Description

IB Business Management Topics (SL & HL)

Nature of business activity: profit vs. non-profit, private vs. public sectors
Business objectives: vision & mission statements, aims, SMART objectives, corporate social responsibility (CSR)
Stakeholders: internal & external stakeholders, stakeholder conflict, stakeholder mapping
Business environment: external factors (PEST, STEEPLE analysis)
Growth and evolution: economies of scale, mergers & acquisitions, franchising, globalization impact
Organizational planning tools (HL only): SWOT, Ansoff Matrix, Fishbone diagram, Force Field analysis, Decision trees

Functions and evolution of HRM: changing role of HR, strategic vs. operational HR
Organizational structure: hierarchy, span of control, chain of command, matrix structure
Leadership and management styles: autocratic, paternalistic, democratic, laissez-faire, situational leadership
Motivation: Maslow, Herzberg, Taylor, Adams’ equity theory, Pink’s motivation theory
HR planning: recruitment, training (on/off the job), appraisal, dismissal, redundancy
Industrial/employee relations: trade unions, collective bargaining, conflict resolution, negotiation
HL extensions: outsourcing, offshoring, re-shoring; HR strategies in globalization context

Sources of finance: internal (retained profit, sale of assets) vs. external (loans, shares, venture capital, crowdfunding)
Costs and revenues: fixed, variable, semi-variable, direct, indirect; total revenue, profit, break-even
Final accounts: income statement, balance sheet, cash flow forecast
Profitability and liquidity ratios: gross profit margin, net profit margin, return on capital employed (ROCE), current ratio, acid-test ratio
Efficiency ratios (HL): stock turnover, debtor/creditor days, gearing ratio
Investment appraisal (HL): payback period, average rate of return (ARR), net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR)

The role of marketing: market orientation vs. product orientation, commercial vs. social marketing
Marketing planning: 4Ps (product, price, place, promotion), marketing mix, extended mix (7Ps for services)
Market research: primary vs. secondary research, sampling methods, surveys, focus groups
Segmentation, targeting, positioning (STP)
Product life cycle and extension strategies
Pricing strategies: cost-plus, penetration, skimming, psychological, loss leader, price discrimination
Promotional strategies: ATL & BTL promotion, branding, sponsorships, guerrilla marketing
E-commerce and digital marketing: social media, online platforms, big data in marketing
International marketing (HL): globalization of markets, niche vs. mass marketing across borders

Production methods: job, batch, mass, cellular production
Location and layout: factors influencing location decisions, outsourcing and offshoring
Lean production and quality management: Kaizen, Just-in-Time (JIT), Total Quality Management (TQM), benchmarking
Crisis management and contingency planning
HL extensions:
- Research & development (R&D), innovation in operations
- Capacity utilization, productivity, efficiency ratios
- Supply chain management and logistics
- Project management tools (Gantt charts, Critical Path Analysis)