Syllabus: International Baccalaureate - Individuals and Societies - Business management (Higher Level)
Module: Unit 1: Introduction to Business Management
Lesson: 1.5 Growth and Evolution

Introduction

This article supports teachers delivering the International Baccalaureate (IB) Business Management (Higher Level) curriculum, focusing specifically on Unit 1.5: Growth and Evolution. The topic explores how and why businesses expand, including internal and external strategies, as well as the implications for stakeholders and long-term strategy. It aligns directly with the IB Diploma Programme (DP) syllabus and prepares students to analyse business decisions through both theoretical frameworks and real-world application.

As part of the Individuals and Societies group, this unit builds foundational understanding for broader decision-making themes and economic systems. The topic supports cross-curricular relevance while delivering key competencies for workplace readiness and career education – a critical priority under Gatsby Benchmark 4.

Key Concepts

The IB DP syllabus outlines several essential subtopics within Growth and Evolution. Teachers should focus on ensuring students can demonstrate knowledge and application of:

• Economies and diseconomies of scale – Understanding internal (technical, financial, managerial) and external economies and how they influence cost structures.

• Internal (organic) growth – Methods such as increased output, wider product range, and market development.

• External growth strategies – Including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic alliances, and franchising.

• Integration types – Horizontal, vertical (forward and backward), and conglomerate integrations, with analysis of synergies and challenges.

• Franchising – A distinct model of growth that balances control with scalability.

• Globalisation and multinational companies (MNCs) – Opportunities and strategic pressures of international expansion.

• Impacts of growth – Stakeholder conflicts, culture clashes, overtrading, and loss of control.

• Relevant models – The Ansoff Matrix for strategic growth direction and other tools such as SWOT or PEST for context.

These topics should be approached through inquiry-based discussion and scenario analysis, with an emphasis on long-term planning and the commercial consequences of business decisions.

Real-World Relevance

Growth and evolution are not abstract business theory – they underpin decisions made by every major organisation today.

• Amazon’s global expansion through acquisition (e.g. Whole Foods) is a clear example of external growth for market penetration and diversification.

• Spotify’s acquisition of podcasting companies like Anchor illustrates horizontal integration aimed at strengthening core offerings.

• Costa Coffee’s franchising model in emerging markets highlights controlled global expansion without direct investment risk.

• Unilever’s divestment and restructuring strategy provides a powerful case of corporate consolidation to realign with sustainability goals.

These examples can be brought into class through news articles, company reports, or live simulation events that replicate the pressures and trade-offs faced by executives.

Enterprise Skills’ simulations, mapped directly to the IB syllabus, recreate these growth dilemmas in student-friendly formats. Students can role-play as business managers evaluating whether to grow organically, merge, or franchise – and experience the stakeholder consequences of each choice.

How It’s Assessed

Assessment in the IB Business Management HL course follows the DP framework:

• Paper 1 (Case Study-Based): Often features growth strategy scenarios. Students must apply course concepts to a pre-released case study. Command terms such as analyse, evaluate, and recommend are central.

• Paper 2 (Data Response and Essay): Growth-related topics appear in Section C, requiring structured responses with evidence and critical analysis.

• Internal Assessment (IA): Students conduct real-world research on a business issue – often selecting growth strategy or franchise analysis as a focus. Teachers should encourage strong conceptual framing and real data.

Key assessment tips:

• Emphasise use of business tools (e.g. Ansoff Matrix) in responses.

• Train students on IB command terms, especially discuss, justify, and recommend.

• Provide scaffolds for structuring arguments using stakeholder perspectives and short- vs long-term impacts.

Enterprise Skills Integration

The theme of Growth and Evolution aligns naturally with Enterprise Skills’ strategic pillars:

• Decision-Making and Problem-Solving: Students assess strategic options under conditions of uncertainty – mergers, franchising, joint ventures – balancing risk, return, and stakeholder interests.

• Commercial Awareness: They explore how scale affects cost structures, market share, and operational complexity. This reflects real boardroom discussions about sustainable growth and organisational capacity.

• Workplace Readiness: Students practise how professional decisions get made, building confidence in evaluating trade-offs and presenting reasoned arguments – valuable for both assessment and the workplace.

Business simulations and tools within Skills Hub Futures bring these skills to life by having students operate fictional companies that must choose between organic growth, M&A, or franchise models – with financials, stakeholder pressure, and external factors layered in for realism.

Careers Links

This unit connects directly to multiple Gatsby Benchmarks:

• Benchmark 4 – Curriculum is explicitly linked to real-world growth challenges, business roles, and strategic decisions.

• Benchmark 5 – Guest speakers and simulation events incorporate insights from professionals in mergers and international strategy.

• Benchmark 6 – Enterprise Skills’ simulations simulate actual workplace scenarios such as expansion risk assessments or stakeholder board meetings.

Relevant career pathways include:

• Business strategy consultant

• Financial analyst

• Operations manager

• Franchising coordinator

• International marketing executive

These roles value commercial awareness, data interpretation, and the ability to weigh complex growth decisions – all developed through this unit.

Teaching Notes

Top Tips:

• Use recent case studies (e.g. Disney-Fox merger) to illustrate complex integrations.

• Facilitate group debates on growth strategy choices for real or fictional companies.

• Use role-play to explore stakeholder reactions to growth (e.g. employees vs shareholders).

Common Pitfalls:

• Students often confuse internal vs external growth – reinforce with concrete examples.

• Overemphasis on definitions without application – practise applying models like Ansoff to live case studies.

• Weak stakeholder analysis – prompt students to go beyond “owners want profit” to nuanced impacts.

Extension Activities:

• Set up a simulation where students must choose and defend a growth strategy for a startup.

• Research and present on failed mergers (e.g. AOL-Time Warner) – what went wrong?