SBL Workbook

Strategic Business Leader
Workbook
For exams in September 2020,
December 2020, March 2021
and June 2021
VL2020
These materials are provided by BPP

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ii

Contents
Contents
Page
Helping you to pass iv
Essential reading vii
Introduction to Strategic Business Leader x
Essential skills xvii
INTRODUCTION TO STAGE 1: Effective Leadership
1 Strategy, leadership and culture 3
2 Stakeholders and social responsibility 29
3 Impact of corporate governance on strategy 59
SKILLS CHECKPOINT 1: Effective leadership 95
INTRODUCTION TO STAGE 2: Optimising Strategic Decisions
4 The external environment 105
5 Strategic capability 127
6 Competitive advantage and strategic choice 147
SKILLS CHECKPOINT 2: Optimising strategic decisions 175
INTRODUCTION TO STAGE 3: Assessing and Managing Risk and Ethical Issues
7 Assessing and managing risk 187
8 Internal control systems 213
9 Applying ethical principles 247
SKILLS CHECKPOINT 3: Assessing and managing risk and ethical issues 273
INTRODUCTION TO STAGE 4: Evaluating and Enabling Strategic Change
10 Financial analysis 283
11 Applications of IT 311
12 E-business 341
SKILLS CHECKPOINT 4: Evaluating and enabling strategic Change 367
INTRODUCTION TO STAGE 5: Implementing Strategic Change
13 Enabling success and strategic change 377
14 Process redesign 413
15 Project management 433
SKILLS CHECKPOINT 5: Implementing strategic change 465
Appendix 1 – Activity answers 477
Appendix 2 – Essential reading* 533
Further question practice and solutions* 621
Glossary* 671
Bibliography 683
Index 691
*Note. Sections marked with an asterisk are available in the digital eBook version of the
Workbook, accessed via the Exam Success Site (see inside cover for details).
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Helping you to pass
BPP Learning Media – ACCA Approved Content Provider

As an ACCA Approved Content Provider, BPP Learning Media gives you the opportunity to use study
materials reviewed by the ACCA examining team. By incorporating the examining team's comments
and suggestions regarding the depth and breadth of syllabus coverage, the BPP Learning Media
Workbook provides excellent, ACCA-approved support for your studies.
These materials are reviewed by the ACCA examining team. The objective of the review is to ensure
that the material properly covers the syllabus and study guide outcomes, used by the examining team
in setting the exams, in the appropriate breadth and depth. The review does not ensure that every
eventuality, combination or application of examinable topics is addressed by the ACCA Approved
Content. Nor does the review comprise a detailed technical check of the content as the Approved
Content Provider has its own quality assurance processes in place in this respect.
BPP Learning Media do everything possible to ensure the material is accurate and up to date when
sending to print. In the event that any errors are found after the print date, they are uploaded to the
following website: www.bpp.com/learningmedia/Errata.
The PER alert

Before you can qualify as an ACCA member, you not only have to pass all your exams but also fulfil
a three-year practical experience requirement (PER). To help you to recognise areas of the syllabus
that you might be able to apply in the workplace to achieve different performance objectives, we
have introduced the 'PER alert' feature (see the next section). You will find this feature throughout the
Workbook to remind you that what you are learning to pass your ACCA exams is equally useful to
the fulfilment of the PER requirement. Your achievement of the PER should be recorded in your online
My Experience record.
iv
Introduction
Chapter features
Studying can be a daunting prospect, particularly when you have lots of other commitments. This
Workbook is full of useful features, explained in the key below, designed to help you to get the most
out of your studies and maximise your chances of exam success.
Key to icons
Key term
Key term
Central concepts are highlighted and clearly defined in the Key terms feature.
Key terms are also listed in bold in the Index, for quick and easy reference.
Formula to learn
This boxed feature will highlight important formulae which you need to be
aware of in the lead up to your exam.
PER alert
PER alert This feature identifies when something you are reading will also be useful for
your PER requirement (see 'The PER alert' section above for more details).
Exam success skills

Exam success skills are the six key skill areas which BPP considers vital for
success in the Strategic Business Leader exam.
ACCA Professional skills focus

The ACCA Professional skills focus on the five professional skills which will be
assessed in the Strategic Business Leader exam.
Real world examples

These will give real examples to help demonstrate the concepts you are reading
about.
Illustration
Illustrations walk through how to apply key knowledge and techniques step by
step.
Activity
Activities give you essential practice of techniques covered in the chapter.
Exercise
Exercises suggest tasks which can be done to further your understanding.
Essential reading
Links to the Essential reading are given throughout the chapter. The Essential
reading is included in the free eBook, accessed via the Exam Success Site
(see inside cover for details on how to access this).
Knowledge diagnostic
Summary of the key learning points from the chapter.
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At the end of each chapter you will find a Further study guidance section. This contains suggestions
for ways in which you can continue your learning and enhance your understanding. This can
include: recommendations for question practice from the Further question practice and solutions, to
test your understanding of the topics in the chapter; suggestions for further reading which can be
done, such as technical articles and ideas for your own research.
vi
Introduction
Introduction to the Essential reading

The digital eBook version of the Workbook contains additional content, selected to enhance your
studies. Consisting of revision materials, activities (including practice questions and solutions) and
background reading, it is designed to aid your understanding of key topics which are covered in the
main printed chapters of the Workbook.
To access the digital eBook version of the BPP Workbook, follow the instructions which can be found
on the inside cover; you'll be able to access your eBook, plus download the BPP eBook mobile app
on multiple devices, including smartphones and tablets.
A summary of the content of the Essential reading is given below.
Chapter Summary of Essential reading content
1 Strategy, leadership and  Leadership theories. This section explores in greater

culture detail trait, behavioural, and contingency theories of
leadership.
 The role of culture. This section discusses the factors that
influence organisational culture and introduces the
organisational iceberg.
2 Stakeholders and social  Agency problem. This section discusses the issues
responsibility caused by the agency problem.
 The emergence of ecosystems. This section discusses the
emergence of ecosystem environments and how
organisations interact with stakeholders.
 Purpose and advantages of environmental reporting.
3 Impact of corporate  Institutional investors. This section focuses on institutional

governance on strategy investors and considers how they exercise their influence
and how they might intervene in the affairs of a
company.
4 The external environment  Porter's Five Forces. This section provides more detailed
coverage of the Five Forces model.
 Market attractiveness. This section considers the factors
a firm should consider before deciding whether to enter
a market.
5 Strategic capability  Managing strategic capability. This section focuses on

how strategic capability can be improved.
 Staff development. This section focuses on the role that
staff development plays in relation to strategic
capability.
 Knowledge work. This section considers the increasing
importance of knowledge in organisations, and
introduces the 'knowledge worker' concept.
 Data, information and knowledge. This section explores
the key differences between the three terms.
 TOWS Matrix. This section explores the use of the
TOWS Matrix, which is a variant of a SWOT analysis.
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6 Competitive advantage  Conceptual difficulties with generic strategy. This section

and strategic choice considers some of the main difficulties of applying
generic strategies.
 The seven Ps. This section provides greater coverage of
the seven Ps framework.
7 Assessing and  COSO’s Enterprise Risk Management - Integrating with

managing risk Strategy and Performance (2017). This section explores
how five connected components can assist in managing
risks across a whole enterprise.
 Significant rapid changes in risk. This section considers
the changes in risk that may affect an organisation.
8 Internal control systems  Controls. This section considers the different types of
control that may be used by organisations.
 Reviewing internal control reports. This section outlines
the types of information that the board need to consider
to carry out an effective review of internal controls.
 The internal audit team. This section explores the types
of work that may be undertaken by the internal audit
team.
9 Applying ethical  Possible fraud risks. This section highlights a number of

principles possible indicators of potential fraud.
 Bribery and corruption. This section highlights why
bribery and corruption can be particularly problematic
for organisations.
 Combating bribery and corruption. This section explores
some of ways that organisations can look to address
bribery and corruption.
10 Financial analysis  Investment appraisal techniques. This section highlights

the key features of the ROCE, payback period, NPV and
IRR methods of investment appraisal.
 Key financial ratios. This section should serve as a
reminder of the key financial ratios that exist.
 Variances. This section provides an overview of the
types of variances that exist and outlines their meaning.
11 Applications of IT  Computerised accounting process controls. This section

explores the types of controls used by organisations
when operating computerised accounting software.
12 E-business  Benefits and risks of e-procurement. This section explores

a number of benefits and risks associated with adopting
e-procurement.
 Ecosystems and digital business platforms. This section
explores concepts of mutuality and orchestration in
ecosystem environments, and also gives consideration to
the role of digital business platforms.
viii
Introduction
13 Enabling success and  Team-based and project-based structures. This section

strategic change builds upon the discussion of matrix structures.
 Collaborative working practices between organisations
and their customers. This section introduces the concepts
of crowdsourcing and user contribution systems.
 Succession planning. This section focuses on the topic of
succession planning which is closely linked to talent
management.
 Creating a digital workforce. This section focuses on the
steps that an organisation can take to develop the skills
of its workforce in the digital age.
14 Process redesign  Business process re-engineering (BPR). This section

explores the key features of BPR.
 Lean production. This section explores the key features
of lean production. Parallels exist between the principles
of lean production and value-added analysis.
 Workflow systems. This section explores the rise of
workflow systems.
 Process diagram. This section considers how the use of
process diagrams can be used when undertaking
process redesign.
15 Project management  Building the business case. This section highlights the
purpose of the business case and explores the key
features.
 Project benefits. This section provides greater coverage
of the different types of project benefit that exist.
 Critical path analysis (CPA). This section provides
greater coverage of CPA.
 Data visualisation. This section considers the important
role that data visualisation plays in project work.
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Introduction to Strategic Business Leader (SBL)
Overall aim of the syllabus
Strategic Business Leader is ACCA's case study examination. It requires students to demonstrate
organisational leadership and senior consultancy or advisory capabilities and relevant professional
skills, through the context of an integrated case study.
Brought forward knowledge

The Strategic Business Leader syllabus assumes knowledge acquired in the ACCA exam Accountant
in Business, the Ethics and Professional Skills Module (EPSM), and the Applied Skills exams.
This knowledge is developed and applied in Strategic Business Leader and is therefore vitally
important.
If it has been some time since you studied Accountant in Business or if you were exempted from the
Accountant in Business exam as a result of having a relevant degree, then we recommend that you
revise the following topics before you begin your SBL studies:
 Business organisations and their stakeholders
 The business environment
 Business organisation, structure and strategy
 Organisational culture and committees
 Corporate governance and social responsibility
 Control, security and audit
 Identifying and preventing fraud
 Leading and managing people
 Recruitment and selection
 Diversity and equal opportunities
 Individuals, groups and teams
 Motivating individuals and groups
The syllabus
The broad syllabus headings are:
A Leadership
B Governance
C Strategy
D Risk
E Technology and data analytics
F Organisational control and audit
G Finance in planning and decision-making
H Innovation, performance excellence and change management
I Professional skills
x
Introduction
Main capabilities
On successful completion of this exam, you should be able to:
A Apply excellent leadership and ethical skills to set the 'tone from the top' and promote a
positive culture within the organisation, adopting a whole organisation perspective in
managing performance and value creation
B Evaluate the effectiveness of the governance and agency system of an organisation and
recognise the responsibility of the board or other agents towards their stakeholders, including
the organisation's social responsibilities and the reporting implications
C Evaluate the strategic position of the organisation against the external environment and the
availability of internal resources, to identify feasible strategic options
D Analyse the risk profile of the organisation and of any strategic options identified, within a
culture of responsible risk management
E Select and apply appropriate information technologies and data analytics, to analyse factors
affecting the organisation's value chain to identify strategic opportunities and implement
strategic options within a framework of robust IT security controls
F Evaluate management reporting and internal control and audit systems to ensure compliance
and the achievement of organisation's objectives and the safeguarding of organisational
assets
G Apply high level financial techniques from the Applied Skills exams in the planning,
implementation and evaluation of strategic options and actions
H Enable success through innovative thinking, applying best in class strategies and disruptive
technologies in the management of change; initiating, leading and organising projects, while
effectively managing talent and other business resources
I Apply a range of Professional Skills in addressing requirements within the Strategic Business
Leader examination and in preparation for, or to support, current work experience
Links with other exams
Strategic Business Leader (SBL)
EPS Module Applied Skills exams
Accountant in Business
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Achieving ACCA's Study Guide Learning Outcomes
This BPP Workbook covers all the SBL syllabus learning outcomes. The tables below show in which
chapter(s) each area of the syllabus is covered.
A Leadership
A1 Qualities of leadership Chapter 1
A2 Leadership and organisational culture Chapter 1
A3 Professionalism, ethical codes and the public interest Chapter 9
B Governance
B1 Agency Chapter 2
B2 Stakeholder analysis and social responsibility Chapter 2
B3 Governance scope and approaches Chapter 3
B4 Reporting to stakeholders Chapter 2
B5 The board of directors Chapter 3
B6 Public sector governance Chapter 3
C Strategy
C1 Concepts of strategy Chapter 1
C2 Environmental issues Chapter 4
C3 Competitive forces Chapters 4 and 5
C4 The internal resources, capabilities and competences of an organisation Chapter 5
C5 Strategic choices Chapter 6
D Risk
D1 Identification, assessment and measurement of risk Chapter 7
D2 Managing, monitoring and mitigating risk Chapter 7
E Technology and data analytics
E1 Cloud and mobile technology Chapter 11
E2 Big data and data analytics Chapter 11
E3 E-business: value chain Chapter 12
E4 IT systems security and control Chapter 11
xii
Introduction
F Organisational control and audit
F1 Management and internal control systems Chapter 8
F2 Audit and compliance Chapter 8
F3 Internal control and management reporting Chapter 8
G Finance in planning and decision-making
G1 Finance function Chapter 10
G2 Financial analysis and decision-making techniques Chapter 10
G3 Cost and management accounting Chapter 10
H Innovation, performance excellence and change management
H1 Enabling success: organising Chapter 13
H2 Enabling success: disruptive technology Chapter 12
H3 Enabling success: talent management Chapter 13
H4 Enabling success: performance excellence Chapter 13
H5 Managing strategic change Chapter 13
H6 Managing Innovation and change management Chapter 14
H7 Leading and managing projects Chapter 15
I Professional skills
I1 Communication Throughout the workbook
I2 Commercial acumen Throughout the workbook
I3 Analysis Throughout the workbook
I4 Scepticism Throughout the workbook
I5 Evaluation Throughout the workbook
The complete syllabus and study guide can be found by visiting the exam resource finder on the
ACCA website: www.accaglobal.com/gb/en.html.
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The exam
Computer-based exams
With effect from the March 2020 sitting, ACCA have commenced the launch of computer-based
exams (CBEs) for this exam with the aim of rolling out into all markets internationally over a short
period. Paper-based examinations (PBE) will be run in parallel while the CBEs are phased in. BPP
materials have been designed to support you, whichever exam option you choose. For more
information on these changes, when they will be implemented and to access Specimen Exams in the
Strategic Professional CBE software, please visit the ACCA website. Please note that the Strategic
Professional CBE software has more functionality than you will have seen in the Applied Skills exams.
www.accaglobal.com/gb/en/student/exam-support-resources/strategic-professional-specimen-
exams-cbe.html
Approach to examining the syllabus

Strategic Business Leader is ACCA's case study examination and is examined as a closed
book exam of four hours, including reading, planning and reflection time which can be used
flexibly within the examination. There is no pre-seen information and all exam-related materials,
including case information, exhibits and questions, are available within the examination. The pass
mark is 50%.
Strategic Business Leader is an exam based on one main business scenario which involves
candidates completing a series of tasks many of which will integrate syllabus areas in a single
requirement.
All questions are compulsory and each examination will contain a total of 80 technical marks
and 20 professional skills marks. Each exam will therefore assess both technical skills and the
professional skills. Whilst marks will be awarded for the relevant technical points that candidates
make, up to 20% of the total marks within each exam will be allocated to these professional skills, as
determined by the task requirements.
The broad structure of each case will give candidates information about an organisation from a
range of sources, such as the following:
 Interviews with staff
 Survey results
 Board or organisation reports
 Press articles/website extracts
 Organisation reports and <IR> extracts
 Emails
 Memos
 Spreadsheets
 Pictures
 Figures
 Tables
The Strategic Business Leader exam will contain several task requirements relating to the
same scenario information. The number of task requirements can vary in each exam. The questions
will usually assess and link a range of subject areas across the syllabus. The exam will require
students to demonstrate high-level capabilities to understand the complexities of the case and
evaluate, relate and apply the information in the case study to the task requirements. The examining
team have stressed the importance of reading the case in detail, taking notes as appropriate and
getting a feel for what the issues are. The exam will have a global focus.
xiv
Introduction
Format of the exam Marks
One compulsory case scenario, containing a number of task requirements
Application of syllabus (technical) knowledge marks 80
ACCA professional skills marks 20
100
Time allowed: 4 hours. The pass mark is 50%.
Analysis of past exams

The table below provides details of when each element of the syllabus has been examined in respect
of the most recent sittings.
Covered in
Workbook Specimen Sept Dec Mar/Jun Sept/Dec
chapter exam 2 2018 2018 2019 2019
1 Agency (agency relationships) Q1(a)
12 Big data and data analytics Q4 Q4(a)
3 Board structures Q1(b)
15 Business cases Q5(a)
3 Corporate governance Q3(c)
11 Cybersecurity Q3(b)
12 Disruptive technology Q3(a)
4 Environmental analysis (PEST analysis) Q1(a)
9 Ethics Q3(a) Q2(b)
10 Financial analysis Q1 Q5(a)(b) Q1(b)
10 Financial decision making Q4(b)
2 Integrated reporting Q2(b)
8 Internal control problems and Q2(b) Q3(b) Q3 Q2

deficiencies
4 National competitive advantage Q1(a) Q2(a)

(Porter's diamond)
13 Performance excellence Q3
10 Performance management Q2(a)
15 Project management Q5(b) Q2
7 Risk assessment and risk management Q4 Q1(b) Q2
2 Stakeholder analysis and stakeholder Q2(a)

management
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Covered in
Workbook Specimen Sept Dec Mar/Jun Sept/Dec
chapter exam 2 2018 2018 2019 2019
6 Strategic options Q1(b) Q2(b) Q1(a)
13 Talent management Q3
IMPORTANT! The table above gives a broad idea of how frequently major topics in the syllabus are
examined. It should not be used to question spot and predict, for example, that a topic will not be
examined because it came up two sittings ago. The examining team's reports indicate that they are
well aware that some students try to question spot. They avoid predictable patterns and may, for
example, examine the same topic two sittings in a row, particularly if there has been a recent change
in legislation.
xvi
Introduction
Essential skills areas to be successful in Strategic

Business Leader
There are three essential skills areas which students must develop to be successful in the ACCA
Strategic Business Leader exam. ACCA is clear that students cannot expect to be successful in this
exam without demonstrating competence in all three areas.
ACCA Exam success

professional Skills
skills
Knowledge
Technical knowledge
The syllabus for Strategic Business Leader is extensive and provides a vital foundation for students to
demonstrate their abilities as accountants, strategic advisers and business leaders. Eighty marks are
assigned to application of syllabus knowledge to specific business scenarios. Knowledge is
developed through reading or listening to your tutor, reading the business press and, importantly, by
practising new cases and completing tasks as a principal focus of your studies.
Use of theories of models in the Strategic Business Leader Exam

Strategic Business Leader exam set by the ACCA Examining Team is a practical exam and unlike
other exams will not test individual theories or models in isolation or require for the these theories or
models to be quoted in answers to exam questions. However, understanding the technical theories,
models and knowledge is essential as these provide a framework for students to help them approach
the practical tasks that they will need to complete in the Strategic Business Leader exam.
The use of models in the exam will be a judgement made by students and is part of the ACCA
Professional Skills for analysis and evaluation. Students are advised to use models which they judge
to be relevant for a particular task or scenario to generate the scope of their answer. There is not a
prescriptive list of theories and models, however, the BPP Workbook focuses on the most relevant
models which it considers to be most relevant to the syllabus and to aid students in being successful
in Strategic Business Leader.
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ACCA professional skills
Following consultation with employers, ACCA has identified that qualified accountants need to
possess a range of key professional skills. In the Strategic Business Leader exam, 20 marks are
assigned to the demonstration of ACCA professional skills. ACCA has defined five main
'professional' skills which will be assessed in the Strategic Business Leader exam and all five will be
assessed at each exam sitting. Each ACCA professional skill has been clearly defined by ACCA,
along with three further defined aspects, as follows:
ACCA professional skill: Definition Three aspects of each ACCA

professional skill
1. Communication Inform
To express yourself clearly and convincingly through an Persuade
appropriate medium, while being sensitive to the needs of Clarify
the intended audience.
2. Commercial acumen Demonstrate awareness

To show awareness of the wider business and external Use judgement
factors affecting business, and use commercially sound Show insight
judgement and insight to resolve issues and exploit
opportunities.
3. Analysis Investigate
To thoroughly investigate and research information from a Enquire
variety of sources, and logically process it with a view to Consider
considering it for recommending appropriate action.
4. Scepticism Probe
To probe, question and challenge information and views Question
presented to you, to fully understand business issues and to Challenge
establish facts objectively, based on ethical and professional
values.
5. Evaluation Assess
To assess situations, proposals and arguments in a balanced Estimate
way, using professional and ethical judgement to predict Appraise
future outcomes and consequences as a basis for sound
decision making.
Throughout the BPP Practice & Revision Kit for the Strategic Business Leader exam, you will find a
range of activities and questions which will help to develop your ACCA professional skills alongside
your technical knowledge.
But what do the skills mean, and what do you have to do to demonstrate them?
The following section includes the defined aspects of each of the five ACCA professional skills and
then makes suggestions to help you demonstrate them in your Strategic Business Leader studies.
xviii
Introduction
Communication
Communication means to express yourself clearly and convincingly through the appropriate
medium while being sensitive to the needs of the intended audience and also understanding both the
context and situation. In the exam, this means to present written and numerical work in the required
format with a professional tone and use of language and avoiding ambiguity, unnecessary
explanations and repetition. Communication is assessed over three aspects: inform, persuade and
clarify.
Inform concisely, objectively and unambiguously, while being sensitive to cultural differences, using
appropriate media and technology.
Advice on demonstrating 'inform':

 Think about who you are addressing in your answer: eg if you are writing an extract for a
board report, you need to focus on strategic issues, without going into lots of operational
details
 Adopt an appropriate tone to suit your audience: eg formal vs informal; use language they will
understand; will they understand jargon and technical terms, or should you avoid them?
 Use an appropriate style of communication: eg written vs graphic; slides; diagrams
 If the task requirement asks you to use a specific format, eg bullet point slides, you must
present your answer in that format
Persuade using compelling and logical arguments demonstrating the ability to counter-argue when
appropriate.
Advice on demonstrating 'persuade':

 Support your arguments with facts
 Explain why you think a course of action is suitable/unsuitable
 Use 'justifying' words, such as 'because': 'I recommend you do this because…'
Clarify and simplify complex issues to convey relevant information in a way that adopts an
appropriate tone and is easily understood by the intended audience.
Advice on demonstrating 'clarify':

 Focus on key points, and avoid unnecessary detail
 Use succinct sentences
 Use headings to break down information into clearly identifiable sections
 Present your arguments in a logical order
Commercial acumen
Commercial acumen means showing awareness of the wider business and external factors
affecting business, using commercially sound judgement and insight to resolve issues and exploit
opportunities. In the exam, this includes considering the change in revenue, cost or profit as an
important driver in decision making and avoid suggesting solutions which will have a negative
financial impact, unless it is to address a wider sustainability issue, such as ethics and governance.
Commercial acumen is assessed over three aspects: demonstrate awareness, use judgement and
show insight, as follows.
Demonstrate awareness of organisational and wider external factors affecting the work of an
individual or a team in contributing to the wider organisational objectives.
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Advice on demonstrating awareness:
 Think about the specific context of a scenario and identify how this affects a decision
 Make sure recommendations are appropriate – and practical – to the context of the scenario
Use judgement to identify key issues in determining how to address or resolve problems and in
proposing and recommending the solutions to be implemented.
Advice on demonstrating judgement:

 Prioritise key points
 Only make points which are relevant to the scenario and which help to address/resolve the
issue at hand
 Make sure recommendations resolve issues and/or exploit opportunities
 Avoid making points which are not supported by facts; recommendations need to be justified
Show insight and perception in understanding work-related and organisational issues, including
the management of conflict, demonstrating acumen in arriving at appropriate solutions or outcomes.
Advice on demonstrating insight:

 Make sure recommendations are appropriate and practical in the context of the scenario, eg
are they feasible? Will they be acceptable to key stakeholders?
 Make sure recommendations address key issues identified in the scenario
 Make sure decisions and strategies are appropriate for an organisation, rather than just
making generic points
 Ask yourself: will the points you are making help the organisation make a decision which
successfully addresses the issues it is facing?
Analysis
Analysis means to thoroughly investigate and research information from a variety of sources and
logically process it with a view to considering it for recommending appropriate action. In the exam,
this means to produce relevant analysis from the information provided in the case overview and
exhibits which creates new evidence in response to the task requirement and a basis for action you
are recommending an organisation should take. Analysis is assessed over three aspects:
investigate, enquire and consider, as follows.
Investigate relevant information from a wide range of sources, using a variety of analytical
techniques to establish the reasons and causes of problems, or to identify opportunities or solutions.
Advice on demonstrating 'investigation':

 Don't simply repeat points from the scenario; explain why they are significant and/or what
their implications are
 Identify relevant data from different places within a scenario, rather than only including the
most obvious (or most easily accessible) points
 Give reasons why a problem has happened, rather than simply stating the problem
Enquire of individuals or analyse appropriate data sources to obtain suitable evidence to

corroborate or dispute existing beliefs or opinions and come to appropriate conclusions.
xx
Introduction
Advice on demonstrating 'enquire':

 The reference to suitable evidence is key here: data and evidence must be relevant to the
points you are making
 Does data in the scenario support arguments made elsewhere; for example, are revenue
figures or profit margins consistent with how well someone says an organisation is
performing?
Consider information, evidence and findings carefully, reflecting on their implications and how they
can be used in the interests of the department and wider organisational goals.
Advice on demonstrating 'consider':

 Make use of the information in the scenario in order to recommend appropriate actions
 How does the evidence in the scenario affect the suitability of a potential course of action?
Scepticism
Scepticism means to probe, question and challenge information and views presented, to fully
understand business issues and to establish facts objectively, based on ethical and professional
values. In the exam this means to be aware of the quality, scope, source and age of the information
provided, as well as the purpose for which the information was produced and by whom; where
necessary suggest information used for analysis, evaluation and decision making is updated,
improved or extended through questioning or appropriate challenge. This is so the best possible
information is applied before a final decision is made. Scepticism is assessed over three aspects:
probe, question and challenge, as follows.
Probe deeply into the underlying reasons for issues and problems, beyond what is immediately
apparent from the usual sources and opinions available.
Advice on demonstrating 'probe':

 Don't automatically accept that the initial reason given to explain an issue is correct. (Is the
explanation somebody gives you consistent with other evidence? Does the explanation
properly explain the issue or problem you are addressing?) For example, if a management
accountant is offering an explanation of a variance between actual figures and budget, are
you satisfied their explanation properly explains the variance?
 Draw together information from different sources, rather than just including the most obvious
(or most easily accessible) points. Does information from one source support, or contradict
information from another source?
Question facts, opinions and assertions, by seeking justifications and obtaining sufficient evidence
for their support and acceptance.
Advice on demonstrating 'question':

 Scrutinise any assumptions being made: are they reasonable; can they be supported by the
evidence available? (Don't simply accept everything you are told.)
 Question the motive or rationale behind facts or statements. For example, does the person
making a statement have a vested interest in one decision being taken in preference to
another? If so, how reliable, or objective, is their evidence likely to be?
 Identify additional information or evidence which may be required to corroborate facts or
assertions being made
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Challenge information presented or decisions made, where this is clearly justified, in a professional
and courteous manner; in the wider professional, ethical, organisational, or public interest.
Advice on demonstrating 'challenge':

 Highlight the weaknesses of, or problems with, information presented or potential decisions
 Use evidence to support your challenge, and justify challenges you make, perhaps by
demonstrating evidence of wider reading
 Identify potential alternative interpretations of information or alternative courses of action, to
reinforce your challenge
 Your 'challenge' should focus specifically on the problems with a decision, rather than trying
to evaluate problems against benefits
Evaluation
Evaluation means to carefully assess situations, proposals and arguments in a balanced way, using
professional and ethical judgement to predict future outcomes and consequences as a basis for
sound decision making. In the exam this means ensuring possible courses of action are examined
from different perspectives and, where relevant, clearly stating reasonable assumptions and including
points both for and against. Conclusions and recommendations made should be consistent with the
most persuasive factors presented which provide logical argument for the course of action suggested.
Evaluation is assessed over three aspects: assess, estimate and appraise, as follows.
Assess and use professional judgement when considering organisational issues, problems, or when
making decisions, taking into account the implications of such decisions on the organisation and
those affected.
Advice on demonstrating 'assessment':

 Consider the potential importance and urgency of a problem when deciding a suitable
response to the problem
 Determine the potential advantages and disadvantages associated with a decision
 Determine the potential impact of a decision on key stakeholders, and how they are likely to
react to it
Estimate trends or make reasoned forecasts of the implications of external and internal factors on
the organisation, or of the outcomes of decisions available to the organisation.
Advice on demonstrating 'estimate':

 Present sensible, justified estimates and forecasts; for example, in assessing the impact which
a change in the business environment could have on an organisation's performance
 Identify the possible impact that different decisions could have on an organisation's
performance
Appraise facts, opinions and findings objectively, with a view to balancing the costs, risks, benefits
and opportunities, before making or recommending solutions or decisions.
xxii
Introduction
Advice on demonstrating 'appraise':

 Present the arguments for and against a proposed strategy, so that an informed decision can
be made about whether or not to pursue that strategy
 Make decisions, or recommend solutions, which are appropriate to the circumstances, on the
basis of a balanced appraisal of advantages and disadvantages. For example, do the
potential benefits from a strategy justify the costs involved?
In summary
Overall, remember that technical knowledge is not intended to be learned for the purpose of being
either described or explained as part of these skills – it is designed to be demonstrated appropriately
as part of these skills through synthesis and application.
Exam success skills

Passing the SBL exam requires more than applying syllabus knowledge and demonstrating the
specific SBL skills; it also requires the development of excellent exam technique through question
practice.
We consider the following six skills to be vital for exam success. The Skills Checkpoints show how
each of these skills can be applied in the exam.
Exam success skill 1
Case scenario: Managing information

This requires swift understanding of the case overview and exhibits, as well as the identification,
prioritisation and assimilation of key facts, events, information and data (which is both unstructured
and non-sequential) and to comprehend its usefulness, relevance and importance in responding to
question requirements.
Advice on demonstrating case scenario: Managing Information

Using the scenario is essential to answer the task requirement and to pass the question. Most of what
you write should relate directly to the scenario provided and be guided by the information given,
with the remainder being based on the skills and experience you bring into the exam. The skill is
using your judgement to determine what information is important to best answer each task
requirement. If there is a lot of information and detail given on a specific issue then it is likely to play
a big part in at least one of the tasks.
The ACCA Strategic Business Leader examining team advise that at least 40 minutes is spent during
the exam on reading and interpreting the information provided in the case overview and exhibits
and considering each task requirement. The advised 40-minute reading time is a useful benchmark to
check you are committing sufficient time to managing the information provided.
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Correct interpretation of the requirements

The active verb used often dictates the approach that written answers should take (eg 'explain',
'discuss', 'evaluate'). It is important you identify and use the verb to define your approach. The
Correct Interpretation of the Requirements skill is correctly producing only what is being
asked for by a task requirement. Anything not required will not earn marks.
Advice on demonstrating Correct Interpretation of the Requirements

There is a real skill to understanding very quickly exactly what the ACCA examining team expect you
to deliver in an answer and within the time frame indicated by the mark allocation. This skill can be
developed by analysing task requirements and applying this process:
Step 1 Read the requirement
Firstly, read the task requirement a couple of times slowly and carefully and highlight
the active verbs. Use the active verbs to define what you plan to do. For example,
discuss means consider and debate or argue about the pros and cons of an issue
(remember also that critically discuss requires you to focus on the key points that
you need to criticise).
Step 2 Read the scenario

By reading the task requirement first, you will have an idea of what you are looking
out for as you read through the case overview and exhibits. This is a great time saver
and means you don't end up having to read the whole question in full twice – it also
allows you to identify which elements of the exhibit materials are most relevant for
each task. As you go through the scenario you should be annotating key information
which you think will play a key role in answering the specific task requirements.
Step 3 Read the requirement again

Read the task requirement again to remind yourself of the exact wording before
starting your written answer. This will capture any misinterpretation of the task
requirements or any missed tasks entirely. This should become a habit in your
approach and, with repeated practice, you will find the focus, relevance and depth
of your answer plan will improve.
xxiv
Introduction
Answer planning: Priorities, structure and logic

This skill requires the drafting of the key aspects of an answer which accurately and completely
responds to the task requirement in the format specified before calculations and a written answer
are attempted. A good answer plan is one which prioritises what can be covered in the time
available, is in a logical order and focuses on points that are likely to score the best marks in the
exam.
Advice on developing Answer planning: Priorities, structure and logic

This skill can be developed by applying the following process:
Step 1 Identify key words and mark allocation
The answer plan should directly relate to the key words in the task requirement and the
mark allocation. Use the active verb to start your answer plan and use the mark
allocation to determine the time available to complete the answer and guide the number
of points to discuss.
Step 2 Plan any calculations

The creation of numerical analysis must be essential to completing the task requirement,
otherwise it should not be included. Plan the scope of numerical work to avoid
unnecessary complexity and to ensure analysis is relevant to the question.
Step 3 Take time to plan in sufficient detail

The plan should go into sufficient detail to enable you to move smoothly into writing out
a good answer without having to stop too often and rethink. To do this requires creative
thinking up front, but beware of writing too much at the planning stage; the plan is
essential for a good answer, but is not an answer in itself.
Good answer planning has been shown as a valuable contributor to good time
management and efficient answer writing – using the marks on offer can help with this
time allocation as well.
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Efficient numerical analysis

This skill is to maximise the marks awarded by making the process of arriving at the answer clear to
the marker. This is achieved by laying out an answer in such a way that still scores well, even if a
few errors occur along the way, with explanations of key figures or assumptions. It is vital that you
do not lose marks purely because the marker cannot follow what you have done.
Advice on developing Efficient numerical analysis

Step 1 Use a standard proforma working where relevant
If answers can be laid out in a standard proforma or table then always plan to do
so. This will help the marker to understand your working and locate the marks easily.
It will also help you to work through the figures in a methodical and time-efficient
way.
Step 2 Show your workings

Keep your workings as clear and simple as possible and ensure they are cross-
referenced to the main part of your answer. Where it helps, provide brief narrative
explanations to help the marker understand the steps in the calculation. This means
that if a mistake is made then you do not lose any subsequent marks for follow-on
calculations.
Step 3 Keep moving!

It is important to remember that, in an exam situation, it is difficult to get every
number 100% correct. The key is therefore ensuring you do not spend too long on
any single calculation. If you are struggling with a solution then make a sensible
assumption, state it and move on.
Efficient numerical analysis means providing sufficient numerical evidence to support
your written arguments, evaluations, conclusions and recommendations, so the
creation of numerical work must not replace effective writing and presentation.
xxvi
Introduction
Effective writing and presentation

Written answers should be presented so that the marker can clearly see the different points you are
making, presented in the format specified by the task requirement. The skill is to provide efficient
written answers with sufficient breadth of points that actually answer the task set and provide
necessary depth of explanation in the time available.
Advice on developing Effective writing and presentation

This skill can be developed by applying the following features to your written work.
Step 1 Use subheadings
Using the subheadings taken from your answer plan will give you structure, order
and logic. This will ensure your answer links back to the task requirement and is
clearly signposted, making it easier for the marker to understand the different points
you are making and award marks accordingly.
Step 2 Write your answer in short, punchy sentences

Use short, punchy sentences when presenting written answers with the aim that every
written sentence should say something different and generate marks.
Step 3 Extend your points with depth

You should not leave the marker in a position asking why, or so what. A useful
technique is to use short sentences to explain what you mean in one sentence and
then to explain why it matters in the next. If further depth is required, consider how
the consequences of inaction or making a decision will impact on the organisation in
the future.
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Good time management

This skill means planning your time across all the task requirements so that all tasks have been
attempted at the end of the four hours available and actively checking on time during your progress
through the exam. This is so that, if necessary, you can flex your approach and prioritise tasks which,
in your judgement, will generate the maximum marks in the available time remaining.
Advice on developing Good time management

Step 1 Stick to mark and time allocations
At the beginning of a question, work out the amount of time you should be spending on
each task requirement. The ACCA examining team advise spending at least 40 minutes
on reading, which leaves 200 minutes to complete your answer planning and
calculations and write up your answer.
Step 2 Follow your answer plan

It is not uncommon to spend five minutes creating a good plan then not use it when
writing up the answer. This means explanations of good points which had been
identified are missed or the time allocation is ignored. The key is using the answer plan
to limit how much is written and how much time is used.
Step 3 Keep an eye on the clock

Aim to attempt all tasks, but be ready to be ruthless and move on if your answer is not
going as planned. The challenge for many is sticking to planned timings. Be aware this
is difficult to achieve in the early stages of your studies and be ready to let this skill
develop over time.
The good time management skill means actively planning for exam success as your
written answers cover more of the available marks.
If you find yourself running short on time and know that a full answer is not possible in
the time you have, consider recreating your plan in overview form and then add key
terms and details as time allows. Remember, some key marks may still be available, for
example, simply stating a conclusion which you don't have time to justify in full.
The importance of question practice in your studies

The best study approach to improve your knowledge of the ACCA professional skills and exam
success skills is to focus on question practice as a core part of learning new topic areas, ensuring
you focus on improving the Exam Success Skills – personal to your needs – by obtaining feedback or
through a process of self-assessment.
xxviii
INTRODUCTION
TO STAGE 1:
Effective Leadership
Effective Leadership
Mark Constantine and a small group of colleagues founded Lush in 1995, selling natural hair and
beauty products at a shop in the British seaside town of Poole. Constantine had started out as a
hairdresser, then set up a company manufacturing hair care products that became the biggest supplier
to the ethical brand The Body Shop. He subsequently sold his business to The Body Shop in order to
found a mail order company Cosmetics-To-Go with his wife Mo. This venture failed, but its successor
Lush has been a great success. In 2019 the company had 928 stores worldwide, as well as extensive
online sales. It remains privately owned by the Constantines and close associates.
The Constantines have an unconventional approach to leadership and ethics. Their personal values are
fundamental to the way they run the company and the values that the brand represents. A section of
their website sets out the company's approach to issues ranging from animal testing to tax and air
travel. They are not frightened of controversy, and past campaigns have included opposition to fox
hunting and fracking, as well as support for refugees and Guantanamo Bay detainees. However, Lush
resist being described as an 'ethical company'. Their website states:
'All business should be ethical and all trade should be fair. Individual companies should not stand out
simply by not being damaging or unfair. No company should be trading from an unethical position
and society has a right to expect as the norm fairness and resource stewardship from the companies
that supply them' (Lush, 2019).
The Constantines' approach is extreme, but it does illustrate the responsibility that leaders should now
see as necessary for setting the right culture and values in an organisation, which are key influences on
the way people behave. In this section, we look at what these concepts mean, and the way in which
leaders must identify key stakeholders, managing relationships with them. These may include
shareholders, customers, suppliers and the media, and increasingly society as a whole which is seen as
a stakeholder for large and high-profile organisations. The process by which organisations are run is
known as corporate governance. Good governance aims to support organisational success, as well as
providing mechanisms to deal with problems. Good governance is aimed at promoting effective,
ethical leadership, which is ultimately reflected in the culture, values and performance of the
organisation. Effective Leadership, the theme of this stage, therefore has consequences for everything
else we cover in the course.
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Strategy, leadership
and culture
Learning objectives
On completion of this chapter, you should be able to:
Syllabus
reference
no.
Recognise the fundamental nature of strategy and strategic decisions within different C1(a)
organisational contexts
Explore the Johnson, Scholes and Whittington model for defining elements of strategic C1(b)
management – the strategic position, strategic choices and strategy into action
Explain the role of effective leadership and identify the key leadership traits effective in A1(a)
the successful formulation and implementation of strategy and change management
Apply the concepts of entrepreneurship and 'intrapreneurship' to exploit strategic A1(b)
opportunities and to innovate successfully
Apply in the context of organisation governance and leadership qualities, the key ethical A1(c)
and professional values underpinning governance
Discuss the importance of leadership in defining and managing organisational culture A2(a)
Advise on the style of leadership appropriate to manage strategic change A2(b)
Analyse the culture of an organisation using the cultural web, to recommend suitable A2(c)
changes
Assess the impact of culture and ethics on organisational purpose and strategy A2(d)
Business and exam context

As we start our journey through Strategic Business Leader, it is important that you remember
throughout each chapter the importance of ethical leadership as a concept underpinning everything
that an organisation is and does. The formal roles of leaders include setting mission, objectives and
strategy, governance of the organisation and making key operational decisions, but more informally
they set a 'tone from the top' which has a significant influence on the culture of an organisation and
the ethics within it.
In this first chapter, we will look at how leadership is defined, who makes a good leader and what
skills they need to lead effectively, regardless of the challenges they face. The roles played by both
strategy and culture are also explored and framed in the context of bigger organisational issues such
as ethics, governance and corporate social responsibility, all of which you will meet later on in your
studies.
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Chapter overview
Strategy, leadership and culture
Leadership Strategy Culture
What is leadership? What is strategy? What is culture?
Perspectives on leadership Levels of strategy Cultural web
Leadership roles Mission statements
Change and leadership Objectives
Entrepreneurship Strategic values
Strategic management
4
1: Strategy, leadership and culture
1 Leadership
1.1 What is leadership?
Leadership: Is the process of influencing an organisation (or group within an organisation) in its
efforts towards achieving an aim or goal (Johnson et al, 2017: p.470).
Key term
Good leadership is often considered to be a key factor in organisational success. In particular,

visionary leaders are expected to have a clear vision for where the organisation needs to go and
communicate this vision to inspire others.
Ethics are fundamental to good leadership. Leaders have a particular responsibility to ensure that
their behaviour and decision-making reflect a high standard of ethics, which will then have an impact
through the whole organisation. We will examine ethics in more detail later in this Chapter and in
Chapter 9.
Exercise 1: Qualities of effective leaders

Required
Think of three people you consider effective leaders, past or present. What qualities do they have in
common?
Solution
1.2 Perspectives on leadership

Yukl (2013) identifies the following main approaches to studying leadership:
1.2.1 Trait approach
Trait theories: The qualities possessed by good leaders.

Key term
Research in the first part of the 20th century tended to assume that 'natural leaders' possessed traits
that others did not, such as energy, intuition and persuasiveness. However, this research failed to
identify a set of traits that would guarantee success in leadership. More recent research tends to
focus on how certain attributes can relate to leadership behaviour and effectiveness. Some research
emphasises values that are important in displaying ethical leadership.
1.2.2 Behaviour approach

This focuses on what managers actually do in their jobs and relates leadership effectiveness to how
well managers cope with the demands and constraints of their job.
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1.2.3 Power-Influence approach
This explains leadership effectiveness in terms of the amount and type of power possessed by a
leader, and how it is exercised. This is not just power in relation to subordinates, but peers, superiors
and external stakeholders. Leadership can be exercised in a way that is autocratic (leaders exercise
significant power) or participative (power is limited and subordinates exercise more decision-making
and autonomy).
1.2.4 Situational approach

This emphasises that different leadership traits, skills and behaviours will be effective in different
situations. The effectiveness of a certain style of leadership may depend on the characteristics of
followers, nature of the work performed, type of organisation and the external environment. This can
also be referred to as contingency theory.
1.2.5 Integrative approach

This means considering more than one type of the leadership variables described above.
Essential reading
See Chapter 1 section 1 of the Essential Reading, available in Appendix 2 of the digital edition of
the Workbook, for more detail on the theory of leadership.
1.3 Leadership roles

Johnson et al (2017) identify a number of key roles in strategic leadership.
1.3.1 Top managers

The following roles are carried out by the CEO and other senior managers.
 Envisioning future strategy means communicating a clear vision of the future and
strategy to internal and external stakeholders.
 Aligning the organisation to deliver the strategy, building relationships of trust and ensuring
that people are committed to the strategy and empowered to deliver it.
 Embodying change is being a symbol and role model for the organisation.
1.3.2 Middle managers

The role of middle managers is not just to implement top-down strategic plans but has multiple other
aspects.
 Advisers to senior management, as they are often closest to day-to-day operations.
 'Sense making' of strategy, means translating the strategy into specific contexts.
 Reinterpretation and adjustment of strategy as circumstances change internally and
externally.
 Local leadership of change mirrors the senior management role of aligning and
embodying change, but at a more local level, particularly in large organisations.
1.4 Change and leadership
Change agent: 'Is an individual or group that helps to effect strategic change in an organisation.'
(Johnson et al, 2017)
Key term
6
Change is unavoidable as organisations and individuals do not operate in a vacuum. As a leader,

how do you make sure that your organisation is able to cope with change?
Change agency (everything associated with making change happen) is an activity that might be
concentrated in one person, but which is just as likely to be spread among the members of a group,
such as a project team or management staff generally. Outsiders, such as consultants, may share in
change agency.
1.4.1 Charismatic and transactional leadership
Johnson et al (2017) note that leadership styles may be fitted into a general model of leadership that
recognises two general types.
Transactional leaders focus on

systems and controls and generally
seek improvement rather than
change. This approach is also called Charismatic leaders energise people
instrumental leadership. and build a vision of the future. Change
management is a natural part of what they
do. This approach is also known as
transformational leadership.
Instrumental leadership: Leadership based on systems and controls (also called transactional
leadership).
Key terms
Transformational leadership: Leadership that energises people and builds a clear vision of the
future (also called charismatic leadership).
In practice, these are two extremes and there are a number of points in between. This fits with the
situational approach described earlier, which suggests leadership style needs to be adjusted to
specific circumstances.
1.4.2 Change management styles
Balogun and Hope Hailey (2008) identify five styles of change management which may be
appropriate in a given context.
Education and communication – explaining in detail why change is necessary, to win people
round
Collaboration and participation – bringing people affected by change into the process of
managing it
Intervention – change is led by a change agent who will delegate some tasks to project teams;
the idea is that involvement of those teams will lead to greater commitment from them
Direction – management use their authority to establish their strategy and how change will occur in
a top-down fashion
Coercion – an extreme form of direction – change is simply imposed by management
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Activity 1: Academic Recycling Company

Analysis: Consider
You work as a consultant specialising in the area of personnel and management development. You
have been approached by Sully Truin who is keen for some advice about how he should be leading
his organisation.
Ten years ago Sully Truin formed the Academic Recycling Company (ARC) to offer a specialised
waste recycling service to schools and colleges. The company has been very successful and has
expanded rapidly. To cope with this expansion, Sully has implemented a tight administrative process
for operating and monitoring contracts. This administrative procedure is undertaken by the Contracts
Office, which tracks that collections have been made by the field recycling teams. Sully has sole
responsibility for obtaining and establishing recycling contracts, but he leaves the day-to-day
responsibility for administering and monitoring the contracts to the Contracts Office. He has closely
defined what needs to be done for each contract and how this should be monitored. 'I needed to do
this,' he said, 'because workers in this country are naturally lazy and lack initiative. I have found that
if you don't tell them exactly what to do and how to do it, then it won't get done properly.' Most of
the employees working in the Contracts Office like and respect Sully for his business success and
ability to take instant decisions when they refer a problem to him. Some of ARC's employees have
complained about his autocratic style of leadership, but most of these have now left the company to
work for other organisations.
A few months ago, conscious that he was a self-taught manager, Sully enrolled himself on a week's
course with Gapminding, a training consultancy which actively advocates and promotes a
democratic style of management. The course caused Sully to question his previous approach to
leadership. It was also the first time, for three years, that Sully had been out of the office during
working hours for a prolonged period of time. However, each night, while he was attending the
course, he had to deal with emails from the Contracts Office listing problems with contracts and
asking him what action they should take. He became exasperated by his employees' inability to take
actions to resolve these issues. He discussed this problem with his course tutors. They suggested that
his employees would be more effective and motivated if their jobs were enriched and that they were
empowered to make decisions themselves.
On his return from the course, Sully called a staff meeting with the Contracts Office where he
announced that, from now on, employees would have responsibility for taking control actions
themselves, rather than referring the problem to him. Sully, in turn, was to focus on gaining more
contracts and setting them up. However, problems with the new arrangements arose very quickly.
Fearful of making mistakes and unsure about what they were doing led to employees discussing
issues amongst themselves at length before coming to a tentative decision. The operational (field)
recycling teams were particularly critical of the new approach. One commented that 'before, we got
a clear decision very quickly. Now decisions can take several days and appear to lack authority.'
The new approach also caused tensions and stress within the Contracts Office and absenteeism
increased.
At the next staff meeting, employees in the Contracts Office asked Sully to return to his old
management style and job responsibilities. 'We prefer the old Sully Truin,' they said, 'the training
course has spoilt you.' Reluctantly, Sully agreed to their requests and so all problems are again
referred up to him. However, he is unhappy with this return to the previous way of working. He is
working long hours and is concerned about his health. Also, he realises that he has little time for
obtaining and planning contracts and this is severely restricting the capacity of the company to
expand.
8
Required
Analyse Sully Truin's leadership style before and immediately after the training course and explain
why the change of leadership style at ARC was unsuccessful. (12 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating analysis skills as part of your diagnosis of
the leadership styles on display here. (2 marks)
(Total = 14 marks)
Solution
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Syllabus link
Leadership forms a key part of the Strategic Business Leader syllabus, and links closely to the Ethics
and Professional Skills Module (EPSM) that you are required to complete on your journey towards full
ACCA membership. You are therefore strongly advised to complete the EPSM before sitting your
Strategic Business Leader exam as this will assist with your exam preparations.
1.5 Entrepreneurship
Role of leadership can also include entrepreneurship. We can contrast this with intrapreneurship
Entrepreneurship: Is a process by which individuals, teams or organisations identify and exploit

Key terms
opportunities for new products or services that satisfy a need in a market.
Intrapreneurship: Means applying entrepreneurial principles within organisations.
Entrepreneurship involves recognising opportunities and responding by choosing and implementing

an appropriate business model and strategy. Social entrepreneurship is applying similar
principles to addressing social problems and needs, not necessarily for profit, although clearly some
kind of funding model is needed. This is examined in more detail in Chapter 12.
Some companies encourage intrapreneurship to support innovation, for example by giving
employees more autonomy, encouraging a culture of risk-taking, rewarding intrapreneurial behaviour
and allocating resource to new, speculative ventures. However, conflict with corporate management
may sometimes be necessary to get ideas and innovations accepted
2 Strategy
As noted above, one of the key roles of leadership to develop and communicate the organisation's
strategy.
2.1 What is strategy?

According to Johnson et al (2017):
Strategy: 'Is the long-term direction of an organisation.' (Johnson et al, 2017).

Key term
So strategy is concerned with the following.
The long term: this will mean a number of years, which can be thought of as 'three horizons'.
Horizon 1 means defending and extending the current business. Horizon 2 businesses are emerging
activities that should provide new sources of profit. Horizon 3 ventures are new and risky, and might
provide returns in several years' time. Managers need to consider all three in formulating strategy.
Strategic direction: organisations will generally have objectives and then organise themselves to
meet those objectives.
Organisation: organisations generally contain people with differing views and interests, which are
relevant in setting strategy. It will also have to consider its internal and external stakeholders and
its boundaries – what it decides to include or exclude in its activities.
10
2.2 Levels of strategy

Strategy may be developed at three levels in an organisation.
Corporate strategy deals with the overall purpose and scope of an

organisation and how to add value to the different parts (business units) of an
organisation (for example, the decision to expand into a new geographical
location or market)
Business-level strategy is about how to compete successfully in particular

markets (continuing with the expansion analogy, the head of a business unit
must decide where to be based, what products to sell and the markets to
target etc)
Operational strategies are about how parts of an organisation such as

marketing, finance or IT support the overall strategy (the heads of IT, HR,
finance, marketing etc need to develop a plan to support the overall strategy
in terms of recruitment, appraisal and agreeing terms and conditions)
2.3 Mission statements
Mission statements: Are formal documents that state the organisation's mission. They are
published within organisations to promote desired behaviour: support for strategy and purpose,
Key term
adherence to core values and adoption of policies and standards of behaviour.
Real-world example
Famous organisations may not always have famous mission statements.
Nike 'To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world.' (Nike, 2019)
Facebook 'Facebook's mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world
closer together. People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to
discover what's going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them. '
(Facebook, 2019)
Airbnb 'Airbnb’s mission is to create a world where people can belong through healthy travel
that is local, authentic, diverse, inclusive and sustainable. (Airbnb, 2019)
These are different from their more familiar advertising slogans or brands:
Similar to a mission statement, a vision statement can be used to express the future an
organisation is trying to create. For example, Henry Ford's aim was to create a car that everyone
could afford.
The Ashridge College model of mission created by Campbell and Yeung (1991) links business
strategy to culture and ethics by including four separate elements in an expanded definition of
mission.
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Purpose. Why does the
organisation exist? Who does it
exist for?
(i) To create wealth for owners? Values are the beliefs
(ii) To satisfy the needs of all and moral principles
stakeholders? that underlie the
(iii) To reach some higher goal organisation's culture
such as the advancement of
society?
Policies and standards of

behaviour provide guidance on
how the organisation's business Strategy provides the
should be conducted. For commercial logic for the
example, a service company that company, and so addresses
wishes to be the best in its market the following questions:
must aim for standards of service, 'What is our business?
in all its operations, which are at What should it be?'
least as good as those found at its
competitors
Stakeholder views will be important in determining an organisation's mission, its fundamental

purpose and values. This may be written down in the form of a mission statement which may help to
guide the organisation, although in reality many people consider that mission statements are
meaningless, ignored in practice or both. Some are suspicious of mission statements for the following
reasons.
They can sometimes be public relations exercises rather than an accurate portrayal of the firm's
actual values.
They can often be full of generalisations which are impossible to tie down to specific strategic
implications.
They may be ignored by the people responsible for formulating or implementing strategy.
2.4 Objectives
A mission needs to be supported by more detailed objectives.
Performance Objective 13 'Plan and Control Performance' of the Practical Experience Requirement
requires you to 'contribute to setting objectives to plan and control business activities' (ACCA,
PER alert
2019b). As you will need to display how you have contributed to setting objectives in the workplace
you are strongly advised to take your time as you go through the following section which considers
the role that goals, objectives and targets play in organisations.
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A simple model of the relationship between the various goals, objectives and targets is a pyramid
analogous to the traditional organisational hierarchy.
Overall mission
(supported by a small
number of wide-ranging
goals: profit; growth;
innovation etc)
Each of the high-level goals is supported in

turn by more detailed, subordinate goals.
These may correspond, perhaps, to the
responsibilities of the senior managers in the
function concerned. A more modern pattern is
for the hierarchy (and indeed many other
aspects of the organisation) to be based on
major value-creating processes rather
than on functional departments
In any event, the pattern is continued

downwards until we reach the work
targets of individual members of the
organisation
Drucker (1989) was the first to suggest that objectives should be SMART:
S pecific M easurable Achievable R ealistic T ime-related
Today, realistic is often replaced with results-focused, to emphasise that managerial attention
needs to be directed towards achieving results rather than just administering established
processes.
2.5 Strategic Values

2.5.1 Ethics in business
Ethics: The study of right and wrong.

Key term
Ethics are the rules and principles of behaviour which help us decide between right and wrong.
Organisations can seek to safeguard their ethical standards by publishing a formal code of ethics.
However, this can backfire if companies are not seen to be adhering to their codes.
It is a key responsibility of leaders to role model high ethical standards for the organisation and set
an appropriate 'tone from the top'.
Ethics and leadership
Ethics is fundamental to good leadership. Leaders have a particular responsibility to ensure that their
behaviour and decision-making reflects a high standard of ethics, which will then have an impact
throughout the whole organisation.
Business life is a fruitful source of ethical dilemmas because its whole purpose is material gain, the
making of profit. All too often, success in business requires a constant, avid search for potential
advantage over others, so business leaders are under pressure to do whatever yields such
advantage. It is often these pressures which lead otherwise good people to make poor business
decisions and to act unethically.
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The ethical values of leaders
The ethical values held by leaders will be shaped by a variety of factors including their own
experiences and beliefs. The ethical views of leaders are often based on values including:
 Accountability
 Integrity
 Honesty
 Objectivity
 Fairness
 Transparency
 Openness
 Responsibility
 Loyalty
The leaders view of the values and principles listed above will ultimately drive how they interact with
stakeholders, view CSR and corporate governance. The role of ethical leadership is discussed in
more detail in the context of stakeholders, CSR and corporate governance in the sections which
follow.
Ethical leadership and the fair treatment of stakeholders
Acting ethically requires leaders to treat stakeholders fairly by recognising the fact that they have
rights of their own. This includes respecting workers’ dignity and the obligations that exist in terms of
equality, diversity and health and safety.
The need for the ethical treatment of staff is particularly important during times of redundancy. Here it
is important that leaders select workers for redundancy following a fair and legal process.
The fair treatment of stakeholders also covers the need to respect the rights of customers in terms of
not deliberately taking advantage of them by, for example, knowingly charging inflated prices for
goods or services. This logic also applies to protecting the interests of shareholders by avoiding
unnecessarily risky or reckless strategies which may jeopardise their investment. This requires leaders
to conduct the affairs of the business in such a way that it is commercially viable but remains sensitive
to the interests of its stakeholders.
Exam Focus Point

The March/June 2019 exam released by ACCA featured a clothing retailer called SmartWear. Task
2(b) asked candidates to evaluate the strategic and ethical implications of a proposal for the
company to close a number of loss-making shops in Noria (SmartWear’s home market) and the
withdrawal from Centrum (another country in which SmartWear had a presence). Professional skills
marks were on offer for applying scepticism to the underlying issues and problems which may arise
from the decision to close the shops. The examining team noted that ‘on the whole this question was
answered well, with most candidates identifying that it was good to stop the ongoing losses from the
stores/market to be closed, and also identifying the ethical issues of jobs being lost. Many
candidates went further to identify the redundancy costs incurred and the increased level of
unemployment. The best candidates showed scepticism and questioned the likelihood of the possible
turnaround in Noria, the loss of presence/market share, damage to reputation and SmartWear
brand, and aligned these issues to SmartWear’s strategy.’ (ACCA, 2019a).
To earn the 2 professional skills marks candidates needed to identify and explain the key strategic
and ethical issues in respect of the proposed closure decision. This required the creation of an
answer which focused on the implications of this course of action for SmartWear, and which also
explored the positive and negative impacts that the decision would have on the company’s
stakeholders.
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2.5.2 Corporate social responsibility

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) centres on the approach taken by organisations to provide
benefit to society in general rather than specific stakeholders.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR): The approach taken by organisations to provide benefit
to society in general rather than specific stakeholders.
Key term
Ethical leadership and CSR

Growing demand around the world for organisations to act in an ethical manner that acknowledges
the impact that their activities have on the natural world have led many leading organisations to
embrace the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a concept whereby organisations consider the interests of
society by taking responsibility for the impact of their activities. This obligation extends beyond
statutory obligations to comply with legislation.
The planting of trees to replenish those used in production or the establishment of a charitable
foundation to help support local communities living near to an organisation’s factory are common
examples of CSR activities.
The establishment of CSR programmes requires ethical leadership at the top of organisations to
ensure that they are taken seriously and to avoid accusations that they are merely window dressing
that enables organisations to appear superficially concerned about ethical matters. For such
programmes to have real meaning leaders need to make ethics part of the organisation’s culture. The
important role that culture plays in organisations is discussed in greater detail in Section 3 of this
Chapter.
2.5.3 Corporate governance
Corporate governance: Concerns the conduct of senior officers in an organisation. It also relates
to the way organisations are directed and controlled.
Key term
Corporate governance can be defined as the conduct of senior officers in an organisation. The
governance framework describes who the organisation serves and how priorities are decided.
Corporate governance issues may arise from the agency problem – the separation in many cases
between ownership (shareholders) and day-to-day control (managers). Managers are required to
act in the best interests of shareholders but may in fact act in their own best interests if they can.
Corporate governance issues are not confined to commercial companies. A public sector hospital,
for example, is there to benefit patients but decisions may in practice be taken to benefit staff and
management.
Ethical values and corporate governance
The following section illustrates how the ethical values held by leaders supports and underpins
corporate governance.
Fairness
The leaders' deliberations and values (and those of the board) that underlie the company must be
balanced by taking into account everyone who has a legitimate interest in the company and
respecting their rights and views. In many jurisdictions, corporate governance guidelines reinforce
legal protection for certain groups; for example, minority shareholders.
Openness/transparency
Transparency means open and clear disclosure of relevant information to shareholders and
other stakeholders, also not concealing information when it may affect decisions. It means open
discussions and a default position of information provision, rather than concealment.
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Honesty and loyalty
Honesty relates not only to telling the truth but also not misleading shareholders and other
stakeholders. Lack of honesty includes not only obvious examples of dishonesty such as taking bribes
but also presenting information in a slanted way that is designed to give an unfair impression.
Responsibility
Responsibility requires that leaders’ need to be willing to accept the credit when things go well and
be just as willing to accept the blame for governance failings in the event they occur.
Accountability
Accountability requires organisational leaders’ to be answerable for the consequences of their
actions. Accountability is closely linked to the issue of judgement. Leaders’ need to exercise sound
judgement when making decisions. Leaders’ need to make decisions which enhance the
prosperity of the organisation. Leaders’ must acquire a broad enough knowledge of the business
and its environment to be able to provide meaningful direction to it.
Integrity
Integrity can be taken as meaning someone of high moral character, who sticks to principles no
matter the pressure to do otherwise. In working life this requires leaders to adhere to the principles of
professionalism and probity. Straightforward dealing in relationships with the different
groups is particularly important as this creates trust between parties with different interests in the
organisation. Integrity is an essential principle of the corporate governance relationship,
particularly when representing shareholder interests and exercising agency.
Syllabus link
We will return to all of these issues in later chapters of the workbook – however, you can already see
the importance of leadership in all of these elements.
2.6 Strategic management

Johnson et al (2017) highlight the main elements of strategic management as consisting of the
following:
Strategic position Strategic choices Strategic in action

This includes the
environment (such as This includes how to This refers to the
PESTEL factors and those achieve objectives (such as practicalities of forming
covered by SWOT) plus the competitive advantage) and and implementing
role played by stakeholders focuses on customers and strategies. It includes
and culture markets appraising performance,
strategy development
processes, organisational
structure and change
management.
(Adapted from: Johnson et al, 2017: p.12)

These elements are explored in later chapters.
Strategic decisions are likely to lead to change within the organisation as resource capacity is
adjusted to permit new courses of action. Changes with implications for organisational culture
are particularly complex and difficult to manage.
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3 Culture
3.1 What is culture?
Organisational culture: 'A pattern of shared basic assumptions…considered valid and

transmitted to new members' (Schein, 1985). It has also been described as 'the way we do things
Key term
round here'.
Culture will have formal or visible aspects, such as goals, policies and terminology as well as
informal or less visible aspects such as beliefs, values and norms.
Exercise 2: Culture
Required
Consider your employer, or an organisation with which you are familiar. If you were trying to work
out what the culture was like in that organisation, how would you go about doing it and what do you
think you would find?
Solution
An organisation's culture may be influenced by a number of factors:

 The national culture where the organisation is located, or even the prevailing culture in its
home region.
 The founders of the organisation – particularly if it is fairly new, the values and approach of
the founders may still be pervasive.
 The history of the organisation. For example, one which has grown organically, using its
own resources, is more likely to have a distinctive culture than one which has grown by
acquisition and has had to absorb other cultures.
 The style of current leaders will have an impact, for example an autocratic style may
encourage a 'compliance culture'.
 Organisational structure can affect culture – organisations sometimes restructure as a way of
trying to change their culture.
There is no 'best culture' for organisations. However, successful organisations generally align their
culture with their strategy as closely as possible. The connections between culture, leadership and
strategy are therefore evident.
Essential reading
the Workbook, for more detail about the role of culture in organisations.
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3.2 The cultural web
3.2.1 Theory
Cultural web: An analysis that compares the paradigm (assumptions) in an organisation's culture
with the physical manifestations of that culture.
Key term
Culture is, by definition, hard to evaluate, manage or change. To assist with this, Johnson (1992)
developed the term cultural web to mean a combination of the assumptions that make up the
paradigm, together with the physical manifestations of culture.
Control
systems
Routines (and Organisation

rituals) structure
Paradigm
(organisational
assumptions)
Power
Symbols structures
Stories and
myths
(Adapted from: Johnson et al, 2017: p.175)

These are defined as follows.
 Control systems – what is measured and rewarded in the organisation, eg people may be
rewarded based on volume of sales rather than customer service
 Routines – the way members of an organisation behave to each other and to those outside
the organisation and Rituals – events that are important to the organisation, whether formal
(eg recruitment and induction processes) or informal (eg drinks after work)
 Organisation structure – this will determine formal and informal relationships and what is
important, for example a hierarchical structure suggest a 'top-down' approach
 Paradigm – the shared assumptions of the organisation, including beliefs, that are taken for
granted and represent a collective experience
 Symbols – this can include logos, office layouts, titles and uniforms, often in the form of
'status symbols'
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 Power structures – people holding power in the organisation. This may not just be based
on seniority, eg in professional firms' technical experts may hold significant power
 Stories and myths – stories told to each other, outsiders and new recruits such as the
organisation's foundation or key decisions
You can remember these terms if you need to analyse an organisation's culture using the cultural web
by the mnemonic 'CROPS PS'.
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Illustration 1
Example of the cultural web
The following table illustrates some of the questions which the cultural web prompts us to ask about
an organisation. It also gives some examples of the expressions of culture that could be generated by
the web. The example below is based on the cultural web for a car repair workshop.
Cultural web Examples

Control systems
Which process has the strongest controls? Costs are very tightly controlled. Customers are
billed for all parts used.
Which process has the weakest controls? Quality is not seen as important. Getting work
done as cheaply as possible is emphasised
ahead of quality.
Is the emphasis on rewarding good work or In their pay review, employees are judged on the
penalising poor work? actual costs of their jobs compared to their job
quotes. Staff whose actual costs exceed quotes
tend to get smaller pay rises than those whose
job costs are lower than their quotes.
Rituals and routines
What do employees expect when they come Employees have to sign in, and are then given a
to work? job sheet by the boss showing their jobs for the
day.
What do customers expect when they walk Customers expect to hear the radio playing and
in? to be given a mug of coffee while they wait to
collect cars.
What would be immediately obvious if it Workshop repainted and new machinery
changed? installed
What behaviour do the routines encourage? Lots of talk about money-saving, and especially
how to cut costs
Organisational structure
Is the structure formal or informal? Flat or Flat structure: Owner, Mechanics, Receptionist
hierarchical?
What are the formal lines of authority? The mechanics report to the owner (who is also a
mechanic by trade).
Are there any informal lines of authority? The receptionist is the owner's wife so she
discusses customer complaints directly with him.
Do structures encourage co-operation and Each mechanic works by themselves. There is no
collaboration? sharing of tools or jobs.
Paradigm
What are the shared assumptions?
What common experiences exist?
What do people take for granted?
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Cultural web Examples
Symbols
What language and jargon is used? Is it well Mechanics use jargon which customers don't
known and usable by all? understand to describe parts and problems.
What aspects of strategy are highlighted in Adverts and leaflets say they won't be beaten on
publicity? price.
Are there any status symbols? No, the boss wears an overall, like the staff.
Power structures
Who has the real power in the organisation? The owner

How strongly held are the beliefs of the The owner believes strongly in a low-cost model,
people with power? and is prepared to lose repeat customers in order
to keep costs down.
How is power used or abused? Knowing that their pay reviews are dependent on
cost control keeps mechanics working to this low-
cost model.
What are the main blockages to change? The owner insists that his low-cost model is the
best way to run the business and won't invest in
any new equipment if it will cost lots of money to
do so.
Stories
What stories do people tell about the They're always the cheapest on the market; they
organisation? do things the cheapest way they can.
What do these stories say about the values of They are known for having high numbers of
the organisation? customer complaints, and for low-quality
What reputation is communicated among workmanship.
customers and other stakeholders?
What do employees talk about when they The founder started the company himself with a
think of the history of the organisation? loan from a friend.
Performance Objective 2 'Stakeholder Relationship Management' of the Practical Experience

Requirement requires you to 'display sensitivity, empathy and cultural awareness in all your
PER alert
communications'. (ACCA, 2019b). As you will need to display cultural awareness in the work
environment you are strongly advised to take your time as you go through the following sections
which explore the important role that culture plays in organisations.
3.2.2 The cultural web and organisation strategy

The importance of the cultural web for business strategy is that it provides a means of looking at
cultural assumptions and practices, to make sure that organisational elements are aligned with one
another, and with an organisation's strategy.
If an organisation is not delivering the results its management wants, management can use the web
to help diagnose whether the organisation's culture is contributing to the underperformance.
There are three phases to such analysis. First, management can look at organisational culture as it is
now. Second, they can look at how they want the culture to be, and third, they can identify the
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differences between the two. These differences indicate the changes which will need to be made to
achieve the high-performance culture that they are seeking.
In this way, the cultural web can play a significant role in change management, and changing
organisational culture.
Activity 2: iCompute

Analysis: Investigate
You are working as a consultant specialising in organisational culture. You have been handed some
client notes by a colleague and asked to comment on the culture in place and how it might affect the
organisation's prospects.
iCompute was founded 20 years ago by the entrepreneur, Ron Yeates. It initially specialised in
building bespoke computer software for the financial services industry. However, it has expanded
into other specialised areas and it is currently the third largest software house in the country,
employing 400 people. It still specialises in bespoke software, although 20% of its income now
comes from the sales of a software package designed specifically for car insurance.
The company has grown based on a 'work hard, play hard' work ethic and this still remains.
Employees are expected to work long hours and to take part in social activities after work. Revenues
have continued to increase over the last few years, but the firm has had difficulty in recruiting and
retaining staff. Approximately one-third of all employees leave within their first year of employment at
the company. The company appears to experience particular difficulty in recruiting and retaining
female staff, with 50% of female staff leaving within 12 months of joining the company. Only about
20% of the employees are female and they work mainly in marketing and human resources.
The company is currently in dispute with two of its customers who claim that its bespoke software did
not fit the agreed requirements. iCompute currently outsources all its legal advice problems to a law
firm that specialises in computer contracts and legislation. However, the importance of legal advice
has led to iCompute considering the establishment of an internal legal team, responsible for advising
on contracts, disputes and employment legislation.
The support of bespoke solutions and the car insurance software package was also outsourced a
year ago to a third party. Although support had been traditionally handled in-house, it was
unpopular with staff. One of the senior managers responsible for the outsourcing decision claimed
that support calls were 'increasingly varied and complex, reflecting incompetent end users, too lazy
to read user guides.' However, the outsourcing of support has not proved popular with iCompute's
customers and a number of significant complaints have been made about the service given to end
users. The company is currently reviewing whether the software support process should be brought
back in-house.
The company is still regarded as a technology leader in the market place, although the presence of
so many technically gifted employees within the company often creates uncertainty about the most
appropriate technology to adopt for a solution. One manager commented that 'we have often
adopted, or are about to adopt, a technology or solution when one of our software developers will
ask if we have considered some newly released technology. We usually admit we haven't and so we
re-open the adoption process. We seem to be in a state of constant technical paralysis.'
Although Ron Yeates retired five years ago, many of the software developers recruited by him are
still with the company. Some of these have become operational managers, employed to manage
teams of software developers on internal and external projects. Subba Kendo is one of the managers
who originally joined the company as a trainee programmer. 'I moved into management because I
needed to earn more money. There is a limit to what you can earn here as a software developer.
22
I still keep up to date with programming though, and I am a goalkeeper for one of the company's
five-a-side football teams. I am still one of the boys.'
However, many of the software developers are sceptical about their managers. One commented that
'they are technologically years out of date. Some will insist on writing programs and producing
code, but we take it out again as soon as we can and replace it with something we have written.
Not only are they poor programmers, they are poor managers and don't really know how to
motivate us.' Although revenues have increased, profits have fallen. This is also blamed on the
managers. 'There is always an element of ambiguity in specifying customers' requirements. In the
past, Ron Yeates would debate responsibility for the requirement changes with the customer.
However, we now seem to do all amendments for free. The customer is right even when we know he
isn't. No wonder margins are falling. The managers are not firm enough with their customers.'
The software developers are also angry that an in-house project has been initiated to produce a
system for recording the time spent on tasks and projects. Some of the justification for this is that a
few of the projects are on a 'time and materials' basis and a time recording system would permit
accurate and prompt invoicing. However, the other justification for the project is that it will improve
the estimation of 'fixed-price' contracts. It will provide statistical information derived from previous
projects to assist account managers preparing estimates to produce quotes for bidding for new
bespoke development contracts.
Vikram Soleski, one of the current software developers, commented that 'managers do not even have
up-to-date mobile phones, probably because they don't know how to use them. We (software
developers) always have the latest gadgets long before they are acquired by managers. But I like
working here, we have a good social scene and after working long hours we socialise together,
often playing computer games well into the early hours of the morning. It's a great life if you don't
weaken!'
Required
Analyse the culture of iCompute and assess the implications of your analysis for the company's future
performance. (13 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating analysis skills as part of your analysis of
the culture of iCompute. (2 marks)
(Total = 15 marks)
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Solution
24
Chapter summary
Strategy, leadership and culture
Leadership Strategy Culture
What is leadership? What is strategy? What is culture?

