business-frameworkslisted

# Business frameworks — applying them for marks ## The trap that caps a grade Most capstone projects apply frameworks **descriptively**: a PESTLE table, a Five Forces diagram, a SWOT box, then the narrative moves on as if the framework were a box ticked. That is a Pass. It demonstrates recall, not analysis. Distinction-level use has four properties: 1. **Selective** — you chose this framework because it answers a specific question, and you say which. Three frameworks used well beat seven used shallowly. 2. **Evidenced** — every cell carries a cited data point, not an assertion. "Rivalry is high" is worthless; "the top four operators hold X% of UAE CEP volume (Source, 2025), and FedEx's international yield fell Y% in FY2024 (FedEx Corporation, 2024), indicating price-led rivalry" is analysis. 3. **Consequential** — the output changes a decision in the business plan. If the PESTLE does not alter the market-entry choice, cut it or make it matter. 4. **Critiqued** — you know the framework's limits and say so where relevant. **Test every framework you include:** if you deleted it, would any decision in the plan change? If no, it is decoration. Cut it. ## Choosing the framework | Question | Framework | |---|---| | What macro-forces shape this market and its timing? | PESTLE | | How attractive is this industry, and where does profit accumulate? | Porter's Five Forces | | What is the incumbent's defensible advantage — and where is it soft? | VRIO, Value Chain |