ACCA SBL
ACCA Strategic Business Leader (SBL) Flashcards
What are the three main steps in the rational planning model?
What is meant by logical incrementalism?
Why do advocates of logical incrementalism argue it is a better approach than more radical, ambitious planning?
What is freewheeling opportunism?
List five advantages of strategic planning.
What are two potential advantages of freewheeling opportunism?
What is a PESTEL analysis?
What are Porter’s five forces?
At what level should Porter's five forces analysis be applied, and what does it tell you?
An organisation’s capabilities arise from two sources. What are these?
What is a threshold capability?
What is needed for capabilities that give sustained competitive advantage?
What is meant by the terms ‘position-based’ and ‘resource-based’ strategic planning?
‘M words’ are often used to describe an organisation’s resources. List nine of them.
What is a mission statement and what are its main elements?
Other than Mendelow’s classification, into what three categories can stakeholders be divided?
Why is stakeholder analysis important in strategic planning?
What are the two axes on a Boston Consulting Grid?
What are the four quadrants of a BCG matrix and what market share and growth rates do they have?
What is the problem with a problem child product or division?
In BCG terms, what is meant by a balanced portfolio of products?
What are the primary activities of the value chain?
What are the support activities of the value chain?
What are Porter’s three generic strategies?
What are the axes of Ansoff’s matrix?
What can a company do to increase its profits if it stays with existing products and existing markets?
In Ansoff’s matrix, what is moving into a new market with an existing product called?
In Ansoff’s matrix, what is selling a new product to an existing market known as?
What are the two classes of diversification?
What is meant by the terms ‘backward integration’ and ‘forward integration’?
What is the name of the business structure which is organised as accounting, manufacturing, sales, IT etc?
What are the main ways in which a business can be divisionalised?
Describe what is meant by the term ‘matrix structure’.
What are the six building blocks (parts) of an organisation in Mintzberg's model?
What are the characteristics of a professional bureaucracy in terms of Mintzberg’s structures?
What is a span of control, and how does it differ between tall narrow and wide flat structures?
What are the three levels or categories of business process change?
What are the four descriptions of change in terms of scope of change and nature of change?
What are four business process redesign patterns?
What are the two axes of Harmon’s process–strategy matrix?
According to Harmon’s process-strategy matrix, how should a process be handled in each of the four combinations of strategic importance and complexity/dynamism?
What are the contextual features in Balogun and Hope Hailey’s theory of change management?
What are the design choices in Balogun and Hope Hailey’s theory of change management?
What is Lewin’s force field analysis of change management?
What are the steps in Lewin’s three step approach to change management?
A change agent is often a consultant. What are the advantages of hiring such a consultant?
What are the original 4Ps of the marketing mix?
What additional 3Ps were added to the original 4P marketing mix to cover the marketing of services?
Name four types of activity that come under the heading of promotion.
What is market targeting?
What are the three types of market targeting?
What are the 6Is of e-business?
What are the potential barriers to e-business?
What are the seven elements of the cultural web?
What are Handy’s four cultural types?
What are four potential benefits of decentralisation?
What are transactional and transformational leadership?
What are the typical characteristics of a project?
What are the typical stages of a project?
What tools can be used on a project cost/benefit analysis?
What classes of benefit can be identified when appraising a project?
What are the typical purposes of a project initiation document?
What are the typical qualities of a project manager?
What are the project management variables?
What are three determinants of risk in a project?
What is meant by ‘benefits realisation’?
What are the two types of review that should form part of a project completion report?
What is ‘transactions marketing’ and ‘relationship marketing’?
What is price skimming?
What is penetration pricing?
What is non-price competition?
What is a data warehouse and data mining?
What would by included as product features?
What is meant by marketing?
How is an expected value calculated, and what are the problems of using expected values in project appraisal?
What are the two parts of a time series analysis that are analysed using moving averages?
What are the potential problems when relying on linear regression results?
What are Johnson and Scholes's three criteria for evaluating a proposed strategy?
How is “Corporate Governance” defined?
What is a value network?
What are the two determinants of an organisation's risk appetite?
List five potential advantages of outsourcing.
What is a risk report and what purpose does it serve?
What are the four desirable qualities of an internal audit department and internal auditors?
What is cloud computing?
Explain what is meant by “integrity”.
List five external stakeholders of a public company.
Define the term “stakeholder”.
What is meant by the expression ‘off-shoring’?
