Business Planning (L1) Flashcards
What tools does your company use to ensure you are making a profit?
Monthly Contract Reviews
Staff Resource Planners (to ensure full utilisation)
Team Meetings
Training Implementation (to ensure full utilisation)
What is benchmarking on a construction project?
A process whereby the estimated performance is compared to another similar project. This can highlight areas which do not represent good value for money, or whether the prices offered are in line with the wider market
What is a PESTLE analysis?
PESTLE is an acronym for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental.
It is a way of understanding and reviewing how external forces may impact the business
What is a SWOT analsysis?
A planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats involved in a project or business venture. Can be used as a basis for business strategy.
What are the issues related to staff turnover?
It can be expensive and time consuming to hire staff
Training new people is time consuming and expensive
Turnover can also affect team dynamics, productivity and continuity
What are SMART targets/objectives as part of a business plan?
Objectives which are: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time bound.
What is an investment appraisal?
Used to assess whether a business or project would be a worthwhile investment in terms of return (both financially and/or added value). Considerations: Rate of return, payback period, net present value (NPV).
Give examples of fee-earning and non-fee-earning staff?
Fee-earning: QS, PM, Architect
Non-fee-earning: Administration staff, IT technicians
What is the purpose of a business organisation chart?
A graphical representation of the roles, responsibilities and relationships between individuals within the organisation.
It can be used to depict the structure of an organisation as a whole or broken down into smaller units.
How do you contribute to your company’s goals?
Sharing knowledge within my team
Keeping up to date with new technologies and systems
Delivering and exceeding my responsibilites
Understanding my personal and project objectives, and delivering against them
Focusing on safety
What is the objective of Porter’s 5 Forces model?
Porter’s 5 foreces is a model that identifies the competetive forces that shape every industry and helps determine an industry’s strengths and weaknesses. Frequently used to determine business strategy.
The 5 forces are: Supplier power, Buyer power, Threat of substitutes, Threat of new entrants, Competetive rivalry
What is a joint venture?
A joint venture is a business arrangement in which two or more parties agree to pool their resources for the purpose of accomplishing a specific task. This task can be a new project or business activity.
Each of the participants in a JV is responsible for profits, losses and costs associated with it. However, the venture is its own entity, separate from the participants’ other business interests.
Can you explain what working capital is?
Working capital represents the amount available to a company for day-to-day use and describes the company’s ability to meet its current liabilities. It is calculated by the difference between current assets and current liabilities.
What is meant by business strategy?
An outline of the actions and decisions a company plans to take to reach its business goals and objectives
The strategy defines what the business needs to do to reach its goals, which can help guide the decision making process for hiring and resource allocation
What is meant by strategic planning?
The managerial process of developing and maintaining a strategic fit between the organisation’s objectives, resources and changing market opportunities.
