Application in BUSS2: Ask yourself some questions....

All too often my students write ‘generic’ paragraphs of analysis in BUSS2, for example discussing how something might improve motivation….which could increase productivity…which might lead to lower unit costs and therefore increased profit. However, these generic points dont apply to every business in the BUSS2 exam, and students can be left mid-mark scheme by not considering the specifics of the business in the case study. To overcome this, I’ve generated a list of questions to help students focus on the case study and what makes this business different to another business:

Ask yourself some questions:
-Are they a manufacturer or a retailer?
-Who are their customers?
-Who are their competitors? How many?
-What types of job role do their staff have?
-What is their financial position?
-Is their product and production based on quality or quantity?
-What are their objectives?

This can strengthen both application and analysis skills as students will be thinking more carefully about how improvements in, for example, motivation might influence a business who is a retailer rather than a manufacturer, or how it might help them achieve their specific objectives, given their own specific competitive position.

Simple but effective!