HSC Business Studies Question Thread

[Juliesokha]

Hi,

Can someone please mark my responses?

1. Discuss the balance between cost and quality in operations strategy [4 marks]
Cost and quality are both profoundly considered as factors which can contribute to the success of the business. Spending on cheaper costs of production process through choosing different suppliers with cheaper supplies or raw materials help the business to minimise its expenses. While producing high quality products can ensure the business in increasing in sales, brand loyalty and lead the business to success. Therefore, in the aim of sustain the business competitive advantage, ensuring the quality of the products is the main focus which means producing high quality products demand for higher costs in the production process. As a result, these two objectives need to be balanced in the strategy to sustain and achieve the roles of cost leadership and products differentiation of the business.

2. Explain potential conflicts between short-term and long-term financial objectives [4 marks]
Both long and short term objectives are carried out in the aim of achieving the business goals and objectives, leading the business to succeeding against its competitors. However, the desire of expanding the business in the long run requires the business to saves on overall costs of labours, equipment, production process and using the profits to invest in the expansion of the business. As a result, this conflicts with the short term objectives of the business to increase its profitability which means the profits are going to be saved and spent within the next few years of the business life cycle.

Correct me please if I am wrong somewhere 

[_____]

Hi,

Can someone please mark my responses?

1. Discuss the balance between cost and quality in operations strategy [4 marks]
Cost and quality are both profoundly considered as factors which can contribute to the success of the business. Spending on cheaper costs of production process through choosing different suppliers with cheaper supplies or raw materials help the business to minimise its expenses. While producing high quality products can ensure the business in increasing in sales, brand loyalty and lead the business to success. Therefore, in the aim of sustain the business competitive advantage, ensuring the quality of the products is the main focus which means producing high quality products demand for higher costs in the production process. As a result, these two objectives need to be balanced in the strategy to sustain and achieve the roles of cost leadership and products differentiation of the business.

2. Explain potential conflicts between short-term and long-term financial objectives [4 marks]
Both long and short term objectives are carried out in the aim of achieving the business goals and objectives, leading the business to succeeding against its competitors. However, the desire of expanding the business in the long run requires the business to saves on overall costs of labours, equipment, production process and using the profits to invest in the expansion of the business. As a result, this conflicts with the short term objectives of the business to increase its profitability which means the profits are going to be saved and spent within the next few years of the business life cycle.

Correct me please if I am wrong somewhere 

Warning: I'm not a marker so I'm not an expert on what they'd look for in short answer questions. But I'll tell you what I think which might help. Others may also have some input to help you improve.

For 1:

Few grammar mistakes/typos like "...can ensure the business in increasing in sales" - probably just happened because you were typing them out. Not sure how much markers really care about this but it can seem a bit careless if done repeatedly. I think you've got the gist of the response right but it could be worded a bit better. What (I think) they're looking for in that question is basically you can have:

Cost leadership (lower costs, lower quality, lower profit margin, lower price) OR product differentiation (higher costs, higher quality, higher profit margin, higher price).

You've alluded to both of these and the balance that needs to be achieved (depending on the business's strategy) which is great. But the last sentence: "As a result, these two objectives need to be balanced in the strategy to sustain and achieve the roles of cost leadership and products differentiation of the business." Again I'd just reword this: "Thus, businesses must achieve a balance between cost and quality in operations strategy [refer to the terms of the question] in order to sustain their competitive advantage in the marketplace." You could also mention outsourcing in discussion of how businesses lower costs through new suppliers, and customer perceptions of quality which I believe is a syllabus dot point (you've also alluded to that with mention of brand image but it could be clearer imo).

For 2:

"Both long and short term objectives are carried out in the aim of achieving the business goals and objectives" - this comes across as a bit repetitive. My improvement: "Businesses use short terms and long term objectives in order to guide activities and strategies"

Again I think you've got the general idea but I'd reword it (my opinion). I'd also include a direct example, mentioning two of the five financial goals (growth, liquidity, profitability, solvency, efficiency). You've mentioned profitability which is good but also mention growth rather than "expansion" so they know you know what you're talking about. Here's my example:

"At times, long term financial objectives (term from the question) can conflict with short term goals. For example, in order to grow the business in the long run, significant capital is required to invest in current and non-current assets such as raw materials and facilities. However, in the short term, this may hurt business liquidity or profitability. This is because retained profits and available cash flows must be reinvested for growth, forgoing finance that the business owner(s) would otherwise retain as profit or use for covering day-to-day expenses to shore up liquidity."

