[AminahEmm]

(Original post by rawragee)
Of course! I loved the first question
I got taught to read the case study thoroughly before looking at the questions at all, and as I read it I was told to highlight all the "problems" that occurred.
For example, in the 2011 paper, I'd have highlighted:
+ "failed to meet a scheduled £3m broadcasting rights payment to the
Scottish Premier League"
+ "As a result of government legislation Setanta was forced to suspend the collection of subscription payments from customers in the UK with immediate effect"
+ "re-negotiations made some improvements but they were insufficient to convince the investors to part with their funds."
+ "Neither Setanta Ireland nor Setanta International had been heavily marketed in the UK over the previous 5 years."
+ "Setanta concentrated on its UK base during this spell resulting in a low customer awareness of the Irish and International brands."
+ "Setanta struggled to match the bidding of its rival broadcasting giants."
+ "Furthermore, the recession resulted in many viewers cancelling their subscriptions and cutting back"
+ "The games secured by Setanta were less significant than the glamour games bought by Sky and therefore much more difficult to market to subscribers."
and so on.
As you can see, there is absolutely loads of problems that occurred to the company. I would recommend not to look at the headings until you've gone through and highlighted everything important, I found that people tend to look at the headings then "search" for problems that fit them. It's much easier to do it the other way around! Then, look at the headings and check each thing you've highlighted to see if it fits under them (I'd give it a number of 1,2,3 or 4 if it did which related to the heading) and then write them out

Also, make sure you that you have at least two or three problems per heading; then if some of them don't actually count, you have other ones to back you up! Make sure you have something under each heading (it's an easy mistake to make) and I would recommend ensuring that you have a total of 12 problems in your answer overall.
It does feel like it takes a fair bit of time, and I'm sure it looks like it does, but remember it's 10% of your grade! It does need a bit of time and if you practice identifying things quickly etc. then it should not take long after a while

I hope I've helped!

THANKYOU SO MUCH ! ( and read other replies too, so thanks to everyone who helped) this has helped me a lot.
A couple of other hinge I'd like to ask if that's okay ?
Basically in the first question I manage to get the problems but write them under different headings, like i get confused with which ones which, any way to tackle this ??

And second thing was, can you explain the difference between explain, describe, justify, etc ..

Thanks a lot

[rawragee]

(Original post by AminahEmm)
THANKYOU SO MUCH ! ( and read other replies too, so thanks to everyone who helped) this has helped me a lot.
A couple of other hinge I'd like to ask if that's okay ?
Basically in the first question I manage to get the problems but write them under different headings, like i get confused with which ones which, any way to tackle this ??

And second thing was, can you explain the difference between explain, describe, justify, etc ..

Thanks a lot

Okay, I had quite a simple way to go through it which helped me a lot
Finance: basically any mention of anything to do with money (funding, investments, purchases etc)
Marketing: any mention of marketing, or their product's market in general.
HR: anything to do with their staff really i.e turnover, training
Operations: problems with actually producing the product i.e wrong production strategy, lack of materials
External factors: PESTEC basically; any laws meaning they had to change things or became restricted, any changes in the prices of the materials/work force, if their technology became outdated, if they had any problems with weather? and then their competition.

I can't remember many other headings that come up, those are just off the top of my head

Um, okay:
Identify: you just state it simply, although this rarely comes up.
Describe: talk about the thing in detail, basically everything you know about it because you have to show that you properly understand the term fully.
Explain: similar to describe, however you must put in examples with this whether they are asked for or not, as having one basically shows that you are identifying every aspect of it.
Advantages and disadvantages: you don't need to have an equal balance of both, but make sure you do not put contradicting answers! For example, if you were asked for the +/- of a new marketing campaign, if you state that a + is that there is increased consumer awareness, you cannot put a - as that by not introducing the product first, there may be a loss of consumer awareness.
Justify: basically, just say all the advantages of whatever it is. They're asking you to explain why a company may make this decision, and that's obviously because of all the good things about it!

