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Author Topic: How to get a Band 6 in Business Studies!  (Read 112108 times)  Share 

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sbhandula

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How to get a Band 6 in Business Studies!
« on: June 23, 2015, 02:17:38 am »
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My Band 6 notes are available for free here!!

Hey guys, this guide will give a detailed explanation as to how to achieve a band 6 in HSC Business Studies! Business Studies is often described as a subject that “is easy but has too much content” and thus becomes the reason many students aren’t able to achieve their desired marks. The excessive content is obviously very overwhelming (I experienced it myself), especially due to the overlaps between the four topics.

You would find that this can especially be an issue in the short answer and extend response sections of the HSC paper, and this is mainly where students fall behind from achieving a Band 6. The specificity of the syllabus often confuses students and results in a poor response. As I kept on doing more Business past papers before my trials, I began to notice my tendencies of interpreting questions wrong due to my lack of knowledge about the syllabus. I would keep getting confused between processes and strategies, between roles and influences, etc. So I decided to have a look over the syllabus and realised that each topic is divided into “ROLES, INFLUENCES, PROCESSES and STRATEGIES”. However, this still didn’t prove to be enough as the syllabus was absolutely huge and there were tiny little things that you couldn’t remember or kept forgetting, thus leaving out vital points from your essay.

For example, questions such as the following, can be super confusing without in-depth knowledge of the syllabus and where each dot point fits in:

1)   Outline and explain three different pricing methods
2)   Outline and explain three different pricing strategies

Although the two questions may sound the same, they come under two completely different dotpoints and have different black and white answers.

Various extended response questions could ask you:

1)   Discuss how operations strategies respond to operational influences.
2)   Explain the marketing strategies available to businesses and their costs and benefits.
3)   Discuss the financial strategies businesses could use to ensure sufficient cash flows.

The three examples above, along with hundreds of other combinations could appear in the exam, and students like myself begin to realise that we can’t remember every single little dotpoint of every single topic. There are 8 strategies in marketing itself – and that’s just one aspect of one topic! Remembering each and every dotpoint word-for-word would waste a lot of time.

Now, how exactly can we fix this? Obviously we can’t memorise the entire Business Studies syllabus word-for-word, so students in the past have come up with the perfect solution – an acronym version of the syllabus. Repeat the acronyms and their meanings several times out loud, and eventually you will know the syllabus inside out. As soon as you see a question, the acronym will pop into your head – and this is from experience.

OPERATIONS

Role
"DIG Chicks"

D - Differentiation (part of strategic role)
I - Interdependence w/ other KBFs
G - Goods and services in other industries
C - Cost leadership (other part of strategic role)

Influences
"GTG le coq" + CSR

G - Globalisation
T - Technology
G - Government
L - Legal regulations
E - Environmental
Co - Cost-based competition
Q - Quality expectations
CSR - Corporate social responsibility
- legal v ethical
- env. sustainability and social responsibility

Processes
Haven't got any for processes, sorry, other than the 4 V's under transformation processes (influence of Volume, Variety, Visibility and Variation in demand.)

Strategies
"POGO SQUINT"

P - Performance objectives
O - Outsourcing
G - Global factors
O - Overcoming resistance to change
S - Supply chain management
Qu - Quality management
I - Inventory management
N - New product/service design and development
T – Technology

Performance Objectives
"Quesadilla Football Club" (Mexican food, pronounced kay-sa-dee-a)

Q - Quality
S - Speed
D - Dependability
F - Flexibility
C - Customisation
C – Cost

MARKETING

Role
"Tasi" (pronounce tah-see)

T - Types of markets
A - Approaches to marketing
S - Strategic role
I - Interdependence

Influences
"Feck"

F - Factors influencing customer choice
E - Ethical
C - Consumer laws

Factors Influencing Customer Choice
"Pegs"

P - Psychological
E - Economic
G - Government
S - Sociocultural

Ethical
"Tapes"

T - Truth,
A - Accuracy and good taste in advertising
P - Products that may damage health
E - Engaging in fair competition
S - Sugging

Consumer Laws
"WIPD" (pronounce whipped)
W - Warranties
I - Implied conditions
P - Price discrimination
D - Deceptive and misleading advertising

Processes
"SMEIDI" (pronounce smeedy)

S - Situational analysis (SWOT and product lifecycle)
M - Market research
E - Establish marketing objectives
I - Identify target market(s)
D - Develop marketing strategies
I - Implement, monitor and control

Strategies
"4 P's + PEG"

4 P's - Product, Price, Promotion and Place (channels of distribution)
P - People, processes and physical evidence
E - E-marketing
G - Global marketing


FINANCE

Role

Objectives
"PLEGS"

P - Profitability
L - Liquidity
E - Efficiency
G - Growth
S - Solvency (aka gearing)

Strategic Role
"FID"

F - Finance decisions (where do we get money from?)
I - Investment decisions (what should we do with our money to generate more income?)
D - Dividend decisions (how do we distribute any earnings?)

