internal factors of strategic positioning ( - balance sheets)

Question 1

mission statements vs vision statements

Answer 1

purpose of the business
what it wants to be in the future

Question 2

influences on a businesses mission

Answer 2

values of founders
values of employees
industry apart of
societal views
ownership of the business

Question 3

define corporate objectives

Answer 3

medium - long term goals to coordinate the business

Question 4

define strategic decisions

Answer 4

made by senior management for long term involving major commitment

Question 5

internal influences on corporate objectives and strategic decisions

Answer 5

poor performance
new leader/ownership
pressures for short-termism
business culture

Question 6

external influences on corporate objectives and strategic decisions

Answer 6

state of the economy
global prices
technological changes
migration

Question 7

strategy vs tactics

Answer 7

long term
short term

Question 8

SWOT analysis

Answer 8

strengths weaknesses opportunities threats

Question 9

name a strategic analysis

Answer 9

SWOT

Question 10

benefits of SWOT

Answer 10

low cost
structured
recognise risk
combined well with PESTLE-C
can be used within functions

Question 11

limitations of SWOT

Answer 11

unable to factor in multi-sided factors
does not provide a solution
can be subjective
only as good as the data based upon

Question 12

capital employed =

Answer 12

working capital + NCA

Question 13

working capital =

Answer 13

CA - CL

Question 14

what does the amount of working capital depend on

Answer 14

the volume of sales
the trade credit offered
growth
length of operating cycle
rate of inflation

Question 15

what is depreciation

Answer 15

the reduction in value of an asset over a period of time

Question 16

why do firms depreciate assets

Answer 16

to show its re-sale value

Question 17

Types of profit on an income statement

Answer 17

Gross profit
Net profit (before and after tax)
operating profit

Question 18

structure of an income statement

Answer 18

gross profit (rev - cogs)
operating profit (gross - overheads)
profit before tax (operating +financing costs)
profit after tax (profit before tax - tax)

Question 19

exceptional items vs extraordinary items

Answer 19

large one-off transactions

large transactions outside usual trading

Question 20

what is window dressing

Answer 20

when PLC’s present their financial performance in the most favourable way possible

Question 20

how can a PLC windowdress?

Answer 20

borrow short term to increase cash
sale and leaseback to improve liquidity
capitalising expenditure
bring forward sales from the next financial year

Question 20

4 classifications of ratios

Answer 20

profitability
liquidity
gearing
efficiency

Question 21

what is the profitability ratio

Answer 21

ROCE

Question 22

calculate the profitability ratio

Answer 22

operating profit
___________________ x100
capital employed

Question 23

calculate ROCE

Answer 23

operating profit
___________________ x100
capital employed

Question 24

what are the liquidity ratios

Answer 24

current ratio and gearing

Question 25

calculate the liquidity ratios

Answer 25

current assets
_________________
current liabilities

and

NCL
_____________________ x 100
total equity + NCL

Question 25

calculate the current ratio

Answer 25

current assets
_________________
current liabilities

Question 26

calculate the gearing of a business

Answer 26

NCL
_____________________ x 100
total equity + NCL

Question 27

what are the efficiency ratios

Answer 27

inventory turnover
payables
recievables

Question 28

calculate inventory turnover

Answer 28

inventories
______________ x 100
cost of sales(unit costs)

Question 29

calculate payable days

Answer 29

payables
_____________ x 365
cost of sales

Question 30

calculate receivable days

Answer 30

receivables
_______________ x 365
revenue

Question 31

benefits of ratio analysis

Answer 31

can easily view trends in data
can benchmark easily

Question 32

limitations of ratio analysis

Answer 32

does not take into account:
market within
position within market
quality of workforce and management
economic environment

Question 33

non-financial data to assess strengths and weaknesses of a business

Answer 33

OPS - productivity
quality
capacity utilisation
HR - absenteeism
turnover
retention
productivity
health & safety data
labour cost per unit
MARKETING - forecasts of future sales
results of market research
progress on product dev.
ENVIRONMENTAL - air emissions
water emissions
land emissions
use of non-renewables

Question 34

what are core competancies

Answer 34

unique abilities that a business possesses that provide it with competitive advantage

Question 35

who developed the idea of core competencies

Answer 35

Prahalad and Hamal

Question 36

benefits of core competencies

Answer 36

take advantage of opportunities
added value
can reduce gaps in the markets

Question 37

drawbacks of core copentencies

Answer 37

too much of the business becomes outsourced

out of date

Question 38

What theories assesses business performance

Answer 38

Kaplan and Norton’s balanced scorecard
Elkington’s triple bottom line

Question 39

what do Kaplan and Norton suggest managers consider when looking at performance (as well as financial measures)

Answer 39

customers perspective
company’s internal perspective
innovation and improvement

Question 40

What does Kaplan and Norton’s balanced scorecard model suggest

Answer 40

that financial methods of measuring performance are inadequate on their own, and to look at a structured non-financial methods to get a more ‘balanced’ view

Question 41

What was Elkington’s triple bottom line focused on

Answer 41

Profit
Planet
People

Question 42

Why is Elkington’s triple bottom line important

Answer 42

to look at social responsibility as another way of a businesses performance

Question 43

drawbacks of Elkington’s triple bottom line

Answer 43

the three sections are not comparable