BST - Strategy, info systems and change management

Question 1

What are the popular performance measurements?

Answer 1

1. Revenue growth
2. Average price per unit
3. Changes in costs
4. Gross margins
5. Market share

Question 1

What are the 4 perspectives of the balanced scorecard approach?

Answer 1

1. Financial
2. Customer
3. Internal business
4. Innovation and learning

Question 2

What are the four main categories of benchmarking?

Answer 2

1. Internal
2. Competitive
3. Activity (best in class)
4. Generic

Question 3

What are the sections of a business plan?

Answer 3

Cover sheet
Contents
Introduction
Executive summary
The market
The product/service
The management team
Business operations
Financial projections
Amount and use of finance required and possible exit routes
Appendices

Question 4

What are the 4 key areas of functional strategy

Answer 4

1. HR
2. R&D (product and process)
3. Operations
4. Procurement

Question 5

What are the main strategic considerations for operations?

Answer 5

The 4 V’s:
- Volume, variety, visibility, variation of demand

Capacity planning:
- Made to stock, made to order (JIT) and manipulation of demand

Question 6

What are the main strategic considerations of procurement?

Answer 6

Purchasing mix:
- Quantity, quality, price, delivery

Supply chain management:
- Responsiveness, reliability, relationships

Question 7

When the finance department acts as a business partner, what can it offer the entity?

Answer 7

1. Data and information
2. Aid the understanding of performance
3. Create credible business plans
4. Prepare budgets
5. Design information systems

Question 8

The four key big data issues are?

Answer 8

1. Volume
2. Velocity
3. Variety
4. Veracity

Question 9

What are the two types of knowledge?

Answer 9

Explicit - knowledge the entity knows it has
Tacit - undocumented, personal knowledge and expertise

Question 10

Types of cyber security threats?

Answer 10

1. Human (error)
2. Fraud
3. Deliberate sabotage
4. Viruses and other corruptions
5. Denial of service

Question 11

What are the 4 types of change?

Answer 11

1. Tuning
2. Planned
3. Adaptation
4. Forced

Question 12

What are examples of barriers of change?

Answer 12

Cultural:
- Structural inertia (imbedded systems)
- Group inertia
- Power structures

Personnel:
- Habit, job security, fear, effect on earnings
- Selective information processing
- Psychological contract

Question 13

Explain Lewin’s iceberg model

Answer 13

1. Unfreeze - (comms, education, participation, negotiation)
2. Move - (Training, structure, new equipment and contracts)
3. Refreeze - (Reinforce change, comms successes, promote beliefs, reward conformity)