Influences
"Sigg"

S - Sources of finance (internal v external)
I - Institutions
G - Government
G - Global market influences

Financial Institutions
"Buf sail"

B - Banks
U - Unit trusts
F - Finance companies
S - Superannuation funds
A - Australian Securities Exchange
I - Investment banks
L - Life insurance companies

Processes
"PIMFLE" (pronounce pim-full)

P - Planning
I - and Implementing
M - Monitoring and controlling
F - Financial ratios
L - Limitations of financial reports
E - Ethical issues related to financial reports

Planning and Implementing
"Red and Blue Corner"

R - Record systems
B - Budgets
C - Financial controls
N - Financial needs
R - Financial risks

Limitations of Financial Reports
"DR CEN has TINEA"

DR - Debt repayments
CE - Capitalising expenses
N - Notes to financial statements
TI - Timing issues
NE - Normalised earnings
A - Asset valuation

Strategies
"Good Work Charlie's Pony”

G - Global financial management
W - Working capital management
C - Cash flow management
P - Profitability management

Global financial management
"Hm, die"

H - Hedging
M - Methods of international payment
D - Derivatives
I - Interest rates
E - Exchange rates

HUMAN RESOURCES

Role
"OHUSI" (I'm a huge Dave Hughes fan, so in my head I say this like Oh, Hughesy!)

O - Outsourcing
H - Human resources function
U - Using contractors
S - Strategic role
I - Interdependence

Influences
"STEELS"

S - Stakeholders
T - Technological
E - Economic
E - Ethics and CSR
L - Legal
S - Social

Processes
"ADMS" (I think of it as Adams)

A - Acquisition
D - Development
M - Maintenance
S - Separation

Strategies
"PaRTLy GRaDD" (I think of it as partly gradd, and then just lose all the vowels as well as the 'y')

P - Performance management
R - Recruitment (internal/external; general/specific skills)
T - Training and development (current/future)
L - Leadership style
G - Global (costs, skills, supply)
R - Rewards (monetary/non-monetary; individual/group; performance pay)
D - Design (ie job design; general or specific)
D - Dispute resolution

Effectiveness of Human Resource Management

Indicators
"What black" (again, it's important to remember which letters aren't part of the acronym)

W - Worker satisfaction
A - Absenteeism
T - Turnover
B - Benchmarking key variables
L - Levels of disputation
A - Accidents
C - Corporate culture

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Again, read over these acronyms several times and the answers will pop into your head as soon as you see the questions. Going back to the earlier example, in the case of:

1)   Discuss how operations strategies respond to operational influences.

You would instantly think:
“Operations Strategies = POGO SQUINT and Operation Influences = GTG le coq + CSR”, and thus be able to deduce exactly what the question is asking for and answer the question effectively.

It is not the conventional way to study, but it is EFFECTIVE and EFFICIENT, and a true Business student knows exactly why that’s helpful! Apart from knowing the syllabus inside out, do practice past papers that follow the new syllabus and its layout – whether its past HSC, or CSSA, QAT’s, Independent, etc.

If at any point you need some extra detail or explanation, there are awesome notes available in the Notes section.And of course, if anything is unclear, pop a question below! Either myself or one of your fellow HSC-ers will be sure to help you out.
« Last Edit: June 27, 2015, 12:33:29 pm by Ned Nerb »
ATAR: 96.45

Maths|Economics|English|Business Studies|Legal Studies

Shayma A

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Re: How to get a Band 6 in Business Studies!
« Reply #1 on: July 12, 2015, 03:07:43 pm »
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Thanks, this is really usefull  :D ;)

KarenCho

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Re: How to get a Band 6 in Business Studies!
« Reply #2 on: January 29, 2016, 08:04:02 pm »
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This is great, thank you!! :)
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CatherineN

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Re: How to get a Band 6 in Business Studies!
« Reply #3 on: February 07, 2016, 12:17:16 am »
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Thanks for the great guide!  :D

Could you please recommend some advice on how to approach questions stating "how"?
Especially since it's not listed on the BOS glossary, I'm confused about how to go about it.

