Analysis Skills Assessment
| Paper 1 | Paper 2 | AS Total |
| 20% | 20% | 20% |
What is Analysis?
Analysis can be:
- breaking down business situations, issues and problems and searching for causes, impact and consequences
the impact of raising prices may be to decrease sales depending on the price elasticity of demand
- making sense of qualitative and quantitative business information. This will could be using the data in a case study to show the impact of falling sales or interpreting calculations.
- drawing valid inferences and making valid generalisations.
There is high unemployment in Country X so we can make the generalisation that incomes will be low and there will be low demand for high price luxury products.
Chains of Analysis
Analysis does not work in isolation and is awarded after relevant knowledge and application points have been included in our answer. To effectively score analysis marks chains of analysis are highly recommended. Examiners continually refer to chains of analysis or chains of reasoning when showing top mark answers.
Chains of analysis take us from knowledge, add context (also known as application) and then develop the analysis of the business situation, issue or problem.
Chains of analysis are the building blocks of all business essays and are crucial in AS and A2 business. So let’s have a look at how it’s done using this paper 2 question on an above the line promotional method F5G could use to gain new customers.
You could choose any mass media method of advertising like radio, TV or newspapers and magazine. What is absolutely crucial is choosing one way you can apply to the case study,[F5G] that will promote 5G to new customers. Without application, you can’t access analysis marks in many of the questions on paper 2. We also make sure we have a laser focus on the specific question – analysis of how to promote 5g to new customers. Here we use:
TV advertising
The next step in the chain of analysis is adding application, so we link to the case study
Can highlight offers like the free phones for new customers
We then analyse by showing the impact of using TV advertising to promote to new customers.
which can stimulate interest in upgrading to F5G.
Our final step in the chain of analysis is developed analysis, essentially taking our analysis one step further to examine the cause/impact or consequences.
The price per customer is low so the message can reach many new customers.
We’ll see chains of analysis again and again throughout the exemplar solutions, the sooner we grasp the concept the sooner we’ll start unlocking higher marks.
⭐⭐⭐Analysis Pro Tips ⭐⭐⭐
Developed Analysis
Remember to take the analysis one step further to ensure we achieve developed analysis rather than limited analysis. If in doubt, add another step in the analysis to make sure the examiner can award marks for developed analysis.
Depth of Analysis
In most essays for AS Business two fully developed chains of analysis are sufficient to access top marks. If you try and analyse 4 or 5 different knowledge points the analysis may be spread too thinly and you may only score marks for limited analysis.
Consult the question guides for more specific instructions on the analysis required for all the questions on paper 1 and paper 2.
