HSC Business Studies Question Thread

[jamonwindeyer]

Hi 

Could somebody please help with understanding FIFO, LIFO and JIT in operations inventory management???

I just need some simple definitions and an example...
My teacher makes it sound soooo confusing..

Thanks heaps 

Hey Louanna! Welcome to the forums! I didn't do Business Studies, but I did Retail Services, so I know what this stuff is

For our example, let's say we have a stack of boxes (representing inventory). You stack the new boxes on top as you receive them, meaning that the newest boxes are at the top, and the oldest are at the bottom.

First In, First Out (FIFO): This is where whatever stock goes into inventory first, is used first. This would mean taking boxes from the bottom of our pile.

Last In, First Out (LIFO): This is where whatever stock goes into inventory last, is used first. This would mean taking boxes from the top of our pile.

Just in Time (JIT): This is where you receive inventory as it is required in production. Meaning, you don't have a stack of boxes at all - You just order a box whenever you need it. You have no inventory!

I hope this helps

[SSSS]

Hey guys! How should we prepare for case study essays? I feel pretty weak in them in comparison to reports. Any advice appreciated! Thanks

[janemurray]

Just a general question... In the HSC exam, how many businesses/case studies should you include in the business report? Also, is it okay to use the same business as an example in more than one short answer question? Or should each question have a different business case study? Thank you

[phebsh]

Hi

So for the HSC extended response questions, is one of them a report and the other an essay? Also, is it true that you can write the essay question as a business report? I was told this but am unsure if it is a good idea...

Thanks!

[isaacdelatorre]

Hi 

Could somebody please help with understanding FIFO, LIFO and JIT in operations inventory management???

I just need some simple definitions and an example...
My teacher makes it sound soooo confusing..

Thanks heaps 

Hey Louanna,

Jamon is absolutely correct but for business studies I just want to add that you need to know FIFO and LIFO in terms of financial reporting. specifically when calculating expenses.

You should be aware that over time, the general level of prices does increase (inflation) and in turn, some inputs into production become more expensive over time. If you purchase stock every few months with the price increasing then at the end of the year your expenses may be quite high. However, this could lead to an overstatement in expenses and thus decrease the amount of profit earned by a business which may sound like a bad thing, but for some businesses they use this to decrease the amount of tax they have to pay. For this reason, it is illegal to use LIFO as a method of valuing stock, all stock on financial reports must be reported using the initial cost (FIFO)

Good luck

[isaacdelatorre]

Hey guys! How should we prepare for case study essays? I feel pretty weak in them in comparison to reports. Any advice appreciated! Thanks

Hey SSS,

This is a very good question as quite a lot of marks go into this extended response as well as the fact that you can use case studies in the short answer section. To prepare for the essay without knowing which area of the syllabus they are targetting is quite challenging. For this reason, you should have a case study for most of the dot points. This requires a business case study that demonstrates the use of a strategy and the outcome (positive or negative) or influence or process. You should show how the specific case study has been affected by the dot point (e.g. economic influences, ethical standards in reporting ...) as well as an evaluation of how they have handled it. This is an effective method you could go about preparing for the case study essay as many students can mention a case study but they dont go into enough detail and relate it to the syllabus.

Hope this helps

[isaacdelatorre]

Just a general question... In the HSC exam, how many businesses/case studies should you include in the business report? Also, is it okay to use the same business as an example in more than one short answer question? Or should each question have a different business case study? Thank you

Hey Janemurray,
For the business report; I would only ever use the case study provided since you are making recommendations for that business alone (yes you could bring in another business to show how that has helped for them so you can recommend it to the business in question - but I think it's unnecessary and I would only do it if there weren't many advantages you could write about)

As for short answers, I'm not too sure. I never really used a case study in short answers unless the question asked for one (since I mainly made them up on the spot) but since each question is marked by a different person; I would say it is okay to reuse the same business case study, just not within each subquestion (1a, 1b, 1c) as this whole question 1 is marked by the same person. - I may be wrong about this, this is just how my teacher explained marking to me.

Hope this helps

[isaacdelatorre]

Hi

So for the HSC extended response questions, is one of them a report and the other an essay? Also, is it true that you can write the essay question as a business report? I was told this but am unsure if it is a good idea...

Thanks!

Hey Phebsh,

Sorry for the late reply everyone, I've had these tabs open but never got around to answering each question.
So, the actual HSC exam is broken up int 4 sections (like most other exams) Section 1 is multiple choice, Section 2 is short answers, Section 3 is a business report (which must be written in a business report format) and Section 4 is an extended response which is basically like an essay which you include case studies in. This can also be written as a business report if you wish - I never did as I felt this structure was too limiting in what I wanted to say; but it is up to your personal preference.

Hope this helps

[kneehaha]

Hey,

Half yearlies are just over a month away and for business, the exam will include operations as we've already been assesed on finance. I was just wondering if you have any tips as this will one of my first exams going towards my HSC. i feel confident with business studies, but if there are any tips they will be greatly appreciated

[Mathew587]

Hi,
I was wondering as to what the difference between government policies and legal regulations are in operations. Both seem quite similar and I'm hoping for some clarification.
Thanks

[isaacdelatorre]

Hi,
I was wondering as to what the difference between government policies and legal regulations are in operations. Both seem quite similar and I'm hoping for some clarification.
Thanks

Hey Matthew,

This always used to confuse me since they overlap sooo much. Even in prelim when there was a political influence - I could never tell the difference.

The way that I accepted - i still doubt it sometimes- is that government policies is any action by the government covering a range of policies including economic (monetary or fiscal policy) environmental (carbon pricing) and legal (WHS). Whereas legal regulation is compliance for any and all laws including WHS, illicit substances, QANTAS Sale Act etc.

Hope this helps, let me know if you are still confused

[Mathew587]

Hi isaacdelatorre,
No I'm still confused as to which is which. If governments were to make policies, wouldn't it automatically become law to follow them i.e. WHS which is both a policy and a law according to you example.
Thank you

[joyg]

I'm not issacdelatorre but hopefully i can help out
I'll use WHS as an example, WHS itself is a government policy however legal regulations are the steps that a company has to take to comply with WHS such as ensuring that employees are given appropriate safety training and that protective equipment is used (these are known as compliance costs which are the expenses associated with meeting the requirements of legal regulations)
Hopefully this helps you out (sorry if this confuses you)

[Mathew587]

OH alright I see what you mean. If there was a question asking to compare and differentiate between government policies and legal regulations, how would you answer?

[isaacdelatorre]

OH alright I see what you mean. If there was a question asking to compare and differentiate between government policies and legal regulations, how would you answer?

Hi there,

Thank you Joyg for your input! ahha sorry if my answer was a little confusing

I don't really see that as a likely question, purely because they are both influences to a business' operations function and thus the similarities are obvious; as well as the fact that this is not required of you in the syllabus.

But if you did have to answer it, you could point out the similarities that these influences affect operations management in the way that managers must understand these influences in order to respond so that the business doesn't face unnecessary risks and consequences. the differences however are that the government policies are in place and guide the rules/regulations and procedures of the operations management. I.e. WHS guide workplace practices in businesses; think of it like they are the rules that are set (carbon tax, WHS, taxation are all included). In contrast legal regulations are the consequences of not following these government policies - this is where compliance costs come in. They are the judiciary that will punish those who breach laws and policies. That is by no means an answer but an explanation so that you might be able to understand it and come up with your own answer

That was still super confusing, even to me, I've checked every available set of notes and 4 textbooks, they all say roughly the same thing without much distinction between the two. So I don't blame you for being confused, lemme know if you still are