The Ultimate guide to Business Management Success
by Costargh (Study Score of 47 in Business Management in 2008)
This is a guide which can help you maximise your study score in Business Management.
1. Prepare yourself with good resources!Most schools will be using the Barille text book which is probably the best available text book. However, please supplement this text with various other reference material (eg. A+ Notes). Alternatively, please download a set of notes from VCENotes which will not only help you in your quest to summarise and condense the course into a manageable size, but will also allow you to consolidate your own notes and understanding of the course.
I recommend the following notes which have been compiled by VN member, shinny who achieved a
50 in Business Management.
Free Business Management Notes Here!2. Use the VCAA resources!The study design is your best friend!!! The study design is a document that outlines the key knowledge that can be assessed in the exam. Following this as a guide will allow you to structure your notes and focus your attention on areas that seem important. Past exams and Examiners reports can also be found on this site. Past exams are particularly helpful as they allow you to get a feel for what the exams are like. They are the most realistic exams you can do (similar to the real ones because they WERE real ones in their respective year) so please do them! The examiners reports highlight areas that students have performed well and poorly on. Make sure you focus on areas that have been performed poorly on!
One of the
worst handled areas is
Operations Management! Click here to go the the VCAA Business Management page
3. Know your definitions!Although Business Management isn’t centred on definitions, ultimately, knowing definitions (that you can explain in your own words) will enable you to understand the keep concepts and deeper intricacies of Business Management. Keep a separate book or section of your book for definitions and at the end of each chapter define all the key terms. This will make revision all the more easier at the end of the year.
4. Understand the key concepts!At the end of the year the following concepts will be second nature to you:
Management styles, Management roles, Management skills, HR management, Operations Management, Ethical and socially responsible management... the list goes on!
Don’t leave anything to chance!!! Know ALL areas off by heart. (There are some areas of the course where you are not required to know all topics. Eg. Issues in Change management- only need to know one). Otherwise COVER ALL CONCEPTS AND KNOW THEM LIKE THE BACK OF YOUR HAND!!!
5. Work consistently and get a good SAC ranking!We won’t go into the complexities of the moderation process but this rule applies for most schools (bar the ones such as MHS where the cohort is relatively strong). Work consistently throughout the year, study for your SACs and try get that allusive top rank! It could mean the difference between a low 40 and a high 40! Some students (as witnessed on VN) have been able to get an A+ on the exam but were unfortunate enough to be screwed over with their SACs thus lowering the score they received.
6. Do plenty of Practice Exams!This may seem obvious but there is a certain way that you should use practice exams. Use them to HIGHLIGHT YOUR WEAKNESSES! When you notice you have performed poorly on a question, go over that area of study and then hopefully the next exam you do, you will not repeat the same mistake!
7. Use examples!Illustrating your answers with real life examples with make your paper shine through amongst the 12,500 so students competing for the allusive 50! The best way to build up your set of examples is to read the paper daily/watch the news daily and take note of key events that relate to the concepts in Business Management. For example: Considering the current economic climate, in the next 12 months there is a high chance that many companies will be laying off workers. How companies deal with these lay-offs should be closely monitored by students. Are workers being offered redundancy packages? Are companies helping these workers find new employment? Are companies being ethical in the termination stage of employment? If possible jot down a real life example for every area of study and section of the course.
8. Structuring responses!Believe it or not, the way you respond to a question will actually alter your mark. If possible, try to structure your answers eloquently as it works subconsciously on the assessors mind. Questions in the exam are related to case studies/simulated representations and THUS your answers should always make reference to the case at hand. Your answers for lower mark questions (1-2 marks) should be succinct and to the point. They should fully address the question and to be safe make at least 2-3 distinct points. It is not a requirement, but you may wish to illustrate your answer with an example. These lower mark questions are commonly serviced by task words such as “define” or “identify”. Make sure your answers are in line with the task word. If it asks for you to “define” a word, make sure you do so!
For questions worth between 3-4 marks ,make sure you make an appropriate amount of points (probably around one fully explained point per mark). These questions are commonly serviced by task words such as “Discuss” or “Distinguish” etc. Again, follow the task words instruction and make sure you use an example if appropriate.
Some people use approaches such as the
IDL approach (Identify, Define, Link). I personally do not endorse them as I feel your responses should be subject to much less formal structure. Your response should address the question fully, explain everything in detail, define any words which may require defining, address key task words (ie. distinguish), use an example (where appropriate) and ALWAYS link back to the simulated representation. If you like to think of this as IDL, by all means think of it like that. Just make sure your answers are given some freedom to address the question properly!
Common mistakesNot fully addressing the question- if a question asks for you to “distinguish between”, make sure you make the distinction! Defining both is not acceptable. You must say how they differ! This is just an example of how not addressing the question properly can cost you easy marks.
Not using examples- Although I don’t have official confirmation on this, not using real life examples for high mark questions may limit your ability to gain full marks. USE THEM!
Mixing up roles/styles/skills-As far-fetched as it sounds, students still get confused between what roles, skills and styles are. Make sure you know the differences!
Please feel free to leave feedback on this guide. Feedback and critisicm is especially welcome from high performing students who may be able to shed some light on areas I may have missed!
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