Is B100 An Introduction to Business and Management Hard? A Guide for Open University Students

B100 is the Open University module An Introduction to Business and Management. It is a broad Level 1 module that introduces how organisations work and gives you the academic and professional skills to study business at university level — often as the first step of a business or management degree.

Its themes span the whole organisation: what business and management are, different types of organisation, the functional areas of marketing, people and human resources, operations and finance and accounting, the external environment businesses operate in, and an introduction to strategy and working with data. Running alongside the subject content are the study skills that matter most in your first year: academic writing, referencing, reflective writing and using evidence. For the exact units, assessment structure and study calendar, always rely on your official module website and materials.

B100 is an introduction, but plenty of students still find it demanding — and the reasons are consistent:

• It is broad, not deep. You cover marketing, people, operations, finance, strategy and more, so there is always a new topic and a lot of reading to keep up with.
• It is often your first academic writing. Writing in an academic style — structured, evidenced and formal — is a real step up from everyday or workplace writing.
• Referencing is new. Citing sources correctly and consistently feels fiddly at first and is easy to get wrong.
• Theory meets the real world. Applying a concept to an actual organisation or case study is harder than simply describing the concept.
• Reflective writing is unfamiliar. Writing about your own learning in a structured way is a new genre for most students.
• It is usually studied part-time. Most OU students fit B100 around work and life, so time management is part of the challenge.

Reassurance “Challenging” is not “impossible”. B100 is designed to build these skills from scratch. The breadth becomes manageable with a steady weekly plan, and the writing gets easier fast once you understand what markers actually want.

The scope of B100 is what surprises most students, so it helps to see the module as a map of one organisation rather than a list of unrelated subjects. Marketing, people, operations and finance are all different views of the same business trying to create value — which is why the module keeps returning to how the functions connect.

Practically, that means two things. First, keep a one-page summary per topic — the core idea, a key term or two, and a real example — so the breadth stays organised. Second, look for the links: when you learn about operations, ask how it affects finance; when you learn about marketing, ask who in the organisation delivers it. Seeing the connections turns a long list into a coherent picture you can actually use in a TMA.

For many students, the biggest step up in B100 is not the business content — it is academic writing. Academic writing is structured, formal and built on evidence: you make a clear point, support it with a source or example, and explain how it answers the question. It is a skill, and B100 is where you build it.

Two habits help most. First, answer the question that is actually asked — many marks are lost by describing a topic instead of addressing the specific task. Second, reference consistently using the style your module specifies (the OU widely uses Cite Them Right Harvard). Keep a running list of your sources as you read, so citing them later is quick and accurate. If you want a clearer sense of what UK markers reward in business writing, our business assignment support explains what they look for.

Here is a short, generic teaching example — not a live assessed task — showing the difference between describing and analysing, which is where many B100 marks are won or lost. Imagine a TMA asks you to discuss how the external environment affects a named business.

• Description (weaker) — “Rising interest rates are part of the economic environment.” True, but it only states a fact.
• Application (better) — “Rising interest rates increase borrowing costs for the business.” Now the point is connected to the organisation.
• Analysis (strongest) — “Because the business relies on financed stock, rising interest rates raise its costs, which may force higher prices and reduce competitiveness — so it might respond by…”. This explains the consequences and shows judgement.
• Evidence — support the point with a source or module concept, and reference it.

The lesson is that B100 rewards analysis, not just description: always push a point on to “so what does this mean for the organisation?” This example is deliberately generic — never copy or reproduce a live TMA question, and keep your submitted work your own.

Because B100 is broad and reading-heavy, consistency beats intensity. Protect a regular study slot and work through the material steadily rather than cramming before a TMA. A workable weekly rhythm:

• Read actively — take short notes and a one-line summary for each section, rather than highlighting everything.
• Capture sources as you go — note author, year and page so referencing is painless later.
• Connect the functions — jot how this week’s topic links to earlier ones.
• Keep a “stuck list” for your tutor or the module forums.
• Start TMAs early — plan the answer in week one of the assignment window, not the last few days.

The free planner below turns this into a reusable tracker with a topic map, a TMA template and a feedback log. For official study-skills and assessment guidance, the Open University Help Centre is the place to check, and the free OpenLearn business resources offer extra background reading.

For a Tutor-Marked Assignment, the hardest part is often simply working out what it wants. Read the brief slowly and note the command word (describe, explain, analyse, evaluate), because it tells you the depth expected — a structured way to start is to understand your TMA requirements so nothing is missed. Then plan your structure before you write, support each point with evidence, and reference consistently.

Once you have a draft, use tutor feedback deliberately: note the recurring comments on a returned TMA and apply them to the next one. Between submissions you can review your own writing against UK marking expectations for clarity, structure and analysis, then make the changes yourself. Keep every submission your own; guidance helps you improve your work, it never replaces it.

Revise B100 by practising short, structured answers to past-style prompts rather than only re-reading the units. Build a one-page summary per topic and rehearse turning a concept into an applied, evidenced point — that is the skill the TMAs test.

The most common mistakes are avoidable:

• Describing instead of analysing — stating facts without explaining what they mean for the organisation.
• Ignoring the command word, so the depth of the answer does not match the task.
• Weak or inconsistent referencing, which loses easy marks and risks academic-conduct issues.
• Trying to cover everything instead of answering the specific question well.
• Leaving TMAs late, so there is no time to plan, evidence and check.