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Unlock This CoursePaper 2 of iGCSE Business Studies focuses on large businesses and requires you to write detailed, analytical responses. These questions test your ability to apply business knowledge to real scenarios, evaluate different options and make justified recommendations. Unlike Paper 1's shorter answers, these extended responses require deeper thinking and structured arguments.
Key Definitions:
Analyse: Break down information and explain relationships between different factors. Look for causes, effects and connections.
Evaluate: Weigh up advantages and disadvantages, then make a judgement about which is more important.
Discuss: Present different viewpoints and consider various aspects of the issue.
Assess: Consider the importance or success of something, backing up your points with evidence.
A well-structured answer follows a clear pattern that helps you organise your thoughts and ensures you address all parts of the question. Think of it like building a house - you need strong foundations before adding the walls and roof.
Use this structure for each main point in your answer:
Make your main argument clearly. For example: "Expanding internationally could increase market share."
Support with facts, figures, or business theory. Use case studies or examples from the question.
Show how your evidence supports your point. Explain the business logic behind your argument.
Connect back to the question and show how this affects the business's overall situation.
Spend 2-3 minutes planning your answer before you start writing. List your main points and supporting evidence. This prevents you from going off-track and ensures you cover everything needed.
Large businesses face complex decisions that affect multiple stakeholders. Use these frameworks to structure your analysis and show deeper understanding.
When evaluating large business decisions, always consider how different groups are affected:
Shareholders: Want maximum returns and long-term growth
Employees: Seek job security, fair wages and good working conditions
Management: Focus on achieving targets and maintaining reputation
Customers: Want quality products at fair prices
Suppliers: Need reliable, long-term contracts
Government: Expects tax payments and legal compliance
Local Community: Concerned about environmental impact and employment
Paper 2 questions often focus on specific situations that large businesses face. Understanding these scenarios helps you prepare targeted responses.
Many questions ask about whether a large business should expand into new countries. Consider these factors:
• Access to new markets and customers
• Reduced dependence on home market
• Economies of scale from larger production
• Spread risk across different economies
• High setup costs and investment required
• Cultural and language barriers
• Different legal and regulatory requirements
• Currency exchange rate risks
McDonald's adapts its menu for different countries - offering rice burgers in Taiwan and vegetarian options in India. This shows how large businesses must balance global efficiency with local responsiveness. Use this example when discussing international expansion strategies.
Questions often ask whether large businesses should invest more in CSR activities. This requires balancing profit motives with social responsibility.
• Improved brand reputation and customer loyalty
• Attracts socially conscious consumers
• Better employee motivation and retention
• Reduced regulatory pressure
• Significant financial investment required
• May reduce short-term profits
• Shareholders might prefer dividends
• Difficult to measure return on investment
The highest marks come from strong evaluation - this means making judgements about which factors are most important and why.
Your conclusion should clearly state what the business should do and why. Consider these evaluation criteria:
Weigh immediate costs against future benefits. Large businesses often need to sacrifice short-term profits for long-term success.
Consider both measurable impacts (costs, revenues) and harder-to-measure effects (reputation, employee morale).
Evaluate the likelihood and potential impact of different outcomes. Large businesses must manage various risks carefully.
Amazon invested billions in robotic warehouse systems. Short-term: massive costs and job losses. Long-term: faster delivery, lower costs, competitive advantage. This shows how large businesses make strategic trade-offs between stakeholder interests.
Learn from these frequent errors that cost students marks in extended response questions:
• Writing everything you know about the topic
• Ignoring the specific business context
• Listing points without explanation
• Forgetting to make a clear recommendation
• Using vague statements without evidence
• Answer the specific question asked
• Use information from the case study
• Explain your reasoning clearly
• Make a justified final judgement
• Support points with relevant examples
Let's work through a typical question to see how these techniques work in practice.
"TechCorp, a large technology company, is considering whether to relocate its manufacturing from the UK to Vietnam to reduce costs. Evaluate this decision." (12 marks)
Step 1: Identify the key issue (cost reduction vs other factors)
Step 2: Consider stakeholder impacts (employees, customers, shareholders)
Step 3: Analyse advantages (lower costs, new markets) and disadvantages (quality concerns, job losses)
Step 4: Evaluate which factors are most important for TechCorp's situation
Step 5: Make a clear recommendation with justification
Always end your extended response with a clear conclusion that directly answers the question. Start with "Overall, I recommend that..." or "On balance, the most important factor is..." This shows the examiner you can make business judgements.