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We asked one of our best Business Management tutors, Jack, about his experience completing IB Business Management and how he got a 7.
What score did you achieve in IB Business Management?
Looking back, the most daunting aspect of starting the IB was that the processes felt so alien, like every subject had its own unique code which could only be unlocked through trial, error and immersion. This made it tricky to focus on what’s important. My goal here is to provide some of that perspective which doesn’t always come naturally.
My name is Jack and I’m one of the IB tutors here at Top IB Tutors. I graduated from the diploma program in 2025 with a score of 43 and band 7 in business, now studying commerce at the University of Sydney. I took a particular interest in this subject at school because I believed having business knowledge is crucial for any career path, and hopefully I can share some of the insights I gained over those two years.
How does IB Business Management work?
Business management content is divided based on the four business functions: human resources, finance, marketing and operations. From the perspective of the IB, designing a business course is challenging because it is difficult to teach business instinct through theories and academics. Schools instead teach a plethora of terms and frameworks to simulate experience and real-world scenarios, meaning business actually ends up being quite content-heavy, especially when exams can ask you to define anything.
The best business students therefore have a comprehensive knowledge of the course and can consider impacts on all four business functions when evaluating strategies. Every business exam is a different case study, so it is crucial to develop skills in applying your knowledge to a range of scenarios and being prepared to discuss any industry. Further, clear and concise writing skills to explain ideas and provide reasoning is also critical.
Like all IB subjects, your marks are split between your final exams and a project submission called an internal assessment. The split varies slightly between SL and HL, but roughly a quarter of your grade comes from the IA. Higher level students also receive a third exam paper with extension content, but compared to other subjects this jump isn’t massive. I would vouch for any students debating whether they can handle the extra workload.
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Standard level (SL):
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Higher level (HL):
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How did you study for IB Business Management? What techniques did you use to study?
The best resource beyond your class notes and textbook is actual past papers. You can find these at ibdocs.re by navigating to “Past Papers by Subject”. Complete questions under timed conditions and get your teacher or tutor to provide feedback. Keep in mind that the syllabus changed recently so some exams are outdated. Finally, remember to take care of yourself. Find something about the subject that excites you to make study interesting, and take regular breaks to do something you enjoy. Best of luck!
Find everything you need to know about IB Business Management in our comprehensive review
What is your advice for Business Management students for the IA?
Let’s start with the IA, where your task is to answer a research question of your choosing about a business. There is significant freedom in this process, and picking a good topic can make or break your assessment. I recommend you take the time to develop a question which is specific and answerable, on a company which you are actually passionate about. The more you enjoy the research process the easier it will be. Another key point is that business IAs require you to obtain most of your information from only 5 supporting documents, so ensure you pick a public company which grants you access to media reports and financial statements.
The question itself can be backward looking (evaluating whether a business strategy was effective) or forward looking (evaluating whether a proposed strategy will be effective). Both are valid, however I find that students who create backwards looking questions commonly fall into the trap of being too descriptive, as they are recounting events rather than critically evaluating. This means they lose marks in the analysis section, which is why I always recommend forward looking questions. This also means you have more freedom to make suggestions and show originality.
It is also important to consider how you will implement course concepts and frameworks. The more specific you are the better, so use marketing tools for a marketing question etc. General tools like SWOT and STEEPLE provide overviews of the business rather than crucial information to answer your specific question, and therefore often get overused. These have their place, but make sure they serve a clear purpose before including them.
Finally, in a similar fashion to 10-mark essay questions on exams, ensure your analysis is balanced and considers the wider implications on the business. In our marketing example, you may conclude that a strategy is superior for increasing brand loyalty, but is still unviable due to the large expenditure required for an already indebted company. Showing a wholistic awareness of a business, that decisions impact all areas of operations, is guaranteed way to impress markers.
What is your advice for Business Management students for the end of year exams?
Business exams follow a predictable structure, so once you understand how to answer each question type it becomes easy to apply your subject knowledge to each case study. Paper one has a qualitative focus which means more writing, while paper 2 has a quantitative focus which involves calculations and financial content. Both papers have 3 key question types to practice: definitions, short answers and 10-mark essays. (I’m ignoring calculations and financial statements here).
For definitions, examiners want to see the two key characteristics which differentiate an idea from all others to give you both marks. The trick is to write more than you need, including multiple characteristics to guarantee you cover the ones in the marking criteria. For short responses, these commonly involve explaining the advantages or disadvantages of different business strategies. Make sure to clearly identify your idea, explain why it holds, and link to the case study in the exam. Finally, both exams include a 10-mark question where your task is to evaluate 2-3 proposed strategies for the business and recommend the best path forward. Keep your structure simple, providing arguments for and against both strategies and make a recommendation based on the context of the business. Remember that the best responses will weigh the impacts of strategies on all business functions and consider the position of the company within the wider industry, directly comparing strategies and the perspectives of different stakeholders.
As I’ve said previously, every exam is a different case study, and you must be able to apply knowledge to any type of business. Once you’ve learned the content back to front and understand how to approach each question type, simply planning essays (with high levels of detail) can be as valuable as writing the essay itself, because you are still conducting the necessary analytical thinking. This is a potential study method if you have reached this point in your revision.
Some more information about our tutor, Jack
Jack graduated from the IB in November 2024 with a score of 43, and is now studying commerce and economics at the University of Sydney. He enjoyed the opportunity to research topics of his own interest through his IB subjects, achieving an A in both Theory of Knowledge and his economics Extended Essay. Jack has excellent communication skills stemming from 8 years of competitive debating, and is passionate about helping students to create projects and achieve results which they are proud of. In his free time, Jack is an avid tennis player and loves mountain sports such as rock climbing, MTB and skiing.
If you would like to book a session with Jack, please submit an application today.
