Business & Management
These subject guidelines should be read in conjunction with the “Introduction”, “Outline” and
“Details—all essays” sections of this guide.
Overview
An extended essay in business and management provides students with an opportunity to carry out in-
depth research in an area of personal interest relating to business and management. This is likely to be
in the context of the Diploma Programme business and management course, but students may also
want to consider issues that fall outside the scope of this. For example, they may want to undertake a
detailed investigation into work relating to a specific regional/national context, or perhaps practical
applications relating to the work of a particular management theorist. Whichever research area is
chosen, it should be firmly rooted in the realms of accepted business and management theory.
The extended essay provides students with an opportunity to develop research skills by reviewing
business theory, concepts and principles, and critically analysing how these have been put into practice
in the business world and the resultant impact on business activity. This will involve broad and detailed
research using a range of sources. Excessive reliance on a single type of source, such as a company’s
annual report, is unlikely to give students sufficient scope or breadth in their analysis of the research
question. The extended essay requires the application of business theory, tools and techniques to
produce a coherent and structured analytical essay that effectively addresses the research question.
Choice of topic
Students should undertake an extended essay that uses the core principles of business and management
as a basis for researching a particular topic. In their choice of topic, students are strongly advised to
ensure they develop a research question that enables them to carry out relevant research and apply
business theory, tools and techniques. It is important that the research question is sufficiently focused
to allow adequate treatment within the word limit.
The following examples of titles for business and management extended essays are intended as
guidance only. The pairings illustrate that focused topics (indicated by the first title) should be
encouraged rather than broad topics (indicated by the second title).
• “What motivates employees? Can Herzberg’s motivation theory help explain the improvement
in productivity at XYZ Ltd?” is better than “Have motivational techniques benefited XYZ
Ltd?”.
• “How significant has the contribution of Just-in-Time production been in improving
efficiency in the textile industry?” is better than “How effective are Just-in-Time production
techniques?”.
• “Why has the practice of publishing environmental audits been adopted more widely in
Country X than in Country Y?” is better than “Why do firms publish environmental audits?”.
The topic may be chosen because of an interest in issues raised in the classroom, aspects of a student’s
own experience, or current events. The choice and treatment of the topic must, however, ensure that the
student can address all the assessment criteria. An essay that is purely descriptive must be avoided:
analysis and evaluation are critically important.
It may help in achieving this if the student further defines the topic chosen for study in the form of a
research question, followed by a statement of intent that indicates which methodology is going to be
used in answering the question. In this way, the approach to the topic chosen may be even further
clarified. Some examples of this could be as follows.