Clarification details
Updated December 2017. This clarification has been updated to address issues that have arisen from moderation.
‘Business activity’ refers to the sale of a good or service. It is strongly recommended that students work in groups as working collaboratively allows them to develop team skills while shorting the workload of the business activity. Assessors might choose to have cycle reviews completed by individuals, particularly where it would be useful to differentiate the grades of group members.
Planning and reviews
Business plans need to be completed prior to the first selling phase and written in the future tense. After taking the product to market students review the success, or otherwise, of the activity, with a particular focus on progress towards the SMART objectives. They then consider any changes that need to be made to the plan prior to the second selling phase. These changes will be stated for Achieved and explained for Merit.
The product is then taken to market again prior to students reflecting on the success of the second selling cycle. At Achieved, students will compare actual performance against the plan by stating how well the activity was performed. At Merit, students will discuss reasons behind the variances.
To reach Excellence, students would refine the business plan again. This third version should be such that an outside party could implement the plan in the future.
At all grade levels business knowledge should be evident in the planning and reviews.
Awarding grades
An important aspect of student reviews is reporting on progress towards SMART objectives, with a focus on sales/profit targets, the community focus, and other planned outcomes. Reflections must be linked back to the planning. At Merit, reviews will be in-depth, focusing on reasons behind the success or otherwise of their objectives and planning.
A plan and review at Excellence would have all or almost all sections explained in detail, with integrated business knowledge. Integration in the plan would enable a comprehensive review. For example, a review might state, “We chose to set our price at $12.50. This skimming pricing strategy suited our target audience of foodies in the high-income bracket. The price was acceptable to our customers at the farmers’ market as we sold out on both Saturdays”.
As reviews are inextricably linked to the planning of the activity, a plan at Achieved that lacks the planning detail and depth of business knowledge required at Merit is unlikely to be able to generate an in-depth review. Similarly, a plan at Merit is unlikely to be able to generate a comprehensive review.