The difference (so that you know how to improve directly):

• Mention the question terms (financial objectives rather than business objectives)
• Mention specific financial objectives
• More concise/easier to understand sentences (I might be being harsh on yours - have a re-read of them and see if you can improve them)

Hope that helps.

[isaacdelatorre]

Hi,

Can someone please mark my responses?

Hi there, I'll put my comments below.

1. Discuss the balance between cost and quality in operations strategy [4 marks]
Cost and quality are both profoundly considered as factors which can contribute to the success of the business. Not sure if this is discussing the balance but instead saying that they are both importantSpending on cheaper costs of production process through choosing different suppliers with cheaper supplies or raw materials help the business to minimise its expenses. While producing high quality products can ensure the business in increasing in sales, brand loyalty and lead the business to success. Here would be a good point to say that producing higher quality would incur greater costs due to having more expensive inputsTherefore, in the aim of sustain the business competitive advantage, ensuring the quality of the products is the main focus which means producing high quality products demand for higher costs in the production process. As a result, these two objectives need to be balanced in the strategy to sustain and achieve the roles of cost leadership and products differentiation of the business. Tell me a bit more about what you mean by the balance

Notice how the directive verb said discuss - which means to provide points for and against - so try to have a bit of a both sides in this answer.
Also this question is worth 4 marks - for every short answer question try to think of what those 4 marks are firstly before you write so you can plan out your answer around those 4 main points. What do you think those 4 points?? Definitely reply and see if you could plan out your answer!!
But overall this is really good effort - you just need a bigger discussion and to link the first sentence (which is the beginning of a discussion)
 to the rest of it.

2. Explain potential conflicts between short-term and long-term financial objectives [4 marks]
Both long and short term objectives are carried out in the aim of achieving the business goals and objectives, leading the business to succeeding against its competitors. However, the desire of expanding the business you should definitely use the the syllabus words -
 growth, solvency, liquidity etc. that would've have been great!! in the long run requires the business to saves on overall costs of labours, equipment, production process and using the profits to invest in the expansion of the business. The clash isn't directly that they would have to save its more that they would have to invest funds which jeopardises availability of funds and profitability As a result, this conflicts with the short term objectives of the business to increase its profitability which means the profits are going to be saved and spent within the next few years of the business life cycle. Great that you used an example to show these potential conflicts but it would have been really good if you could have explained it more generally as to how short term and long term objectives could clash and then bring in 1-2 examples of clashes that would have lifted you to full marks

Really good job - I'd really love to see more of your work!!

[ekhan_01]

Hi!

Can you pls edit my answer and give me a few pointers on how to increase my marks to get a 6/6 // and hypothetically what mark would you give this answer

Analyse the role of exchange and interest rates on global financial management on a business
Global transactions require currency conversion as most countries have their own currency. Exchange rates is the ratio of one currency to another; it tells us how much a unit of one currency is worth in terms of another. Interest rates are the cost of borrowing money. Overseas interest rates are often lower than Australian interest rates. Borrowing overseas can be cheaper, however the loan must be repaid in the foreign currency. This method is risky as the exchange rate fluctuates, and can be a cause of concern since they can increase costs for businesses and therefore lead to a reduction in profits. There are financial management strategies such as hedging and derivatives to minimise risk of exchange rate fluctuations.

Thank you!

[isaacdelatorre]

Hi!

Can you pls edit my answer and give me a few pointers on how to increase my marks to get a 6/6 // and hypothetically what mark would you give this answer

Thank you!

Hey there,

Comments are below

Analyse the role of exchange and interest rates on global financial management on a business
Global transactions require currency conversion as most countries have their own currency. Exchange rates are the ratio of one currency to another; it tells us how much a unit of one currency is worth in terms of another. Interest rates are the cost of borrowing money. Overseas interest rates are often lower than Australian interest rates. Borrowing overseas can be cheaper, however the loan must be repaid in the foreign currency. This method is risky as the exchange rate fluctuates, and can be a cause of concern since they can increase costs for businesses and therefore lead to a reduction in profits. There are financial management strategies such as hedging and derivatives to minimise risk of exchange rate fluctuations.

so overall this response is pretty strong - it could do with a little of a change to structure and how you set it out so that you are definitely hitting all parts of the question. You should try to split up exchange rates and interest rates cause they both have differing effects on financial management - talk about what exchange rates are then how they effect businesses and how businesses can respond and repeat for interest rates - that should get you 6/6. Remember analyse means to Identify components and the relationship between them; draw out and relate implications - so you should identify what each of the components are and the relationship between each concept (exchange rates, financial management and interest rates)

[Juliesokha]

Hey,

2nd Attempt! Could you please check it once again?

