Unit 4: Global business operations

5 dot points across 5 inquiry questions, in syllabus order. Each dot point has a focused answer, with exam-style questions and worked answers where available.

People: what features and traits make managers successful in global business?

Explain the features and traits of successful management, including management functions, roles, skills, styles and personal traits, and how they apply when managing across countries and cultures

The functions of management (planning, organising, leading, controlling), the skills and roles managers use, management styles from autocratic to laissez-faire, the personal traits of effective managers (vision, integrity, adaptability, emotional and cultural intelligence) and how these apply when leading global teams.

8 min read →

Management: how do businesses plan strategically to achieve their long-term goals?

Explain the strategic planning process, use a SWOT analysis to assess a business's position, and describe the key features of a strategic plan

The steps of strategic planning (vision and mission, environmental analysis, objectives, strategies, implementation, monitoring and evaluation), how to carry out and use a SWOT analysis, and the key features of a strategic plan, with a worked Australian example.

9 min read →

Management: how does technology help businesses operate and compete in global markets?

Explain the role of technology in global markets, including e-commerce, digital marketing, communication, supply chain and operations technology, and assess the benefits and risks of using technology to operate globally

How e-commerce, digital marketing, cloud communication, supply chain and logistics technology, automation and data analytics let businesses reach and serve global customers, the benefits (reach, efficiency, lower costs, data) and the risks (cyber attacks, privacy law, cost, reliance on platforms, job impacts).

8 min read →

Environments: how do ethics, economic conditions and financial institutions shape the way businesses operate globally?

Explain ethical practice in a global context, the economic factors that affect business operations (such as interest rates, exchange rates, inflation and the business cycle), and the types and roles of financial institutions that businesses use

What ethical practice looks like for a business operating across countries (supply chains, bribery, environment, tax, marketing), how interest rates, exchange rates, inflation, unemployment and the business cycle affect operations, and the roles of banks, the Reserve Bank, the ASX, finance companies and superannuation funds for businesses.

9 min read →

Management: how do businesses analyse their industry and build a competitive advantage?

Apply Porter's five forces to analyse the competitive environment of an industry, and explain how businesses achieve competitive advantage through cost leadership, differentiation and focus

How to apply Porter's five forces (rivalry, threat of new entrants, threat of substitutes, bargaining power of buyers and of suppliers) to judge how attractive an industry is, and how cost leadership, differentiation and focus strategies create competitive advantage, with a worked Australian example.

9 min read →