The process of influencing an The long-term direction of an 'A pattern of shared basic
organisation (or group within organisation assumptions...considered valid
an organisation) in its efforts and transmitted to new
towards achieving an aim members'
or goal Levels of strategy
Corporate, business-level,
operational Cultural web
Perspectives on leadership • Control systems
• Trait approach • Routines
• Behaviour approach Mission statements • Organisation structure
• Power-influence approach Formal documents that state the • Paradigm
• Situational approach organisation's mission • Symbols
• Integrative approach • Power structures
• Stories and myths
Objectives
Leadership roles
Specific, measurable, achievable,
• Top managers – envisioning results-focused, time-related
future strategy, aligning,
embodying change
• Middle managers – advisers, Strategic values
'sense making',
• Ethics in business
reinterpretation & adjustment,
• Corporate social responsibility
local leadership of change
• Corporate governance
Change and leadership

Strategic management
• Charismatic and transactional
Strategic position, strategic
leadership
choices, strategic action
• Change management styles
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship and
intrapreneurship
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1. Leadership is a key factor in organisational success. Good leadership is fundamentally linked to

ethics, as leaders have a particular responsibility in this respect.
2. Broad perspectives on leadership are traits or qualities of leaders, behaviour – what leaders
actually do, power-influence – the way power is exercised and situational – styles of leadership
need to vary.
3. A number of leadership roles have been identified for both top managers and middle
managers.
4. Change may require transactional or charismatic leadership, and a range of change
management styles.
5. Entrepreneurship is about identifying and exploiting opportunities. Similar principles can be
applied within organisations, which is called intrapreneurship.
6. Strategy is concerned with the long-term direction of an organisation. It may be developed at
corporate, business or operational level, and supported by mission statements.
7. Mission and strategy need to be supported by more detailed objectives, which will ideally be
specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-related.
8. Ethics, corporate social responsibility and corporate governance are key elements of strategic
values, which are developed later in the text.
9. Strategic management includes analysis of strategic position, strategic choices and strategy in
action.
10. Culture can be described as 'the way we do things round here'. It is influenced by the national
culture where it is located, the founders, its history, style of current leaders and the
organisation's structure.
11. Culture can be analysed using the cultural web, which looks at the physical manifestations of a
culture and the assumptions that make up the paradigm.
26
Further study guidance
Question practice
Now try the question below from the Further question practice bank (available in the digital edition of the
Workbook):
Q1 Bonar Paint
Further reading
There are articles on the ACCA website written by members of the SBL examining team which are relevant
to your studies and which would be useful to read:
Culture and configuration
This article gives further consideration to the cultural web and explores the importance of organisational
structure and configuration.
Performance indicators
This article focuses on the interaction between objectives, critical success factors, and key performance
indicators.
Approaching SBL overview
This article provides a one-page summary of the key features of the SBL exam.
Approaching SBL reading and planning
This article provides a one-page summary of how best to approach the SBL exam.
SBL – 10 things to learn from the September 2018 sitting
This article highlights some of the issues that ACCA identified in candidates’ answers during the
September 2018 SBL exam sitting. The article provides some useful advice for improving your chances of
passing the SBL exam.
Strategic Business Leader – The importance of effective communication for SBL
This article provides some useful insights into the different formats which you will be expected to use when
answering SBL exam tasks.
Own research
It is critical that you start practicing application of this knowledge as early as possible. Using web
searches, the business press, your own experience and your personal network, look for examples of
leaders or organisations where you can consider application of these concepts. For example:
 Leadership: who do you consider to be a good leader? Why is this? Who do you consider to be a
bad leader? Again, why is this? Are there any common themes you can think of that connect leaders
– where do they get this from?
 Strategy: research an organisation you either work for or are familiar with in some way – what do
you think this organisation's strategy is? How does it determine this strategy? How does it respond to
change?
 Culture: what form of culture are you part of, either at your place of work or another organisation
you are familiar with? Why does this culture exist – is it due to individuals, history, technology or
something else? Does the culture change (and does it need to change)?
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Exercise answers
Exercise 1
Here are some suggestions that you may have considered.
 Charisma – 'star quality'
 Good communication skills, whether written and/or spoken
 Seen to live in line with their message – 'walk the talk'
 Expertise in their field
 Willingness to take risk, including the risk of unpopularity
Exercise 2
This could range from formal aspects such as procedures manuals, contracts and codes of conduct to
things like looking at how people deal with each other, what they wear, their hours of work etc.
The findings of your research would be dependent on the organisation that you investigated.
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Stakeholders and
social responsibility
Learning objectives
Syllabus
reference no.
Discuss the nature of the principal-agent relationship in the context of governance B1(a)
Analyse the issues connected with the separation of ownership and control over B1(b)
organisation activity
Discuss and critically assess the concept of stakeholder power and interest using B2(a)
the Mendelow model and apply this to strategy and governance
Evaluate the stakeholders' roles, claims and interests in an organisation and how B2(b)
they may conflict
Explain social responsibility and viewing the organisation as 'corporate citizen' in B2(c)
the context of governance
Discuss the factors that determine organisational policies on reporting to B4(a)

stakeholders, including stakeholder power and interests
Assess the role and value of integrated reporting and evaluate the issues B4(b)
concerning accounting for sustainability
Advise on the guiding principles, the typical content elements and the six capitals B4(c)
of an integrated report, and discuss the usefulness of this information to
stakeholders
Describe and assess the social and environmental impacts that economic activity B4(d)
can have (in terms of social and environmental 'footprints' and environmental
reporting)
Describe the main features of internal management systems for underpinning B4(e)
environmental and sustainability accounting including EMAS and ISO 14000
Examine how the audit of integrated reports can provide adequate assurance of B4(f)
the relevance and reliability of organisation reports to stakeholders
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We are going to learn more about governance throughout this book, but here we are looking at how
important it is to be aware of the world around us as leaders and consider how we can demonstrate
that we have taken our responsibilities seriously.
We will explore the dynamic that exists between the owners and managers of an entity and consider
who else we need to consider and how to prioritise them. We will also look at the duty of care that
an organisation owes to the society in which it exists and consider the various approaches that could
be taken.
Finally, we will consider both the social and environmental impacts that an organisation can have on
society, how they can be communicated and the benefits from disclosing this information in a way
that can be trusted.
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2: Stakeholders and social responsibility
Chapter overview
Stakeholders and social responsibility
Principals and agents Social Sustainability

in governance responsibility
Environmental and social issues

Agency theory Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR) (Carroll, 1991)
Integrated Reporting <IR>
Stakeholders
Corporate citizenship
(Matten and Crane, 2005) Social and environmental audits
Power and interest
(Mendelow, 1991)
Ethical stances
CSR viewpoints (Gray et al 1996)
CSR 2.0 (Visser, 2011)
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1 Principals and agents in governance
1.1 Agency theory
Agency relationship: 'Is a contract under which one or more persons (the principals) engage
another person (the agent) to perform some service on their behalf that involves delegating some
Key term
decision-making authority to the agent'. (Jensen and Meckling, 1976: p.5)
Agency theory is used to study the problems of motivation and control when a principal needs the
help of an agent to carry out activities.
Agent: Is usually a director who is interested in personal gain from their employment.
Key terms Principal: Is usually a shareholder who is interested in wealth creation from their investment.
Agency is a significant issue in corporate governance because of the dominance of the joint
stock company, the company limited by shares as a form of business organisation. For larger
companies this has led to the separation of ownership of the company from its
management. The owners (the shareholders) can be seen as the principal, the management of
the company as the agents.
For these reasons, therefore, there is the potential for conflicts of interest between management
and shareholders. The diagram below illustrates how agency works in practice:
Self-interest
Self-interest
Agent
Principal appoints
(directors/managers/
(shareholder) employees)
Detailed
information
Exam Focus Point

The Strategic Business Leader specimen 2 exam featured a public sector rail company, Rail Co,
which was responsible for providing rail services within the country of Beeland. The first question
required candidates to act in the capacity of a non-executive member of the Rail Co nominations and
corporate governance committee. Part (a) of question 1 asked candidates to prepare a briefing
paper which identified and explained 'the agency relationship of the parties involved in Rail Co' and
discussed 'the rights and responsibilities of those parties' (ACCA, 2017a). This task was worth 8
technical marks and tested the ACCA Professional Skill of Communication. To produce a good
answer candidates needed to use their knowledge of agency theory applied in relation to Rail Co.
To earn the two professional skills marks candidates needed set their answer out using the specified
briefing paper format.
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1.1.1 The agency problem

In an ideal world, agents would simply act on behalf of their principals. However, agency theory
assumes that agent and principal will act in their own self-interest which may not be aligned and may
even be in conflict with each other. The agency problem in joint stock companies derives from the
principals (shareholders) not being able to run the business themselves and therefore having to rely
on agents (directors) to do so for them, despite the fact that they cannot always trust their agents to
do everything they would want them to.
For example, shareholders (principals) would rather be paid the maximum amount of earnings via
dividends each year, but in doing so, may not pay directors (agents) enough to motivate them to
maximise these earnings (or may pay them to take inappropriate levels of risk). Leaving directors to
manage the company as they see fit may lead to strategies that shareholders perceive as either too
risky or too safe, but in either event, without being involved in the day-to-day running of the
company, shareholders may be powerless to stop directors from pursuing these strategies in time.
Addressing the agency problem appears to be a complex balancing act which is seldom perfected
and underpins many of the controls in place as part of sound systems of corporate governance.
Essential reading
the Workbook, for more detail about the agency problem.
1.1.2 Agency monitoring systems

Principals can take a number of steps to monitor their agents when they perceive the agency problem
to be present (or at risk of materialising):
 Request formation of committees
 Employ consultants
 Increase numbers of Non-Executive Directors (NEDs)
 Attend AGM and question board
1.1.3 The agency solution

The power that shareholders possess is the right to remove the directors from office. But shareholders
have to take the initiative to do this, and in many companies the shareholders lack the energy and
organisation to take such a step. Ultimately, they can vote in favour of a takeover or removal of
individual directors or entire boards, but this may be undesirable.
Shareholders can take steps to exercise control, but such action will be expensive, time-consuming
and difficult to manage because it is difficult to:
(a) Verify what the board is doing, partly because the board has access to more information
about its activities than the principal does; and
(b) Introduce mechanisms to control the activities of the board, without preventing it from
functioning effectively.
Any steps taken by shareholders are likely to incur 'agency costs' (Jensen and Meckling, 1976:
p5). Common agency costs include:
 Costs of studying company data and results (either in-house or externally)
 Purchase of expert analysis (such as consultants)
 External auditors' fees
 Costs of devising and enforcing directors' contracts (see later content on remuneration)
 Time spent attending company meetings (such as the annual general meeting or AGM)
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 Costs of direct intervention in the company's affairs (including legal fees)
 Transaction costs of shareholding (such as brokers' fees and any tax implications for
dividends)
Overall, the agency problem is usually addressed by aligning the interests of both agents and
principals – how can this be done?
Exercise 1: Agency issues

Required
(a) Identify some reasons why shareholders might become concerned about the management of
an organisation in which they hold an investment.
(b) Suggest some ways in which principals can align their interests with those of their agents in
order to address the problems identified.
Solution
1.2 Stakeholders
Stakeholder: Is someone who affects or is affected by an entity and who has a corresponding
claim (usually this is what they want).
Key term
Stakeholders are people, groups or organisations that can affect or be affected by the actions or
policies of an organisation. Each stakeholder group has different expectations about what it wants,
and therefore different claims upon the organisation.
A useful distinction is between direct and indirect stakeholder claims.
(a) Stakeholders who make direct claims do so with their own voice and generally do so
clearly. Normally stakeholders with direct claims themselves communicate with the company.
(b) Stakeholders who have indirect claims are generally unable to make the claims themselves
because they are for some reason inarticulate or voiceless. Although they cannot express their
claim directly to the organisation, this does not necessarily invalidate their claim. Stakeholders
may lack power because they have no significance for the organisation, have no physical
voice (animals and plants), are remote from the organisation (suppliers based in other
countries) or are future generations.
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1.2.1 Who are stakeholders?
Activity 1: Stakeholders

Commercial acumen: Demonstrate awareness
You work as a senior advisor to the board of a large listed organisation that operates in the
construction industry. The services offered range from homebuilding to large civil engineering
projects, such as bridges and dams, and can be undertaken for central and local government bodies
as well as other profit-making companies. All projects are carried out by staff who require formal
accreditation by their professional body.
As part of your work, you have been asked to brief the board about its stakeholders.
Required
Draft a list of stakeholders for the board; briefly explain the nature of each stakeholder's claim.
(6 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating commercial acumen skills in
demonstrating awareness of stakeholders and their claims. (2 marks)
(Total = 8 marks)
Solution
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1.2.2 Classifying stakeholders
Stakeholders can be classified by their proximity to the organisation.
Stakeholder group Members
Internal Employees, management, the board
Connected Shareholders, customers, suppliers, lenders
External The government, local government, the public, pressure groups, the
media, competition, trade unions
Another way of viewing stakeholders is as follows:
Stakeholder group Members
Active Those who seek to participate in the organisation's activities. This

includes managers and some shareholders but may also include other
groups such as regulators and pressure groups.
Passive Those who do not seek to participate in policy making, such as most
shareholders, local communities and government.
Passive stakeholders may still be interested and powerful. If corporate governance arrangements are
to develop still further, there may be a need for powerful, passive stakeholders (eg institutional
investors) to take a more active role.
Illustration 1
Why might an organisation need to recognise its stakeholders when making significant strategic
decisions? Here are some suggestions:
To identify ways of To pre-empt

communicating with negative reactions
and managing and manage
stakeholders stakeholder conflicts
To assess level To establish

of interest and support for
power strategic goals
Each of these is a valid reason for focusing on stakeholders and their claims – however, the most
important one is likely to be to ensure that various inevitable stakeholder conflicts can be managed.
Performance Objective 2 'Stakeholder Relationship Management' of the Practical Experience

Requirement requires you to 'gain commitment from stakeholders by consulting and influencing them
PER alert
to solve problems, meet objectives and maximise mutually beneficial opportunities' (ACCA, 2019b).
To help improve your effectiveness in managing and influencing stakeholders you are strongly
advised to take your time as you go through the following section which explores the different
approaches that can be taken when managing different stakeholder groups.
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1.3 Power and interest

One way of assessing stakeholders is to look at the power they exert and the level of interest
they have about its activities.
Mendelow (1991) classifies stakeholders on a matrix whose axes are power held and likelihood of
showing an interest in the organisation's activities. These factors will help define the type of
relationship the organisation should seek with its stakeholders and how it should view their concerns.
Mendelow's matrix represents a continuum, a map for plotting the relative influence of stakeholders.
Stakeholders in the bottom right of the continuum are more significant because they combine the
highest power and influence.
Level of interest
Low High
Low A B
Power
High C D
(Adapted from: Mendelow, 1991)

 Key players are found in Segment D. The organisation's strategy must be acceptable to
them, at least. An example would be a major customer.
 Stakeholders in Segment C must be treated with care. They are capable of moving to Segment
D. They should therefore be kept satisfied. Large institutional shareholders might fall into
Segment C.
 Stakeholders in Segment B do not have great ability to influence strategy, but their views can
be important in influencing more powerful stakeholders, perhaps by lobbying. They should
therefore be kept informed. Community representatives and charities might fall into
Segment B.
 Minimal effort is expended on Segment A.
1.3.1 Using Mendelow's approach to analyse stakeholders

Stakeholder mapping is used to assess the significance of stakeholders. This in turn has implications
for the organisation. The framework of corporate governance and the direction and control of the
business should recognise stakeholders' levels of interest and power.
Power means who can exercise most influence over a particular decision (though the power
may not be used). These include those who actively participate in decision making (normally
directors, senior managers) or those whose views are regularly consulted on important decisions
(major shareholders). It can also in a negative sense mean those who have the right of veto over
major decisions (creditors with a charge on major business assets can prevent those assets being
sold to raise money). Stakeholders may be more influential if their power is combined with:
 Legitimacy: the company perceives the stakeholders' claims to be valid
 Urgency: whether the stakeholder claim requires immediate action
Level of interest reflects the effort stakeholders put in to attempting to participate in the
organisation's activities, whether they succeed or not. It also reflects the amount of knowledge
stakeholders have about what the organisation is doing.
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Companies may try to reposition certain stakeholders and discourage others from repositioning
themselves, depending on their attitudes. Key blockers and facilitators of change must be
identified. Stakeholder mapping can also be used to establish future priorities.
1.3.2 Stakeholder power and interest in reporting
The more influential a stakeholder group is in terms of their level of power and interest the better
placed they are to influence the approach the organisation takes when reporting its performance.
Stakeholders classified as key players (per Mendelow) are able to influence the issues they would
like the organisation to report on in its annual report. This is evident given that most annual reports
produced by listed entities focus upon the financial performance and position of the entity. Such
reporting aims to meet the needs of influential groups, each of which has its own distinct interest in
the financial affairs of the organisation, for example:
 Shareholders want to gain a better understanding of how their investment is performing and
whether or not to continue their support
 Regulators want to ensure compliance with relevant laws, e.g. including provisions to cover
environmental pollution obligations
 Tax authorities want to assess the profitability of the organisation for the purpose of ensuring
the correct amount of tax is paid
Despite this, organisations are increasingly changing the approach that they adopt when reporting
on performance with many now reporting on a far broader range of issues. Many organisations
focus on providing information to stakeholders that are more likely to be classified as ‘keep informed’
and ‘keep satisfied ’groups per Mendelow. Later in this Chapter consideration is given to
sustainability and Integrated Reporting which view performance reporting in a broader sense.
Activity 2: Goaway Hotels

Evaluation: Assess
Goaway Hotels is a chain of hotels based in one country. Ninety per cent of its shares are held by
members of the family of the founder of the Goaway group. None of the family members is a
director of the organisation. Over the last few years, the family has been quite happy with the steady
level of dividends that their investment has generated. Directors are encouraged to achieve high
profits by means of a remuneration package with potentially very large profit-related bonuses.
The directors of Goaway Hotels currently wish to take significant steps to increase profits. The area
they are focusing on at present is labour costs. Over the last couple of years, many of the workers
they have recruited have been economic migrants from another country, the East Asian People's
Republic (EAPR). The EAPR workers are paid around 30% of the salary of indigenous workers, and
receive fewer benefits. However, these employment terms are considerably better than those that the
workers would receive in the EAPR. Goaway Hotels has been able to fill its vacancies easily from this
source, and the workers from the EAPR that Goaway has recruited have mostly stayed with the
company. The board has been considering imposing tougher employment contracts on home country
workers, perhaps letting the number of dismissals and staff turnover of home country workers
increase significantly.
In Goaway Hotels' home country, there has been a long period of rule by a government that wished
to boost business and thus relaxed labour laws to encourage more flexible working. However, a year
ago the opposition party finally won power, having pledged in their manifesto to tighten labour laws
to give more rights to home country employees. Since their election the new government has brought
in the promised labour legislation, and there have already been successful injunctions obtained,
preventing companies from imposing less-favourable employment terms on their employees.
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An international chain of hotels has recently approached various members of the founding family
with an offer for their shares. The international chain is well known for its aggressive approach to
employee relations and the high demands it makes on its managers. Local employment laws allow
some renegotiation of employment terms if companies are taken over.
Required
You are acting as an advisor to the board, specialising in negotiating changes to employment
conditions. Using Mendelow's matrix, evaluate the importance of the following stakeholders to the
decision to change the employment terms of home country's workers in Goaway Hotels.
(a) The board of directors
(b) The founding family shareholders
(c) The trade unions to which the home country workers belong
(d) Migrant workers (8 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating evaluation skills in assessing the
importance of the different stakeholders. (2 marks)
(Total = 10 marks)
Solution
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Syllabus link
Stakeholder management and cultural issues form a key part of the Strategic Business Leader
syllabus, and link closely to the Ethics and Professional Skills Module (EPSM) that you are required to
complete on your journey towards full ACCA membership. As part of the EPSM you will need to
show how you have communicated effectively in the business environment with different stakeholder
groups. You are therefore strongly advised to complete the EPSM before sitting your Strategic
Business Leader exam as this will assist with your exam preparations.
1.3.2 Problems with stakeholder mapping

However, there are a number of issues with Mendelow's (1991) approach:
(a) It can be very difficult to measure each stakeholder's power and influence.
(b) The map is not static. Changing circumstances may mean stakeholders' positions move
around the map. For example, stakeholders with a lot of interest but not much power may
improve their position by combining with other stakeholders with similar views.
(c) The map is based on the idea that strategic positioning, rather than moral or ethical
concerns, should govern an organisation's attitude to its stakeholders.
(d) If there are a number of key players, and their views are in conflict, it can be very difficult to
resolve the situation, hence there may be uncertainties over the organisation's future
direction.
(e) Mendelow's matrix considers power and influence but fails to take legitimacy into account.
Legitimacy is a distinct concept from power. For example, minority shareholders in a company
controlled by a strong majority may not have much power, but law in most countries recognises that
they have legitimate rights which the company must respect. Mitchell et al (1997) argue that
legitimacy is a desirable social goal, dependent on more than the perception of individual
stakeholders.
1.3.3 Problems with stakeholder theory

We saw in Illustration 1 that an organisation's stakeholders can be a diverse and lengthy list of
parties, often with conflicting claims. One reason for analysing stakeholder claims is therefore to
ensure that each of these can be managed in some way. However, keeping all parties satisfied is far
from straightforward.
Fiduciary duty: Is a duty of care and trust which one person or entity owes to another. It can be a
legal or ethical obligation.
Key term
One such conflict comes from the general principle of fiduciary duty that expects managers to
maximise shareholder wealth. This can create significant problems, especially if managers are also
expected to satisfy other stakeholder claims which conflict with the stated aim of long-term
profitability.
There are two fundamentally different motivations for considering stakeholders which may be used by
managers to define their actions.
The instrumental view justifies considering The normative view is based on the idea that
stakeholders purely because of the economic the company has moral obligations towards all
benefits to the company – everything else is of its stakeholders, including those whose main aim
secondary importance is not proft-driven
40
Essential reading
the Workbook, for a discussion about the emergence of ecosystem environments in business.
Although the concept of ecosystems is a relatively new one and is not covered by the Strategic
Business Leader syllabus, it is worth taking the time to read this additional material as it considers
how organisational interactions with stakeholders are starting to evolve.
2 Social responsibility
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a concept whereby organisations consider the interests of
society by taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on wider stakeholder groups. This
obligation can be seen to extend beyond statutory obligations to comply with legislation. Let's have a
look at some examples of how such responsibilities could be categorised and described.
2.1 Corporate social responsibility (CSR) (Carroll, 1991)

This approach is modelled on the idea of a hierarchy of needs that an organisation should be aiming
to fulfil, starting at the most basic level (economic) which expects some form of profitability for
investors. However, it will be seen as more socially responsible if such profits are earned legally, as
opposed to aiming simply to maximise the proceeds of crime! Many organisations aspire to legal
profits, but beyond that there is no obligation. Consequently, acting in an ethical manner (such as
adopting a code of conduct or extended paid maternity leave for staff) is a choice that is made for a
variety of reasons that goes beyond the bare minimum of what the law demands. To be classed as
philanthropic, an organisation's behaviour needs to include activities that go far beyond the law –
establishing a charitable foundation that supports the local community, for example.
Philanthropic
Charitable donations, contributions to local communities, and providing
employees with the chances to improve their own lives
Ethical
Organisations are required to act in a fair and just way even if the law
does not compel them to do so
Legal
Obeying the law is a requirement in all societies, though legal
compliance imposes greater burdens in some societies than others
Economic
To shareholders wanting dividends/capital gains, to employees wanting
fair employment, to customers wanting good quality products
(Adapted from: Carroll, 1991)
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2.2 Corporate citizenship (Matten and Crane, 2005)
Limited view consists of limited projects undertaken in the business' self-interest
• The main stakeholder groups that the corporation engages with are
local communities and employees
Equivalent view (similar to Carroll's view of CSR having four key elements)
• Based on a wider general definition of corporate social responsibility

that is partly voluntary and partly imposed
Extended view organisations will promote:
• Social rights of citizens by provision of, for example, decent working

conditions
• Civil rights, by intervening to promote citizens' individual rights
themselves or to pressurise governments to promote citizens' rights
• Political rights by allowing individuals to promote their causes by
using corporate power
• Reinforces the idea of a company being part of a community and
meeting the citizenship needs that government does not currently fulfil
2.3 Ethical stances (Johnson et al, 2017)
Short-term shareholder interest Long-term shareholder interest

It is up to governments to impose constraints Corporate image may be enhanced by an
on governance (ie laws) but beyond that, assumption of wider responsibilities. The
there is no obligation to go any further. responsible exercise of corporate power may
Companies are there to make profits, pay prevent a build-up of social and political
taxes and provide jobs but only in order to pressure for legal regulation. This approach is
comply with the law – no more! Relies on quite pragmatic and acknowledges that the
strong controls and objectives being set to pursuit of profit alone will not maintain
achieve this main aim and is unlikely to shareholder wealth over the long term. Such
respond to outside pressures. Examples organisations are led by supportive individuals
include large multinational corporations who encourage best practice to engage with
quoted on many different stock exchanges. stakeholders and respond to outside pressures.
Examples include groceries stores and other
retailers with a strong consumer focus.
Which one is
right?
Multiple stakeholder obligations Shaper of society

Accept the legitimacy of stakeholders and Although it is accepted that this role is largely the
their claims because without recognising preserve of public sector organisations, it is
groups such as suppliers, employers and aspirational enough for all organisations to at
customers, the organisation would not be least attempt to emulate (whether they achieve it
able to function. Interested in operating in or not). Requires visionary leadership to pursue
partnership with stakeholders and being an agenda of social and market change in
proactive in championing many of their conjunction with other organisations. Supports
claims. Stakeholders' views are used by the individual responsibility being taken across the
board to pursue strategies that go beyond organisation to achieve this. In its purest form, it
pure profit generation. Examples include is debatable whether such organisations truly
public sector organisations, educational exist, although some of these traits may be
establishments and those operating in present (such as visionary leadership, supportive
the arts. management styles and a desire for social
change) in isolation.
42
2.4 CSR viewpoints (Gray et al, 1996)

Pristine capitalist
Business has no moral responsibilities beyond its obligations
to shareholders and creditors. Profit is the only aim for such
organisations − everything else is irrelevant. Could include
any organisation where profit maximisation is the only
objective.
Expedient
Social responsibility may be appropriate, but usually only if
it is in the business's economic interests. Such a pragmatic
approach to social responsibility could simply be seen to be
a cynical response to maintain profits, not to benefit
stakeholders' interests. Includes organisations with a strong
consumer focus (eg retailers marketing themselves as being
on the same side as the consumer).
Proponent of the social contract

There is effectively a contract or agreement between these
organisations and those who are affected by their decisions
(for example, such as between UK state broadcaster the
BBC, the UK Government and licence fee payers who
receive ther content). Change is usually not allowed unless it
can be accommodated by all parties involved.
Social ecologist
Traditional business activities result in natural resources
being used up in the pursuit of profits. Social ecologists
believe that strategies leading to waste and pollution must
be modified and organisations must become more socially
responsible in their resource usage (for example, cosmetics
being sourced from natural products and sold in recyclable
packaging).
Socialist
Business decision-making should no longer be determined by
the requirements of capitalism and materialism alone, but
should promote equality and treat all parties' interests
equally. This is equivalent to the political definition of
socialism in many respects and aims to reduce the abuse of
workers by the ruling classes.
Radical feminist
Can include a variety of approaches, but in general terms,
such organisations aim to promote feminine values (such as
co-operation and empathy) over typically masculine values
(such as aggression and conflict) in order to achieve more
socially desirable objectives, and not just profit.
Deep ecologist ('Deep Green')

Suggests that humans have no greater right to resources or
life than any other species on the planet. Organisations
therefore should not destroy animal habitats (using
techniques such as deforestation or greenfield development)
or pursue animals (such as commercial whaling) at all, let
alone for profit. Environmental pressure groups are
examples of organisations that take such a stance.
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2.5 CSR 2.0 (Visser, 2011)
In his book The Age of Responsibility – CSR 2.0 and the New DNA of Business (Visser,
2011), Visser takes stock of the current state of corporate social responsibility across the globe,
charting its history and development over time using the following 'ages' (some of which imply that
current views on CSR may be in need of some radical overhaul):
Greed
Responsibility Philanthropy
Management Marketing
(Adapted from: Visser, 2011)

Consequently, Visser suggests that we need 'CSR 2.0' to take CSR to the next level, identifying five
principles that should be adopted in order to achieve this:
Creativity (embracing
new ideas)
Circularity
Scalability (translating
(recognising the cycle
them across borders)
of events)
Glocality (local
Responsiveness (the
solutions made on a
ability to change)
global scale)
(Adapted from: Visser, 2011)
44
In conclusion, he discusses barriers to achieving CSR 2.0 which question as a society both our ability
and our desire to change, suggesting that good CSR may still only be a choice, not an imperative.
Activity 3: Corporate social responsibility

Communication: Inform
You work as a senior advisor to the board of a large listed organisation that operates in the
construction industry. The services offered range from homebuilding to large civil engineering
projects, such as bridges and dams, and can be undertaken for central and local government bodies
as well as other profit-making companies. All projects are carried out by staff who require formal
accreditation by their professional body.
As part of your work, you have been asked to brief the board about its corporate social
responsibility (CSR) position. Proponents of CSR argue that there is a strong business case for
considering stakeholders, whereas critics argue that CSR distracts from the fundamental economic
role of businesses.
Required
Draft one presentation slide with presenter's notes showing arguments supporting both the case for
and against CSR.
(6 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating communication skills in informing the
audience of the arguments for and against CSR. (2 marks)
(Total = 8 marks)
Solution
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Activity 4: CSR and tax

GSA is a listed pharmaceutical manufacturer that operates across different countries but has its
headquarters in a European country. In general terms it always complies with the law – financial
statements are filed on time, employee and sales taxes are paid over to the local tax authority – but
despite the parent company recording high operating profits, it recently paid a very low level of
corporate tax due to apparent loopholes in the legislation (sometimes referred to as 'legal tax
avoidance'). This became a controversial news story and led to calls for a boycott of the company's
products unless they voluntarily paid more corporate tax. GSA's Chief Executive Martyn Rice agreed
to respond to the media on behalf of the board.
Required
You are a senior manager working in the strategy function of GSA.
Recommend a series of responses for the Chief Executive to make based on current CSR theory. You
should aim to include at least four different points of view. (8 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating commercial acumen skills in demonstrating
awareness of the factors influencing this decision. (2 marks)
(Total = 6 marks)
Solution
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3 Sustainability
3.1 Environmental and social issues
3.1.1 Environmental and social footprint
Sustainability: Means limiting the use of depleting resources to a level that can be replenished.
Key terms Sustainable development: Is development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
When considering sustainability, a number of questions need to be considered:
Sustainable
by whom?
Sustainable
Sustainable
at what
for whom?
cost?
Sustainable Sustainable
for how in what
long? way?
A key issue is generational equity, ensuring that future generations are able to enjoy the same
environmental conditions, and in social terms per capita welfare is maintained or increased.
The two approaches to sustainability are:
Weak sustainability believes that the focus Strong sustainability stresses the need for
should be on sustaining the human species and harmony with the natural world; it is important to
the natural environment can be regarded as a sustain all species, not just the human race. There
resource. The weak sustainability viewpoint tends is a requirement for fundamental change,
to dominate discussion within the Western including a change in how man perceives
economic viewpoint. economic growth (and whether or not it is
pursued at all).
Environmental footprint: Is a measure of the impact that a particular business's activities have
upon the environment including its resource, environment and pollution emissions.
Key terms
Social footprint: Is a measure of the impact or effect that an entity can have on a given set of
concerns or stakeholder interests.
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It is the impact on people, society and the wellbeing of communities. Impacts can be positive (such as
job creation and community benefits) or negative, such as when a plant closure increases
unemployment and the local community suffers.
Examples of factors that could be used to determine a firm's environmental footprint include the
following items (note that many of them could be assessed using metrics that may be measured and
reported as part of assessing an organisation's environmental footprint):
Depletion
of natural
resources
Change in the
Noise and
local quality of
aesthetic
life (via tourism
impacts
for example)
Environmental
footprint
Uncompensated Residual air

health effects and water
emissions
Long-term
waste disposal
(including
packaging)
3.1.2 Social and environmental reporting
Social accounting: Is a concept describing the communication of social and environmental effects
of a company's economic actions to stakeholders. A number of reporting guidelines have been
Key term
developed to serve as frameworks.
ISO 14000
Environmental
Management
Standard
Global Report
Initiative (GR)
sustainability
reporting
guidelines
AA1000
EU EMAS
Standard – based
emphasising
on triple bottom
targets and
line (3BL)
improvements
reporting
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AA1000 standard
The AA1000 standard is produced by AccountAbility.
‘AccountAbility is a global consulting and sustainability standards firm that works with businesses,
governments and multilateral organisations to advance responsible business practices and improve
long-term performance.’ (AccountAbility, 2019).
The AA1000 (2008) standard was based on the concept of triple bottom line accounting which
encourages organisational activities to be accounted for in less obvious ways than just financial
reporting terms:
People – the equivalent of social accounting (for example, the amount of charitable donations
made)
Planet – a focus on environment performance such as waste management and recycling targets
Profit – a measure of the success of the business, but considering the redistribution of wealth which
brings benefits to the local community (for example, education schemes and community projects)
The AA1000 standard was updated in 2018, and is based on the following principles:
 ‘Inclusivity – People should have a say in the decisions that impact them.
 Materiality – Decision makers should identify and be clear about the sustainability topics that
matter.
 Responsiveness – Organisations should act transparently on material sustainability topics and
their related impacts.
 Impact – Organisations should monitor, measure and be accountable for how their actions
affect their broader ecosystems.’ (AccountAbility, 2018).
The AA1000 standard provides organisations with guidance on how to respond to the challenges
presented by sustainability issues.
Global Reporting Initiative (GR)
The Global Reporting Initiative (GR) (2016) is a reporting framework and arose from the need
to address the failure of the current governance structures to respond to changes in the global
economy. The GR aims to develop transparency, accountability, reporting and sustainable
development. Its vision is that reporting on economic, environmental and social importance
should become as routine and comparable as financial reporting.
Essential reading
the Workbook, for more detail about the purpose and advantages of environmental reporting.
Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS)

EMAS (EU, 2019) is a voluntary scheme that emphasises targets and improvements, on-site
inspections and requirements for disclosure and verification.
Requirements for EMAS registration
An environmental policy containing commitments to comply with legislation and achieve continuous
environmental performance improvement
An on-site environmental review
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Requirements for EMAS registration
An environmental management system that is based on the review and the company's environmental
policy
Environmental audits at sites
Audit results to form the basis of setting environmental objectives and the revision of the
environmental policy to achieve those objectives
A public environmental statement validated by accredited environmental verifiers containing detailed

disclosures about policy, management systems and performance in areas such as pollution, waste,
raw material usage, energy, water and noise
ISO 14000
ISO 14000 (ISO, 2015) provides a general framework on which a number of specific standards
have been based (the ISO family of standards).
ISO 14001 (ISO, 2015) prescribes that an environmental management system must comprise:
An environmental policy statement,

which should be the basis for future A management system ensuring
Assessment of environmental aspects
action; it needs therefore to be based effective monitoring and reporting on
and legal and voluntary obligations
on reliable data, and allow for the environmental compliance
development of specific targets
Internal audits and reports to senior A public declaration that ISO 14001
management is being complied with
ISO 14005 (ISO, 2019) was published in 2019. ISO 14005 aims to encourage and support
organisations to develop and implement their own environmental management system based on a
phased approach which meets the requirements set out by ISO 14001.
3.2 Integrated Reporting <IR>

The aim of integrated reporting (sometimes referred to by this symbol: <IR>) is to demonstrate the
linkage between strategy, governance and financial performance and the social,
environmental and economic context within which the business operates. <IR> is
based on the concept of integrated thinking.
Integrated thinking: 'Is the active consideration by the organization of the relationships
between its various operating and functional units and the capitals that the organization
Key term
uses or affects.' (International Integrated Reporting Council, 2019)
Adopting integrated thinking helps organisations to improve their approach to decision-making, as

decisions and actions are not made or undertaken in isolation from the wider situation facing the
entity. Integrated thinking, in essence ensures that managers and organisational leaders make
decisions and undertake actions that consider value creation not in just the short-term but in the
medium to longer term. The International Integrated Reporting Council (2019) note that this requires
'thinking holistically about the resources and relationships the organization uses or affects, and the
dependencies and trade-offs between them as value is created. In applying this mindset, the
organization views itself as part of a greater system, one shaped by the quality, availability and cost
of resources, as well as evolving regulations, norms and stakeholder expectations.'
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Exercise 2: Integrated thinking

Required
Identify how the adoption of integrated thinking might benefit a clothing retailer, listed on a national
stock exchange, which operates 100 stores and sells all of its products at low prices.
Solution
By making these connections, businesses should be able to take more sustainable decisions, helping
to ensure the effective allocation of scarce resources. Investors and other stakeholders should better
understand how an organisation is really performing. In particular, they should make a meaningful
assessment of the long-term viability of the organisation's business model and its strategy.
<IR> should also achieve the simplification of accounts, with excessive detail being removed and
critical information being highlighted.
'<IR>: Is a process founded on integrated thinking that results in a periodic integrated report
by an organization about value creation over time and related communications regarding
Key term
aspects of value creation. An integrated report is a concise communication about how an
organization's strategy, governance, performance and prospects, in the context of its external
environment, lead to the creation of value in the short, medium and long term.' (International
Integrated Reporting Council, 2018)
Where <IR> differs from other forms of reporting is that it focuses on the process not the product,
using a series of capitals to illustrate how an organisation creates value for all stakeholders, not
just shareholders. The International Integrated Reporting Council (2018) have identified the following
six capitals:
Category of Characteristic elements of the category of capital

capital
Financial Funds available for use in production or service provision, obtained through
financing or generated through operations
Manufactured Manufactured physical objects used in production or service provision;

including buildings, equipment and infrastructure
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Category of Characteristic elements of the category of capital
capital
Human Skills, experience and motivation to innovate:

 Alignment and support for an organisation's governance framework and
ethical values
 Ability to understand and implement organisation's strategies
 Loyalties and motivations for improvements
Intellectual Intangible assets, providing competitive advantage:

 Patents, copyrights, software and organisation systems
 Brand and reputation
Natural Inputs to goods and services, and natural environment on which an

organisation's activities have an impact:
 Water, land, minerals and forests
 Biodiversity and health of eco-systems
Social The institutions and relationships established within and between each
community, stakeholder group and network to enhance individual and collective
wellbeing.
Includes an organisation's social licence to operate.
There are seven guiding principles or characteristics that <IR> requires an organisation's reporting to
display in some way in order to be seen as meaningful:
Connectivity
across all
relationships
that create value
Consistent and
comparable Stakeholder
presentation relationships and
with other how they work to
organisations create value
and over time
Strategic and
forward-looking
Materiality,
Conciseness (to
disclosing those
encourage people
matters that
to read about
substantially affect
<IR>)
value creation
Reliability and
completeness,
avoiding any
bias
3.2.1 Auditing Integrated Reports

The audit of an organisation’s Integrated Report by an independent assurance provider allows the
users of such reports to place greater levels of reliance on their content. Enhanced reliance helps
organisations to build trust among investors and other stakeholder groups. This is evident as it shows
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that the organisation is open to reporting (and having its performance verified by an independent
party) from a number of perspectives beyond the traditional financial viewpoint.
Enhanced transparency and the improved levels of accountability that audited Integrated Reports
bring heighten the likelihood for the company to attract new investors to purchase shares. This is
supported by the fact that investors are becoming increasingly interested in understanding how the
organisations they own have performed from an environmental and social perspective. The audit of
Integrated Reports helps to ensure that management avoid the temptation of simply paying ‘lip
service’ to recent developments in performance reporting. Instead of viewing the production of an
Integrated Report as a PR exercise in which the production of the report is viewed as the final output,
managers are instead forced to commit, in the longer term, to the concept of integrated reporting by
permitting regular outside scrutiny.
Nonetheless, it is not straightforward for organisations who are interested in having their Integrated
Report audited. A significant issue for such organisations concerns the reluctance, among many audit
firms, to provide the same level of assurance over the content of Integrated Reports that they give
when conducting a statutory financial audit. A significant issue for auditors concerns the high costs
incurred in being able to provide even limited assurance. This situation has been driven in part by
the fact that often the performance objectives and measures used in reporting the six capitals are
qualitative in nature. This increases the subjectivity of measuring performance. The lack of mandatory
assurance over integrated reporting in many jurisdictions around the world has hindered the process
of auditing integrated reports.
Exam Focus Point

5(a) required the preparation of one slide with notes for a presentation to be given by the CFO at
SmartWear to the rest of the board. The slide and notes needed to describe the benefits of
integrated thinking within SmartWear to all stakeholders. The examining team commented that
‘most, but not all, candidates included a presentation slide, and most had accompanying notes.
However, the quality of these varied considerably, with some slides containing masses of text, and
others one or two basic bullet points. Candidates should be able to communicate this way with ease,
so it is suspected that many answers were rushed due to poor time management’. (ACCA, 2019a).
Task 5(b) followed on from part (a) and required the creation of a briefing paper for SmartWear’s
CFO. The briefing paper would allow the CFO to address the wider finance team, explaining how
corporate reporting, using the <IR> framework, would provide better information for SmartWear’s
shareholders about the creation of sustainable long-term value. The examining team noted that many
candidates seemed to understand the theory of integrated reporting but struggled to apply it to the
case. ‘The weakest candidates only listed the 6 Integrated Reporting Capitals, with only the best
candidates able to show how these are clearly linked to how sustainable long-term value can be
created for the SmartWear shareholders.’ (ACCA, 2019a). Professional skills marks were available
for parts (a) and (b) of the task by demonstrating appropriate communication skills to the different
audiences.
To earn the 2 professional skills marks on offer candidates needed to produce a slide and notes
which communicated the main elements about integrated thinking in respect of part (a). The briefing
paper in part (b) needed to be structured in such a way that it was informative and convincing to the
shareholders about introducing integrated reporting.
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3.3 Social and environmental audits
3.3.1 Social audits
Social audit is the process of checking whether an organisation has achieved set targets.
Generally, social audits will involve a process that focuses on reviewing the following (note that no
one area is given any overall priority as they are all expected to interact):
Identifying that all

Establishing whether
current environment
the organisation has
programmes are
a rationale for
congruent with the
engaging in socially
mission of the
responsible activity
company
Evaluating company
Assessing
involvement in
objectives and
such programmes
priorities related to
past, present and
these programmes
future
Universities and public sector organisations are examples of the type of organisation that might be
expected to use social audits (usually due to their interaction with a range of individuals across the
various stakeholder groups they engage with, such as students, hospital patients and vulnerable
members of society).
3.3.2 Environmental audits

An environmental audit is a systematic, documented, periodic and objective evaluation of how
well an entity, its management and equipment are performing, with the aim of helping to safeguard
the environment by facilitating management control of environmental practices and assessing
compliance with entity policies and external regulations.
Environmental audits help organisations to identify possible liabilities from their ongoing
activities, assess the threat of unethical behaviour and even act as a form of marketing for
investors especially sensitive to having environmentally and socially questionable representation in
their portfolios.
The process of completing environmental audits requires three stages:
Agreement on suitable
metrics to assess
environmental The measurement A report from the
performance (this will of actual performance auditor stating levels
include what should and comparison with of compliance or
be measured and targets variance
how, and fits in with
the idea of
footprint)
Examples of organisations that make use of environmental audits will obviously include those whose
environmental footprint is either significant or high-profile (or in the case of petrochemical and
pharmaceutical companies, both).
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Chapter summary
Stakeholders and social responsibility
Principals and agents Social Sustainability

in governance responsibility
Agency theory Corporate Social Responsibility Environmental and social issues

• Principals (shareholders) vs (CSR) (Carroll, 1991) • Environmental and social
agents (directors) • Economic (basic requirement) footprint
• Agency problems • Legal (and comply with laws) • Social and environmental
• Agency monitoring • Ethical (go beyond the law) reporting
• Agency solutions • Philanthropic (help others)
Integrated Reporting <IR>

Stakeholders Corporate citizenship • Founded on integrated thinking
• Who are stakeholders? What (Matten and Crane, 2005) • Financial capital
do they want (claims)? • Limited view = self-interest only • Manufactured capital
• Classifying stakeholders • Equivalent view = CSR • Human capital
• Extended view = going above • Intellectual capital
and beyond • Natural capital
Power and interest • Social capital
(Mendelow, 1991) • Auditing Integrated Reports
• Low power, low interest = Ethical stances
minimal effort (Johnson et al, 2017)
• Low power, high interest = • Short-term stakeholder interest Social and environmental audits
keep informed • Long-term stakeholder interest • Social audits – engaging in
• High power, low interest = • Multiple stakeholders socially responsible activity;
keep satisfied • Shaper of society goal congruence with this;
• High power, high interest = assess objectives and priorities
key player • Environmental audits – agree
CSR viewpoints (Gray et al 1996) on suitable metrics; measure
• Pristine capitalist performance and compare
• Expedient with targets; report from
• Social contractarian auditor on compliance (or
• Social ecologist otherwise)
• Socialist
• Radical feminist
• Deep ecologist
CSR 2.0 (Visser, 2011)

• Responding to change: greed;
philanthropy; marketing;
management; responsibility
• CSR 2.0: creativity; scalability;
responsiveness; glocality;
circularity
• Our ability to change
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1. Principals and agents often have different goals that can be in conflict with each other, but
organisational success comes from finding ways of aligning these interests
2. Stakeholders are not just people who are affected by an entity; they can also affect the entity, so
knowing their claims and assessing their power and interest is essential in managing them
3. There are many stances that could be taken to explain how a corporate entity displays its
responsibility to society (CSR) – this ranges from pure economic gain for all parties to putting the
needs of the environment first and foremost, with plenty of grey in the middle!
4. Social and environmental footprints need to be understood, assessed and communicated and
this can be done in a variety of ways using techniques such as the GR and 3BL
5. Integrated reports are fast becoming the preferred method of communicating value for
organisations who wish to inform their stakeholders, so an awareness of the various capitals
used and created is essential for this to be effective
6. Social and environmental audits are fast becoming a way of holding organisations to account
for their impact on society and the environment they operate in, usually via an assessment of a
series of metrics or other deliverables
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Question practice
Workbook):
Q2 ZK
Further reading
All about stakeholders (Part 1)
This article considers the nature of stakeholder claims and explores Mendelow's matrix in the context of
stakeholder influence.
All about stakeholders (Part 2)
This article considers different stakeholder groups and further explores the work of Gray et al.
The integrated report framework
This article explores the main principles of integrated reporting.
Own research
Consider your own organisation, or one with which you are very familiar – let's see if you can find out
more about the topics considered in this chapter:
 How does the organisation aim to control its agents and who are the principals?
 What stakeholders does your organisation have? What are their claims?
 In terms of its CSR position or stance, what kind of entity is your organisation?
 What information does your organisation publish about its social and environmental footprint?
 Does your organisation publish an integrated report? If so, try and get access to it to see how it
works in practice. If not, use the ACCA integrated report as an illustration available on the ACCA
website.
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Exercise answer
Exercise 1
The following could be reasons for a principal becoming concerned about their agent(s):
 Decline in profitability
 Lack of disclosures in annual accounts
 Fall in share price
 Adverse commentary by analysts
 Change in business environment
 Change in key personnel
The alignment of interests between principal and agent can be achieved by the following:
 Performance-related pay
 Bonuses
 Share options
Exercise 2
The benefits of adopting integrated thinking:
 Helps the retailer to ensure that its approach to business considers inter-related factors when
developing strategies. This helps to ensure sustainable value creation. For example, the
adoption of integrated thinking should help to ensure that the retailer’s low-priced strategy
aligns to the underlying opportunities for market growth, such as developing new product
ranges or selling through new mediums, for example through social media platforms.
 Integrated thinking should force the board to not only consider those strategies that will result
in short-term gains, such as increased profits, but to devise and implement strategies which
focus on key business areas which will enhance performance in the long-term. For example,
pursuing strategies which build brand awareness or improve the customer experience so that
shoppers return in the future.
 Enhanced reputation among key stakeholders, for example, among investors and providers of
finance. Integrated thinking should help to ensure that the retailer’s decisions are joined up
and consistent with previous decisions made. This should result in better performance.
Integrated thinking should help to prove to the retailer’s shareholders that the decisions taken
by the board are made in their best interests. This in turn may also help improve the retailer’s
approach to risk management.
 Integrated thinking increases employee engagement. Employee knowledge about the issues
affecting the retailer’s operations can be fed into the process of setting strategy. This should
enhance the selected strategies by making use of operational-level employee knowledge to
improve operational efficiency, which, in turn, should improve overall performance. Integrated
thinking should help to break-down organisational silos and improve the flow of knowledge
and data between departments and stores.
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Impact of corporate
governance on
strategy
Learning objectives
Syllabus
reference no.
Analyse and discuss the role and influence of institutional investors in governance B3(a)
systems and structures, including the roles and influences of pension funds,
insurance companies and mutual funds
Compare rules versus principles-based approaches to governance and when they B3(b)
may be appropriate
Discuss different models of organisational ownership that influence different B3(c)

governance regimes (family firms vs joint stock company-based models) and how
they work in practice
Describe the objectives, content and limitations of governance codes intended to B3(d)
apply to multiple national jurisdictions:
(i) Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Report
(ii) International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) Global Governance
Principles
Assess the major areas of organisational life affected by issues in governance: B5(a)
(i) Duties of directors and functions of the board (including setting a responsible
'tone' from the top and being accountable for the performance and impacts
of the organisation)
(ii) The composition and balance of the board (and board committees)
(iii) Relevance and reliability of organisation reporting and external auditing
(iv) Directors' remuneration and rewards
(v) Responsibility of the board for risk management systems and internal control
(vi) Organisation social responsibility and ethics
Evaluate the cases for and against unitary and two-tier board structures B5(b)
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Syllabus
reference no.
Describe and assess the purposes, roles, responsibilities and performance of B5(c)
Non-Executive Directors (NEDs)
Describe and assess the importance and execution of induction and continuing B5(d)
professional development of directors on boards of directors
Explain the meanings of 'diversity' and critically evaluate issues of diversity on B5(e)
boards of directors
Assess the importance, roles, purposes and accountabilities of the main B5(f)
committees within the effective governance of organisations
Describe and assess the general principles of remunerating directors and how to B5(g)
modify directors' behaviour to align with stakeholder interests
Explain and analyse the regulatory, strategic and labour market issues associated B5(h)
with determining directors' remuneration
Compare and contrast public sector, private sector, charitable status and non- B6(a)
governmental (NGO and quasi-NGO) forms of organisation, including agency
relationships, stakeholders' aims and objectives and performance criteria
Assess and evaluate the strategic objectives, leadership and governance B6(b)
arrangements specific to public sector organisations as contrasted with private
sector
Explain democratic control, political influence and policy implementation in public B6(c)
sector organisations
Discuss obligations of the public sector organisations to meet the economy, B6(d)
effectiveness, efficiency (3 Es) criteria and promote public value

You have already learned about stakeholders and social responsibility, plus the role that agency
plays in the relationships that leaders develop with their various stakeholders.
Now we are going to examine how leaders use corporate governance as part of their 'strategic tool
kit' when considering how stakeholders and their claims can be satisfied, especially with the various
forms of ownership that an organisation might have.
In this chapter, we will explore corporate governance using three broad questions:
 What is corporate governance?
 How is corporate governance achieved across the world?
 What impact does ownership have on corporate governance?
In your exam, you will be expected to operate according to the type of organisation featured in the
case study, considering current governance arrangements and possibly recommending suitable
improvements in line with the various requirements.
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3: Impact of corporate governance on strategy
Chapter overview
Impact of corporate governance on strategy
What is How is corporate What impact does

corporate governance achieved ownership have on
governance? across the world? corporate governance?
Definition of Principles or rules? The role of the investor

corporate governance
Different jurisdictions Disclosures and reporting

Regulatory guidance
Board responsibilities Public sector and

third sector governance
Board support mechanisms
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1 What is corporate governance?
1.1 Definition of corporate governance
Corporate governance: 'A set of relationships between a company's directors, its shareholders
and other stakeholders. It also provides structure through which the objectives of the company are
Key terms
set, and the means of obtaining these objectives and monitoring performance are determined.'
(OECD, 2004: p.4)
Corporate governance: Is the system by which organisations are directed and controlled.
(Cadbury, 1992: p.15)
Corporate governance is a fundamental internal control system ensuring the best interests of the
company are serviced in the most efficient and effective manner.
Exercise 1: Corporate governance

Required
Identify the benefits to any business of applying a corporate governance framework.
Solution
For corporate governance to be effective it must be embedded as a feature of the inherent business
culture, ie the way business is conducted.
In the exam you may also need to ascertain whether or not the governance procedures in use in a
particular company are in line with best practice (covered later).
Performance Objective 4 'Governance Risk and Control' of the Practical Experience Requirement
requires you to 'operate according to the governance standards, policies and controls of your
PER alert
organisation'. (ACCA, 2019b). You are strongly advised to take your time as you go through the
following sections as they explore the important role that corporate governance plays in
organisations.
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The following diagram illustrates the 11 core principles that underlie most good corporate
governance systems across the world.
Qualities that ensure the best Qualities that ensure honest

decisions are made and transparent disclosures
• Integrity • Transparency
• Fairness • Probity
• Judgement • Responsibility
• Independence • Accountability
• Scepticism • Innovation
• Reputation
Definitions of each of these:
Integrity: Is concerned with straightforward dealing and completeness; high moral character;
honesty.
Key terms
Fairness: Is concerned with balance; respecting the rights and views of any group with a legitimate
interest.
Judgement: Making complex decisions that enhance the organisation's prosperity.
Independence: Means being free from bias or undue influence; independence of mind and in
appearance.
Scepticism: Means considering all parts of a business with an open mind; no preconceptions.
Transparency: Providing open and clear disclosure, including voluntary disclosure of reliable
information.
Probity: Means being truthful and not misleading; avoiding disingenuous behaviour.
Responsibility: Acknowledgement of praise or blame; open management of errors and failures.
Accountability: Having to answer for the consequences of actions and knowing who that relates
to.
Innovation: Change happens and governance must stay fit for purpose regardless.
Reputation: Other people's perceptions or expectations: a valuable asset of any organisation.
1.2 Regulatory guidance

1.2.1 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) developed its Principles of
Corporate Governance in 1998 and issued revised versions in 2004 and 2015. They are
non-binding principles, intended to assist governments in their efforts to evaluate and improve the
legal, institutional and regulatory framework for corporate governance in their countries.
They are also intended to provide guidance for stock exchanges, investors and companies. The focus
is on stock exchange listed companies, but many of the principles can also apply to private
companies and state-owned organisations. The OECD principles deal mainly with governance
problems that result from the separation of ownership and management of a company.
Issues of ethical concern and environmental issues are also relevant, although not central to the
problems of governance.
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1.2.2 The OECD principles
In conjunction with the G20 (a group of the 20 largest advanced and emerging economies in the
world) the OECD issued its revised principles in 2015 (OECD, 2015). They are grouped into six
broad areas.
(a) Ensuring the basis for an effective corporate governance framework
(b) The rights and equitable treatment of shareholders and key ownership functions
(c) Institutional investors, stock markets, and other intermediaries
(d) The role of stakeholders in corporate governance
(e) Disclosure and transparency
(f) The responsibilities of the board
1.2.3 International Corporate Governance Network

The International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) first issued its Global Governance
Principles in 2005 to support the OECD principles. The ICGN principles set out the corporate
governance responsibilities that boards and institutional shareholders should adhere to. The purpose
was to provide practical guidance for corporate boards to use when attempting to meet the
expectations of investors.
The ICGN believes that companies will only achieve value in the longer term if they effectively
manage their relationships with stakeholders such as employees, customers, local communities and
the environment as a whole. The most recent version of this guidance (ICGN, 2017) uses the
following Global Governance Principles:
(a) Board role and responsibilities – be informed and support long-term shareholder benefit
(b) Leadership and independence – clarity and integrity for the board in order to be
successful
(c) Composition and appointment – balance of skills, experience and objectivity for
decisions
(d) Corporate culture – blend of corporate objectives, values and business ethics as part of
strategy
(e) Risk oversight – proactive approach to managing risks as part of a changing world
(f) Remuneration – alignment of board, shareholders and strategy to create sustainable value
for all
(g) Reporting and audit – internal and external reporting to maintain corporate accountability
(h) Shareholder rights – protecting equal rights and ensuring that all shareholders, including
minority shareholders, can vote on major decisions affecting the company
1.2.4 Limitations of international codes
Corporate governance codes such as those issued by the OECD and ICGN (discussed in the sections
above) have their limitations:
 They assume a ‘one size fits all’ approach which is not necessarily appropriate for
organisations operating in different parts of the world
 As they are non-binding it reduces their relevance
 Different countries and regions have their own legislative approaches which may undermine
some of the provisions set out in international codes
 They ignore the fact that countries have different preferences in respect of corporate
governance. This is evident as some countries prefer ‘rules’ and others prefer ‘principles-
based’ approaches to governance
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 The pursuit of international consensus in respect of international corporate governance leads to

a lowest common denominator mentality which heightens the scope for poor quality
governance
2 How is corporate governance achieved across the world?

2.1 Principles or rules?
Principles-based governance: Uses a broad series of ideas to set corporate governance

behaviour, usually requiring 'comply or explain' disclosure (eg UK Corporate Governance Code).
Key terms
Rules-based governance: A system based on inflexible rules that must be complied with, or else
face sanctions from a regulator (eg Sarbanes-Oxley in the USA).
The big debate about corporate governance globally is whether the guidance should be in the form
of principles or detailed rules and regulations.
Principles-based approach Rules-based approach
Features Sets out broad principles (eg 'The Organisations are required to comply with a
Board should be effective') detailed and rigid code.
supported by guidance.
Works on a comply or explain Non-compliance cannot be justified. A
basis, with any departure from the company has either succeeded or failed in
specific provisions of codes complying.
requiring an explanation.
Allows investors to decide if they Investors tend to rely on a third party (eg
agree that departure from the code SEC) to penalise the company for
is appropriate. non-compliance.
Benefits Allows for greater flexibility and Easier compliance with the rules, as they are
potential cost savings. unambiguous, and can be evidenced.
Applies across different legal Provides a consistent minimum standard of
jurisdictions, which makes the governance for investors' confidence.
governance of a multi-national
business more effective.
Forces both boards and
shareholders to think about the
consequence of governance
arrangements.
Disadvantages The principles are so broad that Allows no leeway or deviation, irrespective
they are of very little use as a of how illogical the situation is.
guide to best corporate Enforcement can be difficult for situations
governance practice. that are not covered explicitly in the rules.
Investors cannot be confident of
consistency in approach.
Incorrectly viewed as voluntary.
Where you find Favoured in legal jurisdictions Favoured in legal jurisdictions (and cultures)
them where the governing bodies of that lay great emphasis on obeying the letter
stock markets have had the prime of the law rather than the spirit of it.
role in setting standards for
companies to follow.
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Principles-based approach Rules-based approach
Examples UK Corporate Governance Code USA Sarbanes-Oxley Act (2002) (SOx)

2018
2.2 Different jurisdictions

2.2.1 Corporate governance in the UK
Cadbury Report 1992
• Voluntary code of best practice
• Defined roles for all involved with financial
statements
• Clear division of responsibilities
• Non-executive directors
• Audit committee
Greenbury Report 1995

• Determination of directors' pay
• Disclosure of directors' pay
• Remuneration committee
Hampel Report 1998

• Reduce regulatory burden
• Principles-based approach
Combined Code 1998

• Code of best practice derived from
– Cadbury
– Greenbury
– Hampel
Turnbull Report 1998

• Risk management
• Internal control
Smith Report 2003

• Role of audit committees
Higgs Report 2003

• Role of non-executive directors
Combined Code 2006 and 2008

• 2006 updated for Turnbull, Smith & Higgs
• 2008 revision 2 minor restrictions removed
• 2010 onwards saw the introduction of the
UK Corporate Governance Code
UK Corporate Governance Code

• The UK Corporate Governance Code was
last updated in 2018
• 2018 Code emphasises improving the
quality of the board’s relationships with a
wider range of stakeholders
• Greater focus on board engagement with
the workforce
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2.2.2 The Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002 (USA)

Sarbanes-Oxley (SOx) (2002) arose from the inadequacies in US corporate governance
arrangements, shown by the Enron scandal.
SOx adopts a rules-based approach to governance.
Specific provisions of SOx legislation include:
The establishment of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB).
Auditors should review internal control systems.
There should be rotation of lead or reviewing audit partners every five years.
Auditors are expressly prohibited from carrying out most non-audit services.
Audit committees should be responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of
auditors.
All members of audit committees should be independent, and at least one member should be a
financial expert.
Annual reports should contain internal control reports (s404 reports) that state the responsibility of
management for establishing and maintaining an adequate internal control structure and procedures
for financial reporting and assess their effectiveness.
The chief executive officer and chief finance officer should certify the appropriateness of the financial
statements.
The impact of SOx is widespread, illustrated in the table below:
US domestic impact International impact
For listed companies, fulfilling the requirement Around 1,500 non-US companies list their
to ensure their internal controls are properly shares in the US. They are covered by the
documented and tested provisions of SOx
For accountancy firms, SOx has formally The US being such a significant influence
stripped them of almost all non-audit revenue worldwide, SOx is likely to persuade other
streams that they used to derive from their audit countries to adopt a rules-based approach to
clients corporate governance
For lawyers, SOx requires them to whistle blow

on any wrongdoing they uncover at client
companies, right up to board level
There are a number of criticisms of SOx, including:

(a) It is not strong enough on some issues, and at the same time over-rigid on others.
(b) Directors may avoid consulting lawyers if they believe that SOx could override lawyer-client
privilege.
(c) A SOx compliance industry has sprung up.
(d) Companies are turning away from the US stock markets and towards other markets.
2.2.3 South Africa

South Africa's major contribution to the corporate governance debate has been the King Report,
first published in 1994 and updated in 2002, 2009 and 2016 to take account of developments in
South Africa and elsewhere in the world.
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The 2016 King Report (IV) advocates an integrated approach to corporate governance in the
interest of a wide range of stakeholders – embracing the social, environmental and economic aspects
of a company's activities. The King Report (IV) highlights that good corporate governance requires
organisations to avoid thinking that they operate in isolation and requires an acknowledgement of
the important role that they play in society. The nature of this relationship in turn makes organisations
accountable towards existing and future stakeholders. (PWC, 2019). Although, the King Report is
voluntary (unless prescribed by law or stock exchange Listings Requirement, KPMG, 2016) it aims to
apply to all organisations, regardless of their form of incorporation, with the aim that the concept of
corporate governance gains broader acceptance across different industries and sectors.
The King Report (IV) notes that the exercise of ethical and effective leadership by the organisations
governing body should link to the achievement of four outcomes:
 Ethical culture
 Good performance
 Effective control
 Legitimacy
The King Report (IV) requires organisations to follow an ‘apply and explain’ approach in the
achievement of the four outcomes specified above. This requires organisations to apply 17 principles
which should help lead to the achievement of good corporate governance outcomes. Organisations
are then required to explain the practices that they have undertaken to demonstrate application of
those principles. (IoDSA, 2016).
2.2.4 Singapore Code of Corporate Governance

The Code of Corporate Governance in Singapore (first published in 2001, revised in 2005 and
2012, most recently issued in 2018) takes a similar approach to the UK Corporate Governance
Code ('comply or explain') with the emphasis being on companies giving a detailed description of
their governance practices and explaining any deviation from the Code.
However, the Singapore Code (Monetary Authority of Singapore, 2018) does deviate subtly from
the UK Code (Financial Reporting Council, 2018) – some examples follow.
UK Area Singapore
At least half (Provision 11) The typical proportion of At least one third but should be
independent half if the Chair is not
(non-executive) directors considered independent
on the board
Should not be the same person Separate Chair and Chief Should be separate persons but
(Provision 9) Executive roles if not, can be allowed along
with suitable safeguards (such
as a lead independent director)
For FTSE 350 companies, after Re-election periods for All directors should submit
one year (Provision 18) directors themselves to re-appointment
every three years
Full-time executive directors Directors serving Guidelines should be adopted

should not take on more than simultaneously on more by the board to ensure sufficient
one non-executive or chair role than one board time and attention is devoted
for a FTSE 100 company
(Provision 15)
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UK Area Singapore
Should not include share- Remuneration for Remuneration for non-executive

options or performance-related independent or directors needs to be
elements (Provision 34) non-executive directors appropriate to their contribution
based on their effort, time and
responsibilities
Entirely made up of Composition of the Audit Consist of at least three

independent non-executive Committee non-executive directors with at
directors with at least one least two members, including
possessing recent financial the Chair, having recent and
expertise (Provision 24) relevant financial experience
An overview of four jurisdictions clearly cannot illustrate the whole world, but this small cross-section
does show that while there are many areas of common ground, local variations in governance best
practice do still exist, leading us to consider whether this is acceptable or not.
Activity 1: Rules for corporate governance

Communication: Clarify
You work within the Executive Support function of your organisation and are preparing some briefing
notes for a member of the board who has been asked to participate in a meeting with other business
leaders. The agenda for this meeting includes a focus group which will be commenting on the current
state of corporate governance across the world. The board member has asked that you prepare a
balanced view of whether or not global rules for corporate governance should be adopted so that
she can contribute fully in the discussions.
Required
Prepare briefing notes that consider whether a universal set of corporate governance rules should be
adopted or whether the existing localised approach is better. (6 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating communication skills in clarifying the
arguments for and against having global governance rules. (2 marks)
(Total = 8 marks)
Solution
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2.3 Board responsibilities
The board is collectively responsible for promoting the success of the company by directing and
supervising the company's affairs.
The board provides entrepreneurial leadership of the company, within a framework of prudent and
effective controls, which enable risk to be assessed and managed. The board should also set the
company's strategic aims, ensuring that the necessary financial and human resources are in place for
the company to meet its objectives and review management performance.
2.3.1 Effectiveness of boards

Responsibilities
In order to be effective, boards should have a formal schedule of tasks – the following shows what
this could include:
Monitoring the chief executive officer
Overseeing strategy
Monitoring risks, control systems and governance
Monitoring the human capital aspects of the company, eg succession, morale, training, remuneration,
etc
Managing potential conflicts of interest
Ensuring that there is effective communication of its strategic plans, both internally and externally
Focus
Boards should meet regularly and frequently in order to be effective and need to take sufficient time
to fulfil these and other responsibilities.
Real world example
The phrase 'going plural' was coined by former Royal Mail Chair and Asda Chief Executive Allan
Leighton to describe the amalgamation of several part-time non-executive roles to constitute a full-time
non-executive role, thus allowing his business experience to be shared simultaneously across many
organisations. While not a new phenomenon, it does illustrate the role of the 21st century director
but also highlights the risks of spreading yourself too thinly across each role to the extent that you
may become less effective due to not devoting sufficient time and attention to each role.
(Management Today, 2013)
Syllabus link
Board members need to be effectively briefed to be able to fulfil their duties – consequently, they
need information from a variety of sources to support this responsibility. We shall cover this in a later
chapter.
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Membership
Key issues for consideration regarding board membership are shown below.
Size – the balance

needs to be struck
between the benefits of
having varied views and
opinions, alongside the
need for coherence of
decision making
Inside/outside mix
– the split between executive Diversity mix in
decision-making directors and terms of gender,
non-executive directors. ethnicity,
Independent non-executive backgrounds,
directors have a key role in experience, etc
governance. Their number and
status should mean that their
views carry significant
weight.
Diversity issues are becoming increasingly important to consider when resourcing a board.
Boards need to ensure that they are accessing the talent pool to ensure they have the best calibre of
candidate. However, taking gender as an example, around 60% of European and US graduates are
women yet board room representation in these places is far lower – why?
Boards also need to reflect the market in which they operate: considering who makes purchasing
decisions in households, should boards reflect this demographic more readily in order to get closer to
their customers?
Various academic studies have shown that better corporate governance practices (such as succession
planning, training and induction) and hence better financial results come from more diverse
companies.
Should diversity by addressed by quotas – for example, having a legally enforced minimum
percentage of women on boards? This does at least guarantee representation but creates a stigma if
board members are only there because of the quota and not their contribution to the board.
Knowledge, skills and appraisal

To remain effective, directors should extend their knowledge and skills continuously, starting with
their first day in office. Once recruited, a director will then require induction training which should
help them to understand the organisation's business and markets, its staff and its stakeholders.
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During their tenure, continuing professional development (CPD) should cover a number of issues on a
regular basis – for example, the diagram below shows some of the areas that ongoing CPD could
cover to ensure that directors continue to be adequately prepared for their roles.
Strategic
planning
Audit
Financial
practice and
management
procedures
CPD
Legal and Human

regulatory resource
issues issues
Risk
management
An appraisal of the board's performance is an important control over its effectiveness, aimed at
maximising strengths and tackling weaknesses. It should be seen as an essential part of the feedback
process within the company and may prompt the board to change its methods and/or objectives.
All directors should also be individually appraised. The following diagram shows criteria that
could include the following:
Independent
and
innovative
Industry
CPD
familiarity
Business Active
development participation
Positive and
enthusiastic
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2.3.2 Board leadership

The division of responsibilities at the head of an organisation is most simply achieved by separating
the roles of chair and chief executive.
Responsibilities of the chair of the board Responsibilities of the chief executive

officer
Provide leadership to the board, ensuring Provide leadership to the business,

its effectiveness and setting its agenda ensuring the effectiveness of business operations
and setting strategy
Ensuring the board receives accurate and timely Providing accurate and timely information
information
Ensuring effective communication with Communicating effectively with significant

shareholders and that their views are stakeholders
communicated to the board as a whole
Facilitate effective contribution from NEDS, Facilitate the effective implementation of board
ensure constructive relations between execs and decisions
NEDs
Take the lead in providing an induction Co-operate in induction and development

programme for new directors and in board
development
Meet with the NEDs without the executives Co-operate by providing any necessary
present resources
Facilitating board appraisal Co-operate in board appraisal
Encouraging active engagement by all the Co-operate with all the members of the board
members of the board
Chair: Is employed to run the board of directors, usually non-executive.

Key terms Chief Executive Officer (CEO): Is employed to manage the company through its executive
directors.
Non-executive director: Is employed to support the board in the areas of strategy, scrutiny,
people and risk but not employed in an executive position (so can be independent of the main
board).
Activity 2: Chair and chief executive

Commercial acumen: Use judgement
You work within the Executive Support function of your organisation and are preparing some
materials for the induction training programme that your organisation runs when it recruits new
senior management positions. Part of these materials require an overview of the reasons for having a
separate chair and chief executive in post.
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Required
Prepare part of the frequently asked questions (FAQs) for these training materials by providing
answers to the following questions:
Why should the roles of chair and chief executive be separate?
How does separating these roles create more accountability? (6 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating commercial acumen skills in using
judgement to identify the key issues and arguments. (2 marks)
(Total = 8 marks)
Solution
Exam Focus Point

which was responsible for providing rail services within the country of Beeland. The third question
required candidates to act in the capacity of the non-executive chairperson of a sub-committee.
Following the removal of the previous chief executive the role had been advertised and two
individuals had been shortlisted for a final interview. In the exam candidates were provided with a
summary of the CV's of the two shortlisted individuals. Part (a) of question 3 asked candidates to
prepare a report for the chair of Rail Co's nomination and corporate governance committee which
evaluated 'the suitability of the shortlisted candidates for the position of chief executive of Rail Co'
and recommended 'with justification, which candidate [was…] most suitable for the position'
(ACCA, 2017a).
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This task was worth 8 technical marks and tested the ACCA Professional Skill of Commercial
Acumen. To produce a good answer, candidates needed to make use of the specified exhibit
information, and address the two distinct parts of the task ie the suitability of the individuals and to
provide a recommendation. To earn the two professional skills marks candidates were expected to
use the 'person specification [CVs] to form a clear judgement of the task requirements of the role'
[and to demonstrate a] 'strong awareness of the factors impacting on the successful contribution of
the new [chief executive]' (ACCA, 2017a).
2.3.3 Unitary and multi-tier boards
Unitary boards: A board structure with only one board of directors.

Key terms Multi-tier board structure: This could be two or three-tiered and have a variety of
representation.
The single board structure with sub-committees is known as a unitary structure
Advantages of unitary structure Disadvantages of a unitary structure
All participants have equal legal responsibility An NED or independent director cannot be
for management of the company and strategic expected to both manage and monitor
performance
A single board promotes easier The time requirements on non-executive directors

co-operation and co-ordination may be onerous
The presence of NEDs should lead to better There is no specific provision for employees to
decisions being made be represented on the management board
Independent NEDs are less likely to be excluded Emphasises the divide between the shareholders
from decision making and given restricted access and the directors
to information
In some countries (eg Germany) the board is split into multi-tiers, separating the executive from
other directors (and senior management). This structure is also common in not-for-profit organisations.
This multi-tier approach can take the form of a:
(a) Supervisory board with no executive function. It reviews the company's direction and
strategy, and is responsible for safeguarding stakeholders' interests.
(b) Management or executive board composed entirely of executive directors/managers. It
is responsible for the running of the business. The supervisory board appoints the management
board.
Japanese companies have three tiers:
 Policy boards – concerned with long-term strategic issues
 Functional boards – made up of the main senior executives with a functional role
 Monocratic boards – with few responsibilities and having a more symbolic role
Advantages of a two-tier board Disadvantages of a two-tier board

structure structure
The clear and formal separation of duties Confusion over authority and therefore a lack of
between the monitors and those being accountability can arise with multi-tier boards.
monitored. This criticism has been particularly levelled at
Japanese companies where the consequence is
allegedly often over-secretive procedures.
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Advantages of a two-tier board Disadvantages of a two-tier board
structure structure
The supervisory/policy board has the capacity to The management board may restrict the
be an effective guard against management information passed on to the supervisory board
inefficiency or worse. Its existence may act as a and the boards may only liaise infrequently.
deterrent to fraud or irregularity in a similar way
to the independent audit.
The supervisory board system should take The supervisory board may not be as
account of the needs of stakeholders other than independent as would be wished, depending on
shareholders, specifically employees, who are how rigorous the appointment procedures are.
clearly important stakeholders in practice.
The system actively encourages transparency In addition, members of the supervisory board
within the company, between the boards and, can be, indeed are likely to be, shareholder
through the supervisory board, to the employees representatives; this could detract from legal
and the shareholders. It also involves the requirements that shareholders don't instruct
shareholders and employees in the supervision directors how to manage if the supervisory board
and appointment of directors. was particularly strong.
2.3.4 Leaving the board

A director may leave office in a number of ways.
Resignation (written notice may be required)
Not offering themselves for re-election when their term of office ends
Failing to be re-elected
Death in service
Reaching retirement age
Being removed from office
Dissolution of the company
Prolonged absence meaning that director cannot fulfil duties
Being disqualified (by virtue of the constitution or by the court)
Agreed departure, possibly with compensation for loss of office
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Performance Objective 20 'Review and report on the findings of an audit or assurance engagement'
of the Practical Experience Requirement requires you to 'discuss the findings and implications of an
PER alert
audit or assurance engagement with management and governance teams' (ACCA, 2019b). You are
strongly advised to take your time as you go through the following sections which discuss the role
and remit of the different committees which play an important role in the governance of
organisations.
2.4 Board support mechanisms

2.4.1 Committees
Many companies operate a series of board sub-committees responsible for supervising specific
aspects of governance. The main board committees are:
Audit Committee is responsible for Remuneration Committee is

liaising with external audit, supervising responsible for advising on executive
internal audit and reviewing the annual director remuneration policy and the
accounts and internal controls. specific package for each director.
Nominations Committee is Risk Committee is responsible for

responsible for recommending the overseeing risk management.
appointments of new directors to the
board.
Syllabus links
We will focus on the audit committee and risk committee later on in this workbook.
2.4.2 Non-executive directors

Non-executive directors (NEDs) have no executive, or managerial, responsibilities or power. Their
primary function is to consider and safeguard the interests of shareholders.
NEDs have a key role in reducing conflicts of interest between management (including executive
directors) and shareholders by providing balance to the board. They bring an independent viewpoint
as they are not full-time employees.
The role of non-executive directors includes:
Strategy. Contributing to, and challenging the Risk. NEDs should satisfy themselves that
direction of, strategy. financial information is accurate and that
financial controls and systems of risk
management are robust.
Scrutiny. NEDs should scrutinise the People. NEDs are responsible for determining
performance of management in meeting goals appropriate levels of remuneration for
and objectives, monitor the reporting of executives, and are key figures in the
performance. They should represent the appointment and removal of senior managers
shareholders' interests to ensure agency issues and in succession planning.
don't arise to reduce shareholder value.
Syllabus link
You will have already met the term 'non-executive director' (NED) in Audit and Assurance and other
parts of your study.
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Activity 3: Non-executive directors

materials for the induction training programme that your organisation runs when it recruits new
senior management positions. Part of these materials require an overview of the advantages and
disadvantages of non-executive directors (NEDs) and how these disadvantages can be addressed.
Required
Prepare a section of these training materials by providing answers to the following questions, using
what you know about corporate governance from your studies and workplace experience:
What are the advantages to an organisation of having NEDs?
What are the disadvantages to an organisation of having NEDs?
What can our organisation do to overcome these disadvantages? (8 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating commercial acumen skills in using
judgement as to the appropriate ways of overcoming the disadvantages of NEDs. (2 marks)
(Total = 10 marks)
Solution
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Exam Focus Point

which was responsible for providing rail services within the country of Beeland. The first question
required candidates to act in the capacity of a non-executive member of the Rail Co nominations and
corporate governance committee. Part (b) of question 1 asked candidates to prepare a briefing
paper which assessed 'the role and value of non-executive directors on the board of Rail Co, as a
public sector company' (ACCA, 2017a). This task was worth 6 technical marks and tested the ACCA
Professional Skill of Evaluation. To produce a good answer candidates needed to use their
knowledge of non-executive directors applied in the context of a public sector organisation.
Corporate governance in the public sector is covered later in this chapter. Candidates needed to
identify the fact that the task consisted of two parts ie the role and value of non-executive directors.
Failing to pick up on this would restrict the number of marks that could be earned. To earn the two
professional skills marks candidates needed ensure that their evaluation addressed the two parts of
the task and focused on the public sector environment.
2.4.3 Directors' remuneration

The purpose of directors' remuneration is to be sufficient to:
(a) Attract and retain individuals of sufficient calibre; and
(b) Motivate them to achieve performance levels that are in the shareholders' best interests as
well as their own personal interests.
Factors to consider when agreeing remuneration packages:
Fixed and variable

elements
Cash and Immediate and

non-cash elements deferred elements
Long-term and
short-term elements
The Remuneration Committee usually determines the organisation's general policy on the
remuneration of executive directors. This should be both independently agreed and transparently
disclosed to maximise its chances of being accepted by stakeholders. As an illustration, the UK
Corporate Governance Code (2018) recommends that remuneration committees should comprise
NEDs only and should also consider the following:
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 Support strategy: Remuneration needs to support the organisation’s strategy and promote
the long-term success of the entity. Executive director remuneration should be aligned to the
company’s purpose and values.
 Need for transparency: Organisations should have in place transparent procedures for
determining the remuneration of executive directors. Directors should not be involved in setting
their own remuneration.
 Need for judgement: When determining remuneration packages directors need to make
use of their judgement and discretion to take account of organisational and individual
performance, and the wider context facing the entity.
Other factors relevant when determining director’s remuneration include:
Connected to performance
A significant proportion of rewards should be related to measurable business performance or
enhanced shareholder value, and the Remuneration Committee should be alert to the risk of
remuneration levels rising with no corresponding improvement in the organisation's performance.
Real world example

The following real-world example illustrates the interaction between poor performance in delivering
organisational strategy and director remuneration.
In December 2014 in the UK, Mark Carne, the Chief Executive of Network Rail, was in line for a
bonus of up to £135,000 on top of his £675,000 salary. Following severe rail disruption due to
over-running engineering works at King’s Cross, with tens of thousands of passengers stranded and
badly delayed, Mr Carne said:
‘I’ve decided that I’m accountable for the performance of the railway and in my view the
performance over the Christmas and New Year period was not acceptable and I’ve decided that I
should not take the bonus for this year.’ (BBC, 2014c).
Best practice
Needs to consider regulatory factors and the need to be sensitive to pay conditions within the
company (such as not exceeding a set multiple between the highest and lowest paid in an
organisation).
Market factors
Needs to consider labour market factors associated with setting remuneration – this may require the
use of consultants and benchmarks across the sector or industry and consider if any roles being
recruited for are hard to fill (so setting a rate that reflects demand and supply, especially for a role
that is offered in an unpopular location) and what the current market rate is for equivalent roles in
other similar companies
Service contracts and termination payments

Length of service contracts can be a particular problem. If service contracts are too long, and
then have to be terminated prematurely, the perception often arises that the amounts paying off
directors for the remainder of the contract are essentially rewards for failure. Most corporate
governance guidance suggests that service contracts greater than 12 months need to be carefully
considered and should ideally be avoided. A few are stricter.
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Some companies have cut the notice period for dismissing directors who fail to meet performance
targets from one year to six months. Other solutions include continuing to pay a director to the end of
their contract, but ceasing payment if the director finds fresh employment, or paying the director
for loss of office in the form of shares.
Activity 4: Remuneration packages

