Business Services 2022 HSC exam pack

Students should:

• read the question carefully to ensure that they do not miss important components of the question
• have a clear understanding of key words in the question and recognise the intent of the question and its requirements
• use the first page of the answer booklet for an extended response to develop a plan to assist in the logical sequencing of information
• engage with what the question is asking rather than presenting a pre-prepared response
• relate to the question throughout the response rather than just at the beginning
• ensure each extended response answer is completed in a separate writing booklet
• demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the examinable units of competency from the syllabus
• communicate ideas and information using relevant workplace examples
• use relevant industry terms
• be prepared to address a range of industry issues
• demonstrate knowledge of employability skills relevant to various situations
• include relevant annotations when including a diagram
• present a logical and cohesive response that answers the question
• review their response to ensure that it addresses the question requirements.

Question 16

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify relevant environmental issues, such as conservation and energy use, pollution, recycling, waste management and sustainability, specific to the business services environment (a)
• demonstrate understanding of how the environmental issue affects the business services, for example, investing in alternative energy sources or a green office program (a)
• provide a detailed explanation of both a hazard, for example, poor ventilation and the risk that it poses to workers such as exposure to poor air quality and the effects of vapours, pollutants, and cleaning agents (b)
• make clear links between an environmental hazard and risk (b)
• use relevant environmental terminology appropriate for the HSC focus area.

Areas for students to improve include:

• having knowledge and understanding of environmental issues relevant to the business services industry (a)
• demonstrating an understanding of the effect of the environmental issue on the business services industry (a)
• ensuring they refer to environmental hazards and risks (b)
• identifying both the hazard and the risk and showing the link between the two, for example, poor ventilation (the hazard) leads to an increased risk of breathing in pollutants, airborne illnesses or dangerous particles which could lead to health problems.

Question 17

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate a thorough understanding of the Work Health and Safety (WHS) procedures in relation to a small fire in a workplace lunchroom, including evacuating the area, using a fire extinguisher or blanket, reporting the incident (a)
• understand and address the two parts of the question (manageable first aid and emergency) and show the differences between each such as the requirement of emergency services versus the ability to manage the situation internally (b)
• use relevant examples to support their response (b).

Areas for students to improve include:

• demonstrating an understanding of a procedure in a logical and sequential order (a)
• identifying both interrelated parts of the questions to highlight the distinguishable features between the two (b)
• ensuring they refer to both a manageable first-aid situation and an emergency (b).

Question 18

In better responses, students were able to:

• understand and address the two parts to the question and show the relationship between business performance and growth
• clearly link the benefits of new equipment and technology to positive outcomes for the business, for example, installing new software that facilitates online purchases leading to increased sales.

Areas for students to improve include:

• identifying both inter-related parts of the question and showing the relationship between the two, that is, both performance and growth, and equipment and technology
• ensuring they refer to both business performance and growth.

Question 19

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify feature/s of active listening such as paraphrasing information and repeating it back, asking questions, maintaining eye contact and body language, and link it to the concept of mutual understanding (a)
• relate active listening to a workplace environment (a)
• recognise the relevance of the key phrase of ‘sources of information’ (b)
• engage with the stimulus (b)
• demonstrate their knowledge of sources of information such as printed or web-based information/pamphlets, user manuals, warranty booklets, catalogues, product reviews and link it to product choice (b)
• clearly identify policies and procedures related to customers with special needs (c)
• explain implementation strategies such as training staff in communication techniques or seeking assistance from others (c)
• demonstrate relevant knowledge about customers with special needs (c).

Areas for students to improve include:

• identifying the word ‘employee’ in the question (a)
• outlining rather than listing information about active listening (a)
• correctly outlining the possible sources to access product information such as product/company websites, product reviews, instructions and user guides rather than the types of general product information (b)
• understanding the client was being assisted by an employee (b)
• clearly articulating the requirements of customers with special needs (c).

Question 20

In better responses, students were able to:

• accurately demonstrate an understanding of relevant consequences such as large fines, loss of licence and damage to company reputation (a)
• link the consequences to the Copyright Act 1968 and the failure to comply (a)
• identify and outline relevant communication strategies, for example, active listening and asking questions (b)
• relate the communication strategies to understanding a supervisor’s instructions (b).

Areas for students to improve include:

• understanding what the Copyright Act 1968 entails and therefore the ramifications of a failure to comply (a)
• showing an understanding of more than one consequence (a)
• outlining more than one communication strategy (b)
• outlining communication strategies rather than identifying features of active listening (b).

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate an understanding of the difference between manual and electronic financial calculations (a)
• provide relevant examples of both manual, for example, managing a Petty Cash book and electronic, for example, preparing a Business Activity Statement (BAS) financial calculations (a)
• identify common errors in financial statements such as incorrect calculations of GST or transposition errors with relevant strategies to deal with errors, for example, staff training in checking procedures, reconciling with other data as a checking tool (b)
• demonstrate understanding of cause and effect of cash flow and bank deposits within an organisation (c)
• show an understanding of the link between the importance of cash flow and bank deposits to enable business operations to meet financial commitments (c)
• refer to business services workplace examples that demonstrate the monitoring of cash flow such as examining general ledgers and bank deposit processes such as reconciling bank statements (c).

Areas for students to improve include:

• ensuring clear differentiation between manual financial calculations and electronic financial calculations (a)
• using relevant examples of both manual and electronic financial calculations within the context of a business services workplace (a)
• providing common errors and methods to avoid these (b)
• demonstrating a clear understanding of the causes of common errors and strategies to avoid them (b)
• using relevant industry terms, for example, general ledgers, trial balances (c)
• avoiding general comments on policies and procedures (c)
• supporting responses with a range of relevant business examples (c)
• focusing on the processes of monitoring cash flow and bank deposits rather than outlining various financial documents (c).  

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate extensive knowledge of how workplace information and records in an office environment should be secured, stored and maintained
• explain security (access, protection of data, security measures for paper based and cloud storage, dealing with requests for information), storage (onsite or offsite, centralised or decentralised, fixed or portable, filing classification – alphabetical, numerical) and maintenance (updating, use of file registers and movement cards, dealing with inactive files, destroying records) factors with the integration of clear and concise examples and records management terminology
• address the key words in the question to ensure all aspects of the question were answered including security, storage and maintenance factors
• acknowledge the stimulus of the office that is updating its system and refer to the stimulus
• link between the factor and the reason it should be considered, for example, the office could consider additional security such as encryption measures for cloud-based storage to minimise the risk of private data being accessed via online breaches
• refer to applicable legislation such as the Privacy Act.

Areas for students to improve include:

• identifying the correct focus area, that is, workplace information
• linking the workplace examples used to a suitable business
• applying the directive of explain in the response and identifying the cause and effect (that is, for each consideration, why is it important and how will it benefit the office’s record system for example having password protection on documents helps avoid the risk of a data breach) instead of identifying security, storage and maintenance factors
• structuring responses in a logical way with cohesive paragraphs to organise and present ideas.