The Baldrige model for world-class organisations is drawn as a diagram of eight boxes. What are the titles of those eight boxes?
What are the three elements of Adair's action-centred leadership?
Under what five headings are the main principles of the UK Corporate Governance Code grouped?
Explain the UK Corporate Governance Code principle of board leadership and company purpose.
Explain what the UK Corporate Governance Code requires in respect of board composition, succession and evaluation (board effectiveness).
Explain what the UK Corporate Governance Code requires of the board in respect of audit, risk and internal control (accountability).
What does the current UK Corporate Governance Code require in respect of directors' remuneration?
What is meant by the terms 'entrepreneur' and 'intrapreneur'?
What are the four 'Vs' of big data?
Gross risk depends on three factors, each of which of which can be modified to reduce the overall risk. What are the three factors?
What is scenario analysis, and what does it seek to achieve?
What are the specific responsibilities of a Chair of a public company?
What is an induction process?
What is meant by the terms: pure risk, gross risk and net risk?
Projects should be assessed for feasibility. What are the four categories of feasibility that should be considered?
What is meant by the 'public interest'?
What are the three components of the ACCA's ethical framework?
What is a ‘shared service’?
What is POPIT?
What are the two broad approaches available for implementing corporate governance?
What is the frequently quoted example of a rules-based system of corporate governance?
Risk management seeks a balance between which two competing demands on the board?
What are Tucker's five questions in his approach to ethical behaviour?
Compare strategic drift to disruptive technologies.
On what document are the following recorded: risks, their probability of occurrence, their impact and the planned responses to the risks?
Which model maps stakeholders by power and level of interest, and what does each quadrant imply?
What are the five elements of internal control?
What are the six steps of the business change life-cycle?
What is described as follows: a concise communication of an organisation’s strategy, governance and performance; demonstrating the links between financial performance and the wider social, environmental and economic context; and showing how the organisation creates value over the short, medium and long term?
What is a “whistle-blower”?
In the context of risk management, what are the four ways available to a company to manage a risk it faces?
What objectives does the standard definition of an internal control system include?
List the categories of internal control activities.
The mnemonic “ACCURATE” is used for the characteristics of good information. What does each letter stand for?
A risk map plots high/low severity or impact of an event and high/low probability or likelihood of an event. Match transfer, accept, avoid/abandon and reduce to the four quadrants ?
What are the five identified ethical threats to an external auditor's independence?
Name five sources of self-interest threats to an auditor’s independence.
In the context of risk management, we come across the acronym ALARP What does the acronym stand for?
Define “Enterprise Risk Management”.
In COSO's 2004 enterprise risk management framework, into what four categories are an entity's objectives grouped?
What are the components of COSO's enterprise risk management framework?
When faced with an ethical conflict, what six steps should the decision-maker consider?
What are the two axes of a risk map?
Suggest six areas that would typically be covered by a company's ethical code.
In a two-tier board system for corporate governance, what are the two boards called?
What are the three conditions needed for a fraud to be perpetrated?
What are the three elements of an anti-fraud strategy?
What are the six capitals of integrated reporting?
Which ISO number refers to a series of international standards on environmental management?
In knowledge management, what are the two categories of knowledge?
What are the '3Es', often used when discussing not-for-profit organisations?
In the UK, whistle-blowers (employees, trainees and agency workers) are protected by law if they report six categories of event. What are these categories?
How is a ‘profession’ defined?
Define “professionalism”.
What does 'EMAS' stand for?
What are the five fundamental principles which underpin the ACCA code of ethics?
What is the International Corporate Governance Network?
What matters are covered in the six core performance indicators of EMAS?
What is meant by the expression “environmental footprint”?
What are the 3Ps of triple bottom line reporting?
What is the principal–agent relationship, and how does it arise in corporate governance?
What problems arise from the separation of the ownership of a company from control over its activities?
What is meant by the expression ‘agency costs’?
Give four examples of agency costs incurred by a company’s shareholders.
What mechanisms can be used to reduce agency problems between shareholders and directors?
On what grounds may the office of a director be vacated?
On what grounds may a person be disqualified from serving as a director?
What is meant by ‘retirement by rotation’ of directors?
In the context of a company general meeting, what is a proxy?
What business is normally transacted at a company’s annual general meeting?
What rights are enjoyed by the ordinary shareholders of a company?
What are the four elements of corporate social responsibility in Carroll’s model?
With reference to the legal responsibility element of CSR, what points illustrate the concept?
With reference to the philanthropic responsibility element of CSR, what points illustrate the concept?
