Guidelines on SBA (Pt 1)
Yvonne Harvey, Contributor

Braeton versus Alexander Strikers Netball Match, played at the Leila Robinson Court, National Stadium Complex, Independence Park on Tuesday May 17. - Winston Sill Photo

HELLO AGAIN. I am sure that you will agree with me that some students find school-based assessments (SBA's) to be quite challenging. The Principles of Business SBA is no exception.

In order to reduce the stress and challenge for you, I have decided to do a few lessons on the P.O.B. SBA. For those of you who will write the alternate paper to the SBA, guidelines for you will follow the SBA lessons.

Work on the SBA should begin in the third term of the fourth form and continue on into the fifth form. It is advisable to do a draft which can be reviewed and corrected by your P.O.B. teacher. You will be advised by your teacher when the final report is due.

The SBA involves students' submission of a research project on a specific business enterprise or a specific area of investigation in a business. Any type of business can be chosen, including sole-trader types.

The report, which is the main part of the SBA, must be between 1,500 and 2,000 words. Research may be carried out in groups and students may research the same business, however, the written project must be each individual's work.

This means that no two candidates should submit identical work. Furthermore, students should not copy the work of past students.

The SBA should be presented in a simple soft folder of quarto or A4 size. It may be handwritten or typed. The emphasis is on neatness and it should be easy to read. If typed, it is suggested that it be done using double-line spacing.

The SBA is marked out of 40 and accounts for 20 per cent of the total mark of the final external examination.

PROFILE 1
Organisational principles - 12 marks

PROFILE 2
Production and marketing - 12 marks

PROFILE 3
Finance and introduction to economics - 16 marks

Total marks: 40

Each profile's marks is further broken down. The detail of this breakdown will be looked at in a later lesson on the SBA.

Each student must select a topic related to the business chosen. The topic must be one that can go across the three profile areas indicated above, e.g. 'The Factors Contributing to the Success of ABC Company' or 'The Effects of ABC Company on the May Pen Community', or 'The Importance of ABC Company on the Hayes Community'.

In order to collect the information required for the SBA, students will have to put together and administer a questionnaire, conduct interviews or do both.

Additionally, valuable information can be gained through observation of the business.

Whatever means is used to gather information, teachers should ensure that they obtain permission from the businesses for their students to administer questionnaires, do interviews and to observe their businesses in action.

Some teachers give their students letters signed by the principal of the school, explaining the SBA and asking for the cooperation of the persons in the business as students seek to gather information.

Alternatively, teachers can seek permission via the telephone.

The questionnaire questions should be an equal combination of the open-ended and closed-ended type.

An example of an open-ended question is below:

What type of business do you operate?

Note that the question is asked and a space is left for the respondent to place his/her answer. The same question can be asked in the close- ended form as below:

Please indicate the type of business that you operate by placing a tick beside your answer.

Sole trader
Partnership
Private limited company
Public limited company
Cooperatives
Other (please specify)

In this case, choices are given. Boxes may be placed beside the choices so that ticks can be placed in them.

Where interview questions are used, they must be carefully designed so as to encourage answers that have detail and that will be useful to the student.

In both instances, questions should be placed under the correct profile heading and they should be specific so as to draw out specific information. Teachers should vet the questions before they are used by the students.

Well folk that is it for this week. Next week I will outline what the outside cover of the SBA should look like.

Also starting next week and in the following lesson, I will show you how the SBA should be organised, explaining exactly what each area involves and the maximum marks given for each area. Bye for now. Keep safe until next week.

* Yvonne Harvey teaches at Glenmuir High School.