1.   Discuss the balance between cost and quality in operations strategy
In the aim of achieving competitive advantage, the strategic role of the operational function needs to focus on provide cost leadership and products differentiation. However, as if the business considers to focus on its role of cost leadership, there are needs for the business to minimise its costs of production in the transformation process which can be achieved through choosing different cheaper suppliers, offshoring parts of its operational function, reducing the number of employees to enhance on the effective method of the business spending its money. However, the desire to produce higher quality products to increase in profitability, the business would incur greater costs due to having more expensive inputs. Therefore, incurring great costs in the production process will help the business to enhance on the quality of the products, leading to high quality and price.

Can you also please suggest a relevant case study for this question as well? I just couldn't think of anything! Thank you!!

[mattmuzz]

heyy i was just wondering what is a simple essay structure to use for both a business essay and report

[MisterNeo]

heyy i was just wondering what is a simple essay structure to use for both a business essay and report

Hey!
I recommend Isaac's guide on how to write a business report.
Section 3 is always report structure, whereas Section 4 (case study) can be either a report or essay structure.
You would follow the general structure of:
-Executive Summary
-General Overview (for case studies)
-Body- Have the main points from syllabus as headings.
-Conclusion/Summary

[kiiaaa]

hey guys,

If I want to recommend price points as a strategy in a business report as a pricing method for a new range of watches being the scenario - what are the benefits of this method? like the textbook and all these notes say the same thing that
-Price points are selling products only at certainly predetermined prices 
- Used by retailers, especially clothing stores and boutiques
- Price will be set regardless of how much they cost at wholesale
I cant find any benefits to say to use in my recommend answer to justify my choice
could you please help me?

EDIT: I also have another question being seen a lot of questions asking for factors to be considered during the acquisition process and I was wondering what are these factors? I've never heard of these and I am really confused
thank you

thank you )

[Opengangs]

hey guys,

If I want to recommend price points as a strategy in a business report as a pricing method for a new range of watches being the scenario - what are the benefits of this method? like the textbook and all these notes say the same thing that
-Price points are selling products only at certainly predetermined prices 
- Used by retailers, especially clothing stores and boutiques
- Price will be set regardless of how much they cost at wholesale
I cant find any benefits to say to use in my recommend answer to justify my choice
could you please help me?

EDIT: I also have another question being seen a lot of questions asking for factors to be considered during the acquisition process and I was wondering what are these factors? I've never heard of these and I am really confused
thank you

thank you )

Price points can be beneficial to the consumer as it allows assurance and consistency of pricing towards the items. For instance, since the pricing of the watches are consistent regardless of warehouse pricing, it allows the customer to feel less offending when prices fluctuate over the economic peaks and troughs.

[isaacdelatorre]

Hey,

2nd Attempt! Could you please check it once again?

1.   Discuss the balance between cost and quality in operations strategy

Can you also please suggest a relevant case study for this question as well? I just couldn't think of anything! Thank you!!

Hey Julie,

Comments down below:

In the aim of achieving competitive advantage, the strategic role of the operational function needs to focus on provide cost leadership and products differentiationAwesome that you are bringing in this business terminology, but make sure you are addressing the question!!. However, as if the business considers to focus on its role of cost leadership, there are needs for the business to minimise its costs of production in the transformation process which can be achieved through choosing different cheaper suppliers, offshoring parts of its operational function, and reducing the number of employees to enhance on the effective method of the business spending its moneyLink this to how the aim to develop cost leadership and have a lower cost product can sometimes create a decrease in quality due to the factors you mentioned - thats what this question is asking, the relationship between cost and quality and how it is hard to have low cost and high quality. However, the desire to produce higher quality products to increase in profitability, could be argued that both can increase profitability so try to be careful with this the business would incur greater costs due to having more expensive inputs. Therefore, incurring great costs in the production process will help the business to enhance on the quality of the products, leading to high quality and price. You start to deal a bit with the relationship between the two here - great job!! but you should try to integrate that throughout your response - also you really don't need to be talking about product differentiation as you do in your topic sentence so i would maybe leave that out

This is an improvement!!!! keep in mind im a very harsh marker cos i really want kids to succeed and greatly improve, not just change a few words and be done but really pull apart responses and see whats right and wrong

Any case study will do really --> e.g. Qantas, to make it cheaper flights in economy class, they use cheaper inputs like average aeroplane food (use better words than this ahha) as well as sacrificing quality through seats that only recline part way with not much leg room; whereas a higher quality service like business/first class costs a lot more for the business in the expensive alcohol/foods/entertainment/fancy seats etc. as well as costing customers more --> thats a really simple example of the relationship between cost and quality, Hope this helps

[phebsh]

Hey there, so my teacher told the class that one of the extended response questions in the trials is going to be about HR influences, specifically about global influences. Any tips on how to prepare for it? Thanks!

