The 2023 VCE Business Management exam was fair, accessible and very clearly aligned to the Study Design. The Examiner’s Report confirms that the average score was slightly higher than in recent years. At the same time, it also shows that many students lost marks for very specific, avoidable reasons.
What follows is a question-by-question unpacking of the most important issues from the 2023 exam and report, focusing on where marks were gained and where they were lost.
Section A, Question 1a: defining corporate social responsibility
This question asked students to define corporate social responsibility. It was one of the better-answered questions on the paper.
Students who scored full marks gave a generic definition, explaining that CSR involves businesses going beyond legal requirements and considering stakeholders, the community and the environment. Students who instead described how the business in the stimulus showed CSR often lost marks, because the question did not ask for an example.
The Examiner’s Report makes it clear that definitions must be general unless otherwise specified.
Section A, Question 1b: lean management principles
This question required students to explain how two lean management principles could be used to reduce waste at the business.
Two very specific errors stood out:
- students explained the principle but did not explain how it reduced waste
- students explained the principle but did not apply it specifically to the business
Another common issue was confusion between lean management principles and materials management strategies, particularly mixing up pull with Just In Time. Some students also used circular explanations, such as stating that zero defects reduces waste “because there are zero defects”.
High-scoring responses explained the mechanism of waste reduction and linked it directly to the business’s materials, labour or processes .
Section A, Question 1c: disadvantage of agreements
This question exposed weak conceptual accuracy.
Students who scored well understood that agreements are negotiated at the workplace level and explained that this process can be time-consuming or lead to disputes. Students lost marks when they:
- stated that agreements are not legally binding
- described individual contracts rather than enterprise agreements
- used vague language about “discussions” without specifying the type of agreement
This was a case where precision of terminology mattered.
Section A, Question 2a: justifying a public listed company structure
This was one of the clearest examples in the exam of students misunderstanding a command term.
The question asked students to justify the decision to change business structure. Many students responded by listing advantages and disadvantages of a public listed company. The Examiner’s Report states clearly that this approach does not constitute justification.
Students who scored well explained why this structure suited the specific situation, linking access to capital, limited liability and taxation to the planned overseas expansion.
Section A, Question 3: comparing motivation theories
This question required a comparison, marked globally.
Many students spent too long defining Maslow and the second theory, then ran out of time to compare them. Others explained similarities but not differences, or vice versa. Some students failed to refer back to the statement about money as a motivator, which was a required part of the task.
High-scoring responses:
- explained at least three similarities and differences
- integrated the statement throughout
- focused on comparison rather than description .
Section A, Question 4: operations management
Across parts (a), (b) and (c), the most common errors were misalignment with the specific element named in the question.
Students often:
- linked materials management strategies to outputs instead of inputs
- discussed efficiency and effectiveness together rather than separately
- proposed quality strategies but applied them to processes instead of outputs
The Examiner’s Report repeatedly emphasises that students must link strategies to the correct element of the operations system and to the business in the stimulus.
Section A, Question 5: analysing proactive and reactive change
This question required analysis, not explanation.
Students lost marks when they:
- described proactive and reactive change separately without showing relationships
- failed to use a contemporary case study
- used outdated examples outside the four-year requirement
High-scoring responses integrated proactive and reactive approaches into a single analysis of business change and used recent case studies appropriately.
Section B: recurring issues across the case study questions
Several patterns emerged across Section B.
In Question 3 (compare entitlement and transition considerations), many students defined both terms but did not structure their response around similarities and differences. Others failed to apply both concepts to the case study.
In Question 4 (the 10-mark task), students struggled to sustain a clear line of reasoning. The Examiner’s Report notes that weaker responses confused management strategies with management styles or skills, focused on driving forces instead of KPIs, or failed to address the plural nature of “key performance indicators” .
In Question 6, many students confused customers with the general community as stakeholders, leading to incorrect consequences being described.
What the 2023 exam shows overall
The 2023 exam makes one thing very clear: most marks were lost due to task misinterpretation, not lack of knowledge.
Students who:
- followed command terms precisely
- applied theory directly to the stimulus
- used contemporary case studies
- structured longer responses carefully
were consistently rewarded.
Working with ATAR STAR
ATAR STAR analyses Business Management exams and Examiner’s Reports at this level of detail so students can see exactly how marks are awarded and lost. We work with students who are already strong and want to refine exam execution, as well as students who feel their understanding is not translating into marks.
Our Business Management support is built directly from real VCAA exams and reports, including the 2023 paper, so preparation aligns with what students actually face in the exam.
If you want Business Management preparation grounded in examiner evidence rather than guesswork, ATAR STAR provides structured, exam-focused guidance.