Commercial acumen: Show insight
guidance notes for a new member of the Remuneration Committee who has just been recruited to the
post of non-executive director (NED). The guidance is designed to explain the various components of
an executive director's remuneration package and assess the effect that each element would have on
a director's behaviour.
Required
Prepare the guidance notes required for the newly appointed NED using the following categories,
explaining in each case what each element includes and its effect on a director's behaviour:
(a) Basic salary
(b) Performance-related pay
(c) Benefits
(d) Pensions
(e) Shares
(f) Share options (9 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating commercial acumen in showing insight
to each of the remuneration package components. (2 marks)
(Total = 11 marks)
Solution
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Remuneration disclosures
In order for the financial statements to present an accurate picture of remuneration arrangements, the
annual report would need to disclose:
Remuneration policy
Detailed arrangements for individual directors
Performance conditions attached to remuneration packages
The duration of contracts with directors, and notice periods and termination payments under such
contracts
Does all this mean that shareholders are going to be happy with the amounts paid
to directors?
Not necessarily! Recent research has highlighted the fact that executive remuneration has risen but
returns to investors (both in terms of share prices and dividend policies) have fallen. This has led to
an increase in shareholder activism, such as voting against remuneration reports (but not against the
re-election of directors) which can be legally binding. Pressure groups representing investors (such as
PIRC in the UK) can often be seen objecting to unpopular packages. Regulations to address clawing
back directors' bonuses have been discussed in the UK and may be written into the terms and
conditions of directors' contracts at some stage.
Real-world examples
Wednesday 4 January 2017 was labelled 'Fat Cat Wednesday' by the UK media to draw attention
to a calculation which showed the average Chief Executive's pay for the year to date (four days)
matching the average annual UK salary of £28,200 per annum. (BBC, 2017)
3 What impact does ownership have on corporate

governance?
3.1 The role of the investor
A key distinction that has been drawn between the corporate governance systems worldwide in
different regimes has been between the insider and outsider models of ownership described
below. In practice, most regimes fall somewhere between the two.
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3.1.1 Insider systems
Insider system: Occurs when most companies listed on the local stock exchange are owned by a
small number of dominant investors (eg family-owned).
Key term
Insider (or relationship-based) systems are where most companies listed on the local stock exchange
are owned and controlled by a small number of major shareholders – often family owned and run
organisations are seen in this category. The other shareholders could be banks, other companies or
even the government.
The reason for the concentration of share ownership is the legal system.
Advantages Disadvantages
It is easier to establish ties between owners There may be discrimination against minority
and managers, therefore the agency problem shareholders, especially if they are not part of the
is reduced. family for example.
It is easier to influence management, policy Insider systems tend not to develop more formal
and strategy through dialogue. governance structures until they are forced to.
A smaller base of shareholders may be more May be reluctant to employ outsiders in influential
willing to take a long-term strategic view of positions or recruit independent non-executive
their investment. directors.
Owner-managed organisations (often family More prone to opaque financial transactions and
owned and run) develop systems that have misuse of funds.
grown over time and are cultural, as opposed
to companies where there is no continuity.
Many large shareholders (particularly institutional

investors – see below) tend to avoid shares like
this that are seen as speculative and invest only in
'blue chip' shares (forcing up their price).
3.1.2 Outsider systems
Outsider system: Occurs where shareholding is more widely dispersed by large numbers of
investors (eg stock market shareholders).
Key term
Outsider systems are ones where shareholding is more widely dispersed, and there is the
manager-ownership separation. Such shareholders can be drawn from varied and disparate
sources and can have both small and large holdings.
There tends to be more diverse shareholder ownership in jurisdictions such as the UK that have
strong protection for non-controlling (minority) interests.
The separation of ownership and management Companies are more likely to have an agency
has provided an impetus for the development of problem and significant agency costs.
more robust legal and governance regimes to
protect shareholders.
Shareholders have voting rights that they can The larger shareholders in these regimes tend to
use to exercise control. have short-term priorities and prefer to sell their
shares.
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Hostile takeovers are far more frequent, and the

threat of these acts as a disciplining mechanism
on company management.
British and American systems can both be classified as outsider systems.
3.1.3 Institutional investors
Institutional investors: Include investors such as pension funds that make up a sizeable
proportion of shareholders in any one company, usually for the purpose of holding a portfolio of
Key term
shares.
Institutional investors have large amounts of money to invest. They are covered by fewer protective
regulations, on the grounds that they are knowledgeable and able to protect themselves. They
include investors managing funds invested by individuals. The term also includes agents employed on
the investors' behalf.
Institutional investors are now the biggest investors in many stock markets but they might also invest
venture capital, or lend directly to companies. UK trends show that institutional investors can wield
great powers over the companies in which they invest. The major institutional investors in the UK are:
 Pension funds
 Insurance companies
 Investment and unit trusts (set up to invest in portfolios of shares)
 Venture capital organisations (investors particularly interested in companies that are
seeking to expand)
Their funds will be managed by a fund manager who aims to benefit investors in the funds or
pension or policy holders. Although fund managers will use lots of different sources of information,
their agency costs will be high in total because they have to track the performance of all the
investments that the fund makes.
Makes investments such as pensions available Their dominance can influence the economy
that are separate to an employer (less risky) unduly and lead to anti-competitive behaviour
Access to big markets for smaller investors Play too safe, avoiding risky speculative shares,
making them more expensive
Can be too short-termist
Investors cannot influence the companies in
which their fund managers have invested their
money – but institutional investors are
encouraged to engage with directors if they
believe poor governance practices are present
Essential reading
the Workbook, for more detail about institutional investors (including how they exercise their
influence and when they might intervene in the affairs of a company in which they have invested).
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Illustration 1
How is corporate governance evolving?
Increasing internationalisation and globalisation has meant that investors, and institutional
investors in particular, have begun to invest outside their home countries.
The differential treatment of domestic and foreign investors, both in terms of reporting
and associated rights and dividends (and also the excessive influence of majority shareholders in
insider jurisdictions) has caused many investors to call for parity of treatment.
Issues concerning financial reporting have been raised by many investors and are the focus of
much debate and litigation. Shareholder confidence in what has been reported in many instances is
being eroded, especially in cases where financial statements have been deliberately misstated.
The characteristics of individual countries may have a significant influence on the way corporate
governance has developed.
The number of high profile corporate scandals and collapses (including Polly Peck
International, BCCI and Maxwell Communications Corporation) prompted the development of
governance codes in the early 1990s. However, scandals since then (Enron, RBS and Lehman
Brothers) have raised questions about further measures that may still be necessary. The story goes on!
3.2 Disclosures and reporting

3.2.1 Organisational reporting and external auditing
Issues concerning financial reporting and auditing are seen by many investors as crucial
because of their central importance in ensuring management accountability.
They have been the focus of much debate and litigation. While focusing the corporate governance
debate solely on accounting and reporting issues is inadequate, the greater regulation of practices
such as off-balance sheet financing has led to greater transparency and a reduction in risks
faced by investors.
External auditors may not carry out the necessary questioning of senior management because of
fears of losing their audit, and internal auditors do not ask awkward questions because the chief
financial officer determines their employment prospects.
3.2.2 Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and business ethics

The lack of consensus about the issues for which businesses are responsible and the stakeholders to
whom they are responsible has inevitably made corporate social responsibility and business ethics
an important part of the corporate governance debate.
Syllabus links
The relevant topics in reporting CSR and ethics (governance requirements, meeting stakeholder
expectations and loss of corporate reputation) are all covered elsewhere in this workbook.
3.2.3 Annual reports

Annual reports should disclose whether the organisation has complied with governance regulations
and codes. In the UK, for example, this can be a statement explaining how a company has either
complied or not complied with the UK Code.
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Governance disclosures can vary across jurisdictions, but as rule usually include the following
information.
The board
Relations with
Operations
shareholders
A statement of
the organisation's
going concern
status
Review of Committee
internal controls reports
Relations with
auditors
3.3 Public sector and third sector governance

In addition to the governance of private companies, you need to be able to describe, compare
and contrast the following types of organisation in the following ways:
Private sector Public sector Charitable NGO/QuANGO*
Purposes and Profit Public goods or Meeting a need not provided by either
objectives Market services not public or private sectors (the so-called
(what are delivered by the 'third sector') such as health, relief,
they for?) private sector education and support
Performance Agency-driven, Value for money Value for money More tailored
(how is but usually profit (3 Es) (3 Es) results than
success and market share Meeting social Meeting own charities or the
measured?) needs needs public sector could
deliver
Economy – obtaining inputs of the

appropriate quality at the lowest price
available
Efficiency – delivering the service to
the appropriate standard at minimum
cost, time and effort
Effectiveness – achieving the desired
objectives as stated in the entity's
performance plan
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Private sector Public sector Charitable NGO/QuANGO*
Ownership Partners, Taxpayer Independent (with Can be state or

(who owns shareholders and some government owned
them?) lenders philanthropic
influence)
Stakeholders Lobby groups Population (local Trustees

(including may influence and national) Population (local and national)
lobby groups) government Taxpayers may
policy to support Pressure groups to stop action that may
(who also lobby for better have initially led to the creation of the
holds an their own aims use of their taxes
(both for and charity/NGO
interest in
them?) against)
*NGO = non-government organisation; QuANGO = Quasi-autonomous non-government organisation
QuANGO: Is a quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisation (supporting government even if

not a government department).
Key term
3.3.1 Agency and public sector organisations

Public sector organisations also incorporate an agency relationship between the principals (the
political leaders and ultimately the taxpayers/electors) and agents (the elected and executive officers
and departmental managers). Because the taxpayers and electors have differing interests and
objectives, establishing and monitoring the achievement of strategic objectives, and interpreting what
is best for the principals, can be very difficult.
The agency problem in public services is also enhanced by limitations on the audit of public service
organisations. In many jurisdictions the audit only covers the integrity and transparency of financial
transactions and does not include an audit of performance or fitness for purpose.
3.3.2 Levels of public sector organisations

The term 'public sector' can be used to describe entities at a variety of levels:
Sub-national Regional assemblies, local authorities, states or cantons with a

variety of responsibilities and devolved political powers.
National Based upon the four organs of state: executive (responsible for running the
state); legislature (responsible for the legal framework); judiciary
(responsible for enforcing that legal framework) and secretariat (the
administration function charged with delivering executive policy).
The executive (or government) is made up of many departments and
setting strategy based on policy. In the case of a democracy, the governing
party (or a coalition if no one party has overall control) sets this strategy in line
with its elected mandate from the population.
Supra-national Governments form bodies for shared purposes – examples are the European
Union, United Nations and the World Trade Organization.
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3.3.3 Strategic objectives, leadership and governance arrangements
When contrasted with private sector organisations, governance in the public sector can vary quite
significantly, although it ultimately depends on objectives and leadership:
Private sector Public sector
Strategic Profit and/or market share Achievement of state-defined service

objectives Anything else in their incorporation delivery to meet social need
documents Securing value for money with
taxpayers' funds
Leadership Board of directors (influenced by Delegated authority from state (based

shareholders) on principles of public life)
Governance Principles or rules-based in order to Reporting to an oversight body

satisfy shareholders (such as a board of governors)
External audit (for entities above External audit and political (as well
certain thresholds) as media) scrutiny
Demonstration of good use of public
funds in meeting social need
(controlled by budgets and KPIs)
3.3.4 Democratic control, political influence and public sector policy implementation
Democratically elected executives (governments) are voted in after an election with a mandate to set
public sector policy. What factors will influence that policy?
Illustration 2
When considering public sector policy provision, there are no right and wrong answers (unless
based on factual inaccuracies) so the debate should attempt to consider all possible viewpoints and
attempt to find a way to accommodate as many of them as possible (in keeping with the process of
democracy).
Consider the following questions when considering factors that could influence public sector policy,
as well as some points that could be considered for each question.
Should there be a public sector?
 Do companies provide society with everything they need?
 What if people face hardship – should they get any help?
 Can we afford a public sector? Can we afford not to have one?
What are the priorities?
 Health, education and welfare ('from the cradle to the grave') – are these key?
 What about defence, business, foreign policy (including overseas aid), the environment,
agriculture, the arts, energy, transport etc?
 To what extent is the public sector obliged to secure public value (economy of inputs, efficiency
of processes and effectiveness of outputs) when resources are limited but social need is most
acute (for example, in the case of emergency aid to those suffering from natural disaster and
warfare) and should it be any different for those whose lifestyles have led to this social need
emerging (for example paying for healthcare to treat those suffering from problems associated
with obesity or smoking)?
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What about the influence of taxpayers who do not use services they still have to
pay for?
 Receiving free healthcare, education and social care at point of service happens in many states
(eg the UK) but in others (eg the USA) such services are paid for to some extent by those that
use them.
 If you pay your taxes and they go towards funding services that you prefer to pay for yourself
(eg private education or private medical care via health insurance) should you be able to opt
out of paying taxes?
 Should people pay more or less tax in this way? Should people pay taxes at all?
Does privatisation play a positive role in helping economies to deliver public sector
provision?
 Should public utilities such as water, gas, electricity and railways ever be privatised? Can
markets ever deliver the efficiencies required to benefit consumers if profit gets in the way? Are
regulators strong enough to make such markets fair to consumers and companies alike?
 Short-term cash boost, reckless sale of 'family silver' or wise decision to limit future liabilities (eg
in the UK in 2013, the Royal Mail was floated via IPO but six months later allegations were
made by politicians that it had been undervalued by £1bn in the UK Government's haste to
make the sale a success. While the Royal Mail presented a potentially significant liability on
public sector finances due to pension and operating deficits, it had started to show signs of
recovery, prompting calls that it was only sold to benefit investors and not the UK in general.
Time will tell on this, although in an industry where physical deliveries are being phased out in
favour of digital products – books, music and other entertainments – maybe this was a good
deal after all. (BBC, 2014a).
 Outside the UK in many parts of the World privatisation remains a divisive issue.
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Chapter summary
Impact of corporate governance on strategy
What is How is corporate What impact does

corporate governance achieved ownership have on
governance? across the world? corporate governance?
Definition of corporate Principles or rules? The role of the investor

governance • Principles: • Insider systems: small numbers
• 'The system by which – Broad principles of large shareholders; family
organisations are directed and – Comply or explain ownership; more expensive
controlled' – Deviations require disclosure • Outsider systems: eg stock
• 11 Core principles: and explanation market; strong systems to
– Integrity – Requires investors to make counter the agency problem
– Fairness an informed decision • Institutional investors: strategic
– Judgement • Rules: focus; possible short-term
– Independence – Compliance is required interest; can influence strategy
– Scepticism – Pass or fail – no middle of their investment by close
– Transparency ground involvement
– Probity – Requires a third party or
– Responsibility regulator to enforce the rules Disclosures and reporting
– Accountability
– Innovation • Organisational
– Reputation Different jurisdictions • CSR and business ethics
• Corporate governance in the • Annual reports
UK (principles-based)
Regulatory guidance
• USA Sarbanes- Oxley Act Public sector and third sector
• OECD (governments) (rules-based) governance
• OECD principles: • South Africa – King Report
– Ensuring the basis for an • Purposes and objectives of
• Singapore Code
effective corporate private sector, public sector;
governance framework charitable institutions;
– The rights and equitable Board responsibilities QuANGOs Performance and
treatment of shareholders • Effectiveness of boards: ownership
and key ownership functions – Entrepreneurial leadership • Agency and public sector
– Institutional investors, stock – Strategy organisations
markets, and other – Briefing, training and • Levels of public sector
intermediaries appraisals organisation
– The role of stakeholders in – Membership: size and • Strategy, objectives, leadership
corporate governance diversity and governance
– Disclosure and transparency • Leadership CEO vs chair • Democratic control, political
– The responsibilities of the • Unitary and multi-tier boards influence and public sector
board • Leaving the board policy implementation
• ICGN (companies):
– Board role and Board support mechanisms
responsibilities
– Leadership and • Committees: Audit;
independence Nomination; Remuneration;
– Composition and Risk
appointment • NEDs: Strategy; scrutiny; risk;
– Corporate culture people
– Risk oversight • Remuneration: balance across
– Remuneration package; accountability for
– Reporting and audit results; market factors
– Shareholder rights
• Limitations of international
codes
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1. Governance does not happen by accident – it is the outcome of a series of processes with a
number of key goals related to how organisations are directed and controlled. However,
underpinning all of this should be transparency (all actions are visible) and accountability (both
success and failure should be attributable to someone).
2. Shareholders and stakeholders all have very different needs but still need to be considered as
part of sound governance.
3. Most jurisdictions choose either a principles-based or rules-based system – the levels of
disclosure necessary tend to illustrate how each one works in practice in conjunction with
ensuring stakeholders can make an educated guess about the governance in place in their
investment.
4. Boards of directors require many factors to be considered to ensure their effectiveness –
education, diversity and assessment are three key areas
5. Central to the success of most systems of governance is the role of NEDs, committees and
remuneration policies as a form of control.
6. The role of institutional investors is key in determining levels of disclosure.
7. If your organisation is in the public sector, there are a number of factors that need to be
considered when adopting best practice governance, such as their objectives, the influence of
stakeholders and how to measure performance.
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Independent study
Question practice
Workbook):
Q3 Caius
Further reading
Public sector governance
This article explores the concept of governance in public sector organisations.
Corporate governance from the inside out
This article explores the internal and external drivers behind effective corporate governance.
Diversifying the board – a step towards better governance
This article considers the important role that the board of directors play in ensuring good governance and
highlights the need for board diversity.
Independence as a concept in corporate governance
This article explores the importance of independence in relation to corporate governance and professional
behaviour.
Own research
Consider your own organisation, or one with which you are very familiar – let's see if you can find out
more about the topics considered in this chapter:
 How much of what you have read in this chapter can you find?
 What's been added that is different and what do you think is missing?
 In each case, why do you think the organisation you have selected has reported its corporate
governance in this way?
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 If possible, perform the same analysis for a public sector organisation (this could be a charity or
QuANGO instead of a local council or a hospital) – what's different about this organisation's
governance reporting and why do you think this is?
 Finally, how do you think you could be tested on this content in the SBL exam?
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Exercise answer
Exercise 1
 Improved risk management. The reduction of downside risk will reduce business losses.
 Overall business performance is enhanced by focusing attention on areas of critical
importance.
 Defines clear accountability for executive decision making.
 It provides both an appropriate and adequate system of internal control, which permeates the
organisation from top to bottom.
 Best practice guidelines are applied by management, who therefore strive to improve their
performance.
 Encourages ethical behaviour and corporate social responsibility.
 Safeguards the firm from misuse of business assets, both tangible and intangible.
 Can attract new investment, particularly in developing countries.
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SKILLS CHECKPOINT 1
Effective leadership
scenario: Managing
Case information Ans
we
Str r pla
aging information uc
Man tu nnin
re
An a
g: Log
sw
nd
Pr
er
ior
pl
t
en
itie
manag ime
ic
an
em
s,
t
nin
Exam Success Skills
Good
Communication
g
Evaluation
Commercial
uirereq rpretation
acumen ACCA Professional Skills
e m e nts
Commercial
req of rprineteation
Scepticism acumen
m eunirts
Eff d p
of t inteect
an
e c re
c rr
Analysis
r re Co
ti v
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se w ri
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l
Efficient numerica
analysis
Introduction
In Stage 1 you have learned about effective leadership.
However, only 80% of marks are awarded for the application of knowledge. The remaining marks are awarded
for good demonstration of the specific ACCA Professional Skills outlined in the task requirement.
You need to able to:
1. Identify the ACCA Professional Skill in the task requirement. Remember the five: Analysis,
Communication, Commercial Acumen, Evaluation and Scepticism
2. Understand what the skill requires in the context of the question
3. Consider how to demonstrate the skill(s) as part of your answer planning
The ACCA Professional Skills are assessing your ability to present your answers to a standard which would be
expected in the workplace. However, in order to do this effectively in the Strategic Business Leader Exam, you
must develop a further series of Exam Success Skills, so you are able to produce your very best solution in the
four-hour timeframe.
Therefore, success in Strategic Business Leader requires the simultaneous demonstration of syllabus knowledge,
ACCA Professional Skills and Exam Success Skills. This Skills Checkpoint specifically targets the development of
your skills as you progress through the syllabus. This should provide you with all of the tools that you will need
during the Learning phase, so you can focus on improving these at the Revision Stage.
The five Skills Checkpoints focus each on one of the five ACCA Professional Skills and provide further guidance
on how to develop certain Exam Success Skills, so you can effectively manage questions and meet the expected
standard for both knowledge and skills.
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Skills Checkpoint 1: Effective leadership
Your role
Developing skills requires more than listening and reading, it requires you to try for yourself, use
guidance and feedback to consider whether you have met the skills objective, then plan for further
improvement. In Strategic Business Leader, you should include a focus on skills development in every
question you attempt as part of your normal approach. The Skills Checkpoints will take you through a
series of steps where you will attempt aspects of a question and review your progress from a skills
perspective.
Focus on ACCA Professional Skill: Commercial acumen

There are three essential elements to commercial acumen that ACCA have identified for their
professional skills. The first is the ability to demonstrate awareness of organisational and wider
external factors affecting the work of an individual or a team in contributing to the wider
organisational objectives. Given that this is a strategic professional exam, it should come as no
surprise that you need to consider the 'bigger picture' when producing answers to questions.
The second is to use judgement to identify key issues in determining how to address or resolve
problems and in proposing and recommending the solutions to be implemented. Again, demonstrating
higher level skills (often in conjunction with higher level question verbs such as 'recommend' or
'evaluate') is crucial for success at this level. Professional marks will be awarded in this area for
demonstrating sensible and appropriate solutions that reflect the context of the case overview and
exhibits.
The third and final approach to demonstrating commercial acumen is to show insight and perception
in understanding work-related and organisational issues, including the management of conflict,
demonstrating acumen in arriving at appropriate solutions or outcomes. This suggests the role played
by emotional intelligence in formulating plans, considering the 'human' element when making
recommendations and judgements.
Demonstrating Exam Success Skills

For this question, we will focus on the following exam success skills:
 Case scenario: Managing information. In the exam, you will be presented with both
structured and unstructured information which could be non-sequential and include data and
other material, which may not all be relevant to every task requirement. Your ability to identify
the key parts of the case overview and supporting exhibits (and by implication, knowing which
parts you do not need to worry about) is a key skill that we will start to consider in this
checkpoint.
 Correct interpretation of requirements. Task requirements can sometimes be presented
in a complicated manner that does not read well. This is most likely deliberate, although it is
not done just to try and deliberately confuse you: the complexity of a task requirement is
designed to test how you can cope with specific instructions that may just be complex. The
example we have for this checkpoint is deliberately challenging to illustrate the approach that
you will need to be successful.
 Answer planning: Priorities, Structure and Logic. It seems logical that, following the
analysis of a scenario and the interpretation of task requirements, a plan should emerge, and
so this is what we are also going to look at in this checkpoint. Extracting the key parts of the
case scenario that meet the task requirement should give you a series of points, but these must
be organised so you have the best chance of scoring as many marks as possible. The next
question will help show you how this can be done.
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Skills Checkpoint 1
Skills Activity
STEP 1 Read the following task requirement for the question 'Conference', identifying the
verbs and the professional skills being examined, and start to set up your answer
plan. Remember your skills of 'Correct interpretation of the requirements' as there
are two task requirements here and they are not immediately straightforward to
interpret!
Required
Assess the benefits of the separation of the roles of chief executive and chair that Alliya Yongvanich
argued for and explain her belief that 'accountability to shareholders' is increased by the separation
of these roles. (12 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating commercial acumen skills in relation to
your assessment and explanation. (2 marks)
(Total = 14 marks)
 There are two verbs here – 'assess' and 'explain' but only one mark score (12 marks) so until I
find out more from the case information I probably need to treat them both equally.
 I need to list the benefits of separating the chief executive and chair role, and put some sort of
score on each benefit to see how significant these benefits are.
 I also need to understand why Alliya believes that having two separate roles increases
accountability to shareholders.
 I need to make sure I can define 'accountability' in my answer to set it in context.
STEP 2 You should now read the scenario, considering how you can isolate the key parts
that relate to the task requirement. The scenario has been annotated to show what
sort of things you should be looking for when performing this kind of 'active'
reading.
These are the
Is this it? I need to
read this scenario Question – Conference (14 marks) 'bigger picture'
than for any one
carefully to make
sure I extract At a recent international meeting of business leaders, Seamus O'Brien said that place, so what do I
everything I need need to remember
to answer the
multi-jurisdictional attempts to regulate corporate governance were futile about general
question. because of differences in national culture. He drew particular attention to the guidance in this
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and area?
This is evidently a
International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) codes, saying that they
reason for not were 'silly attempts to harmonise practice'. He said that in some countries, for
splitting these roles example, there were 'family reasons' for making the chair and chief executive Why would this
– how does this be and where
impact on my the same person. In other countries, he said, the separation of these roles
might we see
answer? seemed to work. Another delegate, Alliya Yongvanich, said that the roles of this?
chief executive and chair should always be separated because of what she
called 'accountability to shareholders'.
While it is
important to One delegate, Vincent Viola, said that the right approach was to allow each country to
understand that set up its own corporate governance provisions. He said that it was suitable for some
there is no one
perfect form of
countries to produce and abide by their own 'very structured' corporate governance
governance, we provisions, but in some other parts of the world, the local culture was to allow what he
are being asked to called 'local interpretation of the rules'. He said that some cultures valued highly
consider things
from one structured governance systems while others do not care as much.
perspective
(separating the
two roles) so this
part may not be
that relevant to my
answer.
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STEP 3 You are now in a position to create an answer plan.
Guidance in helping you develop your answer plan

As the question is worth 14 marks, using two minutes per mark as a guide equates to a total of
28 minutes to attempt the requirement. Working on the basis that you will spend at least five minutes
creating your answer plan, this leaves no more than 23 minutes to write up your answer.
Each point you make could score up to two marks, so you are looking at six separate points overall –
assuming an even split, that's at least three benefits that need to be assessed and three points that
need to be explained. Accountability needs to be defined as part of your answer so that should be at
least another mark.
Demonstrating commercial acumen is necessary to earn the two professional marks and these seem
to relate in the first instance to showing an understanding of the wider cultural and legal factors that
have led to Alliya taking one view on the separation of the roles of chief executive and chair. The
professional marks would also be awarded for demonstrating awareness of the wider
work-related and organisational issues that make the separation of these two roles more likely to lead
to greater accountability to shareholders.
Having already annotated the scenario with the task requirements in mind, you will have probably
concluded that there is very little in the scenario that you can use to populate your answer.
Consequently, technical knowledge will be necessary, but must still be applied in the context of your
awareness of the commercial acumen skills discussed above.
Taking all this into account, your plan may start to look something like this.
 'Separating the roles of chief executive and chair is a good idea because….'
 Avoids having too much power in one person's hands (key issue)
 Complex, time-consuming role needs two people
 Avoids conflicts of interest between non-executive role and executive remuneration
 Family reasons per Seamus?
 Accountability = facing the consequences of your actions
 'Accountability to shareholders is increased by the separation of these roles because….'
 If something goes wrong, it can be diagnosed and rectified (policy = chair; execution =
chief executive)
 Supports non-executives in their role overseeing the executives
 Shareholders know who is responsible
STEP 4 Check the task requirements

Before you start writing up your answer it is worthwhile reviewing the task
requirement again to ensure that there is nothing that you have overlooked.
 Have you assessed the idea that the two roles should be separate?
 Have you defined accountability?
 Have you said why accountability to shareholders is increased by
separating the roles?
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Skills Checkpoint 1
STEP 5 Complete your written answer

You can now bring your workings together to create a solution, making sure that you
use logical headings and short punchy sentences. Drawing together the key points
from the scenario with your assessments and explanations will show the marker that
you have dealt with both task requirements. A model answer is given below, with
comment boxes illustrating where the answer is demonstrating good commercial
acumen skills.
Suggested solution
Benefits of splitting the roles
Authority This is
demonstrating
There is an important difference between the authority of the chair and the commercial
authority of the chief executive, which having the roles taken by different acumen,
specifically by
people will clarify. The chair carries the authority of the board whereas understanding
the chief executive has the authority that is delegated by the board. the cultural
Having the roles separate emphasises that the chair is acting on behalf of the factors
associated with
board, whereas the chief executive has the authority given in his terms of separating this
appointment. Having the same person in both roles means that unfettered role in certain
power is concentrated into one pair of hands; the board may be ineffective in jurisdictions
controlling the chief executive if it is led by the chief executive. The chair
provides a second effective viewpoint and also contributes their own
experience, augmenting the board.
Again, good
Time considerations awareness of
cultural and
An argument in favour of splitting the roles of chair and chief executive is that legal factors
both are very demanding functions. In large, complex organisations no one shows
commercial
individual will have the time to do both jobs effectively, although this is not the acumen skills
case in US companies, where the role of executive chair is common. Splitting the
roles does mean that the chair is responsible for the functions of leading and
running the board, with the chief executive running the organisation
and developing its strategy.
Leadership of non-executive directors
Again, good
awareness of Governance reports emphasise the importance of a strong, influential presence of
cultural and
legal factors
independent non-executive directors. A non-executive chair can provide effective
shows leadership for the non-executive directors which an executive chair might struggle to maintain.
commercial
acumen skills Information for non-executive directors
Again, good
The chair is responsible for obtaining the information that other directors require awareness of
to exercise proper oversight. If the chair is also chief executive, then cultural and
legal factors
directors may not be sure that the information they are getting is sufficient and
shows
objective enough to support their supervision (due to the chief executive commercial
frequently being remunerated on the basis of business results). The chair should acumen skills
ensure that the board is receiving sufficient information to make informed
decisions, and should put pressure on the chief executive if the chair believes
that the chief executive is not providing adequate information.
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Information for markets
Having a separate chair means that there is a division of roles between the person
responsible for communicating business performance to markets (the chair), and
the person responsible for that performance (the chief executive).
Protection of minority shareholders
A separate chair can also ensure that executive management pays sufficient
Some further
attention to the interests of minority shareholders and protects their
awareness and
interests. Seamus O'Brien's comment about family reasons highlights a situation understanding
where a separate chair is particularly important; in companies where a of the cultural
and legal
founding family dominates executive management, shareholders who are not
factors that you
family members often feel that their interests are neglected. could display in
your answer
Accountability
Definition
Accountability means ensuring that the chief executive is answerable for the
consequences of their actions (technically this is both positive and negative, rewarding and
sanctioning in cases of good and bad behaviour respectively).
Role in appraising chief executive
A separate chair can take responsibility for regularly appraising the chief executive's
performance. The chair may also be responsible for advising the remuneration committee on
the chief executive's remuneration, having taken account of shareholder views.
Focal point for non-executive directors You can
demonstrate
If the non-executive directors or shareholders have concerns about the commercial
way executive management is running the company, a chair not acumen skills
here by
involved in executive management can offer an effective point for reporting displaying good
these concerns. If, however, the chief executive is also the chair, the awareness of
Again, good non-executive directors may doubt their objectivity, as they are ultimately wider work-
related and
awareness of responsible for managing the company. organisational
cultural and
matters
legal factors Ensuring accountability to shareholders
shows
commercial The UK Corporate Governance Code (2018) and other reports stress the role of the chair in
acumen skills
seeking the views of shareholders and ensuring effective communication with
them. This provides a means for shareholders to raise concerns about the chief executive,
and the chair, as board representative, can ultimately be held to account for this.
Ensuring legal accountability
As representative of the board, the chair can be held responsible in law for its activities
including the supervision exercised over the chief executive.
STEP 6 Complete the exam success skills diagnostic

Finally, use the diagnostic below to assess how effectively you demonstrated the
exam success skills in answering the question.
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Skills Checkpoint 1
Exam Success Skills Your reflections/observations
Case scenario: Managing Notice that in this case, there was very little in the scenario for
information you to work with, so applying technical knowledge and
professional skills will have been crucial in understanding the
case scenario.
Correct interpretation of Did you notice that although there was only one task
requirements requirement, it still contained two verbs, 'assess' and 'explain'?
A key word to look out for in such cases is the word 'and' in the
middle of a task requirement as it is frequently followed by a
verb and unless this is spotted, an entire section of the
requirement may go unanswered.
Did you appreciate the importance of displaying your
commercial acumen skills?
Answer planning: Did you adopt a systematic approach to planning,

Priorities, Structure and understanding the task requirements first, then working through
Logic the scenario to extract relevant information?
Efficient numerical Not applicable in this question.

analysis
Effective writing and Have you used headings to structure your answer, with short
presentation sentences and paragraphs? Are your points made clearly and
succinctly?
Time management Did you allocate sufficient time to attempt both parts of the task
requirement?
Most important action points to apply to your next question
Summary
Answering exam questions is like any other skill – the more you practise, the better you will get! But,
after attempting a question, make sure you take time to reflect and debrief how well you managed it,
whether you followed the key steps and whether you demonstrated professional skills. Carry forward
your learning points to the next question you attempt, and over the course of your studies you will see
significant improvements.
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102
INTRODUCTION
TO STAGE 2:
Optimising Strategic
Decisions
Optimising Strategic Decisions

Founded in 1985, US-based company Blockbuster rode the growth in video rentals to become a
major global success story. Using the latest technology to monitor inventory levels and developing an
innovative business model, at its peak in 2004 the company had over 9,000 stores worldwide. In
2000, it turned down the opportunity to buy a small start-up called Netflix for $50m, believing it was
operating in a niche market and its losses were too great to take on board. In the same year, the
company partnered with Enron to create a video-on-demand service, a deal soon after terminated by
Enron.
However, overall the company was too slow to respond to the DVD-by-post services being offered by
some providers, and online streaming pioneered by Netflix. Gradually its operations were sold off or
shut down. Blockbuster is one of many companies that have failed to respond to what was
happening in their environment, and failed to choose the strategies that may have led to their
continued survival. In this section, we cover the tools that can be used to analyse an organisation's
environment – the things happening externally that will or may have an impact on it. We also look at
how an organisation can understand its own resources, capabilities and competences, which can be
exploited to achieve success. We also consider the tools that can help leaders make strategic choices
about the long-term direction and scope of their organisations. Success is never guaranteed, but
understanding the influences on an organisation and choices that can be made may help future
organisations avoid the fate of Blockbuster.
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The external
environment
Learning objectives
Syllabus
reference no.
Assess the macro-environment of an organisation using PESTEL C2(a)
Assess the implications of strategic drift C2(b)
Evaluate the external key drivers of change likely to affect the structure of a sector C2(c)
or market
Explore, using Porter's Diamond, the influence of national competitiveness on the C2(d)
strategic position of an organisation
Prepare scenarios reflecting different assumptions about the future environment of C2(e)
an organisation
Evaluate the source of competition in an industry or sector using Porter's five C3(a)
forces framework
Analyse customers and markets including market segmentation C3(b)
Evaluate the opportunities and threats posed by the environment of an C3(e)

organisation

An organisation needs to analyse the environment in which it operates in order understanding its
current strategic position, and to develop future strategies.
The external environment is a source of opportunities and threats to an organisation, which can
influence an organisation's ability to survive and grow. Changes in the environment may mean that
the organisation needs to change its strategy in response: either to take advantage of opportunities,
or to protect itself from potential threats.
In this chapter we will look at the different models and frameworks an organisation can use to
analyse its environment, and how the choice of model depends on the level at which the environment
is being analysed.
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Chapter overview
The external environment
The external environment The macro environment National environment
Drivers of change PESTEL analysis Porter's Diamond (1990)
Strategic drift
Industry or Customers and Scenario

sector environment markets planning
Using Porter's five forces model Stages in scenario planning

(1980)
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4: The external environment
1 The external environment

The external environment can be analysed in terms of the broad factors which affect all businesses
(macro-environment) or those relevant to a specific industry or market (micro-environment).
The macro-environment
includes broad factors which could Macro-environment
affect all businesses; for example,
political or economic factors, or Industry or sector
technological change. These can
be assessed using PESTEL
Competitors and markets
analysis.
The micro-environment relates The organisation
to the factors which affect an
organisation's ability to operate
effectively in its chosen industry or
market sector. Key factors here
are: customers, competitors,
distributors and suppliers. These
Levels of the external environment
can be assessed using Porter's
five forces analysis. (Adapted from: Johnson, et al 2017:p.33)
The external environment is a source of threats (external changes which could damage a business)
and also opportunities (external changes which a business could exploit to its advantage).
Performance Objective 3 'Strategy and Innovation' of the Practical Experience Requirement requires
you to 'research and be familiar with your employer's business, the sector it operates within and the
PER alert
wider business environment' (ACCA, 2019b). It is particularly important that you take the time to
read through the sections in this chapter carefully as a number of important theoretical models are
discussed which may help you to better analyse the wider business environment in which your
employer operates.
1.1 Drivers of change

Organisations, or industries more generally, need to take advantage of opportunities which arise in
the external environment and respond to the threats it poses.
As such, changes in the external environment can act as drivers for change; for example, car
manufacturers moving towards producing more environmentally friendly cars in response to customer
concerns about carbon emissions and pollution.
The stimulus for organisational change can be driven by both internal or external events. Events are
sometimes referred to as 'triggers'. External triggers (change drivers) may include the following:
 Increasing competition
 Changes in customer tastes and buying behaviour
 Social changes, eg demographics (age, income and gender)
 Changes in the economic cycle (recession)
 Political and legal pressures (new laws, regulations and tax rules)
 Increasing use of new technologies (internet and mobile
 technologies)
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Exam Focus Point
As the focus of this Chapter is upon the external environment the ‘triggers’ discussed above
specifically relate to external events. It is important to note that internal events can also act as triggers
for change within organisations. Internal triggers can include:
 Out of date working practices/processes
 Changes in organisational performance, eg reducing profitability
 Introduction of new technologies
 Changes in senior management
 High staff turnover
Internal triggers for change are closely linked to the themes considered in Chapter 5 which focuses
on Strategic Capability.
1.1.1 Determining how to respond to external change events

Organisations’ are continually faced with external change events, and as such need to determine
which events they will respond to and those they will not. This process will be influenced by a range
of factors but might include:
 The objectives of the organisation. For example, an organisation which has an
objective of becoming the market leader in its industry would need to proactively respond to
opposing moves by a competitor to ensure that its objective is achieved. This might involve
undertaking a new promotional campaign or changing the prices it charges for its
products/services.
 Stakeholders. An external change event which threatens the interest of those groups
identified as ‘key players’ (per Mendelow in Chapter 2), or heightens the scope for ‘keep
satisfied’ stakeholders to exert their power, increases the likelihood of a speedy management
response. For example, changes in customer tastes may reduce demand for the organisation’s
products which is reflected in falling profits. This situation heightens the scope for large
institutional shareholders to express concern or sell their shares. Such a situation will require
management to introduce strategies to address the situation.
 Time. Some external events may be known about some time in advance of them coming into
effect. For example, new legislation might be announced that will come into effect in 12
months’ time which will restrict the sale of some of the organisation’s products or services. In
cases such as this, management should be able to plan for the change in an orderly fashion.
By contrast, a problem with one of the organisation’s products may need to be prioritised as it
requires urgent action, for example, issuing a product recall to protect the safety of customers.
 Severity. The severity of the external event will drive the speed and the priority with which it
is managed.
Ultimately, the process of deciding which external events the organisation will respond to and how
this will be achieved will be determined by the skill and experience of the organisation’s leadership.
Syllabus links
Opportunities and threats from the external environment are discussed in greater detail in Chapter 5.
The section covering the use of SWOT analysis in business provides organisations with a useful tool
in understanding its internal strengths and weaknesses and its external opportunities and threats.
SWOT analysis provides a helpful start point for determining the organisation’s future strategic
options.
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1.2 Strategic drift

Environmental change is inevitable. To survive, companies need to respond effectively to
opportunities and threats, and to avoid strategic drift.
Strategic drift: An organisation's strategies fail to address its strategic position, particularly in
response to environmental change, leading to a deterioration in the organisation's performance.
Key term
Real world examples

Marks and Spencer in the UK clothes retail market is an example of a company that has not
adapted to changing customer demands and has lost customers as a result.
Nokia. For a short time, Nokia was the largest mobile phone supplier in the world, but its
smartphone operating system was inferior to competitors' systems, and by 2014 Nokia had sold its
mobile phone business to Microsoft.
Toys R Us in 2018 announced that it was closing all of its UK stores having failed to recognise the
growth in demand for increasingly technologically advanced devices such as virtual reality (VR)
headsets, drones and go-pro cameras which were being targeted at younger buyers. This shift in
consumer buying resulted in less demand for conventional children’s toys available for purchase from
large out-of-town stores such as those operated by Toys R Us.
2 The macro environment

2.1 PESTEL analysis
Organisations can use PESTEL analysis as a framework for analysing the general business
environment (macro-environmental), and the opportunities and threats present in the environment.
Political Economic Social
eg government decisions and eg impact of the economic eg demographics; changes in

policies, such as changes in cycle (recession or economic tastes or culture (demographic
competition policy or consumer growth); inflation; interest changes can affect workforces
policies rates; tax rates; foreign as well as consumers)
exchange rates
Organisation – opportunities
and threats
Technological Environmental Legal

(or Ecological)
Changes in technology that 'Green' issues, such as Laws and regulation, including
affect ways of working, or the pollution, climate change, any changes to them (eg
types of products and services environmental regulation, employment law; health and
demanded consumer attitudes to products safety; data protection)
(environmentally friendly;
sustainable etc)
Demographics: Is the study of the human population and particular groups within it; analysis of
data relating to the population.
Key term
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Syllabus links
We will look again at the impact technology can have on businesses in Chapter 11 when we
consider the ideas of cloud and mobile technology, and in Chapter 12 when we look at e-business
and e-marketing and 'disruptive technology'.
Activity 1: Organic fruit farm

Analysis: Consider
Discussion:
You are a management accountant for an organic fruit farm in Teeland. The farm grows apples and
produces apple juice, both of which it sells at local markets and to retail companies.
The farm's management team are considering its future strategy, and have asked for your help in
assessing its macro-environment.
Required
Using the information below, analyse the THREE key factors in the environment which are likely to
have most impact on the farm. (6 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating analysis skills in considering how the
environmental factors affect the farm. (2 marks)
(Total = 8 marks)
Organic farming and the food industry in Teeland
Organic food must be produced using environmentally friendly farming methods, so no genetically
modified (GM) crops, growth enhancers or artificial pesticides and fertilisers may be used. Any
farmer claiming to be organic must be certified by a government-approved body, such as the
Teeland Soil Association. Food producers must also comply with government-approved regulations
regarding the production, packaging and labelling of food.
Regulatory bodies have the authority to forbid the use of misleading labels and product descriptions,
and can issue fines for inappropriate production. In extreme cases, regulatory bodies can close
down operations which regularly fail to comply with regulations for production, packaging and
labelling of their products.
Consumers increasingly want food that is healthy and is sourced both ethically and locally.
Consequently, although organic food was initially perceived as a luxury niche product, it is now
increasingly seen as a lifestyle choice by those consumers who regard non-organic products as more
harmful to health and the environment. Major supermarkets in Teeland have started to stock more
organic and locally grown food.
A key issue for all farmers is the weather, which significantly affects the volume (yield) and quality of
a crop and hence the market price. Organic farmers are unable to use artificial fertilisers or
pesticides, so have developed alternative high-tech farming methods to improve profitability and cash
flow. Weather information systems help plan planting, harvesting and irrigation. Climate-controlled
growing tunnels and stores provide a pest-free environment with temperature, light and humidity
control. These methods increase yields, extend the possible growing season and allow crops to be
stored for longer before usage or sale, with no loss of flavour or quality.
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Solution
Environmental factor Impact of the factors
Exam Focus Point

Although PESTEL can be a useful checklist, in practice many of the factors can be interlinked. The
value of PESTEL analysis comes from identifying factors which could affect an organisation, and what
the impact of those factors might be. Whether or not a factor has been classified in the correct
category is far less important to a strategic business leader.
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3 National environment
Assessing the opportunities and threats which are present in different countries can be particularly
important for multinational companies which are thinking about investing in a new country.
However, another key consideration in the investment decision could be how competitive the country
is.
3.1 Porter's Diamond

Michael Porter (1990) observed that some nations' industries are more successful than others', and
he identified four key factors which collectively determine a country's attractiveness for a given
industry:
Firm strategy,
structure and
rivalry
Home demand
Factor conditions
conditions
Related and
supporting
industries
(Source: Porter, 1990)
3.2 Components of the diamond

The inter-related elements that can be used to assess a nation's competitive advantage are:
 Factor conditions – relates to a country's resources, (so in effect are 'supply side' factors).
These can be categorised as:
– Basic factors – for example, natural resources, climate, semi-skilled or unskilled
labour. These are basic pre-conditions which are needed for an industry to be
successful, but, by themselves, they do not provide any sustainable competitive
advantage
– Advanced factors – for example, infrastructure and communications, higher
education, and skilled employees (eg skilled scientists or engineers to support high-tech
industries. In contrast to basic factors, the presence of advanced factors can help to
promote competitive advantage.
 Demand conditions – A tough domestic market is likely to encourage competitiveness, as
firms have to produce cost-efficient, high-quality goods to satisfy the requirements of their
domestic customers. The experience a firm gains from meeting domestic customers' needs will
then allow it to compete successfully on an international scale.
 Related and supporting industries – Industries need to be supported by a good local
supply chain, which contributes to quality and cost advantages
 Firm strategy, structure and rivalry – Cultural factors, social attitudes and management
styles can all lead to competitive advantage in certain industries. Intense domestic rivalry
among firms means they need to perform well to survive (eg through cost reduction or quality
improvement and innovation). Intense domestic rivalry may also encourage firms to look for
export markets.
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3.3 Clustering
The combination of these elements can create a 'cluster' of extremely competitive firms that are well-
placed to compete internationally.
Clustering helps to reinforce the factors in the diamond – for example, by providing a concentration
of advanced factor conditions, and related/supporting industries (as with the high-tech electronics
industry in Silicon Valley, California).
3.4 Government policy

Government policy can also be important in nurturing the elements of the diamond, for example, by
investing in infrastructure and higher education.
The tax regime and government's attitudes to foreign investors could also affect a multinational
company's decision about whether or not to invest in a country.
Exam Focus Point

2(a) required candidates to prepare a report for the board which analysed SmartWear’s strategic
position in the Southland market (one of the countries that SmartWear operated in) and to determine
why the company appeared to be performing well in this country compared to the country of Noria
(SmartWear’s home country). Professional skills marks were awarded for demonstrating analysis
skills in determining SmartWear’s strategic position in Southland.
The examining team noted that task 2(a) was ‘fairly well answered, although few candidates picked
up on all the contributing factors. Some answers recognised the benefit of using Porter’s Diamond
model, whereas others were presented without any structure. The factors behind the relative success
of SmartWear in Southland were largely identified, although in a reflection of not reading the
question carefully, often far too much emphasis was based on the problems in Noria. Better
candidates provided more detail on their interpretation of these comparisons and why it meant the
Southland market was performing better’. (ACCA, 2019a).
The examining team highlighted that some candidates provided answers which were too detailed,
and failed to effectively apply the key elements of Porter’s Diamond model to the case material. To
earn the 2 professional skills marks candidates needed to prepare a report which identified and used
the most important, relevant data to analyse SmartWear’s strategic position. The report needed to be
structured and presented in a way that was sufficiently user-friendly that it could be used by the
board.
Real world example – Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley in San Francisco is one of the world's most famous clusters of companies. It is home to
high-tech innovators including Apple, Cisco Systems, Google, Facebook and eBay.
Setting up operations close to firms operating in similar industries allows new firms to achieve
economies of scale which may not have been available to them elsewhere. New start-ups benefit
from the Valley's pool of highly skilled workers with expertise in innovation. Companies in Silicon
Valley are able to capitalise on their close proximity to Stanford University, which provides a readily
available source of new graduates in high-tech specialisms. A number of the graduates from Stanford
University have gone on to start up their own businesses in Silicon Valley, such as Hewlett-Packard.
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Exercise 1: Silicon Valley
Required
Using Porter's Diamond, analyse why the US, and Silicon Valley in particular, has a competitive
advantage as a location for technology companies.
Solution
Diamond factor How factor contributes to competitive advantage
Factor conditions
Demand conditions
Related and supporting

industries
Firm structure, strategy and

rivalry
4 Industry or sector environment

An organisation's strategic position and performance is affected not only by the macro-environment
(PESTEL factors) but also by factors specific to its industry or market sector.
Porter (1980) argues that the level of profit which can be sustained in an industry is influenced by the
state of competition in that industry ('Porter's five forces'). The stronger the five forces, the lower the
level of profit which can be sustained in the industry.
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4.1 Using Porter's five forces model

The five forces model has three main uses:
 Analysing the inherent profitability (and therefore attractiveness) of a particular industry or
market segment. If possible, companies should aim to invest in industries where the five forces
are in their favour and high returns can be made.
 Identifying actions relating to the different competitive forces on an organisation that:
– Mitigate their damaging effects (threats); and/or
– Promote the beneficial effects (opportunities).
 Considering whether all competitors are affected equally by the forces. For example, higher
buyer power may mean that small competitors cannot raise prices, giving an advantage to
large ones who can, or who can afford to operate on lower margins.
4.1.1 Porter's five forces model
New entrants will intensify
competition in the industry.
Barriers to entry (such as capital
1. Threat of new requirements, economies of scale
If suppliers have strong entrants among existing firms, or patents)
bargaining power, the price prevent new firms from joining
of inputs will be driven up an industry. Barriers to entry
(thereby reducing profits). help to sustain profits.
5. Competition
2. Power of and rivalry – 3. Power of
suppliers between existing buyers
firms in the industry
If buyers have strong
A substitute is a different product bargaining power they can
or service which satisfies the same drive down prices (thereby
4. Threat of reducing profits). Factors such
customer needs. The availability of
substitutes restricts profits because substitutes as relative size, and ability to
customers can switch to a substitute if the switch to an alternative product
price of a product or service increases or or service affects bargaining
quality/utility decreases. power.
Competition and rivalry – intense competition in an industry will reduce profits. This may result
from slow-growing or declining markets, excess capacity, or barriers to exit.
In some industries, it is relevant to consider a 'sixth force', organisations that are complementors.
This means an organisation that 'enhances your business attractiveness to customers or suppliers'
(Johnson et al, 2017). For example, app developers are complementors to smartphone and tablet
providers because apps make the devices more useful. These organisations need to be taken into
account in assessing the environment.
Essential reading
the Workbook, for more detail about Porter's five forces.
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Exam Focus Point
Task 1(a) in the March/June 2019 exam released by ACCA asked candidates to prepare a briefing
paper for the board at SmartWear, a clothing retailer. Candidates were required to analyse the
environment in which the company was operating and to consider how this might impact the
company’s business model, mission and strategic goals.
The examining team commented that ‘on the whole this question was reasonably well answered with
many candidates scoring highly, and some achieving full marks. Most answers used the PESTEL
model, some Porter’s Five Forces, and a few SWOT. With the minority of candidates using all three
but by doing so the answers were very long and repetitive. This approach took a disproportionate
amount of time to complete, with the result that their answers to Task 5 were often rushed and
incomplete’. (ACCA, 2019a).
The examining team noted that some candidates tried to apply all elements of the PESTEL model,
even though there was no information in the case material relating to environmental and legal
matters. In essence, candidates attempted to fit their answer around the model, as opposed to only
using relevant bits of the model to help structure their answer. The examining team also highlighted
that a number of candidates failed to tie their observations back SmartWear’s business model,
mission and strategic goals, which was the whole focus of the task.
4.2 Industry life cycle

The stage an industry has reached in its life cycle can have important implications for the level of
competition, and the basis on which firms look to compete.
Stages of the industry life cycle
Development Growth Shakeout Maturity Decline

Typical five Low rivalry: Low rivalry: Increasing Stronger Extreme
forces High High growth rivalry: buyers: rivalry:
differentiation, and weak Slower Low growth Typically
innovation key buyers, but growth and and standard many exits
low entry some exits, products, but and price
barriers, managerial higher entry competition,
growth ability and financial barriers, cost and
key strength key market share commitment
and cost key key
(Adapted from: Johnson et al, 2017)
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Activity 2: Happy Day theme parks

Happy Day Company ('Happy Day') operates a chain of 15 theme parks across Western Europe.
Happy Day's parks are family oriented, and are intended to provide 'a great day out for all the
family'. Each Happy Day park offers roller coasters and other thrill rides, live entertainment and
exhibits (such as animals and sea-life). Each park also offers a range of food outlets and gift shops.
You are a management consultant, and your consultancy firm has been asked to advise Happy Day
on some strategic issues, including an analysis of their industry environment.
Required
Using the information provided in Exhibit 1, analyse the theme park industry in Western Europe.
(8 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating analysis skills in investigating the likely
impact of environmental factors on the profitability of the industry. (2 marks)
(Total = 10 marks)
Exhibit 1 – The theme park industry in Western Europe
The leisure and entertainment industry in Western Europe is a mature market. In addition to an
increasing number of theme parks, there is also a wide range of alternative forms of entertainment
available to tourists and domestic customers – for example, cinemas, sport events and cultural
attractions.
There are three types of theme parks and park operators:
 Major complexes, operated worldwide by large multinational entertainment corporations
 Regional chains, such as Happy Day
 Smaller, simpler local parks
The multinational entertainment corporations gain marketing benefits from linking rides with film and
television characters. They also have access to the significant capital and technology required to
develop exciting new rides. Most multinational and regional theme park chains add at least one new
ride per park per year to attract visitors. Operators spend, on average, 20% of annual revenue on
building new rides and attractions.
Competition in the industry is fierce. To increase profits, parks need to attract more visitors, and
increase the amount they spend during a visit. The key factors for a successful theme park are:
 Convenience of location
 Popularity of rides
 Health and safety
 Price
 Availability and quality of wider amenities (eg food, merchandise)
The difficult economic climate in Western Europe has led to a fall in consumer spending across
leisure activities in general. However, this has also resulted in theme parks suffering declining
attendance and falling profitability.
In view of increasing competition in the established park locations in North America and Western
Europe, and the fact that possible land for expansion is expensive and restricted, a number of the
multinational operators have started to look at other markets in Asia and South America.
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Solution
4.3 Triggers for change

Changes in the industry environment can change the strength of the competitive forces; for example:
 Arrival of new entrants into the market; or mergers/acquisitions between existing competitors
 Slowdown in the market growth rate
 Innovations or technological developments leading to the emergence of new substitutes
 Consolidation in supply chain or distribution networks (eg mergers/acquisitions between
suppliers)
Changes like these could affect the profitability of the industry, and therefore prompt an organisation
to reconsider its strategic position (in relation to opportunities and threats) and its future strategy.
If the organisation doesn't respond effectively to the changes though, it could be vulnerable to
strategic drift.
5 Customers and markets

To be successful, a company needs to satisfy its customers better, and respond to market
opportunities more effectively, than its competitors. To be able to do this, a company first needs to
understand its customers and the markets in which it is competing, in order to develop appropriate
strategies.
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5.1 Customers
Customers buy a product and service because it satisfies a need or provides them with some value.
To deliver value, an organisation must understand its customers (or its stakeholders for not-for-profit
organisations) and what they consider to be important.
Aspects of a product or service that are particularly valued by customers are known as critical
success factors (CSFs). An organisation must excel at CSFs in order to gain a competitive
advantage (Johnson et al, 2017).
Critical success factors: The aspects of a product or service that are particularly valued by
customers and therefore those at which a business must excel in order to outperform its competitors.
Key term
5.2 Markets
In order to trade effectively in a market, a company needs to understand the composition and
behaviour of the market.
5.2.1 Market attractiveness

The attractiveness of a market is determined by factors such as: the size of the market; profit margins;
market growth (and growth expectations); existing suppliers; and intensity of competition.
Essential reading
the Workbook, for more detail about the factors a firm should consider before deciding whether to
enter a market.
5.2.2 Business attractiveness

As well as considering the characteristics of the market, a company also needs to consider whether
its products or services will be attractive to the customers in that market.
5.3 Market segmentation

Very few products can satisfy all the customers in a market, because customers have different
requirements from the products they buy.
To satisfy customer needs successfully, different products or services need to be offered to the
different customer groups that comprise a market.
Market segmentation: The division of a market into homogeneous groups of potential customers
who may be treated similarly for marketing purposes.
Key term
An organisation's marketing activity is more likely to be effective if it targets particular market

segments – which can be reached with a distinct marketing mix (product, price, place,
promotion) – rather than trying to sell to the total market as a whole. The marketing mix concept is
explored in greater detail in Chapter 6.
Segmentation enables an organisation to get a better understanding of customer requirements in a
segment, so that the organisation can tailor its product to meet the needs of those customers as
effectively as possible.
Market segmentation can also be useful when attempting to spot opportunities and threats. As
customers' requirements change, new segments emerge. If a company can identify a 'new' segment
before its competitors, it could be a source of growth.
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Real world example
Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) Plc owns a number of different hotel brands – for example, Hotel
Indigo, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Staybridge Suites – which target different sectors of the
overall hotel market.
6 Scenario planning
The complexity of the external environment makes it difficult for firms to predict the future.
However, to help them plan and assess potential opportunities and threats, firms can develop
scenarios based on the key influences and change drivers in the environment.
Scenario planning: Involves constructing plausible views of how the business environment of an
organisation might develop in the future, based on sets of key drivers for change.
Key term
Scenarios are not forecasts and predictions, but are plausible views of possible future conditions.
The aim of scenario planning is to learn rather than predict the future, so organisations are often
advised to produce multiple scenarios, to maximise the learning and contingency planning if
necessary.
Scenarios can be developed at a macro-environmental level (ie relating to changes in PESTEL
factors) or an industry level (ie relating to Porter's five forces).
6.1 Stages in scenario planning
Identify the scope (eg time frame involved; products considered; markets considered)
and major stakeholders
1
Identify key trends and areas of uncercertainy (eg based on PESTEL factors)
2
Construct initial scenarios based on the key areas of uncertainty

3
Check scenario for consistency and plausibility

4
Expand initial scenarios into full descriptions as if the scenario was actually occurring – in order
for management to assess the implications each scenario could have on the organisation
5
Develop quantitative models of the effect of different scenarios on the organisation's activities
and profitability or cash flow
6
Develop strategies or courses of action which could be adopted in different scenarios if they
actually happen
7
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Activity 3: Scenario plans

Required
Based on the information in Exhibit 1 below, discuss the potential use of scenarios by NESTA's
managers as part of their analysis of NESTA's possible entry into the discount fixed-price retail
market in Eurobia. (8 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating commercial acumen in identifying key
areas of uncertainty which could be included in NESTA's scenario plans. (2 marks)
(Total = 10 marks)
Exhibit 1
NESTA is a large chain of fixed-price discount stores based in the country of Eyanke. Its stores offer
ambient goods (goods that require no cold storage and can be kept at room temperature, such as
cleaning products, stationery, biscuits and plastic storage units) at a fixed price of one dollar.
NESTA has observed the long-term economic decline in the neighbouring country of Eurobia, where
a prolonged economic recession has led to the growth of so-called 'dollar shops'. Three significant
dollar shop chains have already developed: ItzaDollar, DAIAD and DollaFellas. The shops of these
three chains are particularly found on the high streets of towns and cities where there is significant
financial hardship.
Many of these towns and cities have empty stores which are relatively cheap to rent. Furthermore,
landlords who once required high rents and long leases are increasingly willing to allow/offer these
stores a relatively short fixed-term lease. The fixed-price dollar shop chains in Eurobia advertise
extensively and continually stress their expansion plans. Few weeks go by without one of the chains
announcing plans for a significant number of new shops throughout the country.
NESTA has recognised the growth of fixed-price discount retailers in Eurobia and is considering
entering this market.
Alongside the discount retailers, there are also many conventional supermarket chains operating in
Eurobia. Supermarkets in Eurobia tend to increasingly favour out-of-town sites which allow the stores
to stock a wide range and quantity of products. Customer car parking is plentiful and it is relatively
easy for supplying vehicles to access such sites. As well as stocking non-ambient goods, most
supermarkets also stock a very wide range of ambient goods, often with competing brands on offer.
However, prices for such goods vary and no supermarkets have yet adopted the discount fixed-price
sales approach. In general, the large supermarket chains largely compete with each other and pay
little attention to the fixed-price dollar shop discounters.
Many supermarkets also have internet-based home ordering systems, offering (usually for a fee of
$10) deliveries to customers who are unable or unwilling to visit the supermarket.
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Solution
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Chapter summary
The external environment
The external environment The macro environment National environment
Drivers of change • Broad factors affecting all • Factors influencing a country's

Assessing opportunities and businesses attractiveness for different
threats • Analyse the overall business industries or types of
environment using PESTEL organisation
• Analyse national competitive
Strategic drift environment using Porter's
PESTEL analysis Diamond
Failing to respond to change can
cause strategic drift Framework for analysing sources
of opportunities and threats:
Porter's Diamond (1990)
• Political
• Economic • Components of the diamond
• Social (influences on national
• Technological competitiveness):
• Environmental – Factor conditions
• Legal – Demand conditions
– Related and supporting
industries
– Firm strategy, structure and
rivalry
• Clustering
• Government policy
Industry or Customers and Scenario

sector environment markets planning
• (Micro-environment) • Key issue: offering an • View of how the environment

• Factors affecting the attractive product to an could develop in future
profitability, and attractive market • Consider these when setting
attractiveness, of different • Customers strategy
industries or markets • Markets
• Analyse using Porter's five – Market attractiveness
forces – Business attractiveness Stages in scenario planning
• Market segmentation • Identify key areas of
uncertainty
Using Porter's five forces model • Construct scenarios based on
(1980) those key areas
• Attractiveness of an industry • Assess potential impact of
• Five forces: different scenarios on the
– Threat of new entrants organisation
– Substitutes • Develop strategies to adopt in
– Bargaining power of different strategies
customers
– Bargaining power of
suppliers
– Competition and rivalry
• Industry life cycle
• Triggers for change
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1. The external environment can be in terms of the broad factors which affect all businesses
(macro-environment) or those relevant to a specific industry or market (micro-environment).
2. The external environment is a source of threats (external changes which could damage a
business) and also opportunities (external changes which a business could exploit to its
advantage).
3. Changes in the external environment can act as drivers for change.
4. Environmental change is inevitable. To survive, companies need to respond effectively to
opportunities and threats, and to avoid strategic drift.
5. Organisations can use PESTEL analysis as a framework for analysing the general business
environment (macro-environmental), and the opportunities and threats present in the
environment.
6. Michael Porter (1990) observed that some nations' industries are more successful than others',
and he identified four key factors which collectively determine a country's attractiveness for a
given industry: firm, strategy, structure and rivalry; home demand conditions; related and
supporting industries; factor conditions. These four elements make up Porter's Diamond.
7. The combination of these elements can create a 'cluster' of extremely competitive firms that are
well-placed to compete internationally.
8. Government policy can also be important in nurturing the elements of the diamond, for example,
by investing in infrastructure and higher education.
9. Porter (1980) argues that the level of profit which can be sustained in an industry is influenced
by the state of competition in that industry ('Porter's five forces').
10. Porter's five forces model consists of: the threat of new entrants; the threat of substitutes; power
of buyers; power of suppliers; and competition and rivalry. Complementors may also be
considered.
11. The stage an industry has reached in its life cycle can have important implications for the level
of competition in an industry, and the basis on which firms look to compete.
12. To be successful, a company needs to satisfy its customers better, and respond to market
opportunities more effectively, than its competitors. To be able to do this, a company first needs
to understand its customers and the markets in which it is competing, in order to develop
appropriate strategies.
13. Aspects of a product or service that are particularly valued by customers are known as critical
success factors (CSFs). An organisation must excel at CSFs in order to outperform its
competitors.
14. In order to trade effectively in a market, a company needs to understand the composition and
behaviour of the market.
15. To satisfy customer needs successfully, different products or services need to be offered to the
different customer groups that comprise a market. This is the basis of market segmentation.
16. The complexity of the external environment makes it difficult for firms to predict the future.
However, to help them plan and assess potential opportunities and threats, firms can develop
scenarios based on the key influences and change drivers in the environment.
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Question practice
Workbook):
Q4 Joe Swift Transport
Further reading
The strategic planning process – part 1
This article considers the complexities of strategic planning and discusses Porter's five forces and PESTEL
in further detail.
Own research
It is important to link the topics covered in this chapter to a practical, real-world context. As such, we have
suggested some areas for you to investigate further:
 Research an organisation whose performance has suffered due to strategic drift. What factors have
led to the strategic drift? What could the organisation have done differently?
 Use the PESTEL framework to assess the potential opportunities or threats the business environment
presents to different organisations.
 Identify the ways an organisation has segmented its market. What factors has it used to distinguish
different groups of customers? How does the organisation's strategy, and marketing mix, vary for
different segments?
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Exercise answer
Exercise 1
Diamond factor How factor contributes to competitive advantage

Factor conditions Stanford University has always had a strong focus on
technology and research, and so provides a good supply
of highly skilled workers.
Demand conditions As the world's richest and most sophisticated economy, the
US is the largest market for high-technology products.
Related and supporting External economies of scale due to the presence of similar
industries firms – eg local support firms, such as lawyers, used to
dealing with high-tech firms and start-ups.
Silicon Valley has a strong network of venture capitalists
who are used to investing in promising technology
companies.
Firm structure, strategy and The direct competition between so many successful
rivalry companies encourages high standards. Firms are
constantly competing for the best IT staff, which leads to
excellent pay and conditions, and attracts skilled staff from
all over the world to move there.
(Some people also argue, more generally, that the creative
Californian culture encourages innovation and new ideas.)
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Strategic capability
Learning objectives
Syllabus
reference no.
Identify and evaluate an organisation's strategic capability, threshold resources, C4(a)

threshold competences, unique resources and core competences
Discuss the capabilities required to sustain competitive advantage C4(b)
Discuss the contribution of organisational knowledge to the strategic capability of C4(c)

an organisation
Apply Porter's value chain to assist organisations to identify value-adding C3(c)

activities in order to create and sustain competitive advantage
Advise on the role and influence of value networks C3(d)
Identify and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of an organisation and C4(d)
formulate an appropriate SWOT analysis

In the previous chapter we explored the important role that the external environment has on the
ability of an organisation to achieve its strategic aims. The external environment presents
organisations with both opportunities and threats.
The focus of this chapter is upon the concept of strategic capability being those internal resources
and competences which impact on the ultimate success, or not, of an organisation. Managers
responsible for an organisation's strategy need a clear and detailed knowledge of its strategic
capability.
In this chapter we introduce Porter's value chain model which can be used to assess the strengths
and weaknesses of an organisation's internal activities. We conclude the chapter by introducing
SWOT analysis, which draws together the strengths and weaknesses discussed in this chapter with
the opportunities and threats which we explored in Chapter 4.
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Chapter overview
Strategic Strategic capability and sustainable Organisational

capability competitive advantage knowledge
Resources and Value Organisational learning

competences
Rarity Knowledge
Competitive advantage management
Inimitability
Knowledge
management
technology
Organisational support
Dynamic capabilities
Porter's value chain (1985) Value network SWOT analysis
Components of the value chain Relationships in the SWOT analysis in action

value network
The value chain and competitive advantage
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5: Strategic capability
1 Strategic capability
Strategic capability is the term used to describe the strengths and weaknesses of an organisation.
Strategic capability: An organisation's ability to survive and prosper depends on its strategic
capability; this can be defined as the adequacy and suitability of its resources and competences.
Key term
1.1 Resources and competences

As the key term above illustrates, capability is assessed in terms of competences and resources.
Competences and resources can be classified as either threshold (ie those regarded as the minimum
to compete) or unique (ie those which provide a competitive advantage).
Threshold competences: Those activities and processes needed to meet the customer's minimum
requirements.
Key terms
Threshold resources: Those resources needed to meet the customer's minimum requirements.
Resources can be tangible or intangible.
Core competences: The activities and processes through which resources are deployed in such a
way as to achieve competitive advantage in ways that others cannot imitate or obtain.
Unique resources: Those resources that critically underpin competitive advantage and that others
cannot easily imitate or obtain. Resources can be tangible or intangible.
1.2 Competitive advantage
Competitive advantage: The ability of an organisation to generate greater returns than those of
competitors over the long term, as opposed to short-term tactics which provide a temporary
Key term
advantage.
Competitive advantage is the term used to describe the ability of an organisation to generate greater
returns than those of competitors over the long term, as opposed to short-term tactics which provide a
temporary advantage.
Illustration 1
An industry-standard piece of machinery used by a manufacturing company represents a tangible
threshold resource. The right of an airline to use the landing slots at an airport, when all
competitors have the same right, represents an intangible threshold resource. In this example
as competitors have access to the same resources no lasting competitive advantage can be gained
from possessing them alone.
A patent for a new medicine belonging to an international pharmaceutical company is an
intangible unique resource. A diamond mine owned by a mining firm is a tangible unique
resource. In both cases it is the exclusivity of each resource which stops competitors from being
able to benefit from using the same resource.
Operating an automated production facility to produce simple mobile phones means that the
manufacturer can sell phones to customers at the lowest possible prices (meeting the customers'
minimum requirements). This is a threshold competence. A mobile phone manufacturer
renowned for producing innovative phones employs a dedicated R&D team of engineers which
constantly develop phones which feature the latest technologies. The specialist skills in the R&D team
are not available elsewhere in the industry. The R&D team represents a core competence.
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Exercise 1: Upmarket restaurant
Required
What unique resources and core competences might give an upmarket restaurant a competitive
advantage?
Solution
Unique resources Core competences
2 Strategic capability and sustainable competitive

advantage
2.1 Four qualities
It is clear that unique resources and core competences are of great importance in creating a
sustainable competitive advantage. Johnson et al (2017) suggest that if competitive advantage is to
be achieved resources and competences must have four qualities:
 Value
 Rarity
 Inimitability
 Organisational support
2.2 Value
Value is concerned with the value placed on resources and competences by a customer or
organisation. It is the extent to which resources or competences allow a customer or organisation to
take advantage of opportunities, and/or neutralise threats. No matter how rare a resource or how
well-developed a competence is, it cannot create competitive advantage if customers do not value it
or the things it enables the organisation to do.
2.3 Rarity
A single unique resource or core competence may have the potential to create competitive
advantage by itself. The importance of rarity is that if a resource or competence is generally
available (ie not rare) then an organisation's competitors will have access to it in the same way as
the organisation does. In which case, the resource or competence does not confer any advantage to
the organisation compared to its rivals.
2.4 Inimitability
Inimitability is the term Johnson et al (2017) use to mean that a resource is difficult for competitors to
imitate. They point out that, generally, it is difficult to base competitive advantage simply on
possession of tangible resources, since they can often be imitated or simply bought in. Inimitability
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most frequently resides in the competences involved in linking activities and processes in ways that
both satisfy customer priorities, and which are difficult for competitors to imitate.
2.5 Organisational support

Organisational support focuses upon whether or not an organisation is able to support its
capabilities, including its processes and systems. For example, an organisation may have a unique
and valuable patent, but is not able to exploit it because it does not have the sales force to sell the
resulting product.
2.6 Dynamic capabilities

Strategic capabilities are generally regarded as being more valuable if they can be counted on to
last a long time. As we explored in the previous chapter, constant change from the external
environment puts organisations under increasing pressure. In order to deal with rapid market
changes, firms must possess dynamic capabilities.
Dynamic capabilities: 'Are an organisation's abilities to develop and change competences to

meet the needs of rapidly changing environments.' (Johnson et al, 2017)
Key term
Such capabilities demand the ability to change, to innovate and to learn. They can take many forms
and may include such things as systems for new product development or the acquisition of market
intelligence and the absorption of new skills and products acquired by merger or acquisition. Indeed,
we might regard the ability to 'develop and change competences' as a competence in its own right:
a higher-order competence, perhaps.
Essential reading
the Workbook, for more detail regarding how organisations can manage strategic capability.
3 Organisational knowledge
Knowledge management is connected with the theory of the learning organisation and founded
on the idea that knowledge can be a major factor in creating a sustainable competitive advantage
and should form part of an organisation's strategic capability. Knowledge is thus seen as an
important resource and may in itself constitute a competence: it can certainly underpin many
competences.
Essential reading
the Workbook, for detail about the important role that staff development plays in strategic capability.
Section 3 gives consideration to the concept of knowledge work.
3.1 Organisational learning

Organisational learning has become particularly important as business environments becomes
increasingly complex and dynamic. It becomes necessary for strategic managers to promote and
foster a culture that values intuition, discussion of conflicting views and experimentation.
A willingness to back ideas that are not guaranteed to succeed is another aspect of this culture: there
must be freedom to make mistakes.
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3.2 Knowledge management
Knowledge management is becoming increasingly important in helping organisations sustain
competitive advantage. The aim of knowledge management is to exploit existing knowledge
and to create new knowledge so that it may be exploited in turn. Tacit knowledge is the term
used by Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) to describe the knowledge locked in the minds of individuals.
Even when it is made explicit, by being recorded in some way, it may be difficult and time
consuming to get at, as is the case with most paper archives.
Essential reading
the Workbook, for detail relating to the differences between data, information and knowledge.
3.3 Knowledge management technology

In order for knowledge to provide a source of sustainable competitive advantage it is important that
any insights gleaned from it are regularly explored and exploited. Recognition of this has led to the
need to organise data in such a way as to make it more accessible, this in turn has facilitated the
development of sophisticated IT systems, including:
 Office automation systems are IT applications that improve productivity in an office.
These include word processing and voice messaging systems.
 Groupware, such as IBM Notes provides functions for collaborative work groups. In a
sales context, for instance, it would provide a facility for recording and retrieving all the
information relevant to individual customers. This detail could then be updated and made
available to anyone working in the sales department.
 An intranet is an internal network used to share information using internet technology and
protocols.
 An expert system is a computer program that captures human expertise in a limited
domain of knowledge. For example, many financial institutions now use expert systems to
process straightforward loan applications by applying judgements based on the details input.
 Data warehouses can be used to store vast amounts of operational data in accessible
form. Analytical and query software can then be used so that reports can be produced at any
level of summarisation and incorporate any comparisons or relationships desired.
 The value of a data warehouse is enhanced when data mining software is used. True data
mining software discovers previously unknown relationships and provides insights
that cannot be obtained through ordinary summary reports.
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4 Porter's value chain

Porter's (1985) value chain model is a useful framework for assessing the strategic capabilities of
an organisation as it offers a bird's eye view of the firm and what it does and how its activities
(processes) add value to the end customer:
FIRM INFRASTRUCTURE
ACTIVITIES
SUPPORT
TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT
MA
RG
HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN
PROCUREMENT
INBOUND OUTBOUND MARKETING IN

OPERATIONS SERVICE
LOGISTICS LOGISTICS AND SALES RG
MA
PRIMARY ACTIVITIES
(Source: Porter, 1985: p.46)
4.1 Components of the value chain

The margin is the excess the customer is prepared to pay over the cost to the firm of obtaining
resource inputs and providing value activities. It represents the value created by the value
activities themselves and by the management of the linkages between them.
Value activities: Are the means by which a firm creates value in its products.
Key term
The primary activities are predominately involved in the production of goods, and support activities
provide necessary assistance. Linkages are the relationships between activities.
Primary activities are directly related to production, sales, marketing, delivery and service.
Comment
Inbound logistics Receiving, handling and storing inputs to the production system:
warehousing, transport, inventory control and so on
Operations Converting resource inputs into a final product: resource inputs are not only
materials. People are a resource, especially in service industries.
Outbound logistics Storing the product and its distribution to customers: packaging, testing,
delivery and so on. For service industries, this activity may be more
concerned with bringing customers to the place where the service is
available; an example would be front of house management in a theatre.
Marketing and Informing customers about the product, persuading them to buy it, and
sales enabling them to do so: advertising, promotion and so on
After-sales service Installing products, repairing them, upgrading them, providing spare parts
and so forth
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Support activities provide purchased inputs, human resources, technology and infrastructural
functions to support the primary activities. It may seem an obvious point that support activities
need to support the primary activities, but do not overlook it. For example, staff recruitment and
training need to be appropriate for the item being produced in the operations. Support activities can
also play a crucial role in helping organisations to meet their obligations in respect of corporate
social responsibility and sustainability. For example, an organisation which claims that the
packaging used in its products is recyclable needs to ensure that its procurement activities are
geared towards purchasing environmentally friendly packaging.
Activity Comment
Procurement All of the processes involved in acquiring the resource inputs to the
primary activities (eg purchase of materials, subcomponents
equipment)
Technology development Product design, improving processes and resource utilisation
Human resource Recruiting, training, managing, developing and rewarding people;

management this activity takes place in all parts of the organisation, not just in
the HRM department
Firm infrastructure Planning, finance, quality control, the structures and routines that
make up the organisation's culture
Linkages connect the activities of the value chain:

(a) Activities in the value chain affect one another. For example, more costly product
design or better quality production might reduce the need for after-sales service.
(b) Linkages require co-ordination. For example, Just In Time requires smooth functioning of
operations, outbound logistics and service activities such as installation.
Activity 1: Carriages

You are a management consultant currently undertaking an assignment at Carriages, a world

renowned, high quality restaurant which is located in the capital city of a developed European
country. The owner of the restaurant is keen to gain understanding of how the restaurant's activities
have contributed to its success. You are due to give a presentation to the owner and his senior
management team, and are currently working on a slide and supporting notes which will illustrate
Carriages' value-adding activities. As this is your firm's first assignment for Carriages you are keen to
impress the client's management team and want to make your slide interesting and attention-
grabbing. To assist you in your work your colleague has conducted a brief analysis (Exhibit 1) of
Carriages' current activities.
Required
Using the information outlined in Exhibit 1, prepare ONE presentation slide and supporting notes
which show the key value-adding activities of Carriages restaurant. (6 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating communication skills when informing
Carriages' owner of the restaurant's value-adding activities. (2 marks)
(Total = 8 marks)
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Exhibit 1 – Carriages' current activities

Carriages is currently ranked as one of the top restaurants in the world. It has won many awards for
culinary excellence and often appears in the 'best restaurant' guides. Carriages has appeared in
every edition of the annual Michelin guide for the last 20 years. The majority of its chefs have
experience of working in Michelin star restaurants. A large team of waiting staff report to five highly
trained maître d's. Carriages prides itself on only employing waiting staff who have three or more
years' experience of working in 5-star hotels or restaurants.
All hiring decisions go through the owner who also acts as the restaurant's senior manager. The
Head Chef however has complete autonomy over the running of the kitchen and food-related
decisions. The current Head Chef insists on only purchasing the very finest ingredients, as this allows
her team to cook the most creative and exciting dishes. The kitchen staff maintain very tight control
over the food preparation and food storage facilities. They always check the freshness of the
ingredients taken from storage before they are used for cooking. The kitchen facilities are at the
cutting edge of food preparation and use the very best utensils, ovens and refrigeration units.
Carriages regularly advertises in quality newspapers which are aimed at customers in its target
market. This is the only type of direct advertising undertaken. Diners are able to make dinner
reservations using the automated, online booking system. To ensure the reliability of the booking
system the software used is reviewed every two years and, if needed, upgraded. To enhance the
dining experience soft, classical music is played into the restaurant to improve the ambience. The
tables and chairs used in the dining area were made especially for the restaurant by a world-famous
designer and as such are made of highest quality wood and fabric. Carriages' owner prides himself
on the car parking service the restaurant offers diners when they arrive, as this is a feature other local
restaurants are currently unable to provide.
Solution
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4.2 The value chain and competitive advantage
The value chain concept is an important tool in analysing the organisation's strategic capability,
since it focuses on the overall means by which value is created, rather than on structural functions or
departments. There are two important, connected aspects to this analysis:
(a) It enables managers to establish the activities that are particularly important in providing
customers with the value they want. Such an understanding assists managers in
building a sustainable competitive advantage as consideration can be given to where
management attention and other resources are best applied, either to improve weaknesses or
to further exploit strengths.
(b) Value chain analysis can be extended to include an assessment of the costs and benefits
associated with the various value activities.
Activity 2: DRB Electronic Services

DRB Electronic Services (DRB) is based in Western Europe and imports electronic products from SK
Co, a supplier based in a highly developed Asian country. These products are then sold to business
and domestic customers in DRB's home market.
You are a management consultant, and the consultancy firm for which you work has been
approached by Dilip Masood the owner of DRB, who has requested some assistance in analysing
DRB's strategic capabilities.
Required
Using the information provided in Exhibit 1, ANALYSE the activities of DRB and comment on the
significance of each of these. (10 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating analysis skills in investigating the
significance of these activities and the value that they offer to DRB's customers. (2 marks)
(Total = 12 marks)
Exhibit 1 – DRB's activities
DRB Electronic Services (DRB) operates in a high labour cost environment; a key part of its operations
involve importing electronic products from a highly developed Asian country. It re-brands and re-
packages them as DRB products and then sells them to business and domestic customers in the local
geographical region. Its only current source of supply is SK Co (SK) which is based in a factory on
the outskirts of a major city in an Asian country. DRB regularly places orders for products through the
SK website and pays for them by credit card. As soon as the payment is confirmed SK automatically
emails DRB a confirmation of order, an order reference number and likely shipping date. When the
order is actually despatched, SK send DRB a notice of despatch email and a container reference
number. SK currently organises all the shipping of the products. The products are sent in containers
and then trans-shipped to EIF, the logistics company used by SK to distribute its products. EIF then
delivers the products to the DRB factory. Once they arrive, they are quality inspected and products
that pass the inspection are re-branded as DRB products (by adding appropriate logos) and
packaged in specially fabricated DRB boxes. These products are then stored ready for sale. All
customer sales are from stock. Products that fail the inspection are returned to SK.
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Currently 60% of sales are made to domestic customers and 40% to business customers. Domestic
customers pick up their products from DRB and set them up themselves. In contrast, most business
customers ask DRB to set up the electronic equipment at their offices, for which DRB makes a small
charge. DRB currently advertises its products in local and regional newspapers. DRB also has a
website which provides product details. Potential customers can enquire about the specification and
availability of products through an email facility in the website. DRB then emails an appropriate
response directly to the person making the enquiry. Payment for products cannot currently be made
through the website.
Feedback from existing business customers suggests that they particularly value the installation and
support offered by the company. The company employs specialist technicians who (for a fee) will
install equipment in both the homes and offices of its business customers. They will also come out and
troubleshoot problems with equipment that is still under warranty for both domestic and business
customers. DRB also offer a helpline and a back-to-base facility for customers whose products are out
of warranty. Feedback from current customers suggests that this support is highly valued. One
commented that 'it contrasts favourably with your large competitors who offer support through
impersonal off-shore call centres and a time-consuming returns policy'. Customers can also pay for
technicians to come on-site to sort out problems with out-of-warranty equipment.
DRB now plans to increase its product range and market share. It plans to grow from its current
turnover of $5m per annum to $12m per annum in two years' time. Dilip recognises that growth will
mean that the company has to sell more products outside its region and the technical installation and
support so valued by local customers will be difficult to maintain.
Solution
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5 Value network
As well as managing its own value chain, a firm can secure competitive advantage by managing the
linkages (ie relationships) with the value chains of its suppliers and customers. An organisation's
value chain is not bounded by an organisation's borders, it is connected to what Johnson et al
(2017) call a value network:
Distributor/retailer
value chains
Organisation's Customer
value chain value chains
Supplier
value chains
(Adapted from: Porter, 1985: p.35)
The value network: 'Is the set of inter-organisational links and relationships that are necessary to
create a product or service.' (Johnson et al, 2017)
Key term
The diagram illustrates the similarities between the value network and a supply chain. However,
whereas a supply chain shows the system of organisations, people, technology or activities involved
in transforming a product or service from its raw materials to a finished product to be delivered to the
end user customer, the value network places an emphasis on the value-creating capability within the
supply chain processes.
5.1 Relationships in the value network