According to Gray, Owen and Adams, what are the seven positions on social responsibility?
In ethical theory, what are the characteristics of an absolutist belief system?
In ethical theory, what are the characteristics of a relativist belief system?
What is meant by a deontological approach to ethics?
What is meant by a teleological approach to ethics?
Under a teleological approach to an ethical dilemma, from which two perspectives may the consequences be viewed?
What are the three levels in Kohlberg’s theory of moral development?
What are the two stages within Kohlberg’s level 1 (pre-conventional)?
What are the two stages within Kohlberg’s level 2 (conventional)?
What are the two stages within Kohlberg’s level 3 (post-conventional)?
What are the seven stages of the American Accounting Association model for resolving an ethical dilemma?
In the context of ethical values in governance, what is meant by honesty (probity)?
In the context of ethical values in governance, what is meant by responsibility?
In the context of ethical values in governance, what is meant by accountability?
What are the main benefits to an organisation of adopting cloud computing?
What are the main risks of moving an organisation’s systems to the cloud?
What factors should be considered when deciding between cloud services and owned hardware and software?
From a strategic perspective, why should an organisation explore mobile and smart technology?
What opportunities and threats does big data present to an organisation?
How can data analysis inform decisions on new product development, marketing and pricing?
What are the potential benefits of using artificial intelligence, machine learning and robotics?
What are the risk, control and ethical implications of using AI, machine learning and robotics?
How can information technology be applied to support an organisation’s e-business?
How does online branding differ from traditional branding?
How can e-business technologies be used to acquire and manage suppliers and customers?
Why is effective information systems control a continuing strategic issue for an organisation?
Distinguish between general IT controls and application controls, giving examples of each.
What are the main cyber security threats to an organisation, and how can cyber security be promoted?
What controls safeguard an organisation’s information technology assets and support continuity of operations?
What makes information flows to management adequate for the purpose of managing internal control and risk?
What indicators suggest that an organisation’s internal control system is weak or ineffective?
What are the consequences to an organisation of poor internal control and of non-compliance with law and regulation?
What should be considered when recommending new internal controls to prevent fraud, error, waste or environmental harm?
Why might an organisation need an internal audit function?
Why is the independence of the internal audit function important, and how can it be safeguarded?
What is the role of an audit committee and how should it be composed?
What should a report on internal control and internal audit contain, and why is it given to shareholders?
In what ways is risk dynamic, and how does an organisation’s risk profile vary with its circumstances?
What is meant by related and correlated risk factors?
What is the role of a risk manager?
What does it mean to embed risk management in an organisation’s culture and values, and how is it achieved?
What is meant by spreading and diversifying risk, and when is it appropriate?
What is assurance mapping, and what are the ‘four lines of defence’?
How are advances in technology transforming the finance function?
What is finance business partnering, and what are its advantages and drawbacks?
Compare shared service centres and global business services as structures for the finance function.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing the finance function?
How should an organisation determine its overall investment requirements?
What sources of short-term finance are available to an organisation, and when is each appropriate?
What sources of long-term finance are available, and what factors determine the choice between them?
Why is net present value regarded as the technically superior investment appraisal method?
What are the limitations of payback and of the internal rate of return as investment appraisal methods?
What is capital rationing, and how should investments be selected when capital is limited?
What is sensitivity analysis in project appraisal, and what are its weaknesses?
What financial reporting and tax implications should be considered when choosing between strategic or investment options?
Into what categories are accounting ratios normally grouped, and what does each measure?
What is return on capital employed, and what drives it?
How is financial gearing measured, and why does it matter strategically?
What are the limitations of using ratio analysis to appraise organisational performance and position?
Why does an organisation continue to need effective cost management and control systems, and what costing methods support strategic decisions?
Evaluate budgeting, standard costing and variance analysis as support for strategic planning and control.
What are the purposes, responsibilities and accountabilities of the main board committees?
What are the purposes, responsibilities and accountabilities of a nomination committee?
What are the general principles of remunerating directors, and what are the components of a typical package?
What regulatory, strategic and labour market issues affect the determination of directors’ remuneration?
What are the purposes and responsibilities of non-executive directors?
What is meant by diversity on the board of directors, and what are the arguments concerning it?
Evaluate the case for and against unitary and two-tier board structures.
What is the role and influence of institutional investors in governance?
How do governance arrangements differ between family firms and joint stock companies?
What is a SWOT analysis, and where does each element come from?
