HSC Business Studies Question Thread

[diesxel]

Hey there! 

The syllabus dot point on "Influences on Operations" has government policies and legal regulations.
Government policies are to do with things like taxes and bans, whereas legal regulations are to do with workplace issues like OH&S, anti-discrimination, and minimum wages.

The term "visibility" refers to how much of the operations process can be seen and tracked by the customer.
-For example, Subway has high visibility because they make the sandwich right in front of you when ordered. However, McDonalds has low visibility because their burgers are pre-made hidden at the back of the store.

Critical Path Analysis is a diagram showing the shortest time it takes for all tasks in an operations process to be completed. To find the critical path, you have to look for the longest path in terms of time it takes to complete. Once the longest task is done, everything else has already finished, thus being the time it takes to complete all tasks. It is used to measure the sequencing and scheduling of the processes and to reduce bottlenecks, which can paralyse the entire operations if one tasks takes longer than expected.

Hope this helps

Thank you sooo much!! Definitely makes sense now!!

[BarnesK01]

Just a bit of a weird request... Just wondering if anybody had a recording of the business studies syllabus/notes???

[bimberfairy]

What exactly do you mean by your request?
If you're looking for the business studies syllabus, it's here.
If you're looking for business studies notes, you can find them in the notes section.

inb4 they're looking for an audio recording

[_____]

Just a bit of a weird request... Just wondering if anybody had a recording of the business studies syllabus/notes???

Your best bet would be one of those HSC Business Studies apps. There was one from ~2015 that has since been discontinued by a teacher from Mt Druitt HS - my school used it and he explains the whole syllabus in audio/presentation format so he goes beyond just the dot points. You might be able to find a .apk file online somewhere but it'll be a hassle to rip audio recordings from it. If you're trying to learn the syllabus I'd recommend recording it yourself lol.

[NB2972]

Hey! This is my first post ever on a forum so I'm not sure how this will go.

I just need a quick explanation regarding how to calculate the critical path in a critical path analysis. All the textbooks, videos and notes I've read stress that it's the shortest time taken for all tasks to be achieved, but the answer is always the longest time and seems to skip tasks as well. Am I missing something glaringly obvious?
 
Thanks in advance, love the site 

[fantasticbeasts3]

Hey! This is my first post ever on a forum so I'm not sure how this will go.

I just need a quick explanation regarding how to calculate the critical path in a critical path analysis. All the textbooks, videos and notes I've read stress that it's the shortest time taken for all tasks to be achieved, but the answer is always the longest time and seems to skip tasks as well. Am I missing something glaringly obvious?
 
Thanks in advance, love the site 

i am absolutely awful at explaining stuff, so here goes. when looking at a critical path analysis, remember that some tasks can be done simultaneously. the critical path is the shortest amount of time it takes to do something, while also incorporating every other small task.

example for q14 in 2012 hsc (link to paper because uploading a screenshot doesn't work): https://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/hsc_exams/hsc2012exams/pdf_doc/2012-hsc-exam-business-studies.pdf

answer:

Spoiler

the answer is c (17) because although there's a huge block of time with tasks c and g which both go for 14 days, it covers everything else.

hope this helps!

[NB2972]

i am absolutely awful at explaining stuff, so here goes. when looking at a critical path analysis, remember that some tasks can be done simultaneously. the critical path is the shortest amount of time it takes to do something, while also incorporating every other small task.

example for q14 in 2012 hsc (link to paper because uploading a screenshot doesn't work): https://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/hsc_exams/hsc2012exams/pdf_doc/2012-hsc-exam-business-studies.pdf

answer:

Spoiler

the answer is c (17) because although there's a huge block of time with tasks c and g which both go for 14 days, it covers everything else.

hope this helps!

That actually makes a lot more sense now, I understand it much clearer. Thank You!!

[fantasticbeasts3]

That actually makes a lot more sense now, I understand it much clearer. Thank You!!

no worries, glad to know i could help

[MisterNeo]

Hey! This is my first post ever on a forum so I'm not sure how this will go.