It is possible for large organisations to exercise power over suppliers and customers in the value
network by using their bargaining power to achieve preferential purchase and selling prices.
Nonetheless careful management of the relationships in the value network can promote innovation
and the creation of knowledge between organisations.
Illustration 2
The following provides an illustration of an everyday value network.
When a restaurant serves a meal, the quality of the ingredients – although they are chosen by the
chef – is determined by the grower. The grower has added value, and the grower's success in
growing produce of good quality is as important to the customer's ultimate satisfaction as the skills of
the chef.
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6 SWOT analysis
SWOT analysis: Summarises the key issues from the business environment and the strategic
capability of an organisation that are most likely to impact on strategy development.
Key term
Performance Objective 3 'Strategy and Innovation' of the Practical Experience Requirement requires
you to 'develop financial acumen and commercial awareness. This will allow you to adopt and apply
PER alert
innovative methods and technologies to identify business problems and evaluate strategic options
and manage solutions. ' (ACCA, 2019b). Developing the ability to identify business problems and
weaknesses in organisational strategies and to then be able to recommend appropriate solutions
makes the following section on SWOT analysis particularly important. You are strongly advised to
take the time to read through this section carefully.
We examined the way in which opportunities and threats in the environment are detected and
analysed in the previous chapter. In this chapter, we have discussed the analysis of the
organisation's strategic capability; that is to say, its strengths and weaknesses. A complete
awareness of the organisation's environment and its internal capacities is necessary for a rational
consideration of future strategy, but it is not sufficient. The threads must be drawn together so that
potential strategies may be developed and assessed. This is done by combining the internal and
external analyses into a SWOT analysis or corporate appraisal:
Strengths Weaknesses
Internal
to the
company Conversion
Matching
Exist
independently Conversion
of the
company
Opportunities Threats
(Diagram: SWOT analysis model)
6.1 SWOT analysis in action

When conducting a SWOT analysis it is important to remember that the organisation's strengths and
weaknesses relate to its strategic capabilities whereas opportunities and threats come from the
external environment. By conducting a SWOT analysis an organisation is aiming to match its
strengths with the available market opportunities that it can exploit. Strengths that do not match any
available opportunity are of limited use, while opportunities which do not have any matching
strengths are of little immediate value.
Once conducted SWOT analysis should form the starting point from which future strategic options
can be assessed. Strategies need to be developed that convert weaknesses into strengths to take
advantage of some particular opportunity, or to convert a threat into an opportunity which can then
be matched by existing strengths.
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Essential reading
the Workbook, for detail about using a TOWS matrix. The TOWS matrix is a variant of the
traditional SWOT analysis and is particularly useful when evaluating strategies.
Syllabus links
In Chapter 7 we move on to explore the strategic options available to organisations. The results from
the SWOT analysis ultimately drive the viability of the strategic options available to an organisation.
Activity 3: The Marlow Fashion Group

Susan Grant is in something of a dilemma. She has been invited to join the board of the troubled
Marlow Fashion Group as a non-executive director but is uncertain as to the level and nature of her
contribution to the strategic thinking of the Group. Susan has approached the consultancy firm for
which you work and has requested a short report to help her better understand the Marlow Fashion
Group's current position.
Required
Using the information provided in Exhibit 1, write a short report to Susan Grant identifying and
explaining the strategic strengths and weaknesses in the Marlow Fashion Group. (10 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for communication skills by producing a concise, informed
report which addresses the matters requested by Susan Grant. (2 marks)
(Total = 12 marks)
Exhibit 1 – History of the group
The Marlow Fashion Group was set up by a husband and wife team a number of years ago in an
economically depressed part of Ecuria, a developed country in Western Europe. They produced a
comprehensive range of women's clothing built round the theme of traditional style and elegance.
The Group had the necessary skills to design, manufacture and retail its product range. The Marlow
brand was quickly established, and the company built up a loyal network of suppliers, workers in the
company factory and franchised retailers spread around the world.
Marlow Fashion Group's products were able to command premium prices in the world of fashion.
Rodney and Betty Marlow ensured that their commitment to traditional values created a strong family
atmosphere in its network of partners and were reluctant to change this.
Unfortunately, changes in the market for women's wear presented a major threat to Marlow Fashion.
First, women had become a much more active part of the workforce and demanded smarter, more
functional outfits to wear at work. Marlow Fashion's emphasis on soft, feminine styles became
increasingly dated. Second, the tight control exercised by Betty and Rodney Marlow and their
commitment to control of design, manufacturing and retailing left them vulnerable to competitors who
focused on just one of these core activities.
Third, there was a reluctance by the Marlows and their management team to acknowledge that a
significant fall in sales and profits were as a result of a fundamental shift in demand for women's
clothing. Finally, the share price of the company fell dramatically. Betty and Rodney Marlow retained
a significant minority ownership stake, but the company has had a new Chief Executive Officer every
year since.
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Solution
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Chapter summary
Strategic Strategic capability and sustainable Organisational

capability competitive advantage knowledge
Resources and Four qualities Knowledge is a major

competences source of competitive
Threshold resources and advantage
competences/unique Value
resources and core Need to be valued by the customer and/or
competences organisation Organisational learning
Culture that values
intuition, argument from
Competitive advantage Rarity conflicting views and
Competitive advantage Competitors cannot obtain same resource/ experimentation
is the term used to competence
describe the ability of an
organisation to generate Knowledge
greater returns than Inimitability management
those of competitors Competitors cannot copy the resource/competence Exploit existing
over the long term knowledge and to create
new knowledge so that it
Organisational support may be exploited in turn
The organisation must be able to support its
capabilities, including its processes and systems
Knowledge
management
technology
Dynamic capabilities
Sophisticated IT systems
The ability to develop and change competences in
to facilitate knowledge
response to changing environments
management
Porter's value chain (1985) Value network SWOT analysis
Framework for assessing the strategic capabilities Set of inter- Strengths, weaknesses,
(activities) of an organisation organisational links and opportunities and
relationships threats
Components of the value chain

• Margin is the excess the customer is prepared to Relationships in the SWOT analysis in action
pay over the cost to the firm value network • Strengths and
• Activities can be primary or supporting Bargaining power/ weaknesses are
promote innovation internal
• Opportunities and
The value chain and competitive advantage threats are external
Managers can focus on those activities that give • Lead to strategic
customers what they want/assess costs and benefits options
of certain activities
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1. Strategic capability is fundamentally concerned with the internal strengths and weaknesses of an
organisation.
2. Strategic capability consists of resources and competences. Threshold resources and
competences are those needed to meet the customer's minimum requirements. Unique resources
and core competences underpin competitive advantages and cannot be easily imitated or
obtained.
3. Competitive advantage describes the ability of an organisation to generate greater returns than
its competitors.
4. Resources and competences can provide a sustainable competitive advantage. They must
possess four qualities: value, rarity, inimitability, and provide organisational support.
5. Constant environmental change makes possessing dynamic capabilities strategically important.
Dynamic capabilities concern the ability to develop and change competences quickly.
6. Organisational knowledge can be a major factor in creating sustainable competitive
advantage. Knowledge management is aimed at exploiting existing knowledge with a view to
creating new knowledge.
7. Knowledge management technology including office automation systems, groupware, and
intranets are increasingly being used to capture and disseminate knowledge.
8. Porter's value chain is used to assess the strategic capabilities of an organisation, what it does
and how it does it. It focuses on primary and support activities.
9. The value network concerns the linkages with the value chains of an organisation's suppliers
and customers.
10. SWOT analysis draws together the internal strengths and weaknesses in an organisation's
strategic capabilities, and the external opportunities and threats which exist. The results from the
analysis are then used to assess future strategic options.
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Question practice
Workbook):
Q5 Chelsea Co
Further reading
If you have not already reviewed this article, then you are strongly advised to do so. The article considers
the impact of the strategic planning process in relation to organisational resources.
Own research
 Research an organisation with which you are familiar such as a well-known retailer or airline and
identify those threshold resources and competences which allow it to meet its customer's minimum
requirements. If you are struggling to find an organisation to consider you may find it helpful to
choose a well-known business listed on a recognised stock exchange such as the FTSE 100.
 Identify the organisation's unique resources and core competences. Have these unique resources and
core competences given the organisation a sustainable competitive advantage?
 Use the value chain model as a framework to assess the strengths and weaknesses in the
organisation's primary and secondary activities. How can the organisation address the weaknesses
that you identify?
 What opportunities and threats does the organisation face?
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Exercise answer
Exercise 1
Unique resources Core competences
 Presence of a celebrity chef to improve  Skilled cooking processes

brand awareness  Creativity in creating dishes
 Unique location, eg in a castle  Delivering good customer service
 Ownership of secret recipes
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146
Competitive advantage
and strategic choice
Learning objectives
Syllabus
reference no.
Assess the opportunities and potential problems of pursuing different organisation C5(b)
strategies of product/market diversification from a national, multinational and
global perspective
Advise on how the 7 Ps, including price-based strategies, differentiation and lock- C5(c)
in can help an organisation sustain its competitive advantage
Apply the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and public sector matrix portfolio C5(d)
models to assist organisations in managing their organisational portfolios
Recommend generic development directions using the Ansoff matrix C5(e)
Assess how internal development, or business combinations, strategic alliances C5(f)

and partnering can be used to achieve business growth
Assess the suitability, feasibility and acceptability of different strategic options to C5(a)
an organisation

At the end of Chapter 5 we explored the important role that SWOT analysis plays in the process of
setting strategy. Having considered the organisation's internal strengths and weaknesses, and having
matched these to the external opportunities and threats we now move on to consider the strategic
choices available. As would be expected the strategic options available will vary from organisation
to organisation and will be driven by a range of factors. The aim for the organisation is to undertake
those strategies which help it to create a sustainable competitive advantage.
This is an important chapter as it introduces a number of very important models and frameworks
which senior management can use as they formulate the future direction of the organisation. We
begin the chapter by exploring the work of Porter's generic strategies as the decisions made here
form the basis of future strategic choices.
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Chapter overview
Competitive advantage and strategic choice
Competitive Sustainable Managing Product-market

advantage and competitive organisational strategy: direction
strategic choice advantage portfolios of growth
Porter's generic The seven Ps The BCG Matrix Growth vector matrix
strategies
Price-based, The public sector

differentiation portfolio matrix
and lock-in
Diversity of products Methods of Suitability, acceptability

and markets development and feasibility
Types of diversification Internal development Suitability
International diversification Business combinations Acceptability
Partnering Feasibility
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6: Competitive advantage and strategic choice
1 Competitive advantage and strategic choice

1.1 Porter's generic strategies
We begin our consideration of strategic choice by exploring the work of Michael Porter (1980). You
should recall from the previous chapter that the concept of competitive advantage is concerned with
anything which gives one organisation an edge over its rivals. Porter (1980) argued that
organisations need to adopt an appropriate competitive strategy (Porter referred to them as generic
strategies) which will help them to achieve a competitive advantage. Porter (1980) suggested that
organisations must first decide upon its competitive basis, being either to compete on the basis of
lowest cost, or to differentiate. Porter argued that to do neither and be 'stuck in the middle' would
lead to an inability to compete over the long term, as illustrated below.
Cost leader Stuck in the Differentiator
middle
Potentially
higher profit
Potentially Low Profit
higher profit
Low Costs High Costs High Costs
Once the competitive basis has been decided Porter (1980) argues that organisations need to
determine their competitive scope:
 Narrow target (focus) – aimed at a defined market group only
 Broad target – available to the market as a whole
Competitive basis
Cost drive Differentiation driven
Broad
Cost leadership Differentiation
Competitive scope
Cost focus Differentiated focus
Narrow
Cost leadership: Means being the lowest cost producer in the industry as a whole.
Key terms
Differentiation: Is the exploitation of a product or service which the industry as a whole believes to
be unique.
Focus: Involves a restriction of activities to only part of the market (a segment).
 Providing goods and/or services at lower cost (cost focus)
 Providing a differentiated product or service (differentiation focus)
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1.1.1 Cost leadership
Porter (1980) suggests that a cost leadership strategy seeks to achieve the position of lowest-cost
producer in the industry as a whole. By producing at the lowest cost, the manufacturer can
compete on price with every other producer in the industry, and earn the higher unit profits, if the
manufacturer so chooses.
How to achieve overall cost leadership
(a) Set up production facilities to obtain economies of scale
(b) Use the latest technology to reduce costs and/or enhance productivity (or use cheap
labour if available)
(c) In high technology industries, and in industries depending on labour skills for product design
and production methods, exploit the learning curve effect. By producing more items than
any other competitor, an organisation can benefit more from the learning curve, and achieve
lower average costs.
(d) Concentrate on improving productivity
(e) Minimise overhead costs
(f) Get favourable access to sources of supply
1.1.2 Differentiation
Porter (1980) suggests that a differentiation strategy assumes that competitive advantage can be
gained through particular characteristics of an organisation's products.
Products may be divided into three categories.
(a) Breakthrough products offer a radical performance advantage over the competition,
perhaps at a drastically lower price. Innovation in product design and performance is often
central to breakthrough products, for example, the Powermat which can charge mobile
devices without the need for conventional wired power charging.
(b) Improved products are not radically different from their competition but are obviously
superior in terms of better performance at a competitive price (eg microchips).
(c) Competitive products derive their appeal from a particular compromise of cost and
performance. For example, cars are not all sold at rock-bottom prices, nor do they all provide
immaculate comfort and performance. They compete with each other by trying to offer a more
attractive compromise than rival models.
How to differentiate
(a) Build up a brand image
(b) Give the product special features to make it stand out
(c) Exploit other activities of the value chain (for example, quality of after-sales service or
speed of delivery)
(d) Use IT and innovation to create new services or product features
(e) Build customer relationships through effective branding and marketing
(f) Create complementary products and/or services, for example Apple's app store
allows the users of its phones and tablets to download apps
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1.1.3 Focus (or niche) strategy

Porter (1980) notes that a focus strategy requires an organisation to concentrate its attention on one
or more particular segments or niches of the market, and does not try to serve the entire market with
a single product.
(a) A cost focus strategy: aim to be a cost leader for a particular segment. This type of
strategy is often found in the printing, clothes manufacture and car repair industries.
(b) A differentiation focus strategy: pursue differentiation for a chosen segment. Luxury
goods suppliers are the prime exponents of such a strategy.
Porter (1980) suggests that a focus strategy can achieve competitive advantage when 'broad-
scope' businesses succumb to one of two errors.
(a) Underperformance occurs when a product does not fully meet the needs of a segment and
offers the opportunity for a differentiation focus player.
(b) Overperformance gives a segment more than it really wants and provides an opportunity
for a cost focus player.
Advantages
(a) A niche is more secure and an organisation can insulate itself from competition.
(b) The organisation does not spread itself too thinly.
(c) Both cost leadership and differentiation require superior performance – life is easier in a
niche, where there may be little or no competition.
Drawbacks of a focus strategy
(a) The organisation sacrifices economies of scale which would be gained by serving a wider
market.
(b) Competitors can move into the segment, with increased resources (eg the Japanese moved into
the US luxury car market, to compete with German car makers).
(c) The segment's needs may eventually become less distinct from the main market.
1.1.4 Which generic strategy?

Although there is a risk with any of the generic strategies, Porter (1980) argues that an organisation
must pursue one of them. A stuck-in-the-middle strategy is almost certain to make only low
profits. 'This firm lacks the market share, capital investment and resolve to play the low-cost game,
the industry-wide differentiation necessary to obviate the need for a low-cost position, or the focus to
create differentiation or a low-cost position in a more limited sphere.'
Essential reading
the Workbook, for detail relating to the conceptual difficulties of using generic strategies.
2 Sustainable competitive advantage

Creating a sustainable competitive advantage requires organisations to make important decisions
about the strategic options available to them.
2.1 The seven Ps

The strategic choices an organisation makes regarding its marketing strategy will be driven by its
choice of generic strategy. Creating a marketing strategy involves developing and tailoring elements
of the so-called marketing mix.
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Marketing mix: Is the set of controllable variables and their levels that the organisation uses to
influence the target market.
Key term
The concept of the marketing mix consisting of the so-called 4Ps was devised by McCarthy (1960);
this was extended to 7Ps by Booms and Bitner (1981).
The extended marketing mix consists of seven Ps:
(a) Product – the item/good purchased by the customer. From a customer's point of view, this
will be a solution to a problem or package of benefits.
(b) Place – how the product is delivered to customers. For example, sold in shops or online.
(c) Promotion – the activities involved in telling the customer or potential customer(s) about the
product. For example, advertising, sales promotions, public relations
(d) Price – setting an appropriate price with reference to factors such as cost, competitors' prices,
perceived quality, firm strategy etc.
(e) People – the interaction between customers and the organisation's staff.
(f) Processes – fast and efficient processes (eg booking a service) may bring significant
marketing advantages
(g) Physical evidence – as services are intangible, it is sometimes important to provide
evidence of ownership, eg a ticket to travel or certificate of attainment for training
The final three elements listed above (people, processes, physical evidence) are also known as the
service marketing mix as they related specifically to the marketing of services, rather than physical
products. The intangible nature of services makes these extra three Ps particularly important.
Exercise 1: Marketing mix

Required
Consider how you would market Product Princess, a new cosmetic, to the teenage market. How
would you use the traditional 4Ps (product, place, promotion, price) of the marketing mix to go after
that market and successfully sell this new product?
Solution
152
Essential reading
the Workbook, for more detail relating to the seven Ps.
2.2 Price-based, differentiation and lock-in

To generate long-term value, any advantage based on price or differentiation must be sustainable,
meaning it is hard for others to copy or obtain.
2.2.1 Sustaining price-based strategies
Johnson et al (2017) note a number of ways in which a price-based strategy can be sustained:
(a) Low margins can be sustained, either by increased volumes or by cross-subsidisation from
another business unit.
(b) A cost leader can operate at a price advantage, but to be sustainable, cost leaders must
constantly and aggressively drive down all of their costs.
(c) A cost leader or an organisation with extensive financial resources can win a price war.
(d) A no-frills strategy can succeed in the long term if it is aimed at a segment that particularly
appreciates low price.
2.2.2 Sustaining differentiation

Sustaining differentiation is difficult. To begin with, it is more than just being different: the difference
must be valued by customers. Secondly, a difference that a competitor can easily imitate gives
no sustainable advantage. Johnson et al (2017) note the following:
(a) Attempts at imitation can be obstructed by, for example, securing preferred access to
customers or suppliers through bidding or licensing procedures.
(b) Some resources are inherently immobile. This can be the result of intangibility, as in the
case of brands; high customer switching costs, as with proprietary technology; or
co-specialisation, which occurs when organisations' value chains are intimately linked.
(c) Cost advantage can be used to sustain differentiation, rather than price advantage, by
investing in innovation, brand management or quality improvement.
2.2.3 Lock-in
Lock-in: Is achieved in a market when an organisation's product becomes the industry standard.
Key term
Hax and Wilde (1999) proposed the concept of lock-in in relation to creating a sustainable
competitive advantage. Lock-in is achieved in a market when an organisation's product becomes
the industry standard (Johnson et al, 2017). Direct competitors are reduced to minor niches and
compatibility with the industry standard becomes a prerequisite for complementary products.
3 Managing organisational portfolios

Matrix-based models such as the BCG matrix and the public sector portfolio matrix can be used by
organisations to manage their activities. They can also be used by an organisation's management as
a tool in making decisions about the future direction of the organisation.
3.1 The BCG matrix

Many profit-making organisations consist, essentially, of a number of strategic business units (SBUs)
and a corporate parent. The term conglomerate is sometimes used to describe large
organisations which consist of many diversified strategic business units (individual businesses).
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Perhaps one of the most well-known conglomerates is South Korea's Samsung which operates in a
range of diverse markets from pharmaceuticals to electronics. Each SBU has its own products, with
which it serves its own market sector, and its managers are, to a greater or lesser extent, responsible
for its overall success (or failure). Corporate parents can use a number of models to help them make
strategic choices regarding the management of their collection of SBUs for maximum advantage.
The BCG matrix devised by Henderson (1970) categorises SBUs in terms of market growth rate
and relative market share. It assesses SBUs based on financial performance only.
Assessing rate of market growth (eg sales growth in the industry as a whole) as high or low
depends on the conditions in the market. No single percentage rate can be set, since new markets
may grow explosively while mature ones grow hardly at all. High market growth rate can indicate
good opportunities for profitable operations. However, intense competition in a high growth market
can erode profit, while a slowly growing market with high barriers to entry can be very profitable.
Relative market share is assessed as a ratio: it is market share (eg sales turnover of own
organisation) compared with the market share (sales turnover) of the largest competitor. Thus, a
relative market share greater than unity indicates that the SBU is the market leader. Henderson
(1970) settled on market share as a way of estimating costs and thus profit potential, because
both costs and market share are connected with production experience: as experience in
satisfying a particular market demand for value increases, market share can be expected to increase
also, and costs to fall.
BCG matrix
Relative market share
High Low
High Stars Question marks
Market growth
Low Cash cows Dogs
(Adapted from: Henderson, 1970)

According to their position on the matrix, SBUs will be categorised as follows:
 Stars offer good future returns so the parent needs to invest in and develop them. Due to the
industry life cycle, stars will become cash cows in time.
 Cash cows do not need much investment so will generate cash income. Parents can use this
cash to invest in stars or simply provide a return to shareholders.
 Question marks should be assessed to see whether they have the potential to become stars.
If so, the parent should invest in them; if not, they should be sold or run down.
 Dogs can tie up funds and provide a poor return. In general, they should be sold off although
may be retained if they are a useful niche business.
Ideally the portfolio should be balanced, with cash cows providing finance for stars and question
marks; and a minimum of dogs.
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Activity 1: Shoal plc

The date is early 20X3.

You work for Consult-Us, a well-known consultancy firm. You are currently undertaking an assignment
on behalf of Shoal plc. Shoal plc owns three companies which are concerned with fishing and
related industries. Your assignment requires you to give a presentation to the board of directors. Part
of your presentation is to focus on the balance of Shoal plc's portfolio of companies. The board want
to find out what future actions they should take in respect of Shoal plc's current business units.
Certain members of the board believe that some of the SBUs would benefit from further investment,
while others believe that it may be time to divest certain activities. It is your understanding that the
board's request for help is being driven by a recent announcement that Shoal plc is to purchase the
Captain Haddock chain of fish restaurants. Your colleague has prepared some notes (Exhibit 1) for
you on the three Shoal plc companies.
Required
Prepare information for ONE presentation slide to be presented to the Shoal plc board of directors,
including relevant points and brief supporting notes which analyse the position of the three
companies in Shoal plc's portfolio. Recommend the actions that Shoal plc should take in respect of
the three companies. (15 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating commercial acumen by displaying
judgement when analysing the position and contribution of the three companies to Shoal plc.
(2 marks)
(Total = 17 marks)
Exhibit 1: Shoal plc's three companies
ShoalFish Ltd (ShoalFish) – a fishing fleet operating in the western oceans
Shoal plc formed ShoalFish many years ago when it bought three small fishing fleets and
consolidated them into one fleet. The primary objective of the acquisition was to secure supplies for
ShoalPro. Forty per cent of the fish caught by ShoalFish are currently processed in the ShoalPro
factories. The rest are sold in wholesale fish markets. ShoalFish has recorded modest profits since its
formation but it is operating in a challenging market. The western oceans where it operates have
suffered from many years of over-fishing and the government has recently introduced quotas in an
attempt to conserve fish stocks. Today ShoalFish has 35 boats and this makes it the sixth largest fleet
in the western oceans. Almost half of the total number of boats operating in the western oceans are
individually owned and independently operated by the boat's captain. Financial information for
ShoalFish:
20X0 20X1 20X2
$m $m $m
ShoalFish
Turnover of market sector 200.00 198.50 190.00
Turnover of ShoalFish 24.00 23.50 21.50
ShoalPro Ltd (ShoalPro) – a company concerned with processing and canning fish
ShoalPro was acquired nearly 20 years ago when Shoal plc bought the assets of the Trevarez
Canning and Processing Company. Just after the acquisition of the company, the government
declared the area around Trevarez a 'zone of industrial assistance'. Grants were made available to
develop industry in an attempt to address the economic decline and high unemployment of the area.
ShoalPro benefited from these grants, developing a major fish processing and canning capability in
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the area. However, despite this initiative and investment, unemployment in the area still remains
above the average for the country as a whole. ShoalPro's modern facilities and relatively low costs
have made it attractive to many fishing companies. The fish received from ShoalFish now accounts
for a declining percentage of the total amount of fish processed and canned in its factories in the
Trevarez area. Financial information for ShoalPro:
20X0 20X1 20X2
$m $m $m
ShoalPro
Turnover of ShoalPro 16.00 16.20 16.50
ShoalFarm Ltd (ShoalFarm) – a company with saltwater fish farms
ShoalFarm was acquired five years ago as a response by Shoal plc to the declining fish stocks in the
western oceans. It owns and operates saltwater fish farms. These are in areas of the ocean close to
land where fish are protected from both fishermen and natural prey, such as sea birds. Fish stocks
can be built up quickly and then harvested by the fish farm owner. Shoal plc originally saw this
acquisition as a way of maintaining supply to ShoalPro. Operating costs at ShoalFarm have been
higher than expected and securing areas for new fish farms has been difficult and has required
greater investment than expected. Financial information for ShoalFarm is as follows:
20X0 20X1 20X2
$m $m $m
ShoalFarm
Turnover of ShoalFarm 1.00 1.10 1.12
Solution
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3.2 The public sector portfolio matrix

The public sector portfolio matrix (Montanari and Bracker, 1986) classifies activities in terms
of their popularity and the resources available for them. The matrix provides for an analysis of
services provided by public sector bodies, which can prove useful particularly when making strategic
decisions about public sector activities.
This might be applied at the level of local or national government, or an executive agency with a
portfolio of services. The axes are an assessment of service efficiency and public attractiveness:
naturally, political support for a service or organisation depends to a great extent on the degree to
which the public need and appreciate it.
Public sector portfolio matrix
Ability to serve effectively

High Low
High
Public sector star Political hot box
Public or political
need (and therefore
support for expense)
Golden fleece Back drawer issue
Low
(Adapted from: Montanari and Bracker, 1986)

Montanari and Bracker (1986) classify public sector organisations as follows:
 A public sector star is something that the system is doing well and should not change. They
are essential to the viability of the system.
 Political hot boxes are services that the public wants, or which are mandated, but for
which there are not adequate resources or competences.
 Golden fleeces are services that are done well but for which there is low demand. They may
therefore be perceived to be undesirable uses for limited resources. They are potential targets
for cost cutting.
 Back drawer issues are unappreciated and have low priority for funding. They are
obvious candidates for cuts, but if managers perceive them as essential, they should attempt to
increase support for them and move them into the political hot box category.
4 Product-market strategy: direction of growth

We now move on to consider the strategic choices facing organisations in respect of their product-
market strategies.
Product-market strategies involve determining which products should be sold in which markets, by
market penetration, market development, product development and diversification. Diversification is
assumed to be risky, especially diversification that is entirely unrelated to current products and
markets.
Product-market mix: Is a shorthand term for the products and services a firm sells (or a service
which a public sector organisation provides) and the markets it sells them to.
Key term
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4.1 Growth vector matrix
Ansoff (1987) drew up a growth vector matrix, describing how a combination of a firm's
activities in current and new markets, with existing and new products, can lead to growth.
Products
Existing New
Existing Market Product

Penetration Development
Markets
New Market Diversification

Development
Diagram: Growth vector matrix (Ansoff, 1987)

 Market penetration means increasing market share of existing products via promotions,
price reductions, increasing usage etc. It represents a relatively low-risk strategy since it
requires no capital investment. As such, it is attractive to the unadventurous type of
organisation. This approach can also apply to an organisation which simply wants to maintain
or even reduce its position in a market.
 Market development means seeking new customers for existing products, eg exporting or
selling via new distribution channels. Risk here is still reasonably low.
 Product development is selling new products to existing customers ('cross-selling'). This
strategy is riskier than both market penetration and market development since it is likely to
require major investment in the new product development process and, for physical products, in
suitable production facilities.
 Diversification, selling new products to new customers, may offer significant growth potential
but it is risky as it may require significant investment and new competences.
5 Diversity of products and markets

In the previous section we introduced diversification as a strategy that organisations can pursue. In
this section we consider the advantages and potential issues associated with diversification, the
different types of diversification strategy which exist, before moving on to consider international
diversification. In the past it was not uncommon for organisations to produce and sell one type of
product to customers operating in the organisation's home market. In recent decades it has become
increasingly common for larger organisations to modify the types of products they sell and the
markets in which they operate; this is known as diversification.
5.1 The need for diversification

Johnson et al (2017) highlight a number of advantages of diversification. They also give three
questionable reasons often used by management to justify a policy of diversification:
Advantages: Questionable reasons for diversification:

Economies of scope (as opposed to To respond to environmental change in
economies of scale) may result from the greater order to protect shareholder value by, for
use of under-utilised resources. These example, responding to the emergence of new
benefits are often referred to as synergy. and threatening technology developments.
This can, however, be used as a cover to protect
the interests of top management; typically, this
will lead to ill-considered acquisitions that
destroy value.
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Advantages: Questionable reasons for diversification:

Corporate management skills may be Risk spreading can be a valid reason for an
extendible across a range of unrelated owner-managed business to diversify, but
businesses. Richard Branson's Virgin Group is a modern financial theory suggests that
good example. shareholders in large corporations can manage
their risk exposure better themselves by
diversifying their own share portfolios.
Diversification can increase market power The expectations of powerful
via cross-subsidisation. A high-margin business stakeholders can lead to inappropriate
unit can subsidise a low-margin one, enabling it strategies generally.
to create a price advantage over its rivals and
build market share.
Diversification in some cases allows
organisations to exploit existing superior
internal processes to seize opportunities to
establish new businesses. This often happens
when external processes, such as those relating
to capital and labour markets are deemed to be
inefficient.
5.2 Types of diversification

Diversification can take the form of related or unrelated diversification.
5.2.1 Related diversification
Related diversification: Is strategy development beyond current products and markets but within
the capabilities or value network of the organisation (Johnson et al 2017).
Key term
Related diversification can be achieved through either horizontal or vertical integration:
Horizontal integration makes use of current Vertical integration occurs when an

capabilities by development into activities that organisation expands backwards or
are competitive with, or directly forwards within its existing value network and
complementary to, an organisation's present thus becomes its own supplier or distributor. For
activities. An example would be a TV company example, backward integration would occur
that moved into film production. if a milk processing business acquired its own
dairy farms, rather than buying raw milk from
independent farmers. If a cloth manufacturer
began to produce shirts instead of selling all of
its cloth to other shirt manufacturers that would
be forward integration.
Horizontal integration: Makes use of current capabilities by development into activities that are
competitive with, or directly complementary to, an organisation's present activities.
Key terms
Vertical integration: Occurs when an organisation expands backwards or forwards within its
existing value network and thus becomes its own supplier or distributor.
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Real world examples
 Horizontal integration. In August 2014 Bradshaw and Mishkin (2014) noted that online
retailer, Amazon, had paid $970m to buy video-gaming service Twitch. Formerly known as
Twitch.tv, Twitch enables users to watch other people play video games online. Amazon's
acquisition of Twitch was in response to the emergence of YouTube and Netflix. The purchase
of Twitch enabled Amazon to reach committed gamers, and was seen by many as a natural
extension of Amazon's existing offering. Amazon's Prime service already allows subscribers to
stream television shows and movies. In August 2016 Hsu (2016) highlighted that since the
acquisition 'Twitch had come close to doubling its monthly visitors and had greatly expanded
its base of streamers, with more than 100 million visitors watching more than 1.7 million
streamers each month.'
 Vertical integration. In July 2014 Anzolin (2014) reported that Italy's Ferrero – maker of
Nutella chocolate spread and Ferrero Rocher chocolates – had purchased Turkey's largest
hazelnut company, Oltan Gida. Ferrero's acquisition of Oltan Gida was viewed as an attempt
to secure the company's supply of hazelnuts for use in its products. Subsequently, in July
2015, Ferrero acquired UK company Thorntons, gaining access to retail outlets in an example
of forward vertical integration.
5.2.2 Advantages and disadvantages of vertical integration

The following table outlines the key advantages and disadvantages of vertical integration:
Secure supply of components or Overconcentration. Such a policy is fairly

materials, hence lower supplier bargaining inflexible, more sensitive to instabilities and
power increases the firm's dependence on a particular
aspect of economic demand.
Stronger relationships with the final The firm fails to benefit from any
consumer of the product economies of scale or technical
advances in the industry into which it has
diversified. This is why, in the publishing
industry, most printing is subcontracted to
specialist printing firms, who can work
machinery to capacity by doing work for many
firms.
A share of the profits at all stages of the value

network
More effective pursuit of a differentiation

strategy
Creation of barriers to entry
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Activity 2: Elite Fabrics

Evaluation: Assess
Your firm has recently been appointed to provide management consultancy services to Elite Fabrics
(EF), a medium-sized manufacturer of clothing fabrics and clothes. The board at EF are considering
integrating the company even further forward into retailing. They would like your help so that they
can gain a better understanding of the implications of this proposal. They have provided you with
some background information (Exhibit 1) on EF to assist you with your work.
Required
EF's potential expansion into retailing presents both advantages and disadvantages to the company.
Using the information provided (Exhibit 1) evaluate the consequences of such a move for the business
and assess the change in competences which would be required by the newly expanded business.
(10 marks)
consequences of EF's move into retailing. (2 marks)
(Total = 12 marks)
Exhibit 1 – Background information on EF
Historically, EF has built up a strong reputation as a quality fabric manufacturer with appealing
designs and has concentrated mainly on the women's market, producing fabrics to be made up into
dresses and suits. The designs of the fabric are mainly of a traditional nature but the fabrics, almost
all woven from synthetic yarns, include all the novel features which the large yarn producers are
developing.
Three years ago EF decided that more profit and improved control could be obtained by diversifying
through forward integration into designing and manufacturing the end products (ie clothes) in-house
rather than by selling its fabrics directly to clothing manufacturing companies.
EF's intention had been to complement its fabric design skills with the skills of both dress design and
production. This had been achieved by buying a small but well-known dress design and
manufacturing company specialising in traditional products, targeted mainly at the middle-aged and
middle-income markets. This acquisition appears to have been successful, with combined sales
turnover during the first two years increasing to $100m (+ 34%) with a pre-tax profit of $14m
(+ 42%). This increased turnover and profit could be attributed to two main factors: firstly, the added
value generated by designing and manufacturing end-products and secondly, the increased demand
for fabrics as EF was more able to influence its end-users more directly.
In the last financial year, however, EF had experienced a slowdown in its level of growth and
profitability. EF's penetration of its chosen retail segment – the independent stores specialising in
sales to the middle-class market – may well have reached saturation point. The business had also
attempted to continue expansion by targeting the large multiple stores which currently dominate the
retail fashion sector. Unfortunately, the buying power of such stores has forced EF to accept
significantly lower, and potentially unacceptable, profit margins. The management team at EF
believes that the solution is to integrate even further forward by moving into retailing itself. EF is now
considering the purchase of a chain of small, but geographically dispersed, retail fashion stores. At
the selling price of $35m, EF would have to borrow substantially to finance the acquisition.
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Solution
5.2.3 Unrelated diversification
Unrelated diversification: Is the development of products or services beyond the current

capabilities or value network (Johnson et al, 2017).
Key term
Unrelated diversification produces the type of organisation known as a conglomerate.

Conglomerate diversification involves the development of a portfolio of businesses with no similarities
between them.
5.2.4 Advantages and disadvantages of conglomerate diversification

The following table outlines the key advantages and disadvantages of conglomerate diversification:
Risk-spreading. Entering new products into The dilution of shareholders' earnings if

new markets can compensate for the failure of diversification is into growth industries with high
current products and markets. P/E ratios.
Improved profit opportunities. An Lack of a common identity and purpose

improvement of the overall profitability and in a conglomerate organisation. A conglomerate
flexibility of the firm may arise through will only be successful if it has a high quality of
acquisition in industries with better prospects management and financial ability at central
than those of the acquiring firms. headquarters, where the diverse operations are
brought together.
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Escape from a declining market. Failure in one of the businesses may

drag down the rest, as it will eat up
resources.
Use an organisation's image and Lack of management experience.

reputation in one market to develop into Japanese steel companies diversified into areas
another where corporate image and reputation completely unrelated to steel, such as personal
could be vital ingredients for success. computers, with limited success.
5.2.5 Diversity and strategic success

Johnson et al (2017) highlight that organisations undertaking a limited degree of related
diversification are likely to perform better than those that remain undiversified. However, as
the degree of diversification increases, the rate of performance improvement is likely to reduce and
may then become negative as the organisation becomes extensively diversified into unrelated fields.
5.3 International diversification

The growth in the number of organisations diversifying their operations internationally has been
driven by globalisation.
Globalisation: Refers to the growing interdependence of countries worldwide through increased

trade, increased capital flows and the rapid diffusion of technology.
Key term
The rise of globalisation has meant a growth in the number of suppliers exporting to, or trading in, a
wider variety of places. In many domestic markets, it is now likely that the same international
companies will be competing with one another.
5.3.1 Management orientation
International product/market diversification requires organisations to adopt an appropriate
management orientation. Perlmutter (1969) identified three orientations for use in the management of
international business: ethnocentrism, polycentrism and geocentrism. Regiocentrism was later added
by Wind et al (1973).
Ethnocentrism
Ethnocentrism: Is a home country orientation. The organisation focuses on its domestic market and
sees exports as secondary to domestic marketing.
Key term
This approach simply ignores any inter-country differences which exist. Ethnocentric companies will
tend to market the same products with the same marketing programmes in foreign countries as at
home. Marketing management is centralised in the home country and the marketing mix is
standardised. There is no local market research or adaptation of promotion. As a result, market
opportunities may not be fully exploited and foreign customers may be alienated by the approach.
Polycentrism
Polycentrism: Involves the formulation of objectives on the assumption that it is necessary to adapt
almost totally the product and the marketing programme to each local environment. Thus, the various
Key term
country subsidiaries (SBUs) of a multinational corporation are free to formulate their own objectives
and plans.
The polycentric organisation believes that each country is unique. It therefore establishes largely
independent local subsidiaries (SBUs) and decentralises its marketing management. This can produce
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major increases in turnover but the loss of economies of scale can seriously damage profitability.
Such companies tend to think of themselves as multinationals.
Geocentrism and regiocentrism
Geocentrism and regiocentrism: Are based on the assumption that there are both similarities
and differences between countries that can be incorporated into regional or world objectives and
Key terms
strategies.
Geocentrism and regiocentrism differ only in geographical terms: the first deals with the world
as a unity, while the second considers that there are differences between regions.
Geocentrism treats the issues of standardisation and adaptation on their merits so as to formulate
objectives and strategies that exploit markets fully while minimising costs. The aim is to create a
global strategy that is fully responsive to local market differences. This has been summed up as: 'think
globally, act locally'. Geocentric companies use an integrated approach to marketing
management. Each country's conditions are given due consideration, but no one country dominates.
A great deal of experience and commitment are required to make this approach work. A strong,
globally recognised brand is a major aspect of the marketing approach. Geocentrically oriented
companies both promote and benefit from market convergence.
6 Methods of development
Once management have determined which products they want to sell and the markets they want to
operate in, decisions must then be made regarding how best to go about achieving these objectives.
This brings us on to methods of development. A range of methods are available to organisations.
6.1 Internal development
Internal development (sometimes referred to as organic growth): Is the primary method

of growth for many organisations, for a number of reasons.
Key term
Internal development is achieved through the development of internal resources.
Reasons for pursuing internal Problems with internal development

development
Learning. The process of developing a new Time – sometimes it takes a long time to
product gives the firm the best understanding of descend a learning curve.
the market and the product.
Innovation. It might be the only sensible way Barriers to entry (eg distribution networks)
to pursue genuine technological innovations, and are harder to overcome: for example, a brand
exploit them. image
Internal development can be planned The firm will have to acquire the resources
more meticulously and offers little disruption. independently.
The same style of management and Internal development may be too slow for the
corporate culture can be maintained. dynamics of the market.
There is no suitable target for acquisition.
Internal development is probably ideal for market penetration, and suitable for product or market
development, but it might be a problem with extensive diversification projects.
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6.2 Business combinations
Business combination: Occurs where an entity enters into formal, legal relationships with another
entity through some form of joint ownership. Acquisitions and mergers are common types of business
Key term
combination.
A key feature of a business combination is that it involves bringing together two (or more) entities that
were previously independent of one another, and combining them for a common purpose. The
associate relationship that is created when one entity purchases less than 50% of the shares in
another entity is also a type of business combination. You may recall from your Financial Reporting
studies that an associate relationship is formed when one party is able to exert significant influence
over the other without having full control as would be the case with a subsidiary.
Acquisition: Involves the purchase of one entity by another.

Key terms Merger: Involves two separate organisations joining together to form a single entity.
An acquisition involves the purchase of one entity by another, whereas a merger involves two
separate organisations joining together to form a single entity. The rationale often given by
management for acquisitions and mergers is that it provides greater opportunities for business
growth, than if both entities remained independent of one another. Other explanations given for
acquisitions and mergers are provided below:
Reasons for acquisitions and mergers Problems with acquisitions and mergers
Buy in a new product range Cost. They might be too expensive, especially if
resisted by the directors of the target
organisation
Buy a market presence (especially true if Customers of the target organisation might
acquiring a foreign organisation) resent a sudden takeover and consider going to
other suppliers for their goods
Buy in technology, intellectual property Incompatibility. Problems of assimilating new

and skills products, customers, suppliers, markets,
employees and different systems of operating
might create 'indigestion' and management
overload in the acquiring organisation. A
proposed merger between two financial
institutions was called off because of
incompatible information systems
Obtain greater production capacity Asymmetric information. The existing

management know more about the organisation
than the purchaser. This can lead the purchaser
to pay more than the real value of the
organisation to acquire it
Safeguard future supplies of raw materials Driven by the personal goals of the
acquiring organisation's managers, as a form of
sport, perhaps
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Reasons for acquisitions and mergers Problems with acquisitions and mergers
Gain undervalued assets or surplus assets Firms rarely take into account
that can be sold off non-financial factors. Purchasers often fail to
carry out a full management audit of the
acquisition target, and fail to consider the human
resource issues which impact on the ultimate
success of the acquisition
Spread risk Poor success record of acquisitions.

Takeovers benefit the shareholders of the
acquired organisation often more than the
acquirer
Buy a high quality management team, Corporate financiers and banks have a
which exists in the acquired organisation stake in the acquisitions process as they can
charge fees for advice
Many acquisitions do have a logic, and the

acquired organisation can be improved
with the extra resources
6.3 Partnering
Partnering: Is the term used to describe the types of arrangements which fall short of formal
business combinations.
Key term
6.3.1 External partnering
External partnering: Joint ventures, franchising and strategic alliances are all forms of partnering
in which arrangements are established with external third parties with a view to achieving a common
Key term
purpose. External partnering usually restricts formal legal arrangements between entities to specific
operations.
6.3.2 Joint ventures
Joint venture: Is an arrangement when two (or more) entities join forces to create a separate entity
which has a purpose which is distinct from the business operations of the two entities that established
Key term
it.
Joint ventures are usually set up to facilitate a project which is of mutual interest to the founding
entities, for example, two firms may wish to bring together their respective technical expertise to
undertake joint product development. The two entities which established the joint venture will each
have a share in the equity and management of the business. Arrangements such as this enable the
founding entities to share the costs of setting up the venture, which can be significant especially when
the purpose of the joint venture is to develop new technologies. The establishment of a joint venture
may also enable synergies to be realised as one entity's production expertise can be supplemented
by the other's knowledge of marketing and distribution.
Joint venture arrangements are however prone to conflicts of interest between the interested parties.
Disagreements commonly arise in relation to matters of sharing profits and the management of the
joint venture.
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6.3.3 Franchising
Franchising: Is a method of expanding the business on less capital than would otherwise be
possible, because franchisees not only pay a capital lump sum to the franchiser to enter the franchise
Key term
but they also bear some of the running costs of the new outlets/operations.
Franchising is another form of partnering. Franchising is commonly used by entities that are keen
to achieve rapid growth. For suitable businesses, it is an alternative business strategy to
raising extra capital for growth. Franchising is particularly common in the restaurant sector, with
McDonald's probably the most well-known fast food franchiser. As is the case with partnering
arrangements is important to remember that a franchising agreement will be confined to specific
operations. This is best illustrated by considering the table below which outlines the main inputs that
the franchiser and franchisee provide under a franchising agreement.
The franchiser The franchisee
Name, and any goodwill associated with it Capital, personal involvement and local market
knowledge
Systems and business methods, business strategy Payment to the franchiser for rights and for
and managerial know-how support services
Support services, such as advertising, training, Responsibility for the day-to-day running, and the
research and development, and help with site ultimate profitability of the franchise
decoration
Advantages of franchising
Franchising offers the following main advantages:
 Reduces capital requirements. Organisations (franchisers) often franchise because they
cannot readily raise the capital required to set up company-owned stores or operations.
 Reduces managerial resources required. An organisation (franchiser) may be able to
raise the capital required for growth, but it may lack the managerial resources required to set
up a network of company-owned stores. Under a franchise agreement, the franchisees supply
the staff required for the day-to-day running of the operation.
 Improves return on promotional expenditure through speed of growth. A retail
firm's brand and brand image are crucial to the success of its stores. Companies often develop
their brand through extensive advertising and promotion, but this only translates into sales if
they have a number of stores that customers can visit after seeing their advertisements. To reap
the benefits of its national or regional advertising efforts, the company needs to attain the
minimum efficient scale, in terms of number of stores, as quickly as possible.
 Risk management. When opening new stores, an organisation does not know with
certainty the business potential and the chances of success of different locations. Under a
franchising arrangement, the franchiser can judge the profitability potential of different sites
without incurring a significant business risk. If a particular store fails, the franchisee bears the
brunt of the failure.
Disadvantages of franchising
 Profits are shared. The franchisee receives the revenue from the customer at the point of
sale and then pays the franchiser a share of the profits.
 The search for competent candidates is both costly and time-consuming where the
franchiser requires many outlets (eg McDonald's).
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 Control over franchisees. For example, a franchisee could refuse to co-operate in a marketing
campaign.
 Risk to reputation. A franchisee can damage the public perception of a brand by
providing inferior goods or services.
6.3.4 Strategic alliances
A strategic alliance: Is a type of external partnering that involves some form of co-operation
between two or more organisations. Strategic alliances often involve the sharing of resources and
Key term
activities to pursue a given strategy.
Strategic alliances range from formal joint ventures or licensing agreements, through to looser
alliance collaboration. Reasons for entering into strategic alliances include:
(a) Share development costs of a particular technology.
(b) The regulatory environment prohibits take-overs (eg most major airlines are in
strategic alliances because in most countries there are limits to the level of control an 'outsider'
can have over an airline).
(c) Complementary markets or technology.
(d) Learning. Alliances can also be a 'learning' exercise in which each partner tries to learn as
much as possible from the other.
(e) Technology. New technology offers many uncertainties and many opportunities. Such
alliances provide funds for expensive research projects, spreading risk.
(f) The alliance itself can generate innovations.
(g) The alliance can involve 'testing' the firm's core competence in different conditions,
which can suggest ways to improve it.
It is important however, to recognise that strategic alliances can only go so far, as there may be
disputes over control of strategic assets. Alliances do also have some limitations, namely that each
organisation should be able to focus on its core competence. Most types of alliance do not enable
organisations to create new competences or develop their own expertise. Furthermore, if a key
aspect of strategic delivery is handed over to a partner, the organisation loses flexibility.
6.3.5 Internal partnering

Partnering is not only restricted to the relationships that organisations may create with external third
parties, but can also be applied to the internal business functions that exist within organisations.
Internal partnering involves active collaboration between different departments with the aim of
successfully completing business tasks. For example, members of the sales department may need to
partner directly with the finance team to establish the organisations new pricing policy, or may
involve members of the marketing department working with the R&D team to undertake new product
development. It is believed that a greater focus on building internal relationships between
departments should help organisations to realise their strategies and support their prospects for future
growth.
Syllabus link
In Chapter 10 we explore the concept of internal partnering in relation to the role of the finance
function. As we shall see later on organisations are increasingly adopting a business partner model
when structuring their finance functions. In Chapter 13 we give consideration to the implications of
introducing a partnering approach.
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7 Suitability, acceptability and feasibility

Having explored a number of the strategic choices facing most types of organisation it is important
that we give consideration to the criteria which management may use to select the strategies that they
identify. Johnson et al (2017) highlight that strategies can be evaluated according to their suitability
to the organisation's strategic situation, their acceptability to key stakeholder groups (eg
shareholders) and their feasibility in terms of resources and competences.
7.1 Suitability
Suitability relates to the strategic logic of the strategy. The strategy should fit the organisation's
current strategic position and should satisfy a range of requirements:
 Exploit strengths: that is, unique resources and core competences
 Rectify an organisation's weaknesses, or deal with problems identified in it
 Neutralise or deflect environmental threats
 Help the firm to seize opportunities
 Satisfy the goals of the organisation
 Generate/maintain competitive advantage
 Involve an acceptable level of risk
 Suit the politics and corporate culture
7.2 Acceptability
The acceptability of a strategy depends on expected performance outcomes and the extent to
which these are acceptable to stakeholders. Typical stakeholder interests may include:
 Shareholders will generally be interested in generating a good financial return (using
measures such as return on investment, earnings per share, payback period etc) while keeping
risk to an acceptable level (which may be measured via sensitivity analysis, scenario analysis
and financial ratios).
 Management and staff may object to changes if they believe that a new strategy will not
suit their skillset, or if they will be personally worse off.
 Customers may be unhappy with changes that involve higher prices or poorer services.
 Banks will want to see good future cashflows to repay debt.
 Government might block certain strategies, such as an acquisition not being allowed
because it reduces competition.
 The media and public may protest if they believe a strategy will be detrimental, such as
opening an out-of-town superstore which will damage small shops.
7.3 Feasibility
Feasibility asks whether the strategy can be implemented and, in particular, if the organisation has
adequate strategic capability. Feasibility can be considered against the organisation's:
 Financial resources
 Management skills
 Skilled staff
 Required competences
If the organisation does not possess these, it may be possible to acquire them, but this is likely to
require time and money.
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Chapter summary
Competitive advantage and strategic choice
Competitive Sustainable Managing Product-market

advantage and competitive organisational strategy: direction
strategic choice advantage portfolios of growth
Porter's generic The seven Ps The BCG Matrix Growth vector matrix
strategies • Product Consists of: Consists of:
• Cost leadership means • Place • Stars • Market Penetration
being the lowest-cost • Promotion • Cash Cows • Product Development
producer in the • Price • Question Marks • Market Development
industry as a whole • People • Dogs • Diversification
• Differentiation is the • Processes
exploitation of a • Physical evidence
product or service The public sector
which the industry as portfolio matrix
a whole believes to be Price-based,
Consists of:
unique differentiation and
• Focus (or niche) lock-in • Public Sector Stars
strategy involves a • Political Hot Boxes
• Sustaining price-based • Golden Fleeces
restriction of activities strategies
to only part of the • Back Drawer Issues
• Sustaining
market (a segment) differentiation
• Which generic • Lock-in is achieved in
strategy? Need to a market when a
avoid being stuck in product becomes the
the middle industry standard
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Diversity of products Methods of Suitability, acceptability

and markets development and feasibility
The need for diversification Internal development Suitability

Uses internal resources Relates to strategic logic
Types of diversification
• Related diversification Business combinations Acceptability
(horizontal and vertical Acquisitions (buy another) and To stakeholders?
integration) mergers (two entities join)
• Advantages and
disadvantages of vertical Feasibility
integration Partnering Concerns whether a strategy
• Unrelated diversification
• External partnering (restricts can be implemented
• Advantages and
formal legal arrangements
disadvantages of
between entities to specific
conglomerate diversification
operations)
• Diversity and strategic success
• Joint ventures (two (or more)
entities join forces to create a
separate entity which has a
International diversification
common purpose)
Management orientation • Franchising (franchiser and
(ethnocentrism, polycentrism, franchisee)
geocentrism and regiocentrism) • Strategic alliances (involves
some form of co-operation
between two or more
organisations)
• Internal partnering (involves
active collaboration between
different departments)
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1. Porter (1980) suggests that organisations need to adopt an appropriate competitive strategy.
Porter referred to them as generic strategies. An organisation must first decide its competitive
basis, being either to compete on the basis of lowest cost, or to differentiate.
2. Porter (1980) argued that to do neither and be 'stuck in the middle' would lead to an inability to
compete over the long term.
3. Once an organisation's competitive basis has been determined Porter (1980) argues that
competitive scope must be decided. This might take a narrow (focus) or broad form (available to
the market as a whole).
4. The strategic choices an organisation makes regarding its marketing strategy will be driven by
its choice of generic strategy. Creating a marketing strategy involves developing and tailoring
elements of the so-called marketing mix. The seven Ps consist of product, place, promotion,
price, people, processes and physical evidence.
5. Johnson et al (2017) suggest that a price-based strategy can be sustained by maintaining low
margins, being a cost leader, using financial resources to win price wars, adopting a no-frills
strategy.
6. Sustaining differentiation can be difficult as this involves more than just being different: the
difference must be valued by customers.
7. Hax and Wilde (1999) proposed the concept of lock-in in relation to strategic sustainability.
Lock-in is achieved in a market when an organisation's product becomes the industry standard.
8. The BCG matrix devised by Henderson (1970) categorises SBUs in terms of market growth rate
and relative market share. SBUs can be classified as Stars, Cash Cows, Question Marks and
Dogs.
9. The public sector portfolio matrix (Montanari and Bracker, 1986) classifies activities in terms of
their popularity and the resources available for them. Activities are classified as being Public
Sector Stars, Political Hot Boxes, Golden Fleeces, Back Drawer Issues.
10. Product-market strategies involve determining which products should be sold in which markets,
by market penetration, market development, product development and diversification. These
terms make up the quadrants in Ansoff's (1987) growth vector matrix.
11. Diversification can take the form of related or unrelated diversification.
12. Related diversification is strategy development beyond current products and markets but within
the capabilities or value network of the organisation. Related diversification can be achieved
through either horizontal or vertical integration.
13. Unrelated diversification is the development of products or services beyond the current
capabilities or value network.
14. The growth in the number of organisations diversifying their operations internationally has been
driven by globalisation.
15. International product/market diversification requires organisations to adopt an appropriate
management orientation. Perlmutter (1969) identified three orientations for use in the
management of international business: ethnocentrism, polycentrism and geocentrism.
Regiocentrism was later added by Wind et al (1973).
16. A range of methods are available to organisations looking to grow, including: internal
development, business combinations, and partnering.
17. Johnson et al (2017) highlight that strategies can be evaluated according to their suitability to
the organisation's strategic situation, their acceptability to key stakeholder groups (eg
shareholders) and their feasibility in terms of resources and competences.
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Question practice
Workbook):
Q6 Environment Management Society
Further reading
This article discusses Porter's generic strategies and explores the work of Ansoff in the context of strategic
choice.
Own research
 Research an organisation with which you are familiar (this could include your current or past
employer), and consider which competitive basis the organisation is pursuing (cost leadership or
differentiation). If you are struggling to find an organisation to consider you may find it helpful to
choose a well-known business listed on a recognised stock exchange such as the FTSE 100.
 Is this organisation pursuing a wide or narrow competitive scope?
 Go online and find the annual report of a large, diversified conglomerate. Review the SBUs which
make up the business activities of the conglomerate. Using the BCG matrix as a guide, do you think
the organisation has a well-balanced portfolio?
 Which method(s) of development has the organisation used in the past to expand its operations?
 Did the method(s) of development used by the organisation prove successful or not?
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Exercise answer
Exercise 1
Product
 Natural ingredients
 Colourful packaging
 Brand clearly displayed (teenagers tend to be brand sensitive)
Price
 Dependent on brand although premium brand may not mean premium price as teenagers
cannot afford
 Would not be cheap product as again teenagers tend not to want cheap products
Place
 High Street stores to attract the teenagers to buy
 Supermarkets so that parents can purchase for their teenage children
 Internet would depend on a variety of factors, one key issue is would it be environmentally
and economically viable
Promotion
 Facebook groups, interactive website attached to the parent company's site
 Promoted by famous celebrities known to the teenage population
 BOGOF/vouchers for discounts
This question requirement focused on the traditional 4Ps as these are most relevant to the marketing
of tangible products. The final 3Ps which make up the fuller version of the marketing mix (sometimes
referred to as the service marketing mix) relate to the marketing of services and cover: people,
processes and physical evidence. As such they have not been applied in the answer to this question.
174
SKILLS CHECKPOINT 2
Optimising strategic decisions
Case scenario: A
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Introduction
In Stage 2 you have learned about Optimising Strategic Decisions.
for good demonstration of the specific ACCA Professional Skills outlined in the task requirement. You need to
able to:
1. Identify the ACCA Professional Skill in the task requirement. Remember the five: Analysis, Communication,
Commercial Acumen, Evaluation and Scepticism
expected in the workplace. However, in order to do this effectively in the Strategic Leader Exam, you must
develop a further series of Exam Success Skills, so you are able to produce your very best solution in the
ACCA Professional Skills and Exam Success Skills. This is the second in a series of Skills Checkpoints which
specifically target skills development as you progress through the syllabus, so you are equipped with all the tools
you need during the Learning phase, so you can focus on improving at the Revision Stage.
In each of the five Skills Checkpoints we will focus on one of the five ACCA Professional Skills and provide
further guidance on how to develop certain Exam Success Skills, so you can effectively manage questions and
meet the expected standard for both knowledge and skills.
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Skills Checkpoint 2: Optimising Strategic Decisions
Your role
Developing skills requires more than listening and reading; it requires you to try for yourself, use
question you attempt as your normal approach. The Skills Checkpoints will take you through a series
of steps where you will attempt aspects of a question and review your progress from a skills
perspective.
Focus on ACCA Professional Skill: Analysis

You will find the ACCA definition of Analysis under 'ACCA Professional Skills in the introduction.
Analysis means logically investigating and processing information to respond to a question or
request, or meet a stated objective. For example, you might gather information about an
organisation from a range of sources, including financial and non-financial data, to establish the
reasons for its current performance, and then make recommendations which follow logically from this
evidence.
Analysis includes explaining why a certain piece of data is important, marshalling relevant evidence
and explaining how your findings can help the organisation.
In this question, ensure that you demonstrate analysis skills by not simply repeating the scenario but
adding value in some way to the information it contains. For example, can you prioritise the factors
affecting the museum in the question below, showing clearly which you feel are most important? Can
you draw out the implications of at least some of the factors – having answered the 'what', have you
answered the 'so what'?

For this question, we will focus on the following exam success skills and in particular:
 Answer planning: Priorities, Structure and Logic. This type of question relies heavily
on you picking up relevant clues in the scenario, so a good approach to planning is firstly to
read the task requirement, then read the scenario carefully, annotating where you find
information that is useful for your answer. We advise annotating rather than simply
highlighting, firstly so that you remember why you picked out this information and secondly
because it forces you to think about the significance of the information.
 Effective writing and presentation. You should always use sub-headings in your answer
and sometimes, as in this case, using relevant theory will give you a ready-made set of
headings to use. Using headings will give your answer logic and structure, and make it easier
for the marker to follow.
 Good time management. The exam will be time-pressured and you will need to manage it
carefully to ensure that you can make a good attempt at every part of every task. As the task is
worth 17 marks, using two minutes per mark as a guide equates to a total of 34 minutes to
attempt the task requirement. Working on the basis that you will spend at least five minutes
creating your answer plan, this leaves no more than 29 minutes to write up your answer.
Remember time spent planning will generally improve your answer.
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Skills Checkpoint 2
Skill Activity
STEP 1 Read the task requirement for the following question, interpret the active verb,
identify the skill and set up your answer plan
Your verb is 'analyse'. This is defined by the ACCA as 'Break into separate parts and discuss,
examine, or interpret each part. Key tips: Give reasons for the current situation or what has
happened.' You are asked to analyse the macro-environment so you are looking at factors outside
the organisation, breaking them down in some way and bringing in some interpretation – what are
the implications for the organisation of what is going on in the environment? It is helpful to consider
whether some theory would give you ideas and structure – a common tool for analysing the
macro-environment is PESTEL and, while not a task requirement, using this as a framework would
improve your answer.
The skill is 'analysis', which breaks down as 'investigate', 'enquire' and 'consider'. To earn these
professional marks you will have to ensure you are not just repeating points from the scenario, but
explaining their significance and using them to draw conclusions, for example about appropriate
actions for the organisations.
STEP 2 Now briefly read the scenario and use your 'Case Scenario: Managing information'
skills to pick out important facts and data which are relevant to the task requirement
identified in Step 1
Question – National Museum (17 marks)

The National Museum (NM) was established over 150 years ago to house collections of art, textiles
and metalware for the nation. It remains in its original building which is itself of architectural
importance. Unfortunately, the passage of time has meant that the condition of the building has
deteriorated and so it requires continual repair and maintenance. Alterations have also been made
to ensure that the building complies with the disability access and health and safety laws of the
country. However, these alterations have been criticised as being unsympathetic and out of character
with the rest of the building. The building is in a previously affluent area of the capital city. However,
what were once large middle-class family houses have now become multi-occupied apartments and
the socio-economic structure of the area has radically changed. The area also suffers from an
increasing crime rate. A visitor to the museum was recently assaulted while waiting for a bus to take
her home. The assault was reported in both local and national newspapers.
Thirty years ago, the government identified museums that held significant Heritage Collections. These
are collections that are deemed to be very significant to the country. Three Heritage Collections were
identified at the NM, a figure that has risen to seven in the intervening years as the museum has
acquired new items.
The NM is currently 90% funded by direct grants from government. The rest of its income comes from
a nominal admission charge and from private sponsorship of exhibitions. The direct funding from the
government is based on a number of factors, but the number of Heritage Collections held by the
museum is a significant funding influence. The Board of Trustees of the NM divide the museum's
income between departments roughly on the basis of the previous year's budget plus an inflation
percentage. The division of money between departments is heavily influenced by the Heritage
Collections. Departments with Heritage Collections tend to be allocated a larger budget.
One year ago, a new national government was elected. The newly appointed Minister for Culture
implemented the government's election manifesto commitment to make museums more self-funding.
The minister has declared that in five years' time the museum must cover 60% of its own costs and
only 40% will be directly funded by government. This change in funding will gradually be phased in
over the next five years. The 40% government grant will be linked to the museum achieving specified
targets for disability access, social inclusion and electronic commerce and access. The government is
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committed to increasing museum attendance by lower socio-economic classes and younger people so
that they are more aware of their heritage. Furthermore, it also wishes to give increasing access to
museum exhibits to disabled people who cannot physically visit the museum site. The government has
asked all museums to produce a strategy document showing how they intend to meet these financial,
accessibility and technological objectives. The government's opposition has, since the election, also
agreed that the reliance of museums on government funding should be reduced.
Required
Note the key
verb
Analyse the macro-environment of the National Museum (15 marks)
Note the
professional Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating analysis skills in relation to the
skill to be
macro-environment. (2 marks)
demonstrated
(Total = 17 marks)
A brief review of the scenario will show you that:
 The organisation is a public museum. You will therefore not think in terms of making profit or
shareholder wealth, but achieving its goals in terms of public service, while being financially
sustainable.
 There are many clues in the scenario about environmental factors – you will need to identify
them and explain their implications.
 There is a significant change going on in the environment, driven by political factors. This will
be a key point to bring out in your solution.
STEP 3 Now create an answer plan. Use the mark allocation to determine how many factors
to explain, also think about the logical flow of your point before you start writing.
Finally, as you create your plan, think about how you will demonstrate 'analysis' in
your answer; for example, does it require numbers and if so, how will these be
clearly presented or do we need to interpret information from the scenario to
evidence a view or argument.
Guidance to help you develop your answer plan

The use of the term 'macro-environment' should suggest to you the use of PESTEL analysis in your
answer. This was not essential as you would still get marks for points relevant to the environment
(anything external to the museum) but would help greatly in generating ideas and structuring your
answer. The most efficient way to plan an answer to this type of question is to annotate the scenario,
underlining key points and making very brief notes about their significance and potential actions
resulting from your analysis. Your plan could look something like this:
The National Museum (NM) was established over 150 years ago to house collections Environmental
of art, textiles and metalware for the nation. It remains in its original building which is factor – higher
itself of architectural importance. Unfortunately, the passage of time has meant that costs
the condition of the building has deteriorated and so it requires continual repair
Legal factor –
and maintenance. Alterations have also been made to ensure that the building
difficult to
complies with the disability access and health and safety laws of the country. comply with
However, these alterations have been criticised as being unsympathetic and out of laws
character with the rest of the building. The building is in a previously affluent
area of the capital city. However, what were once large middle-class family houses
have now become multi-occupied apartments and the socio-economic structure of the Social factors –
area has radically changed. The area also suffers from an increasing crime rate. A location a
problem
visitor to the museum was recently assaulted while waiting for a bus to take her home.
The assault was reported in both local and national newspapers.
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Skills Checkpoint 2
Thirty years ago, the government identified museums that held significant Heritage Collections. These
are collections that are deemed to be very significant to the country. Three Heritage Collections were
identified at the NM, a figure that has risen to seven in the intervening years as the museum has
acquired new items.
Big political
factor – funding
depends on
govt
The NM is currently 90% funded by direct grants from government. The rest of
its income comes from a nominal admission charge and from private sponsorship of
exhibitions. The direct funding from the government is based on a number of factors, but the
Political factor –
govt defines number of Heritage Collections held by the museum is a significant funding
these influence. The Board of Trustees of the NM divide the museum's income between
departments roughly on the basis of the previous year's budget plus an inflation percentage.
The division of money between departments is heavily influenced by the Heritage Collections.
Departments with Heritage Collections tend to be allocated a larger budget.
Economic factor
– now exposed
One year ago, a new national government was elected. The newly appointed
Minister for Culture implemented the government's election manifesto Political factor –
to economy
change in
commitment to make museums more self-funding. The minister has funding
declared that in five years' time the museum must cover 60% of its own
Social factor –
costs and only 40% will be directly funded by government. This
need to appeal change in funding will gradually be phased in over the next five years. The
to these groups Political driver
40% government grant will be linked to the museum achieving specified targets to increase
for disability access, social inclusion and electronic commerce and attendance
access. The government is committed to increasing museum
Political factor – attendance by lower socio-economic classes and younger people Technology
need to work to so that they are more aware of their heritage. Furthermore, it also wishes to factor – new
govt ways of
give increasing access to museum exhibits to disabled people who cannot displaying
performance
measures physically visit the museum site. The government has asked all museums exhibits
to produce a strategy document showing how they intend to meet these
financial, accessibility and technological objectives. The government's
opposition has, since the election, also agreed that the reliance of museums on
government funding should be reduced.
If you wish, you can note these points under relevant headings, also starting to demonstrate your
analysis skills by drawing out the implications of the information. Your notes may look like this:
Political
Govt funding reduced
Govt performance measures – need to meet targets
Economic
Now exposed as need to generate income
Setting appropriate ticket price
Social
Govt wants social inclusion
Location may mean visitors don't feel safe
Links to community to meet inclusion targets?
Consider relocating if a problem for visitors?
Technological
Virtual museum = better accessibility
Also helps with safety concerns
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Use e-marketing to increase appeal?
Revenue from e-commerce?
Environmental
Upkeep of old building an issue
Dilemma re alterations to comply with laws
Consider moving to new purpose-built site?
Legal
Need to comply with H&S, access legislation. Consider how to do this?
STEP 4 Check the task requirements

Before you start writing it is good practice to check the task requirement once again,
to make sure your answer directly addresses it. In this case, the key questions are:
 Have you focused on the museum's environment, ie matters external to it? Do
not get side-tracked by discussing or speculating on their internal issues.
 Have you demonstrated analysis skills by 'adding value' to the information?
Make sure you have not just collated points from the scenario.

You can now bring these together into a solution, making sure that you use logical
headings and short, clear sentences. These are key factors in Effective Writing &
Presentation – one of your Exam Success Skills. Make sure you are making
connections and drawing conclusions to signal to the marker that you are
demonstrating analysis skills. A model answer is given below, with comment boxes
to show where the answer is demonstrating good analysis skills.
Suggested Solution
Political Identifying the
scale of the
Funding and funding changes – The museum is currently 90% funded by direct grants impact of this
from government, meaning that the government's decision to gradually reduce that factor
funding over five years will have a major impact on the National Museum.
The government and the opposition party have both agreed that museums' reliance on
government funding should be reduced, and so it appears that these funding
reductions are unlikely to be reversed in the near future.
Again,
Performance measures – Going forward, the museum's government funding will be identifying a
change as
linked to certain performance measures – such as disability access. These measures particularly
will have a major impact on the museum's outlook. The museum will have to significant and
meet a number of targets if it wishes to retain any government funding. explaining why
Economic
Economic exposure – When the museum was substantially government funded, it has
been largely sheltered from any changes in the economic environment. Funding
appears to have been stable, increasing to reflect inflation each year, and based on This is drawing
out a very
the Heritage Collections held by the museum. significant point
implied, but not
However, the reduction in the level of government funding will mean that the stated in the
museum will be increasingly exposed to commercial pressures. For scenario.
example, it will have to generate revenues through admissions, and this revenue will
be affected by the relationship between price and visitor numbers.
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Skills Checkpoint 2
Ticket pricing – One of the key issues the museum will have to address is the price it
charges visitors. Historically, visitors have been used to paying only a nominal entry
charge. If prices are set too high, people will not visit the museum, Going beyond
identifying
particularly the lower social classes which the government is keen to factors to
include. However, if prices are set too low, they may not generate explore their
enough revenue to make good the shortfall in government funding. implications
Social
Social inclusion – The government is keen that museum attendance increases among
the lower social classes and among younger people. The museum needs to identify
ways it can become more attractive to younger people or lower social classes.
Practical
Urban decline and local geographical context – The decline of the local suggestions
neighbourhood around the museum may deter fee-paying visitors. Therefore the coming out of
museum will need to ensure that visitors feel safe on their way to and from the the analysis
museum, for example, improving security around the museum if necessary.

Location and visitors – It is likely that the museum's visitors are mainly middle class
Thinking
people, but the decline in the local neighbourhood means these are the people who beyond the
will be moving away from the area. However, while this is a problem for the museum obvious to how
on one hand, on the other hand it means that the neighbourhood around the museum a difficult
situation could
is increasingly housing more of the people the government wants it to encourage as be turned to
visitors. Therefore, if the museum can create linkages with its local advantage
community this could help it to achieve the social inclusion the
government wants to promote.
Conversely, if the problem of middle class visitors not wanting to visit the area Alternative
becomes too bad, and therefore visitor numbers drop still further, the museum recommendation
may ultimately have to consider relocating from its current site to one
in an area which is perceived to be safer to visit.
Technological
Increased visitor accessibility – A virtual museum would also reduce problems with the Linking two
physical accessibility of the museum. People from all round the country, and types of
external factors
internationally, could read about the collections and view the online displays through – technological
a virtual museum. The virtual museum could also benefit some disabled and social
people who cannot physically visit the site.
A virtual museum also allows people to view the museum's collections from the
comfort of their own homes, if they have concerns about the safety and security of the
neighbourhood around the museum.
E-marketing – The museum could also use technology to increase the scope of its
marketing activity. For example, if it collects a list of email addresses of
regular visitors, it could notify them of special exhibitions which may Developing the
point about
be of interest to them – either in the virtual museum or the physical technology to
museum. As an initiative to attract younger visitors, the collections make further
could also publish blogs, highlighting some of their more interesting suggestions
features, and illustrating their relevance to younger people.

Electronic commerce – One of the government's targets for the museum is to increase
its level of electronic commerce. On the one hand, this could be achieved if online
visitors pay a subscription fee to view the virtual museum; on the other hand, the
museum could have an online shop where visitors can buy replica items and souvenirs
through a secure payment facility.
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Environmental
Upkeep of building – The museum building is over 150 years old, and requires
continual repair and maintenance. It is likely that an old building is less energy-
efficient than a modern, purpose-built one would be, and therefore the museum's
heating costs may be higher than they could be. Highlighting
key issue being
Alterations to building – The museum has had to make alterations to its building to faced by senior
management
comply with disability and health and safety legislation. It is likely that these
which does not
alterations were relatively expensive. However, they have been criticised as being out have an
of character with the rest of the building. The museum faces a dilemma here – obvious solution
it has to make its building compliant with the legislation, while trying
to preserve the fabric of the existing building.
Building additional
The criticisms about these alterations to the building, plus its energy inefficiency evidence for the
may encourage the museum's Board to consider moving to a modern, recommendation
purpose-built site; particularly in conjunction with concerns about the
decline of the museum's neighbourhood.
Legal Going beyond
what is in the
Access requirements and safety legislation – We have already noted that the museum scenario and
showing
has had to make alterations to its building to comply with legal requirements for
evidence of
disability access and health and safety legislation. If the government is keen to creative
encourage social inclusion, further changes may be required – for example, thinking
including all public notices in a variety of languages or in Braille.

exam success skills in answering this question.
Case scenario: Managing Did you extract the key points from the scenario? In this case, you
information should have seen that the organisation was a not-for-profit and
therefore reference to shareholder wealth and similar concepts
would be inappropriate. A key 'big picture' point was that
political change was driving the situation.
Correct interpretation of Did you understand that the question focused on the environment,
requirements and therefore you should only have dealt with matters external to
the museum? Did you appreciate the importance of analysis skills?
Answer planning: Did you adopt a systematic approach to planning, understanding

Priorities, Structure and the task requirements first, then working through the scenario to
Logic extract relevant information? Did you stop to consider key points
and connections before starting to write?

analysis
succinctly?
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Skills Checkpoint 2
Summary
Answering exam questions is like any other skill – the more you practise the better you will get! But,
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184
INTRODUCTION
TO STAGE 3:
Assessing and
Managing Risk and
Ethical Issues
Assessing and Managing Risk and Ethical Issues
Olympus is a well-established Japanese manufacturer of optical imaging, laboratory and medical
equipment. In 2011 it appointed its first-ever non-Japanese president, a 30-year company veteran
from the UK called Michael Woodford. A few months later, Mr Woodford was also appointed Chief
Executive. In July of that year, his attention was drawn to an article alleging that Olympus had made
substantial and secret payments relating to a series of acquisitions. He attempted to find out the truth
behind these allegations but all his enquiries were blocked by staff and fellow directors. In October,
at an emergency board meeting at which Mr Woodford was not allowed to speak or vote, the board
unanimously fired him as Chief Executive. In a press release, the company explained Mr Woodford's
removal as being due to the fact that he had 'largely diverted from the rest of the management team
in regard to the management direction and method…'
Mr Woodford turned 'whistle-blower', telling the media about the issue and calling for the
resignation of the entire board. The company denied any problems but, after extensive investigations
and involvement of law enforcement authorities around the world, it was discovered that secret
payments had been made to cover up losses on investments going back to the 1980s and 1990s.
There were many arrests and resignations. Mr Woodford received a substantial settlement from
Olympus, and went on to work as a speaker and consultant.
Olympus represented a spectacular failure of internal controls and ethical standards, with senior
management colluding in accounting fraud. In this situation, it was only the ethical principles of a
new CEO that brought the issue to light. Most situations are not so extreme, but all organisations face
risks and therefore need to have in place internal controls to deal with them as far as possible. As
this section will show, leaders of an organisation need to be personally confident that controls are
effective, and one of the tools they often use is an internal audit function, exercising independent
oversight of the control systems.
The Olympus scandal cut its stock market valuation by 75–80%. The penalty for poor ethics and
controls can be severe.
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Assessing and
managing risk
Learning objectives
Syllabus
reference no.
Discuss the relationship between organisational strategy and risk management D1(a)
strategy
Develop a framework for risk management and establish risk management systems D1(b)
Identify and evaluate the key risks and their impact on organisations and projects D1(c)
Distinguish between strategic and operational risks D1(d)
Assess attitudes towards risk and risk appetite and how this can affect risk policy D1(e)
Discuss the dynamic nature of risk and the ways in which risk varies in relation to D1(f)
the size, structure and development of an organisation
Recognise and analyse the sector or industry-specific nature of many organisation D1(g)
risks
Assess the severity and probability of risk events using suitable models D1(h)
Explain and assess the ALARP ('as low as reasonably practicable') principle in D1(i)
risk assessment and how this relates to severity and probability
Explain and evaluate the concepts of related and correlated risk factors D1(j)
Explain and assess the role of a risk manager D2(a)
Evaluate a risk register and use heat maps when identifying or monitoring risks D2(b)
Describe and evaluate the concept of embedding risk in an organisation's culture D2(c)
and values
Explain and analyse the concepts of spreading and diversifying risk and when D2(d)
this would be appropriate
Explain, and assess the importance of, risk transfer, avoidance, reduction and D2(e)
acceptance (TARA)
Explain and assess the benefits of incurring or accepting some risk as part of D2(f)
competitively managing an organisation
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Risk is everywhere you look – from the risk of oversleeping in the morning all the way through to a
corporate failure that threatens to bring down a government and beyond. Organisations need to find
ways of understanding the risks they face and how to deal with them effectively as part of their
normal operations.
In this chapter you will learn about how risk is not always a bad thing and how it can actually have
a positive impact on a company. You will also learn more about the various types of risk that an
organisation needs to consider in order to achieve its objectives and how to decide on the best way
to manage these risks.
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7: Assessing and managing risk
Chapter overview
Assessing and managing risk
The relationship between organisational Risk management

strategy and risk management strategy process
Understanding stakeholder responses to risks Who is responsible for risk?
Embedding risk in an organisation's Risk appetite

culture and values
Identify risks
Assess risks
Respond to risks
Monitoring
Start again!
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1 The relationship between organisational strategy and
risk management strategy
1.1 Understanding stakeholder responses to risk
Risk: Is a condition in which there exists a quantifiable dispersion in the possible results of an
activity.
Key terms
Fundamental risks: Are those that affect society in general, or broad groups of people, and are
beyond the control of any one individual. For example, there is the risk of atmospheric pollution
which can affect the health of a whole community but which may be beyond the control of an
individual within it.
Particular risks: Are risks over which an individual may have some measure of control. For
example, there is a risk attached to smoking and we can mitigate that risk by refraining from
smoking.
Speculative risks: Are those from which either good or harm may result. A business venture, for
example, presents a speculative risk because either a profit or loss can result.
Pure risks: Are those whose only possible outcome is harmful. The risk of loss of data in computer
systems caused by fire is a pure risk because no gain can result from it.
When formulating organisational strategy, the board of directors will give careful consideration to
ensure that only those strategies which fall within the bounds of the organisation's risk appetite are
taken forward. Although the term 'risk' tends to indicate something that we should be concerned
about, stakeholder groups do not necessarily always want to eliminate risk for an organisation. They
are only likely to react adversely if the organisation does not conform to their expectations.
Managing risk may also require organisations to get used to managing expectations among
stakeholders.
The attitude of some stakeholder groups to risk could therefore have an influence on the company's
organisational strategy. These stakeholder groups are likely to include the following (although
others could also be present):
Shareholders
Government Debt
Customers
and regulators providers
Employees
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Exercise 1: Stakeholders and risk

Required
For each of the stakeholder groups in the diagram above, evaluate their attitude towards risk-taking
by the organisation they are linked to. You can consider this in the context of any organisation you
are familiar with.
Solution
1.2 Embedding risk in an organisation's culture and values
Embedding risk: Ensuring that the approach to managing risks is considered at all times and in all
roles by making it a part of the culture and values of an organisation.
Key term
Risk should be embedded in the company's systems and procedures, and also its culture and values,
because the alignment of strategy and operational activities (which will support the achievement of
shareholder value) can only happen if all levels of the organisation embrace the risks faced by that
organisation.
Essential reading
the Workbook, for detail on COSO’s Enterprise Risk Management – Integrating with Strategy and
Performance (2017). This content complements the discussion of the COSO cube which is discussed
in Chapter 8. This content focuses on how five connected components can assist in managing risks
across a whole enterprise.
Activity 1: Risk awareness

You work as a consultant for a board member who sits on the board of a large listed manufacturing
organisation. You have just received an instant message (IM) from the board member asking for your
help: the director is currently in a meeting with institutional shareholders and is concerned the
organisation's health and safety record is going to be questioned following a series of 'near misses'
at its biggest manufacturing site. The director would like you to inform him about how the
organisation takes risk seriously at all levels of the organisation.
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Required
Recommend practical ways in which risk awareness can be embedded in this organisation at
different levels. (5 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating communication skills in informing your
readers using appropriate style for an IM response. (2 marks)
(Total = 7 marks)
Solution
2 Risk management process

We now know what risk is and why it needs to be managed to support the strategy of an
organisation. How can risk be managed though? There are many different approaches that you can
look at, but for the purposes of this Workbook, we have chosen to present the following approach as
it includes the most common recurring elements:
1. Set responsibilities
2. Set risk appetite
3. Identify risks
4. Assess risks
5. Respond to risks
6. Monitor and review the process and adapt if necessary
7. Start again!
2.1 Who is responsible for risk?