How is a SWOT analysis used to generate strategic options?
What are external key drivers of change, and why must they be identified?
What is Porter’s Diamond, and what does it explain?
What are strategic alliances and partnering, and when are they preferred to acquisition or organic growth?
How does organisational knowledge contribute to strategic capability?
What leadership qualities are effective in the successful formulation and implementation of strategy and change?
What style of leadership is appropriate to manage strategic change?
What are disruptive technologies, and what is the potential impact of fintech and cryptocurrencies?
How do new products, processes, service developments and innovation support organisational strategy?
How does talent management contribute to organisational strategy?
What are the five professional skills examined in Strategic Business Leader, and how are they rewarded?
What does the professional skill of communication require in an SBL answer?
What does the professional skill of commercial acumen require in an SBL answer?
What does the professional skill of analysis require in an SBL answer?
What does the professional skill of scepticism require in an SBL answer?
What does the professional skill of evaluation require in an SBL answer?
What is a cross-directorship, and why does good corporate governance practice discourage it?
What distinguishes a profession from an occupation requiring no specialist preparation?
Why does an accountant's responsibility extend beyond the client or employer?
What are the five fundamental professional ethical principles?
What does integrity require when an accountant discovers misleading information?
How do objectivity and professional competence differ?
What five categories of ethical threat should an accountant consider?
Why can holding shares in a client threaten an accountant's objectivity?
Why does auditing financial statements prepared by one's own firm create a self-review threat?
How does an advocacy threat differ from a familiarity threat?
A manager threatens an accountant with a poor appraisal for challenging a figure. Which ethical threat arises, and why?
What are the two types of fraud distinguished in the notes?
Who has primary responsibility for preventing and detecting organisational fraud?
What three conditions can enable fraud?
How do prevention, detection and response work together to deter fraud?
What is whistleblowing, and why can it help uncover fraud?
Why might an employee remain silent about suspected wrongdoing?
What is the central feature of bribery?
Why should anti-bribery procedures be proportionate and regularly reviewed?
What turns a corporate ethics code from a document into useful guidance?
What should a decision-maker examine before choosing a response to an ethical conflict?
What agency relationship creates a need for corporate governance?
Give two examples of directors pursuing their own interests at shareholders' expense.
How does an independent audit help shareholders monitor directors?
How do rules-based and framework-based governance approaches differ?
How does a two-tier board differ from a unitary board?
What is a key trade-off in adopting a two-tier board?
Why does a unitary board include non-executive directors?
How should executive remuneration support good governance?
How do economy, efficiency and effectiveness differ when assessing a public service?
What distinguishes a public-sector star from a political hot box in the portfolio matrix?
What does integrated reporting add to financial performance information?
What should an integrated report explain about an organisation's business model and future outlook?
What are the six capitals in integrated reporting?
How does financial capital differ from manufactured capital?
How do intellectual and human capital differ?
What distinguishes social and relationship capital from natural capital?
Why can assuring an integrated report be harder than auditing conventional financial amounts?
What is the purpose of EMAS?
Which six environmental performance areas are identified for EMAS in the notes?
What are the three Ps of triple bottom line reporting?
What strategic lesson does the chapter's IBM example illustrate about a successful firm's view of technology?
In the IBM example, why did personal-computer manufacturing become less attractive?
Why does the chapter present consultancy services as a possible response to commoditisation?
What does the Nokia example illustrate about responding to product and technology changes?
What does the Kodak example show about possessing an excellent capability?
Why might a strong reputation in one field fail to guarantee success in a related market?
In the Kodak example, why is improving an existing technology not necessarily enough?
Which management and operational issues accompany rapid growth in the Uber example?
What common strategic problem links the IBM, Nokia and Kodak examples?
Why should strategic success be assessed using more than a company's growth rate?
What makes a plan strategic rather than merely a short-term departmental plan?
What are the three main stages of the rational strategic-management model?
What three perspectives help establish an organisation's strategic position?
What happens during strategic choice?
How is a high-level strategic plan translated into implementation?
Why must strategic control examine both performance and the continuing relevance of the plan?
Why is strategic management not always a linear process?
What is logical incrementalism?
How does bounded rationality support the case for incremental planning?
What is the trade-off in freewheeling opportunism?
How can clear long-term objectives motivate employees?
How can strategic planning improve coordination between sales, production and distribution?
Why can strategic planning help projects that take years to deliver?
How does looking ahead help management act proactively?