[Juliesokha]

Hi, 
Thank you, Issac for marking my response!! 
Anyways, can anyone please help me with pricing strategies? Especially price points!!! 

[Opengangs]

Hi, 
Thank you, Issac for marking my response!! 
Anyways, can anyone please help me with pricing strategies? Especially price points!!! 

Important to note: Price strategies are not the same as pricing methods!! Don't get them confused

Pricing strategies: There are four main pricing strategies a business can implement: price skimming, price penetration, loss leader, and price points.

Price skimming: refers to the implementation whereby a business sets the introductory price at its highest. This is used to maximise the profit from early customers, and after the satisfaction of these early investors are met, the price is lowered in order to attract new customers. Apple and other technological companies use this strategy, so that's why it's relatively expensive in the product's introduction stage.

Price penetration: refers to the implementation whereby a business sets the introductory price at its lowest. This is used to rapidly increase and reach a wider market share, and is used as a way to entice customers into their product, due to its price.

Loss leader: refers to where a product's price is at or less than its manufacturing costs. For instance, if a book costed $10 to make and is sold for $7, this strategy is known as "loss leader". Businesses usually use this strategy in order to entice and attract customers, and they are usually used alongside extra purchases. A common example of this strategy would be at phoning companies selling phones for free. Initially, this idea of free phones is a strategy called loss leader, and is used as a way to attract these new customers. On top of these, marketers will attempt to sell other goods and services, which can lead to a profit to the business.

Price points: is a pricing strategy where marketers will set the product's price at a predetermined level. This is regardless of the economic standpoint, as well as the manufacturing price. This ensures that customers are aware of the prices, and the consistency of these prices are enticing to the customers in their own rights. Clothing stores selling clothes at $49.99, $59.99, etc. are all examples of price points, ensuring that the wide range of pricing is attractive to these customers.

Marketers often use this as a simple mechanism for analysing trends within the product, because the pricing's factor is always constant.

[isaacdelatorre]

Hey there, so my teacher told the class that one of the extended response questions in the trials is going to be about HR influences, specifically about global influences. Any tips on how to prepare for it? Thanks!

Hey there Phebsh,

Super lucky that your teacher has told what you dot point to specify!
I really recommend that you know these influences in depth and have case studies ready for each one. Look at how the influlences affects the business and then look at what business have done in response. It is also a good idea to evaluate whether or not they effectively dealt with the global influences.
This is a good kind of template for all of the other influences in all the topics!!

I'd be happy to read anything that you have prepared for your trial!!

Good luck

Important to note: Price strategies are not the same as pricing methods!! Don't get them confused

Pricing strategies: There are four main pricing strategies a business can implement: price skimming, price penetration, loss leader, and price points.

Price skimming: refers to the implementation whereby a business sets the introductory price at its highest. This is used to maximise the profit from early customers, and after the satisfaction of these early investors are met, the price is lowered in order to attract new customers. Apple and other technological companies use this strategy, so that's why it's relatively expensive in the product's introduction stage.

Price penetration: refers to the implementation whereby a business sets the introductory price at its lowest. This is used to rapidly increase and reach a wider market share, and is used as a way to entice customers into their product, due to its price.

Loss leader: refers to where a product's price is at or less than its manufacturing costs. For instance, if a book costed $10 to make and is sold for $7, this strategy is known as "loss leader". Businesses usually use this strategy in order to entice and attract customers, and they are usually used alongside extra purchases. A common example of this strategy would be at phoning companies selling phones for free. Initially, this idea of free phones is a strategy called loss leader, and is used as a way to attract these new customers. On top of these, marketers will attempt to sell other goods and services, which can lead to a profit to the business.

Price points: is a pricing strategy where marketers will set the product's price at a predetermined level. This is regardless of the economic standpoint, as well as the manufacturing price. This ensures that customers are aware of the prices, and the consistency of these prices are enticing to the customers in their own rights. Clothing stores selling clothes at $49.99, $59.99, etc. are all examples of price points, ensuring that the wide range of pricing is attractive to these customers.

Marketers often use this as a simple mechanism for analysing trends within the product, because the pricing's factor is always constant.

Awesome work OpenGangs!! Thanks for this!!