Linking responses to other concepts beyond the initial scope of the question in VCE Business management examinations

One of the more complex skills students can demonstrate is to link their responses to related business management concepts beyond the initial scope of the question.

The scope of the question above focuses on management skills.

Identify two management skills. Describe the way in which Ryley Jones (CEO) has used these skills.

The first part of the responses addresses the question directly.

Another management skill Jones used is decision-making. This involved Jones recognising the need for change at ECF, to become competitive in the airline industry, looking at different options and strategies, and then making an effective choice from the options presented.

The second part of the response links to Porter’s generic strategies

Jones understood that with growing globalisation, ECF would need to diversify to separate themselves from other airlines to gain a competitive advantage. Jones would then analyse different strategies that could help ECF gain a competitive advantage, such as Porter’s low cost strategy and differentiation strategy. Ultimately, Jones made the choice to use the differentiation strategy, to make ECF the first environmentally sustainable airline, in order to help ECF become more competitive and enhance their performance.

Linking to related business management concepts demonstrates a holistic understanding of business management knowledge. Examiner reports have consistently identified this as an important skill to score full marks for certain questions.

Discover more questions where you can link to other related concepts with the Business Management Complete Preparation rubrics.