I hope I helped

[WaleedPirzada]

(Original post by rawragee)
well, as it got closer to the exam I didn't do past papers properly, I would look at the questions then just make quick bullet points which would cover everything I wanted to say in basically a few scribbles and then check against the answer schemes to see if I had mentioned all the correct things. I don't know if this is a genuinely good way to work, I just did it because I had two exams the two days before and one the day after so I was very pressed for time! I did find it was quite a good way to ensure I was mentioning all the correct things, and also keeping my waffle to a minimum

I also have a good technique for choosing your questions in Section Two if anyone needs it?

oh that sounds like a good idea! And yes whats the special technique? :P

[WaleedPirzada]

(Original post by sgrubb)
Hey I got 75% in the prelim but have forgot a great deal of the course.

Does anyone have a logistical course arrangement document detailing the whole course where I can
go through such like a check list as I find this very effective?

Here you go i think this will help you http://www.hsn.uk.net/resources/High...ess-Management

[Chrisruptor]

(Original post by Sami')
Also doing Business, not started revising for it yet but will do next week. I'd suggest revising:

product life cycle
extension stratagies to increase sales
role of finance
cash budgeting
finance ratios
users/uses of financial information
cash flow problems and solutions
internal organisation

Is it just me, or are most of these topics related to each other? To me, I'd get the impression these were section 1 topics since there's 8 of them...

But product life cycle and extension strategies are both to do with life cycle.
The next five are all to do with finance.
Then internal organisation. (There's always internal organisation in section 1 I think)

Usually there's a greater variety of topics covered in section 1 though...?

[morganalex]

(Original post by WaleedPirzada)
Hii good luck to you for the exam! Since you seem really good at it i was wondering if you could help me :/ I often have trouble tackling certain command words like explain questions, i dont know how much and what to write for it! thank you

Thank you, you too! Of course I'd be happy to help.

Describe - give a full description of what you are being asked about and if possible/relevant give an example.

eg 'Describe methods an organisation could use to encourage positive employee
relations. (6 marks)' (2011 paper Q2)

One method an organisation could use to encourage positive employee relations is quality circles. Quality circles are when all employees of the organisation meet regularly to discuss any issues regarding quality and how to fix them. It can improve the employees motivation as they are included in the decision making process.

This would probably be worth 1 mark out of the 6. Certain questions can allow you to expand your description enough to gain 2 marks for each point especially if it's like a 6/8 mark question and there's not enough separate points to make.

eg 'Describe method of growth an organisation can carry out. (6 marks)' (made up question but similar to one in a past paper I've saw before, possibly 2010)

You could go on and speak about internal growth, mergers, takeovers, horizontal, forward vertical, backwards vertical or conglomerate but I would think it would be timely.

Instead I would put something like:

One method of growth an organisation can carry out is horizontal integration. This is where two organisations of a similar type in the same sector join together to become one eg two florists. (1 mark) By merging together the organisation will have a larger market share and customer base which can increase sales and eliminate competitors. (1 mark)

Then repeat until you make up the 6 marks. Some people find this easy and others don't, give it a try and see what you think.

Explain - give a full description/idea and then state why (justify the action) or the impact the action has.

eg 'Explain the effects of delayering on an organisation. (4 marks)' (2011 paper Q5)

One effect delayering may have on an organisation is that the organisation will be a flatter structure as levels of management are removed. This means communication and decision making will become quicker but managers will have a larger span of control.

'This means/this would mean' or 'which means/which would mean' is a great way to start your reason/explanation of the particular action. Hopefully this is easy to understand, if you need more examples just ask!

Compare - state the differences and similarities of two things.

eg 'Compare the objectives of a private sector organisation with those of a
public sector organisation. (4 marks)' (2010 paper Q7a)

One objection of a private sector organisation is profit maximisation which is to make as much profit as possible whereas an objective of a public sector organisation is to provide an essential service.

Both a private and public sector organisation's objective is to have a good image with no bad publicity.

You can say the differences between them but also things that are the same, the more differences you can get the better but if you run out of them it's perfectly fine.

Distinguish - the same as compare apart from you can only state the differences and you won't receive marks for stating things that are the same.

Sorry it's so long but these are the main ones and hopefully you learn to understand them!

[ailssx]

quite scared about this exam.. got an A in the prelim but only really because our teacher hinted at what was going to be in it.. been studying on and off for a few weeks now and still feel as if I know nothing.. especially finance.. but thank god it's my last exam!

[freedom123]

(Original post by ailssx)
quite scared about this exam.. got an A in the prelim but only really because our teacher hinted at what was going to be in it.. been studying on and off for a few weeks now and still feel as if I know nothing.. especially finance.. but thank god it's my last exam!

