Paper 4
Question 1: past 6 questions
Key Takeaways
• Evaluate PV’s marketing strategy between
2012 and 2021.
• Evaluate the impact of FL’s corporate culture
on the success of the business between 2015
and 2022.
• Evaluate the extent to which RT’s operations
strategy has supported the success of the
business from 2015 to 2023.
• Evaluate whether LH made the correct
strategic decision to take over PS
• Evaluate the extent to which leadership
contributed to BV’s effective strategic
management between 2009 and 2022.
• Evaluate RHR’s marketing strategy between
1995 and 2021.
- Always about something in the past.
- Pick 2 parts of the strategy (or
whatever the question asks about)
and do a paragraph on each of them.
- Conclusion:
Decision: provide a clear answer to
the question with a justification, in
context.
It depends on: question your decision
by giving different situations that may
have happened and how that could
lead to a different answer.
Question 2: past 6 questions Key Takeaways
- Always about the future.
• Advise Jimmy on the extent to which external
influences will impact on the success of PV’s future
business strategy.
• Advise Jane on whether blue ocean strategy is the
most useful approach as she attempts to diversify
the business.
• Advise Carlos on which approaches RT should use
to develop a business strategy to achieve ‘profit
through diversification’.
• Advise Sanjay on an operations strategy for LH to
overcome the problems it is experiencing.
• Advise the Board of Directors on a marketing
strategy to use when BV enters the market in
country X.
• Advise Carmen on whether the use of a core
competence framework is sufficient to develop a
successful new business strategy for RHR.
- Pick 2 things to talk about (2 external
influences, 2 advantages of a blue ocean, 2
approaches...depends on the question) and
develop analysis / however.
- Conclusion:
Decision: provide a clear answer to the
question with a justification, in context.
It depends on: question your decision by
giving different situations that may have
happened and how that could lead to a
different answer.
Structure
• P1: Key definitions from the question (K).
• P2: Define what you are going to talk about (K – important, there are 3
knowledge points available, make it easy for the examiner to give you
them), analyse it with advantage (L1 AN), develop that with a consequence
(L2 AN), balance the argument with a however section (L3 AN).
• P3: Repeat P2.
• P4: Answer the question being asked (refer directly to it) and provide a
justification for your view. Then provide an “it depends on” or “however”
section to balance it out.
Example of L3 Analysis and Evaluation
• Evaluate the extent to which RT’s operations strategy has supported
the success of the business from 2015 to 2023.
DECISION AND JUSTIFICATION
IT DEPENDS ON or HOWEVER
Example of L3 Analysis and Evaluation
• Advise Carlos on which approaches RT should use to develop a
business strategy to achieve ‘profit through diversification’.
DECISION AND JUSTIFICATION
IT DEPENDS ON or HOWEVER