Knowledge 3 | Business Fundamentals Flashcards
Financial Processes relevant to Administrators
Purpose of Payroll
o creating pay statements
o making salary payments/deductions
o processing employee business expenses
o calculating national insurance contributions
o calculating pension contributions
Purpose of Accounting
o Recording transactions (sales, costs)
o Monitoring activity (spending, cash flow)
o Auditing (checking financial statements are accurate)
Purpose of Managing budgets
o Identifying priorities
o Negotiating/agreeing financial resources
o Recording of income/expenditure
o Monitoring income/expenditure against planned activity
o Taking corrective actions
Documentation required for financial processes
o income statement (profit and loss)
o balance sheet
o purchase orders
o delivery notes
o invoices
o receipts
o statements of accounts
Impact of following financial processes effectively on administrator role
Gives confidence in procedures (payroll, pension, security of personal information)
Impact of following Financial Processes effectively on the Organisation
o Ability to forecast finances/take appropriate action
o Allows for accurate planning resources (finances, time, employees)
o Ensures compliance with relevant regulations (retention, security, confidentiality)
Types of change
o step change (Big change)
o incremental change (Smaller changes)
o planned change
o unplanned change
Effective Leadership for Managing Change includes …
Provides a positive/professional environment to ensure success
Establishes direction
Drives processes forward
Engages/empowers employees to reduce absenteeism
Ensures timely completion of tasks to budget
Enables quality requirements to be met
Justifications for Change
It could be …
Organisational Restructure
Process change
Policy change
Technology change
Assessing the business risks associated with change/ Resistance to change from employees reasons are…
Reluctance to accept new procedures
Lack of faith in process
Personal preference
Lack of knowledge
Fear of losing job
Disruption to the operation of the business
To Implement Change you should …
Involve/engage people in the change
Process frequent and open communication about the change
Provide support and training to prepare people for change
Principles of Managing Change
o contingency planning: identify where risks/problems could occur then plan for predictable events (lack of time, finances, employees) bringing plans forward.
o regularly evaluate/assess effectiveness (comparing plans with outcomes, formal/informal feedback)
o adapt implementation of the change based on continuous review
Impact of effective change management
on administrator role
Identifies need for training (practices, processes, procedures, equipment/technology)
Provides opportunities for promotion.
Impact of effective change management on the organisation
o increases competitiveness
o more effective/efficient performance
o ensures compliance with legislation/regulations
o more likely to retain employees.
Stages in Project Life Cycle
Initiation, Planning, Execution, Closure/evaluation
Initiation includes …
o defines (aims, objectives, scope, resources, roles, timescales, communication lines)
o establishing timelines/deadlines
o undertaking feasibility study
o propose project/business case
Planning includes …
o project plan
o resource plan
o finance plan
o quality plan
o risk plan
Execution includes…
o reporting/recording progress
o monitoring/controlling
o managing risks
o using contingency plans
o managing communication
o time management
Closure/evaluation includes…
o review/record project outcomes
o identify/record lessons learned
SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats)
o identifies risks/areas for improvement within a project
o identifies/maximises opportunities within a project.
Stakeholder (P/I) Matrix
Identifies importance of impact of stakeholders on the project
SMART objectives (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely)
Ensures project objectives are effective.
Gantt charts
o plans tasks
o coordinates tasks
o tracks specific tasks
RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) matrix
o assigns roles to project team members
o clarifies expectations on the level/type of project team member participation
o identifies processes within the organisation
o describes key activities
Critical Path Analysis
o calculates project time/identifies how to minimise project time
o prioritises different tasks within the project
o plans/organises project resources
Impact of effective project management
on administrator role
o gives clear responsibilities/objectives within project
o ability to manage time/resources
o ability to prioritise tasks
Impact of effective project management on the organisation
o identifies /gives opportunity to adapt to unexpected situations
o enables successful resolution of unexpected risks/problems
o meets proposed aim/objectives better controlled/saved costs and effort
o allows for operational improvements to be made
Changes in Government effects …
o changes in style and degrees of government intervention
o changes in international relations
Changes in Monetary Policy effects…
o rise/fall in inflation
o increase/decrease in economic growth
Changes in Fiscal Policy (Political) effects …
o changes to levels of taxation
o rise/fall in government spending
Changes in the labour market effects …
o working population (rise/fall, change in demographics)
o skills shortages
Increase/decrease in costs effects…
Raw materials, Products, Supply chain, Services, Staff
Increase/ decrease in Interest rates effects…
Effect on …
Borrowing costs
Loan repayments
Level of demand for goods/services
Social factors that affect organisations: Changes in trends
Society’s Behaviours/Beliefs/Level and awareness of social responsibility
Changes in Demographics effects …
Income, Gender, Age, Class, Ethnicity
Technological factors that affect organisations: Changes in technology
o mobile technologies (telephone, laptop, tablets)
o software developments (email, office applications, management information systems)
o electronic point of sale (EPOS) systems
o video/web conferencing
o the internet and website development
o e-commerce
o social networking
Legal factors that affect organisations
- Introduction of new legislation
- Changes to existing legislation
Environmental factors that affect organisations: Influence of ethical practices
Reducing carbon footprint, Waste reduction, Locally sourced materials/products, Fair trade partnerships, Supply chain
Environmental factors that affect organisations: Rise/importance of sustainability
Increasing pressure to use renewable energy sources, Use recyclable materials
Market forces that affect the organisation
- Increase/decrease in demand of goods/services.
- Increase/decrease in costs of goods/services.
- Availability of goods/services.