Does strategic planning guarantee that every future development will be anticipated?
What is paralysis by analysis?
Why is rigid adherence to a long-term plan dangerous?
What resource cost of planning is easy to overlook?
Why should a failed planning process not automatically be treated as evidence that planning is useless?
When evaluating an organisation's planning approach, what matters more than reciting advantages and disadvantages?
What is a stakeholder, and why does stakeholder identification matter to strategy?
Give an example of conflicting stakeholder interests.
Why does stakeholder management involve negotiation?
What are the two dimensions of Mendelow's matrix?
How should high-power, high-interest stakeholders be treated in Mendelow's matrix?
Which stakeholders should be kept satisfied in Mendelow's matrix, and why?
Why should low-power, high-interest stakeholders be kept informed?
Which Mendelow category generally requires minimal effort?
What distinguishes corporate social responsibility from simply obeying the law?
What tension arises when directors use company resources for voluntary social causes?
What does PESTEL stand for?
Why is recognising a relevant external influence more important than debating its PESTEL category?
What is industry convergence?
What opportunity and competitive challenge can international expansion create?
What is strategic drift?
What are the possible outcomes after a period of strategic flux?
What four influences make up Porter's diamond?
How do factor conditions differ from home demand conditions in Porter's diamond?
Why must a scenario be internally consistent?
Why should scenario planning retain several plausible futures rather than only the most attractive one?
What does Porter's five forces model assess?
What are Porter's five competitive forces?
How does pricing freedom differ between perfect competition and monopoly?
Why does having a monopoly not guarantee profit?
Why can selling almost all output to a few buyers weaken a supplier's position?
How can switching costs reduce buyer pressure?
What supply risk arises from depending on one specialist supplier?
Why can new entrants reduce an industry's profitability?
Give three examples of barriers to entry.
Why can a technological substitute threaten a firm despite strong barriers to entering its existing industry?
How do resources differ from competences?
What two sources can provide capabilities beyond the threshold level?
Why does buying the same machinery as competitors rarely create a lasting unique resource?
What makes a competence a core competence?
How do position-based and resource-based strategies differ?
What risk arises when an organisation follows an attractive market opportunity without considering its capabilities?
Why should a resource-based strategy still consider changes in customer preferences and technology?
Beyond money and machinery, name three resources a strategy may require.
What resource condition must be met before a strategy can be implemented?
What are the five primary activities in Porter's value chain?
What are the four support activities in Porter's value chain?
Why does value-chain analysis consider more than the cost of each activity?
Why should value-chain activities be analysed together rather than cut in isolation?
What are the axes of the BCG matrix?
What distinguishes a star from a cash cow in the BCG matrix?
What strategic choice does a question-mark product present?
Why can a portfolio containing both cash cows and question marks be useful?
Why should low relative market share not automatically lead to abandoning a product?
Which SWOT elements are internal and which are external?
How can SWOT use the results of more detailed strategic analyses?
An organisation has strong finances but weak marketing skills. Where do these belong in SWOT?
Why is a favourable change in the economy an opportunity rather than an organisational strength?
How should an organisation respond when an opportunity matches a strength?
What choices arise when an attractive opportunity depends on a current weakness?
Why is a threat particularly serious when it coincides with an organisational weakness?
What should follow a SWOT analysis?
What makes an objective SMART in these notes?
Why must departmental objectives be consistent with one another?
What are Porter's three generic strategies?
How does a cost leader seek to improve margins in a competitive market?
Why can a technological breakthrough threaten an established cost leader?
How does differentiation create a basis for higher margins?
What does focus add to a cost-leadership or differentiation strategy?
What is market penetration in Ansoff's matrix?
How does market development differ from product development?
How does related diversification differ from unrelated diversification?
Why are product development and market development generally riskier than remaining with existing products and markets?
How does choosing a strategic direction differ from choosing how to grow?
What distinguishes related from conglomerate diversification?
Why is smoothing shareholders' returns an insufficient justification on its own for an unrelated acquisition?
What is synergy between business units?
Why should claimed synergies in an unrelated acquisition be questioned?
How can a new owner destroy value in an acquired business?
How might combining an airline with hotels create value in the chapter's example?
How do backward and forward vertical integration differ?
Why can owning a supplier reduce its incentive to remain efficient?
How can vertical integration increase financial and operating commitments?
Why compare vertical integration with close contractual relationships before acquiring a supplier?
How does acquisition-led growth differ from organic growth?