Im the same, I got an A in the prelim, but we didnt get told anything and i didnt study much but im worried it was just a fluke! .. Also, I havent looked at business for 2 weeks or so as ive been concentrating on my other exams and now this is my last exam, which i need a B in!! AHHH

[ailssx]

(Original post by freedom123)
Im the same, I got an A in the prelim, but we didnt get told anything and i didnt study much but im worried it was just a fluke! .. Also, I havent looked at business for 2 weeks or so as ive been concentrating on my other exams and now this is my last exam, which i need a B in!! AHHH

i just hope that the essay questions are decent and at least two of them are relatively easy(ish)! I just want to do well in it cause it's now the only exam I think I might pass!! and all this good weather is NOT helping either.. i've hardly studied the past week! All my time was spent on maths which was a disaster to by the looks of it, I will be cramming on Tuesday! Good Luck for your B!

[dandiesmile]

i crashed higher business this year along with all other highers. havent had a teacher all year and got an F in my prelim. so just remind yourselves that you will all get a better grade than me. i just want a C...is there any hope? any tips? would be so appreciated as tears have been shed over this subject.

[ailssx]

(Original post by dandiesmile)
i crashed higher business this year along with all other highers. havent had a teacher all year and got an F in my prelim. so just remind yourselves that you will all get a better grade than me. i just want a C...is there any hope? any tips? would be so appreciated as tears have been shed over this subject.

I would just learn the command words ie Describe, Explain ETC, they will help you answer the questions a lot easier! I'd basically scan over everything and try to learn as much as you can!

[Alt__x]

(Original post by ailssx)
i just hope that the essay questions are decent and at least two of them are relatively easy(ish)! I just want to do well in it cause it's now the only exam I think I might pass!! and all this good weather is NOT helping either.. i've hardly studied the past week! All my time was spent on maths which was a disaster to by the looks of it, I will be cramming on Tuesday! Good Luck for your B!

Essay question?! Wut?! I was not aware business management had essays!


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

[UMARTIAN]

(Original post by Alt__x)
Essay question?! Wut?! I was not aware business management had essays!


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

Essays are just another word for the second part of the paper some people just call them essays just answer it normally like a b c, not like a traditional essay.


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

[WaleedPirzada]

(Original post by morganalex)
Thank you, you too! Of course I'd be happy to help.

Describe - give a full description of what you are being asked about and if possible/relevant give an example.

eg 'Describe methods an organisation could use to encourage positive employee
relations. (6 marks)' (2011 paper Q2)

One method an organisation could use to encourage positive employee relations is quality circles. Quality circles are when all employees of the organisation meet regularly to discuss any issues regarding quality and how to fix them. It can improve the employees motivation as they are included in the decision making process.

This would probably be worth 1 mark out of the 6. Certain questions can allow you to expand your description enough to gain 2 marks for each point especially if it's like a 6/8 mark question and there's not enough separate points to make.

eg 'Describe method of growth an organisation can carry out. (6 marks)' (made up question but similar to one in a past paper I've saw before, possibly 2010)

You could go on and speak about internal growth, mergers, takeovers, horizontal, forward vertical, backwards vertical or conglomerate but I would think it would be timely.

Instead I would put something like:

One method of growth an organisation can carry out is horizontal integration. This is where two organisations of a similar type in the same sector join together to become one eg two florists. (1 mark) By merging together the organisation will have a larger market share and customer base which can increase sales and eliminate competitors. (1 mark)

Then repeat until you make up the 6 marks. Some people find this easy and others don't, give it a try and see what you think.

Explain - give a full description/idea and then state why (justify the action) or the impact the action has.

eg 'Explain the effects of delayering on an organisation. (4 marks)' (2011 paper Q5)

One effect delayering may have on an organisation is that the organisation will be a flatter structure as levels of management are removed. This means communication and decision making will become quicker but managers will have a larger span of control.

'This means/this would mean' or 'which means/which would mean' is a great way to start your reason/explanation of the particular action. Hopefully this is easy to understand, if you need more examples just ask!

Compare - state the differences and similarities of two things.

eg 'Compare the objectives of a private sector organisation with those of a
public sector organisation. (4 marks)' (2010 paper Q7a)

One objection of a private sector organisation is profit maximisation which is to make as much profit as possible whereas an objective of a public sector organisation is to provide an essential service.

