How Long Should I Spend Teaching Unit 5: Operations Management
- alisoneyer
- Oct 21
- 3 min read
How Long Should I Spend Teaching Unit 5: Operations Management
This blog wraps up my series on how long I spend teaching each IB Business unit. If you’ve missed the earlier posts, you can go back and read about Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3, , and Unit 4. Each one breaks down how I structure my lessons so you can see what works in my classroom and adapt it for yourself.
When it comes to Unit 5: Operations Management, this has always been one of the trickiest units to plan, and even more so after the syllabus change. Unlike some of the earlier units, the split between SL and HL here is significant, and timing can easily get away from you if you’re not careful.
A Note Before I Start
When I say “classes,” I mean lessons of about 50–55 minutes. My groups are quite small (around 10 students), so discussions and activities run differently than they might in larger classes. Your school timetable, teaching style, and class size will all affect how long you spend.
Also, don’t forget that the IB Business Management guide includes recommended teaching hours, which is always a useful reference point. What I share here is simply what has worked for me after teaching two full exam cycles.
Teaching Unit 5 at Higher Level (HL)
For HL students, Unit 5 is dense. There’s a lot of content to cover, and much of it is completely new to students — things like supply chain management, quality assurance, and lean production aren’t topics they have natural experience with. That means in-class teaching time is crucial.
On top of that, the calculations in this unit always take longer than expected. Stock control, in particular, seems to trip up my students year after year. To help manage this, I also choose to teach break-even analysis back in Unit 3. I’ve found it flows better there, and students benefit from the extra practice since it’s one of the most commonly tested calculations in IB Business.
When I first taught Unit 5, I underestimated how long HL would take. I ended up rushing the final topics and asking students to self-study parts of the unit, which wasn’t ideal. After refining my approach, I’ve now found a balanced rhythm that allows me to finish the unit thoroughly but still leave time for review before exams.
Here’s how I break down the number of classes I spend on each chapter for HL:
Chapter | Total Time: |
5.1 | 2 classes |
5.2 | 3 classes |
5.3 | 5 classes |
5.4 | 4 classes |
5.5 | Taught in Unit 3 |
5.6 | 4 classes |
5.7 | 2 classes |
5.8 | 2 classes |
5.9 | 3 classes |
Teaching Unit 5 at Standard Level (SL)
The story is very different at SL. Students only cover three chapters, and compared to HL the content load is light. There’s less depth required and not nearly as much calculation practice.
That said, I still make sure to spend time walking through examples and activities in class because the concepts are new for most students. Even though there isn’t “a lot” to cover, Unit 5 is still important for building a well-rounded understanding of operations management.
Here’s how I break down the number of classes I spend on each chapter for SL:
Chapter | Total time: |
5.1 | 1 class |
5.2 | 3 classes |
5.4 | 4 classes |
5.5 | Taught in Unit 3 |
Unit 5 is where timing really matters. At HL it can feel overwhelming, while at SL it can seem deceptively light. Striking the right balance comes down to experience, reflection, and finding what works for your teaching style and your students.
After trial and error, I’ve found a structure that gets everything covered without feeling rushed, and it also lines up well with the way I’ve built my own Unit 5 Operations Management resource pack. If you’d like ready-to-use lessons that match the pacing I’ve shared here, you can find it below.
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