BM IA_ Summary of Requirements

The students are required to:

• select a real business issue or problem for their business research project that relates to any part of the syllabus
• refer directly to a single business organization but may consider industry-wide issues that impact on that organization
• provide a research question for the business research project that could either be forward-looking or Backwards-looking
• base their research on primary and/ or secondary research, selected for its suitability, depth and breadth
• attach to the business research project three to five supporting documents from which the majority of the information for the project has been obtained
• produce a business research project that does not exceed 1,800 words
• fully reference all supporting documents and additional sources and include them in a bibliography

• The business research project must use only one of the four key concepts (change, creativity, ethics or sustainability) as a lens through which to analyze the IA.
• his key concept may or may not be stated in the research question; however, it must be clearly indicated on the title page which key concept was used.
• Five marks are available for identifying and using a relevant key concept; for these marks to be awarded, students must make explicit the conceptual lens they are applying to their work.
• If more than one student chooses the same organization for their research, it is the responsibility of the teacher to ensure that the business research projects reflect the students’ own individual research, interpretation and analysis.
• If a student also writes an EE in business management, it is the responsibility of the teacher to ensure that the student’s IA and EE are distinct pieces of work using different research approaches. As there are different requirements and assessment criteria, students should choose different organizations for these different tasks.

• The supporting documents present a range of ideas and views.
• For example, the selection of three to five documents published by a single company, or three to five surveys of similar populations, would not provide balance or objectivity.
• Relevant supporting documents must be contemporary in nature and published within a maximum of three years prior to the submission of the business research project to the IB.
• A transcript of video or audio material can be used as a supporting document.
• The transcript must provide the essential points of the video or audio file used for the purposes of the project.
• Only video or audio material published by a reliable organization should be used (such as the business organization itself, an organization commissioned by the business or an NGO).
• Particular attention needs to be paid to referencing the original video or audio file so that this may be traced.
• The project can be based on primary and/or secondary sources that will form the basis of the supporting document

Primary sources provide first-hand information or direct evidence for the research.

Examples of primary sources include:

• face-to-face and online surveys/questionnaires; students should include a blank copy of the questionnaire and a tally/summary of responses
• face-to-face and online interviews; students should include a copy of the interview questions and a summary of the responses
• focus group discussions; students should include a copy of the focus group questions and a summary of the findings.
• position/ perception mapping
• analysis of local competitors

Primary sources must be authenticated and add value to the research

Secondary sources provide second-hand information or already existing data for the research.

Examples of secondary sources include:

• articles from the local, national or international press
• business accounts
• business plans
• extracts from company websites
• transcripts of a relevant audio-visual file
• financial reports
• government and other statistics
• journal publications
• market research surveys
• mission statements.

Supporting documents should not exceed the equivalent of five A4 pages.

• Students must highlight the parts of each supporting document that relate directly to their project.
• Any highlighted parts of supporting documents that are not in the language for which the student is registered must be translated.
• Students should label each supporting document clearly, such as supporting document 1・ supporting document 2・ and so on. This will help with referencing in the project. These should be located at the appropriate section at the end of the document.

It is expected that students will include in-text citations/references of the supporting documents and a bibliography.

An introduction that sets the context. The introduction should

• briefly demonstrate some background information about the business organization,
• give a clear outline of the issue or problem under investigation and
• explain the methodology used to investigate this issue or problem.

The main body of the project in which findings from the supporting documents should be presented and analysed with the help of relevant business management tools and theories including integrating the key concept.

The findings should also be interpreted:

• what main themes emerge from the analysis of the supporting documents, and
• why and how are they helpful (or not) in answering the research question?

An evaluative approach to this discussion of findings should be pursued, for example,

• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the various positions on the issue or problem and
• what are their implications?

A conclusion that answers the research question. In the conclusion, the research question should be explicitly answered.

• The conclusion should not introduce facts or arguments that have not been discussed in previous sections of the project.
• Rather, it is good practice to include those aspects of the research question that have not been fully answered in the project or
• that might need further investigation in order to be judged more effectively.

Effectively presented projects require:

• a title page,
• an accurate table of contents page,
• appropriate headings and sub-headings and
• numbered pages
• font size: 11 or 12
• Font type: Times new roman or Arial

The business research project must not exceed 1,800 words. The word count must be included on the cover page of the project. If the word limit is exceeded, the teacher assessment must be based on the first 1,800 words.

The following are not included in the word count:

• Acknowledgements
• Contents page
• Tables of statistical data
• Diagrams or figures
• Equations, formulae and calculations
• Supporting documents
• Citations (which, if used, must be in the body of the project)
• References (which, if used, must be in the footnotes/endnotes)
• Bibliography

Please note that footnotes or endnotes may be used for references only. Definitions of business management terms and quotations, if used, must be in the body of the work and are included in the word count.

Should company Y change its manufacturing to outsourcing?

The project could then examine areas within business management such as operations management and human resource management using change as a conceptual lens.

How can Airline X successfully target segment Y?

The project could then examine business management topics such as market segmentation, promotion, and measure of financial success using sustainability as a conceptual lens.