| Date | November 2017 | Marks available | 4 | Reference code | 17N.1.SL.TZ0.2 |
| Level | Standard level | Paper | Paper 1 | Time zone | Time zone 0 |
| Command term | Describe | Question number | 2 | Adapted from | N/A |
Question
Describe two features of the school’s marketing mix (line 54).
Explain, with reference to MSS, the purpose of the mission and vision statements (line 37).
Markscheme
Context: The marketing mix can apply to: the IT centre, the product of an education for girls, boarding, a better school environment than most schools, and a humanitarian award.
Features include:
- promotion by means of effective communication with customers
- a coordinated marketing mix
- branding based on the humanitarian award and the mission of the school
- the school and its location, which is the product and is differentiated from similar organizations
- Product: school environment, ethos, extra curricula activities, boarding school, other aspects of service.
Remember: Place is about distribution, not location and is unlikely to apply to MSS.
Accept any other reasonable description. (eg at HL can accept the 7Ps)
For each feature: Award [1] for identifying the feature and [1] for relevant application to MSS.
A mission statement is a statement of the purpose of an organization, in this instance providing an education for girls. It should refer to the key market (parents of girls), the contribution it makes to that market and what makes the service unique, so that the client chooses the school. The school’s ethics may play a part in this.
A vision statement is a statement of an organization’s overall objectives designed to aid decision making. In this instance it will refer to future plans for growth and facilities.
Mission statements and vision statements fulfill different purposes. A mission statement describes an organization’s purpose and answers the questions “What business are we in?” and “What is our business for?”. A vision statement
provides strategic direction and describes what the owner or founder wants the company to achieve in the future.
Accept any other reasonable explanation.
Award a maximum of [3] for a theoretical answer.
Award a maximum of [4] if either only one of mission statement or vision statement are addressed in context.
Award a maximum of [5] if the analysis is mainly descriptive but in context.
If there is confusion between mission statement and vision statement but there is some understanding shown of the concepts award a maximum of [4] if in context and [2] if no context. If the statements are not explained but purposes developed also award max [4].
