was pleasing to see the
effective use of theories, models and concepts
such as the Ansoff Matrix, the Boston Matrix,
Porter’s cost leadership and differentiation
strategies, porters five forces, opportunity cost,
economies and diseconomies of scale and risk