What can make acquiring an existing operation attractive when entering a new market?
Why is goodwill a risk when buying another company?
What integration problems can undermine acquisition benefits?
What is information asymmetry in an acquisition?
What benefits can organic growth offer despite being slower?
Why can a joint venture suit a large, risky project?
How can licensing allow growth without establishing an overseas operation?
What is the main trade-off for a franchisee?
When might a strategic alliance be preferable to a merger?
What three criteria can be used to evaluate a strategic option?
What does suitability test in a proposed strategy?
What does acceptability test in a proposed strategy?
What does feasibility test in a proposed strategy?
A strategy exploits a market opportunity but needs skills the organisation cannot obtain. Which criterion fails?
A financially attractive strategy would trigger customers leaving and employees refusing to cooperate. What needs examination?
Why might there be no single obviously best strategic option?
Why is having enough finance insufficient to prove that a strategy is feasible?
How can an option be acceptable but unsuitable?
Why does assessing acceptability require considering more than shareholders?
In the notes' distinction, how does risk differ from uncertainty?
Does risk always mean the possibility of a bad outcome?
How does the risk of a warehouse fire differ from the risk of launching a new product?
Why must organisations balance conformance and performance?
What does reducing risk as low as reasonably practicable mean in the credit-sales example?
How do strategic and operational risks differ?
How can unreliable reporting create organisational risk?
What determines an organisation's risk appetite?
How does risk capacity differ from willingness to take risk?
Name three potential benefits of risk management.
If the board delegates risk-management work to specialists, does its overall responsibility disappear?
Why is a list of risks and proposed responses insufficient for effective risk management?
What are the two dimensions of a risk map, and why are its classifications context-dependent?
What four responses make up TARA?
How does reducing a risk differ from avoiding it?
How does accepting a risk differ from transferring it?
What does assurance mapping add to identifying and rating risks?
What four lines of defence are used in the chapter's assurance-map example?
What should a risk register record beyond the description of each risk?
How do gross and net risk differ, and what must management assess after mitigation?
What is the central purpose of enterprise risk management?
Why should risk be considered at entity, division and subsidiary levels?
What is risk consolidation?
Why might two subsidiaries' foreign-currency exposures partly offset?
How can organisational culture influence risk management?
Why should objectives be established before identifying risks?
What is risk tolerance in the chapter's explanation?
Give three examples of control activities that help implement risk responses.
Why do timely communication and continuing monitoring matter to risk management?
How can environmental or social failures create business risks?
How does information differ from raw data?
How does explicit knowledge differ from tacit knowledge?
What activities make up knowledge management in the notes?
Why can conversations and stories be valuable in knowledge management?
What three network-security aims are identified in the notes?
How can cloud services change the computing resources needed on users' machines?
What potential cost benefits of cloud computing are described in the chapter?
What dependency must be considered alongside the benefits of cloud computing?
How can mobile technology improve the handling of customer orders?
What is meant by the Internet of Things, and what is one business application in the notes?
Why is information-system control a strategic concern rather than only an IT concern?
How do general IT controls differ from application controls?
Why are backups and disaster-recovery arrangements examples of general IT controls?
What is the purpose of a range check on input data?
How does a dependency check differ from a format check?
What qualities should application controls help establish about transactions?
Why should an online transaction be traceable to the employee who originated it?
Why does cyber-espionage threaten competitive advantage?
Why should a backup processing system be located away from the main system with independent power?
Why must a disaster-recovery plan specify responsibilities and processing priorities?
What are the six Is of e-business in the notes?
How does individualisation differ from interactivity in e-business?
How does disintermediation differ from reintermediation?
How does relationship marketing go beyond transaction marketing?
How can CRM software improve a customer's experience when contacting a company?
Why can a recognisable brand create value?
What branding choices does an organisation have when establishing an online presence?
How can social media damage a brand as well as promote it?
What four Vs are commonly used to describe big data in these notes?
How does structured data differ from unstructured data?
How does predictive analytics differ from general data mining?
How can analysing customer data support strategic decisions?
Why can a large dataset still lead to poor decisions?
What operational benefits can automation and AI offer?
What risk and ethical questions should accompany a proposed AI application?
How does a marketing-led approach differ from production-led or sales-led approaches?
What is market segmentation, and why is it useful?
How does market targeting differ from segmentation?
What are the three market-targeting approaches in the chapter?
What are the seven Ps available when positioning an offering?
Why are people, process and physical evidence particularly important in services?
