See also ACCA P3 Flashcards: Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 | Set 4
How does the portfolio manager’s approach to portfolio management work?
It’s a hands-off style.
Subsidiary companies are given financial targets and then left to get on with achieving those.
If targets are attained then all is well. If they are not attained then the subsidiary might be sold or management changed.
What are the three levels or categories of business process change?
* Automation,
* Rationalisation
* Business process engineering.
In the Ashridge Portfolio display explain the terms: heartland business, ballast business, value trap and alien business.
Heartland: high benefit and high feel. The subsidiary needs help and the holding company can supply it.
Ballast business: low benefit and high feel. No help is needed
Value trap: high benefit and low feel.
Alien business: low benefit and low feel.
What are the four descriptions of change in terms of scope of change and nature of change?
Adaptation (nature = incremental and scope = realignment)
Evolution (nature = incremental and scope = transformation)
Reconstruction (nature = big bang and scope = realignment)
Revolution (nature = big bang and scope = transformation)
What is meant by the terms ‘backward integration’ and ‘forward integration’?
Backward integration is taking over (or setting up) a supplier;
Forward integration is taking over (or setting up) a customer or supply chain.
What are Porter’s three generic strategies?
Cost leadership,
Differentiation,
Focus.
In Ansoff’s matrix, what is moving to a new market with an existing product known as?
Market development
What are the support activities of the value chain?
Firm infrastructure,
Human resource management,
Technology development,
Procurement
What is a span of control and how does it differ between tall narrow and wide flat structures.
The span of control (SoC)l is the number of people directly reporting to a manager. In a tall narrow structure the SoC is low; in a wide flat structure the SoC is large.
What are the characteristics of a professional bureaucracy in terms of Mintzberg’s structures?
Relatively short middle line and a small technostructure.
Because each job is different in a professional firm, there has to be close liaison between the strategic apex and the operating core and the technostructure has limited opportunity to enforce a standard approach.
What are the two classes of diversification?
Related and unrelated diversification.
What is a ‘shamrock organisation?
’
Handy defines a shamrock organization as a ‘core of essential executives and workers supported by outside contractors and part-time help’.
Draw and annotate Mendelow’s Matrix
What is the name of the business structure which is organised as accounting, manufacturing, sales, IT etc?
This is a functional structure as it organises the business by function (or department).
What are the five elements of Mintzberg’s organisation forms?
Strategic apex,
Middle line,
Operating core,
Support
Technostructure.
What are Johnson, Scholes and Whittington’s three styles of portfolio management?
* Portfolio managers,
* Synergy seekers
* Parental developers.
In BCG terms, what is meant by a balanced portfolio of products?
Some cash cows to generate lots of cash (but cash cows are heading towards market decline), and some problem children needing investment.
The cash generated by the cash cows can be used to build the problem children into star products that will become the cash cows of the future.
What are the two axes on the Mckinsey/General Electric grid?
SBU strength and market attractiveness.
What are the axes of Ansoff’s matrix?
Products (existing and current); markets (existing and current)
In Ansoff’s matrix, what is selling a new product to an existing market known as?
Product development
What are the main ways in which a business can be divisionalised?
By market and by product
In the Ashridge Portfolio Display, what is meant by the terms ‘Benefit’ and ‘Feel’?
Feel = the fit between the SBUs critical success factors (what it needs to be good at) and what head office could supply to help the SBU achieve those critical success factors.
Benefit = the opportunities to the SBU achieve its critical success factors.
Describe what is meant by the term ‘matrix structure’?
In a matrix structure, each employee has responsibilities to more than one superior. Eg, in project management an engineer could be responsible to the project manager and to the engineering manager.
What can a company do to increase its profits if it stays with existing products and existing markets?
Market penetration,
Efficiency gains,
Withdrawal,
Consolidation.
What are the primary activities of the value chain?
Inbound logistics,
Operations,
Outbound logistics,
Sales and marketing,
Service.
What are the potentially successful strategies as set out on the strategic clock?
No frills, low price, hybrid, differentiator, focussed differentiator.
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Thank you open tuition…This is just wonderful …
Thumbs up Open tuition. You keep looking ahead and innovative for the benefit of ACCA students. Thank you and keep it up. It is amazing the way we are made to revise with confidence.
Axes of ansoff matrix are wrongly stated.
they are either existing and new, or
current or new.
not existing and current…
I like to ask that is there any plan for p1
It is amazing introduction of flash card.I like to ask that is there any plan for p1
This is great, many thanks OT,
Can we get them down loadable?
NO, you can download the course notes,
It keeps getting better. Thank you.
Thank you for a nice initiatives.
Wow pass cards are certainly hand when revising and their have boosted my confidence in p3, thumbs up open tuition.
Thanks to open tuition for the wonderful job you are doing. with this flash in my hands , Iam sure of passing p3 first attempt.God bless you
this is just wonderful.Thanks Guys!