Engineering Management & Law Flashcards
What is systemic deliberation?
Am approach to decision-making that helps avoid bias
What organisation pushed the UK-SPEC?
The engineering council
Who may accredit a degree program?
Professional bodies
What is mono-tasking?
Working on 1 activity at a time
What is the Eisenhower Principle?
A 2x2 time management matrix for prioritising taks
Important, urgent: do immediately
Important, not urgent: schedule later
Not important, urgent: delegate
Not important, not urgent: Eliminate
What are the 4 components of Ikigai?
What you love
What you’re good at
What you can be paid for
What the world needs
What are the 6 steps in Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle?
Description -> Feelings -> Evaluation -> Analysis -> Conclusion -> Action Plan -> [back to beginning]
What are the SMART goals?
Specific
Measurable
Time-bounded
Achievable
Realistic
What 2 ways of starting a company?
Entrepreneurship (starting own company): more control, higher reward
Intrapreneurship (business within a company): less risk, more talent, less control, lower reward
What is Gilbrat’s Law?
A theory about company growth & decline
“The growth of a business occurs in random shocks”
Random process - independent of firm size and time
How does Gilbrat’s Law apply to different-sized firms?
Holds up better for larger firms
Smaller firms are more volatile
Size & growth are inversely proportional
What are the 5 stages of business decline and their countermeasures?
1) Blinded - good information
2) Inaction - prompt action
3) Faulty action - corrective action
4) Crisis - effective reorganisation
5) Dissolution
What are assets?
The money you owe (liabilities) + the ownership interest of shareholders (equity)
How are assets maintained?
Double entry bookkeeping
Each transaction is entered twice as a credit and debit - these balance
What are the 3 accounting equations for double entry bookkeeping?
Assets: debits increase, credits decrease
Liabilities: debits decrease, credits increase
Equity: debits decrease, credits increase
What are the 2 branches of accounting?
Financial accounting - annual reports of company’s situation to shareholders & public
Management accounting - additional, more up to data info (includes company confidential data); used to monitor performance to support management decision-making
What do balance sheets show?
Assets, liability, equity
What 3 financial reports are there and what do they entail?
Profit & loss reports - shows income & expenses
Equity statement - shows retained earnings
Cash flow statement - shows operating costs, investing & finances
What is insolvency?
The state where a company is unable to pay its debts when they are due because liabilities exceed assets
What is liquidation?
The process of selling company assets to pay debts, usually leading to closure
What are the 2 fundamental qualitative characteristics of financial information?
As per IFRS:
* Relevance
* Faithful Representation
What are the 4 fundamental enhancing characteristics of financial information?
As per IFRS:
* Comparability
* Understandability
* Timeliness
* Verifiability
What are the 3 key financial metrics?
Market Cap(italisation): share price x no. shares
Earnings per Share (EPS): profit / no. shares
Beta: measure of volatility of market
What are the 3 approaches to budgeting?
Top-down: senior managers leave lower levels to work out details
Bottom-up: lower levels tell senior managers resources they need
Participatory: budget negotiated between different levels
What is a cost centre
An identifiable part of an organisation (department, machine, individual, etc) to which costs can be assigned and aggregated
How is profit of a single product calculated?
profit = pq - (F + wq)
p: sales price
q: quantity sold
F: fixed costs (e.g. rent, salaries)
w: variable costs per unit sold (e.g. materials, shipping)
What are overheads?
Costs required to run a business
What are overhead allocations?
How overheads are shared across multiple products/services
Cost tracing vs cost allocations
Cost tracing: directly linking costs to specific cost objects (direct costs) e.g. raw materials
Cost allocations: distributing costs from a central point to specific cost objects (indirect costs) e.g. electricity, water
What is TCS and ABC?
Traditional Cost System - allocates overhead to products based on single volume-based cost driver such as labour hours - less accurate
Activity Based Costing - a more accurate system that uses a number of cost drivers
What is Moore’s Law?
Direct costs per unit is inversely proportional to cumulative volume of production
What are core competencies?
The unique resources & skills that give a company a competitive advantage in its industry
Legal rule vs legal principle
Legal rule: clear, specific directive with little room for interpretation e.g. speed limit is 60mph
Legal principle: more flexible guideline that reflect general values/standards e.g. no one should be unjustly enriched
What are the 2 primary sources of law?
Legislation: refers to laws made by a government body, like a parliament or congress
Case/Common Law: refers to laws created by court decisions, where judges interpret existing laws or set legal principles when no specific law applies
What are the 3 branches of power?