The board has overall accountability for risk management as part of its corporate governance
responsibilities. However, the board may choose to delegate responsibility to line management or a
separate risk management function instead of managing risk through the board. Let's have a look at
who could be involved in this.
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2.1.1 Risk committee

A risk committee could be set up by the board. The tasks that this committee should fulfil will
depend on the organisation, their industry and their size and complexity but, in general, they could
include the following.
Ensure
system
exists
Advise board Set risk policy
Risk
Committee
Review risk
Assess risks
register
Review
internal audit
work
The risk committee will probably consist of board members, but who should that be?
Exam Focus Point

Question 3 of the Strategic Business Leader exam in September 2018 featured a task which asked
candidates to prepare a briefing paper which advised the board at the featured entity of the
advantages of establishing a risk committee.
Activity 2: Risk committee

Evaluation: Appraise
You work as a consultant for the board of a medium-sized online retailing organisation which has
only been trading for three years, having previously operated from a network of five independent
retail outlets across one country. The prime business of the organisation is the sale of leisure
equipment for outdoor activities such as rock climbing, hang gliding and archery. Since
incorporation, the organisation has grown rapidly and the need for sound risk management has
become one of its key priorities as it attempts to secure additional funding for further expansion. It
currently has a board which consists of a Managing Director, Finance Director and Retail Director,
plus two non-executive directors (a lawyer and a retired bank manager) who have recently been
recruited to operate an audit committee in advance of becoming a listed entity.
The board is currently considering having a specific risk committee to address the specific risks that
the organisation faces, from both existing and proposed products and services. You have been
asked to advise the board by producing a slide for the next board meeting which explains who
should be on this risk committee.
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Required
Draft the presentation slide, explaining the benefits of having a risk committee that is staffed by (i)
executive directors only and (ii) non-executive directors only. (6 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating evaluation skills in appraising the benefits
of each approach. (2 marks)
(Total = 8 marks)
Solution
Performance Objective 20 'Review and report on the findings of an audit or assurance engagement'
of the Practical Experience Requirement requires you to 'discuss the findings and implications of an
PER alert
audit or assurance engagement with management and governance teams'. (ACCA, 2019b). To
achieve this performance objective, you could draw upon your experience of reporting to those
charged with governance the risks identified during audit work that you have undertaken.
If there is no risk committee, the audit committee may take responsibility for risk management
instead. They may however need the support of a dedicated risk manager.
2.1.2 Risk manager
Risk manager: A role that supports the board by taking the lead on risk and developing policy
and practice on managing risks.
Key term
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This role may be set up to support the board's risk responsibilities. A risk manager needs to combine
technical skills in managing various risks (such as compliance, legal and industry-specific risks) with
leadership and persuasive skills.
A risk manager's responsibilities can be listed as:
Leadership of enterprise risk management (essentially the process of risk management across the
entire organisation)
Establishing and promoting enterprise risk management
Developing common risk management policies
Establishing a common risk language
Dealing with insurance companies
Implementing risk indicators, (such as designing early warning systems)
Allocation of resources based on risk
Reporting to the CEO/board/risk committee as appropriate
2.2 Risk appetite
Risk appetite: Describes the nature and strength of risks that an organisation is prepared to bear.
Key terms Risk attitude: Is the directors' views on the level of risk that they consider desirable.
Risk averse: Accepting risks up to a certain point as long as they represent an acceptable return.
Risk seeker: Pursuing the highest returns regardless of risks (within reason).
Risk capacity: Describes the nature and strength of risks that an organisation is able to bear.
Different businesses will have different attitudes towards taking risk. This appetite for risk is likely to
be considered as part of an organisation's control environment (covered in Chapter 8).
Risk-averse businesses may be willing to tolerate risks up to a point provided they receive
acceptable return or, if risk is 'two-way' or symmetrical, that it has both positive and negative
outcomes. Some risks may be an unavoidable consequence of operating in their business sector.
However, there will be upper limits to the risks they are prepared to take, whatever the level of
returns they could earn.
Risk-seeking businesses are likely to focus on maximising returns and may not be worried about
the level of risks that have to be taken to maximise returns (indeed their managers may thrive on
taking risks).
Activity 3: Risk appetite

Commercial acumen: show insight
You work as a consultant for the board of a medium-sized online retailing organisation which has
only been trading for three years having previously operated from a network of five independent
retail outlets across one country. The prime business of the organisation is the sale of leisure
equipment for outdoor activities such as rock climbing, hang gliding and archery. Since
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incorporation, the organisation has grown rapidly and the need for sound risk management has
become one of its key priorities as it attempts to secure additional funding for further expansion. It
currently has a board which consists of a Managing Director, Finance Director and Retail Director,
plus two non-executive directors (a lawyer and a retired bank manager) who have recently been
recruited to operate an audit committee in advance of becoming a listed entity.
The board has been in discussions with a number of financial institutions about possible future
investment and the subject of the organisation's risk appetite has come up. Some board members
have previously ignored the idea of considering risks as they have always operated in this industry
and feel they know the business well enough without having to justify their approach to anyone else.
You have been asked by one of the non-executives to draft a short briefing note explaining why risk
is always present and why the organisation may actually seek to embrace more risk.
Required
Draft the briefing note, explaining why risk is always going to be present for this organisation and
why more risk may actually be worth seeking. (5 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating commercial acumen skills in showing
insight into why risk may be worth seeking. (2 marks)
(Total = 7 marks)
Solution
2.3 Identify risks

You will be expected to be able to identify and evaluate the key risks and their impact on
organisations and projects. Risk identification is a continuous, iterative process. Consequently,
organisations need to consider how best to identify risks before they can evaluate them and
eventually respond appropriately. Methods for identifying risk include:
(a) Brainstorming and workshops
(b) Stakeholder consultation
(c) Benchmarking
(d) Scenario analysis
(e) Results of audits and inspections
(f) Use of standard checklists
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Activity 4: Airline risks

You are a senior manager working in the risk management department of British Airways (BA),
which is described on its website as a 'full service global airline, offering year-round low fares with
an extensive global route network flying to and from centrally-located airports' (British Airways,
2019).
The activities undertaken by BA in addition to offering flights include:
 Fleet
 Engineering
 Ground handling services
 Corporate entertainment
 Listed company information
 Corporate responsibility
You have been asked to draft a list of key risks faced by BA as part of the board's induction process.
Required
Draft these training resources by identifying at least five key risks faced by BA (if you feel unfamiliar
with BA, you could select a different airline organisation on which to base your analysis). (5 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating commercial acumen in demonstrating
awareness of the wider factors affecting BA's risks. (2 marks)
(Total = 7 marks)
Solution
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Performance Objective 4 'Governance risk and control' of the Practical Experience Requirement
requires you to 'evaluate and identify areas of risk including data and cyber security risks – assessing
PER alert
the probability of fraud, error and other hazards in your area of responsibility, and the impact they
would have' (ACCA, 2019b). The following section focuses on the different types of risk factors that
could affect an organisation. You are strongly advised to take the time to read through this content
carefully prior to attempting PER Performance Objective 4.
2.3.1 Risk factors

A key aspect at this stage is the identification of risk factors that could impact upon the successful
implementation of strategy or the achievement of a firm's objectives.
Typical risk factors could include the following.
External events such as Internal events such as Leading event indicators

economic changes, political equipment problems, – conditions that could give
developments or human error or difficulties rise to an event such as
technological advances with products overdue customer balances
which may lead to default.
Escalation triggers are events happening Related risks are risks that are connected
or levels being reached that require because the causes of the risk are the same
immediate action, such as making changes (such as risks brought about by economic
after a deadline has passed or an effective uncertainty) or because one risk links to
response following product failure another (increasing sales volatility can lead
to risks over the price of raw materials)
Correlated risks are two risks that vary together. If positive correlation exists, the risks will
increase or decrease together (such as legal risks from being sued and the associated reputation
risk). If negative correlation exists, one risk will increase as the other decreases and vice
versa (for example, the risk of stock out reduces as the risk of over-supply of production
increases). The correlation coefficient measures the extent of any correlation.
2.3.2 Strategic and operational risks
Strategic risk: The risk that arises from longer-term decisions or events.
Key terms Operational risk: Risk that arises from the normal day-to-day activity of a company.
The main differences between strategic and operational risks relate to:
(a) Scope of impact
(b) Source of risk
(c) Duration of impact
(d) Scale of financial and resource consequences
Strategic risks are those risks that relate to the fundamental long-term decisions that directors take
about the future of an organisation. The most significant risks are focused on the impact they would
have on the company's ability to survive in the long term, such as:
Changes in technology
Market or industry sector changes
Product or competitor issues
The failure to innovate
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Macro-economic factors
Issues with commodities
Capital availability
Operational risk is the risk of loss from a failure of internal business and control processes and
will affect day-to-day operations. Operational risk includes losses arising from:
Internal control deficiencies
Human error
Fraud
Business interruption
Loss of key personnel
2.3.3 Categories of risk

We have already seen a number of different types of risk factor and considered some of the
causes of risks, as well as their strategic and/or operational impact. How can we start to make
sense of all this? There is no standard method for categorising risks – however, one
possible method of categorisation is as follows:
Risks
Strategic Operational
Information
Business Non-business and IT
Compliance
Product Financial
Wastage
Environmental
Event
(PESTEL)
Reputation
and ethics
Stakeholder
Fraud
Investment
Health and
Safety
Exam Focus Point

Task 1(b) in the March/ June 2019 exam released by ACCA required an assessment of the major
risks facing the featured entity, a clothing retailer called SmartWear, and its current business model.
Candidates were expected to suggest appropriate actions to mitigate the risks identified. Professional
skills marks were on offer for evaluation skills in assessing the risks identified at SmartWear in an
objective manner.
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The examining team noted that task 1(b) was generally answered well with the majority of
candidates able to identify several of the key risks and to provide practical actions. ‘Many
candidates adopted a tabular format to answer this question which allowed for more focused
answers. The table reduced the temptation to include unnecessary material and deterred unnecessary
repetition and could be produced relatively quickly so was a good use of limited answering time’.
(ACCA, 2019a). To earn the 4 professional skills marks on offer candidates needed to assess the
most significant risks facing SmartWear, and to recommend mitigation actions which were both
proportionate and would be effective at addressing the major risks identified. The answer needed to
be presented in the specified format of a briefing paper.
Activity 5: Categorising airline risks

Evaluation: Assess
You are a senior manager working in the risk management department of British Airways (BA),
which is described on its website as a 'full service global airline, offering year-round low fares with
an extensive global route network flying to and from centrally-located airports' (British Airlines,
2019).
The activities undertaken by BA in addition to offering flights include:
 Fleet
 Engineering
 Ground handling services
 Corporate entertainment
 Listed company information
 Corporate responsibility
You have been asked to categorise the key risks faced by BA as part of the board's induction
process.
Required
Draft these training resources by allocating the key risks faced by BA that you identified in Activity 4
to suitable risk categories (if you feel unfamiliar with BA, you could select a different airline
organisation on which to base your categorisation). (5 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating evaluation skills in assessing the risks
faced by BA. (2 marks)
(Total = 7 marks)
Solution
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2.3.4 Risk register

Organisations should have formal methods of collecting information on risks and responses. A risk
register lists and prioritises the main risks an organisation faces and is used as the basis for
decision making on how to deal with risks. The register also details who is responsible for
dealing with risks and the actions taken. The register should show the risk levels before and
after control action is taken, to facilitate a cost-benefit analysis of controls. Once identified and
categorised, risks can be included within the firm's risk register and kept under review.
An advantage of separating risks into strategic and operational is to ensure they are considered
by the most appropriate level of management. Some organisations choose to maintain separate risk
registers for strategic and operational risks.
2.4 Assess risks
2.4.1 Techniques
How are risks assessed? This may involve quantifying risks and what would happen if they were
to materialise. There are different ways to do this, including statistical techniques (such as value
at risk, regression analysis and simulation). Other techniques for carrying out risk
quantification include sensitivity analysis and calculating accounting ratios (such as margins,
gearing, days, interest cover and current ratio). Another way of quantifying risk is by using
expected values (EV):
Formula to learn
Expected value of loss = Probability of loss  Impact or size of potential loss
Where there is uncertainty and a range of possible future outcomes has been quantified (often best,
worst and most likely) probabilities can be assigned to these outcomes and a weighted average
(expected value) of those outcomes calculated:
Formula to learn
EV = px
where p is the probability of the outcome occurring and x is the value of the outcome (profit
or cost). When faced with a number of alternative decisions, the one with the highest EV may be
selected.
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2.4.2 Risk maps
Risk maps (sometimes called heat maps): These show risks in a visual way by plotting them
on a chart according to their impact and likelihood.
Key term
Quantifying risks can bring problems, for example, giving a false impression of accuracy, so
qualitative techniques are often used as well, such as visual techniques like risk mapping.
A risk map or heat map can be drawn, as a chart or graph, using risks from a risk register and
each series of risks can be plotted on this map in order to decide on the best way to manage them.
A typical risk map is a chart with one scale for severity or impact of loss and the other scale for
frequency or likelihood of loss. The approach to managing the risks should vary according to
their position on the risk map.
The solid line in the diagram below is known as the risk tolerance boundary and reflects the
company's risk appetite. This allows the company to prioritise its treatment of different risks. It
may choose to spend less on managing one risk in order to release funds to manage another more
effectively.
An example of a Heat Map
High
Likelihood
Low
Low High
Impact
Diagram: Heat Map
2.4.3 Subjectivity
One problem with risk assessment is the problem of subjectivity – something like assessing the risk
of getting a head when tossing a coin can be assessed objectively but estimating the risk of an
accident occurring or its impact could still be heavily influenced by subjectivity.
Real world example
The 2009 Turner report highlighted faulty measurement techniques as a reason why many UK
financial institutions underestimated their risk position. The required capital for their trading activities
was excessively light. Turner also highlighted the rapid growth of off-balance sheet vehicles that were
highly leveraged but were not included in standard risk measures. However, the crisis demonstrated
the economic risks of these vehicles, with liquidity commitments and reputational concerns requiring
banks to take the assets back onto their balance sheets, increasing measured leverage significantly.
Turner also saw the complexity of the techniques as being a problem in itself. 'The very complexity of
the mathematics used to measure and manage risk made it increasingly difficult for top management
and boards to assess and exercise judgements over risks being taken. Mathematical sophistication
ended up not containing risk but providing false assurance that other prima facie indicators of
increasing risk (eg rapid credit extension and balance sheet growth) could be safely ignored.'
(Turner, 2009)
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2.5 Respond to risks

2.5.1 TARA
TARA: The model referred to when considering responses to risks – Transfer, Avoid, Reduce and
Accept.
Key term
In order to respond to risk, organisations tend to consider the following approaches for the following
combinations of likelihood and impact:
 Risk Transfer – low likelihood but high impact
 Risk Avoidance – high likelihood and high impact
 Risk Reduction – high likelihood and low impact
 Risk Acceptance – low likelihood and low impact
Plotting them on a chart showing likelihood and impact would look like this:
Impact
Low High
High Reduce Avoid
Likelihood
Low Accept Transfer
Diagram: TARA risk management matrix

You should remember this as the TARA model. This is a means of matching a suitable strategy to a
given risk, although it may not always deliver perfect results every time as the following activity will
show.
Activity 6: TARA

Analysis: Consider
You work as a freelance risk consultant supporting organisations who are interested in setting up
their own risk management functions. You have been approached by a company that is keen to
follow best practice and has heard of the 'TARA' model but is unclear about how the model works.
You have agreed to produce some training materials that illustrate how the TARA model works using
the following four scenarios:
 Shoplifting in a supermarket: this happens quite often but items stolen tend to be of low value
 A courier company experiencing minor, infrequent delays due to 'rush hour' traffic
 Repairing significant property damage arising from unexpected flooding
 Loss of human life as part of drilling for oil on an oil rig
Required
Create the training materials, suggesting a suitable risk response for each of the four scenarios listed
above by plotting them on the TARA model shown below. (6 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating analysis skills in considering how the risks
identified fit into the TARA model. (2 marks)
(Total = 8 marks)
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Solution
Impact
Low High
High
Likelihood
Low
Syllabus link
Risk and risk management form a key part of the Strategic Business Leader syllabus, and link closely
to the Ethics and Professional Skills Module (EPSM) that you are required to complete on your journey
towards full ACCA membership. Part of the EPSM requires you to make recommendations in light of
having analysed different situations facing an organisation, part of which may involve considering
organisational risk. You are therefore strongly advised to complete the EPSM before sitting your
Strategic Business Leader exam as this will assist with your exam preparations.
The risk management process helps organisations to prioritise their risks but cannot eliminate
them altogether: usually gross risks (risks without any mitigation) and residual risks (risks that
remain once management action has been taken to address them) are compared to assess how
effective such risk response action has been. Taking the example of oil exploration above –
clearly, the gross risks are significant and without the ability to deploy suitable controls (such as
protective clothing, heavy machinery and training) such activity would probably be avoided.
However, once these steps have been taken, the residual risk is low enough to be considered
acceptable (clearly, the risk appetite of such an organisation would come into play here as well).
Risk Residual
Gross
response risk
risks
(acceptable)
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2.5.2 ALARP
ALARP: Refers to 'as low as reasonably practicable' – a pragmatic approach to managing risks that
seeks the most appropriate response to any risk by balancing cost and benefit.
Key term
Some businesses face risks which are high likelihood and high consequence. If they occur as part of
their core business (for example, oil exploration or providing fire and rescue services) they are
unlikely to avoid such risks, so adopt a pragmatic approach, trading off cost and benefit by
implementing controls appropriate to the level of risk faced. This approach is sometimes referred to
as ALARP – 'as low as reasonably practicable' and is illustrated by the diagram below.
Risk
Acceptability
2.5.3 Diversification of risks

Imagine a company that has identified a series of risks and identified them as being positively
correlated (for example, manufacturing products that are only in demand during warm, dry and
sunny weather). What happens when the weather is no longer sunny? There is a risk that demand
will fall and you will not achieve your targets. One response to this is also having a series of
negatively correlated risks to balance these out (also manufacturing products that are popular in
cold, wet and windy weather). This approach to spreading risks is often referred to as a portfolio
and can be observed in many organisations.
Correlated risks: Two risks that vary together. If positive correlation exists, the risks will increase
or decrease together. If negative correlation exists, one risk will increase as the other decreases and
Key terms
vice versa.
Related risks: Risks that are connected because the causes of the risk are the same.
Diversification: Offsetting risks that are negatively correlated to balance their impact and
likelihood regardless of the circumstances (sometimes called a 'portfolio' approach).
Exercise 2: Diversifying risks

Required
List THREE examples of organisations that have diversified their risks using a portfolio approach.
How have they diversified their risks?
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Solution
2.6 Monitoring
2.6.1 Review the process
Clearly, it makes sense for this process to be reviewed to ensure it is fit for purpose and actually
manages risks. On the assumption that risks can never be eliminated, how can you assess this?
One way is to compare risks as they have been assessed with how they actually materialise – if there
is any significant variance here, it suggests that there was a fault in the process somewhere.
Organisations might ask themselves the following questions when assessing whether they managed
risks well enough or if there was something they could have done differently:
Poor
identification
of risks?
Poor
assessment
of risks?
Poor choice
of response?
Fundamentally, whatever the reason, the process requires some form of review to ensure each of the
stages is operating as expected (and suitable remedial action taken as a result).
2.6.2 Dynamic nature of risks

How often should this process be assessed? It depends! Best practice in corporate governance
recommends an annual review of risk management processes and controls to ensure
effectiveness.
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However, if you consider the dynamic nature of risks (for example, during a terrorist attack or a
period of economic uncertainty) such a review may occur far more frequently and in the case of an
ongoing situation, this may be reviewed constantly.
Similarly, if you consider the ways in which risk varies in relation to the size, structure and
development of an organisation, this adds more weight to the argument that risks should be
managed as frequently as is appropriate to the circumstances in any situation.
Essential reading
the Workbook, for more detail on the types of situation that could lead to significant rapid changes
in an organisation's risks.
2.6.3 Adapt if necessary

It seems logical that if any improvements are identified during this review process, the system of risk
management should be updated as soon as possible to take such feedback into account.
2.7 Start again!

As you might expect, the cycle has come full circle and any issues identified with the risks
identified, the quality of their assessment and the suitability of any responses have all been
addressed. The process of risk management can begin again and will continue to run its course
until the next iteration is complete. Risks don't tend to go away, so neither should the system for
managing them!
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Chapter summary
The relationship between organisational Risk management

strategy and risk management strategy process
Understanding stakeholder responses to risks Who is responsible for risk?

Link to organisational strategy Stakeholder view • Risk committee
• Risk manager
Embedding risk in an organisation's culture

and values
Risk appetite
• Why?
• Risk averse vs risk seeker
• How?
• Risk capacity
Identify risks
• Risk factors
• Strategic and operational
• Categories of risk
• Risk registers
Assess risks
• Techniques
• Risk maps
• Subjectivity, including frequency vs severity
Respond to risks
• TARA
• ALARP – as low as reasonably practicable
• Diversification of risks
Monitoring
• Review the process
• Dynamic nature of risks
• Adapt if necessary
Start again!
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1. Different stakeholder groups have different views of risk (not all of them bad) which can
influence the way an organisation responds to and interacts with risk
2. Risks can be managed by a variety of different people and approaches within an organisation
3. Risk can be categorised in a number of different ways but always requires visibility for effective
management
4. Risk assessment can be carried out in a number of different ways – however, most tend to focus
on assessing risks for impact and likelihood
5. Risk never goes away – just like the weather, it is dynamic and does not stand still – so you
have to find a way of keeping on top of it!
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Question practice
Workbook):
Q7 Azure Airline
Further reading
Strategic and operational risks
This article explores the difference between strategic and operational risks.
COSO enterprise risk management framework
This article explores the key features of the COSO framework:
Own research
 Consider other examples of risk management models that can be seen to support the approach we
have discussed:
– COSO ERM cube
– CIMA Risk Management Cycle model
– Deal and Kennedy: risk, feedback and reward
– Institute of Risk Management – a risk management standard
– COCO standard (Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants)
 From your analysis of all the various models of risk management that exist, how many of them can
you see working in real life? Would any of these approaches to risk management be appropriate for
your own organisation?
 Below is a link to a news article relating to the problems that TSB encountered in 2018 when the
company undertook a planned upgrade of its customer online banking services. Read the article and
consider what sort of risk management TSB would have needed to operate to have reduced its
exposure to the risks that it encountered.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jun/06/timeline-of-trouble-how-the-tsb-it-meltdown-
unfolded
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Exercise answers
Exercise 1
(a) Shareholders are not necessarily risk averse, but they will expect higher returns from high
risk companies. They may well have acquired their shares to fit into a balanced portfolio. They
will be concerned if there is an unexpected change in the company's risk appetite and may
choose to invest elsewhere.
(b) Debt providers are most concerned about the risk of non-payment and they can take
various actions with potentially serious consequences such as:
 Denial of credit
 Higher interest charges
 Applying restrictive covenants
 Requiring security (eg mortgage)
 Putting the company into liquidation
(c) Employees will be concerned about threats to their job prospects (money, promotion,
benefits and satisfaction) and ultimately threats to the jobs themselves. The variety of actions
employees can take include:
 Pursuing of their own goals rather than shareholder interests
 Industrial action
 Refusal to co-operate
 Resignation
(d) Customers will be concerned with threats to their getting the goods or services that they have
been promised, or not getting the value from the goods or services that they expect. The risk to
the firm is that they could take their business elsewhere. Perhaps the organisation has a
reputation based on quality, value or customer service – these can be eroded if risks are taken
to compromise the achievement of these.
(e) Governments and regulators will be particularly concerned with risks that the
organisation does not act as a good corporate citizen, implementing, for example, poor
employment or environmental policies. A number of the variety of actions that can be taken
could have serious consequences. Government can impose tax increases or further regulation
or take legal action. Pressure groups' tactics can include publicity, direct action, sabotage or
pressure on government, regulators or other stakeholders.
Exercise 2
Some examples of types of organisation that have diversified their risks using a portfolio approach
(clearly there are many others that you could have considered):
 Supermarkets – value brands, named brands and highest quality (not to mention
diversifying into books, games, multimedia, banking, insurance, home goods…)
 Clothing retailers – again, ranges to suit different budgets for men, women and children
plus changing styles and fashions on a regular basis
 Professional firms that cater for all stages of a client's life cycle: start-up and advisory;
accounting and tax; acquisitions; mergers; disposals; insolvency…
 Motor manufacturers who offer a range of vehicles to suit people's tastes and needs
(usually under different brands, such as Jaguar Land Rover or BMW Mini)
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Internal control
systems
Learning objectives
Syllabus
reference no.
Evaluate the key components or features of effective internal control systems F1(a)
Assess the need for adequate information flows to management for the purposes F1(b)
of the management of internal control and risk
Evaluate the effectiveness and potential weaknesses of internal control systems F1(c)
Discuss and advise on the importance of sound internal control and compliance F1(d)
with legal and regulatory requirements and the consequences to an organisation
of poor control and non-compliance
Recommend new internal control systems or changes to the components of F1(e)

existing systems to help prevent fraud, error or waste
Examine the need for an internal audit function in the light of regulatory and F2(a)
organisational requirements
Justify the importance of auditor independence in all client-auditor situations F2(b)

(including internal audit) and the role of internal audit in compliance
Respond credibly to requests and enquiries from internal or external auditors F2(c)
Justify the importance of having an effective internal audit committee overseeing F2(d)
the internal audit function
Assess the appropriate responses to auditors' recommendations F2(e)
Justify the need for reports on internal controls to shareholders F3(a)
Discuss the typical contents of a report on internal control and audit F3(b)
Assess how internal controls underpin and provide information for reliable F3(c)
financial reporting
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Just as we saw with risk management, there are many different approaches to setting up a system of
internal control. In this chapter we will be looking at the main components that you would expect to
be considered best practice when it comes to internal control systems.
We will also look at how the audit committee, assisted by an internal audit function, manages this
system and the type of information created in various reports that can be used to support an
organisation's goals and objectives.
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8: Internal control systems
Chapter overview
Internal control systems
Internal control Monitoring
Definitions of internal control Information
Objectives of internal control Reviewing internal controls
Elements of internal control Audit committees
Categories of control Internal audit
Control procedures
Controls over financial reporting
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1 Internal control
1.1 Definitions of internal control
Internal control: 'Is a process affected by an entity's board of directors, management and other
personnel, designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the achievement of objectives,
Key term
reporting and compliance.'
(Committee of Sponsoring Organisations of the Treadway Commission, 2013: p.3)
Two main sources of guidance on internal controls are contained in COSO (The Committee of
Sponsoring Organisations of the Treadway Commission) and the UK Financial Reporting
Council’s (FRC) Guidance on Risk Management, Internal Control and Related Financial and
Business Reporting.
COSO (2013) has the support of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) which is the body
in charge of implementing and enforcing the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOx) legislation in the USA. It is
therefore most relevant to those companies following the SOx rules on internal controls.
The FRC’s (2014) guidance highlights that risk management and internal control systems encompass
the policies, culture, organisation, behaviours, processes, systems and other aspects of a company
that, taken together:
 ‘Facilitate its effective and efficient operation by enabling it to assess current and emerging
risks, respond appropriately to risks and significant control failures, and to safeguard its
assets;
 Help to reduce the likelihood and impact of: poor judgement in decision making; risk-taking
that exceeds the levels agreed by the board; human error; or control processes being
deliberately circumvented;
 Help ensure the quality of internal and external reporting; and
 Help ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and also with internal policies
with respect to the conduct of business.’ (FRC, 2014).
According to the FRC (2014), the board also needs to consider the following factors:
 ‘The operation of the relevant controls and control processes
 The effectiveness and relative costs and benefits of particular controls
 The impact of the values and culture of the company, and the way that teams and individuals
are incentivised, on the effectiveness of the systems.’ (FRC, 2014).
COSO: The US standard approach to internal controls which supports 'RORCS'.

Key terms RORCS: The objectives of any system of internal control: risk management; operations; reporting;
compliance; safeguarding assets.
Sarbanes-Oxley (sometimes referred to as either SarbOx or just SOx): Is the US
corporate governance legislation (of greatest relevance here is the section that relates to the need for
a management review of the effectiveness of internal controls).
FRC guidance: UK guidance relating to risk management and internal controls.
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Performance Objective 4 'Governance risk and control' of the Practical Experience Requirement
requires you to 'operate according to the governance standards, policies and controls of your
PER alert
organisation' (ACCA, 2019b). To help you identify examples from your own work experience of
applying internal controls it is important that you take the time to go through the contents of this
chapter carefully. The focus of Chapter 8 is dedicated to internal control systems.
1.2 Objectives of internal control

The objectives of internal control systems generally include:
 A focus on managing the risks facing the entity.
 Maintaining the effectiveness and efficiency of operations.
 Ensuring the reliability of both internal and external reporting.
 Supporting compliance with relevant laws and regulations.
 Safeguarding shareholder’s investments and protecting the entity’s assets.
This can be remembered using the mnemonic 'RORCS'.
More practically, internal controls should help organisations to counter risk, maintain the quality of
financial reporting and ensure compliance.
1.2.1 Inherent limitations of internal control

They provide reasonable assurance that organisations will achieve their objectives – however,
there can never be more than reasonable assurance that their objectives are reached, because
of inherent limitations, including:
The costs of control not The potential for

Poor judgement in human error or
outweighing their
decision making fraud
benefits
The possibility of Controls only being

Collusion between controls being designed to cope with
employees bypassed or overridden routine and not
by management or non-routine
employees transactions
Controls being unable to Controls depending on the

Controls not being
cope with unforeseen method of data
updated over time
circumstances processing
Illustration 1
The Swiss Cheese model is used to show the continual variability of the risks organisations face
and how control systems interact to counter risks – and on occasions fail to interact, leading to
accidents happening and losses being incurred.
The psychologist James Reason (1990), the creator of this model, hypothesised that most accidents
are due to one or more of the four levels of failure.
 Organisational influences
 Unsafe supervision
 Preconditions for unsafe acts
 Unsafe acts
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The first three elements in the list can be classified as 'latent failures', contributory factors that may
have lain dormant for some time. Unsafe acts can be classified as active errors, human actions in the
form of careless behaviour or errors.
Organisations can have control systems in place to counter all of these, but they can be seen as a
series of slices of Swiss cheese. Slices of Swiss cheese have holes in them, and seeing control
systems in these terms emphasises the weaknesses inherent in them. Reason went on to say that the
holes in the systems are continually varying in size and position. Systems failure occurs and accidents
happen when the holes in each system align.
Reason points out that, viewed this way, the focus shifts away from blaming a person to
organisational and institutional responsibility. In the field of healthcare, on which Reason
concentrated, blaming the person leads to a failure to realise that the same set of circumstances
could lead to similar errors, regardless of the people involved. Ultimately it thwarts the development
of safer healthcare institutions.
'Active failures are like mosquitoes. They can be swatted one by one but they still keep coming. The
best remedies are to create more effective defences and to drain the swamps in which they breed,
the swamps (being) the ever-present latent conditions.' (Reason, 1990)
Reason emphasised the importance of a sound reporting culture in a system of risk management.
'Without a detailed analysis of mishaps, incidents, near-misses and free lessons, we have no way of
uncovering recurrent error traps or of knowing where the edge is until we fall over it.' (Reason,
1990)
Exercise 1: Importance of controls

Required
Evaluate the importance of effective internal controls to different stakeholder groups for a large retail
organisation such as M&S (a UK-based retailer of clothes and food).
Solution
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1.3 Elements of internal control
1.3.1 The COSO cube

COSO (2013) uses a diagram, commonly referred to as the COSO ‘cube’, which details the features
of an internal control framework. The integrated components set out in the COSO cube (shown
below) complement those discussed in the 2017 COSO publication ‘Enterprise Risk Management:
Integrating with Strategy and Performance’.
The COSO cube illustrates how internal controls operate across three dimensions, making it very
flexible:
(a) Objectives in relation to operations, reporting and compliance
(b) Components of internal control
(c) Levels of the organisation (such as entity level or operating unit) where the internal control
applies
Enterprise Risk Management (ERM): The system used to apply the COSO approach.
Key term
While the COSO cube is unlikely to be examined in detail, it does provide a framework for
identifying and managing risk (already seen in Chapter 7) and how that informs an organisation's
internal controls.
ns
e
g
nc
tin
tio
ia
r
ra
po
pl
pe
m
Re
O
Co
Function
Unit
Operation Unit
Control Environment
Operation
Divison
Division
Risk Assessment
Entity Level
Control Activities
Information & Communication
Monitoring Activities
(Source: COSO Cube, 2013)
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The COSO cube (2013) framework consists of a number of interrelated components.
Component Explanation
Control This covers the tone of an organisation, and sets the basis for how risk is
Environment viewed and addressed by an organisation's people, including risk
management philosophy and risk appetite, integrity and ethical values, and the
environment in which they operate. The board's attitude, participation
and operating style will be a key factor in determining the strength of the
control environment. An unbalanced board, lacking appropriate technical
knowledge and experience, diversity and strong, independent voices is unlikely
to set the right tone.
The example set by board members may be undermined by a failure of
management in divisions or business units. Mechanisms to control line
management may not be sufficient or may not be operated properly. Line
managers may not be aware of their responsibilities or may fail to exercise
them properly.
Risk Risks are analysed considering likelihood and impact as a basis for
Assessment determining how they should be managed. The analysis process should clearly
determine which risks are controllable, and which risks are not controllable.
The COSO guidance stresses the importance of employing a combination of
qualitative and quantitative risk assessment methodologies. As
well as assessing inherent risk levels, the organisation should also assess
residual risks left after risk management actions have been taken. Risk
assessment needs to be dynamic, with managers considering the effect of
changes in the internal and external environments that may render controls
ineffective.
Control Policies and procedures are established and implemented to help ensure the
Activities risk responses are effectively carried out. COSO guidance suggests that a mix
of controls will be appropriate, including prevention and detection and
manual and automated controls. COSO also stresses the need for controls to
be performed across all levels of the organisation, at different stages
within business processes and over the technology environment.
Information Relevant information is identified, captured and communicated in a form and

and timeframe that enables people to carry out their responsibilities. The
Communication information provided to management needs to be relevant and of
appropriate quality. It also must cover all the objectives shown on the top
of the cube.
Effective communication should be broad – flowing up, down and across the
entity. There needs to be communication with staff. Communication of risk
areas that are relevant to what staff do is an important means of strengthening
the internal environment by embedding risk awareness in staff's thinking. There
should also be effective communication with third parties such as shareholders
and regulators.
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Component Explanation
Monitoring Risk control processes are monitored and modifications are made if necessary.
Activities Effective monitoring requires active participation by the board and senior
management, and strong information systems, so the data senior
managers need is fed to them.
COSO has drawn a distinction between regular review (ongoing
monitoring) and periodic review (separate evaluation). However,
weaknesses are identified, the guidance stresses the importance of feedback
and action. Weaknesses should be reported, assessed and their root causes
corrected.
1.3.2 Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC) Guidance on Risk Management, Internal

Control and Related Financial and Business Reporting
The FRC follows a very similar approach to the COSO cube: ‘A company’s systems of risk
management and internal control will include: risk assessment; management or mitigation of risks,
including the use of control processes; information and communication systems; and processes for
monitoring and reviewing their continuing effectiveness’ (FRC, 2014).
Exam Focus Point

candidates to assess the control weaknesses facing the featured organisation. The control
weaknesses were set out in one of the exhibits. Candidates were expected to explain the
consequences of the weaknesses identified and to provide recommendations for making
improvements.
1.3.3 Advantages and disadvantages of internal control frameworks

There are a number of advantages of adopting an internal control framework. However, there
have also been some criticisms made of models such as the COSO framework.
Alignment of risk appetite and strategy Internal focus – ignores the external
Link growth, risk and return environment and the risks they pose
Choose best risk response Risk identification – prioritises sudden events

Minimise surprises and losses over more gradual risks that evolve over time
Identify and manage risks across the

organisation Risk assessment – makes the process appear
too simplistic and thus too easy
Provide responses to multiple risks
Seize opportunities Stakeholders' involvement in risk management

Rationalise capital often tends to get ignored
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Activity 1: Widmerpool

Scepticism: Challenge
You are a partner in an accountancy practice. One of your clients, Widmerpool, has expanded
significantly over the last few years and is likely to seek a listing in a couple of years' time. You have
been contacted by the Chief Executive, Mr Kenneth, for advice on areas relating to the control and
risk management systems.
Up until recently, the main board has dealt with all significant issues relating to the company. In view
of the current plans to seek a listing, Widmerpool has recently appointed three non-executive
directors, and has used them to staff the audit committee that has just been established. Mr Kenneth
is also wondering whether to set up a separate risk committee. Ideally he would like the audit
committee's brief to be restricted to the accounting systems. There have recently been various
incidents that appear to indicate problems with the ways Widmerpool's employees deal with risk.
In one incident a worker was trapped in a machine. A fellow worker tried to help and both were
seriously injured. A subsequent investigation found that safety instructions appeared to be adequate
and there was sufficient safety equipment available. However, staff had not been using the right
equipment, appeared ignorant of safety issues and seemed unwilling or unable to comply with
instructions.
In another instance one of Widmerpool's most significant suppliers, Stringham, with whom
Widmerpool has been trying to develop much closer relations, supplied Widmerpool with
confidential information concerning its operations. Two of Widmerpool's managers discussed these
details in a local restaurant, but left the documentation relating to Stringham behind when they left
the restaurant. Another customer removed this information and offered to sell it to one of Stringham's
main competitors. The competitor declined the offer, and reported the situation to the police and
Stringham. As a result Stringham has decided to terminate its relationship with Widmerpool.
Widmerpool's organisational handbook stresses the need to keep sensitive business information
confidential, but does not provide detailed guidance.
Widmerpool recently carried out a staff satisfaction survey. One of the comments made was that as
the company has grown bigger, the board has become more distant from operations and seems
primarily concerned with ensuring that profits increase each year. As a result, staff have become
laxer in following internal procedures, as they believe that they are being judged solely on whether
their department fulfils its financial targets.
Required
Draft the response to Mr Kenneth, explaining why Widmerpool's internal guidance and control
procedures have failed to ensure that Widmerpool's employees deal carefully with business risks.
(8 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating scepticism skills in challenging the current
controls in place. (2 marks)
(Total = 10 marks)
Solution
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Exam Focus Point

which was responsible for providing rail services within the country of Beeland. The second question
required candidates to act in the capacity of an assistant auditor, working for the National Audit
Authority (NAA), the Beeland government's audit authority. The NAA was conducting an
investigation into the performance of Rail Co following negative publicity relating to poor levels of
service. Candidates were provided with a newspaper article which highlighted the deteriorating
performance of Rail Co and a copy of Rail Co's latest board minutes which highlighted a number of
operational issues. Part (b) of question 2 asked candidates to draft a letter to be sent to the Chair of
the Rail Co Trust Board which reviewed 'the effectiveness of the internal controls at Rail Co using
evidence from the minutes of the latest Rail Co board meeting and any other suitable source'.
Candidates were also expected to provide a justification 'that the chief executive of Rail Co [was]
failing in his fiduciary duties to the trustees […]' (ACCA, 2017a).
This task was worth 8 technical marks and tested the ACCA Professional Skill of Scepticism. To
produce a good answer candidates needed to make use of the specified exhibit information, as well
as addressing the two distinct parts of the task ie the effectiveness of internal controls and to justify
the view that the chief executive was failing in his fiduciary duties. To earn the two professional skills
marks candidates needed to demonstrate scepticism by 'questioning the opinions and assertions
made by the chief executive at the recent board meeting' (ACCA, 2017a).
1.4 Categories of control

1.4.1 Corporate, management, business process and transaction controls
This classification is based on the idea of a pyramid of controls, from corporate controls at the top of
the organisation, to transaction controls over the day-to-day operations.
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Corporate controls include general policy statements,
the established core culture and values and overall
monitoring procedures such as the audit committee
Management controls encompass planning and

performance monitoring, the system of accountabilities to
superiors and risk evaluation
Business process controls include authorisation limits,

validation of input, and reconciliation of different sources
of information
Transaction controls include complying with prescribed

procedures and accuracy and completeness checks
1.4.2 Administrative and accounting controls
Administrative controls are concerned with Accounting controls aim to provide accurate
achieving the objectives of the organisation and accounting records and to achieve
with implementing policies. The controls relate to accountability. They apply to the following.
the following aspects of control systems.  The recording of transactions
 Establishing a suitable organisation structure  Establishing responsibilities for records,
 The division of managerial authority transactions and assets
 Reporting responsibilities
 Channels of communication
1.4.3 Prevent, detect, correct and direct controls
Prevent controls
Detect controls
are controls that are
designed to prevent
designed to detect
errors from
errors once they
happening in the
have occurred
first place
Correct controls
Direct controls
direct activities or
designed to
staff towards a
minimise or negate
desired outcome
the effect of errors
The existence of these types of controls are highly relevant in addressing issues relating to human
error and issues of waste in the workplace.
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Human error
Human error concerns an unintended action by an individual which has led to an undesirable
outcome. Human error is often caused by carelessness, distraction or fatigue. A transposition error
where two figures are erroneously switched around when entering invoices into an accounting
computer system is an example of human error.
Waste
Wastage in the workplace is concerned with the loss of organisational resources. Waste in the
workplace is often associated with the loss of physical materials and/or inventory in traditional
manufacturing environments but can also extend to wastage in terms of lost employee time.
Real world example
The following real-world example illustrates how prevent, detect, correct and direct controls can be
applied in different contexts in the workplace when addressing human error and waste.
Internal controls to reduce instances of human error might include:
Prevent
The finance manager in the finance department may conduct a review of the list of supplier payments
prepared by the accounts clerk prior to authorisation. Such a review might involve checking the
invoices received from individual suppliers against the goods received notes and against the list of
supplier payments. This three-way match of documents should help to prevent payments being made
for items not received.
Detect
The preparation of a regular bank reconciliation should help the organisation to detect whether there
are any errors between the organisation’s bank statements and underlying accounting records. This
should help to identify any transposition errors in the accounting records.
Correct
To reduce the impact of an employee accidentally opening an email containing a virus which would
corrupt the data held on the organisation’s computer network, a daily back-up of all data held should
be taken to reduce the level of disruption.
Direct
Machinery in a factory may be set up so that it will not operate without the operator using the
required safety guards. Such a control should stop the operator from harming themselves by
erroneously trying to use the machine.
Internal controls to reduce instances of waste might include:
Prevent:
Ensuring that inventory and resources coming into the organisation are counted in and are reviewed
prior to use, to ensure that they are fit for purpose. This should help to prevent resources being used
in production and throughout the organisation which will need to be scrapped later on. Such a
control would also save the time of those workers that would have been lost in working with the
inputs that had to be scrapped.
Detect
During a production run of a particular item a factory manager might compare the amount of raw
material used to produce 100 units against the cost card information or budget to detect any
variances in usage. Such a control may help the organisation to identify inefficiencies in its
production processes.
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Correct
A warehouse manager might conduct a regular review of all inventory held to identify any items
nearing the point at which they become obsolete. Such a control helps to ensure that all items of
inventory are being used in the correct order i.e. oldest inventory items are used in production before
the newest. This allows for corrective steps to be taken by using all inventory up and helps to reduce
inventory holding costs.
Direct
To ensure that a firm’s lorry drivers are to work safely the organisation may require that all drivers
have to undergo a sobriety or drugs test before every long-haul delivery they undertake. Such a
control forces the organisation’s drivers to comply and helps to reduce the scope for deliveries to turn
up late and/or damaged.
Essential reading
the Workbook, for more detail regarding controls.
1.4.4 Discretionary and non-discretionary controls
Discretionary controls are controls that, as Non-discretionary controls are provided

their name suggests, are subject to human automatically by the system and cannot be
discretion. For example, a control that goods are bypassed, ignored or overridden. For example,
not dispatched to a customer with an overdue checking the signature on a purchase order is
account may be discretionary (the customer may discretionary, whereas inputting a PIN number
have a good previous payment record or be too when using a cash dispensing machine is a
important to risk antagonising). non-discretionary control.
1.4.5 Voluntary and mandated controls

These types of controls are split between those that are required and therefore have to be
implemented and those that are not required but the organisation chooses to implement. Deciding on
which to prioritise will be the challenge for organisations in such industries.
• Chosen by the organisation to support the

management of the business.
Voluntary
• Authorisation controls, certain key transactions
controls
requiring approval by a senior manager, are
voluntary controls.
• Required by law and imposed by external

authorities.
Mandated • A financial services organisation may be subject
controls to the control that only people authorised by the
financial services regulatory body may give
investment advice.
1.4.6 General and application controls

These controls are used to reduce the risks associated with the computer environment.
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General controls
are controls that relate
to the environment in
which the application Application controls
system is operated are controls that prevent,
detect and correct errors
and irregularities as
transactions flow through
the business system
(basically inputs,
processes and outputs)
1.4.7 Financial and non-financial controls
Financial controls focus on the key transaction Non-financial controls tend to concentrate on
areas, with the emphasis being on the wider performance issues.
safeguarding of assets and the  Quantitative non-financial controls
maintenance of proper accounting include numeric techniques, such as
records and reliable financial performance indicators, the balanced
information. Financial controls need to ensure scorecard and activity-based management.
that:
 Qualitative non-financial controls
 Assets and transactions are recorded include many topics we have already
completely and accurately in the discussed, such as organisational structures,
accounting records. rules and guidelines, strategic plans and
 Entries are posted correctly within the human resource policies.
accounting records
 Cut-off is applied correctly, so that
transactions are recorded in the correct year
 The accounting system can provide the
necessary data to prepare the annual report
and accounts
 The accounting system does provide the
data as required – that the system is
organised to supply on time and in a usable
format the data that underpins the accounts
and the other content of the annual report
Syllabus links
In Chapter 9 further consideration is given to the types of internal controls which can be used by
organisations to address instances of fraud.
1.5 Control procedures

Although we have seen the various categories of control that could be used by an organisation, each
will rely on a number of procedures to operate effectively. Commonly used control procedures (or
control activities) can be remembered using the 'APIPS' mnemonic.
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APIPS: The most common forms of control activity: authorisation; performance reviews; information
processing; physical controls; segregation of duties.
Key terms
Control procedures: The activities that make up any system of internal control (see 'APIPS'
above).
Segregation of Authorisation
duties
Physical controls Performance reviews
Information
processing
(Diagram: APIPS)
1.6 Controls over financial reporting

Controls over financial reporting need to be focused on key financial reporting objectives.
This should help managers carry out effective risk assessments and mean they only implement
appropriate controls, rather than implementing 'standard' controls that are not useful for the
business.
In particular robust controls need to be in place to ensure the quality of financial reporting – for
example:
Journal •
•
Must be authorised
Must be supported by adequate documentation
entries • Must be reviewed by a senior manager
• Usually relate to high risk amounts where

Accounting significant judgement is required (and where
fraud could exist)
estimates • Assumptions underpinning such estimates must
be challenged
• Restricting access to data and programs used in

the process
IT controls • If not practical, requires regular review by
managers of selected transactions, periodic
asset counts and reconciliations
Other particularly important controls to ensure the accuracy of financial reporting information
include:
 Full documentation of assets, liabilities and transactions
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 Matching of source documents and accounting records

 Confirmation of information by suppliers, customers and banks
 Reconciliation of information from different source documents and other sources
 Completeness checks over documents and accounting entries
 Reperformance of accounting calculations
Activity 2: PKG High School Governing Body

Evaluation: Assess & Communication: Persuade
PKG High School has 900 pupils, 40 teachers, 10 support staff and a budget of $3 million per
annum, 85% of which represents salary and salary-related costs. PKG's local authority allocates
government funding for education to schools based on the number of pupils. It ensures that the
government-approved curriculum is taught in all schools in its area with the aim of achieving
government targets. All schools, including PKG, are subject to an independent financial audit as well
as a scrutiny of their education provision by the local authority, and reports of both are presented to
the school governing body.
The number of pupils determines the approximate number of teachers, based on class sizes of
approximately 30 pupils. The salary costs for teachers are determined nationally and pay scales
mean that more experienced teachers receive higher salaries. In addition, some teachers receive
school-specific responsibility allowances.
PKG is managed on a day-to-day basis by the headteacher. The governance of each school is
carried out by a governing body comprising the headteacher, elected representatives of parents of
pupils, and members appointed by the local authority. The principles of good corporate governance
apply to school governing bodies, which are accountable to parents and the local authority for the
performance of the school.
The governing body holds the headteacher accountable for day-to-day school management, but on
certain matters, such as building maintenance, the headteacher will seek expert advice from the local
authority.
The governing body meets quarterly and has as its main responsibilities budgetary management,
appointment of staff and education standards. The main control mechanisms exercised by the
governing body include scrutiny of a year-to-date financial report, a quarterly non-financial
performance report, teacher recruitment and approval of all purchases over $1,000. The
headteacher has expenditure authority below this level.
The financial report (which is updated monthly) is presented at each meeting of the governing body.
It shows the local authority's budget allocation to the school for the year, the expenditure incurred for
each month and the year to date, and any unspent balances. Although there is no external financial
reporting requirement for the school, the local authority will not allow any school to overspend its
budget allocation in any financial year.
PKG's budget allocation is only just sufficient to provide adequate educational facilities. Additional
funds are always required for teaching resources, building maintenance, and to upgrade computer
equipment. The only flexibility the school has in budget management is to limit responsibility
allowances and delay teacher recruitment. This increases pupil-contact time for individual teachers,
however, and forces teachers to undertake preparation, marking and administration after school
hours.
Note. A local authority (or council) carries out services for the local community and levies local taxes
(or council tax) to fund most of its operations.
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Required
You are a consultant acting on behalf of the local authority and have been asked to write a report to
the main education committee in which you:
Evaluate the effectiveness of the governing body's control over PKG High School. (8 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating evaluation skills in assessing the priority
and impact associated with particular control weaknesses. (2 marks)
Recommend ways in which it might be improved. (8 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating communication skills in persuading the
committee of the changes that need to be made. (2 marks)
(Total = 20 marks)
Solution
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2 Monitoring
2.1 Information
2.1.1 Types of information
In order to fulfil their duties effectively the board of directors (and sub-committees) need a wide range
of information, which is used for a number of different reasons and will ultimately help in the
monitoring of effective risk management and sound systems of internal control:
Financial
information –
External important for internal
information about purposes and to fulfil
competitors, suppliers, legal requirements for
impact of future true and fair external
economic and social reporting
trends
Non-financial
information such as
quality reports, customer
complaints, human
resource data
2.1.2 Levels of information
Strategic information Tactical information Operational information
Used to plan the objectives of Used to decide how the Used to ensure that specific
the organisation, and to assess resources of the business should operational tasks are planned
whether the objectives are be employed, and to monitor and carried out as intended
being met in practice how they are being, and have
been, employed
 Derived from both  Primarily generated  Derived from internal

internal and external internally (but may have sources such as transaction
sources a limited external recording methods
 Summarised at a high component)  Detailed, being the
level  Summarised at a processing of raw data
 Relevant to the long term lower level (for example transaction
 Relevant to the short and reports listing all
 Concerned with the
medium term transactions in a period)
whole organisation
 Concerned with activities  Relevant to the
 Often prepared on an 'ad
or departments immediate term
hoc' basis
 Prepared routinely and  Task-specific
 Both quantitative and
regularly  Prepared very frequently
qualitative
 Often uncertain, as the  Based on quantitative  Largely quantitative
future cannot be accurately measures
predicted
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2.1.3 Qualities of good information
Information should be characterised as ACCURATE using the following qualities:
Quality Example
Accurate Figures should add up, the degree of rounding should be appropriate, there
should be no typos, items should be allocated to the correct category, and
assumptions should be stated for uncertain information.
Complete Information should include everything that it needs to include, for example external
data if relevant, comparative information and qualitative information as well as
quantitative. Sometimes managers or strategic planners will need to build on the
available information to produce a forecast using assumptions or extrapolations.
Cost-beneficial It should not cost more to obtain the information than the benefit derived from
having it. Providers of information should be given efficient means of collecting
and analysing it. Users should not waste time working out what it means.
User-targeted The needs of the user should be borne in mind; for instance, senior managers
need strategic summaries, and junior managers need detail.
Relevant Information that is not needed for a decision should be omitted, no matter how
'interesting' it may be.
Authoritative The source of the information should be a reliable one. However, subjective
information (eg expert opinions) may be required in addition to objective facts.
Timely The information should be available when it is needed. It should also cover
relevant time periods and the future as well as the past.
Easy to use Information should be clearly presented, not excessively long, and sent using the
right medium and communication channel (email, telephone, hard-copy report).
2.1.4 Sources of good information

The information directors need to be able to monitor controls effectively comes from a wide variety of
sources. Directors can obtain information partly through their own efforts. However, if information
systems are to work effectively, it is vital that they identify particular people or departments who are
responsible for providing particular information.
Controls must be built into the systems to ensure that those responsible provide that data. This is
particularly important in the context of the information that supports the contents of the financial
statements and is used by internal and external audit and the audit committee.
What sort of information is required for good decisions to be made by an organisation? The
diagram shows some of the typical sources of good information and the haphazard nature of how
they sometimes emerge.
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Directors,
Employees NEDs, auditors
(including and exception
whistleblowers) reports
Customer
feedback
Information for good decision making
2.2 Reviewing internal controls

2.2.1 Internal control reports
In order to be able to carry out an effective review, boards or board committees should regularly
receive and review reports and information on internal control, concentrating on:
(a) What the risks are and strategies for identifying, evaluating and managing them
(b) The effectiveness of the management and internal control systems in the management of
risk, in particular how risks are monitored and how any deficiencies have been dealt
with
(c) Whether actions are being taken to reduce the risks found
(d) Whether the results indicate that internal control should be monitored more
extensively
Essential reading
the Workbook, for more detail on how boards can review internal control reports.
2.2.2 Annual review of controls

The FRC’s (2014) guidance sets out that the board should conduct an annual review of its internal
control systems. This should involve reviewing the ‘effectiveness of the systems to ensure that it has
considered all significant aspects of risk management and internal control for the company for the
year under review and up to the date of approval of the annual report and accounts. The board
should define the processes to be adopted for this review, including drawing on the results of the
board’s on-going process such that it will obtain sound, appropriately documented evidence to
support its statement in the company’s annual report and accounts.’ (FRC, 2014).
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An annual review should cover:
The changes since the last assessment of risks faced, and the company's ability to respond
to changes in its business environment
The scope and quality of management's monitoring of risk and internal control and of the work of
internal audit, or consideration of the need for internal audit if the company does not have it
The extent and frequency of reports to the board
Significant controls, failings and deficiencies with material impacts on the accounts
The effectiveness of the public reporting processes
2.2.3 External reporting on risk management and internal controls

Stricter requirements on external reporting have been introduced because of the contribution of
internal control failures to corporate scandals. The requirements have tried to address the concerns of
shareholders and other stakeholders that management has exercised proper control.
The following factors can be considered best practice in respect of board review and reporting in
most jurisdictions.
An explanation that such a system is

An acknowledgement that they are designed to manage rather than eliminate
responsible for the company's system of the risk of failure to achieve business
internal control and reviewing its objectives, and can only provide reason-
effectiveness able and not absolute assurance against
material misstatement or loss
Best practice on board review

and reporting for most
jurisdictions
A summary of the process that the directors

have used to review the effectiveness of the Information about those deficiencies in
system of internal control and consider the internal control that have resulted in
need for an internal audit function if the material losses, contingencies or
company does not have one; there should uncertainties which require disclosure in the
also be disclosure of the process the board financial statements or the auditor's report
has used to deal with material internal on the financial statements
control aspects of any significant problems
disclosed in the annual accounts
The information provided must be meaningful, taking an overall, high-level view. It must also be
reliable. The work of internal audit and the audit committee can help ensure reliability.
Exam Focus Point

The March/June 2019 exam released by ACCA featured a clothing retailer called SmartWear. In
Task 3 candidates were required to draft a memo to SmartWear’s buying and merchandising
director, which evaluated the effectiveness of the internal control systems at the company, and which
also recommended control improvements to rectify a number of areas of concern. The issues raised
were set out in an internal audit report and included issues relating to the performance of the
company’s existing suppliers’ and internal reporting provisions.
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Professional skills marks were available for commercial acumen skills in respect of the
recommendations made. The examining team noted that ‘many good candidates used the common-
sense structure: issue – outcome – recommendation, which tended to result in good [easy to mark]
answers. […] Weaker candidates just reiterated the various problems in the scenario and possibly
the outcome, but did not provide useful and/or sensible solutions.’ (ACCA, 2019a).
To earn the 4 professional skills marks on offer candidates had to use the information provided to
evaluate the internal control problems and use professional judgement when providing sensible
recommendations in respect of control improvements. The answer needed to be presented as a
memo and be structured in such a way that it targeted the needs of the buying and merchandising
director.
2.2.4 Sarbanes-Oxley
The requirements relating to companies under the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation are rather stricter than
under the UK regime.
The most significant difference is

that, in the UK, directors should say
that they have assessed the Sarbanes-Oxley requires the
effectiveness of internal controls in directors to say specifically in the
general accounts whether or not internal
controls over financial
reporting are effective
The directors cannot conclude that controls are effective if there are material deficiencies in
controls: severe deficiencies that result in a more-than-remote likelihood that material misstatements in
the financial statements won't be prevented or detected.
Under Sarbanes-Oxley, disclosures should include a statement of management
responsibility, details of the framework used, disclosure of material deficiencies and also a
statement by the external auditors on management's assessment of the effectiveness of
internal control.
How much value reports give has been debated, particularly in America where some believe that the
Sarbanes-Oxley legislation is too onerous. If reporting is compulsory, companies cannot apply a cost-
benefit analysis to determine whether it is justified. It would certainly appear to be more beneficial
for a larger company with elaborate control systems, where most of the shares are held by external
shareholders.
2.3 Audit committees

2.3.1 Advantages and disadvantages
The Cadbury report (1992) summed up the benefits that an audit committee can bring to an
organisation:
'If they operate effectively, audit committees can bring significant benefits. In particular, they have
the potential to:
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(a) Improve the quality of financial reporting, by reviewing the financial statements on behalf of the
Board
(b) Create a climate of discipline and control which will reduce the opportunity for fraud
(c) Enable the non-executive directors to contribute an independent judgement and play a positive
role
(d) Help the finance director, by providing a forum in which he can raise issues of concern, and
which he can use to get things done which might otherwise be difficult
(e) Strengthen the position of the external auditor, by providing a channel of communication and
forum for issues of concern
(f) Provide a framework within which the external auditor can assert his independence in the event
of a dispute with management
(g) Strengthen the position of the internal audit function, by providing a greater degree of
independence from management
(h) Increase public confidence in the credibility and objectivity of financial statements.'
(Cadbury, 1992: p.68)
There are, however, some possible drawbacks with an audit committee:
Since the findings of audit committees are rarely made public, it is not always clear what they do
or how effective they have been in doing it
The audit committee's approach may act as a drag on the drive and entrepreneurial flair of the
company's senior executives
The Cadbury report warned that the effectiveness of the audit committee may be compromised if it
acts as a 'barrier' between the external auditors and the main (executive) board
The Cadbury committee also suggested that the audit committee may be compromised if it allows the
main board to 'abdicate its responsibilities in the audit area', as this will weaken the board's
responsibility for reviewing and approving the financial statements
The audit committee may function less effectively if it falls under the influence of a dominant
board member, particularly if that board member is the only committee member with significant
financial knowledge and experience
2.3.2 Who should be on the audit committee?

According to the UK Corporate Governance Code (2018), the board should establish an audit
committee of at least three (two in the case of smaller companies) members, who should all be
independent non-executive directors. The board may delegate some of its duties to the Audit
Committee (and the Risk Committee).
The board should satisfy itself that at least one member of the audit committee has recent and
relevant financial experience. (Under SOx having fulfilled the role of CEO is not sufficient experience
to qualify as the financial expert on the audit committee.)
The audit committee should have written terms of reference. Under SOx this is referred to as the Audit
Committee Charter.
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2.3.3 Responsibilities of the audit committee

The responsibilities of the audit committee encompass:
Monitoring and Reviewing Overseeing Policy setting

• Financial statements • Effective internal audit • Non-audit service provided
• Price-sensitive information • Appointment of external by external auditors (NB
• Internal financial controls auditors most are barred under
SOx)
• Independence of external • Remuneration of external
auditors auditors
The audit committee also has other specific responsibilities:
Responses to auditors
Auditor requests
Whistleblowers
As part of their overall
The audit committee
Audit committees need remit for overseeing
must respond credibly to
to ensure there are internal control and risk
requests and enquiries
adequate whistleblower management, the audit
from both internal or
procedures in place committee will ensure
external auditors – this
within the company. that the organisation
could relate to accessing
They have to ensure that assesses the
sensitive information,
any problems will be appropriateness of
visiting a representative
brought to their attention responses to auditors'
cross-section of the
and cannot be recommendations
organisation or
intercepted by (including taking actions
responding to awkward
management. when identified as
questions.
necessary).
2.4 Internal audit

2.4.1 Role of internal audit
Internal audit is a form of control put in place by the board to help achieve the company's objectives.
Internal audit is an important part of the internal control system and it can therefore be regarded as
having the same objectives as the rest of the internal control system: ie safeguarding assets;
economy, efficiency and effectiveness of operations; reporting; compliance.
It is inevitable that internal audit will focus on operational controls. In some companies, however,
the problem may be a failure of strategic level controls, due to management override of controls or
poor strategic decision making. However, internal audit's role in relation to strategic controls will be
limited, as most checking procedures have been followed at board level. The board must ultimately
be responsible for the operation of strategic controls.
Essential reading
the Workbook, for more detail on the type of work that the internal audit function conduct.
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2.4.2 Assessing the quality of internal audit
The internal audit department reports to the audit committee who will carry out an annual review
of the internal audit function using the following criteria:
Authority (whether
their terms of
Scope of work reference are
(how far-reaching sufficiently broad and
their work is) whether their reports
have been reviewed
and action taken)
Resources (in terms

Independence
of hours, physical
(auditors should be
resources and
independent of the
appropriate
activities they audit –
knowledge, skills and
see below)
experience)
Illustration 2
Pickett (2010) in the Internal Auditing Handbook suggests that the concept of independence involves
a number of key qualities.
Objectivity Judgements made in a state of detachment from the situation or

decision
Impartiality Not taking sides, in particular not being influenced by office politics in
determining the work carried out and the reports given
Unbiased views Avoiding the perception that internal audit is out to 'hit' certain
individuals or departments
Valid opinion The audit opinion should be based on all relevant factors, rather than
being one that pleases everyone.
No spying for Again, internal audit should serve the whole organisation. Managers
management who want their staff targeted might be trying to cover up their own
inadequacies.
No no-go areas Being kept away from certain areas will fatally undermine the
usefulness of internal audit and mean that aggressive (incompetent?)
managers are not checked.
Sensitive areas Internal audit must have the abilities and skills to audit complex areas
audited effectively
Senior Internal audit must cover the management process and not just audit the
management detailed operational areas
audited
No backing off Audit objectives must be pursued fully in a professional manner and
auditors must not allow aggressive managers to deflect them from
doing necessary work and issuing valid opinions.
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Independence of internal auditors can be achieved by the following.

 The department should report to the board or to a special audit committee and not to the
finance director.
 Management should ensure staff recruited to internal audit internally do not conduct audits
on departments in which they have worked.
 Where internal audit staff have also been involved in designing or implementing new
systems, they should not conduct post-implementation audits.
 Internal auditors should have appropriate scope in carrying out their responsibilities, and
unrestricted access to records, assets and personnel.
 Rotation of staff over specific departmental audits should be implemented.
2.4.3 Assessing the ongoing need for internal audit

As part of their role of monitoring internal audit, the audit committee should carry out a formal
annual review of internal audit. If there is no internal audit function present, the audit committee
should consider annually whether there is still no need for internal audit or if one might now be
required.
Factors that will influence this decision are:
Company size Unexpected risk Cost v benefit

Company events analysis
complexity Problems in the
internal control
Activity 3: PKG High School – Review and Audit of Controls

Communication: Persuade
PKG High School has 900 pupils, 40 teachers, 10 support staff and a budget of $3 million per
annum, 85% of which represents salary and salary-related costs. PKG's local authority allocates
government funding for education to schools based on the number of pupils. It ensures that the
government-approved curriculum is taught in all schools in its area with the aim of achieving
government targets. All schools, including PKG, are subject to an independent financial audit as well
as a scrutiny of their education provision by the local authority, and reports of both are presented to
the school governing body.
The number of pupils determines the approximate number of teachers, based on class sizes of
approximately 30 pupils. The salary costs for teachers are determined nationally and pay scales
mean that more experienced teachers receive higher salaries. In addition, some teachers receive
school-specific responsibility allowances.
PKG is managed on a day-to-day basis by the headteacher. The governance of each school is
carried out by a governing body comprising the headteacher, elected representatives of parents of
pupils, and members appointed by the local authority. The principles of good corporate governance
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apply to school governing bodies which are accountable to parents and the local authority for the
performance of the school.
The governing body holds the headteacher accountable for day-to-day school management, but on
certain matters, such as building maintenance, the headteacher will seek expert advice from the local
authority.
The governing body meets quarterly and has as its main responsibilities budgetary management,
appointment of staff and education standards. The main control mechanisms exercised by the
governing body include scrutiny of a year-to-date financial report, a quarterly non-financial
performance report, teacher recruitment and approval of all purchases over $1,000. The
headteacher has expenditure authority below this level.
The financial report (which is updated monthly) is presented at each meeting of the governing body.
It shows the local authority's budget allocation to the school for the year, the expenditure incurred for
each month and the year to date, and any unspent balances. Although there is no external financial
reporting requirement for the school, the local authority will not allow any school to overspend its
budget allocation in any financial year.
PKG's budget allocation is only just sufficient to provide adequate educational facilities. Additional
funds are always required for teaching resources, building maintenance, and to upgrade computer
equipment. The only flexibility the school has in budget management is to limit responsibility
allowances and delay teacher recruitment. This increases pupil-contact time for individual teachers,
however, and forces teachers to undertake preparation, marking and administration after school
hours.
Note. A local authority (or council) carries out services for the local community and levies local taxes
(or council tax) to fund most of its operations.
Required
You are a consultant acting on behalf of the local authority and have been asked to explain why the
review and audit of control systems is important for the governing body of a school such as PKG.
(5 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating communication skills in persuading the
local authority of the importance of a review and audit of control systems. (2 marks)
(Total = 7 marks)
Solution
240
Exam Focus Point

which was responsible for providing rail services within the country of Beeland. The fourth question
required candidates to act as an internal auditor. Candidates were provided with a spreadsheet
which had been prepared by Rail Co's financial controller. The spreadsheet analysed the ticket sales
and rail usage on the Beeland rail network and also provided details of the estimated levels of fraud
on the Rail Co network. Part (a) of question 4 asked candidates to 'analyse the information presented
in the spreadsheet produced by the financial controller, questioning any assumptions he may have
made, and [to] explain the implications of the findings for Rail Co' (ACCA, 2017a). This task was
worth 8 technical marks and tested the ACCA Professional Skill of Scepticism. To produce a good
answer candidates needed to adopt a questioning mind-set especially when considering the
assumptions made by the financial controller. To earn the two professional skills marks candidates
needed accurately analyse the information provided in the spreadsheet and to reflect on the impact
of this in relation to Rail Co's revenues.
Part (b) of question 4 was closely connected to part (a) as candidates were asked to 'recommend to
the audit and risk committee, with justifications, suitable measures or safeguards which could be
implemented by Rail Co to reduce the levels of fraud occurring on the network' (ACCA, 2017a). This
was worth 8 technical marks and tested the ACCA Professional Skill of Commercial Acumen. The
focus on commercial acumen meant that any measures recommended to reduce fraud needed to be
practical and capable of being implemented.
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Chapter summary
Internal control systems
Internal control Monitoring
Definitions of internal control Information

Systems and attitudes • Types of information
• Levels of information
• Qualities of good information
Objectives of internal control • Sources of good information
• RORCS:
– Risks
– Operations Reviewing internal controls
– Reporting • Internal control reports
– Compliance • Annual review of controls
– Safeguard assets • External reporting on risk management and
• Inherent limitations of internal control internal controls
• Sarbanes-Oxley
Elements of internal control

Audit committees
• COSO cube
• Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC) Guidance • Advantages and disadvantages
• Advantages and disadvantages of using • Who should be on the audit committee?
internal frameworks • Responsibilities of the audit committee
Categories of control Internal audit

• Corporate, management, business process • Role of internal audit
and transaction • Assessing the quality of internal audit
• Administration and accounting – Scope
• Prevent, detect, correct and direct – Authority
• Discretionary and non-discretionary – Independence
• Voluntary and mandated – Resources
• General and application • Assessing the ongoing need for internal audit
• Financial and non-financial
Control procedures
APIPS:
• Authorisation
• Performance review
• Information systems
• Physical controls
• Segregation of duties
Controls over financial reporting

• Journal entries
• Accounting estimates
• IT controls
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1. Internal control is a process that needs to be appropriate to the organisation and its objectives
2. Although each system of internal controls is unique, there is always likely to be a control
environment, control activities; and the same overall objectives of the system: reporting;
operations; risks; compliance; and safeguarding assets (RORCS)
3. While there are many different categories of control, there are likely to be only five types of
control procedure: authorisation; performance reviews; information processing; physical
controls; and segregation of duties (APIPS)
4. Monitoring requires good information, supplied at the right level and obtained from the right
sources
5. The process of monitoring, reviewing and reporting on internal controls is likely to be completed
by the audit committee supported by an internal audit function if deemed necessary by the
complexities of the organisation
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Question practice
Workbook):
Q8 LMN
Further reading
Internal audit
This article explores the important role that internal audit plays in organisations.
COSO enterprise risk management framework
This article explores the key features of the COSO framework:
Own research
Reflect on your learning from both this chapter and Chapter 7 on risk management and see if you can
start to fit the two elements together in the context of either your own organisation or one you are familiar
with – if you were in a position of strategic leadership, what do you think you would need to do to ensure
you were fulfilling your responsibilities (this assumes that you know what they are?)
Following this period of reflection, you may still have some questions about the way each of these various
approaches works.
If so, try the following activities:
 Select some famous UK companies and review the governance sections of their annual reports (for
example M&S, BT or Barclays Bank)
Look at how they approach their risk and control responsibilities: are they all the same?
 Now have a look at some examples from the USA (for example Nike, Starbucks or Disney) – what's
different about this process of disclosing internal controls in the US?
 Finally, consider companies from elsewhere in the world (for example Adidas in Germany, PSA
Groupe in France or ArcelorMittal in Luxembourg) – how do they present information about risks and
controls?
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Exercise answer
Exercise 1
(a) Shareholders want to ensure that their investment is protected. The benefit of internal
controls for them is that the controls will reduce the incidence of fraud and error. Controls will
also manage risks faced by the company, thus reducing the overall risk faced by investors.
However, controls cost money to design, implement and monitor and this will reduce the value
of the shareholders' investment. They therefore want an appropriate balance of controls, so
more controls over high-risk areas and fewer over areas where they are less exposed.
(b) Debt providers want to protect the capital they have put into the company and to receive
interest. They will want to make sure that controls are adequate to protect their investment.
They will be less concerned with controls being costly unless the cost is so great as to put the
whole company at risk and thereby expose any creditors to risk.
(c) Employees are concerned about job security so will want to see controls that are adequate
to protect the future of the company. Employees were particularly badly affected by the Mirror
Group corporate failure where Robert Maxwell misappropriated pension funds. Employees are
therefore concerned to see adequate controls over their pension funds. They also have a stake
in the reputation of the company and therefore in how reputation risk is managed. Employees
have to operate controls and will therefore not want them to add an unnecessary burden to
their work. They will want controls that protect them against any perceived threats.
(d) Customers will want their dealings with the company to be pleasant and hassle free. They
will be unhappy about controls that are overly intrusive (M&S traditionally had a reputation for
no quibbling over returns and gained Christmas sales from people buying presents that could
be returned). On the other hand, customers will want to be assured of the safety (and recently
the ethical provenance) of the products they are buying and will expect adequate controls in
this area.
(e) Government and regulators will want to ensure that adequate controls exist to cover
statutory compliance. They may audit this themselves (VAT and PAYE compliance) or respond
when there is a breach (health and safety).
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246
Applying ethical
principles
Learning objectives
Syllabus
reference no.
Evaluate organisational decisions using the Tucker 5-question approach A3(a)
Describe and critically evaluate the social responsibility of accountants acting in A3(b)
the public interest
Assess management behaviour against the codes of ethics relevant to accounting A3(c)
professionals including the IESBA (IFAC) or professional body codes
Analyse the reasons for and resolve conflicts of interest and ethical conflicts in A3(d)
organisations
Assess the nature and impacts of different ethical threats and recommend A3(e)
appropriate safeguards to prevent or mitigate such threats
Recommend best practice for reducing and combating fraud, bribery and A3(f)
corruption to create greater public confidence and trust in organisations

The application of ethical principles demands an understanding of what those ethical principles are –
you should have already met them earlier in your studies but we will revisit them in the context of
three areas (fraud, bribery and corruption) where 'doing the wrong thing' is a realistic problem for
many organisations due to the sometimes complex nature of how business is conducted.
We will counter this by remembering that as a professional, an accountant's primary duty is to
behave in the public interest and so this chapter will also look at how you can ensure that you are
always 'doing the right thing' including the application of techniques designed to help you arrive at
the right decision, whatever the circumstances.
Ethics is a core part of the Strategic Business Leader syllabus so this content is crucial for you to fully
understand how to approach the exam.
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Chapter overview
Applying ethical principles
Doing the wrong thing Doing the right thing
Fraud Conflicts of interest
Responding to fraud risks Tucker's 5 questions
Bribery and corruption Corporate codes of ethics
Measures to combat bribery and corruption Professions and the public interest
The code of ethics for accountants
Threats and safeguards for accountants
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9: Applying ethical principles
1 Doing the wrong thing

1.1 Fraud
Fraud: The deliberate act of gaining an advantage by knowingly breaking the law.
Key term
An act or statement that creates an advantage but requires a false representation of the facts for it to
be accepted. However, the key point that distinguishes fraud from an honest mistake is intent.
All organisations run the risk of loss through the fraudulent activities of employees, including
management. Some common types of fraud are:
 Ghost employees – salaries or wages are collected for employees who don't exist
 Inflating expense claims – either individually or in collusion with other staff
 Stealing assets – either physically or virtually (for example online scams such as 'phishing')
 Manipulation of financial statements – for either personal or corporate gain
According to Cressey (1973) there are three factors that must all be present at the same time for an
ordinary person to commit fraud:
Pressure
Motivation to commit fraud
comes from a financial problem
that cannot be solved by legitimate
means (such as bills, drug or
gambling addiction or even a social
pressure to succeed)
Opportunity Rationalisation
Usually, fraud can be The fraudster must be able
perpetrated because someone is to justify the decision at the
able to, either because there is a very least to themselves, usually
low perceived risk of getting caught because they perceive themselves
or the fraud can be easily concealed to either have no choice or that they
have been wronged in some way and
deserve the proceeds of this particular crime
(Cressey's Fraud Triangle, 1973: p.30)
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Real world examples
In September 2011, Kweku Adoboli, a trader at the Swiss bank UBS, was arrested after allegedly
having lost the bank £1.5 billion. The frauds that Kweku Adoboli was charged with allegedly took
place between October 2008 and September 2011 and allegedly involved reporting fictitious
hedges against legitimate derivative transactions. Mr Adoboli worked for UBS's global synthetic
equities division, buying and selling exchange traded funds which track different types of stocks or
commodities such as precious metals. Mr Adoboli was convicted in November 2012 on charges of
fraud.
In September 2011, UBS announced plans to scale back its investment banking activities to reduce
its risks. Its chief executive, Oswald Gruebel, resigned.
A subsequent investigation by UBS revealed a failure of key controls in two areas:
 Failure to obtain bilateral confirmation with counterparties of certain trades within the bank's
equities business
 Failure by those involved in inter-desk reconciliation processes to ensure transactions were
valid and accurately recorded in the bank's records. Cancellations of, or amendments to,
internal trades that should have been supervisor-reviewed were not checked.
There was also evidence that compliance systems did detect some unauthorised or unexplained
activity, but this was not adequately investigated.
Exercise 1: Preventing fraud

You work as an internal auditor for an organisation in the construction industry. Contracts are
frequently awarded for supplying many different products depending on what the organisation's
projects require. However, you have been alerted by the Head of Internal Audit to three separate
ongoing investigations into fraudulent activity in the award of contracts to suppliers. The Head of
Internal Audit is keen to provide the audit committee with information that might help them
understand the risks that this activity presents before a suitable fraud response plan can be
implemented.
Required
Give examples of indicators of fraud in a procurement tendering process.
Solution
250
Essential reading
the Workbook, for more detail about possible fraud risks.
1.2 Responding to fraud risks
Activity 1: Indicators of fraud

Scepticism: Probe
You are a consultant working at an organisation which has experienced a number of fraud
problems:
 Ghost employees
 Inflating expense claims
 Stealing assets
 Manipulation of financial statements
Required
You have been asked to draw up a briefing note for the audit committee which recommends a series
of improvements to the way the organisation deals with fraud, using the following terms of reference:
 Considering the conditions that are likely to be present for fraud to be committed, what should
an organisation do to prevent the existence of such conditions?
 What specific controls could be introduced to reduce to acceptable levels the risk of the frauds
mentioned above recurring?
Draft the briefing note required, using the terms of reference. (7 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating scepticism skills in probing the reasons for
fraud and the most suitable forms of response. (2 marks)
(Total = 9 marks)
Solution
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1.3 Bribery and corruption
1.3.1 Impact of bribery and corruption
Bribery: Influencing someone to behave inappropriately by means of money, goods or services.

