Definitions

Question 1

Risk management

Answer 1

The process of Identifying and assessing the risks facing a business, and the development, implementation and monitoring of a strategy to respond to these risks in order to reduce threats to acceptable levels.

The mitigation of risks by reducing their likelihood or impact

Question 2

Business continuity planning

Answer 2

The process through which a business details how and when it will recover and restore operations interrupted by the occurrence of a massive (but rare) risk event

e.g. natural disaster such as a warehouse flood or fire or a major breach of security causing their website / IT systems to be down for an extended period

Question 3

Supply Chain Management (3 R’s)

Answer 3

Responsiveness, Reliability and Relationships

Question 4

Capital investment issues

Answer 4

Increased fixed costs increases operational gearing and thus increases risk

Question 5

Mission Statement (PSPV)

Answer 5

Purpose - why does the organisation exist?

Strategy - what resources give it a competitive advantage?

Policies - what standards are adopted?

Values - what beliefs to staff share?

Question 6

9 M’s model

Answer 6

Men
Money
Machinery
Materials
Methods
Markets
Management
Management information 
Make-up (culture)

Question 7

Objectives (SMART)

Answer 7

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Relevant

Timed

Question 8

Organisational plan (MOSAP)

Answer 8

Mission (PSPV)

Objectives (SMART)

Strategies (long term plans to achieve objectives)

Action Plans (short term plans to achieve strategies)

Question 9

Porters 5 forces

Answer 9

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Power of customers

Power of suppliers

Competitive rivalry

Question 10

Porters Diamond

Answer 10

Demand conditions

Supply conditions

Strategy, structure and rivalry

Related and supported industries

Question 11

Critical Success Factors

Answer 11

Small number of key goals vital to the success of an organisation.

Identifying CSFs allows an organisation to configure its resources and competencies it needs to invest in / focus to success

Question 12

Steps of Knowledge Management

Answer 12

Identify knowledge that exists within the organisation

Capture / document this information to create a knowledge base

Disseminate the knowledge to the appropriate people

Determine ways it can be tracked and developed

Ensure it’s kept confidential and secure

Question 13

Benchmarking (KPIs)

Answer 13

Benchmarking is: the establishment, through data gathering, of targets and comparators through whose use relative levels of performance (and particular areas of underperformance) can be identified by the adoption of identify best practices this helps the performance will improve

Historical / internal

Competitor

Activity (best in class)

Question 14

“Comment on the organisational structure”

Answer 14

Mintzberg’s operational configuration:

Operating core (shop floor)
Middle management (regional managers)
Techno structure (IT, can be outsourced)
Support staff (Legal, finance, can be outsourced)
Strategic apex (partners / owner-managers) 
Ideology (organisational-wide beliefs)

Question 15

Types of Mintzberg’s structural organisations:

Answer 15

Entrepreneurial (owner-manager)

Functional structure (board of directors oversee finance, marketing, HR, production etc)

Divisionalised structure (board of directors oversee geographic divisions)

Matrix structure (rows: functional, columns: product type)

Professional bureaucracy (standardisation of skills)

Handy’s Shamrock (core of essential executives and workers supported by outside contractors and part-time help”)

Question 16

Ansoff’s matrix

Answer 16

Existing product, existing market:
Market penetration (risk = lack of diversification)

   Existing product, new market:
Market development (risk = market research needs to be done to ensure a correct fit with new market)

   New product, existing market:
Product development (risk = product failure due to poor R&D may damage the brand) 

New product, new market:
Diversification (related / concentric): become own supplier (forward) or distributor (backward); gain econ of combined operations (risk = increased fixed costs therefore increased operational gearing; capital needed; reduced flexibility to change partners)

Diversification (unrelated / conglomerate): achieve synergies through brand name (risk = failure in one venture causes damage to whole brand, lack of synergies for shareholders as they’re assumed to be fully diversified anyway)

Question 17

Lynch’s expansion model

Answer 17

Organic / acquisition

Domestic / international

Question 18

The three E’s of a public (not for profit) organisation

Answer 18

Economy

Efficiency

Effectiveness

Question 19

Gemini 4 Rs change framework

Answer 19

Reframing

Restructuring

Revitalising

Renewal

Question 20

Corporate governance

Answer 20

The system by which companies are directed and controlled. The aim of CG is to facilitate the effective, prudent management in order to deliver long term success. It is underpinned by the principles of accountability, transparency, honesty and focus on long term sustainable success

Question 21

Ethics is:

Answer 21

Ethics pertains to whether a particular behaviour is deemed acceptable in the context under consideration. In short, it is “doing the right thing”.

In making any ethics evaluation it is first necessary to establish the facts

…

Helpful to apply the Institute of Business Ethics’ three tests:

• Transparency
• Effect
• Fairness