The Legislature - makes & passes laws; consists of parliament/congress
The Executive - implements & enforces law; led by president/prime minister/government ministers
The Judiciary - interprets & applies laws; through courts & judges
Name 2 alternatives to the traditional court system and why they are used
Tribunals & Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
Reasons:
* Cheaper
* Heard in private (good for businesses disclosing finances)
* Eases pressure on court system
What are ABSs (Alternative Business Structures)?
A law firm structure that allows non-lawyers to own or invest in law firms, offering legal services in a more flexible way
What are solicitors?
A legal professional who provides advice, prepares legal documents, and may represent clients in lower courts
What are barristers?
A lawyer who specializes in court advocacy, representing clients in higher courts, and offering specialist legal advice
What are judges?
A legal official who presides over court proceedings, interprets the law, and delivers rulings and judgments in legal cases
What are the 2 justice systems?
Civil Justice System: deals with disputes between individuals or organizations; aim is usually compensation or resolution rather than punishment
Criminal Justice System: handles offenses against society or the state; goal is to punish offenders, maintain public order, and deter future crimes
What does the concept of law distinguish between?
Primary rules: regulate behaviour by imposing duties & obligations e.g. do not steal
Secondary rules: govern the creation, modification & recognition of primary rules
What is the rule of recognition?
A legal principle for determining if a rule is valid within the legal system
What are the 6 steps in the concept of contact?
1) Existence of a contract: do we have a contract?
2) Validity: is the contract legally valid?
3) Offer and Acceptance: a contract is formed by one party’s offer and the other’s acceptance
4) Intent to be legally bound: did both parties intend to create legal relations?
5) Consideration: there must be an exchange of value between parties
6) Formalities: compliance with required formalities (e.g., written or deed)
What are the 2 approaches to contract law?
Objective - what was said and done; how would a reasonable third party interpret the situation
Subjective - focuses on actual, internal intentions of parties involved
What are the 3 types of contractual terms?
Conditions: fundamental terms; breach allows termination and damages
Warranties: minor terms; breach allows damages but not termination
Innominate Terms: intermediate terms; remedy depends on breach severity, termination if it significantly deprives the benefit
What are exemption clauses?
Terms in a contract that aim to limit or exclude one party’s liability for breach of contract, negligence, etc
What are statutory interventions?
Actions taken by the government that regulate/limit use of exemption clauses in contracts
What is The Consumer Rights Act 2015?
Provides protection for consumers against unfair terms, including exemption clauses, in business-to-consumer contracts
What is the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977?
Regulates exemption clauses in business-to-business contracts
Prevents parties from excluding or restricting liability in certain cases
How is contractual interpretation determined (3)?
Through the meaning of a contract based on background knowledge
Previous negotiations can’t be used as background
Document’s words should be understood in context (mistake in wording isn’t penalised)
In what 4 ways can a contract be discharged?
Through:
* Performance
* Agreement
* Frustration
* Breach
When does discharge of contract by performance occur (including exceptions)?
When both parties complete their agreed obligations
Exceptions:
* Substantial performance
* Divisible contracts
* Prevention of completion by other party
* Acceptance of partial performance
When does discharge of contract by agreement occur?
When both parties agree to release each other from further duties
What are the 2 types of discharge of contract by agreement?
Unilateral discharge: one party is released from their obligations under the contract, but the other party remains bound by it
Bilateral discharge: both parties agree to release each other from all obligations under the contract, effectively ending it for both sides
When does discharge of contract by frustration occur?
When an unforseen event makes the contract impossible to fulfil
When does discharge of contract by breach occur?
When one party fails to fulfil their obligations
What are the two types of discharge of contract by breach?
Actual breach
Anticipatory breach (party intends not to perform)
What 6 remedies are there for breach of contract?
Damages: monetary compensation
Action for agreed contract price: recover payment owed
Quantum meruit: payment for value of work/services
Specific performance: breaching party must fulfil obligations
Injunction: court order preventing violation of contract
Repudiation: treating contract as terminated due to refusal/inability to perform
What are the 2 forms of business organisations?
Incorporated - legal entity
Unincorporated - no separate legal entity from participants
How are partnerships formed?
Through contractually binding agreement
What 4 types of partner are there?
Typical partner - actively participates in management
Silent partner - only invests in business
Salaried partner - receives fixed salary instead of share
Partner by estoppel - not officially a partner but treated as one
What 4 duties does a partner have?