Thanks,
Cat
:)

tasiakuz

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Re: How to get a Band 6 in Business Studies!
« Reply #4 on: March 12, 2016, 12:50:26 pm »
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This is so helpful! Thank-you, also is there the abbreviations for economics or modern history?
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Son of Thatcher

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Re: How to get a Band 6 in Business Studies!
« Reply #5 on: March 24, 2016, 08:53:58 am »
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Great notes, thanks so much!
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elysepopplewell

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Re: How to get a Band 6 in Business Studies!
« Reply #6 on: March 24, 2016, 02:57:21 pm »
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This is so helpful! Thank-you, also is there the abbreviations for economics or modern history?

Hey there! I didn't do economics, but what part of Modern would you be looking at abbreviations for? Source analysis, perhaps?
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kaye.chen7

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Re: How to get a Band 6 in Business Studies!
« Reply #7 on: June 25, 2016, 10:05:37 pm »
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Can anyone help me with correcting my business essay?
The question is "Analyse the influences of human resources in achieving the financial objectives of a business" and my case study/business is McDonalds.

Thank you

skysailingaway

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Re: How to get a Band 6 in Business Studies!
« Reply #8 on: July 13, 2016, 02:40:54 pm »
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Can anyone help me with correcting my business essay?
The question is "Analyse the influences of human resources in achieving the financial objectives of a business" and my case study/business is McDonalds.

Thank you

you may need to post your essay first.

skysailingaway

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Re: How to get a Band 6 in Business Studies!
« Reply #9 on: July 14, 2016, 08:01:59 pm »
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My Band 6 notes are available for free here!!

Hey guys, this guide will give a detailed explanation as to how to achieve a band 6 in HSC Business Studies! Business Studies is often described as a subject that “is easy but has too much content” and thus becomes the reason many students aren’t able to achieve their desired marks. The excessive content is obviously very overwhelming (I experienced it myself), especially due to the overlaps between the four topics.

You would find that this can especially be an issue in the short answer and extend response sections of the HSC paper, and this is mainly where students fall behind from achieving a Band 6. The specificity of the syllabus often confuses students and results in a poor response. As I kept on doing more Business past papers before my trials, I began to notice my tendencies of interpreting questions wrong due to my lack of knowledge about the syllabus. I would keep getting confused between processes and strategies, betw
Moderator action: Cut down massive quote
helpful! Apart from knowing the syllabus inside out, do practice past papers that follow the new syllabus and its layout – whether its past HSC, or CSSA, QAT’s, Independent, etc.

If at any point you need some extra detail or explanation, there are awesome notes available in the Notes section.And of course, if anything is unclear, pop a question below! Either myself or one of your fellow HSC-ers will be sure to help you out.

thank you so much for these!
business is my absolute worst subject~ I don't know where to start studying!
should i memorise the list and then see how the content connects?
Loving the resources!

EDIT:
I've memorised the first two modules!
- the mnemonics really help! :D :D
« Last Edit: July 17, 2016, 05:20:17 pm by jakesilove »

Essej

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Re: How to get a Band 6 in Business Studies!
« Reply #10 on: July 14, 2016, 11:21:15 pm »
+2
thank you so much for these!
business is my absolute worst subject~ I don't know where to start studying!
should i memorise the list and then see how the content connects?
Loving the resources!

Hey sky!

I agree that this is an amazing resource supplied by sbh, mnemonics are one of the best ways to implant knowledge from content-heavy topics such as business in your head!

In regards to your question, i'd have to say in my opinion it is better to learn your content first before you go about memorising the syllabus dot points as provided. From experience, going back through past questions or your notes for business (sequentially from operations to HR) allows you to make heaps of connections that will assist you in the later parts of the exam (e.g. an extended response 20marker that asks you to analyse the influence of globalisation on business functions). Moreover, you'll find that a lot of content in the syllabus repeats e.g. CSR/ethics, global influences and most importantly the interdependence between key business functions which allows you to solidify your understanding of how each function relates to each other - which will no doubt grant you higher marks!

Then of course, once you have all the content down, you'll be able to confidently remember these mnemonics and go "hey, its great that I know S stands for sources of finance but those internal and external sources of finance are obviously debt and equity such as commercial bills or share ownership".

