“Business shapes the world. It is capable of changing society in almost any way you can imagine.”
- Dame Anita Roddick (1942 - 2007), Founder of The Body Shop

Businesses exist to satisfy the needs and wants of their customers by selling goods and services, usually in return for profit. This section of the syllabus considers the main functions of business organizations ( human resource management, finance and accounts, marketing, and operations management).

The learning outcomes (or assessment objectives) for this section of the IB Business Management syllabus are:

• The nature of business (AO1)

• Primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary sectors (AO2)
• Entrepreneurship (AO2)*

• Challenges and opportunities for starting up a business (AO2)

* This topic does not appear in the syllabus released in February 2022, but has been included in the revised version published in May 2022.

 Teacher only box

Note to teachers

Please note the following sections in the previous guide (final exams in N23) do not feature in the new guide (first exams in M24):

• Reasons for starting up a business or an enterprise (AO2)

• Common steps in the process of starting up a business or an enterprise (AO2)

Also, note the the following learning outcome is no longer in Unit 1.1 of the new course, but is now part of the Business Management Toolkit:

• The elements of a business plan (AO2)

Please be aware of the above if/when using resources for the previous course, including past IB exam papers and mark schemes.