Key terms Corruption: Deviation from prescribed behaviour, usually in conjunction with some other gain.
Other parties? Complicit if

they know about the bribe but
fail to report it
Person who makes the bribe

(UK Bribery Act 2010 makes Recipient whose conduct is
the organisation liable for its being influenced
employees' actions)
Bribe (can be cash,

gifts, services or even
just a promise)
1.3.2 Aspects of bribery

Bribery is an example of corruption. Other forms of corruption include the following.
 Abuse of a system – using a system for improper purposes
 Bid rigging – promising a contract in advance to one party, although other parties have
been invited to bid for the contract
 Cartel – a secret agreement by supposedly competing producers to fix prices, quantity or
market share
 Influence peddling – using personal influence in government or connections with persons in
authority to obtain favours or preferential treatment for another, usually in return for payment
1.3.3 Why bribery and corruption are problems

Bribery and corruption present many problems to organisations, not least because they present a
conflict of interests to an individual against which they may not be adequately protected.
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Reputation suffers as Lack of honesty and

people no longer good faith in trusting
have faith in your someone to make the
organisation best decisions
Economic issues – Conflicts of interest

costs may be higher between duties to
and quality could be principals and own
affected self-interest
International risk
management – should
you operate where
bribery is acceptable?
Essential reading
the Workbook, for more detail about why bribery and corruption are problematic.
Real world examples

In April 2012 Barstow (2012) writing in The New York Times published details of an alleged bribery
scandal at retail giant Walmart. The paper alleged that executives in Walmart's Mexican subsidiary
had given payoffs to local officials in return for help getting permits to build new Walmart stores in
Mexico. Top executives in Mexico had known about these payments but had concealed them from
Walmart's main board.
In 2005 the main board was tipped off by a former executive in Mexico. An internal investigation
allegedly revealed $24 million in suspected bribery payments. However, the original investigation
team was accused of being too aggressive and was dropped from the case. Responsibility for the
investigation was transferred to one of the Mexican executives alleged to have authorised bribes.
This executive exonerated their fellow executives and Walmart's main board accepted this. Although
a report was made at the time to the US Justice Department, Walmart played down the significance
of the allegations. Executives in Mexico were not disciplined – one was promoted to vice chair.
At the time of the investigation in 2005 Walmart was facing pressure on its share price. The
company's Mexican operations were its biggest success, highlighted to investors as a model of future
growth. Barstow (2012) highlighted that there was evidence that main board directors were well
aware of the devastating consequences the allegations could have if made public.
This was not the first time that there had been issues over corruption in Mexico. An investigation in
2003 revealed that Walmart de México had systematically increased sales by helping high-volume
customers evade sales taxes. Executives had failed to enforce anti-corruption policies and ignored
warnings from internal auditors. The company ultimately paid back-taxes of $34.3 million.
Walmart's shares fell by nearly 9% in the days after The New York Times published Barstow's
(2012) allegations. The fall at Walmart also dragged down the whole Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Walmart faced the possibility of massive legal liabilities under the US's Foreign Corrupt Practices
Act. One of Walmart's institutional investors began action against executives and board members,
and sought changes in the company's corporate governance. A group of New York City pension
funds said they would vote against re-electing five Walmart directors. One of Walmart's managers
started an online petition urging the company to undertake a thorough and independent
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investigation. The manager claimed that most of the signatories were current and former employees
fed up with the philosophy of expansion at all costs.
Even only a few days after the story broke, there was evidence that Walmart's strategic ambitions
may have been damaged by scandals. Its attempts to open stores in new areas and other dealings
appeared to be coming under increased scrutiny. It had recently been focusing on bigger cities
where there was more bureaucracy to overcome than in suburban and rural areas. The bribery
scandal appeared to have made it more difficult for Walmart to proceed with its expansion plans.
1.4 Measures to combat bribery and corruption

Many of the measures we have already discussed about fraud will be relevant to combating bribery.
Recent legislation in certain countries has put pressure on organisations to introduce sufficient
controls. Under the UK Bribery Act (2010), for example, if an employee or associate of a commercial
organisation bribes another person, the organisation will be liable if it cannot show that it had
adequate procedures in place to prevent bribes being paid. Under previous legislation, a company
was only likely to be guilty if senior management was involved. Now, however, it must demonstrate
that its anti-corruption procedures are sufficient to stop any employees, agents or other third parties
acting on the company's behalf from committing bribery.
Establish
culture
Monitoring Code of
conduct
How to combat
bribery and
corruption
Reporting and Risk

whistleblowing assessment
Conduct of
business
Essential reading
the Workbook, for more detail about how to combat bribery and corruption.
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Illustration 1
Guidance published by the UK Ministry of Justice (2011) on the Bribery Act suggests that what is
seen as adequate will depend on the bribery risks faced by the organisation, and the nature, size
and complexity of the organisation. The UK guidance is based on six principles:
(a) Proportionate procedures. Measures taken should be proportional to risks and nature, size
and complexity.
(b) Top-level commitment. Top-level management should be committed to preventing bribery
and promoting a culture where bribery is viewed as unacceptable.
(c) Risk assessment. Organisations should assess the nature and extent of their exposure to
bribery internally and externally. Some activities, for example extraction, and some markets, for
example countries where there is no anti-bribery legislation, may be at higher risk.
(d) Due diligence. The organisation should carry out due diligence procedures in relation to those
who perform services for it, or on its behalf.
(e) Communication. Bribery prevention policies and procedures should be embedded and
understood throughout the organisation through communication and training.
(f) Monitoring and review. The organisation should monitor and review anti-bribery
procedures and improve them as required. The guidance emphasises that risks are dynamic,
and procedures may need to change if risks alter.
2 Doing the right thing

2.1 Conflict of interest
A conflict of interest generally occurs in one of two ways:
 When one party is in a position to derive some form of benefit from actions or decisions taken
made when acting in an official capacity, for example, a company director personally
benefitting from a decision made at work.
 They can also arise when one party’s actions or objectives are incompatible with the
objectives of another party.
Disagreement is often a central feature of conflicts of interest. Such conflicts are not uncommon in a
business context given the varied range of stakeholders that exist and the different interests that they
hold. Common examples of conflicts of interest include:
 Employees may demand better pay and conditions, whereas the organisation’s management
want to maintain the employees pay and conditions at existing levels so that the organisation
is able to achieve its profit targets. A similar situation may occur regarding suppliers to large
organisations, as they want to sell goods at higher prices with the organisation’s management
pushing for lower prices.
 An organisation may wish to create new jobs by building a new factory on a piece of land,
designated as being environmentally important, due to a shortage of available sites
elsewhere. This may cause a conflict between the organisation and environmental protection
groups. Local government authorities may also become involved in such situations as they
need to balance job creation against protecting the local environment.
 Customers want to pay lower prices for the products and services provided by the
organisation, whereas the organisation’s management are likely to want to maximise profits
by charging the highest prices they can. This may cause conflict especially where customers
have limited choice from where to purchase products and services. Management may be
incentivised to charge higher prices for products and services to trigger profit-related bonuses.
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Conflicts of interest such as those illustrated above may also give rise to ethical conflicts. In your
Strategic Business Leader exam, you need to be alert to the fact that the information provided may
require you to not only consider commercial conflicts of interest that exist between stakeholder
groups but to also identify the ethical conflicts that lie within them.
It is possible that requirements in the exam may require you to provide practical measures which the
management at the featured organisation could take to address the ethical conflicts that you identify.
2.1.1 Ethical conflicts of interest in the exam

In the Strategic Business Leader exam, you may be presented with a scenario containing an array of
detail of which much is potentially relevant. While it is not possible to identify definitively the types of
ethical requirements that you may encounter, you may be faced with requirements which ask you to:
 Analyse the ethical implications of a proposed strategy or course of action set out in the exam
information or Exhibit and;
 Make recommendations concerning how to address the ethical issues that you identify.
When faced with questions featuring ethical conflicts you may find it helpful to adopt the following
approach:
 Read the relevant task information/ Exhibit

 Identify the ethical issues at stake e.g. proposed course of action/ strategy and the impact this
may have on the stakeholder groups specified in the scenario i.e. employees / customers etc
 Make use of any appropriate ethical guidelines and/or draw upon the scenario information
which may indicate whether the proposed course of action will give rise to a conflict of interest
or contradict the featured entity’s own published code of ethics and/or undermine its business
model
 Make clear, logical and appropriate recommendations for action. It is important that any
recommendations you make could be implemented in reality by the management at the
featured entity. Making inconsistent/unrealistic recommendations will undermine the quality of
your answer.
Justifying recommendations in practical business and ethical terms
As with all scenario-based questions there is likely to be more than one acceptable answer, and
marks will depend on how well the case is argued, rather than for getting the ‘right’ answer. It is
important to note that the guidance provided above is only intended to provide you with a start point
for considering ethical conflicts of interest that may appear in your Strategic Business Leader exam.
As such you will need to use your discretion when determining whether some or all of the points
listed are relevant to attempting the question.
2.1.2 Resolving ethical conflicts
There is no single, universal best way of resolving ethical conflicts in business as no two situations
are likely to be exactly the same. This is not helped by the fact that ‘doing the right thing’ is seldom
clear cut and tends to be highly subjective. When analysing ethical conflicts, organisations may
follow some of the steps highlighted in section 2.1.1 above. Ultimately, the approach taken by
organisations to resolve ethical conflicts will be influenced by a range of factors including:
 The attitude of the leader (and board of directors) to ethical matters and the ‘tone at the top’
that they have set
 Management/ leadership style e.g. autocratic v participative
 The culture of the organisation and presence of an organisational code of ethics or code of
conduct
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 The presence of any laws or regulations governing conduct in certain matters

 The existence of guidelines governing the work performed by particular professions e.g.
accountants
 The extent of the power and interest of the stakeholder groups in conflict, and the extent to
which these can be viewed as legitimate
2.1.3 Frameworks for dealing with ethical conflicts and dilemmas
Although there is no single, universal best way of resolving ethical conflicts/ dilemmas, a number of
different frameworks exist which leaders in organisations can look to use when dealing with ethical
situations. One such framework is Tucker’s 5 question model.
Exam Focus Point

It is important to note that Tucker’s 5 question model is the only framework which is specifically
mentioned in the Strategic Business Leader syllabus which can be used when evaluating ethical
matters. Therefore, it is important that you are comfortable with the key features of this.
2.2 Tucker's 5 questions

Given the ethical issues we have already discussed, evaluating organisational decisions can present
something of a challenge. Tucker's 5 questions (1990) are a benchmark against which to test the
ethical credentials of a decision. Ask yourself, is the decision:
Profitable?
Legal – does it break the law anywhere?
Fair and equitable for all involved?
Right (prone to subjective judgement)?
Sustainable or environmentally sound?
(Source: Tucker, 1990)
Activity 2: Low tax payments

Scepticism: Question
GSA is a listed pharmaceutical company that operates across different countries but has its
headquarters in a European country. In general terms it always complies with the law – financial
statements are filed on time, employee and sales taxes are paid over to the local tax authority – but
despite the parent company recording high operating profits, it recently paid a very low level of
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corporate tax due to apparent loopholes in the legislation (sometimes referred to as 'legal tax
avoidance').
This low tax payment became a controversial news story and led to calls for a boycott of the
company's products unless they voluntarily paid more corporate tax. GSA's Chief Executive Martyn
Rice has agreed to respond to the media on behalf of the board but wishes to obtain the thoughts of
the audit committee before proceeding any further.
Required
You are a non-executive director for GSA and tend to provide ethical advice to your colleagues on
the audit committee.
Assess the proposal to make no voluntary payment of corporate tax by the organisation using a
suitable ethical decision-making model. (5 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating scepticism skills in questioning the facts of
the case and seeking evidence. (2 marks)
(Total = 7 marks)
Solution
2.3 Corporate codes of ethics

Organisations have responded to wide and varied pressures from external stakeholders to be seen to
act ethically by publishing ethical codes.
Ethical codes contain a series of statements setting out the organisation's core values and explaining
how it sees its responsibilities towards its stakeholders. They cover specific areas such as gifts,
anti-competitive behaviour and so on. However, often they do little more than describe current
acceptable practices.
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The typical features of an ethical code could be as follows:
• Guidance on acceptable and unacceptable

behaviour
• Specific examples of company expectations
• Links to the organisation's mission and objectives
• Clear guidance on consequences and sanctions
• Standards for the ethical treatment of suppliers,
customers, employees
Exam Focus Point

candidates to prepare a confidential memo to discuss the ethical and reputational concerns raised at
an emergency management meeting. The meeting was called following an incident involving
protestors at one of the sites operated by the organisation featured in the exam.
2.4 Professions and the public interest

The code of ethics of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA, 2018) defines
professionalism in terms of professional behaviour.
Professional behaviour: Imposes an obligation on professional accountants to 'comply with

relevant laws and regulations and avoid any conduct that may bring discredit to the profession.'
Key term
(IESBA, 2018: p.18)
Among the most important obligations for modern professional accountants is maintaining
confidentiality and upholding ethical standards, including acting in the public interest.
The public interest is considered to be the collective wellbeing of the community of people and
institutions the professional accountant serves, including clients, lenders, governments, employers,
employees, investors, the business and financial community and others who rely on the work of
professional accountants (IESBA, 2018).
The public interest: The collective wellbeing of the community of people and institutions the
professional accountant serves.
Key term
2.4.1 Influence of the accountancy profession on organisations

The influence of the accountancy profession on business and society is potentially huge. It can be
established simply by considering all the different involvements that accountants have:
(a) Financial accounting
(b) Audit
(c) Management accounting
(d) Consulting
(e) Taxation
It is obvious that if accountants also operate to combat fraud, bribery and corruption in
organisations, the public's confidence and trust in such organisations will be increased and thus our
own reputation will be enhanced.
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The financial information included within accounts can have a number of uses:
Mechanistic
issues
Judgemental issues
Judging the Where the figures and disclosures
performance in the accounts influence the
of an judgement of their users
organisation...
...based purely on
profits and other
financial measures
Critics of the accountancy profession emphasise that accountants' prime role is that of resource
allocation, and thereby they act as agents of capitalism. They argue that accountancy regulations:
(a) Are too passive, allowing too great a variety of accounting treatments, and failing to impose
meaningful responsibilities on auditors such as an explicit responsibility to detect and report
fraud
(b) Emphasise the wrong principles, giving priority to client confidentiality over disclosure in the
wider public interest
2.5 The code of ethics for accountants

2.5.1 Principles-based approach
The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) (2018) Code of Ethics provides a
good illustration of a principle-based approach:
(a) The code clarifies up-front acceptance by the accountancy profession of its responsibility to act
in the public interest.
(b) The detailed guidance is preceded by the underlying fundamental principles of ethics.
(c) The guide supplies a conceptual framework that requires accountants to identify, evaluate and
address threats to compliance, and applying safeguards to eliminate the threats or to reduce
them to an acceptable level.
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Advantages of a principles-based Disadvantages of a principles-based

framework framework
The onus is on the professional accountant to Ethical codes cannot include all circumstances
think about relevant issues in a given situation, and dilemmas, so accountants need a very good
rather than simply avoiding a checklist of understanding of the underlying principles.
unacceptable actions.
A framework prevents professionals interpreting International codes cannot fully capture regional
legalistic requirements narrowly to get around cultural variations in beliefs and practice.
the ethical requirements.
It allows for variations, which is important as Principles-based codes can be difficult to enforce
situations differ. legally, unless the breach of the code is blatant.
Most are therefore voluntary and perhaps,
therefore, less effective.
It can accommodate a rapidly changing

environment, such as the one in which
accountants operate.
2.5.2 The fundamental ethical principles

The ACCA’s Code of Ethics and Conduct for members is published within its own Rulebook (2019) ,
which is broadly based on the same principles as the IESBA Code (2018). The table below details
fundamental principles upon which the code is based. These can be easily remembered using the
PIPCO mnemonic:
Fundamental principles
Professional Members have a continuing duty ‘to attain and maintain professional
competence knowledge and skill at the level required to ensure that a client or employing
and due care organization receives competent professional service, based on current
technical and professional standards and relevant legislation; and [to] act
diligently and in accordance with applicable technical and professional
standards.’ (ACCA, 2019c: p.273)
Integrity Members should 'be straightforward and honest in all business and
professional relationships'. (ACCA, 2019c: p.273)
Professional Members should 'comply with relevant laws and regulations and should avoid
behaviour any conduct that the professional accountant knows or should know might
discredit the profession’'. (ACCA, 2019c: p.273)
Confidentiality Members should 'respect the confidentiality of information acquired as a result

of professional and business relationships’. (ACCA, 2019c: p.273).
Objectivity Members should ‘not compromise professional or business judgments because

of bias, conflict of interest or undue influence of others.’
(ACCA, 2019c: p.273)
Professional competence and due care: The fundamental ethical principle associated with
maintaining professional skills and carrying out your duties to the best of your ability.
Key terms
Integrity: The fundamental ethical principle associated with honesty and truthful behaviour.
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Professional behaviour: The fundamental ethical principle associated with acting in a manner
that respects the accountancy profession.
Confidentiality: The fundamental ethical principle associated with respecting information and not
abusing it.
Objectivity: The fundamental ethical principle associated with avoiding bias.
Performance Objective 1 'Ethics and Professionalism' of the Practical Experience Requirement

requires you to 'act with integrity, objectivity, professional competence and due care and
PER alert
confidentiality' (ACCA, 2019b). To help you generate examples of how you have demonstrated
compliance with Performance Objective 1 you are strongly advised to read through the following
sections.
Syllabus link
Ethics forms a key part of the Strategic Business Leader syllabus, and links closely to the Ethics and
Professional Skills Module (EPSM) that you are required to complete on your journey towards full
ACCA membership. One of the units that you will need to complete focuses on your knowledge of
ethical and professional values and behaviours. You are therefore strongly advised to complete the
EPSM before sitting your Strategic Business Leader exam as this will assist with your exam
preparations.
Safeguards against breach of compliance with the IESBA (2018) and ACCA (2019) guidance
include:
(a) Safeguards created by the profession, legislation or regulation (eg corporate governance)
(b) Safeguards within the client/the accountancy firm's own systems and procedures
(c) Educational training and experience requirements for entry into the profession, together with
continuing professional development.
A key part of Performance Objective 1 'Ethics and Professionalism' which we mentioned earlier
highlights the importance of developing a commitment to both personal and professional knowledge
PER alert
and development. ACCA (2019b) note that this will require you to become 'a life-long learner and
continuous improver'. To demonstrate your achievement of this Performance Objective you will need
to give consideration to the steps that you have taken to maintain your professional competence.
2.6 Threats and safeguards for accountants

Threats to independence of action and conflicts of interest include:
 Advocacy
 Self-interest
 Intimidation
 Familiarity
 Self-review
They are sometimes referred to by the mnemonic 'AS IFS'.
Advocacy: The ethical threat arising from representing a client in two different capacities.
Key terms Self-interest: The ethical threat arising from actions that benefit you and not your clients.
Intimidation: The ethical threat arising from being forced into a course of action against your will.
Familiarity: The ethical threat arising from having a personal connection with a client.
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Self-review: The ethical threat arising from reviewing your own work (in other words, a failure to
be sufficiently sceptical).
2.6.1 Advocacy threat

An advocacy threat arises in certain situations where the audit firm assumes the client's part in a
dispute or somehow acts as their advocate. The most obvious instance of this would be when a firm
acts as an expert witness in a court case in support of its audit client.
Relevant safeguards might be:
(a) Using different departments in the firm to carry out the work
(b) Making full disclosure to the client's audit committee
(c) Withdrawal from an engagement if the risk to independence is considered too great
2.6.2 Self-interest threat

The ACCA Code of Ethics and Conduct published in its Rulebook (2019) highlights a great number
of areas in which a self-interest threat to independence might arise (frequently in the context of the
external auditor, but generally applicable to all members).
Family or close
personal
relationships
Lowballing, when Contingent fees

a firm quotes a based on the
significantly lower outcome of a
fee level for an transaction
audit service
Self-interest
A partner or threat Client lends a
material sum of
employee on the money to an
board of an audit audit firm or
client member of audit
team
Client represents
a large Valuable gift
proportion of a and/or hospitality
firm's/partner's
total fees
(Adapted from: ACCA, 2019c)

Safeguards in these situations might include:
(a) Discussing the issues with the audit committee of the client
(b) Taking steps to reduce the dependency on the client
(c) Consulting an independent third party such as ACCA
(d) Maintaining records such that the firm is able to demonstrate that appropriate staff and time
are spent on the engagement
(e) Compliance with all applicable audit standards, guidelines and quality control procedures
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2.6.3 Intimidation threat
An intimidation threat arises when a professional accountant is deterred from acting objectively by
threats, actual or perceived. Situations which might create intimidation threats include:
(a) Threats of dismissal
(b) Threats of litigation
(c) Pressure to reduce fees or the extent of work performed
Safeguards would include disclosure of such threats to the audit committee for their consideration,
review of work for any evidence of bias and even the possibility of removing affected individuals
from the area under threat.
2.6.4 Familiarity threat

Familiarity threat is where independence is jeopardised by the audit firm and its staff becoming over-
familiar with the client and its staff. As a result they may become too sympathetic to their views and
interests.
Safeguards usually include rotation of affected individuals away from the position creating the threat
and a quality control review of anyone's work if there is a familiarity threat present.
2.6.5 Self-review threat

Self-review threat is where an audit firm provides services other than audit services to an audit client
(ie providing multiple services). There is a great deal of guidance from the ACCA (2019) and IESBA
(2018) about threats arising from which services accountancy firms might provide to their audit
clients.
Threat Safeguards
If an individual on the audit team  Obtaining a quality control review of the individual’s work
had been recently employed by, on the assignment
or otherwise involved with, the  Discussing the issue with the audit committee
client, the audit firm should
consider the threat to  Removing the individual from the team
independence arising
Having custody of an audit client’s  Ensuring non-audit team staff are used for these roles
assets, supervising client  Involving an independent professional accountant to
employees in the performance of advise
their normal duties, and preparing
 Quality control policies on what staff are and are not
source documents on behalf of the
client also pose significant allowed to do for clients
self-review threats  Making appropriate disclosures to those charged with
governance
 Resigning from the audit engagement
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Threat Safeguards
Preparing accounting records and  Using staff members other than audit team members to
financial statements, and then carry out work
auditing them  Obtaining client approval for work undertaken
Providing valuation services where  Using separate personnel for the valuation and the audit
audited financial statements  Second partner review
include figures generated by the
 Confirming that the client understands the valuation and
valuation
the assumptions used
 Ensuring the client acknowledges responsibility for the
valuation
Provision of internal audit services  The firm should ensure that the client acknowledges its
to an external audit client is responsibility for establishing, maintaining and monitoring
permitted in most jurisdictions, the system of internal controls
but not in the US under
Sarbanes-Oxley
Assuming management  Ensuring that the client’s management team make all
responsibility for an audit client. decisions relating to the management of the organisation.
Management responsibilities might
include, for example, making
decisions relating to the use of the
client’s resources.
Activity 3: Tax savings

GSA is a listed pharmaceutical company that operates across different countries but has its
headquarters in a European country. You work as a consultant for a small professional firm which
has been asked to act as advisers to GSA. The Finance Director of GSA studied with the
engagement partner so is happy to give him the work, especially as he believes that the firm's
experience in tax advice can help identify any future tax loopholes. The engagement is very high-
profile for your firm, so it has been offered at a discount to the firm's normal fees, although you
understand that the GSA board has indicated that it expects fees to stay low as it wants your firm to
act as both internal and external auditors in order to improve efficiencies.
You are in the corridor about to attend a planning meeting between your firm and GSA when you
overhear the end of a conversation between the engagement partner and the Finance Director in the
meeting room: '...obviously, if the tax savings identified are sufficiently imaginative and creative,
there will be a special bonus for you, although this will need to be hushed up to satisfy those who
feel we should all now be acting in the public interest...'
Required
Critically evaluate what you have heard in the corridor by considering the following issues:
Identifying the ethical threats presented in the scenario. (5 marks)
Explaining what is meant by the public interest in this case. (2 marks)
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Describing the nature of the conversation that you have overheard, including any possible actions
that you feel you may need to take. (3 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating scepticism skills in challenging the views
expressed in the scenario. (2 marks)
(Total = 12 marks)
Solution
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Chapter summary
Applying ethical principles
Doing the Doing the right thing

wrong thing
Fraud Conflicts of interest Professions and the public

• Intentional act to gain • Conflicts of interest in the interest
advantage by deception exam • Influence of the accountancy
– Pressure – Read relevant task profession on organisations
– Opportunity information – Mechanistic
– Rationalisation – Identify ethical conflicts at – Judgemental
(Cressey's Fraud Triangle) stake
– Use scenario information
– Make recommendations The code of ethics for
Responding to fraud risks – Justify recommendations accountants
Suitable internal controls: • Resolving ethical conflicts • Principles-based approach
• Segregation of duties – No one best way to achieve • The fundamental ethical
• Authorisation – Resolving conflicts is principles
• Performance review influenced by a range of (ACCA, 2019):
factors – Professional behaviour
• Frameworks for dealing with – Integrity
Bribery and corruption ethical conflicts and dilemmas – Professional competence and
– A number of frameworks exist due care
• Impacts:
– Confidentiality
– Bribery = influencing the
– Objectivity
actions of someone
– Corruption = deviation from Tucker's 5 questions
honest behaviour Is the decision you are making:
Threats and safeguards for
• Aspects of bribery – can lead • Profitable? accountants
to the following problems: • Legal?
– Lack of honesty • Fair and equitable? • Advocacy threat
– Conflicts of interest • Right? • Self-interest threat
– International risk • Sustainable? • Intimidation threat
management • Familiarity threat
– Economic issues • Self-review threat
– Reputation Corporate codes of ethics
• Values and expected
behaviours
Measures to combat bribery • Consequences and sanctions
and corruption
• Establish culture
• Code of conduct
• Risk assessment
• Business conduct
• Reporting
• Monitoring
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1. Fraud occurs if there is pressure to commit such an act, there is opportunity to go unnoticed and
the perpetrator can rationalise the behaviour – it is an intentional act so cannot be seen as error
2. Bribery is about improper influence while corruption is about deviation from proper behaviour –
however, it is not always straightforward when determining either of these in practice3.
Tucker's 5 questions allow us to determine if a decision is right: is it profitable, legal, fair,
right and sustainable?
4. Codes of ethics exist for organisations in general (corporate codes) and for accountants (the
fundamental ethical principles known as 'PIPCO') (ACCA, 2019) who need to justify their
actions in the public interest
5. Threats to acting in an ethical manner can be summarised by 'AS IFS' but they can be mitigated
by suitable responses known as safeguards
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Question practice
Workbook):
Q9 Pogles
Further reading
Ethical decision making
This article considers different approaches that can be taken when making ethical decisions.
Own research
Fraud is always a topical issue and by the time you read this chapter, a brand new story may have
emerged, so try and stay alert to stories of companies or individuals who have committed, or are being
investigated about fraud, bribery or corruption.
If you need some inspiration, you can research the following examples:
 Fraud – UK grocer Tesco in 2015 was investigated for manipulating its financial statements by
recognising income items inappropriately
 Bribery and corruption – Arms manufacturer BAE has been under scrutiny for many years over
deals made with Saudi Arabia for weapons – was it a bad thing to pay illegal bribes that would
guarantee jobs in its factories?
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Exercise answer
Exercise 1
As part of your remit to consider the possible risks of fraud in a procurement process, you could have
identified a series of stages in the process – the list presented below is structured in a way that is
more detailed than required for the marks on offer, but should still show you what areas you needed
to cover.
(a) Suppliers
Examples include disqualification of suitable suppliers, a very short list of
alternatives and continual use of the same suppliers or a single source. The
organisation should also be alert for any signs of personal relationships between staff and
suppliers.
(b) Contract terms
Possible signs here include contract specifications that do not make commercial sense and
contracts that include special but unnecessary specifications that only one supplier can meet.
(c) Bid and awarding process
Signs of doubtful practice include unclear evaluation criteria, acceptance of late bids
and changes in the contract specification after some bids have been made. Suspicions
might be aroused if reasons for awarding the contract are unclear or the contract is awarded
to a supplier with a poor performance record or who appears to lack the resources to
carry out the contract.
(d) After the contract is awarded
Changes to the contract after it has been awarded should be considered carefully, along with
a large number of subsequent changes in contract specifications or liability limits.
This is perhaps one of the risk areas over which the company can exert the greatest control, through
a coherent corporate strategy set out in a fraud policy statement and the setting up of strict internal
controls.
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272
SKILLS CHECKPOINT 3
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Introduction
In Stage 3 you have learned about the importance of assessing and managing risk and ethical issues.
for good demonstration of the specific ACCA Professional Skills outlined in the requirement.
during the Learning phase, so you can focus on these improving at the Revision Stage.
The five Skills Checkpoints focus each on one of the five ACCA Professional Skills and provide further guidance
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Skills Checkpoint 3: Assessing and managing risk and ethical issues
Your role
perspective.
Focus on ACCA Professional Skill: Scepticism

There are three essential elements to scepticism that ACCA have identified for their professional skills.
The first is the ability to probe deeply into the underlying reasons for issues and problems, beyond
what is immediately apparent from the usual sources and opinions available. It seems sensible to
consider scepticism as an enhanced form of professional curiosity where you do not simply take what
you are told at face value but instead look beneath the obvious and consider what questions and
queries you might have from a given situation.
The second is to question facts, opinions and assertions, by seeking justifications and obtaining
sufficient evidence for their support and acceptance. Again, this seems logical once you have started
to probe something more deeply: are you happy with what you have been told or does it need
something else to satisfy you that all is as it should be?
The third and final approach to demonstrating scepticism is to challenge information presented or
decisions made, where this is clearly justified, in a professional and courteous manner. Assuming
you have asked questions and received insufficient or inappropriate responses, the next step for you
is to push back and state that you are not satisfied with the response and that you need something
else. The skill description continues to set this in context, in the wider professional, ethical,
organisational or public interest which is critical when allied to the need for professional behaviour.

 Correct interpretation of requirements. You will have heard the advice 'read the
question' or 'RTQ' many times as part of your studies so far, and we are not going to change
that now! However, some task requirements may prove difficult to understand due to long,
complex sentences and multiple verbs, which indicate a series of tasks instead of just one. It is
therefore critical that you can deconstruct the task requirement to isolate each verb and ensure
you plan to supply a suitable response in each case.
 Answer planning: Priorities, Structure and Logic. Once you know what the task
requirement is looking for, you can start to search for answers to the list of things you need to
do. Reading the case with this list in mind will help you quickly isolate the important things and
discount the rest. Note that for Roasta Bean Co which follows, we only have one case
scenario, but in the real exam there will be the overview and a number of supporting exhibits,
so this process is going to require some time (at least 10% of the time allocated to the
question). At this stage, you will also aim to work out the number of marks available for each
task requirement which should allow you to start considering the number of points a good
answer should contain to score well.
 Effective writing and presentation. Once you have your answer plan, the structure of
your answer should have started to take shape: judicious use of expanded bullet points with
suitable sub-headings using appropriate language should act as a series of signposts that lead
the reader through your answer.
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Skills Checkpoint 3
Skills Activity
STEP 1 Read the following task requirement for the question 'Roasta Bean Co', identifying
the verbs and the professional skills being examined, and start to set up your
answer plan. Remember your skills of 'Correct interpretation of the requirements'
as there are two task requirements here and they are not straightforward to
interpret!
Required
Recommend the control mechanisms that should be implemented to reduce the problems associated
with the ethical risks. (10 marks)
Discuss the extent of the responsibilities of internal audit for ensuring that the ethical problems do not
recur. (6 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating scepticism skills in relation to your
recommendations and discussion. (2 marks)
(Total = 18 marks)
 There are evidently problems within this organisation, so you need to isolate them first.
 You then need to consider the ethical issues associated with these risks – are they connected in
any way?
 What should be done to try and reduce the impact of these risks for part (a) – again, are there
any connected activities or suggestions here?
 How much can (and should) internal audit do to help for part (b)?
STEP 2 You should now read the scenario, considering the ethical issues that may have
led to the problems you find, how they can be addressed and how much the
internal auditors can do to try and help. The scenario has been annotated to show
what sort of things you should be looking for when performing this kind of 'active'
reading.
It appears that the Question – Roasta Bean Co (18 marks)

ethical issues have
been identified Roasta Bean Co ('RBC') is a chain of coffee shops that operates 75 shops in its home country.
already using these A number of ethical problems have recently arisen at RBC, and an emergency meeting of its
sub-headings – this board has been convened to discuss their implications.
is good news!
Thefts from stores
Three employees in one shop have been dismissed for thefts of both produce
This is concerning and cash. These thefts were only identified because one of the employees was
– how have Why did no
dishonest people
foolish enough to steal, and then sell, the bags of coffee beans on the premises employee spot this
been employed in of the RBC coffee shop in which they worked. A customer reported the incident or report it?
the first place and Again, poor
to the chief executive of RBC and an investigation of the shop revealed that two example being set
how have they
been able to get
other employees had also been involved in the theft. and no control in
away with this in shops. Perhaps
one of RBC's Internal Audit
shops? could monitor this?
Suggests poor
recruitment and
poor ethics
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Drug dealing If the police are
Again, there is involved, this
nothing stopping One of the coffee shop managers was reported by a customer, and could lead to
this from subsequently arrested, for selling illegal Class A substances in their RBC coffee prosecution –
happening – why? would RBC need
Poor monitoring?
shop and allowing drugs to be taken on the site. Police investigations showed
to supply
No fear of that this had been taking place for at least ten months. evidence? Could
sanctions? There be something that
appears to be no Fair trade Internal Audit
sign of any 'moral helps out with
compass' in RBC A routine advertising campaign promoting RBC stated, 'RBC is aiming to have
all its coffee supplied by Fair Trade suppliers'. However, a former RBC Head
Office employee recently stated in the national press that only around 60% of
This sounds like a
RBC coffee was procured from Fair Trade suppliers. An investigation revealed real problem, but if
that the figure was in fact around 80% but the percentage bought from Fair they are a former
Trade suppliers had fallen by 5% over the past year. employee, can we
Action needs to trust their
be taken at board RBC's Chief Executive is very concerned about all these issues. He feels that judgement or are
level that is both they just trying to
swift and they demonstrate that RBC has a poor ethical culture and could seriously make trouble
transparent to be damage the company's reputation. They wish to introduce measures to improve (scepticism)?
seen to be helping RBC's ethical culture and to use the company's recently appointed internal Internal Audit could
with restoring help here as well
RBC's reputation
auditors to ensure that the measures are effective.

As the question is worth 18 marks, using two minutes per mark as a guide equates to a total of 36
minutes to attempt the task requirement. Working on the basis that you will spend at least five
minutes creating your answer plan this leaves 31 minutes to write up your answer.
Each point you make could score up to two marks, so for part (a) you are looking at five separate
points, while part (b) for six marks would require three separate points.
Demonstrating scepticism would be necessary to earn the two professional marks and these seem to
relate to probing more deeply into the reasons behind these ethical issues and considering just how
much evidence the internal audit team can realistically create if, for example, a prosecution is
required into drugs offences.
Having already annotated the scenario with the task requirements in mind, your answer plan may
start to look something like this.
 How to stop the problems of theft, drug abuse and breaking company policy?
- Recruitment of the right kind of people
- Training in how to behave
- Sanctions for those that do not behave
- Better monitoring and support for employees who may know about these problems but
not have an outlet for reporting them
- Culture – is the 'tone from the top' appropriate to encourage suitable ethical behaviour?
 What can Internal Audit do about this?
- As much as the board wants them to do
- Greater involvement in systems testing in shops
- Any other evidence that could be used to highlight problems (eg other KPIs such as
customer complaints)
- Mystery shopping or surprise visits?
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Skills Checkpoint 3
STEP 4 Check the requirements

requirement again to ensure that there is nothing that you have overlooked.
 Part (a) requires recommendations, so make them clear and specific, stating
what actions should happen and how they would address each ethical issue
 Part (b) is a discussion of points that may not all be in harmony with each
other, but must state the extent of Internal Audit's involvement to answer the
question

You can now bring your workings together to create a solution, making sure that
you use logical headings and short punchy sentences. Drawing together the key
points from the scenario with your recommendations and discussions will show the
marker that you have dealt with both task requirements. A model answer is given
below, with comment boxes illustrating where the answer is demonstrating good
scepticism skills.
Suggested solution
(a) Board example
The board should make clear when communicating with staff that they are committed to ethical
This displays behaviour and they expect staff to be committed as well. Appointing a board member as
scepticism because
ethics champion emphasises board commitment as well as being a contact point for
you are
demonstrating that whistleblowing (discussed further below).
you can probe into
the reasons for Code of conduct
poor ethical
behaviour – in this A code of conduct could be used to remind staff of RBC's objectives of being an ethical
case, the lack of business. Staff should be required to commit to the code when they join RBC. This would
ethical leadership strengthen the basis for disciplinary action if they transgress.
by the board
Communication with employees This displays
scepticism because
The board needs to ensure that specific ethical objectives are you are
demonstrating that
communicated unambiguously to staff. With RBC, although coffee was you can probe into
ideally meant to be sourced 100% from Fair Trade suppliers, it has been the reasons for poor
impossible recently to attain this target. There may therefore have been ethical behaviour –
in this case, the lack
confusion, and local managers may have regarded it as acceptable to source of clear policy on
from non-Fair Trade suppliers if there were significant cost advantages in doing sourcing coffee
so. beans
Central policies
One way of preventing problems with the use of non-Fair Trade suppliers would be to insist
that shops only used suppliers on a centrally approved list. Alternatively, a central
purchasing function could be responsible for making purchases for all shops.
Recruitment
One way of reducing the risk of dishonest acts by staff is to ensure that staff who are recruited
do not have records of bad behaviour. References should be required and confirmed for
all staff.
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Appraisal
Staff should also be regularly appraised and the results of appraisals communicated to
senior management. If appraisals indicate staff unhappiness, this may suggest that
problems are more likely to occur.
Disciplinary procedures
There should be clear disciplinary sanctions against staff who are found guilty of dishonesty or
unethical behaviour, including dismissal from employment. If necessary, staff accused of
dishonesty should be suspended until the accusation is resolved.
Manager rotation
Staff may not have reported problems because of misplaced loyalty to, or fear of,
This displays
scepticism because
management or colleagues. One way of preventing this would be to rotate managers
you are between shops on a regular basis, to prevent a situation where managers allow
demonstrating that problems to persist over a long time.
you can probe into
the reasons for poor Whistleblowing
ethical behaviour –
in this case, the lack Both the drug dealing and the coffee beans sales were reported by customers and not staff.
of a suitable
whistleblowing
This suggests a lack of channels for staff to report problems confidentially, and therefore
function at RBC the board needs to make clear who staff should contact if they have concerns.
Monitoring procedures
Lastly the board should review evidence available from information systems and
internal audit work and investigate signs of problems. The shops where there were ethical
problems may have been underperforming in other areas.
(b) Extent of responsibilities
The extent of internal auditors' responsibilities are defined by the board. They
can be given wide-ranging duties in relation to fraud, unlike external auditors whose
responsibilities are concentrated on frauds that have a material impact on the financial
statements.
Specific tests
Audit tests could be used as a matter of course to pick up certain problems. Here, for example,
reviewing shop purchase records and checking whether suppliers used were, or could
have been, Fair Trade would have identified that problem.
Consideration of other evidence
Internal audit should be alert for evidence that does not directly indicate fraud, but indicates
This displays the general possibility of problems at the shops. These include accounting results that
scepticism because
you are are very much better or worse than other shops and high staff turnover. Inadequate records or
demonstrating unwillingness to respond to auditor enquiries should also put the auditors on alert. These are
awareness of the signs that the shop may be high risk and thus require greater audit work.
underlying reasons
for these Recommendations for improvements
behaviours
Internal audit will be responsible for making recommendations to management for
improvements in systems that could prevent problems occurring, or make it easier for
management to detect them. These include shortcomings in human resource
procedures, such as failure to check references properly. They could also include
improvements in the reports provided by the information systems. Internal audit feedback
could be a very useful source of information when changes in the information systems are
being considered.
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Skills Checkpoint 3
This displays Audit approach

scepticism
because you Conducting audits solely by pre-announced visits may limit the assurance the audit gives,
are
demonstrating
since staff at the shops may behave while the auditors are there and cover their tracks
awareness of beforehand. Surprise visits may identify issues such as shortages of cash or
how to obtain inventory.
sufficient
evidence Lack of evidence
However, internal audit can only reasonably be expected to detect frauds that impact in some way
This displays
scepticism on the business's systems. It appears that the drug dealing manager took care to ensure that
because you are they covered their tracks, and did not leave any information for the internal auditors to detect.
challenging the
assumption made
Internal auditors can also only be expected to work within their own areas of expertise. They
by the Chief are not trained members of the Police Drug Squad.
Executive of RBC
that Internal Audit Prevention of problems
can solve every
problem Internal audit should always have a monitoring and detection role. To preserve internal
audit independence, it should not be responsible for implementing systems that prevent
problems occurring. If these are fully effective, then there will be nothing for internal audit to
detect.

Case scenario: Managing Did you extract the key points from the scenario? In this case, the
information ethical issues were specifically identified; however, not every
question you do will highlight the problems in the same way, so be
prepared to exercise your 'analysis' skills if required.
Correct interpretation of Did you identify that the task requirement consisted of two verbs,
requirements 'recommend' and 'discuss'? Did you appreciate the importance of
displaying your scepticism skills?

Priorities, Structure and the task requirements first, then working through the scenario to
Logic extract relevant information?

analysis
succinctly?
Time management Did you allocate sufficient time to attempt both parts of the task
requirement?
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Summary
280
INTRODUCTION
TO STAGE 4:
Evaluating and
Enabling Strategic
Change
Evaluating and Enabling Strategic Change
In 1999, a former English teacher called Jack Ma started a company with some friends called
Alibaba.com. Mr Ma had been introduced to the internet on a recent visit to the US and was
convinced that it was being under-exploited in his native China. The site was designed to enable
business-to-business e-commerce, letting exporters post product listings and buyers browse. By
exploiting technology to enable and be part of China's export boom, the business grew rapidly. In
2003 it founded Taobao, a consumer-to-consumer online shopping platform, and has since acquired
and developed a number of technology and media-related businesses.
In 2014, Alibaba listed on the New York Stock Exchange and raised $25bn, making it the largest
IPO ever, anywhere in the world. In 2016 sales made over its platforms were greater than the
revenues of Walmart, one of the world's largest retailers. The company has faced periodic
controversy over fraudulent sellers and sales of counterfeit goods but has generally managed to
retain the strong reputation essential for people to trade on it with confidence.
As Alibaba illustrates, technology opens up opportunities for new business ventures at the same time
as threatening existing ones. A successful business exploits technology to meet a real need, but also
ensures that it has a strong business model, which will generate strong financial returns. The main
site, Alibaba, earns most of its revenues from fees paid by merchants for privileges, while the main
revenues from Taobao are earned from advertising. Unlike companies such as Amazon, Alibaba
does not supply any goods itself, acting simply as an intermediary between buyer and seller.
In this section, we will review some of the developments in technology shaping business and how
they can be applied. We will also look at the tools of financial analysis that can be used to evaluate
opportunities and determine whether they are financially beneficial or not.
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Financial analysis
Learning objectives
Syllabus
reference no.
Explain the relationship between an organisation's financial objectives and its G1(a)
business strategy
Discuss how advances in information technology have transformed the finance G1(b)
function and the role of the finance professional
Evaluate alternative structures for the finance function using business partnering, G1(c)
outsourcing and shared or global business services
Determine the overall investment requirements of the organisation G2(a)
Assess the suitability, feasibility and acceptability of alternative sources of short G2(b)
and long-term finance, including initial coin offerings (ICO), available to the
organisation to support strategy and operations
Review and justify decisions to select or abandon competing investments or G2(c)

projects applying suitable investment appraisal techniques
Justify strategic and operational decisions taking into account risk and uncertainty G2(d)
Assess the broad financial reporting and tax implications of taking alternative G2(e)
strategic or investment decisions
Assess organisation performance and position using appropriate performance G2(f)

management techniques, key performance indicators (KPIs) and ratios
Discuss, from a strategic perspective, the continuing need for effective cost G3(a)
management and control systems within organisations
Evaluate methods of forecasting, budgeting, standard costing and variance G3(b)

analysis in support of strategic planning and decision making
Evaluate strategic options using marginal and relevant costing techniques G3(c)
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Like other business functions, finance is in the process of being transformed by technology. Routine
transactions are being automated and new possibilities are being opened up, such as outsourcing
and shared service centres. This means that, in turn, accountants are expected to spend less time in
producing reports and processing transactions, instead focusing on being true business partners,
adding value to their organisation and helping them to run more effectively. This includes being able
to understand and interpret information in a wide range of formats, including published accounts,
budget reports, key performance indicators and investment appraisal. Accountants are expected to
understand the links between different types of information, how they link to the wider context and
the implications for the organisation. They also need to be able to use management accounting
techniques in support of decision making, recognising that the financial issues are only one part of
the picture, and non-financial issues are important as well.
It is important to stress that your finance knowledge from Applied Skills exams is assumed knowledge
in SBL. However, the detailed techniques will not be tested in this exam. Instead, you will be
expected to be able to analyse quantitative and qualitative information and draw appropriate
conclusions to help solve organisational problems.
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10: Financial analysis
Chapter overview
Financial analysis
Financial The Financial analysis and

objectives and finance decision-making techniques
business strategy function
The impact of Financing requirements Dealing with risk and

technology on finance uncertainty
functions and
professionals
Sources of finance
Financial reporting and
tax implications
Finance function
Investment appraisal
structure
Organisation
performance and
position
Cost and Standard costing Evaluating strategic

management and variance options using
accounting analysis marginal and relevant
costing techniques
Strategic cost Budgeting Standard quantities Uses of relevant and

management and and costs marginal costing
control
Variance analysis
Forecasting
Limitations of control
through variances and
standards
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1 Financial objectives and business strategy
Johnson et al (2017) suggest that organisations must consider a number of key financial factors in
assessing their strategy.
 Financial risk
 Financial return
 Funding
1.1 Financial risk

Financial risk is the possibility that an organisation may not be able to meet its critical financial
obligations. This means considering the level of gearing, or debt. Increased gearing raises risk
because interest payments must be made, unlike dividends which are discretionary. The organisation
should also consider its liquidity – the amount of cash or assets easily convertible to cash available
to pay immediate bills.
1.2 Financial return

Investors in a company will expect a financial return, and not-for-profit organisations will need to
consider value for money of services delivered. Strategic decisions will therefore usually involve some
analysis of the returns expected. Common approaches to calculating return include return on capital
employed, NPV analysis, IRR and payback, all of which are assumed knowledge in this exam.
1.3 Funding
Organisations will seek to deliver value while keeping risk to an acceptable level. Funding decisions
are one way to manage risk. An appropriate funding model may vary over the industry life cycle as
illustrated in the following table:
Launch
(Question Growth Maturity Decline
mark) (Star) (Cash Cow) (Dog)
Business risk Very high High Medium to low Low
Financial risk, therefore Keep very low Keep low May be Can be high
increased
Funding Venture capital Equity Debt and Secured debt

equity
Dividends Nil Nominal, if High Total

any
(Adapted from: Ward, 1993)

Real world examples
In theory, the overriding financial goal of commercial organisations is to maximise profit, and this
requirement is imposed on them by shareholders. However, a detailed study of 12 large US
companies published in Harvard Business Review (Donaldson, 1985) challenged this view, arguing
instead that:
 Companies have no absolute financial priorities – they change over time
 Goals are prioritised based on the relative power of stakeholders
 Goals are inevitably limited by the environment
 Financial goals are unstable due to shift in power and influence in the company
 Reconciling demand for, and supply of, funds means that all goals are interdependent
 Managers have difficulty committing to all the financial goals
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This means that financial goals may not always be well-aligned with business strategy and more care
should be taken to ensure that financial goals are consistent with each other, the environment and the
business strategy. The role of politics and power struggles within organisations should also be
recognised.
2 The finance function

Like most other business functions, the finance function and the role of those who work in it have
been transformed in recent years by technology and other changes in the business environment. This
has led to the development of new models for organising the finance function.
2.1 Impact of technology on finance functions and professionals

A number of specific developments in technology are having an impact on finance functions,
including:
 Big Data – modern technology gives the ability to analyse large amounts data very quickly
and deliver results in real time. This may include financial and non-financial data.
Organisations are increasingly requiring this from their finance functions.
 Cloud computing – traditionally, finance systems have been hosted by the organisations but
software vendors are now providing cloud-based solutions. These can reduce costs by
eliminating the need for in-house hardware and maintenance staff and offer benefits such as a
more intuitive interface, mobile access and built-in analytics.
 Predictive analytics – specialist software can use data to assess probable future trends.
This might include sales, inventory or cashflow.
In addition, finance functions are increasingly being affected by FinTech, a general term covering a
range of technologies including secure payment and Blockchain.
In order to benefit from these tools, finance professionals need to ensure they understand relevant
technology and are willing to embrace the changes it brings. The overall effect is to reduce the time
spent in processing transactions and reconciling information, and more on generating and
interpreting reports.
Syllabus link
The general impact of these tools and others is explored in Chapters 11 and 12.
2.2 Finance function structure
Illustration 1
These changes have implications for the way a finance function is structured. Many organisations
adopt a business partner approach. This means that some finance professionals are fully embedded
in the operational divisions, bringing their financial expertise to the management process. They will
be expected to gain a good understanding of the business and be commercial in their approach.
A complementary approach is to outsource aspects of routine processing to an external provider.
This can bring benefits of economies of scale, efficiency and investment in technology, but may bring
issues of control. An organisation will need to ensure that its provider has strong controls in place
over areas such as fraud and misstatement and may be required to confirm this for regulatory
purposes. Professional firms can assist by reviewing a provider's controls and providing some
assurance that they are effective.
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An alternative approach, which keeps some of the benefits of outsourcing while mitigating some of
the risks, is to set up shared or global business services. This is an in-house function which
provides finance support to all functions within the business, even if they are separate subsidiaries or
based in different countries.
Business partner: Means finance (or other support) professionals being fully embedded in the
Key term
operations of the business.
Syllabus link
We introduced the concept of internal partnering in Chapter 6, this is again considered in
Chapter 13. The general concepts of outsourcing and shared services will be explored further in
Chapter 13.
Real world example

NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) provides finance and accounting support to much of the
UK's National Health Service, along with payroll, employee benefits and procurement. It is a joint
venture between the UK government's Department of Health and a private consulting firm, Sopra
Steria. Services include managing general ledger processing, compliance reporting, invoicing and
payment collection as well as generating management reports. The NHS SBS (2018) website
highlights that over 35% of NHS organisations use them, and that to date it has delivered audited
savings of £400m to its clients.
Take some time to research NHS SBS, or an equivalent shared service centre. You may find it easier
to research organisations in the public sector rather than private sector as they tend to make more
information public. How does it operate and how are cost savings and efficiencies achieved?
Activity 1: Syngen plc

You are the group financial controller at Syngen, a multinational company which has grown steadily
and has ambitions to expand further in the next few years. Most finance staff work in one of several
regional 'hubs' that support a number of countries in that region. There are an increasing number of
complaints from the business about the support provided by the finance function, and now the
Operations Director has emailed the Finance Director, your manager, setting out his dissatisfaction.
Your manager has asked you to consider whether outsourcing or a shared or global business service
approach would help to address these issues, and send her an email with your thoughts. She would
also like you to identify the key practical issues to consider if they do move ahead with one of these
solutions.
Required
Prepare a draft response to the Finance Director. (12 marks)
Professional skills are available for demonstrating evaluation skills in appraising whether these
solutions would address the concerns specified. (2 marks)
(Total = 14 marks)
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Exhibit 1 – Email from Operations Director

To: Finance Director
From: Operations Director
As you know, I have previously expressed concerns about the support the business receives from the
finance function and wanted to set them out in writing for your consideration. Every year, the costs
we are allocated for the finance function increase and yet the support we receive gets worse. What
is more, the support really varies according to when we ask for it. At the beginning of each month,
we keep getting told they can't help because they are dealing with month-end close, and then at
year end everything else seems to shut down for a month. The business doesn't stop at that time and
we still need reports and analysis.
I also have real concerns about the amount of time some of our processes are taking. In this day and
age, why are invoices being signed off in person? Some of our key suppliers are complaining about
the delays in payment this causes. In some countries, we have electronic approval so clearly it can
be done. Why not everywhere?
This is something I want to raise at a board meeting so wanted to give you some time to consider
how to address it. We are happy to co-operate with any solution that will improve these issues.
Regards
Solution
3 Financial analysis and decision-making techniques

3.1 Financing requirements
There are three types of decision relevant to the financial requirements of the business:
1 Investment decisions – identify investment opportunities and decide which ones should be
accepted
2 Financing decision – how should the organisation be financed in the short and long term?
3 Dividend decisions – how much to pay out as dividends to shareholders
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These are very much interrelated. The investment decisions determine the amount of finance needed
and dividend decisions affect the amount of cash available for re-investment.
Organisations will need to prepare cash forecasts to understand what funding will be required in the
future. It is much easier to raise funding if time is available, rather than do so in an emergency. The
organisation may consider including sensitivity analysis in their forecast to understand the
impact of changes in certain variables, such as demand or inflation, on their future cash needs.
Any forecast deficiency will need to be funded by borrowing, selling investments or delaying
payments to suppliers and pulling in payments from customers (sometimes known as leading and
lagging).
Sensitivity analysis: Means calculating the effect of changes in certain variables such as demand
or inflation on a forecast.
Key terms
Leading and lagging: Means raising cash by delaying payments to suppliers and accelerating
receipts from customers.
3.2 Sources of finance

A number of sources of finance are available to organisations, although this will vary. For example,
a not-for-profit organisation cannot raise equity finance and may not wish to borrow, so will have to
finance itself from operating cashflows. As with other key strategic decisions, sources of finance can
be evaluated using the SAF model:
 Suitability – is the method of finance appropriate for the use we want to make of it? For
example, a long-term asset can be financed by long-term debt but it would be inadvisable to
finance working capital this way.
 Acceptability – will the method be acceptable to stakeholders, including current providers of
finance? For example, risk-averse shareholders might not want a company to take on
additional debt.
 Feasibility – can the additional finance be raised? Are the banks prepared to lend, or
shareholders to invest more money?
A summary of the most common sources of finance is set out below:
Method Advantages Disadvantages
Retained profits/Operating Simple, no change in Restricts dividend payouts, may

cashflows ownership not be sufficient for growth
Issue shares Long-term capital May dilute existing control
Bank loan Repayments are known and Increases gearing and financial
can be budgeted, flexible, risk, interest must be paid, may
quick, no dilution of control be restrictive covenants and/or
security required
Bank overdraft Flexible, only pay interest on Repayable on demand so less

amount owing, does not count reliable, often more expensive
towards gearing as short-term
debt
Loan capital Similar to bank loan, may not Slower to put in place than
have restrictive covenants bank loan, more public, will
carry issue costs
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Method Advantages Disadvantages
Initial coin offering (ICO) Simple, no change in Failure to raise the amount of
(ICOs are discussed in greater ownership, enable start-up and funding required means the
detail in section 3.2.1) smaller companies to attract company has to return any
international investors funds raised to investors
ICOs tend to be unregulated
and have become associated
with fraud
3.2.1 Initial coin offering (ICO)
Initial coin offering (ICO): Involves the creation of virtual 'tokens' which are sold to raise funds
for business projects.
Key term
An initial coin offering (ICO) is a relatively recent development that is increasingly being used by
companies seeking funding for their operations. ICOs involve raising funds for business projects
through the use of internet technologies and cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies
which are increasingly being used to facilitate transactions made online, well-known examples
include Bitcoin and Ethereum currencies. Cryptocurrencies are discussed in more detail in
Chapter 12.
ICOs tend to be used by start-up and smaller companies that do not have access to traditional
methods of finance. ICOs allow companies to raise funds to support business projects that they wish
to undertake. Common projects include plans to develop and launch new products and services.
Companies wishing to raise funds for their business project aim to attract potential investors by
publishing a 'whitepaper' which details the aims of the project. A whitepaper might include the
details of the new product/service to be developed, the required level of funding needed to support
the project, the length of time that the ICO remains open, and the types of currency that investors can
use to support the project ie cryptocurrencies or real currencies.
In the event that the target level of funding is not reached during the offer period, any funds raised
up until to this point are returned to investors. Where the required level of funding is achieved,
investors receive a virtual 'token' in exchange for their investment. It is important to note that tokens
do not provide investors with an equity stake in the company. ICOs only benefit the investor when
the business project that they helped to fund is successful. Successful business projects increase the
value of the token, thereby allowing the investor to realise a profit when they sell their 'token'
investment to other interested parties.
ICOs are currently unregulated in many parts of the world as regulators attempt to establish rules to
control how they are used. As such ICOs tend to be regarded as high risk, particularly for investors,
due to the volume of fraudulent schemes associated with their operation. In recent times a growing
number of fraudulent ICO schemes have been reported, which operate with the intention of stealing
the funds invested by unsuspecting investors.
Performance Objective 9 'Evaluate investment and financing decisions' of the Practical Experience
Requirement requires you to 'advise on the appropriateness and cost of different sources of finance'
PER alert
(ACCA, 2019b). It is therefore important that you take the time to ensure that you understand the
implications for organisations when choosing between different sources of finance.
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3.3 Investment appraisal
You have previously learned about the investment appraisal techniques return on capital employed,
payback, net present value and internal rate of return. These are assumed knowledge in this exam.
You will not be required to prepare these analyses but may well be required to review them and use
them to decide whether a particular investment opportunity should be selected or abandoned.
Return on capital employed: Is also known as accounting rate of return or return on investment.
It can be used for projects as well as organisations.
Key terms
Payback: Is a calculation of how long it will take an investment to pay itself back, ignoring the time
value of money.
Net present value: Is a calculation of all cash flows relating to an investment, allowing for the
time value of money.
Internal rate of return: Is the discount rate that will bring the net present value to zero for a
given set of cash flows.
Essential reading
See Chapter 10 sections 1 to 6 of the Essential Reading, available in Appendix 2 of the digital
edition of the Workbook, for more detail about the types of investment appraisal techniques that
exist.
Activity 2: Investment appraisal

You are a management accountant providing support to an operational division. The manager of the
division has shown you an NPV analysis and made some comments on the approach used. This is
given below as Exhibit 1.
Required
Critically evaluate the manager's comments on the investment appraisal approach used to evaluate
internal projects. (10 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating scepticism skills in challenging the
comments made. (2 marks)
(Total = 12 marks)
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Exhibit 1 – Meeting notes

The company uses the Net Present Value (NPV) technique as a way of choosing which projects
should be undertaken. Figure 1 shows an example comparison of two computer system applications
that had been under consideration. Project One was selected because its Net Present Value (NPV)
was higher ($25,015) than Project Two ($2,090).
In discussing this, the manager of the division said to you. 'In the end, Project One was a disaster.
Looking back, we should have gone with Project Two, not Project One. We should have used simple
payback, as I am certain that Project Two, even on the initial figures, paid back much sooner than
Project One. That approach would have suited our mentality at the time – quick wins. Whoever
chose a discount rate of 8% should be fired – inflation has been well below this for the last five
years. We should have used 3% or 4%. Also, calculating the IRR would have been useful, as I am
sure that Project Two would have shown a better IRR than Project One.'
Year 0 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4
Project 1 $'000 $'000 $'000 $'000 $'000
Costs Hardware costs 50 0 0 0 0
Software costs 50 0 0 0 0
Maintenance costs 10 10 10 10 10
Total 110 10 10 10 10
Benefits Staff savings 0 40 5 0 0
Contractor savings 0 20 10 10 10
Maintenance 0 0 10 40 60
savings
Total 0 60 25 50 70
Cash flows –110 50 15 40 60
Discount factor at 1.000 0.926 0.857 0.794 0.735
8%
Discounted CF –110.000 46.300 12.855 31.760 44.100
Project 2
Costs Hardware costs 50 0 0 0 0
Software costs 30 10 10 0 0
Maintenance costs 10 10 10 10 10
Total 90 20 20 10 10
Benefits Staff savings 0 30 10 5 0
Contractor savings 0 30 15 15 15
Maintenance 0 0 10 20 20
savings
Total 0 60 35 40 35
Cash flows –90 40 15 30 25
Discount factor at 1.000 0.926 0.857 0.794 0.735
8%
Discounted CF –90.000 37.040 12.855 23.820 18.375
Figure 1: NPV calculation for two projects (with a discount rate of 8%)
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Solution
Exam Focus Point

4(b) required an evaluation of an NPV analysis produced by SmartWear’s marketing department in
respect of a proposal to introduce a sophisticated customer database management system (CDMS),
and customer loyalty scheme. Candidates were also expected to question the underlying assumptions
on which the NPV had been produced.
The examining team commented that ‘answers to this question were fairly mixed, with some
candidates producing very good answers and equally many others answering very badly. Some of
the answers were very short suggesting that the candidates were unclear what to write’. (ACCA,
2019a). The examining team highlighted that better candidates made use of their brought forward
knowledge from their earlier Financial Management studies when evaluating the NPV. However, the
examining team noted that ‘a particular problem was the surprising number of candidates who
framed their answers as a series of questions, e.g. ‘how realistic is the contribution?’ without
answering their question, giving any further information or explaining what has caused them to
question this. It was clear that these candidates could identify the key issues but seemed to struggle to
effectively articulate the point they were trying to make.
Professional skills marks were available for displaying scepticism about the cash flow forecast. To
earn these 2 marks candidates needed to question the information presented in the NPV and
challenge the incorrect underlying assumptions coherently, and in a logical and convincing manner.
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3.4 Dealing with risk and uncertainty

Decisions frequently need to be made under conditions of risk and uncertainty. A number of
techniques have been developed to help make these decisions and are assumed knowledge from
your previous studies. We will here particularly focus on decision trees and expected values.
Risk: Involves situations or events which may or may not occur, but whose probability of occurrence
can be calculated statistically and the frequency predicted.
Key terms
Uncertainty: Involves situations or events whose outcome cannot be predicted with statistical
confidence.
Expected value (or EV): Is a weighted average value, based on probabilities.
The expected value for a single event can offer a helpful guide for management decisions.
If the probability of an outcome of an event is p, then the expected number of times that this outcome
will occur in n events (the expected value) is equal to n × p. The higher the EV, the better the project.
However, evaluating decisions by using expected values has a number of limitations.
(a) The probabilities used when calculating expected values are likely to be estimates. They
may therefore be unreliable or inaccurate.
(b) Expected values are long-term averages and may not be suitable for use in situations
involving one-off decisions. They may therefore be useful as a guide to decision making.
(c) Expected values do not consider the attitudes to risk of the people involved in the
decision-making process. They do not, therefore, take into account all of the factors involved in
the decision.
(d) The time value of money may not be taken into account: $100 now is worth more than $100
in ten years' time.
Probabilities and expected values can be represented diagrammatically using decisions trees in
order to aid decision making.
A decision tree: Is a diagram which illustrates choices and the possible outcomes of decisions. It
shows both the probability and the value of expected outcomes.
Key term
To help with decision making, we work from right to left and calculate the expected value (EV) at
each outcome point. This may be used to calculate revenues, cost, contribution or profit.
For example, below is a decision tree for a new product which has been developed. The company is
trying to decide whether to test-market it or abandon it.
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High 0.3
+ 1,000
Market Medium 0.5

E + 200
Low 0.2
Positive − 200
C
0.6
Abandon
Test B + 50
− 100
Negative Market
A D − 600
0.4
Abandon
+ 50
Abandon
+ 50
(Diagram: Decision tree)

Working right to left, we can use this to help our decision as follows:
(a) At point E, the EV is 360 ([0.3  1,000] + [0.5  200] + [0.2  –200]).
(b) At point C we therefore have a choice of marketing the product with an EV of 360 or
abandoning it with an EV of 50. We will choose to market the product so the EV at point C is
360.
(c) At point D we can market the product with an EV of –600 or abandon it with an EV of 50.
We will abandon it, so the EV at point D is 50.
(d) At point B, we have a 0.6 probability of C with an EV of 360 and a 0.4 probability of D with
an EV of 50. Our EV at point B is therefore 236 ([0.6  360] + [0.4  50]).
(e) At point A we can test-market the product which gives EV of 136 (EV at B minus marketing
costs of 100). Alternatively, we can abandon the product, which gives a value of 50. In the
absence of other factors, we will choose to test-market the product because it
gives higher EV.
Evaluating decisions by using a decision tree has a number of limitations:
 The time value of money may not be taken into account.
 Decision trees are not suitable for use in complex situations.
 The outcome with the highest EV may have the greatest risks attached to it. Managers may be
reluctant to take risks which may lead to losses.
 The probabilities associated with different branches of the tree are likely to be estimates, and
possibly unreliable or inaccurate.
3.5 Financial reporting and tax implications

When making strategic and investment decisions, it is important to take all relevant information into
account, and this include relevant financial reporting and tax implications. In the SBL exam, you may
need to take significant tax and FR implications into account when evaluating or choosing between
alternative strategies and this should be given in the scenario or relevant exhibit.
This will not involve detailed consideration of tax and reporting issues. For example, you may be
required to consider significant differences in tax rates or other types of fiscal burden on an
organisation in different jurisdictions of a multinational corporation. If considering raising equity or
debt or whether to purchase or lease a major asset, there may be particular tax or FR implications.
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However, it will deal with strategic level implications that a business leader, not necessarily a tax or
FR expert, would need to be aware of.
Real world example
In 2016 the European Commission ruled that tax arrangements between the US technology company
Apple and the government of Ireland amounted to state aid and were illegal under European law. Most
of Apple's foreign profits are earned by Irish subsidiaries, who hold the rights to their intellectual
property but, under a deal agreed by the Irish government, those entities were not tax resident
anywhere and therefore paid little tax. Apple contested the ruling, saying that their arrangements were
not special and open to any company. Nonetheless, such a high-profile company may be concerned
about the reputational damage resulting from the controversy, and the appearance that they have
developed their corporate structure with the main aim of minimising tax paid.
3.6 Organisation performance and position

It is likely that in your exam you will be required to analyse data and draw conclusions about an
organisation's performance over a time period and its current position. This may well involve
analysing a wide range of data including financial ratios, non-financial key performance indicators
and qualitative data. Your previous studies covering financial ratios and performance management
are assumed knowledge here, but the emphasis will be on high-level analysis, not on preparing
information.
It is vital that your analysis draws links between the different performance indicators and any
background information you have. This will be a test of your commercial awareness and ability to
'think on your feet'.
Essential reading
the Workbook, for more detail about the calculation of key financial ratios.
Activity 3: Performance evaluation

Analysis: Enquire
You are a consultant who is reviewing data about a client, ALPHA plc. As a first step in the
engagement, you have been asked to assess their current performance against budget. An analysis
of this is given below as Exhibit 1.
Required
Using the information below, prepare an appraisal of the performance of ALPHA compared to
budget for 20X0 covering non-financial and financial indicators. (16 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating analysis skills in enquiring, by analysing
appropriate data sources (4 marks)
(Total = 20 marks)
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Exhibit 1 – ALPHA performance data
The current date is December 20X1.
ALPHA is a large manufacturing company that specialises in the design and manufacture of internet-
enabled televisions. It was formed a number of years ago, following the merger of two rival
companies, and is now one of the three largest TV manufacturers in Asia. ALPHA employs over
2,000 staff at its head office and four manufacturing plants, which are all in the same Asian country,
Jurania. ALPHA is listed on the Juranian stock exchange. In recent years, it has particularly built its
reputation on the basis of being a low-cost supplier.
The following is a summary of the performance of ALPHA last year (20X0). ALPHA reports its
performance in the currency of its home country, the Juranian dollar (J$).
20X0
Financial performance Actual Budget
J$ millions J$ millions
Sales revenue 1,793 1,941
Gross (Factory) profit 1,177 1,320
Pre-tax profit 652 790
Capital employed (average) 2,835 2,550
Cash (closing) 179 485
Finished goods inventory (average) 38.2 20.0
Raw material inventory (average) 11.4 9.5
Work in process (average) 0.8 0.3
20X0
Actual Budget
Other performance indicators
Share price (closing) (J$) 334.50 400.00
Earnings per share (J$) 46.00 50.00
Number of employees (average) 2,259 2,128
Sales (million units) 2.35 2.40
Number of finished units re-worked 54,000 29,375*
Percentage of purchases from suppliers rejected (by value) 4.25% 3.00%
Average production cost of sales per unit (J$) 262 259
Average sales price per unit (J$) 763 809
New product lines developed 12 10
New product lines successfully launched 1 4
Products returned from customers as faulty (per 1,000 units sold) 28 20
Warranty claims (per 1,000 units sold) 56 30
Number of working employee days lost to industrial disputes 2,500 3,200
Finished goods inventory days 22.6 11.8
Work in progress days 0.47 0.18
Raw material days 6.75 5.58
Net margin 36.4% 40.7%
ROCE 23% 31%
* Flexed for actual production levels
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Solution
Exam Focus Point

which was responsible for providing rail services within the country of Beeland. The second question
required candidates to act in the capacity of an assistant auditor, working for the National Audit
Authority (NAA), the Beeland government's audit authority. The NAA was conducting an
investigation into the performance of Rail Co following negative publicity relating to poor levels of
service. Candidates were provided with spreadsheet information which included a variety of data
relating to the results of a recent passenger survey, and other performance information. Part (a) of
question 2 asked candidates to prepare a report for the Rail Co Trust Board which evaluated 'the
implications of the findings of the passenger survey results' and reviewed 'the actual and relative
performance of Rail Co over the last three years' (ACCA, 2017a).
This task was worth 12 technical marks and tested the ACCA Professional Skill of Analysis. To
produce a good answer candidates needed to address the two parts of the task ie the implications of
the findings and review of performance. To earn the two professional skills marks candidates needed
to support their answer by including a 'wide range of relevant calculations on both customer survey
results of Rail Co and its relative performance' (ACCA, 2017a). Candidates were also expected to
reflect upon the results of the data and calculations performed.
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4 Cost and management accounting
4.1 Strategic cost management and control
Any organisation needs to manage its costs in order to achieve its strategic objectives. A cost leader
will seek to minimise costs so that they can reduce prices and compete effectively, and a
differentiator will aim to manage costs so as to improve its margins. A not-for-profit organisation will
aim to manage costs in order to make the best use of its resources.
Performance Objective 12 'Evaluate management accounting systems' of the Practical Experience

Requirement requires you to 'evaluate management accounting techniques and approaches in an
PER alert
organisation' (ACCA, 2019b). To help you identify the types of management accounting techniques
that you may have encountered in the workplace you are advised to take the time to read through
the remaining sections of this chapter.
There are various techniques of overhead apportionment which are used to measure costs including
overhead absorption and activity-based costing. These allow assessment of the full cost of a product
or service.
Full cost: Is the total amount sacrificed to achieve a particular objective, including all related costs.
Key term
Full costing supports decision making in a number of areas including:
 Pricing and output – how many should be made and what price charged to the customer?
 Exercising control – by comparing actual and budgeted performance and addressing
discrepancies
 Assessing efficiency – current processes can be compared with different locations, or
alternative methods of working, to determine the current efficiency.
 Assessing performance – revenue generated by a product or service can be compared to its
full cost.
Strategic cost management means not just measuring costs and performance against budget but
focusing on what is driving costs, whether they can be reduced, and whether resources are being
allocated in the best possible way to support the achievement of the organisation's strategy.
4.2 Forecasting
Exam Focus Point

candidates to analyse the financial and non-financial issues involved in deciding whether or not to
accept a contract. Candidates were expected to make use of the financial forecast information that
had been provided in one of the exhibits.
Forecasting can help with planning and decision making by making predictions about the future.
They can be qualitative and based on judgement. Techniques for doing this include:
(a) The Delphi technique involves selecting a panel of experts, each of whom is asked to
produce an independent forecast. These forecasts are shared, and each then goes on to
produce a revised forecast. The process continues until they are in agreement and a definitive
forecast is produced.
(b) Sales force opinions involve a sales manager gathering input from the sales team and
collating their opinions into an aggregate forecast.
(c) Executive opinions arise from meetings of high level managers during which they develop
forecasts based on their knowledge of their own individual areas of responsibility.
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(d) Market research involves the use of customer surveys to evaluate potential demand.
Organisations can also use quantitative techniques, which are based on the use of historical data
to predict the future. They involve the identification of patterns and variations between variables,
including linear regression and time series analysis.
You have seen these techniques in your previous studies. In SBL, you will not be required to perform
detailed calculations. The emphasis will be on reviewing analysis and evaluating it in support of
strategic planning and decision making for the scenario organisation.
4.2.1 Linear regression

Linear regression measures the relationship between two variables:
Level of
income
Line of best fit
Education
standard
(Diagram: Linear regression)

The strength of the relationship is measured by correlation coefficient (often shown as 'r') which
can range from +1 (exact positive relationship) through 0 (no relationship) to –1 (exact negative
relationship).
The coefficient of determination is calculated as r² and explains the proportion of variation in
one variable that is explained by variation in the other. For example, if r = 0.992, then r² is 0.984,
suggesting that 98.4% of the variation in y can be explained by variation in x.
There are a number of issues with using linear regression:
(a) It can establish a relationship between two variables, but this does not mean that a change in
one variable causes a change in the other. The relationship may be coincidence, or caused
by other variables.
(b) It depends on having enough data, and the data being reliable.
(c) When used for forecasting, it assumes that the past is a reliable guide to the future, which may
not be correct.
4.2.2 Time series analysis

Time series analysis aims to separate seasonal and cyclical fluctuations from long-term underlying
trends. It is therefore a form of regression analysis where one variable represents time.
It takes account of seasonal patterns, which most It ignores factors other than time that cause
organisations experience. change.
It is widely understood and fairly It does not take account of how old data is.
straightforward.
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Past data may not be reliable. As with all regression, it assumes that the future
will show the same trend as the past.
Linear regression: Is the numerical relationship between two variables.

Key terms The coefficient of determination: Explains the proportion of variation in one variable that is
explained by variation in the other.
Time series analysis: Aims to separate seasonal and cyclical fluctuations from long-term
underlying trends.
4.3 Budgeting
Performance Objective 13 'Plan and control performance' of the Practical Experience Requirement
requires you to 'co-ordinate, prepare and use budgets, selecting suitable models' (ACCA, 2019b).
PER alert
To help you achieve this Performance Objective you are strongly advised to read through this short
section on budgeting as it should help to put your experiences of budgeting at work into the wider
context of the strategic planning process.
A budget: Is a business plan for the short term, usually one year. It is likely to be expressed in
financial terms and its role is to convert the strategic plans into specific targets.
Key term
It therefore fits into the strategic planning process as follows.
The mission sets the overall direction
The strategic objectives illustrate

how the mission will be achieved
The strategic plans show

how the objectives will be pursued
The budgets represent the short-term plans and

targets necessary to fulfil the strategic objectives
These budgets will then have to be controlled to ensure the planned events actually occur. This is as
much a part of the budgeting process as actually setting the budget.
4.3.1 Benefits and limitations of budgets

There are five main benefits of budgets.
1 Promotes forward thinking. Potential problems are identified early, therefore giving
managers time enough to consider the best way to overcome that problem.
2 Helps to co-ordinate the various aspects of the organisation. The activities of the
various departments and sections of an organisation must be linked so that the activities
complement each other.
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3 Motivates performance. Having a defined target can motivate managers and staff in their
performance. Managers should be able to relate their own role back to the organisational
objectives, seeing as the budgets are based on these objectives.
4 Provides a basis for a system of control. Budgets provide a yardstick for measuring
performance by comparing actual against planned performance.
5 Provides a system of authorisation. Allows managers to spend up to a certain limit.
Activities are allocated a fixed amount of funds at the discretion of senior management,
thereby providing the authority to spend.
However, budgets also have their limitations.
1 Employees may be demotivated if they believe the budget to be unattainable.
2 Slack may be built in by managers to make the budget more achievable.
3 Focuses on the short-term results rather than the underlying causes.
4 Unrealistic budgets may cause managers to make decisions that are detrimental to the
company.
4.3.2 Successful budgeting

Successful budgetary control systems tend to share the same common features.
 Senior management take the system seriously. They pay attention to, and base decisions
on, the monthly variance report. This attitude cascades down through the organisation.
 Accountability. There are clear responsibilities stating which manager is responsible for
each business area.
 Targets are challenging but achievable. Targets set too high, or too low, would have a
demotivating effect.
 Targeted reporting. Managers receive specific, rather than general purpose, reports so
that they do not have to wade through information to find the relevant sections.
 Short reporting periods, usually a month, so that things can't go too wrong before they are
picked up.
 Timely reporting. Variance reports should be provided to managers as soon as possible
after the end of the reporting period. This is so they can take action to prevent the same
problems occurring in the next reporting period.
 Provokes action. Simply reporting variances does not cause change. Managers have to act
on the report to create change.
5 Standard costing and variance analysis

A standard: Is a carefully predetermined quantity target which can be achieved in certain
conditions.
Key term
It is often used as the basis for budgeting and for control purposes, by comparing the standard
against actual results. It may also be used as a basis for valuing inventory.
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5.1 Standard quantities and costs
A standard cost: Is an estimated unit cost.