To summarise, just remember these mnemonics are basically a regurgitation of the syllabus (which is pretty much all what business studies is about  ;) ) so its good to memorise what each dot point contains, and then maybe a week before your exam consolidating said phrases so it comes to mind instantly in an exam situation.

Hope this helps  :)
Class of 2016
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English Advanced: 93
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Economics: 93
Business Studies: 92
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CinnamonTea

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Re: How to get a Band 6 in Business Studies!
« Reply #11 on: July 17, 2016, 12:10:01 am »
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Kaye Chen
Finance strategic role include:
-profit maximisation
-finding the most efficient way to manage and obtain funds
Financial objective include:
-growth
-liquidity (the ability of a business to meet its short term commitment)
-solvency (ability to survive in the long term)
-profitability
To link human resource influences, identify them first and choose the most relevant. I would choose technological (as a result of technology, flexible working arrangements can be made such as allowing employees to telecommute) this would eventually lead to increased profitability (financial objective) as employees feel valued as the business is placing importance on employee welfare, are placing trust in the employees to work outside the workplace.
Social influence: people are becoming more job mobile (trying to gain experience and as a result are moving from one job to another) this would affect the businesses ability to grow and maximise profits as it will have a high staff turnover rate. These have high implicit costs

CinnamonTea

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Re: How to get a Band 6 in Business Studies!
« Reply #12 on: July 17, 2016, 12:16:39 am »
+1
5 tips to get a band 6:
1. Know the syllabus (inside out-they cannot ask you questions from out of the blue)
2. Link, Link, link (always ask why) if the business wants to gain profit, it has to minimise expenses, and maximise revenue, focus on market needs, motivate employees to increase their output and productivity, to focus on the environment.
3. Use a case study for section 4 only. This could include Qantas which has detailed information that correspond the syllabus
4. In section 3, address the scenario at hand. Look at the problems. Just imagine that was your business. What would you do??
5. Multiple choice: relax, be careful, don't rush it, you have 25% of getting it correct. Read every single option

Nharte

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Re: How to get a Band 6 in Business Studies!
« Reply #13 on: July 17, 2016, 05:18:08 pm »
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My Band 6 notes are available for free here!!

Hey guys, this guide will give a detailed explanation as to how to achieve a band 6 in HSC Business Studies! Business Studies is often described as a subject that “is easy but has too much content” and thus becomes the reason many students aren’t able to achieve their desired marks. The excessive content is obviously very overwhelming (I experienced it myself), especially due to the overlaps between the four topics.

You would find that this can especially be an issue in the short answer and extend response sections of the HSC paper, and this is mainly where students fall behind from achieving a Band 6. The specificity of the syllabus often confuses students and results in a poor response. As I kept on doing more Business past papers before my trials, I began to notice my tendencies of interpreting questions wrong due to my lack of knowledge about the syllabus. I would keep getting confused between processes and strategies, between roles and influences, etc. So I decided to have a look over the syllabus and realised that each topic is divided into “ROLES, INFLUENCES, PROCESSES and STRATEGIES”. However, this still didn’t prove to be enough as the syllabus was absolutely huge and there were tiny little things that you couldn’t remember or kept forgetting, thus leaving out vital points from your essay.

Moderator action: Cut down massive quote
You would instantly think:
“Operations Strategies = POGO SQUINT and Operation Influences = GTG le coq + CSR”, and thus be able to deduce exactly what the question is asking for and answer the question effectively.

It is not the conventional way to study, but it is EFFECTIVE and EFFICIENT, and a true Business student knows exactly why that’s helpful! Apart from knowing the syllabus inside out, do practice past papers that follow the new syllabus and its layout – whether its past HSC, or CSSA, QAT’s, Independent, etc.

If at any point you need some extra detail or explanation, there are awesome notes available in the Notes section.And of course, if anything is unclear, pop a question below! Either myself or one of your fellow HSC-ers will be sure to help you out.


Hi Thanks for your great advice and notes on business!

I'm stuggling with this question, and was wondering if anyone could help me out;

Explain the significance of employment contracts in the Australian workforce.                                                    6 marks

Thanks so much!!
« Last Edit: July 17, 2016, 05:19:28 pm by jakesilove »

jelin_queen

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Re: How to get a Band 6 in Business Studies!
« Reply #14 on: August 06, 2016, 06:00:05 pm »
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the Acronyms were really helpful thank you !