Both a private and public sector organisation's objective is to have a good image with no bad publicity.

You can say the differences between them but also things that are the same, the more differences you can get the better but if you run out of them it's perfectly fine.

Distinguish - the same as compare apart from you can only state the differences and you won't receive marks for stating things that are the same.

Sorry it's so long but these are the main ones and hopefully you learn to understand them!

Wow thanks a lot you have really helped me here! Yes, i understand now especially for the explain questions. Ill need to practise them again tomorrow, thanks alot!

[Sami']

This might help those confused on identify, describe and explain.

Using Command Words


1. Identify 2 advantages and 2 disadvantages of an organisation operating as a multinational.

One advantage of operating as a multinational organisation is the cheap labour. Another advantage is getting grants and subsidies from several governments. A disadvantage is that communications within the organisation can degrade. Another disadvantage is that dis-economies of scale can happen.

2. Describe 2 advantages and 2 disadvantages of an organisation operating as a multinational.

One advantage of operating as a multinational organisation is the opportunity to take advantage of cheap labour due to some countries not having set minimum wage law so organisations are in full control of what to pay employees. Another advantage is by getting grants and subsidies from several governments as they each try to persuade organisations to operate in their country and employing. A disadvantage is that communications can degrade due to the huge size of the organisation which can be difficult to keep clear communications with language barrier etc. Lastly if the company becomes too large then dis-economies of scale can happen meaning the cost of producing each unit can increase.

3. Explain 2 advantages and 2 disadvantages of an organisation operating as a multinational.

One advantage of operating as a multinational organisation is the opportunity to take advantage of cheap labour due to some countries not having set minimum wage law so organisations are in full control of what to pay employees. This is an advantage as it can save the company large wage costs. Another advantage is by getting grants and subsidies from several governments as they each try to persuade organisations to operate in their country and employing. This is an advantage as it increases the cash coming into the organisation. A disadvantage is that communications can degrade due to the huge size of the organisation which can be difficult to keep clear communications with language barrier etc. This is a disadvantage as it means decision making time will increase and it means they will have to find a way to by-pass the language barrier so use translators which are costly. Lastly if the company becomes too large then dis-economies of scale can happen meaning the cost of producing each unit can increase. This is a disadvantage as it will lower overall profits for the organisations.

[ailssx]

(Original post by Alt__x)
Essay question?! Wut?! I was not aware business management had essays!


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

Just section B.. like when you pick two questions! It's just what our teacher calls them because they read off like an essay

[freedom123]

(Original post by ailssx)
i just hope that the essay questions are decent and at least two of them are relatively easy(ish)! I just want to do well in it cause it's now the only exam I think I might pass!! and all this good weather is NOT helping either.. i've hardly studied the past week! All my time was spent on maths which was a disaster to by the looks of it, I will be cramming on Tuesday! Good Luck for your B!

Yeah me too! Cheers, hope good questions come up and good luck

[morganalex]

(Original post by WaleedPirzada)
Wow thanks a lot you have really helped me here! Yes, i understand now especially for the explain questions. Ill need to practise them again tomorrow, thanks alot!

It's no problem! Hopefully you get the grade you're wanting in the exam! If you have any more questions just ask!

[morganalex]

What topics is everyone finding easy/difficult? I seem to be okay with the first three (just thinking these are the first three off the top of my head, may be wrong), like the Business In Contemporary Society, Internal Organisations and Decision Making. They seem okay but when I try to do HR, Operations or Finance ones I'm like wow I need to revise so much!

How does everyone else feel?

[ailssx]

(Original post by morganalex)
What topics is everyone finding easy/difficult? I seem to be okay with the first three (just thinking these are the first three off the top of my head, may be wrong), like the Business In Contemporary Society, Internal Organisations and Decision Making. They seem okay but when I try to do HR, Operations or Finance ones I'm like wow I need to revise so much!

How does everyone else feel?

I'm okay with Marketing, Internal Organisation, HR and Operations.. Business in Contemp. Society is alright, Decision making is average and Finance is just HORRIBLE! I'm not revising so much finance but focusing on most of the other topics! I'm just reading ALL my notes and any past paper answers I have, hopefully if I continue to read them all it will sink in!