Key terms Standard costing: Involves the establishment of predetermined estimates of the costs of products
or services, the collection of actual costs and the comparison of the actual costs with the
predetermined estimates. The predetermined costs are known as standard costs and the difference
between the standard and the actual cost is known as a variance. The process by which the total
difference between standard and actual results is analysed is known as variance analysis.
Standard costs are of most benefit for repetitive processes. Standard costing is therefore most suited
to mass production and repetitive assembly work and less suited to organisations which produce to
customer demand and requirements.
Standards are useful in providing data for income measurement and pricing decisions and can help
to improve the efficiency of an organisation. However, standards set too highly can have a
demotivating effect if they are not perceived to be achievable.
5.2 Variance analysis

When actual performance is compared to standards and budgeted amounts, there will inevitably be
variances. They may be favourable or adverse, depending on whether they result in an increase to,
or a decrease from, the budgeted profit figure. At this level, you will not be expected to calculate
variance but may be required to interpret or criticise a variance report.
Variances may occur for a number of reasons. One possible reason is that the budget itself was not
realistic. However, there are many other reasons why variances may arise, including poor staff
performance, changes in market conditions or process inefficiencies.
Essential reading
the Workbook, for more detail about variances and their meaning.
5.3 Limitations of control through variances and standards

Standards and variances are useful for decision making but they have limited application. For
example, where spending is discretionary, such as for advertising or human resource development,
there is no direct link between inputs and outputs. There are also potential problems when applying
standard costing techniques.
(a) Standards can quickly become out of date. Regularly monitoring and updating standards
can be costly and time consuming.
(b) Variances for which a manager is held accountable can be influenced by factors that are out
of the control of that manager.
(c) Lines of responsibility between managers can be difficult to define.
(d) Once a standard has been met, there is no incentive to improve.
(e) May encourage undesirable behaviour, such as encouraging managers to build up excess
inventories, leading to significant storage and financing costs. This could happen if managers
exploit opportunities for bulk purchase discounts to attain a favourable direct materials price
variance.
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6 Evaluating strategic options using marginal and relevant

costing techniques
When an organisation is trying to decide between two or more possible courses of action, only
costs that vary with the decision should be included in the decision analysis, ie it should only
consider relevant costs.
Relevant costs: Are those costs that are relevant to a particular decision. All fixed costs are
irrelevant to the decision because they will be the same whatever decision is made. Similarly, any
Key term
costs which do not represent cash, or have already been incurred, are not considered relevant.
As fixed costs are ignored, marginal cost (the cost of producing one additional unit) usually equals
the variable cost per unit. This will be true unless there is a step in the fixed costs, in which case that
step, or increment, will be included as well as the variable costs.
6.1 Uses of relevant and marginal costing

Marginal analysis is particularly useful in four key areas of decision making:
1 Marginal analysis can be used to decide whether or not a special contract should be
accepted by determining the contribution (revenue less cost) that the price offered would
yield. Positive contributions suggest the organisation would be better off accepting, rather than
rejecting, the special contract. However, there will also be other factors that are difficult, or
impossible, to quantify which will also have to be considered before a final decision is made.
For example, the contract itself may have a negative contribution, but it may lead to further more
lucrative contracts, or help the organisation enter a new market.
2 Usually output is restricted by level of demand, rather than by the organisation's ability to
produce. However, sometimes there is a limit to the amount that can be produced
due to a scarce (limiting) factor, such as labour, space or machinery. The most
profitable combination of products will occur where the contribution per unit of the scarce
factor is maximised.
3 A common decision faced by businesses is whether to produce the product or service
they sell themselves or whether to buy it from another business. Marginal
costing can help with this by identifying the contribution of both options, as with accepting or
rejecting contract decisions. However, there will be other factors that the organisation will
have to take into account when making this decision. These other factors include loss of control
of quality, potential unreliability of supply, and access to expertise and specialisation.
4 Many organisations produce separate financial statements for each department or section in
order to attempt to assess the relative effectiveness of each one. By using these to look at the
variable costs, the contribution for each can be determined. This means the
organisation can determine the contribution to the overall organisation that the individual
departments make. Departments that make a positive contribution should not be closed even if
individually they make a loss. This is because the fixed costs would still be incurred and the
organisation would be worse off without it.
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Activity 4: DynoCars

Evaluation: Estimate
You are a management accountant working for DynoCars, a niche car manufacturer. You have been
asked to assist in evaluating the financial case for outsourcing the manufacture of one of their car
models.
Required
Evaluate the financial case for and against the outsourcing option. (8 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating evaluation skills in estimating the impact
of your calculations on the decision facing the organisation. (2 marks)
(Total = 10 marks)
Exhibit 1 – Background information
DynoCars manufactures three car models: the Family, the Luxury, and the Small.
The company is suffering from capacity constraints and, to address this, is considering outsourcing
the manufacture of the Small model to an overseas company. Information relevant to this decision is
presented in Figure 1. The potential manufacturer has quoted a production price of $3,500 per car.
There are 112 production hours available in total per week at DynoCars' manufacturing site (seven
days per week, two eight-hour shifts) which can be used for a combination of the three product lines.
The weekly overhead costs are $35,000 per week at the site. If the production of the Small model is
outsourced, it is forecast that overhead costs will fall by $1,250 per week. The transportation cost is
estimated at $250 for each outsourced Small model produced.
Family Luxury Small
Selling price per car ($) 9,999 12,999 6,999
Variable cost per car ($) 7,000 10,000 4,500
Weekly demand (cars) 6 5 6
Production time per car (hrs) 9 10 8
Figure 1: Information relevant to the outsourcing decision

Solution
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Chapter summary
Financial analysis
Financial The Financial analysis and

objectives and finance decision-making techniques
business strategy function
Financial issues relating The impact of Financing requirements Dealing with risk and
to strategy are technology on finance Investment, financing & uncertainty
managing for value, functions and dividend decisions Expected values and
funding and the professionals decision trees
expectations of Impact of big data,
stakeholders cloud computing and Sources of finance
predictive analytics • Evaluated by SAF Financial reporting and
• Initial coin offering tax implications
(ICO)
Finance function
structure Organisation
Business partner model, Investment appraisal performance and
options of outsourcing position
ROCE, payback, NPV,
and shared/global IRR Analysing financial and
business services non-financial data
Cost and Standard costing Evaluating strategic

management and variance options using
accounting analysis marginal and relevant
costing techniques
Strategic cost Budgeting Standard quantities and Uses of relevant and

management and • Benefits and costs marginal costing
control limitations of budgets Use estimates for control Costs that vary with the
• Planning, decision being
co-ordination, considered
Forecasting motivation, control, Variance analysis
Linear regression and authorisation Compare standards to
time series analysis • Successful budgeting actuals
Limitations of control
through variances and
standards
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1. Johnson et al (2017) suggested that key financial issues in evaluating strategy include financial
risk, financial return and funding.
2. A study by Donaldson (1985) emphasised that financial goals are changeable and influenced
by the environment, internal constraints and the politics of the organisation.
3. The role of the finance function, and the people who work in it, is being transformed by a
number of developments in technology including big data, cloud computing and predictive
analytics.
4. Finance functions are responding by moving to a 'business partner' model, and considering
whether to outsource certain activities, or move them into a shared or global business service
centre.
5. Businesses need to make three types of financial decision – investment, financing and dividend.
6. Common sources of finance include retained cashflows, shares, loans, overdrafts, loan capital
and initial coin offerings (ICO). They should be evaluated using the criteria of suitability,
acceptability and feasibility.
7. Key investment appraisal techniques include return on capital employed, payback, net present
value and internal rate of return. At this level, you need to be able to interpret the results of these
analyses.
8. Many decisions are made under conditions of risk and uncertainty. Expected values and
decision trees are two techniques that can help with this.
9. You may need to consider high-level financial reporting and tax implications of strategic
decisions, but do not need to consider them in detail.
10. You need to be able to evaluate the performance and position of an organisation, drawing
together financial and non-financial information to give a coherent picture.
11. A strategic approach to cost management means not just measuring costs but using the
information to improve business control and performance, ensuring that resources are being
used effectively to support the strategy.
12. Forecasting can involve qualitative techniques, based on judgement, or quantitative techniques
such as linear regression and time series analysis.
13. The budget is a short-term business plan translated into financial terms. It has a number of
benefits but can also cause problems such as demotivation and focus on the short term at the
expense of the long term.
14. A standard cost is a predetermined cost which is used for control and possibly inventory
valuation.
15. Variance analysis compares performance to actual results in order to highlight organisational
issues which may need addressing.
16. Decision making generally involves considering relevant costs, those which are directly affected
by the decision. This will exclude fixed costs, non-cash items and costs already incurred.
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Question practice
Workbook):
Q10 Hammond Shoes
Further reading
Performance appraisal
This article explores how to interpret information in the context of performance appraisal.
Performance indicators
This article focuses on the interaction between objectives, critical success factors, and key performance
indicators.
Own research
 Find out about the main performance indicators used in your organisation or department (or another
organisation with which you are familiar), both financial and non-financial. How were these
indicators chosen? What follow-up action is taken when they are reported?
 What is the approach to budgeting in this organisation? Can you identify any benefits and
problems?
 See if you can find an example in your organisation of a business decision which has been justified
in financial terms. If you can't, try to find information about one online (hint: you may have more luck
looking at public sector organisations than private sector ones, as they tend to disclose more
information). What decision-making techniques were used? How were these chosen?
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Applications of IT
Learning objectives
Syllabus
reference no.
Discuss from a strategic perspective the need to explore opportunities for E1(a)
adopting new technologies such as cloud and mobile technology within an
organisation
Discuss key benefits and risks of cloud and mobile computing E1(b)
Assess and advise on using the cloud as an alternative to owned hardware and E1(c)
software technology to support organisation information system needs
Discuss how information technology and data analysis can effectively be used to E2(a)
inform and implement organisation strategy
Describe big data and discuss the opportunities and threats big data presents to E2(b)
organisations
Identify and analyse relevant data for decisions about new product developments, E2(c)
marketing and pricing
Discuss from a strategic perspective the continuing need for effective information E4(a)
systems control within an organisation
Assess and advise on the adequacy of information technology and systems E4(b)
security controls for an organisation
Evaluate and recommend ways to promote cyber security E4(c)
Evaluate, and if necessary, recommend improvements or changes to controls over E4(d)

the safeguard of information technology assets, to ensure the organisation's
ability to meet business objectives
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In this chapter we explore the increasingly important role that information technology and
information systems play in the operation of most organisations. We begin our discussion by
considering the growing need for organisations to embrace new technologies. Technological
advances in mobile technology and cloud computing have led to fundamental changes in how
organisations operate and arrange their activities.
We then move on to consider the impact that the so-called 'internet of things' is having, and how the
growing amount of data now available is helping organisations to inform and implement their
strategies. These developments have led to the creation of the term 'big data'. As we shall see the
term big data covers structured data such as sales figures which can be neatly stored in
organisational databases, as well increasingly unstructured data sets such as photos or social media
posts. The rise of big data presents organisations with both opportunities but also a significant
number of challenges.
The final sections of the chapter are devoted to the need for increased cybersecurity and IT/IS
controls. Data is becoming increasingly sought by criminal groups, including hackers, as they seek to
exploit the value placed upon it by senior managers in organisations. Organisations need to
implement appropriate controls to safeguard the value of their data and information assets.
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11: Applications of IT
Chapter overview
Applications of IT
Applications Mobile technologies and cloud computing

of IT
The need for a strategic Mobile technology Benefits and risks of

perspective: new technologies cloud computing
Benefits and risks of

mobile technology Cloud computing v
owned technology
Cloud computing
Information technology Big data Data for

and data analysis decision making
Growth in organisational data The Vs of big data New product development,

marketing and pricing
Data analytics Opportunities and

threats of big data Sources of data
Information system IT and systems Cybersecurity Improving IT/

controls from a security controls IS controls
strategic perspective
Need for information Types of control The rise of cybersecurity Practical improvements
system controls
Promoting cybersecurity
in organisations
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1 Applications of IT
1.1 The need for a strategic perspective: new technologies
As the environments in which organisations operate become more competitive the ability to create a
sustainable competitive advantage becomes considerably more difficult. As a result, strategic
managers are increasingly embracing emerging technologies as a way to innovate, improve
performance and ultimately get ahead of the competition. Technologies with such potential include:
cloud and mobile computing, big data and data analytics. Each of these is discussed in greater
detail in this chapter.
There are a number of reasons why organisations may choose to embrace new technologies.
Reasons for adopting this approach may include:
Early adopters get ahead of Improve performance

competitors
The careful selection and
Organisations which embrace implementation of certain new
innovative technologies can learn how technologies can improve
best to deploy new technologies organisational performance eg new
before their rivals. This enables them to technologies may lead to better use of
potentially increase market share. resources or create a better
understanding of customer needs.
Quantity of data available Good for stakeholders
Organisations today have far greater Better performance resulting from

quantities of data available to them embracing new technologies may
which, unlike in the past, they can now boost profits for commercial entities, or
use to exploit to opportunities. Despite reduce costs/improve efficiencies for
this potential, having lots of data still not-for-profit organisations. All of
means that it needs to be stored. New which will benefit the organisation's
technologies can help organisations stakeholders.
analyse and store the data they have.
Syllabus link
The pace of technological change has led to a number of new terms appearing in the business press
in recent years. Terms such as FinTech and Blockchain are two such examples. Consideration is
given to both terms in Chapter 12 when we explore e-business. The so-called 'internet of things' is
another popular term, consideration of this is given later in this chapter when we discuss data
analytics.
2 Mobile technologies and cloud computing

Mobile technologies and cloud computing have become increasingly important to most types of
organisations in recent years.
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2.1 Mobile technology
Mobile technology: Is concerned with technology that is portable. Mobile technology devices
include: laptops, tablet computers, smartphones, GPS technologies. Such devices enable users to
Key term
communicate with one another in different ways, some of which may make use of the internet.
Communicative features of mobile technologies include: Wi-Fi connectivity, Bluetooth and 4G
technologies.
As the definition above illustrates, the widespread use of mobile technology has enabled those
working within organisations to improve the ways in which they interact with one another, as well as
with external stakeholder groups such as customers, suppliers and users of the organisation's services
in the case of not-for-profit entities. The use of mobile technology has been instrumental in the sharing
of information around the world. The rise in the amount of data generated and transferred between
parties using mobile technologies does however heighten the need for improved data protection.
2.2 Benefits and risks of mobile technology

As with all technological advances, mobile technology offers a range of benefits and risks, some of
which are discussed below:
Benefits of using mobile technologies Risks of using mobile technologies
Allows access to organisational information The purchase costs of the latest devices
and data when away from the workplace (computers and phones) can be expensive and
may be prohibitive in the case of smaller
organisations. Furthermore, the increasing speed
at which new mobile technologies are released
increases the rate at which such devices become
obsolete.
Makes it easier for organisational The greater use of mobile technology devices
stakeholders to interact with the increases the number of entry points for
organisation; for example, customers can use unauthorised individuals to gain access to
mobile technologies to pay for goods without organisational data, ie hackers may steal data or
having to physically visit the organisation as create viruses.
payments can be made over the internet To mitigate such risks robust measures are
needed to protect data. These might take the
form of firewalls, passwords and the provision of
training in using mobile internet networks.
2.3 Cloud computing

Cloud computing technologies have changed the ways in which organisations store and manage
their data. An increasing amount of organisational data is now held in servers operated by cloud-
based service providers.
Cloud computing: Is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a
shared pool of configurable computing resources (eg networks, servers, storage, applications and
Key term
services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service
provider interaction (National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2011).
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2.4 Benefits and risks of cloud computing
Cloud computing may provide an organisation with a number of benefits; however, these need to be
considered against the risks:
Benefits Risks
Using cloud computing services may be more The organisation has to give up control of its data
cost effective than operating in-house to an external party being the cloud-based service
technology. provider. Such providers may be in remote locations
and as a result this increases the risk should the
provider suffer some form of disaster event.
Cloud computing offers greater flexibility Data held by the service provider may be stolen,
to organisations as there are lots of service lost or corrupted.
providers around to choose from.
Furthermore, establishing a cloud-based
approach to data storage and management
can be done faster than establishing the
technology in-house.
Storing organisational data on the cloud Increased danger that the service provider's own staff
means that it is accessible anywhere may interfere with data stored on its servers.
around the world where there is internet
connectivity.
Cloud computing is available to both very Failure to keep up payments to the service
large organisations and smaller entities. provider to store data on the organisation's behalf
may lead to a loss of access or even the
deletion of data.
2.5 Cloud computing v owned technology

Building upon the benefits and risks outlined above in this section we explore the dilemma currently
facing the senior management within many organisations: should the organisation pursue a cloud-
based approach to data management or instead manage data using owned hardware and software
in-house?
Answering this question will depend on a number of factors. Organisations with IT staff that possess
the required levels of expertise to manage IT/IS systems may prefer to retain data storage and data
management in-house. Complex data compliance requirements and a risk-averse attitude among
senior management about allowing external parties to control organisational data make in-house
retention more likely.
For some organisations, particularly small and medium-sized entities which need a global presence
but lack the necessary IT expertise and resources to manage data in-house, a cloud-based approach
offers a viable alternative.
Real world examples
A report published by IT solutions firm, GFI SoftwareTM (n.d) compared some of the main considerations
when choosing between in-house IT data storage solutions and adopting a cloud-based approach.
Some of the key findings have been summarised below. The final column in the table outlines the
most appropriate outcome following the comparison of the two options:
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Topic In-house Cloud Outcome
Expertise Employing top IT staff Cloud-based service Cloud

with niche skills can be providers provide staff
very expensive with the expertise
Support Employing staff to Cloud-based service In-house

monitor IT/IS providers monitor
infrastructures 24 hours 24/7, however they
a day is expensive may not monitor the
data regarded as being
most important to the
organisation
Customisation Data held internally can Although cloud-based In-house

be customised to fit the service providers offer
organisation's needs lots of choices around
how data is configured
and held, this will be
limited
Service level When there is an SLAs put the onus on Cloud

agreements (SLAs) outage it is the cloud-based service
responsibility of the providers to restore
in-house IT team to get systems. The
the IT/IS infrastructure organisation may
operational again benefit from financial
penalty payments for
any downtime.
The level of significance given to each area of consideration outlined above will vary from
organisation to organisation and will therefore influence the end decision.
Real world examples

An article by Bown (2016) highlighted the key findings from research conducted by Temenos, a
software company based in Switzerland, which suggested that approximately 9 out of every 10
financial institutions now make some use of business applications which are operated in the cloud.
Both Amazon and Google now offer cloud-based computing services. As Bown (2016) highlighted,
the increased use of cloud-based applications is now creating new financial technology companies.
Norwegian technology firm, Auka, created 'the first mobile payments platform run entirely on
Google Cloud' (Bown, 2016).
3 Information technology and data analysis

The widespread use of information technology and data analysis tools is having a significant effect
on how organisations inform and implement their strategies.
3.1 Growth in organisational data

Organisations today have more transactional data than they have ever had before – about their
customers, suppliers and their operations. The ability to capture and store all of this data has been
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made possible by advances in information technology. The growth of the internet, multimedia,
wireless networks, smartphones, social media, sensors and other digital technology are all helping to
fuel a data revolution. In the so-called 'Internet of Things', sensors embedded in physical objects such
as mobile phones, motor vehicles, smart energy meters, RFID tags and tracking devices all create
and communicate data which is shared across wired and wireless networks that function in a similar
way to the internet. The timing and location of cash withdrawals from ATM machines could also be a
potential source of data. Consumers using social media, smartphones, laptops and tablets to browse
the internet, to search for items, to make purchases and to share information with other users also all
create trails of data. Similarly, internet search indexes (such as Google Trends) can be sources of
data for analysis.
The 'Internet of Things': This relates to sensors embedded in physical objects which are capable
of creating, communicating and sharing data across wired and wireless networks that function in a
Key term
similar way to the internet.
3.2 Data analytics

It is important to note however, that data on its own is usefulness unless it can be analysed in some
way. SAS (2016) highlight that data analytics refers to the ability to analyse and reveal insights in
data which had previously been too difficult or costly to analyse, due to the volume and variability of
the data involved. The aim of data analytics software is to extract insights from unstructured data or
from large volumes of data.
Being able to extract insights from data is of crucial importance. For example, data may help
organisations to understand the complexity of the environment in which they are operating, and to
respond swiftly to the opportunities and threats presented by it; or to develop new insights and
understanding into what customers need or want.
Illustration 1
The following illustration shows how insurance companies have combined the power of information
technology and data analytics to inform and implement their strategy.
Annual rises in car insurance premiums have made this a contentious issue for motorists around the
world. For a number of years car insurance companies have set premiums with reference to a range
of factors. Metrics such as age and gender are regarded as key measures when assessing the risks
posed by drivers, with younger males being collectively viewed as representing a higher risk than
older drivers. As a result, younger male drivers tend to be charged correspondingly higher car
insurance premiums. Although it is easier for insurers to view all young males in this way, it overlooks
the fact that they are not all dangerous when out on the road.
In recognition of this insurers have started to change their strategies to assessing risk, in the hope that
this will make them more competitive. In recent years a number of car insurance companies have
started using apps installed on the mobile phones of the drivers they insure as a way of measuring
how safely they drive. Drivers are incentivised to download the insurer's app on the basis that it may
save them money on their insurance premiums. Car insurance apps work by tracking the driver when
in their car through the use of GPS technologies. Drivers receive a score based on the way in which
they drive. Those drivers deemed to be safe behind the wheel are eligible to pay reduced premiums
on the grounds that they represent a lower risk than unsafe drivers. In addition to tracking how
drivers behave, most car insurance apps provide users with useful tips concerning how they can
improve their driving.
The use of insurance apps has enabled insurers to improve their image among motorists by making
them more responsive to concerns over rising premiums and has helped them to take a more
individualistic approach to assessing the risks posed by the drivers they insure.
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4 Big data
Big data: 'Is a popular term used to describe the exponential growth and availability of data, both
structured and unstructured.' (SAS, 2016)
Key term
Exam Focus Point

Question 4 of the Strategic Business Leader exam in September 2018 required candidates to
prepare presentation slides and supporting notes which discussed the benefits and costs (to the
featured entity) of investing in big data analytics. You are strongly advised to take the time to
carefully read through the following section on big data.
4.1 The Vs of big data

SAS (2016) cite the work of Laney (2000), who suggested that big data can be defined by
considering the three Vs: volume, velocity and variety. The three Vs have now been extended to
include veracity. It is important to note that other authors may refer to other terms when discussing
big data, however in this section we shall focus solely on the four Vs.
Volume
The vast volume of data
generated is a key
feature of big data
Variety (or
variability)
Veracity
A common theme in
This concerns the
relation to big data is
truthfulness of
the diversity of source
captured data
data, with a lot of the
data being unstructured
(ie not in a database)
Velocity
This refers to the speed at
which 'real time' data is
being streamed into the
organisation, and with
which it is processed within
the organisation
(Adapted from: SAS, 2016)
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Activity 1: Retail World

Assume that it is late 20X6.

You are a finance professional working for Retail World (RW). You report to the newly appointed
finance director. The new finance director, whose background is in a non-retail environment, is keen
to understand the sales trends of the organisation, as well trends in the industry overall, in order to
help develop a strategy which can take advantage of these trends in the future. As a result he asked
you to attend a conference for professionals working in the retail sector. One of the sessions you
attended at the conference focused on the increasing role that big data is playing in business.
Interested to learn more, the finance director has asked you to investigate the ways RW could use
big data, and to highlight the benefits that the company could obtain from its use.
Required
Using the information provided in Exhibit 1, discuss how the volume, veracity, velocity and variety
Vs of big data could be used to enhance strategic development within RW. (10 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating communication skills when informing the
finance director about the uses of big data in relation to strategic development at RW. (2 marks)
(Total = 12 marks)
Exhibit 1 – Retail World
Retail World (RW) is a major international retail chain, selling groceries, clothing, electronic items,
toiletries and homeware items. It has grown rapidly across a number of different countries, offering a
broad product range to suit a wide range of customer segments. Growth has been through the
expansion of existing stores, in addition to the opening of new stores.
The company's IT systems are fully integrated and associated controls are rigorous, allowing the data
to be manipulated in many ways. The number of stores has grown annually and RW's CEO believes
that this is the best indicator of expected future revenue. The average number of stores expected to
be in operation in 20X7 is 3,700 rising to 4,000 in 20X8.
Solution
320
Real world examples

In March 2014, Wall (2014) reported on the growing emphasis that big business is now placing on
the role of big data.
It's not big, it's just bigger
Wall (2014) notes the word of Laurie Miles, Head of Analytics for big data specialist SAS, who
explains that 'the term big data has been around for decades, and we've been doing analytics all
this time. It's not big, it's just bigger.' Miles highlights that, for many years, organisations held
traditional structured data, which could be neatly stored and organised in databases. However, over
the last 20 years, the rise of the internet has led to a 'proliferation of so-called unstructured data,
generated by all our digital interactions, from email to online shopping, text messages to tweets,
Facebook updates to YouTube videos'. This has resulted in increasingly large and complex data sets,
which have become harder to analyse. It is predicted that 90% of all the data in existence today has
been created in the past few years. (Wall, 2014).
The big challenge
Wall (2014) highlights that the challenge for big business has been to capture and analyse these
vast quantities of data, which may be of use in a commercial context. Miles notes 'data is only as
good as the intelligence we can glean from it, and that entails effective data analytics and a whole
lot of computing power to cope with the exponential increase in volume'.
Wall (2014) reports that a significant number of large entities have already turned to big data
analytics with the aim of gaining a competitive advantage over their rivals. Proponents of big data
analytics argue that the insights gained may lead to improvements throughout the entire organisation.
'Practically, anyone who makes, grows and sells anything can use big data analytics to make their
manufacturing and production processes more efficient and their marketing more targeted and cost-
effective.' (Wall, 2014).
Wall (2014) draws an important distinction between the role of big data analytics compared to
historic data analysis. Big data is not just about understanding historic business intelligence, but
instead combines several 'real time' data sets, which make it increasingly useful to big businesses.
The big questions
Wall (2014) notes that the rise of big data has had its implications. Organisations looking to exploit
the opportunities presented have encountered a significant shortage of individuals with the required
skills in the job market to analyse the data. Wall (2014) highlights the words of Duncan Ross,
Director of Science at Teradata, who notes: 'big data needs new skills, but the business and
academic worlds are playing catch up. The job of the data scientist didn't exist ten years ago.'
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Questions have also been raised over who ultimately owns the data that organisations hold and who is
responsible for keeping such data safe from hackers. Does it belong to the individual or customer, the
company, the service provider hosting the data or the national jurisdiction where the data is held?
(Wall, 2014) Such questions are unlikely to go away in the short term, as Miles highlights; it is a 'legal
minefield'.
4.2 Opportunities and threats of big data

Big data presents organisations with significant opportunities, but these need to be matched against
the threats posed by its use.
Opportunities offered by big data to Threats associated with big data

organisations
Processing greater quantities of data should Capturing and storing greater quantities of data
allow organisations to identify new trends increases the scope for things to go wrong.
and patterns relevant to the organisation's Attempts by hackers to access organisational
success. Patterns may give deeper understanding data sets are on the increase as such groups look
of customer requirements. Data can be captured to exploit the value of the data held.
from both internal and external sources to reveal The widespread use of IT infrastructures in
insights not previously known. capturing and storing data in digital form
For example, as more customers use the internet, presents a challenge in keeping it safe from the
smartphones and social media in their everyday threats posed by computer viruses. This is a
lives, these can now also be sources of data for significant threat for those organisations whose
organisations alongside any data they may business model is heavily dependent on
capture internally – for example, from customer transferring data over the internet, such as an
loyalty cards or the transactions recorded in online retailer. Viruses which corrupt
EPOS tills. organisational data may potentially have a
devastating impact.
The threats posed by hackers and viruses raise
legal considerations especially if stolen or
corrupted data relates to individual consumers.
The organisation may face legal action if it is
found that its measures for protecting data were
not deemed sufficient.
The ability to process large data sets in real time The use of big data increases the danger that an
allows organisations to respond to changing organisation's management spend longer trying
conditions faster. to determine the value and patterns within the
For example, online retailers are able to compile vast amounts of data they have captured, instead
records of each click and interaction a customer of concentrating on running the organisation. The
makes while visiting a website, rather than possession of lots of data does not guarantee
simply recording the final sale at the end of a that its analysis will identify any trends or
customer transaction. Moreover, retailers who patterns of any commercial use.
are able to utilise information about customer Furthermore, there is a focus on finding
clicks and interactions quickly – for example, by correlations between data sets and less of an
recommending additional purchases – can use emphasis on causation. Critics suggest that
this speed to generate competitive it is easier to identify correlations between two
advantage. variables than to determine what is actually
causing the correlation.
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Opportunities offered by big data to Threats associated with big data

organisations
Organisations increasingly have access to more The diverse types of data available present a
diverse types of data. Historically data has challenge to organisations as they need to find
tended to be in structured form (ie can be stored ways of capturing, storing and processing the
in databases), however there has been a growth data. If data is too big, moves too fast, or
in unstructured data (ie not in a database) doesn't fit within an organisation's existing
which organisations have access to. For information systems, then in order to gain value
example, keywords from conversations people from it, an organisation needs to find an
have on Facebook or Twitter, and content they alternative way to process that data.
share through media files (tagged photographs, As a result, organisations may feel compelled to
or online video postings) could be sources of invest in upgrading their IT infrastructures to
unstructured data. Such data provides capture and store more data even if the
organisations with a range of new benefits of such an approach have not
opportunities, including: understanding what been fully considered.
customers are saying about the organisation's
The technical and financial costs imposed
products and services, and monitoring consumer
by regularly upgrading the organisation's
reactions to competitor's products.
hardware may be prohibitive for smaller
organisations.
Furthermore, just because an organisation is able
to invest in the IT systems to analyse big data
does not mean that the skills in the job
market exist which will enable it to extract
meaning from captured data.
Big data can provide organisations with an For that data to be beneficial for decision
increasing amount of accurate and detailed making it needs to be reliable and truthful. If the
performance data – in real or almost real data is not truthful (for example, due to bias
time. By analysing the variability in performance or inconsistencies within it) this will reduce the
– and the causes of that variability – value of any decisions which are informed by it.
organisations then can manage performance to Moreover, hidden biases in the data could
higher levels. present significant risks to an organisation – for
example, if the organisation develops a new
product believing there is sufficient customer
demand to make the product viable, when in fact
that demand does not exist.
Real world examples

The following real-world example provides an interesting insight into how retailer Sainsbury's has
been able to improve the performance of its monitoring of its suppliers as it strives to meet its
sustainability commitments.
The Accounting for Sustainability website included a blog written by Sainsbury's Brand Director,
Judith Batchelar, in which she explains how big data technologies are helping the retailer to achieve
its aim of sourcing sustainable wild fish. 'Farmed fish is easier for us to manage, as we know where
the farms are and we know how the fish are being managed, including the impact we are having on
the local environment. Wild fish is not so easy. Much of it is caught thousands of miles away, in the
middle of large oceans, where it is difficult to see what's really going on, let alone manage it. We
have to rely on the certification process for the fish, but the paper-based system only starts when the
fish is landed. We want to know what is happening at sea.' (Batchelar, 2017)
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The big challenge for retailers concerns the fact that about 25% of the fish caught around the world
is caught illegally. Working with technology firm, Satellite Catapult, Sainsbury's is able to view, in
real time the vessels which are fishing on its behalf. Batchelar (2017) notes that 'earth observation
satellites photograph fishing vessels around the world using that vessel's automatic location
communicator (they can even see when vessels have switched this signal off). The satellites then
collate this data with other data sets which can tell them the vessel's home port, its licence and
quota, and the method of fishing it is meant to use. They take this information and, by using complex
algorithms, can tell whether the vessel is behaving as would be expected, given everything we know
about that vessel… so now we really can "measure what matters" when it comes to illegal,
unreported and unregulated fishing. Protecting "Life below water" becomes a real possibility.'
5 Data for decision making

As we discussed in the previous section on big data, in order for an organisation's senior
management to make informed decisions they need good quality data.
5.1 New product development, marketing and pricing

When making decisions about new product development, marketing and pricing strategies, senior
management will want relevant data which will help them to answer the following key questions.
5.1.1 New product development decisions

 What are the potential costs of launching new products?
 What are the potential benefits of launching new products?
 Will new product development help the organisation achieve its objectives?
 Can the organisation develop existing products or is a totally new product required?
 Does the organisation have the required skills and competences needed?
 Should the organisation launch the product?
5.1.2 Marketing decisions

 How should new and existing products/services be promoted?
 Through which channels should the product/service be delivered?
 What features does the product/service need to have to meet customer needs?
 How important will the organisation's people be in developing/delivering the product/service
to customers?
 Will organisational processes need to be updated to produce/sell the product/service?
 How might competitors respond to an initiative to the introduction of new products/services?
 What might the impact of the competitor response be?
 Which customers are most important/profitable to us?
 Why are some groups of customers more profitable than others?
5.1.3 Pricing decisions

 How is customer demand for a product/service likely to vary at different prices?
 How will this affect profits and cash flows?
 How does the proposed price fit with the organisation's overall generic strategy?
 How does it compare to competitors' prices?
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 How do competitors' costs compare with ours?

 Are competitors vulnerable because of their cost structure or their product/service portfolio (or
are we vulnerable because of our cost structure or our product/service portfolio)?
5.2 Sources of data

In order to determine answers to the above, an organisation will need to undertake some form of
research. Market research might take the form of desk research (secondary research). Sources of
desk research might include: reviewing competitor annual reports, databases, production records,
records from the finance department, talking to the R&D team, customer complaints and customer
loyalty schemes. Field research (primary research) involves getting information directly from
respondents to gauge their opinions on a number of matters and might include getting feedback from
customers on the organisation's latest marketing campaign or product release. Primary research
methods include: asking customers to undertake questionnaires, getting feedback from focus groups,
undertaking customer interviews.
Although a significant degree of traditional market research is still undertaken, organisations are now
increasingly capturing this data about customer opinions from social media channels and through the
technologies which make up the 'internet of things'.
Activity 2: Holiday Company

Assume the date is mid 20X6.

You are Boris Day, a management consultant; you are currently undertaking a consultancy
assignment at the Holiday Company (HC). HC currently offers travel agency services by giving travel
advice and making travel bookings for customers who physically visit the offices located in most
major towns in the country. However, it is progressively reducing this part of the business while
simultaneously trying to achieve a greater proportion of its revenue online. To help meet this
objective, HC is in the process of forming a new business unit to market and sell luxury holidays. You
have been engaged to provide advice to the HC board on establishing the new business unit. During
your initial meetings with the managing director and director of marketing of the new business unit
you have made some notes (Exhibit 1) which detail their future plans.
Required
Using the information and data provided in Exhibit 1, describe a strategic approach to establishing
prices in the context of Inspirations. You should recognise both economic and non-economic factors
in your approach. (10 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for commercial acumen in demonstrating awareness skills
in the context of pricing at Inspirations. (2 marks)
(Total = 12 marks)
Exhibit 1 – Inspirations
The holiday product range marketed by HC's new business unit will be named Inspirations. It is
intended that Inspirations will provide a high quality, bespoke holiday service for discerning clients.
HC has decided that this new business unit will have its own mission statement of 'delivering a high-
quality service for discerning travellers'. The new managing director of Inspirations has stated that it
has an objective of achieving annual revenue of $100m by 20X8. This would be approximately
25% of the total forecast revenue for HC that year, but it is expected to represent only about 5% of
the total number of holidays sold by HC. The type of holidays offered by Inspirations is already
provided by some of HC's competitors.
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Dilip Kharel, the new director of marketing of Inspirations, has stated that the internet should be
increasingly used as the main source of marketing and selling the holidays, as 'the days are almost
gone when families visit a 'high street' travel agency to plan their holiday; it's all done now from the
comfort of the home'. He believes that potential customers of Inspirations will not want to visit high
street travel agencies.
Inspirations will offer holidays in a wide variety of locations, including the Caribbean, Africa and
Asia, and plan to offer 'themed' trips, such as gourmet food holidays and heritage trips. Different
countries may have different requirements for visiting tourists, such as visa regulations. Inspirations
does not own hotels or aircraft and therefore the majority of holidays offered will be provided by
third-party suppliers, such as hotel and airline companies. This means that Inspirations can lack
control over some elements such as passenger taxes. Inspirations will have representatives on site in
all resorts to meet guests at airports and to address any issues they have with the holiday. However,
the hotels and excursions will not be solely or exclusively offered to Inspirations' guests. For example,
there will be other guests at a hotel who have not booked through Inspirations.
Dilip is concerned about this. He feels that the company needs to be able to differentiate itself, either
in the overall holiday experience itself or in the marketing of it, so that customers are more likely to
book such holidays through Inspirations, rather than through a competitor, or indeed through
booking with the hotel directly. He also recognises the importance of adopting an appropriate
pricing strategy which meets the needs of the organisation (HC and Inspirations) and customers alike.
Solution
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Exam Focus Point

4(a) required candidates to write a report on behalf SmartWear’s sales and marketing director, for
presentation to the board, which described the benefits of introducing a customer database
management system (CDMS), including a loyalty scheme for SmartWear. Professional skills marks
were available for demonstrating commercial acumen in respect of the wider external factors
impacting on the decision to implement the system. The examining team noted that ‘candidates
appeared to do well, with most earning very high marks for this question by correctly discussing the
many benefits of a CDMS. Most of the answers noticed the more obvious benefits, e.g. analysis of
trends, targeted marketing, predict future trends, inform future product lines and so on. However,
other benefits, such as cost saving, accuracy of data, shared access, remote access and so on were,
in the majority of cases, missed. The biggest mistakes related to getting carried away with part of a
relevant syllabus area, then taking it way too far. One common example was a strong focus on the 6
I’s of e-marketing – by doing this in a very generic, unapplied manner – and getting carried away
with listing and detailing all the many different types of promotion that the company may choose to
offer its loyalty card customers. These candidates rarely answered the question that they had been
asked.’ (ACCA, 2019a).
To earn the 2 professional skills marks candidates had to strongly describe the benefits of introducing
the CDMS at SmartWear in light of the case information provided. This needed to consider the issues
from the perspective of the sales and marketing director and be presented in a report format.
6 Information system controls from a strategic perspective

An information system: Consists of the systems, processes and procedures involved in
collecting, storing, processing and distributing information.
Key terms
The information systems (IS) strategy: Is the long-term plan for systems to exploit information
in order to support organisational strategies or create new strategic options.
In order to manage the performance of their organisations effectively, managers need relevant and
reliable performance information. However, while information systems themselves are important to an
organisation, the information which they provide is perhaps even more important. As a result
information systems need to be controlled if the output they provide to an organisation's strategic
managers is to be meaningful. It is important to recognise that an organisation's information systems
are made up of more than just the technological aspects (ie computers, databases etc); it is
concerned with how information flows around the organisation.
Ultimately, strategic managers need information for decision making and control, and the role of the
systems is to provide that information. An underlying consideration of an information strategy is that
an organisation's information systems should provide the appropriate type and amount of
information which management need to select, implement and control its chosen organisational
strategy. However, this also means that the information strategy needs to be aligned to the
overarching organisational strategy, in terms of the type of information available. For example, if an
organisation is pursuing a differentiation strategy based on the high quality of its products, then
information about aspects of product quality will be required in order to measure and manage
performance.
As we explored earlier when we considered the increasing use of data, the way an organisation
manages and uses information could, in itself, become a source of competitive advantage – for
example, if the organisation is able to respond to market trends or opportunities more quickly than its
rivals on the basis of the information it gathered about those opportunities.
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6.1 Need for information systems controls
Information is a
source of
competitive
advantage for
most
organisations
Information is
critical to the Information systems
success of many involve high costs
organisations when IT is used
Need for IS
controls from a
strategic
perspective
Information affects
all levels of
The quality of
management and staff
information flows
within the organisation.
impacts on
Impacts on
customer service
external
Information stakeholders
needs may
require
structural
changes are
made within the
organisation
7 IT and systems security controls

For an organisation's IT assets and systems to operate effectively, it is critical that adequate control
measures are in place to help prevent theft, fraud and human error.
Real world examples
In 2015, the details of over 37 million accounts were stolen from Canadian based extramarital
affairs website Ashley Madison and posted on the internet. The company's tagline – 'life is short,
have an affair' – encouraged users to set up an online account with a view to meeting married
individuals or people in committed relationships (Thielman, 2015).
Thielman (2015) suggested that Canadian police were investigating the connection between the
website's hack and the suicides of two people believed to have had active Ashley Madison accounts.
Shortly after the hack, the company's CEO Noel Biderman resigned his position after leaked emails
showed that he had had extramarital affairs himself having previously denied the accusations.
Subsequent investigations into the hacked data showed that the company had failed to adequately
encrypt user details making it easy for hackers to access and publish account details.
IT and systems security controls are often classified in one of two ways, as either general or application
controls. General controls relate to the wider computer environment and may include organisational
policies relating to the use of hardware, or the procurement of hardware. Application controls relate
specific pieces of software and often cover controls over the processing of transactions.
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Exercise 1: Controls
Although there are a number of threats to the security of organisational IT/IS infrastructures, some of
the most common threats come from the following sources:
(1) Hacking
(2) Viruses
(3) Input error
Required:
For each of the three threats listed above, briefly explain the threat to data security, and what can be
done to prevent them.
Solution:
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7.1 Types of control
When assessing the adequacy of existing IT/IS controls, an organisation should compare them
against four types of control (see table below). The four types of control can be classified as being
either general or application controls.
Controls over physical access Logical access controls
Controls over physical access are predominantly Logical access controls are aimed at ensuring
directed toward preventing unauthorised that only authorised users of IT systems are
individuals gaining access to an organisation's IT provided with access to those systems. Such
and IS assets. Controls are aimed at stopping measures are directed towards identifying and
damage to the IT infrastructure which may occur as confirming the authenticity of the user. A
a result of natural hazards, eg a fire. common mechanism in protecting
Controls can be simple or advanced. computerised data is through the use of
passwords.
Simple controls might include ensuring that
doors leading to an organisation's IT systems Keeping track of failed attempts can alert
remain locked when not in use. Locks can be managers to repeated efforts to break into the
combined with: keypad systems or card entry system. In these cases, the culprits might be
systems. Other controls may focus on the use of caught, particularly if there is an apparent
personnel. Ensuring that receptionists and security pattern to their efforts.
guards are on duty outside of working hours may
help control human access. This can be
supplemented by the use of intruder alarms.
Advanced controls are those that recognise
individuals immediately, without the need for
personnel or cards. However, biometric machines
which can identify a person's fingerprints or scan
the pattern of a retina are expensive, so are used
only in highly sensitive industries, like defence.
Operational controls Controls over data input
Operational controls are aimed at ensuring that an Input controls should ensure the accuracy,
organisation's day-to-day activities run effectively. completeness and validity of data input into a
Most organisations establish operational controls computer system. Such controls are integrated
aimed at influencing an individual's behaviour. into the software used.
Segregation of duties Controls are likely to focus on:
Strong internal company policies often stop Data verification: This involves ensuring
situations arising which lead to one individual data entered matches source documents.
having too much power over a particular function. Data validation: This involves ensuring that
This is often achieved through ensuring a data entered is not incomplete, unreasonable
segregation of duties. For example, the person or duplicated, eg a system should flag and
dealing with processing the monthly payroll should reject invoice numbers which have been
not have responsibility for adding new employees duplicated when input.
to the payroll or authorising the monthly payment of
salaries from the organisation's bank. There are a number of general checks that can
be used, depending on the data type.
Audit trail
Check digits. A digit calculated by the
In the context of IT systems and controls, an audit program and added to the code being
trail is a record showing who has accessed a checked to validate it.
computer system and what operations that
individual has performed. Audit trails are useful, Control totals. For example, a batch total
totalling the entries in the batch.
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Operational controls Controls over data input
both for maintaining security and for recovering lost Range checks. Used to check the value
transactions. Accounting systems include an audit entered against a sensible range, eg the
trail component that is able to be output as a parameters for an organisation's nominal
report. ledger coding may require that statement of
financial position codes must be between
5000 and 9999; for example, account code
6200 may relate to inventory.
Limit checks. Similar to a range check, but
usually based on an upper limit. For example,
must be less than $999,999.99. The aim is
that the software should identify unreasonable
input values. In the case of a small company,
posting a sales invoice for $1.3m to the
account’s software should be rejected.
Compatibility checks. Ensure that two
entries to the system are compatible. The value
of a sales invoice posting should be
compatible to the sales tax posting.
Format check. Only accepts postings to the
system which are in the correct format;
otherwise be rejected. For example, dates
must be posted in a particular format,
dd/mm/yy.
Syllabus link
Issues around IT/IS controls are relevant to our discussions in Chapter 8 about internal control
systems.
Essential reading
the Workbook, for more detail on organisational controls specific to computerised accounting
processes.
8 Cybersecurity
8.1 The rise of cybersecurity
Cybersecurity: Is concerned with the protection of systems, networks and data in cyberspace.
Key terms Cyberspace: Is the term used to describe the environment in which communication over IT networks
takes place.
The frequency of 'cyber attacks' on the IT systems used by organisations is continuing to rise at an
alarming rate and has highlighted the need for improved cybersecurity. The increased emphasis on
cybersecurity requires organisations to change their approach to protecting data, and the steps
intended to be taken in the event that their data is breached. For many organisations, data security
has predominantly focused on maintaining adequate internal controls, designed to protect the data
from threats within the organisation. However, cybersecurity measures increasingly need to take
account of the external threats:
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 Threats now emerge from different parts of the world, and often involve criminal groups,
corporate espionage and hackers.
 The heavy dependence on IT systems in modern business has proliferated the need for
organisations to link their IT systems together throughout their supply chains. The growing
number of servers, mobile devices and cloud computing applications used increases the
number of ways in which hackers can gain access to data.
 Security failures can have far wider implications than only affecting the organisation's IT
systems, and may include reputation damage, loss of intellectual property and disruption to
operations.
8.2 Promoting cybersecurity in organisations

To address the challenges presented by such threats senior management are having to do more to
promote an awareness of cybersecurity throughout the organisation. This may involve:
 Making cybersecurity issues for those not working in the organisation's IT department easier
to understand. All too often the language used among IT professionals is of a technical
nature, which makes it harder for other employees to understand. Communicating the need for
all employees to play their part in combating cyber risks is crucial.
 Employing a Chief Information Security Officer to help communicate the threats posed
by cyber risks should help other employees understand their role when using the organisation's
IT/IS infrastructure.
 Reorganising roles and responsibilities to ensure that there is accountability for
cybersecurity matters within the organisation. This should help ensure that in the event of a
cyber-attack there is a team of individuals with the required responsibility to address the
matter.
 Determining accountability for cyber risks at the strategic apex. A member of the
board should be assigned responsibility for heading up cybersecurity matters. Having a
member of the board in this role should help promote 'buy in' among all employees that the
senior management take the issue seriously. This should help to create a cybersecurity
conscious culture.
 Learning from past security breaches. Following a security breach, senior management
should use this as an opportunity to promote the importance of cybersecurity throughout the
organisation and should look to put in place measures to address the weaknesses that
permitted security breaches to occur in the past.
 Determining the organisation's tolerance to the cyber risks is an important step in
designing management strategies. Such an exercise may lead to the conclusion that additional
funding is required to enhance the cybersecurity features of the organisation's IT/IS
infrastructure.
 Ensuring that non-executive board members play an active role in promoting
cybersecurity during their interactions with the board. This may involve keeping their
knowledge about the evolving nature of cyber risks up to date and challenging the executive
directors about the need for following best practice in cybersecurity.
It is important to note that the ability of organisations to implement the approaches to promoting
cybersecurity outlined above will vary from organisation to organisation. In the case of smaller
organisations addressing the matter of cybersecurity is likely to prove particularly challenging.
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9 Improving IT/IS controls
9.1 Practical improvements

Earlier in the chapter we introduced the different types of IT/IS controls that exist; in this section we
explore some of the practical measures that senior management can take to improve and enhance
the organisation's existing IT/IS controls so that the organisation is able to meet its objectives.
Practical measures are might include:
Continuity planning. Organisations should have in place measures to address failures of IT/IS
infrastructures to ensure the organisation can continue to function. This may consist of a plan which
details the contact details for crisis management staff, customers, suppliers, the location of offsite
data back-up storage media.
Systems development and maintenance. Organisations need security controls to protect the
data held in IT/IS infrastructures. This requires regular updating of software and hardware, and to
ensure that the controls remain fit for purpose.
Personnel security measures. Organisations need suitable processes for ensuring that only
trustworthy employees are recruited to use IT/IS infrastructures. All employees should receive
adequate training on using the organisation's IT/IS infrastructures. Training should be undertaken as
regularly as needed to keep skills up to date.
Asset classification and control. Assigning an 'owner' to manage certain pieces of information
held within IT/IS infrastructures is important as information/data is an asset to the organisation.
Making certain individuals accountable for ensuring that key pieces of information are up-to-date and
protected should improve security.
Compliance measures. Organisations need to ensure that organisational policies relating to the
use of IT/IS infrastructures and data exist and are enforced. Policies should also conform to the law
where appropriate ie data protection.
It is important to note that the measures provided above are not exhaustive and any improvements
needed to enhance existing IT/IS controls will be driven by the situation facing the organisation.
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Chapter summary
Applications of IT
Applications Mobile technologies and cloud computing

of IT
The need for a strategic Mobile technology Benefits and risks of cloud
perspective: new technologies • Mobile technology is computing
Strategic managers are concerned with technology • Benefits of cloud computing
increasingly embracing emerging that is portable include: cost effectiveness,
technologies as a way to • Mobile technology devices flexibility, accessibility of data.
innovate, improve performance include: laptops, tablet • Risks include: loss of control,
and ultimately get ahead of the computers, smartphones, GPS data might be stolen, lost or
competition technologies corrupted
Benefits and risks of mobile Cloud computing v owned

technology technology
• Benefits: greater access to Organisations need to determine
information/data, stakeholder whether to pursue a cloud-based
interaction approach to data management
• Risks: costs/obsolescence/ or to manage data using owned
hackers hardware and software in-house
Cloud computing
Growing amounts of
organisational data is now held
in servers operated by
cloud-based service providers
Information technology Big data Data for

and data analysis decision making
Growth in organisational data The Vs of big data New product development,

Has been caused by the 'Internet Volume, velocity, variety and marketing and pricing
of things' veracity • Senior management need
quality data
• New product development
Data analytics Opportunities and threats of big decisions
Analyse and reveal insights in data • Marketing decisions
data • Opportunities include: new • Pricing decisions
trends and patterns, improve
responsiveness
• Threats include: hackers, Sources of data
viruses, focus on correlation
not causation
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Information system IT and systems Cybersecurity Improving IT/

controls from a security controls IS controls
strategic perspective
Need for information Types of control The rise of cybersecurity Practical improvements
system controls Controls over physical Cybersecurity is Establishing continuity
Information systems access, logical access concerned with the plans, regularly
need to be controlled if controls, operational protection of systems, maintaining systems,
the output they provide controls and controls networks and data in introduce organisational
to an organisation's over data input cyberspace IT/IS policies, employ
strategic managers is to trustworthy staff, and
be meaningful assign information
Promoting cybersecurity 'owners'
in organisations
Cybersecurity can be
promoted through a
range of activities
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1. As the environment in which organisations operate becomes more competitive, the ability to
create a sustainable competitive advantage becomes considerably more difficult. Strategic
managers are increasingly embracing emerging technologies as a way to innovate, improve
performance and ultimately get ahead of the competition.
2. Mobile technology is concerned with technology that is portable. Mobile technology devices
include: laptops, tablet computers, smartphones, GPS technologies. Such devices enable users
to communicate with one another in different ways, some of which may make use of the
internet. Communicative features of mobile technologies include: Wi-Fi connectivity, Bluetooth,
and 4G technologies.
3. Mobile technology allows greater access to organisational information and data, and makes it
easier to interact with organisational stakeholders. The purchase costs, the speed of
obsolescence and the threat of unauthorised individuals gaining access are risks.
4. Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to
a shared pool of configurable computing resources (eg networks, servers, storage, applications
and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or
service provider interaction (National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2011).
5. Benefits of cloud computing include: cost effectiveness, flexibility, accessibility of data. Risks
include: loss of control, data might be stolen, lost or corrupted.
6. Organisations need to determine whether to pursue a cloud-based approach to data
management or to manage data using owned hardware and software in-house.
7. Harnessing the insights presented by the data organisations which have available to them
through the use of information technology tools is having an effect on how they inform and
implement their strategies.
8. In the so-called 'Internet of Things', sensors embedded in physical objects such as mobile
phones, motor vehicles, smart energy meters, RFID tags and tracking devices create and
communicate data which is shared across wired and wireless networks.
9. Data analytics refers to the ability to analyse and reveal insights in data which had previously
been too difficult or costly to analyse, due to the volume and variability of the data involved.
10. 'Big data is a popular term used to describe the exponential growth and availability of data,
both structured and unstructured' (SAS, 2016).
11. Volume, velocity, variety and veracity make up the Vs of big data.
12. Big data offers opportunities including: the identification of new trends and patterns in data,
making organisations more responsive. Threats associated with big data include: hackers,
viruses, focus on correlation not causation.
13. To make informed decisions senior management need quality data. When making decisions
about new product development, marketing and pricing strategies, senior management will
want relevant data on a range of issues.
14. An information system consists of the systems, processes and procedures involved in collecting,
storing, processing and distributing information.
15. Information systems need to be controlled if the output they provide to an organisation's
strategic managers is to be meaningful.
16. General controls relate to the wider computer environment, and may include organisational
policies relating to the use of hardware, or the procurement of hardware. Application controls to
relate specific pieces of software and often cover controls over the processing of transactions.
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17. The types of controls which exist include: controls over physical access, logical access controls,
operational controls and controls over data input.
18. Cybersecurity is concerned with the protection of systems, networks and data in cyberspace.
19. Cybersecurity can be promoted through a range of activities including: reducing the amount of
technical jargon associated with cybersecurity, employing a Chief Information Security Officer,
reorganising roles and responsibilities, and determining accountability for cyber risks.
20. There are a range of practical measures that senior management can take to improve existing
IT/IS controls, including: establishing continuity plans, regularly maintaining systems, introduce
organisational IT/IS policies, employ trustworthy staff, and assign information 'owners'.
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Question practice
Workbook):
Q11 Shop Reviewers Online
Further reading
Applying big data and data analytics in Strategic Business Leader
This article explores the concept of big data and considers how it can be used to inform and implement
business strategy.
Own research
suggested some areas for you to investigate further. Research a well-known organisation (if you struggle to
find an organisation to consider you may find it helpful to choose a well- known business listed on a
recognised stock exchange such as the FTSE 100), and consider the following:
 Consider the extent to which your chosen organisation is dependent on technology. Would the
organisation be able to compete without the technology it uses in its day-to-day operations?
 How has the organisation been positively or negatively affected by advances in technology?
 How does the organisation use the data it has at its disposal?
 Has the organisation been affected by cyber-attacks in the past? If so, what did the organisation do
to address this matter? If not, why do you think this was?
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Exercise answer
Exercise 1
(1) Hacking is unauthorised access into an IT system.
Controls might include: usernames, passwords, install firewalls.
(2) A virus is a software program which causes damage to an IT system by making
unauthorised amendments to program and data files and sometimes damages the hardware
of the system.
Controls might include: anti-virus software, messages within the software may be
displayed which warn the user about downloading a file or programs from the internet.
(3) Input errors are mistakes by users when inputting data into an IT system. It arises from
human error, for example pressing the wrong keys on a keyboard, or copying a data item
incorrectly.
Controls might include: staff training on how to input data accurately, and through the
use of validation checks on the data input into the system.
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Learning objectives
Syllabus
reference
no.
Discuss and evaluate the main organisation and market models for delivering e- E3(a)
business
Assess and advise on the potential application of information technology to support E3(b)
e-business
Explore the characteristics of the media of e-marketing using the 6 Is of interactivity, E3(c)
intelligence, individualisation, integration, industry structure and independence of
location
Assess the importance of online branding in e-marketing and compare it with E3(d)
traditional branding
Explore different methods of acquiring and managing suppliers and customers E3(e)
through exploiting e-business technologies
Identify and assess the potential impact of disruptive technologies such as Fintech, H2(a)
including cryptocurrencies and blockchain
Assess the impact of new product, process and service developments and innovation H2(b)
in supporting organisation strategy

Internet technologies are now integral to almost every organisation, taking the form of email,
collaboration tools, selling online, use of social media, web-based applications and many other
tools. Running a successful organisation requires an awareness of the potential and pitfalls of
technology, and judgement about the best way to respond. Technology is often, though not always a
key driver of innovation, as it opens up new possibilities in products or services to be provided, or in
how processes are carried out. One influential idea in this field is that of disruptive innovation,
innovation which offers products or services in a way that will not appeal to existing customers.
Research suggests that established companies, focusing on their existing customer relationships, then
become vulnerable to failure.
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In the exam, you are not expected to show detailed knowledge of the internet-based technologies
themselves, but you are expected to appreciate the impact they have on organisations, and ways in
which leaders can respond. Creativity and innovation are critical characteristics of modern
professional accountants and you will be expected to demonstrate these in your solutions.
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Chapter overview
E-business
Delivering Strategy Applications of Characteristics of

e-business models technology to e-marketing:
for e-business support e-business the 6 Is model
Comparison of Acquiring and managing New

traditional and suppliers and customers developments
online branding using technology and innovation
Traditional branding vs E-procurement Innovation and competitive

online branding advantage
Acquiring customers through

Visual identity e-business technologies Innovation dilemmas
Online brand options Managing customers through Business model innovation

e-business technologies
Disruptive innovation and

technologies
Social innovation
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1 Delivering e-business
E-business: Has been defined by IBM (1997) as cited by Chaffey and Smith (2013) as 'the
transformation of key business processes through the use of internet technologies'.
Key term
An alternative term used is digital business but this means the same thing. As internet technologies
are now a routine part of life for many people, e-business and digital business are increasingly
synonymous with business.
As with other aspects of strategy, e-business can be evaluated using the SAF model:
 Suitability – does e-business support the organisation's overall strategy, or does the
strategy itself need to change?
 Acceptability – is a new strategy acceptable to stakeholders? For example, if we move to
selling online, how will our established distributors react?
 Feasibility – technology investments can be expensive and require specialist skills. Can
we acquire these skills and finance and will the benefits justify the cost? A
frequent issue with e-business is establishing a pricing model that is
commercially viable.
2 Strategy models for e-business

E-business strategy: Is defined as the approach by which the application of internal and external
electronic communications can support and influence corporate strategy.
Key term
As with all strategy, e-business strategy is ultimately driven by the vision and objectives of the
organisation as a whole. Chaffey (2015) suggests that there are eight areas where organisations
should review and select strategic options.
1. Digital business channel priorities. Organisations need to consider their mix of 'bricks
and clicks' and how far they want to sell goods or services online, rather than in physical
outlets or via call centres. They will also need to consider how to allocate resources across
digital channels. How much should be invested in desktop vs. mobile platforms? Should the
company invest in social media platforms and if so which ones?
2. Market and product development strategies. Which products and services should be
delivered online and to which target markets? Ansoff's matrix can be helpful here (see
Chapter 6). A company can use e-business to target particular groups, for example they may
provide special offers online for their most profitable customers.
3. Positioning and differentiation strategies. How will the company position its online
offering relative to competitors in relation to product quality, service quality, price and
fulfilment time? This has similarities to the marketing mix (see Chapter 6).
4. Business, service and revenue models. E-business provides an opportunity to innovate
in these areas. For example, holiday companies and retailers often display customer reviews
of products on their websites. Amazon sells products from other retailers alongside and in
competition with its own. We examine business models in more detail later in this chapter.
5. Marketplace restructuring. Technology can change market structures themselves and
organisation can take advantage of this. This may take the form of disintermediation
(removal of intermediaries such as distributors or brokers), reintermediation (creation of
new intermediaries such as search engines and comparison sites) and countermediation
(established companies setting up their own intermediaries).
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6. Supply chain management capabilities. Companies can use technology to integrate

more closely with their suppliers, or participate in online marketplaces. This is e-procurement,
which is examined later in this chapter.
7. Internal knowledge management capabilities. As we saw in Chapter 5, knowledge
management can be a key source of competitive advantage. Organisations should consider
whether technology can help in the creation and dissemination of knowledge.
8. Organisational resourcing and capabilities. Adopting these strategies will require
organisational change, which may include the following:
 Strategy process and performance improvement – the process for selecting,
implementing and reviewing digital business initiatives;
 Structure – where will these capabilities sit within the organisation?
 Senior management buy-in – this is essential for the strategies to be successful;
 Marketing integration – different channels of communication to customers need to be
integrated with each other, requiring marketing and technology staff to work closely
together;
 Online marketing focus – initiatives are needed to exploit the potential of online
marketing. This is covered in more detail later in the chapter;
Partnering with other organisations – some activities will be delivered best by other companies. We
look at outsourcing in more detail in Chapter 13. A number of 'stage models' have been
developed to assess how advanced a company is in its adoption of e-business. Chaffey (2015)
synthesises these models as follows:
1. Web 2. E-commerce 3. Integrated 4. Digital

presence e-commerce business
Services Interaction with Transactional E-commerce Full integration

available product e-commerce integrated with between all
catalogues and other systems and internal processes
customer service personalisation of and elements of
services the value network
Organisational Isolated Cross- Cross- Across the

scope departments organisational organisational enterprise and
beyond
Transformation Technological Technology and Internal business Change to digital

infrastructure e-commerce process and business culture
responsibilities structure and processes
linked to partners'
Strategy Limited Sell-side E-commerce Digital business

e-commerce strategy integrated strategy is fully
strategy with business part of business
strategy strategy
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Exercise 1: Identifying stages
Required
Consider the organisation you work for, or another organisation with which you are familiar. What
stage are they at in the model above? What would moving to the next stage look like?
Solution
3 Application of technology to support e-business

A good way to consider the impact of technology is to use value chain analysis and identify
processes within the value chain where it can be used to add value. Some examples are given
below.
Syllabus link
You covered value chain analysis in Chapter 5.
Self-service portals for Cloud-based enterprise planning
employees, skills Enables all other systems, predictive analytics,
EDI links and online database, staff planning changes Big Data (see chapters 10 & 11)
purchasing, considered
later in this chapter
FIRM INFRASTRUCTURE
ACTIVITIES
SUPPORT
TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT
MA
RG
HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN
PROCUREMENT
INBOUND OUTBOUND MARKETING IN

OPERATIONS SERVICE
LOGISTICS LOGISTICS AND SALES RG
MA
PRIMARY ACTIVITIES
Inventory control, material Use of robots in Tracking progress of e-marketing, Use of FAQ web
requirements planning (MRP), manufacturing, 3D goods from pickup considered later in pages, online chat
automated delivery printing (additive to delivery in real the chapter and internet-enabled
tracking manufacturing) time, eg using devices
RFID tags
Having identified areas that could be more efficient or effective from the value chain analysis, the
IS/IT strategy can be used to try and determine how those activities and, in particular, the
competitively significant activities, can be improved.
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(a) Can linkages between the different activities be improved by the use of IT? For example,
information from support activities may be made available to primary activities on a more
timely basis.
(b) Can IS/IT improve the information flow through the primary activities? For example,
linking sales and marketing with operations or outbound logistics using a central database to
provide sales and marketing with online details of products being produced.
(c) Can more effective links be formed with external entities? For example, can inbound logistics
be improved by using EDI?
(d) Can IS/IT be used to decrease the cost of any activity? For example, is there room for more
automation or transformation of activities, or even re-engineering using currently available IT
tools and techniques?
As well as making incremental changes to the value chain, technology can enable organisations to
transform their operations by use of disruptive technology and product, process or service innovation.
We consider these areas later in the chapter.
4 Characteristics of e-marketing: the 6 Is model

The 6 Is of marketing, developed by McDonald and Wilson (2011), summarise the ways in which
the internet can add customer value and hence improve the organisation's marketing effectiveness.
6 Is of e-marketing
Industry Independence
Interactivity Intelligence Individualisation Integration
structure of location
The 6 Is highlight the characteristics of e-marketing from both a practical and strategic perspective
Interactivity Customers tend to initiate contact, a company can gather and store
responses, and these can be used to tailor future interactions.
Traditional media are mainly 'push' media – the marketing message is
broadcast from company to customer – with limited interaction. On the
internet, it is usually a customer who seeks information on a website – it is
a 'pull' mechanism.
Interaction between organisations and their customers can include email,
recommendations, community sites, blogs and photographs.
Intelligence The internet can be used as a low-cost method of collecting marketing

information about customer perceptions of products and services. Web
analytics show which pages are being visited, where users were referred
from, where they are, and what users click on when they are there. This
information can be used to make the website more attractive and
encourage purchasing, or other interaction.
Individualisation Communications can be tailored to the individual, unlike traditional media

where the same message is broadcast to everyone. This can be based on
intelligence previously gathered about the customer.
Integration E-marketing can be integrated with other marketing channels. This may
apply to communications from organisation to customer, for example
customers may receive a voucher when making a purchase and can claim
a reward via the organisation's website. It also may apply to
communications from the customer to the organisation, for example using a
web form to request a phone callback.
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Industry structure e-marketing can bring about changes to the entire structure of industries.
As discussed above, this may take the form of disintermediation or
reintermediation.
Independence of It may be possible to sell into international markets with no local sales
location force or customer service team, or very small teams, thus opening up new
sales opportunities. This tends to be simpler when products are virtual, such
as software or digital content, than when products are physical.
Activity 1: Accounting Education Consortium

Commercial acumen: demonstrate awareness
You are a consultant reviewing the marketing of your client, Accounting Education Consortium.
Assume it is now mid-20X8.
Required
Using the information provided, explain, in the context of AEC, how the marketing characteristics of
electronic media (such as the internet) differ from those of traditional marketing media such as
advertising and direct mail. (10 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating commercial acumen in demonstrating
awareness of the value drivers at AEC, and how e-marketing can help them to be successful.
(2 marks)
(Total = 12 marks)
Exhibit 1 – Background information on the Accounting Education Consortium

The Accounting Education Consortium (AEC) offers professional accountancy education and training
courses. It currently runs classroom-based training courses preparing candidates for professional
examinations in eight worldwide centres. Three of these centres are also used for delivering
continuing professional development (CPD) courses to qualified accountants. However, only about
30% of the advertised CPD courses and seminars actually run. The rest are cancelled through not
having enough participants to make them economically viable.
AEC has developed a comprehensive set of course manuals to support the preparation of its
candidates for professional examinations. There is a course manual for every examination paper in
the professional examination scheme. As well as being used on its classroom-based courses, these
course manuals are also available for purchase over the internet. The complete set of manuals for a
professional examinations scheme costs $180.00 and the website has a secure payment facility
which allows this to be paid by credit card. Once purchased, the manuals may be downloaded or
they may be sent on a CD to the home address of the purchaser. It is only possible to purchase the
complete set of manuals for the scheme, not individual manuals for particular examinations. To help
the student decide if they wish to buy the complete manual set, the website has extracts from a
sample course manual. This sample may be accessed, viewed and printed once a student has
registered their email address, name and address on the website.
AEC has recently won a contract to supply professional accountancy training to a global accounting
company. All students working for this company will now be trained by AEC at one of its worldwide
centres.
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Website
The AEC website has the following functionality:
Who we are: A short description of the company and its products and services.
Professional education courses: Course dates, locations and standard fees for professional
examination courses. This schedule of courses is printable.
Continuing professional development: Course dates, locations and standard fees for CPD
courses and seminars. This schedule is also printable.
CPD catalogue: Detailed course and seminar descriptions for CPD courses and seminars.
Downloadable study material: Extracts from a sample course manual. Visitors to the site
wishing to access this material must register their email address, name and address. 5,500 people
registered last year to download study material.
Purchase study material: Secure purchase of a complete manual set for the professional
scheme. Payment is by credit card. On completion of successful payment, the visitor is able to
download the manuals or to request them to be shipped to a certain address on a CD. At present,
10% of the people who view downloadable study material proceed to purchase.
Who to contact: Who to contact for booking professional training courses or CPD courses and
seminars. It provides the name, email address, fax number, telephone number and address of a
contact at each of the eight worldwide centres.
Marketing strategy
The marketing manager of AEC has traditionally used magazines, newspapers and direct mail to
promote its courses and products. Direct mail is primarily used for sending printed course catalogues
to potential customers for CPD courses and seminars. However, she is now keen to develop the
potential of the internet and to increase investment in this medium at the expense of the traditional
marketing media. Table 1 shows the percentage allocation of her budget for 20X8, compared with
20X7. The actual budget has only been increased by 3% in 20X8.
Table 1
Percentage allocation of marketing budget (20X7–20X8)
20X8 20X7
Advertising 30% 40%
Direct mail 10% 30%
Sponsorship 10% 10%
Internet 50% 20%
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Solution
5 Comparison of traditional and online branding

A brand: Is a name, symbol, term, mark or design that enables customers to identify and distinguish
the products of one supplier from those offered by competitors (Pride and Ferrell, 2014).
Key term
Brands convey a message of confidence, quality and reliability to their target market, which is
particularly important in e-commerce where there are often concerns over privacy and security. For
online retailers, it will include home or welcome page design, navigation and online support.
5.1 Traditional branding vs online branding

Online branding (sometimes referred to as e-branding and digital branding) concerns the use of the
internet as a means of promoting the organisations brand. The approach followed by many
organisations when creating a brand in the traditional sense would make use of traditional methods
of marketing communications. Traditional branding is associated with the mediums of TV/ radio and
newspaper, magazine and print advertising. Despite many similarities, online branding differs in
important ways from traditional branding and must be approached differently. A company's entire
character, identity, products and services can be communicated in seconds on the web and
customers make judgements just as fast.
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5.1.1 Traditional branding

Although, traditional approaches to branding enable organisations to reach a large audience of
potential customers, in reality only a small proportion of those in receipt of the marketing message
will be interested in making a purchase. Traditional branding has its weaknesses:
 The process of creating a brand which will appeal to a mass audience is extremely expensive.
The traditional approach often involves the use of marketing ad agencies which charge large
fees for their services.
 It has historically proven difficult for organisations to know whether their brand messaging has
been successful beyond correlating brand promotions with increases or decreases in sales.
 Once a brand and the marketing messaging around the brand have been published in print or
advertised on TV it is not easy for organisations to quickly update the message should an error
be identified, or a change be needed.
 Amending a poorly received change to an organisations brand image may not only take a
long time but will most likely incur significant costs. For example, a bad reaction among
customers to a change in the brand logo of a clothing retailer will force the retailer to incur
significant costs in undertaking a re-branding exercise to reduce any damage caused.
5.1.2 Online branding
In contrast to traditional branding, online branding allows smaller organisations to create a brand
more easily, at very little cost which can very quickly be used to attract potential customers. This has
been facilitated by the rapid growth in the use of the internet over the last thirty years. The growth in
the use of social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram among younger consumers has
enabled organisations to more clearly target the products and services they offer to these groups. It
has also made it easier for organisations to create a ‘buzz’ around the products and services they
sell. The creation of a ‘buzz’ can be achieved by making use of social media to promote the
organisation’s latest offerings and permits the organisation to enter into two-way communications
with those groups most likely to be interested in making a purchase. The use of buzz scores have
become increasingly important in online brand management. A buzz score assigns a buzz ranking
to those brands that the public are most aware of at particular points in time. Those brands deemed
to have achieved better recognition have the highest rankings.
Online branding is consistent with the increasing number of people that use the internet to search for
product and service reviews before deciding whether to make a purchase or not. By promoting
brands in those online spaces, where people are searching for reviews, improves brand visibility and
increases the likelihood of future purchases. The use of online branding has made it possible for ‘real
time’ changes to be made to any brand messaging published online to reflect changing trends and
tastes.
Online branding has also made it easier for organisations to measure the success of brand marketing
campaigns. This is evident as many large organisations today make use of tools like Google Trends
to monitor the number of people that have run searches for their brands. Some entities have taken to
tracking conversations left on social media about the organisation’s brands as this enables them to
better understand what people are actually saying and thinking about their brands.
It is important to recognise that despite the benefits that online branding brings it is likely that, for the
foreseeable future, traditional branding and its online variant will continue to co-exist.
5.2 Visual identity

An effective visual identity, also known as 'look and feel' is important online, as is a memorable
domain name. Unfortunately, there are a limited number of names available, and each name has
been given to the first applicant. Every company still wants .com since this is where the customers
look first.
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5.3 Online brand options
Migrate traditional brand online – this can make sense if the brand is well known and has a
strong reputation eg Marks & Spencer or Disney. However, there is a risk of jeopardising the brand's
good name if the new venture is not successful.
Extend traditional brand – a variant. This involves altering the brand image to suit online
audiences.
Partner with existing digital brands – co-branding occurs when two businesses put their
brand names on the same product as a joint initiative, one of which can be an established digital
brand.
Create a new digital brand – because a good name is extremely important, some factors to
consider when selecting a new brand name are that it should suggest something about the product,
be short and memorable, be easy to spell, translate well into other languages and have an available
domain name.
6 Acquiring and managing suppliers and customers using

technology
6.1 E-procurement
E-procurement: Is the purchase of supplies and services through the internet and other information
and networking systems, such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI).
Key term
Typically, e-procurement websites allow authorised and registered users to log in using a password.
The supplying organisation will set up its website so that it recognises the purchaser, once logged in,
and presents a list of items that the purchaser regularly buys. This saves searching for the items
required and also avoids the need to key in name, address and delivery details. Depending on the
approach, buyers or sellers may specify prices or invite bids. Transactions can be initiated and
completed. Once the purchases are made, the organisation will periodically be billed by the
supplier. Ongoing purchases may qualify customers for volume discounts or special offers.
Options for implementing e-procurement include:
Model How it works Examples
Public web Individual buyers find individual suppliers on the Webshops like Amazon
web and make a purchase. There is no structural
relation between buyer and supplier.
Exchange Suppliers and buyers trade through a third party Autobytel

open marketplace. They have no structural
relationship even though they may regularly deal
with each other.
Supplier-centric An individual supplier gives access to buying Dell

organisations for a pre-negotiated product range.
Buyer and supplier have a contractual relationship.
Buyer-centric Individual companies have contracts with a Many software suppliers

number of different suppliers. The catalogue and
ordering system are maintained within the buying
organisation. The system is fully integrated into
corporate financial control and reporting systems.
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Model How it works Examples
B2B An independent third party has agreements with a Alibaba

marketplace number of buying and supplying organisations.
Buyers and suppliers deal with each other through
a marketplace. Both are bound by agreements with
the marketplace.
Essential reading
the Workbook, for detail about the benefits and risks of using e-procurement.
6.2 Acquiring customers through e-business technologies

Techniques to achieve acquisition include:
(a) Search engine optimisation – skilled website design can put a supplier high up among
search results.
(b) Newsgroups and forums providing expert opinion and useful help are a way for
businesses to communicate with their peers and customers in an informal environment.
(c) Newsletters allow an organisation to send news about the company, new products or
services and any new information that has been posted on the website via email.
(d) Link building and partnership campaigns can greatly benefit a business, significantly
boosting its online presence. Reciprocal links are an exchange of links between two site
owners. Affiliate networks are based on paying commission on sales referred from other sites.
(e) Viral marketing is about creating a buzz about products or services. Viral marketing relies
on word of mouth or, in the online sense, getting people to share the online application with
others.
(f) Banner advertising is similar to advertisements seen in newspapers and magazines. They
are the graphical strips commonly seen across the top of website pages.
(g) Social media marketing interactions enable organisations to promote their products and
services directly to prospective customers that use social media platforms.
6.3 Managing customers through e-business technologies

Trying to attract 'sticky customers' (customers who will bring repeat business) is a crucial goal for
many online businesses.
Marketers aim to do this by offering promotions of various kinds. These promotions range from
discounts and sweepstakes to loyalty programs and higher concept approaches such as thank-you
notes and birthday cards.
Extranets offer secure tunnels to remote databases, which let users access inventory data, examine
special discounts, view delivery status, research products, place and fulfil orders, and collaborate via
a secure internet connection.
An online community is a multi-way online environment where members encourage each other to
contribute content and interact. These may be hosted on social media, or on the company's own
systems.
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Baxter (n.d.) highlights the existence of the following types of community:
Types of online community
Communities of practice Communities of circumstance

where members share a where members share
vocation or profession a personal situation
Communities of purpose
where members share
a common objective
Communities of interest Communities of geography

where members share where members live in
a hobby or interest the same area
Opt-in emails are promotional emails that have been requested by the individual receiving them.
Unlike promotional emails that get sent out to large lists of recipients without regard to whether or not
they want the information, opt-in emails are only sent to people who specifically request them.
Data mining is a set of statistical techniques that are used to identify trends, patterns and
relationships in data. Data mining is closely linked to big data, which we explored in Chapter 11.
Most data mining models are one of two types:
(a) Predictive: using known observations to predict future events (for example, predicting the
probability that a recipient will opt out of an email list)
(b) Descriptive: interrogating the database to identify patterns and relationships (for example,
profiling the audience of a particular advertising campaign)
Real world example
Data mining at Netflix
Netflix was founded in the US 1997 as a DVD sales and rental company. It has developed
significantly over the years and now specialises in online video-on-demand. In 2013 it moved into
content production with the release of House of Cards. It was reported that in August 2019 Netflix
had 158 million subscribers worldwide.
Netflix makes extensive used of data mining techniques, employing about 800 developers to write
algorithms that analyse their subscribers' viewing habits. This allows them to recommend shows their
viewers might like and informs their purchase and commissioning of new films and series. These are
multi-million dollar decisions, but the data reduces the risk of failure. By analysing customer
life-cycles, they also enhance their customer acquisition and retention strategy.
(Adapted from: Xu et al, 2016)
Cookies are a technology that allows a website to remember individual visitors' surfing and/or
purchase history and preferences. This information is placed on the visitor's hard disk and when they
revisit the site, it references the cookie and is able to show the visitor product selections and
recommendations, and offer personalised welcomes and streamlined ordering (through remembering
names, addresses and credit card details).
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Activity 2: Moor Farm

