Congratulations on being chosen as a business EE candidate!
Here are links to some of the resources you can use to self-start with the EE:
Learning Guide & Assignments (Google Slides)
Must Know and Do Graphic Organizer (you can upload a copy here when its completed) - this is optional
Topic proposal form (please bring this to our kick-off meeting)
EE Website I made
Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions you might have.
To what extent ...
Assess the role of ...
How accurate/reliable ...
How far could one argue ...
How successful ...
How crucial/significant ...
Which factors played ...
Under what circumstances may ...
Has the introduction (or cancellation)of ... resulted in ...
Does [X] process/approach provide ...
What is the contribution/infrequence of ...
What evidence is there to support ...
What is the impact of ...
Is it possible to determine ...
Under what circumstances may ...
To what extent have cultural differences harmed the the operations of Giardano (a MNC business based) in China?
To what extent can the continual decline in profits at Taiwan.ohm.co be contributed to poor motivation in the workplace?
To what extent has Google LLC’s leadership style and corporate culture contributed to the motivation of its employees in the USA?
What has been the most significant cause of Foxconn's financial deficit over the past three years in Taiwan?
How effective has Apple's use of product differentiation been in increasing its market share in Singapore?
To what extent have the extension strategies of Apple Inc’s products affected its sales revenue in the Asia-Pacific region from 2019 to 2021?
To what extent is SaVita Solar's pricing strategy suitable on a local and global scale?
To what extent does Ocean Park differentiate its below-the line promotion from that of Hong Kong Disneyland's?
To what extent has McCafé contributed to the growth of McDonald's in Singapore?
To what extent has Spotify’s use of innovative growth strategies effectively contributed to its international growth?
To what extent has Adidas benefited from the acquisition of Reebok?
How effective has McDonald's marketing campaign been in raising awareness of its brand in Vietnam?
How successfully has Haagen Daz's differentiated its brand from rivals such as Ben and Jerry's in Seattle?
How effective are the measures taken by Starbucks in response to rising competition in the coffee industry in Sevenoaks, Kent?
To what extent has the joint venture between Nestle and Haagen-Dazs increased Nestle's market share in the US ice cream industry?
To what extent has Coca-Cola successfully penetrated the market in Southern China?
How successful has Coca-Cola's growth strategies been in developing its brand in Myanmar?
How effective has the online gaming strategy of Spotify Technology S.A. been in increasing its profitability since 2018?
To what extent can Café de Coral's rising profits be attributed to its corporate culture and organizational structures?
To what extent have Nintendo’s product differentiation strategies affected its market share in the games console industry in Japan?
How effective has Heineken N.V.'s strategy of targeting millennials since 2018 been in increasing the company's customer base?
To what extent has Agnès B's product positioning strategy contributed to the company's financial success in France?
To what extent will the planned expansion of Disneyland (theme and resorts parks) increase the company's sales revenues?
To what extent has Samsung’s reaction to its product recall of mobile phones minimized the impact on its key stakeholder groups?
How effective has Netflix Inc.'s marketing mix strategy been in creating a loyal customer base in order to increase market share from 2016 - 2020?
To what extent was adapting its marketing mix the main reason that led to the increased growth of H&M sales in India from 2018 - 2020?
To what extent is price the most important part of the marketing mix for McDonald’s in Rome, Italy?
To what extent is sustainability worth committing to for Cathay Pacific Airways?
To what extent is franchising the most suitable method of growth for InterContinental Hotel Group PLC in China?
To what extent can Tesla’s recent success in the UK's e-automotive market be attributed to its corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy?
To what extent does the Body Shop need to revise its marketing mix to improve its profitability in the UK?
To what extent has Kellogg’s been successful in repositioning its cereal products as health products in Japan?
To what extent has Apple's iPad affected the mobile computing market in IB Diploma schools in California?
How effectively has D&G responded to the crisis of counterfeit handbags and accessories (in the fashion industry)?
To what extent has Tesla been able to capitalize on its first mover advantage in the electric car industry?
To what extent has DBS’s first-mover approach to digital banking been a success for DBS in Singapore?
Is Ford Motor Company's decision to reduce its product portfolio in danger of undermining the company's brand value?
To what degree was PTMKK's acquisition of RKI in Indonesia in 2018 successful with regards to the group's revenue and market growth?
To what extent is HMV's online store a sufficient strategy for the company's long-term survival?
To what extent has corporate sponsorship led to Arsenal Football Club's financial successes?
To what extent did Netflix's strategic alliance with KDDI Corporation influence its market share amidst growing competition in Japan from 2018 to 2020?
How effective have the strategies used by CTVHK been in ensuring it remains competitive in the subscription TV market?
To what extent can Fila’s recent financial success be contributed to corporate rebranding?
To what extent has Monsanto’s public relations strategies improved its ethical reputation?
