BUSSINESS STUDIES
GR12
Business Studies IEB GR12 Notes and Summaries
ALL NOTES NEEDED FOR MATIRC IEB BUSINESS STUDIES FINALS
,Index
Summaries and Key Points.................................................................................................................2
Problem Solving Notes.......................................................................................................................2
Total Quality Management Notes......................................................................................................3
Ratio Analysis Notes..........................................................................................................................3
Chapter 1 Conflict management............................................................................................................4
Chapter 2 Professionalism and ethics................................................................................................6
Chapter 3 CSR and Corporate Governance............................................................................................7
Chapter 4 Creative Thinking and Problem Solving...........................................................................10
Chapter 5 The Micro, Market, and Macro Environments................................................................10
Strategies as tools............................................................................................................................11
Chapter 6 Entrepreneurship, management, and leadership................................................................12
Chapter 7 Marketing and Branding......................................................................................................17
Chapter 8 Human Resources...........................................................................................................20
Chapter 9 Industrial Relations and Legislation.....................................................................................22
Chapter 10 investment and insurance.............................................................................................26
Investment.......................................................................................................................................26
Insurance.........................................................................................................................................29
Chapter 11 Performance management...........................................................................................31
1|Page
,Summaries and Key Points
Environmental Scanning
Gathering, analysing info for strategic purposes.
Identify threats before they are imminent.
Identify possible opportunities and gaps in the market.
Keeps ginger on pules of competitors.
PESTLE Analysis
Political – political situation of country and world.
Economic – improvement of the standard of living. Inflation, taxes.
Social – impact social trends on players in the economy. Level of education, life expectancy.
Technological – equipment used to buy, advertise, sell products.
Legislation – all the laws that impact the business.
Ethical – values and how to act.
+ Physical – prevent global warming, change in weather patterns.
+ Environmental – enviro-friendly products, efforts to reduce carbon footprint.
Porters 6 Forces
1. Level of rivalry – develop strategies to outperform competitors. Loyalty programs.
2. Threat of new entrants – future competitors.
3. Availability of substitute products – butter vs margarine.
4. Power of suppliers – maintain good relationships.
5. Power of buyers – need to be respected and given a good value.
6. Power of complementary products – one product interrelated with another. Ice cream and
chocolate source.
Barriers to entry
Brand loyalty.
Economies of scale (existing firms claim discounts for bulk)
Patent (legal barrier to copying products)
SWOT Analysis
Strengths – strong capital position, low debt.
Weaknesses – branding could be better, products not different enough.
Opportunities – hire more talent, acquire more talent through branding.
Threats – may lose talent, lack of differentiation could lead to a price war.
Problem Solving Notes
Resource-based approach
Find out which resources are of strategic importance.
Could they be utilized better and what is their ROI.
To be strategically relevant resources: Valuable, Rare, Unique, Non-Substitutable.
2|Page
, Value Chain Analysis
Analyse cost of component parts, aim to reduce.
Inputs need to be converted to outputs to supply value to customers.
Delphi Technique
Focus on ideas rather than individuals.
Opportunities for anonymous contributions.
Obtain opinions of experts on the topic.
Not have to be physically present.
Balanced Scorecard
Allows managers to see how well the business is being run based on whether objectives are met.
CR=F=EG=IP=CR Goes in a circle.
Customer relationship – satisfaction rate, better service.
Financial – ROI and cash flow, improve sales.
Education and Growth – training opportunities, graduate programs.
Internal processes – retention and growth, better supply chain management.
Decision Tree (Scenario Planning)
Visual representation of different outcomes to a single event.
Look at different options and consequences.
Other strategies to improve overall performance
Benchmarking – measure actual to standard performance.
Performance Appraisal – a tool used to plan (discuss targets), evaluate, and improve
employee performance. Feedback tools, targets, and action plans are discussed to solve
problems.
Business process re-engineering – involves the radical redesign of core business processes to
achieve improvement in productivity and quality.
Total Quality Management Notes
In arrows in order of numbers.
1. Put the customer first.
2. More continuous improvement.
3. Aim for 0 defects.
4. Training and development.
Advantages of a strategy
Gives direction – helps understand long-term consequences of current decisions.
Ensure consistency – in decision making and manner in which problems are addressed.
Differentiates areas of responsibility.
It anticipates changes in the internal and external environment.