I just need a quick explanation regarding how to calculate the critical path in a critical path analysis. All the textbooks, videos and notes I've read stress that it's the shortest time taken for all tasks to be achieved, but the answer is always the longest time and seems to skip tasks as well. Am I missing something glaringly obvious?
 
Thanks in advance, love the site 

The Critical Path Analysis is the amount of time it takes for ALL tasks to be completed. This means finding the longest path to determine when the last task will finish.
This is the simplest definition I can give.
Some tasks in operations cannot start until others are finished, so we look for the longest path from commencing process to delivery to customer.

[Thebarman]

We don't need to remember any specific cash flow/income/balance sheet statements from particular case studies, do we? Same for financial ratios - do we need to know any?

[MisterNeo]

We don't need to remember any specific cash flow/income/balance sheet statements from particular case studies, do we? Same for financial ratios - do we need to know any?

Depends on what the case study is for. If the case is for improving debt repayments and liquidity, I would memorise the current ratio and debt-equity ratio. The more sophistication you can apply in your response, the better it is for the marker to give out marks.

[phebsh]

Hey there, I'm really struggling to write an executive summary. Like I know how to write one and what to put in it but mine always seems to be like 3 lines. Any recommendations?
Thanks

[isaacdelatorre]

Hey there, I'm really struggling to write an executive summary. Like I know how to write one and what to put in it but mine always seems to be like 3 lines. Any recommendations?
Thanks

Hey there mate,

Thats a tough one, would you mind posting your executive summary so I could have a look at it?
Keep in mind that your executive summary should really only be around 4 sentences as just a summary of what you will be talking about - it doesn't have to go into depth!!

For my business reports I always had my opening sentence start with "The purpose of this report is to" and then I outlined the main purpose of the report then in the second sentence I explained that a little bit more - this usually involved restating the part of the scenario that is the question. Then I gave a 1 sentence summary of the business scenario. That was usually it - take a look at my one below

Executive Summary
The purpose of this report is to address concerns that CULP Pty Ltd is facing with respect to:

• Staffing production facilities offshore
• Marketing products to global audiences

In particular, this report aims to:

• Explain the importance of interdependence between human resources and marketing
• Describe the processes of separation and development relevant to CULP, should it decide to relocate
• Discuss global marketing strategies of global pricing and customisation that CULP could implement

CULP Pty Ltd is a clothing manufacturing business that targets youth; which has recently lost market share to cheaper imports. Thus this report will address these issues and provide insight into global operations (offshoring and marketing).

And that was it - it turned out to be a page because my writing is big and i spaced it out but it really isn't very long - pretty succinct and details exactly what each section of my report will be about.

Hope this helps and feel free to post yours up for marking

[hansolo9]

Hi
How would I go about answering this question structure-wise?

"Evaluate the importance of economic in human resources management in a business."

[_____]

Hi
How would I go about answering this question structure-wise?

"Evaluate the importance of economic in human resources management in a business."

Assuming this means economic influences, I'd evaluate it as very important (because it's easier and it's probably what they're looking for).

How many marks was it? I'm assuming it's a 4-6 mark short answer, so I'd structure it with the discussion of either of the following two points:

1. The economic cycle
Why it's important: Labour is cheaper during a recession as less firms are hiring. Likewise, labour is more expensive during economic expansion - high GDP growth. This may make it hard to find skilled employees who may need to be imported from overseas.

2. Consumer preferences
Why it's important: Australia is shifting towards a more service-based economy. Hence, consumers are demanding exceptional customer service and businesses need to hire, train and motivate staff who can fulfil this requirement. Case study: Virgin Australia 2011 rebrand or "Mighty Helpful: Mitre 10" - differentiation through the "people" element of the marketing mix.

3. Globalisation (markers love this word even though it hasn't been all that popular for a few years now so try to mention if it you can where relevant).
Why it's important: Increased competition from foreign businesses is forcing Australian businesses to cut costs through outsourcing or global contracting which has been facilitated by free trade agreements (China) and the lowering of tariffs. In creating a customised global marketing mix, staff located in other countries must be trained appropriately in line with the firm's message (wouldn't go too far into interdependence with marketing if it is a short answer question).

Hope that helps.