IB Business Management

The business management course is designed to meet the current and future needs of students who want to develop their knowledge of business content, concepts and tools to assist with business decision making. Future employees, business leaders, entrepreneurs or social entrepreneurs need to be confident, creative and compassionate as change agents for business in an increasingly interconnected global marketplace. The business management course is designed to encourage the development of these attributes.

Through the exploration of four interdisciplinary concepts—creativity, change, ethics and sustainability—this course empowers students to explore these concepts from a business perspective. Business management focuses on business functions, management processes and decision-making in contemporary contexts of strategic uncertainty. Students examine how business decisions are influenced by factors that are internal and external to an organization and how these decisions impact upon a range of internal and external stakeholders. Emphasis is placed on strategic decision-making and the operational business functions of human resource management, finance and accounts, marketing, and operations management.

The business management course encourages the application of local, national and global examples to content and concepts; the internal assessment (IA) for both SL and HL is an individual business research project that allows greater analysis and evaluation of content, concepts and context. Students can develop a deeper understanding of an organization by studying its processes through the lenses of creativity, change, ethics and sustainability.

For the external assessment (paper 1 SL and HL), students will be assessed on their knowledge of important contemporary business topics through their analysis of a fictitious business. Paper 2 (SL and HL) has a greater focus on developing students’ analytical and financial quantitative skills. This will allow students to combine their qualitative writing as business communicators with deeper financial analysis. In paper 3 (HL only) students apply their knowledge of business tools and content through an innovative and potentially disruptive social enterprise. This paper will allow business students to demonstrate their empathetic, creative, analytical and evaluative skills. It will allow students to make ethical strategic decisions for their stakeholders on a disruptive good or service; in the process, changing the lives of their stakeholders for the better.

Business management is a challenging and dynamic discipline that more than meets the needs of our students growing and developing in a complex business environment. This course prepares students to be global citizens ready to face up to the challenges and opportunities awaiting them in our ever-changing world.