General duties
Duty of disclosure
Duty to account
Duty to not compete
How is liability determined in a partnership?
Liability is shared equally based on percentage of ownership
What is a LLP (Limited Liability Partnership)?
A partnership where partners are only liable up to the value of their participation
In case of insolvency, loss equals their investment in the LLP
How are limited companies formed?
Founding members send documents to the Companies House and a registration fee
How are debts handled in limited companies?
Shareholders responsible for debts up to value of their shares
Company pays all its debts to creditors
What is the denotation for private and public limited companies?
Private: Ltd
Public: PLC
What act allows insolvent limited companies to be liquedated?
Insolvency Act 1986
What does the principal do in an agency?
Authorizes an agent to act on their behalf in a legal or business matter
What are the 5 ways agents derive their authority in an agency?
Actual authority - principal directly gives agent permission to act on their behalf
Implied authority - agent’s authority assumed from principal’s actions
Apparent/ostensible authority - third party believes agent has authority based on how the principal presents the agent
Authority through ratification - principal approves contract after agent has made it (where agent exceeds authority)
Authority through necessity - emergency requires agent to act to protect principal’s interests
What are agents?
Fiduciaries - entrusted to act in the best interests of the principal, which arises from the confidence and trust that underpin the agency relationship
What 3 rights do agents have?
Indemnity - entitled to compensation for any liability/costs incurred while performing duties
Payment
Maintain the goods (lien) - can keep control of goods related to a debt until principal pays what is owed
What 2 types of liability do agents have?
Tortious - agent is personally liable if they commit a harmful act (vicarious liability - where principle is jointly liable)
Contractual - if agent acts within authority, not liable for contracts
In what 2 ways can an agency relationship end?
Termination by the parties
Operating by the law
What is capital budget decision?
Deciding what long-term investments a business should take
Returns should exceed cost of capital
What 2 options does a firm with funds have?
Invest within the firm
Return money to shareholders
What is the payback method?
Measures how many years it takes for an investment to cover initial cost (shorter is better, max 5 years)
What are 2 disadvantages of payback method?
Doesn’t account for time value of money
Ignores cash flows after payback
What is ARR (Accounting Rate of Return)
Average anual profit / initial investment
What is the DCF (Discounted Cash Flow) method?
Assesses all expected cash inflows and outflows by converting future amounts to current value to evaluate profitability of project’s lifespan
Uses RRR (Required Rate of Return)
How to do NPV (Net Present Value) method?
1) Create a table of cash inflows & outflows
2) Convert into present values
3) Sum to determine NPV (if sum of converted values exceeds initial payment)
What is IRR (Internal Rate of Return)?
Find the discount rate (cost of capital) that makes present value of initial investment equal to present value of cash inflows, effectively setting NPV to 0
What is MAS?
Multi-agent system - a set of agents that interact with each other and their environment to achieve joint objectives
What is ACE?
Agent-Based Computational Economics - uses agent-based modeling to explore and analyze economic systems
What is the Shapley Value?
A concept from cooperative game theory
Assigns value to each player/feature based on contribution to overall outcome
What are the 4 key properties of the Shapley Value?
Efficiency - total value distributed between players
Symmetry - players who contribute equally receive equal shares
Linearity - value for combines games = sum of values for individual games
Null player - player adding no value receives 0 payoff
What is cooperative game theory?
Studies how groups of players can work together to achieve shared goals and how to fairly distribute the rewards or costs among them based on their contributions
When should agents work together in cooperative game theory?
When the summation of their individual costs is greater than their collaborative costs
Stability of cost allocations: what are the rules of efficiency & rationality
Efficiency: summation of costs = total cost
Rationality: allocated cost when defecting cooperation < cooperating
Give an example of ISR (Individual Shapley Regression)
A pays 7k, B pays 11k, total cost to operationalise ISR is 15k
A allocated 7/(7+11) * 15000 = 5833
B allocated 11/(7+11) * 15000 = 9167
What is ABM (Agent-Based Modelling)?
A computational simulation in which influential actors of the system will be represented by segments of the program
Summarise statistical quality control to 4 points
- Quality assurance
- Failure management
- Six sigma approach - 6std from mean should occur before defect arises
- Variability by context
Quality control vs quality assurance vs total quality management
Quality control - maintain standards by testing items
Quality assurance - provide confidence that errors will be prevented by proper processes
Total quality management - everyone is responsible for maintaining standards
What is the principle of the Pareto chart?
20% of factors cause 80% of issues
What is lean thinking?
