BM HL Paper 3 Y2 s2

Business Management
Higher Level
Paper 3
1 hour 15 minutes Candidate Session Number
Instructions to Candidates
● Do not open this examination paper until
instructed to do so.
● Read the stimulus material carefully.
● Answer all questions.
● You are permitted access to a calculator for
this paper.
● The maximum mark for this examination
paper is [25 marks].
Name: _______________________
Date: _______________________
Venus Trades
Read the resources and answer the questions that follow.
Resource 1: NGO Review Website
Venus Trades is a registered nonprofit organization founded in 2018.
Mission and overview: Venus Trades is a training program that prepares women for
work in the skilled trades related to construction, including electrical work, welding,
and much more. Programs range from 10 weeks for an apprenticeship track to 1 year
for the most complete job training for full-time employment. Venus Trades aims to
contribute to UN sustainable development goals 5, 8, and 10 by increasing equality
of opportunity for women.
Overall Rating: B (above

average) Finance Score: 80/100
Transparency and accountability: 95/100
Participant feedback: 84/100
Impact and results score: 95/100
Key financial data:
Current ratio 1.03:1
Gearing ratio 22%
Annual expense growth 7.1%
Annual revenue and funding growth 6.2%
Sources of funding
Fees from firms 35%
Corporate and NGO donations 35%
Graduate payback (2% of first-year 25%

employment earnings, up to max of
$1500)
Local government grants 5%
Salary of key people
Executive Director $104,000 (4.8% of

expenses)
Assistant Director $81,000 (3.7% of

expenses)
Resource 2: Excerpt from a radio interview with the executive

director
Interviewer: Your expense ratio on administrative costs versus expenses going

towards delivering the training program is…decent. I checked it against several of the
A and A+ rated NGOs, and your administrative costs are 5-10% higher. Expenses are
rising pretty quickly. Are you financially sustainable?
Director: I think we need to keep this in context. From the beginning, we cut out many
of the organizational layers that a lot of schools have, and we keep the bureaucracy to
a bare minimum. Many of our positions, including teaching roles, actually use
performance-related pay in a way that isn’t common in schools. We spend very little on
above-the-line promotion because we’re really good at public relations, and we get a
ton of great publicity through word of mouth. But a large portion of our budget will of
course need to go to salaries for instructors and administration, so the expenses will
be higher than other nonprofits. Our donations have declined a bit, but we also don’t
want to rely on donations, and our revenue from fees that firms pay us is rising.
Interviewer: And you’re not concerned about criticism over the money that these
women, many of them from low-income families, have to pay back? Or that you’re
helping businesses find cheap labour?
Director: Not at all. The money students pay back to us costs them much less than
the cost of traditional trade school, and many of them will soon be earning well above
the median income. They’re helping to open these skilled trade fields to other
women. Firms pay for access to our hiring platform because they see the high quality
of the program, but many graduates get jobs without using our platform at all.
Resource 3: Email from the assistant director to the executive

director
Hi Priya,
I have a few items that we need to add to the next board meeting agenda.
1. Drop the national government grant application, or make the program

free?
The national government is only going to give us a grant if we make the
program free, and the funding level would be based on the number of women
who complete the program. If we make it free, then I think we need to increase
the fees for firms to use our hiring platform, and probably add a fee for
students who don’t complete the program.
2. Develop a relationship with a temporary contract recruiter?

Our mission will always be to get women into meaningful careers, particularly
in unionized positions. But many big businesses are going with a shamrock
organizational structure, eager to hire people as “private contractors” instead
of direct employees with benefits. A few of our largest corporate sponsors are
doing a lot of their hiring through temporary placement agencies. It’s not great,
but you’ve seen how many women in some of our programs are resorting to
gig work.
3. Cut our training programs that are in the bottom 10% of hiring rates for
graduates?
Our graduate satisfaction ratings are being dragged down by fields like
plumbing where firms are really cutting back on new hires. I don’t like this
option though, because I think employment in a lot of these fields will rebound
soon. This would also cut our costs and let us focus on the trades with the
greatest market need.
Resource 4: Group text from recent graduates
Gina: By a show of hands, how many of us are doing gig work right now? Rahel: Me
Akiko: Me. Not enough hours. Sara: Me. I can barely pay my rent.
Felicia: Not me - I’m full-time in plumbing. Juanita: Full-time plumbing for me too.
Gina: Gig work for me. Felicia and Juanita - you two are super lucky. No one is hiring in
plumbing right now.
Sara: Wish we’d known that when we were in the program, right? Gig work just isn’t
paying enough.
Rahel: I’m actually OK with my gigs - I need the flexibility because of my family life.
Resource 5: Social media post from Venus Trades
So proud of our strong women who completed our trade skills programs this year!
Over 400 women are ready to enter full-time work or apprenticeships in 12 different
industries! Here are some numbers:
5% of skilled trade jobs that are filled by women nationally

78% of employers reporting that there is a skilled labour shortage
90% of tradespeople saying being more welcoming to women can alleviate
the labour shortage
86% of tradespeople report satisfaction with their job
29% of annual earnings by electricians above the average earnings of general
population
71% of Venus Trades graduates receiving a new hire bonus
24% of Venus Trades graduates owning their own business within 5 years of
program completion
0% of Venus Trades graduates with student debt from the programme
Answer all the questions
1. Using an appropriate business management theory, describe a human need that

Venus Trades (VT) meets through its trade school. [2]
2. Explain two possible challenges facing VT. [6]
3. Using all the resources provided and your knowledge of business management,
recommend a possible plan of action to ensure the sustainability of VT. [17]

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Business Management

1 hour 15 minutes Candidate Session Number

Read the resources and answer the questions that follow.

Resource 1: NGO Review Website

Venus Trades is a registered nonprofit organization founded in 2018.

Overall Rating: B (above

Current ratio 1.03:1

Gearing ratio 22%

Annual expense growth 7.1%

Annual revenue and funding growth 6.2%

Fees from firms 35%

Corporate and NGO donations 35%

Graduate payback (2% of first-year 25%

Salary of key people

Executive Director $104,000 (4.8% of

Assistant Director $81,000 (3.7% of

Resource 2: Excerpt from a radio interview with the executive

Interviewer: Your expense ratio on administrative costs versus expenses going

Resource 3: Email from the assistant director to the executive

1. Drop the national government grant application, or make the program

2. Develop a relationship with a temporary contract recruiter?

Resource 4: Group text from recent graduates

Resource 5: Social media post from Venus Trades

5% of skilled trade jobs that are filled by women nationally

1. Using an appropriate business management theory, describe a human need that

2. Explain two possible challenges facing VT. [6]

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