Business Studies 2021 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
• sustain their judgements, where appropriate, throughout the response with a clear connection to the question
• use relevant business terms and concepts, where appropriate, to support their response
• apply relevant business case study/studies and contemporary business issues where appropriate
• present a sustained, logical and cohesive response that addresses the question where appropriate
• review their response to ensure that it addresses the question requirements.

Question 21

In better responses, students were able to:

• apply their theoretical knowledge of the Operations function to the stimulus business scenario
• understand the ways in which the customer impacts the operations process as an input (a)
• apply knowledge of sequencing and scheduling (b)
• explain two different quality management strategies and show the likely effects of these strategies (c).

Areas for students to improve include:

• referencing the business identified in the question scenario
• understanding the impact of the customer on the operations process (a)
• recognising the terms of the contract from the information supplied and explaining how a Gantt chart could be used to help the company meet those terms (b)
• understanding of specific quality management strategies and the ways these strategies are used to ensure quality outputs when work is outsourced as in this case or carried out internally (c).

Question 22

In better responses, students were able to:

• understand and correctly identify where different items should appear on a balance sheet (a)
• recognise global financial risks and associated potential impacts such as on the cost of borrowing funds overseas (b)
• apply financial knowledge to the stimulus business scenario based on the financial information supplied and their understanding of current and forecast profitability, and of gearing (a, b, c).

Areas for students to improve include:

• understanding the elements of each financial statement (a)
• applying financial knowledge to the information from the business scenario (a, b, c).

Question 23

In better responses, students were able to:

• provide a feature of corporate culture and link to the effect on staff turnover (a)
• demonstrate an understanding of the role of a contractor in human resource management (b)
• clearly show why a contractor may be used to recruit staff (b)
• draw out clear, possible implications of the influences in the stimulus (c)
• use language such as advantages and disadvantages to clearly detail a discussion around the implications from the stimulus (c).

Areas for students to improve include:

• understanding corporate culture and its possible impact on effective human resource management and staff turnover (a)
• responding to the ‘why’ key word in the question and providing a clear reason for a business using a contractor to recruit staff (b)
• understanding the difference between a contractor and an employment contract in human resources (b)
• using the stimulus to identify the required syllabus and content area for the correct response (c)
• avoiding rewriting the stimulus in the answer (c).

Question 24

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate an understanding of customisation and its benefits in the context of global marketing (a)
• apply content knowledge of sociocultural factors to demonstrate the influence on customer choice (b)
• examine the stimulus carefully to identify aspects of the advertisement that relate closely to Australian consumer laws (c)
• show an understanding of more than one area of Australian consumer law and how aspects included in the stimulus advertisement would be in breach of them (c).

Areas for students to improve include:

• identifying the topic that the question assesses (Marketing) and ensuring the response draws on content from that topic (a, b, c)
• avoiding using several lines of the response to rewrite the stimulus (b, c)
• ensuring written responses to b and c clearly used information in the stimulus advertisement as directed.

Question 25

In better responses, students were able to:

• outline two operations influences which link to the stimulus provided
• discuss how applying retraining and redundancy payments could help overcome employee resistance to changes being considered by Ozzi Baby Foods Pty Ltd
• use comparative terms when comparing the similarities and differences or advantages and disadvantages of using a mortgage or new share issue to fund the factory purchase
• present a logical, cohesive business report which linked to the stimulus material provided.

Areas for students to improve include:

• discussing how retraining and redundancy help overcome resistance to change rather than cause it
• comparing the two sources of finance that could be used to fund the factory purchase rather than describing them
• incorporating the stimulus material throughout the business report
• recognising and responding to the key words in each question
• complying with the expectations communicated in the rubric.

Question 26

In better responses, students were able to:

• draw out the implications of situational analysis on marketing strategies directly, addressing the key word ‘analyse’
• use specific information about case study(ies) to help analyse marketing strategies
• relate the implications of marketing strategies used rather than referring to theory in applying relevant case study information
• make specific reference to both a SWOT analysis and the product life cycle
• respond to the question in a logical order, for example, firstly looking at a situational analysis and then working out strategies to use as a consequence
• provide a variety of links between situational analysis and marketing strategies
• refer to several specific strategies within the marketing mix.

Areas for students to improve include:

• using syllabus specific terms regarding marketing strategies consistently throughout the response
• integrating case study information to all parts of question.

Question 27

In better responses, students were able to:

• clearly draw out and relate how human resource management strategies can improve both processes of employee acquisition and of subsequent maintenance
• apply relevant case study(ies) which included specific data on the indicators of the effectiveness of human resource management
• show extensive knowledge and understanding of the strategies and processes that could be used in acquisition and maintenance.

Areas for students to improve include:

• making the relationship evident between human resource management strategies and their application to processes of employee acquisition and maintenance
• applying appropriate case study(ies) to support their response
• demonstrating an understanding of the contribution of human resource management to business performance.