Exams
The external assessment in IB Business Management consists of two examination papers for SL students and three for HL students.
Each paper has a different focus and format, so students need to understand the specific requirements and expectations of each.
- Paper 1 is based on a short pre-released statement and has a mainly qualitative focus.
- Paper 2 uses unseen stimulus material and places greater emphasis on quantitative skills and the application of the Business Management Toolkit (BMT).
- Paper 3, which is for HL students only, is based on unseen stimulus material about a social enterprise and culminates in a 17-mark plan of action.
Together, the papers assess students’ knowledge and understanding, application, analysis, evaluation, and ability to use appropriate business management tools and theories in context.
Paper 3 | |||
| Based on pre-released statement of around 200 words | Unseen stimulus material with quantitative focus | Unseen stimulus material about a social enterprise | Business research project of up to 1800 words |
| Common paper for both SL and HL, with qualitative focus | Separate paper for SL and HL | Explanation of human needs and organizational challenges | Key concept – Change, Ethics, Creativity, or Sustainability |
| Recommended 5 hours of research time | Application of the BMT | Includes 17-mark “plan of action” question | 3 – 5 Supporting Documents |
| No formulae sheet | Formulae sheet | No formulae sheet | n/a |
Four-function calculator permitted | |||
Table 1 - External and internal assessments for the IB Business Management course
Teachers may also find the Exam papers - Topic tracker useful for reviewing the topics assessed in past examination questions, together with the command terms used for each question.
