The 2025 VCE Business Management exam did not attempt to sample the entire Units 3 and 4 curriculum evenly. Instead, it selectively assessed core decision-making knowledge, application-heavy skills, and evaluation-based thinking, while leaving some areas either lightly touched or entirely absent.
This is consistent with how the VCAA has constructed recent Business Management exams: breadth across Areas of Study, depth in selected conceptual clusters.
What follows is a precise mapping of assessed vs unassessed curriculum.
Unit 3: managing a business
Area of Study 1: business foundations
Key knowledge clearly assessed in 2025
The exam explicitly required students to demonstrate understanding of:
- business objectives and their role in decision-making
- stakeholders and stakeholder interests
- conflict between stakeholder groups
- management styles in context
These were not tested as definitions. They were embedded in application and justification tasks, requiring students to explain why particular decisions aligned with objectives and how stakeholders were affected.
Key skills assessed
- applying objectives to unfamiliar case study contexts
- analysing stakeholder conflict rather than listing stakeholders
- justifying management choices
Key knowledge not meaningfully assessed
- management skills as discrete categories
- corporate culture terminology beyond functional application
While culture and skills may have been implicitly present, they were not directly targeted for assessment.
Area of Study 2: human resource management
This was one of the most comprehensively assessed areas of the entire paper.
Key knowledge assessed
- motivation theories (Maslow, Locke & Latham, Four Drive Theory)
- motivation strategies and their purpose
- performance management strategies
- workplace relations considerations
Importantly, the exam did not assess theories in isolation. It assessed whether students could select, apply and evaluate theories in response to business problems.
Key skills assessed
- applying motivation theory to business scenarios
- evaluating the effectiveness of HR strategies
- distinguishing between strategies and styles
Key knowledge lightly or not assessed
- detailed termination management processes
- specific legal frameworks beyond contextual awareness
These remain examinable in future years.
Area of Study 3: operations management
Operations was tested selectively, with emphasis on strategic alignment, not procedural detail.
Key knowledge assessed
- relationship between operations management and objectives
- efficiency vs effectiveness
- operations strategies in context
- CSR considerations within operations
Key skills assessed
- evaluating the impact of operations strategies
- linking operations decisions to performance outcomes
- justifying strategy choice
Key knowledge not directly assessed
- supply chain stages in detail
- global sourcing comparisons
- deep technical differentiation between all quality strategies
These areas were notably absent.
Unit 4: transforming a business
Area of Study 1: reviewing performance – the need for change
This area was explicitly and deliberately assessed.
Key knowledge assessed
- key performance indicators
- interpreting performance data
- proactive vs reactive change
- driving and restraining forces
The exam required students to interpret, not name, KPIs. This aligns exactly with the Study Design wording.
Key skills assessed
- analysing data trends
- justifying the need for change
- linking forces to stakeholders
Key knowledge not assessed
- detailed theoretical comparison of change drivers
- extended strategic positioning models beyond Porter’s basics
Area of Study 2: implementing change
This area was assessed through decision-making and evaluation, not description.
Key knowledge assessed
- change management strategies
- leadership in change
- stakeholder impact
- resistance to change
Key skills assessed
- evaluating effectiveness of strategies
- matching strategies to stages of change
- explaining trade-offs
Key knowledge lightly or not assessed
- detailed sequencing of Lewin’s model
- low-risk vs high-risk strategies as isolated concepts
These were background knowledge rather than focal points.
What our curriculum mapping tells us
The 2025 exam clearly prioritised:
- application over recall
- evaluation over explanation
- decision-making over theory narration
Large portions of the Study Design were deliberately left untouched, not because they are unimportant, but because VCAA exams rotate depth across years.
Students who tried to “cover everything equally” were not advantaged. Students who understood how VCAA selects from the curriculum were.
Why this matters for future students
This analysis shows that success in Business Management is not about memorising the entire Study Design evenly. It is about recognising:
- which knowledge is structurally central
- which skills are repeatedly examined
- how curriculum intent translates into exam construction
This is exactly how we approach Business Management at ATAR STAR.
We don’t teach the Study Design as a checklist. We teach students how the curriculum is used by the VCAA, so preparation is targeted, strategic and efficient — whether a student is aiming to consolidate a pass or push into the top end.