A management philosophy focused on maximizing value for customers while minimizing waste in processes
What is the DMIAC approach?
A problem-solving strategy
- Define
- Measure
- Improve
- Analyse
- Control
What 4 reasons might make a project happen?
Market demand
Customer request
Technilogical advancement
Legal requirement
What are the 4 stages of project management?
1) Foundation
2) Planning
3) Implementation
4) Termination
Name 4 internal project stakeholders
Top management
Other functional managers
Accounting
Project team members
What is SOW (the statement of work)?
A detailed narrative description of work required for a project
Describe a generic hierarchy for a WBS (work breakdown structure) (4)?
Level 1 - project
Level 2 - deliverable
Level 3 - sub-deliverable
Level 4 - work package
What is the RAM (responsibility assignment matrix)?
A tool used in project management to define and clarify the roles and responsibilities of team members for specific tasks or deliverables
What is the equation for event risk?
Probability of event x consequences of event
Name the 4 stages of risk management
1) Risk identification
2) Analysis of probability & consequences
3) Risk mitigation strategies
4) Control & documentation
What is RBS (risk breakdown structure)?
A tool in identifying & categorising project risks by creating a hierarchical representation of project risks
What is a risk impact matrix?
A tool to evaluate and prioritize risks by assessing their likelihood and consequences
How are early & late starts & finishes calculated on activity nodes?
Early: forward pass activity duration
Late: backward pass activity duration
What is the activity float/stack on an activity node?
late start/finish - early start/finsih
How are critical paths decided?
Link 0 floats/stacks together
Critical path is the the path with longest duration
What are tort laws?
Govern civil wrongs for which a remedy (compensation/damages) is provided
What are 3 parties in a tort claim?
Claimant - wronged party
Defendant - party on receiving end of claim
Tortfeasor - alledged wrongdoer (generally the defendant)
What are the 3 types of tort?
Intentional Torts - deliberate, intended wrongs by tortfeasor
Negligence Torts - shortcomings of degree of care by tortfeasor
Strict Liability Torts - claimant must prove defendant was at fault regardless of intent
In what 3 ways can duty of care be determined?
Assumption of responsibility - when one takes responsibility for satefy of another
Incrementalism - look at previous cases with similar situations to decide
Caparo test - for novel cases
What 3 criteria must be met to pass the Caparo test?
1) Was the damage a forseeable result of the defendant’s actions?
2) Was the relationship between the claimant & defendant close enough?
3) Is the imposition of a duty of case fair, just & reasonable?
What is factual causation?
Where a causal link must be shown between the damage and the defendant’s negligence
What is the but-for test?
A tort law determining factual causation
Asks “But for the defendant’s actions, would the harm have occurred?”
Even if the defendant’s actions weren’t the only cause, yes if contributed/increased damage
What is legal causation?
Once the tortfeasor’s negligence is determined to be factual cause, must be proved that tortfeasor is also legally responsible
What are the 4 most common defences to a negligence claim?
Illegality - where claimant has committed an unlawful act
Consent - where claimant consented to risk/damage
Necessity - where tortfeasor acted to prevent imminent danger
Contributory negligence - where claimant contributed to extent of damage
What are the 2 remedies to a negligence claim?
Damages
Injunctions - stops tortfeasor continue tortious conduct
What does the Limitation Act 1980 say?
Tort actions must be brought within 6 years from when the cause of action arises
What is vicarious liability?
Holds an employer legally responsible for the actions of their employees when those actions occur within the scope of their employment
What is the scope of “personal data”?
Any information - even name
What is anonymous data?
Information that has been processed to remove or obscure personal identifiers
What is the reasonably likely test?
Determines if an individual can be identified based on all reasonably likely means, considering context and dynamics
If not, the data is considered anonymous
What is pseudonymisation?
A data protection technique that replaces/relocates identifiable information with pseudonyms
e.g. replacing names with reference numbers
Data controller vs data processor
Data controller - determines purpose & means of processing personal data
Data processor - processes personal data on behalf of the controller
What 3 things can’t be patented?
Medical treatment
Biological subject-matter
Inventions contrary to morality
Employee vs worker
Employee works under a contract with specific rights
Worker provides services personally with fewer rights
What 3 obligations does an employee have?