Ratio Analysis Notes
1. Liquidity – firms’ ability to meet current obligations.
3|Page
GR12
Business Studies IEB GR12 Notes and Summaries
ALL NOTES NEEDED FOR MATIRC IEB BUSINESS STUDIES FINALS
,Index
Summaries and Key Points.................................................................................................................2
Problem Solving Notes.......................................................................................................................2
Total Quality Management Notes......................................................................................................3
Ratio Analysis Notes..........................................................................................................................3
Chapter 1 Conflict management............................................................................................................4
Chapter 2 Professionalism and ethics................................................................................................6
Chapter 3 CSR and Corporate Governance............................................................................................7
Chapter 4 Creative Thinking and Problem Solving...........................................................................10
Chapter 5 The Micro, Market, and Macro Environments................................................................10
Strategies as tools............................................................................................................................11
Chapter 6 Entrepreneurship, management, and leadership................................................................12
Chapter 7 Marketing and Branding......................................................................................................17
Chapter 8 Human Resources...........................................................................................................20
Chapter 9 Industrial Relations and Legislation.....................................................................................22
Chapter 10 investment and insurance.............................................................................................26
Investment.......................................................................................................................................26
Insurance.........................................................................................................................................29
Chapter 11 Performance management...........................................................................................31
1|Page
,Summaries and Key Points
Environmental Scanning
Gathering, analysing info for strategic purposes.
Identify threats before they are imminent.
Identify possible opportunities and gaps in the market.
Keeps ginger on pules of competitors.
PESTLE Analysis
Political – political situation of country and world.
Economic – improvement of the standard of living. Inflation, taxes.
Social – impact social trends on players in the economy. Level of education, life expectancy.
Technological – equipment used to buy, advertise, sell products.
Legislation – all the laws that impact the business.
Ethical – values and how to act.
+ Physical – prevent global warming, change in weather patterns.
+ Environmental – enviro-friendly products, efforts to reduce carbon footprint.
Porters 6 Forces
1. Level of rivalry – develop strategies to outperform competitors. Loyalty programs.
2. Threat of new entrants – future competitors.
3. Availability of substitute products – butter vs margarine.
4. Power of suppliers – maintain good relationships.
5. Power of buyers – need to be respected and given a good value.
6. Power of complementary products – one product interrelated with another. Ice cream and
chocolate source.
Barriers to entry
Brand loyalty.
Economies of scale (existing firms claim discounts for bulk)
Patent (legal barrier to copying products)
SWOT Analysis
Strengths – strong capital position, low debt.
Weaknesses – branding could be better, products not different enough.
Opportunities – hire more talent, acquire more talent through branding.
Threats – may lose talent, lack of differentiation could lead to a price war.
Problem Solving Notes
Resource-based approach
Find out which resources are of strategic importance.
Could they be utilized better and what is their ROI.
To be strategically relevant resources: Valuable, Rare, Unique, Non-Substitutable.
2|Page
, Value Chain Analysis
Analyse cost of component parts, aim to reduce.
Inputs need to be converted to outputs to supply value to customers.
Delphi Technique
Focus on ideas rather than individuals.
Opportunities for anonymous contributions.
Obtain opinions of experts on the topic.
Not have to be physically present.
Balanced Scorecard
Allows managers to see how well the business is being run based on whether objectives are met.
CR=F=EG=IP=CR Goes in a circle.
Customer relationship – satisfaction rate, better service.
Financial – ROI and cash flow, improve sales.
Education and Growth – training opportunities, graduate programs.
Internal processes – retention and growth, better supply chain management.
Decision Tree (Scenario Planning)
Visual representation of different outcomes to a single event.
Look at different options and consequences.
Other strategies to improve overall performance
Benchmarking – measure actual to standard performance.
Performance Appraisal – a tool used to plan (discuss targets), evaluate, and improve
employee performance. Feedback tools, targets, and action plans are discussed to solve
problems.
Business process re-engineering – involves the radical redesign of core business processes to
achieve improvement in productivity and quality.
Total Quality Management Notes
In arrows in order of numbers.
1. Put the customer first.
2. More continuous improvement.
3. Aim for 0 defects.
4. Training and development.
Advantages of a strategy
Gives direction – helps understand long-term consequences of current decisions.
Ensure consistency – in decision making and manner in which problems are addressed.
Differentiates areas of responsibility.
It anticipates changes in the internal and external environment.
Ratio Analysis Notes
1. Liquidity – firms’ ability to meet current obligations.
3|Page