What four forms of promotion are identified in the notes?
How does push promotion differ from pull promotion?
Why does the choice of distribution outlet matter to positioning?
Why should pricing consider more than unit cost?
What is penetration pricing intended to achieve?
How does related-product pricing work in the printer example?
Why should a cost-plus price be checked against customers and competitors?
What does managing for value mean in a profit-seeking organisation?
What three broad financial choices support an organisation's strategy?
What are the main equity and borrowing sources identified in the chapter?
What consequences should founders consider when obtaining a stock-exchange listing?
What is a rights issue?
What distinguishes convertible finance from an ordinary loan?
What forms of return can crowdfunding offer contributors?
Why can increasing borrowing eventually increase financial risk?
Why must investment planning consider both long-lived assets and working capital?
How can a successful, growing business suffer from overtrading?
Why is internal control wider than financial control?
What are the five components of internal control?
Why does the control environment matter to the operation of other controls?
How does segregation of duties help control a transaction?
What two separate questions should an assessment of internal-control procedures ask?
Why is allowing employees to approve their own expense claims a control weakness?
What is internal audit's role in relation to other controls?
Why should internal audit have a clear reporting route to the audit committee and board?
How do the main reporting audiences and scope of internal and external audit differ in the chapter's comparison?
What three elements make an internal-audit finding useful for action?
What is a budget, and what roles can it serve beyond limiting expenditure?
How can poorly set or rigidly applied budgets damage performance?
What is a standard cost, and why are currently attainable standards useful?
Why does an adverse material-usage variance not automatically establish that production staff performed badly?
How does a material-price variance differ from a material-usage variance?
How does a labour-rate variance differ from a labour-efficiency variance?
How does fixed-overhead expenditure variance differ from fixed-overhead volume variance?
Why should sales-price and sales-volume variances be considered together?
What does an operating statement reconcile?
What does the worked example warn about explaining linked price, volume and advertising variances?
What does capital rationing mean in the chapter's investment example?
With a $24m budget, projects cost $8m, $10m and $12m and have NPVs of $6.7m, $11.5m and $7.7m respectively. If indivisible, which pair gives the highest total NPV?
Why compare feasible project combinations when investments are indivisible?
Why does the solution question using the same discount rate for all three projects?
In the example, a higher risk-adjusted discount rate reduces Project 3's NPV from $7.7m to $4.1m. What happens to the preferred pair?
For infinitely divisible projects under the chapter's single funding constraint, what ranking measure is used?
After funding Projects 2 and 1 for $18m, $6m remains from the $24m budget. If Project 3 is divisible and costs $12m, how much can be undertaken?
What does sensitivity analysis ask about an investment recommendation?
A project has NPV $13,875 and initial cost $130,000. By approximately what percentage could the initial cost increase before NPV becomes zero, other things unchanged?
Why does the sales-volume sensitivity calculation use contribution rather than revenue alone?
What makes a cost relevant to a decision?
Why should an unchanged allocation of existing fixed overhead be excluded from a decision calculation?
What is an opportunity cost?
When one resource is scarce, what should be used to rank products?
Product A contributes $24 and uses 10kg per unit; B contributes $15 and uses 5kg. Which should have priority when material is scarce?
What ranking is used for make-or-buy decisions when an internal resource is scarce?
What financial comparison should inform a closure decision?
A contract needs 1,000kg. Of this, 700kg in inventory has no other use and could be sold for $9/kg; 300kg must be bought for $11/kg. What is the relevant material cost?
Why does the ABC example allocate setup costs by production runs rather than only by units made?
Why does calculating an ABC-based cost-plus price not settle the pricing decision?
Why should a ratio be compared with prior years or similar organisations, and interpreted cautiously?
How is gross profit margin calculated?
Which profit figure does this chapter use for its net profit margin formula?
How is return on capital employed calculated in the notes?
What does asset turnover measure, and how is it calculated?
How are ROCE, asset turnover and operating profit margin linked?
How are inventory days calculated, and what might a high figure indicate?
How are receivables days calculated, and why is an increase not automatically evidence of poor collection?
How are payables days calculated in the notes?
What is the current ratio, and what does a low ratio warn about?
How does the quick ratio differ from the current ratio?
Which gearing measure is used in the chapter, and what concern does higher gearing raise?
How is interest cover calculated, and why is low cover concerning?
How is the price/earnings ratio calculated, and why compare it within a sector?
How is EPS calculated in the notes, and why might a share issue initially reduce it?