To what extent has the distribution strategies of Amazon been effective in establishing the company as the market leader in the USA?
To what extent has the marketing strategies of McDonald's influenced its market leadership position in the US fast food industry from 2018 to 2020?
To what extent has L’Oréal's corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies affected its global brand positioning between 2015 and 2020?
How has the maintenance of Baxter International’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) improved its level of customer loyalty against its major competitors?
Will the purchase of HK Express benefit the operations and profitability of Cathay Pacific Airways?
How is positioning significant in establishing Audi as a premium brand in Hong Kong?
The EE is graded out of 34 points; broken into five mains sections.
A: Focus and method [6 points]
B: Knowledge and understanding [6 points]
C: Critical thinking [12 points]
D: Presentation [4 points]
E: Engagement [6 points]
Criteria A to D is for your Extended Essay, whilst E is for the 500 word reflection.
All extended essays are externally assessed by examiners appointed by the IB. They are marked on a scale from 0 to 34.
The score a student receives relates to a band. The bands are:
A – work of an excellent standard.
B – work of a good standard.
C –work of a satisfactory standard.
D – work of a mediocre standard.
E – work of an elementary standard.
The following boundaries were used for the Class of 2018, 2019 and 2020
A = 27 - 34
B = 21 - 26
C = 14 - 20
D = 7 - 13
E = 0 - 6
Interpreting the EE Assessment Criteria - Business & Management
Extension Chord
EE is an extension cable
EE is called Extended essay because
1) it’s long (4000 words)
2) you're expected to go beyond the guide and extend your knowledge
You're showing that they’re a specialist in Business
They need extensions more than just the guide
Can include tools and knowledge from previous business syllabus
Start from the guide/syllabus and extend beyond the guide/syllabus as an expert
EE is not about only showing us that they know the business tools and contents of the guide
Can get D, C, MAYBE B if they only use knowledge from syllabus
For criteria on business knowledge… to get 5 or 6 need more extension knowledge
Need this to be university level to score high marks
Bridge
Metaphor: a bridge
EE is bridge into university
For example the student works 1 on 1 with a specialist supervisor
Mirrors what is done in university
EE is a piece of research, but academic rather than just journalistic research
Can’t just reference a news source
To score an A or B you must use academic research: academic journals, articles, books; this type of literature
Bibliography should have at least 1 or 2 academic sources
We are at university!
Primary research if used must be at a university level. Interviewing someone like a CEO may even only give a 2 (depending on the RQ)
Interviewing a professor as well of a book is great though
Why academic journals and books provide stronger evidence than blogs and sometimes news articles
Select one of the following ways to learn more about the information cycle:
Perplexity focuses on delivering accurate, sourced information, making it a reliable research assistant.
Google Scholar is a freely accessible web search engine that indexes the full text or metadata of scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and disciplines.
To what extent were your initial ideas realized?
Were your original plans/ideas realistic and appropriate?
What do you think your successes were in this process?
What was the most rewarding aspect of the entire process?
How will this experience prepare you for future work of this nature (in college or employment?)
To what extent has your thinking been confirmed or changed about your chosen topic as a result of your research?
What strategies did you employ that proved particularly effective in the research process?
What skills have you developed and how might these be useful in the future?
What improvements might you suggest to your working practices?
How might different research strategies have impacted your outcomes?
What did your learn about yourself as a learner in this process?
If you were to undertake this research again, would you do it differently—if so, why or why
not? What has affected this?
If I did do the research again, would I change the theories applied or the methodological approach? Would this have led to a different outcome?What can I conclude from this?
Were the strategies I used for undertaking my research the most appropriate for achieving my outcomes?
What, if any, questions emerged as a result of your research that you were not expecting?
Would these questions influence your approach if I were to undertake the research again?
The Reflection Process - The Viva Voce
What feedback can supervisors give?
For supervisors
Exactly how you provide feedback is your choice but the IB guidance is clear on what you can and cannot do. On page 63-64 of the guide it states
You can ...
Comments can be added that indicate that the essay could be improved. These comments should be open ended and not involve editing the text.
You cannot ...
Correct spelling and punctuation.
Correct experimental work or mathematics.
Re-write any of the essay.
Indicate where whole sections of the essay would be better placed.
Proofread the essay for errors.
Correct the bibliographies or citations.
Some examples of open ended comments can be found on page 63 of the IB EE Guide. Some are listed below
Is your research question consistent through the essay, including on the title page?
Your essay lacks clarity here. How might you make it clearer?
Check this page carefully
You need to check this page for accuracy of referencing
AND FINALLY
At ISB various methods for providing feedback are used, including but not limited to;
1:1 meetings (sometimes recorded for later reference)
Voice recorded feedback with a follow up meeting
Written feedback/comments aided by appropriate rubrics