Turn up to work
Be provided with work
Perform work personally
Wrongful dismissal vs unfair dismissal
Wrongful dismissal - when an employer breaches employment contract e.g. not giving proper notice
Unfair dismissal - when anemplyer ends a contract without a fair reason
Direct discrimination vs indirect discrimination
Direct discrimination - when someone is treated unfailry because of a protected characteristic
Indirect discrimination - when a policy applies to everyone but disadvantages people with a PC (e.g. too short)
What is victimisation?
When someone is treated unfairly or subjected to harm because they made or supported a complaint about discrimination or asserted their legal rights
From highest to lowest, what are the levels in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?
1) Self-actualisation
2) Esteem
3) Social needs
4) Safety & security
5) Psychological needs
Explain McGregor’s Theory X, Y, and Z
Theory X - assumes employees are inherently lazy and are motivated by money
Theory Y - believes employees are motivated, responsible, and enjoy work
Theory Z - focuses on long-term job security, teamwork, and trust in employees
What is the bathtub curve and its phases?
A graphical representation of the failure rates of a product over time
Phases: infant mortality, constant failures, wear-out
What is 360 degree feedback?
A performance appraisal method where an employee receives feedback from multiple sources
What is Scott Adams’ Company Model?
Suggests that success in business often comes from creating something valuable, with minimal overhead and unnecessary complexity
What is an OA5 Manager?
An out at 5 manager is a mid-level managerial position, responsible for overseeing teams and managing projects
What is the Dilbert Principle?
The most ineffective employees are often promoted to management positions as they are less likely to cause harm in a leadership role
What is Adams’ Equity Theory?
If rewards aren’t fair, staff lose motivation
Is performance-related payment good?
Increases productivity but also increase pay variability, lowering morale
Best to do uniform performance pay or team-level incentive pay
What is Simon’s concept of bounded rationality?
Suggests that individuals don’t make perfectly rational choices, but rather make decisions based on limited information, cognitive constraints, and time restrictions
What are Drucker’s 4 management functions?
Planning
Organising
Leading
Controlling
What is the OODA loop?
A decision-making process
- Observe
- Orient
- Decide
- Act
What are the 4 styles of leadership?
Transactional leadership - focuses on giving rewards or punishments based on performance to maintain order and achieve goals
Transformational leadership - inspires and motivates followers to exceed expectations and drive change
Charismatic leadership - relies on the leader’s personal charm and ability to inspire devotion and loyalty
Situational leadership - adapts leadership style based on the needs and maturity of followers in different situations.
What are the 5 decision-making styles?
Autocratic I (AI) - leader solves the problem themselves
Autocratic II (AII) - leader gathers information from group members, makes the decision alone
Consultative I (CI) - leader shares the problem individually with group members, makes the final decision alone.
Consultative II (CII) - leader discusses the problem with the group, makes the decision alone
Group II (GII) - leader meets with the group and directs the discussion, group makes the decision
What are the axis of the project S-curve?
x: time
y: cumulative cost
What is EVM (earned value management)?
A project management technique used to assess a project’s performance by comparing the planned progress (planned value), the actual progress (earned value), and the actual costs (actual cost)
What are the 4 types of project termination?
- Termination by extinction - project completed
- Termination by addition - transitions into an ongoing operation
- Termination by integration - outputs merged with other projects
- Termination by starvation - lack of resources
What is waterfall project management
A sequential approach where each phase of the project is completed before moving on to the next, with little to no overlap between phases
What is TRL (technology readiness levels)?
Assesses the maturity of a technology, ranging from basic research (TRL 1) to fully developed, operational systems (TRL 9)
Helps determine readiness for deployment
What is the “valley of death”?
Levels 4-6 of TRL
Where a technology struggles to move from research and commercialisaiton
What is projectification?
The trend of organizing work into distinct projects with set goals and timelines
Change management: Kotter vs Kanter
Kotter outlines a step-by-step process for managing change
Kanter discusses the key qualities of a good change manager
What is due diligence?
The process of thoroughly investigating & evaluating a business/individual before making a decision, such as a purchase or investment
What does professional indemnity insurance do?
Protects professionals against claims of negligence, errors, or omissions in their work
What is CSR (corporate social responsibility)?
A business approach where companies take responsibility for their social, environmental, and economic impacts
Primary vs secondary stakeholders
Primary stakeholders are both important and influential
Secondary stakeholders are either important or influential
What is greenwashing?
Where companies convey a false impression or provide misleading information about how their products are more environmentally sound than they actually are
What is carbon offsetting?
A way for individuals/companies/organisations to compensate for their CO₂ emissions by funding projects that reduce or remove an equivalent amount of CO₂ from the atmosphere
