Business Management HL
Business Research Appraisal and Integrity
- 1.
Research preparation only. A hypothetical courier firm wants to investigate whether new routing software would reduce driver stress. Its manager proposes interviewing only two volunteer drivers in the manager's office and recording named answers in a public report. Identify two threats to useful evidence and propose two corresponding improvements. Use ethics as the conceptual lens; do not conduct interviews or invent responses.
[4 marks] · no calculator - 2.
Research preparation only. A hypothetical workshop considers equipment costing $10000 now. Forecast net cash inflows are $6000 at the end of year 1 and $6000 at the end of year 2. Use the supplied discount factors 0.91 and 0.83. Calculate NPV, then recalculate if both inflows are 10% lower. Make a conditional recommendation through a change lens. Assume no residual value, other cash flows or tax.
[4 marks] - 3.
Research preparation only. For a hypothetical retailer's proposed repair service, management forecasts 300 annual jobs, a convenience sample of 20 existing customers yields 15 expressions of interest, and a dated supplier quotation estimates spare-parts costs but excludes delivery. Develop one justified inference, two limitations and one next research step. Use sustainability as the conceptual lens without claiming environmental savings have been measured.
[4 marks] · no calculator - 4.
Research preparation only. A fictional theatre considers a new booking system under a change lens. Option A costs $4000 now and yields an additional end-of-year cash receipt of $12000 with probability 0.60 or $1000 with probability 0.40. Option B costs $2000 now and yields a certain additional end-of-year receipt of $6500. The receipts are after all operating costs but before the initial system cost. Ignore discounting and tax. Calculate each option's expected net monetary value, compare A's worst outcome with B, and state what evidence is needed before recommending A. The probabilities are unverified planning assumptions, not actual research findings or a completed IA.
[4 marks] - 5.
Research preparation only. A fictional ceramics maker asks whether a new kiln improves quality. Its planning dataset lists January, old kiln: 24 defective items out of 1200 inspected; February, new kiln: 18 defective items out of 600 inspected. Assume each month's inspection covers every item produced, and the definition of a defect is unchanged; product mix and staff experience may differ. A manager proposes reporting only 'six fewer defects' and deleting February's inspection record because it weakens the case for investment. Calculate both defect rates, explain what comparison is justified and what causal claim is not, and propose an ethical evidence-handling response. Use ethics as the lens. All records are invented teaching data, not an actual study or completed IA.
[4 marks] - 6.
Research preparation only. A fictional shop's booking-system trial has a proposed Gantt schedule measured from time 0 in working days: A preparation runs from 0 to 2; B staff training from 2 to 5; C system testing from 2 to 4; D launch from 5 to 6. B and C both require A to finish; D requires both B and C to finish. B and C also need the same sole specialist continuously, so they cannot overlap or be split. A and D need no specialist. Identify the resource conflict. Keeping A and B at their proposed times and B before C, find the earliest feasible revised intervals for C and D, and calculate the revised completion time and delay. Explain one evidence check needed before recommending the trial through a change lens. Intervals exclude their finishing endpoint. This is an invented planning exercise, not completed research.
[5 marks] · no calculator