In a cost model y = ax + b, what do a and b represent?
What do correlation coefficients of +1 and -1 mean?
If correlation r is 0.7, what is the coefficient of determination r²?
Why does strong correlation not establish causation?
Why is extrapolating a regression relationship beyond the observed range risky?
What are the four components of a time series in the notes?
How is an expected value calculated?
Two projects both have expected income of $6,000. One can yield $1,000 or $11,000; the other $5,000 or $7,000, each equally likely. Why are they not equally risky?
How is a decision tree rolled back?
What does scenario planning add to a single forecast?
How do management and leadership complement each other in the notes?
Which personal qualities does Bennis associate with effective leaders in the chapter?
What management lesson is drawn from the Hawthorne example in the notes?
How do Theory X and Theory Y differ?
What is the central message of contingency approaches to leadership?
How does the Ashridge 'sells' style differ from 'tells'?
How does the Ashridge 'consults' style differ from 'joins'?
What four variables need a suitable fit in Handy's leadership model?
What three needs must an action-centred leader balance in Adair's model?
How does an intrapreneur differ from an entrepreneur?
What does corporate culture describe?
Why should corporate culture be considered when selecting or implementing a strategy?
How might the culture supporting cost leadership differ from one supporting differentiation?
What elements make up the cultural web in the notes?
Why are visible symbols an incomplete guide to corporate culture?
What characterises a power culture?
What can make a role culture slow to adapt?
What distinguishes a task culture?
What characterises a person culture?
Why can a founder-centred power culture become difficult as an organisation grows?
What is a functional structure, and what benefit can it provide?
What problem arises when functional departments put their own priorities first?
How does the chapter describe technology changing the finance function?
What three bases can be used to create divisions?
What is a matrix structure, and what tension can it create?
How should conflicting demands in a matrix structure be resolved?
What potential weaknesses of tall structures are identified in the notes?
What benefits can decentralising decisions offer?
What risks accompany decentralisation?
What is a hollow organisation, and why might it be flexible?
What is outsourcing, and how can it support strategic focus?
Why can an apparently predictable outsourcing price still lead to unexpected costs?
Why can outsourcing be difficult to reverse?
What are the two axes of Harmon's process-strategy matrix?
Why does Harmon's matrix caution against outsourcing strategically important processes?
Why are stable, less complex processes better candidates for automation?
What should be agreed when specifying an outsourced process?
How can a shared-service centre reduce duplication?
What distinguishes global business services from a collection of separate shared services?
What makes a technology disruptive in the chapter's explanation?
Why should business change follow a planned approach?
What does POPIT stand for?
What should the organisation and processes views of POPIT examine?
What should the people and IT views of POPIT examine?
How does talent management support a change in strategy?
Why can managing people be harder than managing physical assets during change?
Why does the Baldrige model begin with the organisational profile?
What do the customer and workforce parts of the Baldrige model ask management to examine?
Why should the results element of Baldrige compare performance with relevant targets?
What four feasibility perspectives are applied to proposed changes in the notes?
What is a business process?
Why should organisations continue reviewing processes that currently work?
How does automation differ from rationalisation?
What distinguishes business process re-engineering from a small operational improvement?
What is process simplification intended to remove?
What does analysing gaps and disconnects focus on?
What faults should be sought when reading a swim-lane diagram?
Why is preparing dispatch before obtaining credit approval a process weakness in the example?
How do adaptation and evolution differ in the scope-and-speed model?
How do revolution and reconstruction differ in the scope-and-speed model?
Why might employees resist organisational change?
What eight contextual features appear in Balogun and Hope Hailey's model?
How does capability differ from capacity when assessing change?
Why should preservation be considered before redesigning an organisation?
Why should change design choices follow an assessment of context?
What does Lewin's force-field analysis suggest about overcoming resistance?
How can communication reduce resistance to change?
What are Lewin's three stages of change?
Why is refreezing needed after implementing change?
What can an external change agent contribute, despite the cost?
What characteristics distinguish a project from routine operations?
What should a project's business case establish?
How do observable, measurable, quantifiable and financial benefits differ in the notes?
What should a project initiation document define?
How do the project manager's and project sponsor's roles differ?
Why must scope, time, cost and quality be considered together?
What options should a manager present to the sponsor when a project slips behind schedule?
What project characteristics raise risk in the chapter's model?
What is the purpose of a project completion report?
How does a post-project review differ from a post-implementation review?
Card 1 of 652. Question side.