Communication: clarify
Moor Farm is a large estate in the rural district of Cornaille. The estate covers a large area of forest,
upland and farmland. It also includes two villages, and although many of the properties in these
villages have been sold off to private homeowners, the estate still owns properties which it rents out.
The estate also has a large mansion house set inside a landscape garden designed in the 19th
century by James Kent. The garden, although now overgrown and neglected, is the only surviving
example of his work in the district. The estate was left as a gift to a charitable trust ten years ago.
The trust is based at the estate. A condition of the gift to the trust was that the upland and forest
should be freely accessible to visitors.
The estate has appointed a new manager who is due to take over the estate when the current
manager retires. She is working alongside the current manager so that she understands her
responsibilities and how the estate works. As a one-off project, she has commissioned a stakeholder
survey which has requested information on the visitor experience to help with a planned re-design of
the estate's website. The website is generally thought to be well structured and presented, but it
receives fewer visitors than might reasonably be expected. It provides mainly static information about
the estate and forthcoming events but currently users cannot interact with the site in any way. You are
a consultant assisting the new manager in identifying potential improvements.
Required
Write a brief report to the manager discussing how the website could be further developed to
address some of the issues highlighted in the survey. (10 marks)
advice to be given to the manager. (2 marks)
(Total = 12 marks)
Exhibit 1 – Extracts from the survey:

'We had a good day, but the weather was awful. If we had known it was going to rain all day, then
we probably would have postponed the visit until a fine day. It spoilt a family day out.' Visitor
with small family
'We were very disappointed, on arrival, to find that the family fun day was fully booked.' Visitor
who had travelled 100 km with two small children to visit a special event
'We all love it here, but we didn't know you had a website!! We almost had to type in the complete
website address before we found it! I am sure more people would come if they could only find the
website!' Visitor aged mid-20s
'As usual, we had a great time here and took great photos. It would have been nice to be able to
share our pleasure with other people. We would recommend it to anyone who loves the outdoors.'
Visitor – family with teenage children
'We met the volunteers who were excavating the buildings in the landscape garden. They were so
helpful and knowledgeable. They turned something that looked like a series of small walls into
something so much more tangible.' Visitor – elderly couple
'We are regular visitors and we really want to know what is going on! There are many of us who
would like to really be involved with the estate and help it thrive. We need more than just occasional
questionnaires.' Visitor – hiking group
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Solution
7 New developments and innovation

Innovation: Involves the conversion of new knowledge into a new product, process or service and
the putting of this new product, process or service into actual use (Johnson et al, 2017).
Key term
7.1 Innovation and competitive advantage

Johnson et al (2017) highlight that for many organisations, product innovation and being the first
mover may be a major source of competitive advantage.
(a) First movers can establish scale ahead of competitors, and thereby gain economies of
scale.
(b) Customers may find they are locked in to innovative suppliers by unacceptable costs of
switching to competitors, particularly if the first mover can establish technological
standards.
(c) The learning (or experience) curve effect may bring cost advantages.
(d) A first mover may gain easier access to scarce resources than followers, such as raw
materials or skilled labour.
(e) It can lead to an enhanced reputation, particularly if a dominant brand can be established.
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However, late-movers may benefit in two ways:

 Imitate technological and other innovation, which is much less expensive than being a pioneer
 Late-movers can learn from the mistakes of the innovators, and avoid them
7.2 Innovation dilemmas

Johnson et al (2017) suggest that there are a number of choices relating to innovation which
managers must resolve, including:
Driver Technology push – innovation Market pull – users, not

comes from new knowledge created producers are the source of
by researchers, which is then innovation. These in turn can be
developed and sold. This emphasises subdivided:
the importance of investment in Lead users, are the most
research & development (R&D) demanding users of a product or
service, such as top sportspeople
or hobby fanatics. Innovation
arises from understanding their
needs and ideas, then translating
them into products and services.
Frugal innovation, is driven by
the needs of poor consumers,
often in emerging markets for
products that are cheap, simple
and robust. Prahalad (2013)
argued for this approach, saying
that companies should recognise
'the fortune at the bottom of the
pyramid'.
Focus Product innovation relates to the Process innovation relates to

final product or service to be sold, the way in which the product is
introducing a new one or adding produced and distributed,
new features. especially gains in costs or
reliability.
Involving those Closed innovation relies on the Open innovation involves

outside the organisation's internal resources and exchanging ideas with those
organisation maintains secrecy to protect outside the organisation. This may
competitive advantage. include collaboration with other
companies or universities, or
crowdsourcing, broadcasting a
specific problem and awarding
prizes for the best solutions.
7.3 Business model innovation
A business model: Describes a value proposition for customers and other participants, an
arrangement of activities that produces this value, and associated revenue and cost structures
Key term
(Johnson et al, 2017).
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A business model involves three elements:
 Value creation – this particularly focuses on the target customers and how their needs are
being met, but also value for any other participants.
 Value configuration – the way resources and activities in the value chain are combined.
This includes what activities are performed, who performs them and how they are linked.
 Value capture – the cost structure of resources and activities and the revenue stream from
customers and any other relevant parties. This includes how value will be apportioned
between various participants,
Once established in an industry, business models tend to be taken for granted and rarely questioned.
This means there can be significant competitive advantage for those who develop innovative business
models, whether new entrants (for example Airbnb challenging the business model of hotels) or
established companies (such as Nestlé with Nespresso – see below).
Real world example
Nespresso
Based in Switzerland, Nestlé SA is one of the largest food and drink companies in the world, with a
wide variety of products. Since 2000, one of its most successful business units has been Nespresso,
which supplies coffee capsules which are turned into coffee using specialist machines. By supplying
individual portions of many different types of coffee, it delivers customisation and convenience.
Manufacturing household appliances is not Nestlé's core competence, so they partnered with
specialists to design and manufacture the devices. The design was protected by 1,700 patent
applications.
Nespresso represents two major innovations in the business model:
1) Instead of distributing the capsules through retailers, they are sold directly online, and in a few
exclusive boutiques. This gives them direct contact with the customer and higher margins.
2) No money is made on the sale of the machines – profit is earned on the sale of the capsules,
where gross margins are estimated to be 85% compared with 40–50% for regular drip-coffee
brands.
The idea of selling coffee in capsules is not new but Nestlé has successfully created a new business
model and it would be very hard for a competitor to copy the entire system.
(Adapted from: Matzler et al, 2013)
Essential reading
the Workbook, for further discussion about the emergence of ecosystems in business. The idea that
business environments are becoming more akin to ecosystems was introduced in the essential
reading for chapter 2, where we considered the emergence of such environments in relation to
stakeholders. The essential reading for chapter 12 further considers the role that digital business
platforms play in ecosystem environments. Although, the concept of ecosystems is not specified in the
Strategic Business Leader syllabus, this content is highly topical as it represents a recent development
in the broad subject of e-business.
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7.4 Disruptive innovation and technologies
Disruptive innovation: Describes a process by which a product or service takes root initially in
simple applications at the bottom of a market and then relentlessly moves up market, eventually
Key term
displacing established competitors.
The term disruptive innovation was coined by Christensen (1997). Based on a detailed study of
the computer disk drive industry, he argued that most innovation was sustaining innovation,
improvements to existing products or services which companies could sell to their existing customers.
Well-run companies are good at exploiting these innovations, and the established industry leaders
tend to be the first to exploit them.
However, periodically there was an innovation which shrank the size of disks. The smaller disks
initially had lower performance than the larger ones and were of no interest to most current
customers. However, they were lighter and cheaper and appealed to manufacturers of smaller
computers. Over time, the smaller disks improved and displaced the larger ones. Industry leaders
often failed to respond until it was too late because they were focused on the needs of their current
customers. A new set of industry leaders took their place as the whole market shifted to demanding
smaller disk drives.
Christensen argued this was a general pattern — firms do not respond to brand new technologies
focused on different markets, because they are attached to their current business model as well as
their relationships with existing customers. They are reluctant to 'cannibalise' their existing businesses
by introducing something different. Two ways in which companies can try to protect themselves from
disruption are:
1. Develop a portfolio of real options (McGrath & MacMillan, 2000). These are limited
investments that keep options open, enabling them to respond quickly to opportunities.
2. Develop new venture units. These are internal units to develop new ideas which are kept
separate from the core business, often located in a different place physically, so that they do
not get 'stifled' by the organisation.
Real world example
FinTech
Financial technology, or FinTech, is having a major impact on the world of finance and is growing
fast, with many predictions that it will mean extensive disruption to established businesses in this
area. Examples of FinTech include:
 Peer-to-peer lenders replacing banks for lending and saving
 Peer-to-peer money transfer services replacing banks for money transmission and foreign
exchange
 Firms providing payment security and verification
 Financial advice driven by algorithms, offered at much lower cost than traditional advisors
 App-based insurance companies
 Digital-only start-up banks, with no legacy of branch networks, call centres or complex systems
Start-up businesses in these areas will face intense competition from established banks, who are
determined that they will survive and are investing heavily in this area.
(Adapted from "FinTech – transforming finance", ACCA, 2016a)
Blockchain and cryptocurrencies are predicted to have a disruptive effect on a number of global
business practices.
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7.4.1 Blockchain
Blockchain: Is a public form of bookkeeping that uses a digital ledger to allow individuals to share
Key term
a record of transactions.
Blockchain is a type of incorruptible distributed ledger that allows information to be recorded and
shared with a network of individuals. In essence, Blockchain is a public form of bookkeeping which
makes use of internet technologies to instantly verify and record the transactions that take place
between individuals. The public nature of blockchain means that every individual can view the
transactions made by participants in that network. This means that participants can view the date,
time, value of transactions, and the individuals involved, thereby creating a shared record of events.
It is anticipated that blockchain will have a disruptive impact on a wide range of industries as it
increases the levels of transparency over transactions. Greater use of blockchain should allow
organisations including firms of accountants and auditors to more easily verify the transactions
undertaken by clients when preparing (and auditing) financial statements. The use of blockchain
should also make it easier for accountants to verify the background and transactional history of
prospective new clients, especially when undertaking money laundering procedures. Blockchain will
also be beneficial to providers of finance as they will be able to make more informed decisions
about which prospective clients they should lend to.
7.4.2 Cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrency: Is a digital currency, which uses internet technologies to facilitate transactions

made online. Cryptography is a key feature of cryptocurrency.
Key term
Cryptocurrencies are a form of digital currency which do not exist in physical form, Bitcoin and
Ethereum are two of the best known cryptocurrencies. A key feature of cryptocurrency is that it makes
use of the science of cryptography. Cryptography involves encrypting the code behind digital
currencies so that they cannot be counterfeited by criminals. Cryptocurrencies have had a disruptive
effect on traditional banking systems as they are not controlled by a central bank in the same way as
conventional currencies. This lack of control has led to dramatic fluctuations in the value of
cryptocurrencies as they are traded and exchanged around the world. Cryptocurrencies work in a
similar way to conventional currencies in as much that they can be used to pay for (and to receive
payments for) goods and services purchased online. Transactions made using cryptocurrencies make
use of blockchain technology, which as discussed above helps to ensure that all transactions made
between participants are verified and recorded on the distributed ledger.
Cryptocurrencies are having a disruptive effect on traditional payment methods as an increasing
number of companies have started to accept Bitcoin payments on certain purchases. As the use of
cryptocurrencies gradually becomes commonplace it is predicted that this will have a disruptive effect
on organisations as they are forced to develop their IT infrastructures to be capable of accepting
cryptocurrency payments.
7.5 Social innovation
Social innovation: Describes 'a broad range of organisational and inter-organisational activity
Key term
that is ostensibly designed to address the most deep-rooted "problems" of society, such as poverty,
inequality and environmental degradation.' (Tracey & Stott, 2016)
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Societies have always innovated but there has been increasing recent interest in studying innovation
that is aimed primarily at benefitting society rather than creating and capturing economic value. This
can take many forms, but Tracey & Stott (2016) suggest it can be divided into three categories:
 Social enterprise – creating new organisations, whether for-profit or not-for-profit, whose
primary goal is to address social challenges. An example would be Fairphone, a Dutch
company which manufactures and sells 'ethical' smartphones.
 Social intrapreneurship – addressing social challenges from inside established
organisations. For example, engineering firm Arup has set up a non-profit venture, Arup
International Development, to provide a range of socially beneficial services.
 Social extrapreneurship – Establishing platforms that can co-ordinate effort towards social
goals. An example would be the Ellen Macarthur Foundation, which works with a range of
organisations in many sectors and countries to promote the idea of the 'circular economy',
emphasising re-use and regeneration of materials rather than a linear 'take, make, dispose'
model.
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Chapter summary
E-business
Delivering Strategy Applications of Characteristics of

e-business models technology to e-marketing:
for e-business support e-business the 6 Is model
Transformation of key Eight areas to consider, Can analyse using the Interactivity,
business processes four-stage models of value chain intelligence,
through the use of progress individualisation,
internet technologies, integration, industry
evaluated by SAF. Also structure, independence
called Digital Business of location
Comparison of Acquiring and managing New

traditional and suppliers and customers developments
online branding using technology and innovation
Traditional branding vs online E-procurement Innovation and competitive

branding Models include public web, advantage
• Traditional branding tends to exchange, supplier-centric, Can create first-mover
cost more, lends itself to less buyer-centric, B2B marketplace advantage, but associated
targeted marketing, and can problems
be inflexible
• Online branding is often Acquiring customers through
cheaper, helps to create a buzz e-business technologies Innovation dilemmas
around a brand, and is Search engine optimisation, Technology push vs. market pull,
consistent with internet usage newsgroups/forums, newsletters, product vs. process, closed vs.
and the needs of the social link building/partnership open, business model innovation
media generation campaigns, viral marketing,
banner advertising
Business model innovation
Visual identity
Means now ways of thinking
'Look and feel', domain name Managing customers through about value creation,
e-business technologies configuration and capture
Promotions, extranets, online
Online brand options communities, opt-in emails, data
Migrate traditional brand online, mining, cookies Disruptive innovation and
extend traditional brand, partner technologies
with existing digital brand, • Disruptive and sustaining
create new digital brand innovations
• Blockchain
• Cryptocurrencies
Social innovation
Aims to address social problems
rather than create and capture
economic value
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1. E-business is 'the transformation of key business processes through the use of internet
technologies', also known as digital business. It can be evaluated using the SAF model.
2. E-business strategy involves considering channel priorities, market and product development
strategies, positioning and differentiation strategies, business, service and revenue models,
marketplace restructuring, supply chain management capabilities and internal knowledge
management capabilities.
3. The stages organisations go through in adopting e-business can be described as web presence,
e-commerce, integrated e-commerce and digital business.
4. The impact of technology on an organisation can be analysed using the value chain.
5. The 6 Is model (McDonald & Wilson, 2011) describes characteristics of e-marketing as
interactivity, intelligence, individualisation, integration, industry structure and independence of
location.
6. Online branding increases dependence on an effective visual identity, including the domain
name. Brands have a number of options when migrating online.
7. E-procurement is using internet technologies to simplify purchasing decisions and processes. It
can be used via public web, exchange, supplier-centric, buyer-centric and B2B marketplace.
8. E-business technologies offer scope to win new customers by techniques such as search engine
registration, newsgroups and forums, newsletters, link building and partnership campaigns, viral
marketing and banner advertising.
9. E-business technologies can be used to manage customers and encourage repeat business by
techniques such as promotions, extranets, online communities, opt-in emails, using data and
placing cookies on machines.
10. Innovation can be a source of competitive advantage but also brings risks.
11. Managing innovation means dealing with a number of dilemmas – technology push vs. market
pull, product vs. process innovation and closed vs. open innovation.
12. Innovation can relate to the business model – value creation, configuration and capture.
13. Disruptive innovation means brand new technologies focused on new markets. Firms often fail to
respond to this due to their relationships with established customers.
14. Blockchain and cryptocurrencies are predicted to have a disruptive effect on a number of global
business practices.
15. Social innovation means innovation to address social problems rather than create and capture
economic value. It can take the form of social enterprise, social intrapreneurship or social
extrapreneurship.
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Question practice
Workbook):
Q12 Jayne Cox Direct
Further reading
E-commerce
This article explores the role of e-commerce in business.
Own research
The business press is always full of stories about innovative companies and structural changes to industries
that result. The music and news media industries are often cited as examples, where established
organisations have struggled to keep pace with changing technology, and new competitors are taking
their place. Entire new business models have been created, such as subscription-based music streaming
and digital newspaper subscriptions.
Choose one of these industries, or another one undergoing rapid change, and find out about one of the
major industry organisations.
 How are they adapting to change?
 Are they leading it or following?
 How successful have they been so far?
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12: E-business
Exercise answer
Exercise 1
The answer to this exercise will be dependent on the organisation that you chose to consider.
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SKILLS CHECKPOINT 4
Evaluating and enabling strategic
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Introduction
In Stage 4 you have learned about financial analysis, application of technology and e-business.
The five Skills Checkpoints each focus on one of the five ACCA Professional Skills and provide further guidance
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Skills Checkpoint 4: Evaluating and enabling strategic change
Your role
perspective.
Focus on ACCA Professional Skill: Evaluation

There are three essential elements to evaluation that ACCA have identified for their professional
skills. The first is the ability to assess and use professional judgement when considering
organisational issues, problems, or when making decisions; taking into account the implications of
such decisions on the organisation and those affected. This includes determining the importance of a
problem, weighing up advantages and disadvantages, and the potential impact of a decision on key
stakeholders.
The second is to estimate trends or make reasoned forecasts of the implications of external and
internal factors on the organisation, or of the outcomes of decisions available to the organisation.
You need to be able to present and justify forecasts and estimates, possibly relating to developments
in the environment and their impact on the organisation, or the possible impact of decisions on an
organisation's performance.
The third and final approach to evaluation is to appraise facts, opinions and findings objectively,
with a view to balancing the costs, risks, benefits and opportunities, before making or recommending
solutions or decisions. This can include presenting the arguments for and against a proposal, and
making recommendations that follow on from the balance of advantages and disadvantages. The
ability to weigh up evidence in this manner and present a reasoned recommendation is one of the
key hallmarks of a professional.

 Case scenario: Managing information . You will be given a lot of information in the
exam and it will be easy to feel overwhelmed. You need to develop the skill of assimilating the
information you are provided with and identifying which pieces are most important to you in
putting together your answer. Remember that your answers need to relate directly to the
scenario given and not be vague or generic. By the time you are attempting full cases, it is
recommended that you are spending at least 40 minutes on reading and interpreting the
information provided. This is a shorter question, but you need to make sure you have
understood the key information before starting your answer.
 Answer planning: Priorities, Structure and Logic. Before you start writing, or
attempting calculations, it is vital that you stop and think about what you need to do, and, in
some form, draft notes on the key points you are going to make. This will give your answer
more focus, logic and structure. Use the marks available as a guide to the depth required in
your answer, as well as how much time to spend on it and plan your calculations to ensure
you are doing the important ones. The aim is that, by the time you start writing, you have a
clear idea of what calculations need doing and, as far as possible, what you want to say.
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Skills Checkpoint 4
 Efficient numerical analysis. Whatever format you use to lay out your calculations, it
needs to be very clear to the marker what you have calculated and why it is relevant to the
question. You need to show your workings so that, if you have made an error in your
calculation, you will still get credit for attempting it, and you will not lose marks for any follow-
on errors. Reference your workings clearly to the main part of your answer. Do not spend too
long on a particular calculation, as any one calculation will not carry many marks. If you are
struggling with it, make an assumption and move on to the rest of your answer.
Skills Activity
STEP 1 Read the following task requirement for the question 'Housham Garden',
identifying the verbs and the professional skills being examined, and start to set up
your answer plan. Use your answer planning skills to identify what you need to
do.
You are a business analyst who undertakes voluntary work for Housham Garden Trust ('HGT'). You
have been asked to suggest immediate short-term changes, proposals which can be implemented
immediately or within three months and will generate quantifiable income or savings.
Required
Using the data provided, show why HGT is losing money and recommend immediate and other
short-term (within three months) changes for HGT, quantifying the increased income or cost savings
that these changes should bring. (15 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating evaluation skills in relation to your
calculations and recommendations. (2 marks)
(Total = 17 marks)
 You are told that HGT is losing money so need to identify why. At its simplest, you are looking
out for data on revenues and costs, which are leading to a loss.
 You then need to use your commercial judgement to make recommendations about how to
address this – increasing revenues or reducing costs.
 You need to do some calculations about your recommendations to show their impact.
STEP 2 You should now read the scenario, looking out for data on revenues and costs,
and clues as to improvements that could be made. The scenario has been
annotated to show what sort of things you should be looking for when performing
this kind of 'active' reading.
Question – Housham Gardens (17 marks)

Housham Garden is a large garden in the country of Euphorbia, where gardening
and visiting gardens is a popular pastime. For many years the garden was neglected, The level of fixed
costs is an
until bought by the Popper family who painstakingly restored the garden and four
important data
years ago opened it to the public. The garden is now owned and operated by a point in
charitable trust set up by the Popper family – the Housham Garden Trust (HGT) – with calculating why
HGT is running at
initial funding provided by a legacy from the late Clive Popper.
a loss
However, HGT is finding it difficult to meet its costs and it is gradually spending
the legacy. It is estimated that fixed costs are currently $60,000 per annum.
This gives you The price of entry into the garden is $5 per visit. At present, there are There may be
potential to open the
the data to work approximately 1,000 visits per month and the garden is open for eight months gardens in the
out current winter, but this is not
revenue. a year. It is closed for a period when the weather is usually much colder and
a short-term change
few plants are flowering. so outside the scope
of the question
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From this, you
There is a café in the garden and it is estimated that 60% of visitors visit the
can work out
This is a clue that café and buy drinks and food. However, each purchase is relatively modest. the contribution
HGT could
consider lowering The current trust administrator estimates that the average contribution is $1.25 arising from the
the entrance fee. café.
per visitor using the café.
Remember you
are looking to
quantify the A survey undertaken by a local university revealed that most consumers felt that
impact of this. In the admission price for a garden such as Housham was too high. It revealed
this case, you
could perhaps that the average consumer would be willing to pay an entry fee of $3.25, and
look at the break- indeed similar gardens in Euphorbia charge about this amount.
even volume if So cancelling
the fee was
lowered, to see if
HGT currently advertises the garden in the monthly magazine Heritage them is a
potential short-
this looks like a Gardens. Each display advertisement costs $500 per issue. Adverts have been term step we
reasonable idea.
booked for the next six months, but it is possible to cancel the last three of these could take, if we
without incurring cancellation charges. chose.
Respondents were critical of the food offered by the café. One respondent
commented that quality 'had gone down since the café was moved into the This links to the comment
about the low
garden. Really, there is very little choice, and I could not find anything contribution per visitor
This is another
substantial enough for lunch'. Her reference to the relocation of the café into from the café. It may be
possible to improve this.
suggestion we could the garden refers to the fact that the café used to be in the gatehouse of the Note that the poor café
carry out fairly may well have a long-
quickly, and which
garden. At this time, many people just visited Housham to use the café and did
term impact on HGT's
would have not pay for admission into the garden. It was decided that moving the café financial sustainability
cashflow benefits.
There is data here
inside the garden would encourage people to pay for garden entry. However,
to estimate its this has not occurred. It is estimated that the café has lost about 500 visits per
impact. Note that As the gatehouse is
this would be an month and this has had an adverse effect on staff morale and food quality. The still empty, the café
opportunity to gatehouse area where the café was originally situated is still empty. could be moved
demonstrate back fairly quickly.
broader commercial
awareness, as in
In the recent consumer survey, 20% of the respondents said that they would There is data here
to estimate the
reality many buy an annual (calendar year) ticket giving access to the garden for eight increased
visitor attractions contribution that
have schemes of
months if it were offered for $9. The customer survey also asked visitors where
would result.
this type to increase they had heard of the garden. Table 1 summarises their responses. The 200
revenue and loyalty.
respondents were only allowed to make one choice for how they heard about
Housham Gardens.
How did you hear of Housham Gardens? Number of respondents

Given the expense Personal recommendation from a friend 110
of the
advertisements, this
does not seem like Recent articles in the local newspaper 50
a good return. We
can estimate the
impact of the Internet 10
advertisements,
and whether they Heritage Gardens magazine 10
are good value for
money.
Other 20
Table 1: How visitors heard about the gardens: one day survey on
13 March 20X2
The reference in Table 1 to recent articles in the local newspaper concerns a series of
articles written by the HGT administrator outlining the problems of the trust and the This suggests
fact that short-term cash flow problems might cause the garden's temporary closure. current marketing
One visitor commented that 'we had never heard of Housham Gardens until then, and is not very
effective!
we only live four kilometres away'.
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Skills Checkpoint 4

minutes creating your answer plan, this leaves 29 minutes to write up your answer. Of the 15
technical marks available, nine were for calculations, so it was absolutely vital that you did not
overlook these.
Demonstrating evaluation would be necessary to earn the two professional marks. These would be
earned by making reasonable estimates of the impact of changes proposed, and their implications
for stakeholders. Where you did not have specific data, you could make a reasonable assumption
for the purposes of your illustration.
Having already annotated the scenario with the task requirements in mind, your answer plan may
start to look something like this.
 Calculate revenue and costs to show loss
 Potential improvements
– Reduce entry price – breakeven calc?
– Annual ticket – potential take-up?
– Improve café – estimate impact
– Relocate café – estimate impact
– Evaluate advertising spend – recommend change?

requirement again to ensure that there is nothing that you have overlooked. The
key point to re-emphasise is that you need to quantify the impact of your
recommendations, so some kind of calculation is essential for each point.

You can now bring your workings together to create a solution, making sure that
you use logical headings and short punchy sentences. You can present your
calculations either in a data table or individually, in your discussion of the
recommendation. Either way is fine as long as it is clear – the latter approach has
been adopted for this solution. A model answer is given below, with comment
boxes illustrating where the answer is demonstrating good evaluation skills.
Suggested solution
Analysis of why HGT is running at a loss
HGT is currently making an annual loss of $14,000. This is illustrated by the following:
This is the
$ critical
calculation
Revenue ($5 per visit  1,000 visits per month  8 months) 40,000 required and
Contribution from café ($1.25 per visitor  1,000 visits per month  8 so has been
prioritised
months  60%) 6,000 here.
Fixed costs (60,000)
Annual shortfall (14,000)
Immediate action HGT could take

Reduce entry price
The recent survey conducted by the local university indicates that consumers regard the current entry
fee of $5 to be too expensive. Many visitors have stated that they are only prepared to pay an entry
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fee of $3.25 on average. If HGT lowers the admission fee, this will result in a breakeven visitor
volume of 15,000 visitors per annum (see Working).
The workings below are based on the assumption that 60% of visitors continue to use the café,
and the average contribution generated per café sale remains at $1.25.
Use of breakeven
Working
analysis shows
good evaluation
$3.25 (revised admission fee) + 60%  $1.25 (café contribution) = $4
skills because it is a
sensible way of Fixed costs $60,000/$4 = 15,000 visitors per annum
estimating the
impact of a Implications of change in visitor numbers
reduction in the
The proposed reduction in the admission fee may increase the visitor numbers Evaluation skills
entry fee. HGT can
are shown here
now consider by almost 90% of current levels. The trust will need to give consideration to the by considering the
whether over
15,000 visitors is a potential implications of increasing the number of visits by 7,000 per annum. implications of the
reasonable target. Monitoring visitor satisfaction levels to ensure that any significant increase in calculation.
numbers does not detract from the experience of visiting the gardens is likely to
be key.
The decision is also complicated by the uncertainty of whether a reduction in the admission fee will
translate to an increase in anticipated visitor numbers. A revised $3.25 admission fee may actually
reduce the contribution to fixed costs.
Implications of introducing an annual ticket
The recent consumer survey conducted by the trust suggested that 20% of respondents would be
prepared to purchase an annual ticket to gain admission to the gardens for a fee of $9 per annum.
Such a move would prove beneficial as this would improve HGT's cash position, through a one-off
inflow of money.
Specific data is not
available to assess the
At present the gardens receive 8,000 visits per annum, however the number of actual impact of the annual
visitors remains unknown. On the assumption that 5,000 visitors visit per annum and ticket, but good
evaluation skills are
20% of these individuals take up the annual pass ticket this would result in a cash shown in making a
inflow of $9,000 (5,000 visitors  20%  $9). In evaluating the viability of this option reasonable estimate
for illustration
the trust would need to consider the likely loss of repeat income from those visitors purposes, and
who currently pay $5 per visit, but will no longer pay when they visit because they considering other
factors that would
hold an annual ticket. need to be taken into
account.
Short-term changes
Improve the café
The trust should consider enhancing the existing visitor experience when using the café. Recent
visitors have been particularly critical of the food offered. Improvements to the menu, with an
increased emphasis on quality, should help to address the current situation.
As it stands, only 60% of visitors buy food in the café, and the average contribution ($1.25) per
visitor is also low.
Again, good
If the quality of food was improved, this could lead to an increase in the usage
evaluation skills
rate and contribution per visitor. If, for example, average contribution mean making a
increased to $1.75, coupled with 75% usage rate, this would result in reasonable
estimate to
additional contribution of $4,500 over the 8-month season ($1.75  8,000 illustrate the
visits per annum  75% – $6,000). impact. An
alternative
Good evaluation
skills means taking However, before making any changes, HGT should carry out a feasibility reasonable
assumption
into account wider assessment. The lack of visitor support for the decision to move the café from would earn
implications of
recommendations. the gatehouse site suggests a potential weakness in the trust's strategic equal credit.
This picks up on a approach to understanding what its visitors want.
hint of a weakness
in HGT's approach. Re-locate the café
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Skills Checkpoint 4
HGT should also consider moving the café back to the gatehouse area. The recent visitor
survey suggests that visitors have been deterred from visiting the café due to its relocation from
outside the grounds to within the gardens. This has resulted in the café losing 500 visits per
month, which in turn has impacted negatively on morale and food quality, as well as revenue.
Financially, moving the café into the garden has resulted in the loss of $625 worth of
contribution per month or $5,000 per annum ($1.25 average contribution  500
Evaluation here
visits per month). As visitors now have to pay to gain access to the café this may also means developing
contribute to a greater expectation in terms of the quality of experience when they a reasonable
hypothesis that
visit. Repositioning the café in the more popular gatehouse location may serve to
might explain the
address the issues identified. Furthermore, it is likely this could be achieved relatively data we have.
quickly as the gatehouse area is still empty.
Advertising spend
The trust may also consider reducing its current advertising spend. Only ten
respondents from 200 (5%) claimed to have heard of Housham Gardens via through
the advertisements placed in the 'Heritage Gardens' magazine. This issue was further Again, this shows
compounded by the fact that a recent visitor commented on having not heard of the good skills in
working out how
gardens, despite only living four kilometres away. Cancelling three months of the to compare the
adverts currently booked will result in a saving of $1,500 and avoid incurring the costs and benefits
associated cancellation charges should the decision to cancel be made later. The of the current
approach to
income generated each month by the advert stands at $287.50 (see Working) advertising. The
compared to expense of $500 a month to place the advertisement. The trust may recommendation
decide to access the target market using a more appropriate medium, eg regional leads on from the
analysis.
newspaper advertising.
Working:
(1,000 visits per month  5% = 50 visits  $5 admission fee = $250) + (50 café visits  60% 
$1.25 = $37.50)

Case scenario: Managing Did you extract the key points from the scenario? This included
information the numerical data, but also the hints in the text about the
problems being faced.
Correct interpretation of Did you pick up on the need to quantify the impact of the
requirements suggestions you made? Not doing so would mean losing a lot of
marks. Were you clear that the task requirement only related to
immediate and short-term changes?
Answer planning: Did you adopt a systematic approach to planning,

Priorities, Structure and understanding the task requirements first, then working through
Logic the scenario to extract relevant information?
Efficient numerical In your planning stage, did you identify the calculations that
analysis would be needed to evaluate your recommendations? This
required some thought, so needed to be built in to your planning
time. Carrying out irrelevant calculations would not have earned
credit.
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succinctly?
Are your calculations clearly linked to the relevant part of your
answer?
Time management Did you allocate sufficient time to discuss a range of proposals,
and carry out supporting calculations for each?
Summary
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INTRODUCTION
TO STAGE 5:
Implementing Strategic
Change
Implementing Strategic Change

IBM is a US-based company with a global reach which was incorporated in 1911 by the
amalgamation of four companies. One of these, the Tabulating Machine Company, had been set up
to exploit the patented technology of punched card data processing equipment, created to tabulate
the 1890 US census. The company grew and introduced countless technology innovations, earning
the nickname 'Big Blue'. By the 1960s, the company dominated the market for business computers,
prompting an antitrust investigation which continued until 1982 before being dropped. As the
personal computer market developed in the 1980s, IBM tried to replicate its dominance in the
corporate market, but found itself struggling against new, more focused competitors.
In 1993, facing the possibility of bankruptcy, the company appointed an outsider as its Chief
Executive for the first time since 1914. Lou Gerstner was a former McKinsey consultant with no
experience in the technology industry, but he was committed to a transformation of the company.
Gradually, IBM moved away from low-margin hardware to higher-margin software and services.
Gerstner retired in 2002, later writing a book about his experiences called Who Says Elephants
Can't Dance? IBM continued its transformation, selling off its personal computer business to Lenovo in
2005, and acquiring a number of consulting and design businesses. Over time, the core of the
business completely transformed from selling physical items to being knowledge-based. This change
has been highly successful. In 2019 it earned revenue of $77bn, with net income of $7.7bn,
employing approximately 350,000 people worldwide.
Not all organisations go through changes as dramatic as IBM, but all organisations need to be agile
and able to adapt to new conditions, taking into account the context in which they are operating. A
great deal of change is of a small scale, consisting of refining or redesigning processes, automating
systems or outsourcing. Big-picture goals need to be combined with attention to detail, as change
programmes break down into individual projects that need to be carefully managed if their proposed
benefits are to be realised. This is how transformations can happen, no matter how big they need to
be.
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Enabling success and
strategic change
Learning objectives
Syllabus
reference no.
Advise on how an organisation's structure and internal relationships can be re- H1(a)
organised to deliver a selected strategy
Advise on the implications of collaborative working and partnering, such as H1(b)

franchising, organisation process outsourcing, shared services and global
business services
Discuss how talent management can contribute to supporting organisation H3(a)

strategy
Assess the value of the four view (POPIT – people, organisation, processes and H3(b)
information technology) model to the successful implementation of organisation
change
Apply the Baldrige model for world class organisations to achieve and maintain H4(a)
business performance excellence
Assess and advise on how an organisation can be empowered to reach its H4(b)
strategic goals, improve its results and be more competitive
Apply and explore different types of strategic change and their implications H5(a)
Analyse the culture of an organisation using Balogun and Hope Hailey's H5(b)
contextual features
Manage change in the organisation using Lewin's three-stage model H5(c)
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This is the first of the final three chapters in which our focus turns to the practicalities associated with
implementing the organisation's chosen strategy. This chapter is effectively formed of three related
issues: organisational structures and internal relationships, improving performance, and strategic
change. The chapter starts by considering the different types of organisational structure that can be
adopted. For many years the static pyramidal hierarchy has formed the basis of ideas about
organisational structure. However, the challenges of the modern business environment have led not
only to new structural designs, but also to a complete re-evaluation of basic assumptions about
organisation structure and the internal relationships which exist.
It is important to realise that in recent years there has been a move towards collaborative working
within organisations, and between organisations and external parties. Building relationships with
suppliers, competitors and customers increases the flexibility to respond to change. Our discussion
then moves on to consider some key concepts relating to improving organisational performance: the
Baldrige model, empowerment and talent management. When an organisation develops a new
strategy it is inevitable that the process of implementing the strategy will lead to some form of
change. In the final sections we explore some of the key issues associated with strategic change.
Strategic change is closely connected to process redesign and project management, which are
considered in Chapters 14 and 15 respectively.
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13: Enabling success and strategic change
Chapter overview
Enabling success and strategic change
Enabling success and Collaborative Performance

strategic change working excellence
Organisational structure Boundary-less organisations The Baldrige criteria (framework

(responsibilities, communication (collaborate with for assessing performance)
and skills) external parties)
Internal relationships Partnering
Outsourcing (use a third party)
Empowering organisations Talent management Strategic change
Empowerment The need for a strategic view The need for change
The benefits of Type of change

talent management
Talent management activities
Contextual features The four-view Lewin's

of change (POPIT) model three-stage model
Aspects of context Usefulness of POPIT Unfreeze, change, and refreeze
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1 Enabling success and strategic change
1.1 Organisational structure and internal relationships
Senior management need to give careful consideration to the organisation's structure and internal
relationships if the selected strategy is to be implemented successfully.
1.2 Organisational structure

An organisation's formal structure reveals much about it.
(a) It shows who is responsible for what.
(b) It shows who communicates with whom, both in procedural practice and, to great extent, in
less formal ways.
(c) The upper levels of the structure reveal the skills the organisation values and, by extension, the
role of knowledge and skill within it.
1.2.1 Types of structure

Historically, organisational structures have tended to be 'self-contained' as they are distinct from
external groups such as customers, competitors and suppliers. A number of self-contained structures
exist. As the following table illustrates, a number of factors influence the type of structure an
organisation may adopt. Factors such as the age of the organisation, its size, the types of products/
services sold and the nature of the work undertaken all influence choices relating to organisational
structure. The table also highlights how structures may be re-organised over time as the organisation
grows and its strategy develops.
Types of organisational structure Advantages Disadvantages
1 Simple/Entrepreneurial  Decision making  Not possible or

The simple/entrepreneurial structure is the approach that most is quick and effective once
organisations adopt when they are first formed. It is flexible the organisation
appropriate for small owner-managed organisations, which  Strong control grows beyond a
tend to pursue a strategy of selling a limited range of products and goal certain size
or service. Commonly found in sole trader organisations congruence  Reliance on
where all organisational decisions are taken centrally by a leader
single individual.
Finance Production
Marketing Distribution
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2 Functional  Work is based  Can lead to co-

As organisations start to grow and their strategies become on specialism ordination and
more complex the ability of the owner to make all managerial  Gives economies communication
decisions becomes impossible as the need for specialist skills of scale in problems
in a number of areas increases. The simple structure develops operations  Leads to 'silos'
into a functional structure were people are organised  Offers clear where people do
according to the type of work they do. career not understand
Functional departmentation
progression how the whole
Managing business works
director
Production Marketing Financial Engineering Personnel

director director director director director
etc etc etc
Sales Marketing Management Financial

manager director accountant accountant
Sales Marketing
manager manager
(Adapted from: Johnson et al, 2017)
3 Divisional  Specialism on  Divisions may

The divisional structure, and holding company structure basis of duplicate each
mentioned below, are commonly found in larger divisionalisation other’s functions,
organisations which pursue a diverse range of strategies. The  Provides clear leading to waste
divisional structure sees the organisation divided into performance  Divisions can
semi-autonomous units, based on geography, product or measurement become more
market. and bureaucratic
Simple divisionalisation accountability for than they would
Organisation's divisional be as
head office
managers independent
 Gives authority organisations,
Division A Division B Division C to divisional owing to the
managers and performance
prepares them measures
Functions Functions Functions
for senior imposed by the
management strategic apex
4 Holding company structure  Complexity of

In a holding company structure, these divisions are separate management
legal entities. and reporting —
having head
Holding company
office or a
holding
Subsidiary A Subsidiary B Subsidiary C company
imposes
Sub-subsidiary D Sub-subsidiary E Sub-subsidiary F additional costs
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5 Transnational structure  Improves  Can create

Combines some independence for national units, with certain responsiveness to complex
functions that are run globally. For instance a specialised R&D local conditions relationships
function may be based in one country but used by all  Can lead to within the
territories. major economies organisation
of scale  Complexity of
structure can
create difficulties
of control
6 Matrix  Allows for  Increased

The matrix structure (matrix management) can operate as a flexible potential conflict
structure in its own right or can be set up as a sub structure deployment of between
within most of the organisational structures already discussed staff as managers
(with the exception of the simple/entrepreneurial structure). requirements  Complex to run
Matrix structures are often appropriate for organisations change and can lead to
which purse strategies involving lots of project work. Matrix  Improved slow decision
type structures maintain co-ordination by co-working across communication making
functions, addressing some of the disadvantages of functional and co-operation
structures. This usually means some form of dual authority that
can be complex and confusing and may make control more
difficult.
Production Sales Finance Distribution R&D Marketing

Dept Dept Dept Dept Dept Dept
Product Manager A*
Product Manager B*
Product Manager C*
(Adapted from: Mullins, 2002: p.551)
Essential reading
the Workbook, for more detail about team based and project based structures.
1.3 Internal relationships

Internal relationships concerning responsibility and authority for decision making are particularly
important. There are two important issues in internal relationships:
 The degree of centralisation
 The way the centre relates to the strategic business units in the case of conglomerate
organisations. Conglomerate organisations were introduced in Chapter 6.
1.3.1 Centralisation
Centralisation refers to the level in the organisation's structure at which decisions are taken. For
example, an organisation which operates a divisional structure may require individual divisions to
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follow the strategy determined by head office. As a result centralisation offers control and
standardisation. By contrast decentralisation utilises talent and local knowledge at lower levels within
the organisation, for example at a divisional level.
Centralisation: Means a greater degree of central control.

Key terms Decentralisation: Means a greater degree of delegated authority to regions or sub-units.
1.3.2 Advantages of centralisation
Advantage Comment
Control Senior management can exercise greater control over the activities of the
organisation and co-ordinate their subordinates or sub-units more easily.
Standardisation Procedures can be standardised throughout the organisation.
Corporate view Senior managers can make decisions from the point of view of the
organisation as a whole, whereas subordinates would tend to make decisions
from the point of view of their own department or division.
Balance of Centralised control enables an organisation to maintain a balance between

power different functions or divisions.
Experience Senior managers ought to be more experienced and skilful in making

counts decisions.
Lower When authority is delegated, there is often a duplication of management effort

overheads (and a corresponding increase in staff numbers) at lower levels of hierarchy.
Leadership In times of crisis, the organisation may need strong leadership by a central
group of senior managers.
1.3.3 Advantages of decentralisation
Advantage Comment
Workload It reduces the stress and burdens of senior management.
Job It provides subordinates with greater job satisfaction by giving them more say
in making decisions which affect their work.
Local Subordinates may have a better knowledge than senior management of 'local'
knowledge conditions affecting their area of work.
Flexibility and Delegation should allow greater flexibility and a quicker response to changing
speed conditions. If problems do not have to be referred up the chain of command to
senior managers for a decision, decision making will be quicker.
Training Management at middle and junior levels are groomed for eventual senior
management positions.
Control By establishing appropriate sub-units or profit centres to which authority is

delegated, the system of control within the organisation might be improved.
1.3.4 Strategic management relationships

In Chapter 6 we introduced the concept of the conglomerate type of organisation, which consists of
a portfolio of different businesses. A vital feature of the relationship between the corporate centre
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(head office) and its divisions/business units is how responsibility for strategic decisions is divided
between them.
There are three generally accepted possible roles for the centre:
 Determination of overall strategy and the allocation of resources
 Controlling divisional performance
 Provision of central services
Goold and Campbell (1987) identified three major approaches to running divisionalised
conglomerates:
Strategic planning style
The centre establishes extensive planning processes through which it works with divisional managers
to make substantial contributions to strategic thinking, often with a unifying overall corporate
strategy. Performance targets are set in broad terms, with an emphasis on longer-term strategic
objectives.
Strategic control style
This style involves a fairly low degree of planning influence but uses tight strategic control. The centre
prefers to leave the planning initiative to divisional managers, though it will review their plans for
acceptability. Firm targets are set for a range of performance indicators and performance is judged
against them.
Financial control style
Each division is controlled by the imposition of strict financial targets. Divisional managers are
appraised on their ability to generate sufficient performance, but are free to decide upon how this is
achieved, giving them high levels of autonomy.
2 Collaborative working
Traditionally, external commercial relationships have been, to a greater or lesser extent,
adversarial, in that each organisation has attempted to obtain for itself as much as possible of the
value created overall in the value network. While this is still characteristic of most external
relationships, many new ones have been created that focus more on co-operation than rivalry.
These new structures are known as boundary-less organisations.
2.1 Boundary-less organisations
Boundary-less organisations: Are those which have structured their operations to allow for
collaboration with external parties.
Key term
Building relationships with suppliers, competitors and customers should increase the organisations'
flexibility to respond to change. There are various forms of boundary-less organisation, these include
hollow, modular, network and virtual organisation structures.
2.1.1 Hollow structure

In a hollow structure the majority of the company's non-core processes are outsourced to specialist
providers, leaving the company free to concentrate on its value-adding activities. Value-adding
activities often relate to R&D, marketing and manufacturing. The outsourcing of certain functions
effectively makes the organisation a 'hollowed out' entity, allowing it to reduce its workforce and cut
costs. The remaining staff are then free to manage the relationships created with the third party
outsourcer.
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2.1.2 Modular structure

The modular structure involves outsourcing certain production processes to specialist outsourcers. The
core company will then assemble the outsourced components in-house to produce a final product.
This type of structure is commonly used in hi-tech industries, such as aircraft manufacture. For
example, an outsource partner will provide the engines which the aircraft manufacturer can then bolt
onto the finished plane.
2.1.3 Networks
Networks are groups of organisations or individuals who co-operate to deliver services to customers.
For example, a building contractor might deliver a building project by managing a range of other
specialist contractors, rather than carry out the work themselves. Such a loose, fluid approach is often
used to achieve innovative response to changing circumstances.
2.1.4 Virtual structures

A virtual organisation appears as a single entity from outside to its customers, but is in fact a network
of different organisational nodes (individuals, teams or even entire organisations) often linked
through technology.
Essential reading
the Workbook, for more detail on collaborative working practices between organisations and
customers.
Syllabus links
In Chapter 6 we introduced the concept of external and internal partnering. In Chapter 6 we
considered partnering from the context of how it can help organisations to achieve business growth.
In the following section we explore the implications for organisations when adopting a partnering
approach.
2.2 Partnering
In Chapter 6 we introduced the concept of partnering and how this is being used by organisations to
achieve business growth. In this section we consider the implications for organisations when
adopting a partnering approach.
2.2.1 Internal partnering

As highlighted in Chapter 6, internal partnering is concerned with increasing the levels of
co-operation and collaboration between the various functions and departments that exist within
organisations. A key aim of internal partnering is to enhance the efficiency of internal operations by
addressing the issues that often arise when departments fail to work together. An example of this
type of failing would include a situation where a company's marketing department announce the
launch date of a new product to customers, without realising that the production department are
working towards a later launch date. As this example illustrates instances such as this may cause the
company some embarrassment and in a worst case scenario may even lead to lost sales if customers
choose to purchase a competitor's product instead.
For internal partnering to be successful managers need to understand better how the activities of their
respective departments interact with and impact upon other parts of the organisation. This requires
breaking down the barriers that exist between departments by improving the methods of
communication between teams. This helps to create greater understanding of the different challenges
facing other parts of the business. Effective internal partnering involves viewing problems as shared
challenges, so that a problem facing a particular department is viewed as a challenge that workers
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and managers in the wider business can help to overcome. Internal partnering often requires cultural
change as people need to be encouraged to work more collaboratively with others in different
departments. To help achieve this change organisations need to avoid to setting departmental
measures which only focus on the performance of the activities undertaken by that department.
Organisational performance should also include measures for assessing interdepartmental
co-operation and measures which assess the outcome of interdepartmental projects.
2.2.2 External partnering

External partnering arrangements have implications for the way in which businesses are organised.
In Chapter 6, we highlighted that external partnering can take many forms, one of the most common
is franchising. Franchising arrangements place legal obligations on both the franchiser and
franchisee. Establishing a franchise arrangement requires the franchiser to organise its operations in
such a way as it is able to maintain control over its franchised partners. Control issues here tend to
relate to the franchisees use of franchised intellectual property, the approaches used by the
franchisee to market and sell franchised goods and services, and issues associated with upholding
the franchiser's quality standards.
Franchisers will develop performance measures and reporting systems to ensure that the franchisee
complies with the terms of the franchise agreement. As franchising arrangements are collaborative by
nature, franchisers are also required to provide support to franchisees. Support here may include
providing customer service training to franchisees so that there is consistency between owned and
franchised operations, and may also include support with marketing and advertising. Many
franchisers have set up dedicated teams, which are distinct from their non-franchised operations, to
provide this support.
2.3 Outsourcing
The concept of the boundary-less organisation has become increasingly possible due to the
emergence of organisational process outsourcing.
Outsourcing: Involves an organisation contracting out certain internal business functions to a third
party.
Key term
Organisations very often outsource those functions which are considered to be non-critical, such as
payroll processing.
Activity 1: Ergo City

Communication: Clarify
You are Johnathan Edwards, a management consultant working on an assignment at Ergo City
Authority (ECA). ECA administers environmental, social care, housing and cultural services to the city
of Ergo. Recently the authority was approached by Pro-Tech, an IT service company which proposed
changing ECA's existing approach to managing its IT department. You were appointed to provide
advice on this matter. The CEO was particularly keen to get an external consultant involved as there
had been a lot of confusion among the ECA board about the potential benefits that the Pro-Tech
proposal might bring. Having conducted a review of the current issues facing ECA (Exhibit 1), and
the proposal from Pro-Tech (Exhibit 2), you are now preparing a slide which will form part of a
presentation that you are due to give to the CEO and the board.
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Required
Using the information provided in the two Exhibits, prepare ONE presentation slide, with supporting
notes which evaluates the potential benefits to ECA of outsourcing its IT function to Pro-Tech Public.
(10 marks)
potential benefits to the authority of outsourcing its IT. (2 marks)
(Total = 12 marks)
Exhibit 1 – Ergo City Authority
The city itself has many social problems and a recent report from the local government auditor
criticised the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for not spending enough time and money addressing the
pressing housing problems of the city. ECA has had its own internal Information Technology (IT)
department for many years. However, there has been increasing criticism of the cost and
performance of this department. Some employees are lost through natural wastage, but there have
never been any redundancies in IT and the labour laws of the nation, and strong trade unions within
ECA, make it difficult to make staff redundant. As a result the IT department has steadily grown in
size.
In the last few years there has been an on-going dispute between managers in the IT department and
managers in the finance function. The dispute started due to claims about the falsification of expenses
but has since escalated into a personal battle between the director of IT and the finance director. The
CEO has had to intervene personally in this dispute and has spent many hours trying to reconcile the
two sides. However, issues still remain and there is still tension between the managers of the two
departments.
A recent internal human resources (HR) survey of the IT department found that, despite
acknowledging that they received above average pay, employees were not very satisfied. The main
complaints were about poor management, the ingratitude of user departments, ('we are always
being told that we are overheads, and are not core to the business of ECA') and the absence of
promotion opportunities within the department. The ingratitude of users is despite the IT department
running a relatively flexible approach to fulfilling users' needs. The director of IT is also critical of the
staffing constraints imposed on him. He has recently tried to recruit specialists in web services and
'cloud computing' without any success. He also says that 'there are probably other technologies that I
have not even heard of that we should be exploring and exploiting'.
Exhibit 2 – Pro-Tech proposal
The CEO has been approached by a large established IT service company, Pro-Tech, to form a new
company Pro-Tech-Public that combines the public sector IT expertise of ECA with the commercial and
IT knowledge of Pro-Tech. The joint company will be a private limited company owned 51% by Pro-
Tech and 49% by ECA. All existing employees in the IT department of ECA will be transferred to Pro-
Tech who will then enter into a 10-year outsourcing arrangement to provide IT services with ECA.
The CEO is very keen on the idea and he sees many other authorities following this route.
Solution
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The benefits and implications of outsourcing are considered in the following table.
Advantages of outsourcing Disadvantages and implications of

outsourcing
Removes uncertainty about cost, as there is often An organisation may have highly confidential
a long-term contract where services are specified information and to let outsiders handle it could
in advance for a fixed price. It may also result in be seen as risky in commercial and/or legal
achieving economies of scale. terms.
Outsource arrangements can be established so An organisation may find itself locked in to an

that they last for many years. This encourages unsatisfactory contract.
future planning.
Specialist outsourcers possess greater skills and The use of an outsourcer organisation does not
knowledge. A specialist outsourcer can share encourage awareness of the potential costs and
staff with specific expertise between several benefits of conducting certain processes within
clients. the organisation.
It offers flexibility (contract permitting). Resources If at a future date the decision is made to bring a
may be able to be scaled up or down process back in-house there are no guarantees
depending on demand. that the required skills (eg IT experts) will be
readily available in the job market.
As the above table illustrates, trust is an important element between the organisation and the
outsource provider. To address concerns around the quality of the outsourced processes being
provided it is common practice for service level agreements (SLAs) to be used.
2.3.1 Offshoring
Offshoring: Is a form of outsourcing that involves an external entity based in a different country
providing an organisation with a particular product or process which had previously been provided
Key term
in-house.
Real world example

Offshoring became particularly popular in the late 1990s when a number of well-known global
financial institutions (banks and insurance companies) decided to set up customer call centre
operations in countries such as India. The principal rationale for this shift concerned the vast pool of
graduate labour which could be utilised at a lower cost than available in home markets. This shift
saw a number of new call centres being established and operated by external third parties which
provided the required staff and facilities.
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In recent years the trend towards offshoring appears to be shifting once more. An article by Davies in
2016 reported that the mobile phone group, EE, had announced plans to create 600 jobs in the UK.
The announcement followed the arrival of EE's new CEO, Marc Allera, who pledged to improve
customer satisfaction following growing numbers of customer complaints about poor levels of service
offered by EE's offshore call centres. The proposal led to EE abandoning its call centre operations in
India, South Africa and the Philippines. The company set itself a target of ensuring that at least 80%
of all customer service calls were answered by EE staff in the UK by the end of 2016. In January
2017 it was reported that EE had delivered on its pledge and had in fact created 1,000 customer
service operator jobs in the UK and Ireland (The Register, 2017).
2.3.2 Shared servicing
Shared servicing: Is an alternative to outsourcing, where shared service centres (SSC) consolidate
the transaction-processing activities of many operations within an organisation.
Key term
Shared service centres aim to achieve significant cost reductions while improving service levels
through the use of standardised technology and processes. Many large organisations have moved to
centralise their IT support functions. It is common now for one IT helpdesk to serve the entire
organisation, as opposed to individual divisions or departments having their own designated IT
support.
Advantages of shared services Disadvantages and implications of shared

services
Reduced headcount due to economies of Loss of business-specific knowledge. For

scale, resulting from bringing operations to a example, creating a consolidated finance function
single location. which broadly handles financial matters for the entire
organisation may lack an understanding of specific
finance issues affecting individual departments or
business units.
Associated reduction in premises and other Removed from decision making. Building on
overhead costs. from the point above, an SSC finance function is
unlikely to be able to provide meaningful financial
information for decision making if finance personnel
are removed from the day-to-day realities facing a
particular department or business unit.
Knowledge sharing should lead to an Weakened relationships. Geographical

improvement in quality of the service distance between the site of the SSC and the
provided. respective areas it serves may weaken the
relationships between the two.
Allows standard approaches to be

adopted across the organisation, leading
to more consistent management of
organisational data.
2.3.3 Global business services

Global business services are a relatively new development which are being used by large, global
organisations.
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A global business service: Effectively brings together existing shared service and outsourcing
arrangements together to form an integrated, collaborative framework which helps to co-ordinate
Key term
and support the global operations of the organisation in areas including finance, HR, IT and
procurement.
3 Performance excellence
Having considered issues relating to structure and internal relationships we now move onto explore
how organisations can ensure high levels of performance.
3.1 The Baldrige Criteria

TM
The Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence (National Institute of Standards and Technology)
provide a framework for assessing performance, with a view to improving performance. The
underlying purpose of the Baldrige model is to help organisations improve, and achieve excellence.
The framework doesn't prescribe how an organisation should behave or operate. Instead, it is used
to assess an organisation's performance, helping the organisation identify its own strengths, and
opportunities for improvement, as well as prioritising the areas where improvement is needed to
attain organisational sustainability.
This lack of prescription means that Baldrige can be used by not-for-profit organisations (eg
education; health care providers) as well as commercial manufacturing and service companies.
The framework is based on the idea that the following beliefs and behaviours (referred to as core
values and concepts) are found in high-performing organisations (and underpin organisational
success):
 Visionary leadership
 Focus on success
 Ethics and transparency
 Societal responsibility
 Organisational learning and agility
 Valuing people
 Customer-focussed excellence
 Delivering value and results
 Management by fact: an emphasis on feedback, and a fact-based, knowledge-driven system
for improving performance and competitiveness
Organisations can use the core values and concepts outlined above as a criteria against which they
can assess their performance in relation to the seven categories outlined in the diagram below.
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Organisational Profile
Strategy Workforce
Leadership Integration RESULTS
Customers Operations
Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management
Core Values and Concepts
(Diagram: The Baldrige Excellence Framework, (National Institute of Standards and Technology, n.d))
3.1.1 Elements of the Baldrige assessment

Organisational profile: The organisation describes what is important to it – its operating
environment, competitive environment, key relationships.
Criteria questions assess how well an organisation accomplishes the things which are important
to it. The basic principle of the Baldrige model is that six key criteria shape an organisation's ability
to achieve the seventh criteria (consistently delivering excellent results).
Criteria
1 Leadership
Leaders must set the direction for their organisation and establish clear performance
expectations for it. 'Leadership' focuses on:
 The role of senior leadership
 Governance and social responsibilities
2 Strategy
Strategic plans are then developed, and the strategies and goals needed for the organisation
to achieve its performance expectations are defined. 'Strategy' focuses on:
 Strategy development
 Strategy implementation
3 Customers (or 'beneficiaries' for not-for-profit organisations – eg students or patients). To be

successful, the strategies must enable the organisation to meet the needs of its customers
effectively. (For a commercial organisation, this means meeting the needs of its customers better
than competitors within the markets it serves.) 'Customers' focuses on:
 Listening to the voice of the customer
 Customer engagement
4 Measurement, Analysis and Knowledge Management

The organisation needs appropriate systems to provide feedback (measurement) to strategic
leaders about the performance results achieved. The focus here is on:
 Measurement, analysis and improvement of organisational performance
 Knowledge, management, information and information technology (IT)
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Criteria
5 Workforce
The efforts of skilled and motivated staff (workforce) are central to successful strategy
implementation and excellence in performance. 'Workforce' focuses on:
 Working environment
 Workforce engagement
6 Operations
Operating efficient and effective processes (operations) – are vital in enabling an
organisation to implement its strategy effectively. 'Operations' focuses on:
 Work processes
 Operational effectiveness
7 Results (compared to other organisations, and over time)

In addition to assessing each of the criteria individually, the framework also highlights the
importance of integration between strategy, customers, workforce and operations in
delivering results. As such, the Baldrige Criteria seek to promote excellence across an entire
organisation, rather than focusing on individual pockets of excellence within an organisation.
'Results' focuses on:
 Products/processes
 Customers
 Workforce
 Leadership and governance
 Financial and market
Organisations that have received the Baldrige Award (demonstrating that they applied the Baldrige
Criteria) report improved performance across a range of areas: better financial results; satisfied,
loyal customers; improved products and services; and an engaged workforce.
3.1.2 Analysing performance

Criteria 1-6 in the framework are evaluated in relation to four dimensions:
Approach How does the organisation accomplish its work? How effective are its key
approaches?
Deployment How consistently are key processes used in relevant parts of the organisation?
Learning How well has the organisation evaluated and improved its key approaches? How
well have improvements been shared within the organisation? What is the potential
for innovation within the organisation?
Integration How well are the organisation's approaches aligned to its current and future
needs? How well are processes and operations, and any associated targets and
performance measures, harmonised across the organisation?
Similarly, 'results' are also evaluated against four dimensions (albeit different ones to the dimensions
for the other criteria):
Levels What is the organisation's current performance level?
Trends Are results in this aspect of performance improving, staying the same, or getting
worse?
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Comparisons How does the organisation's performance compare with that of other
organisations, or against benchmarks/targets?
Integration Does the organisation track the results that are important to it, and which consider
the needs and expectations of key stakeholders? Does the organisation use the
results of its performance tracking in decision making?
Remember, the underlying purpose of the framework is to help organisations improve. So, while it
could be a concern for an organisation if the analysis identifies gaps or weaknesses, what is
potentially more important is what the organisation does to address its weaknesses, to close the
gaps, and to take advantage of opportunities available to it.
4 Empowering organisations
During our discussion of the Baldrige model we highlighted the important role that the organisation's
workforce play in improving performance; in this section we explore the concept of empowerment
and how workers can contribute to the success of the organisation.
In the widest sense the process of empowering an organisation involves identifying and removing
those constraints which prohibit the attainment of the organisation's strategic goals and the
improvement of performance. As highlighted by the Baldrige model the process of enhancing an
organisation's performance requires that consideration is given to a range of factors which may
present weaknesses in need of improvement. Overcoming such weaknesses may require that a
number of actions be taken including: investing in new technologies, enhancing existing processes,
and the development of new strategies.
However, as we shall explore most contemporary writing on the subject of empowerment relates to
the important role played by the organisation's workforce.
4.1 Empowerment
Empowerment: Is the term for making workers (and particularly work teams) responsible for
achieving, and even setting, work targets, with the freedom to make decisions about how they are to
Key term
be achieved.
Empowerment includes two key aspects:

(a) Allowing workers to have the freedom to decide how to do the necessary work, using the skills
they possess and acquiring new skills as necessary to be an effective team member.
(b) Making workers responsible for achieving production targets and for quality control.
The drive to empower workers was caused by a realisation that all too often it is the individuals
working lower down the organisation that have the knowledge and understanding of what is going
wrong with a process. The problem is that these individuals do not have the required power to
change how the process works, as this rests with the management who lack the understanding
needed to make the necessary changes. This highlights the need to amend organisational cultures so
that employees are given the freedom to challenge existing ways of working.
Empowerment goes hand in hand with:
(a) Delayering. Delayering involves the reduction of the number of management levels from
bottom to top. The responsibility previously held by middle managers is, in effect, being given
to operational workers
(b) Flexibility, since giving responsibility to the people closest to the product and customer
encourages responsiveness – and cutting out layers of communication, decision making and
reporting speeds up the process
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(c) New technology, since there are more 'knowledge workers' in the new organisation. Such
people need less supervision, being better able to identify and control the means to clearly
understood ends. Better information systems also remove the mystique and power of managers
as possessors of knowledge and information in the organisation.
4.1.1 Achieving empowerment

Empowering workers requires the organisation to adopt an approach to human resource
management which views employees as being an important strategic asset, which is capable of
providing a source of competitive advantage. In this case the role of the manager becomes one of
supporting staff to find solutions to better meet the objectives of the organisation, as opposed to
simply ensuring compliance with organisational rules. The change in structure and culture as a result
of empowerment is illustrated in the following diagram.
Senior Authority
Managers
Middle Purpose: securing

Managers compliance with
managerial directives
Operational
Staff
Customers
Empowerment structure: supporting workers in serving the customer
Customers
Purpose: to facilitate and
Operational Staff support operational staff
Senior Managers in serving customers
Authority
(Diagram: Hierarchical and empowerment structures)
5 Talent management
Talent management: Is principally concerned with initially attracting and subsequently
identifying, developing and retaining individuals within the organisation who are considered to be
Key term
important to the future success of the organisation.
5.1 The need for a strategic view

The human resource departments (HR) in many organisations are increasingly taking a strategic view
of their workforce, with the need to identify and manage talented individuals being deemed critical
to the creation of a competitive advantage. Skills shortages in the job market coupled with
increasingly competitive conditions have driven the increasing focus on talent management. There
has been a drive among larger organisations to identify those workers capable of enabling the
organisation to achieve its strategic objectives in both the short and longer term.
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5.2 The benefits of talent management

A successful talent management strategy should be closely aligned to the organisation's strategy.
Benefits associated with adopting a talent management approach include:
 The creation of a learning organisation where workers are encouraged to challenge
assumptions and to search for improvements to existing processes to help achieve
organisational objectives
 Attracting new talent to the organisation to help develop new products/services to make the
organisation more competitive
 Supporting succession planning as workers are prepared for future role leadership roles
Essential reading
the Workbook, for more detail on the topic of succession planning. Succession planning is closely
linked to the topic of talent management.
5.3 Talent management activities

Organisational talent management programmes aim to develop the potential offered by talented
individuals. The remit of talent management has evolved to include individual development,
performance enhancement, workforce planning and succession planning. Activities undertaken as
part of a talent management programme might include:
Attending networking
Coaching in management events with other 'talented'
and leadership skills individuals
Talent management
programme activities
Communication and Communication and

involvement with senior involvement with key
management and board organisational
level executives customers/clients
Activity 2: Blue Cherry Mobile

Communication: Persuade
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You are Alisha Kemp; you are a business professional working for Blue Cherry Mobile (BCM).
Working as a business analyst you provide support services to all areas of the business including the
human resources (HR) department.
BCM is a global manufacturer of mobile phones; in recent times the company has seen a significant
deterioration in its performance with sales falling dramatically. Following the announcement last
month of BCM's quarterly results the company's CEO has resigned. BCM's nomination committee are
due to begin the process of finding a replacement soon. In light of the company's performance the
BCM board undertook a review of the company's expenditure on a range of activities including its
graduate recruitment programme. At the last board meeting a number of directors raised concerns
about the associated costs and apparent failures of BCM's graduate recruitment programme, with
one director proposing that the scheme be shut down before the next intake.
You have been approached by BCM's Chair; he agrees that improvements are needed to BCM's
graduate recruitment programme, but is very keen to ensure that it is maintained. As a result he
would like to present some counter-arguments to address the concerns raised by the other directors.
Required
Using the information provided in Exhibit 1, prepare a brief note which suggests some of the ways in
which BCM's graduate recruitment programme could be developed to be more consistent with the
principles of talent management. (8 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating communication skills in displaying
persuasiveness in the suggestions made.
(2 marks)
(Total = 10 marks)
Exhibit 1 – BCM's struggles
Up until a couple of years ago Blue Cherry Mobile (BCM) was the leading manufacturer of mobile
phone handsets in all of the major global markets it competed in. Since this time the company has
seen its share of the mobile phone handset market fall significantly as new competitors have entered
the market; as a result BCM's financial performance has deteriorated.
One competitor in particular, Kiwi Phones, has been very successful in eroding BCM's global market
share, as the company has introduced a series of phones with significantly more advanced features
than those offered by BCM's best-selling devices. Kiwi's latest model, the Ki2000, is capable of
projecting images onto a surface, such as a whiteboard, and is increasingly used by business
professionals when giving work-related presentations.
BCM has for a number of years recruited graduates from some of the world's top science and
technology universities as part of its graduate recruitment programme. Graduates are recruited to
work in BCM's R&D department. Over the last year, a number of these recruits have been poached
by Kiwi. A significant proportion of those recruits who have left BCM over the last year have cited a
reluctance to incorporate new technological features into BCM's latest models as their reason for
leaving. One leaver commented 'I need to leave BCM in order to further my career, I have lots of
good ideas it is just a shame that I cannot seem to get anyone in management to listen to them'.
Another commented 'I have been at BCM for three years, I completed the graduate programme six
months ago. Since this time I have been working in an admin role as I was told that there was no
longer any space for me in the R&D department as this would be needed for the next intake of
graduates'.
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Solution
Exam Focus Point

which was responsible for providing rail services within the country of Beeland. The third question
required candidates to act in the capacity of the non-executive chairperson of a sub-committee.
Following the removal of the previous chief executive the role had been advertised and two
individuals had been shortlisted for a final interview. Part (b) of question 3 asked candidates to
prepare two presentation slides, with accompanying notes, which explained 'to the NCG
[nominations and corporate governance committee], the contribution which the chief executive should
be expected to make in terms of talent management, to support the necessary change programme
required at Rail Co' (ACCA, 2017a). This task was worth 6 technical marks and tested the ACCA
Professional Skill of Communication. To produce a good answer candidates needed to focus on
talent management and the role that it plays in helping organisations, and to also consider how the
new chief executive could support talent management. To earn the two professional skills marks
candidates needed to convey relevant information in an appropriate tone. Presenting the answer in
the prescribed format (presentation slides with notes) was of critical importance.
Essential reading
the Workbook, which considers how organisations can develop the skills of their workforce to
embrace the changes being brought about by advances in digital technologies. This content is highly
topical to the wider discussion of the impact that organisational change has on individuals in the
work environment.
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6 Strategic change
6.1 The need for change
As we explored in earlier chapters, the need for change may arise from a number of sources
including changes in the environment, a review of strategic capability or a decision to implement a
new strategy.
Syllabus links
We will consider the impact of change in relation to the redesign of internal processes in Chapter
14. Projects result in some form of change. Consideration of how to manage such projects is
discussed in Chapter 15, when we explore the subject of project management.
Change can be analysed in terms of:

(a) The type of change required
(b) The wider context of the change
(c) Forces facilitating and blocking change
6.2 Type of change

Johnson et al (2017), quoting Balogun and Hope Hailey (2008), analyse change on two axes: these
are its scope and its nature.
The scope of change is its extent: the measure of scope is whether or not the methods and
assumptions of the existing paradigm must be replaced. The paradigm represents the common, basic
assumptions and beliefs held by those within the organisation.
The nature of change may be incremental and built on existing methods and approaches, or it may
require a 'big bang' approach if rapid response is required, as in times of crisis.
Types of change
Scope of change
Realignment Transformation
Incremental Adaptation Evolution
Nature of change
'Big bang' Reconstruction Revolution
(Adapted from: Balogun and Hope Hailey, 2008: p.21)

Balogun and Hope Hailey's (2008) four types of change can be summarised as follows:
(a) Adaptation is the most common type of change. It does not require the development of a
new paradigm and proceeds step by step. The majority of change falls into this category.
(b) Reconstruction can also be undertaken within an existing paradigm but requires rapid and
extensive action. It is a common response to a long-term decline in performance. An example
would be cost cutting in response to falling profits.
(c) Evolution is an incremental process that leads to a new paradigm. It may arise from careful
analysis and planning or may be the result of learning processes. Its transformational nature
may not be obvious while it is taking place.
(d) Revolution is rapid and wide-ranging response to extreme pressures for change. A long
period of strategic drift may lead to a crisis that can only be dealt with in this way. Revolution
will be very obvious and is likely to affect most aspects of both what the organisation does
and how it does them.
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Illustration 1
The following illustration provides examples of Balogun and Hope Hailey's four types of change and
their implications in relation to a supermarket chain.
Adaptation
The decision by a supermarket chain to introduce a home delivery service to customers in a selected
region. This change is a form of adaptation, as the company is simply attempting to move with the
times as competing supermarkets already offer this service. The fundamental nature of the
supermarket chain's business model has not changed, as it is still operating as a supermarket.
Reconstruction
The supermarket's home market is suffering from a prolonged recession. The supermarket chain could
be forced to undertake a rapid form of reconstruction. The impact of a significant fall in customer
demand for the produce offered by the supermarket may lead to the closure of the most unprofitable
outlets. Making staff redundant in the affected stores would cause upheaval throughout the
organisation but would not ultimately change the supermarket's culture or business model.
Evolution
The decision to introduce the home delivery service (mentioned above) may be part of a long-term
plan to close down all of the supermarket's physical stores over a number of years, with the view of
becoming an online retailer only. Such an evolutionary change would lead to a change in the
chain's culture and business model.
Revolution
Revolutionary change at the supermarket would be driven by extreme pressures. An example would
be the decision by the owners of the chain to sell off its investment to a new owner. A new parent
company may move to instill its own culture throughout the supermarket chain. Changes could result
in the closure of existing stores or changes to the supermarket's existing supply chain.
7 Contextual features of change

The context of change is provided by the organisational setting; this has many aspects and can
therefore be very complex. Organisational change can be considered under eight general headings
proposed by Balogun and Hope Hailey (2008). One of the eight headings is 'scope': this has
already been discussed.
The headings represent a wide range of influences, the impact of each will vary from organisation to
organisation. Perhaps one of the most complex and problematic aspects of introducing any form of
organisational change concerns the management of cultural considerations. As we shall see all of the
contextual features can assist when analysing the culture of an organisation.
7.1 Aspects of context

(a) The time available may vary dramatically, but can often be quite limited when responding
to competitive or regulatory pressure. The amount of time available will also be influenced by
cultural considerations, as the attitudes and perceptions of those within the organisation will
largely determine whether they regard the amount of time available to achieve a change as
acceptable or not.
(b) The preservation of some organisational characteristics and resources may be required.
Changes to cultural 'status' symbols such as office locations and job titles may cause resistance
to the change programme if not carefully managed.
(c) Diversity of general experience, opinion and practice is likely to ease the change process:
homogeneity in these factors is unlikely to do so. An organisational culture where the sharing
of ideas and challenging of existing ways of working is common practice may prove useful
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when implementing a change programme. Especially if it helps others within the organisation
to understand the reason for the change.
(d) The capability to manage and implement change is obviously important. To a great extent,
this depends on past experience of change projects, both among managers and among
lower-level staff. Stories told by those within the organisation about successful or unsuccessful
change programmes provide a useful insight into how future change proposals will be treated
by staff.
(e) Capacity to undertake change depends on the availability of resources, particularly finance,
and IS/IT, and management time and skill, but it is important to note that unrealisable or out-
dated systems could become a blockage in the change process.
Capacity from a cultural perspective is particularly important in relation to change projects as
it is those operational workers within the organisation who are likely to have the best
understanding of whether or not a change can be successfully implemented. A lack of belief
among those within the organisation about the resources and skills needed to successfully
introduce a change will create resistance.
(f) The degree of workforce readiness for change will affect its success. Readiness may be
contrasted with resistance to change, which can exist at varying levels of intensity and may
be widespread or confined to pockets. The workforce of an organisation with a positive
attitude to change is likely to display features of readiness. Readiness and resistance may be
influenced by the tone at the top of the organisation and the stories told about historical
change projects.
(g) The power to effect change may not be sufficient to overcome determined resistance among
important stakeholder groups. This can apply even at the strategic apex, where, for example,
major shareholders, trustees or government ministers may constrain managers' freedom of
action. Overcoming such cultural resistance to change will require senior management to
adopt an appropriate leadership style to create buy-in to the change.
8 The four-view (POPIT) model

The POPIT model, also known as the four-view model (Paul et al, 2010), focuses on four interrelated
aspects when analysing opportunities for organisational improvement. It considers the following
aspects: people, organisation, processes, and IT.
Application of the POPIT model helps organisational leaders to understand where problems lie within
each of the four aspects, this in turn helps identify where improvements to existing ways of working
can be achieved.
Some analysts argue that the leaders and teams responsible for introducing organisational change
focus too much on the process and technological aspects and ignore the impact change has on
people and the organisation. The POPIT model helps to ensure that a holistic view is taken and that
the relationships between the four aspects are considered. The POPIT model is not designed to be a
burden for the change process, but should instead be viewed as a simple and quick approach when
understanding an organisation's position and its operating environment so as to create a baseline
from which change can evolve.
Syllabus links
The POPIT model is very closely connected to the subjects of process redesign and project
management which are discussed in Chapters 14 and 15 respectively. You may find it useful to
revisit this section when you have reviewed the next two chapters.
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The POPIT (four-view model)
on
Pro
ati
nis
ces
ga
ses
Information
Or
Technology
People
(Adapted from: Paul et al, 2010: p.9)
8.1 Usefulness of POPIT

As mentioned above the application of the Paul et al (2010) POPIT model forces project teams to
take a far more holistic view during the implementation of change, identifying those issues which
may hinder an organisational change project.
The table below sets out the four views of the POPIT model (Paul et al, 2010) and the consideration
each is likely to require.
POPIT heading Areas for consideration
Processes IT support
The level of IT support within an organisation should be assessed.
Organisations with poor IT support in place are likely to need to address
such weaknesses as part of process improvement.
Manual processes & system workarounds
Existing processes which require physical documents and paperwork to be
passed around the organisation should be identified as part of the design
stage of process change, as there may be scope to eliminate these.
Organisational Management support

context The project team should assess the level of management support for
organisational change. A lack of understanding relating to the proposed
introduction of new processes or technology in the workplace may be met by
resistance among employees.
Cross-functional working
In order for processes to work effectively, it is critical that departments
co-operate beyond functional boundaries. Therefore, the project team need
to consider how departments interact with one another.
Jobs and responsibilities
Consideration will need to be given to the job roles and responsibilities of
existing employees. Organisational change projects should ensure that all
staff affected have clear, well-defined job roles and associated
responsibilities
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POPIT heading Areas for consideration
People Skills
Ensuring that staff have the right level of skill to carry out a given change is
critical. A significant proportion of the time spent designing a change may
be designated to enhancing staff skill levels through the use of training.
Involving staff during the design stage of a change project may help to
ensure a smoother implementation phase.
Staff motivation
Most organisational change will only be successful if consideration is given
to staff morale. Reward systems which influence staff motivation may need to
be aligned with the organisation's goals.
Information Information systems

Technology Organisational processes need to be configured so that they help facilitate
the flow of critical information.
9 Lewin's three-stage model

We now consider the key stages involved in successfully implementing an organisational change.
9.1 Unfreeze, change and refreeze

Although the essence of change is that it enables a person, department or organisation to move from
a current state to a future state, Lewin (1958) suggested that organisational changes actually have
three steps (stages): 'unfreeze', 'change' (or 'move') and 'freeze' or 'refreeze'.
Organisational change involves 're-learning': not merely learning something new, but trying to
unlearn what is already known and practised in an organisation. This is a key part of the 'unfreeze'
stage.
Unfreeze
Change
Refreeze
(Diagram: Unfreeze-change-refreeze model)
9.1.1 Unfreeze
This first step involves unfreezing the current state of affairs, and creating the motivation to change.
This means defining the current state of an organisation, highlighting the forces driving change and
those resisting it and picturing a desired end state.
Crucially, the unfreeze stage involves making people within an organisation ready to change:
making them aware of the need (trigger) for change, and creating a readiness to change among the
workforce.
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A key part of this stage is weakening the restraining forces that are resisting change, and
strengthening the driving forces that are promoting change.
Approaches to the unfreeze stage include:
Confronting the
Removing individuals from perceptions and emotions among
routines, social relationships so that old workers about change. Failure to recognise
behaviours and attitudes are not and deal with emotions only
reinforced leads to problems later on
Approaches to the
unfreeze stage
Consulting individuals about

Reinforcing a willingness to change:
proposed changes. This may reduce
validating efforts and suggestions with
feelings of insecurity and help to bring the
praise, recognition and perhaps added
workforce into the process of evaluating
responsibility in the change
existing problems
process
Effective communication, explaining the need for change, is essential for the unfreeze process to
work successfully. 'Unfreezing' an organisation may sound simple enough in theory but, in practice,
it can be very difficult because it involves making people ready to change.
Rational argument will not necessarily be sufficient to convince individuals of the need to change,
particularly if they stand to lose out from the change, or will have to make significant personal
changes as a result of the change. Sometimes the need for change may be obvious to all employees
– for example, the arrival of a new competitor in the market leading to a dramatic reduction in
market share.
However, if the need for change is less obvious, then the 'unfreezing' process may need to be
'managed' in some way, to make staff appreciate the need for change.
Exercise 1: ABC Air

ABC Air is an airline based in the country of Arcadia. ABC Air has just completed the research,
design and planning phase of a project designed to streamline its procurement and inventory
management operations. The agreed solution involves the merger of these departments into a single
'inventory management' department to be located in a foreign country. This change has been
facilitated by the emergence of a new integrated software program allowing these activities to be
seamlessly managed by a single entity.
The main driver behind the choice of location was cost, which is much lower in the foreign country
due to cheaper labour and land costs, along with a more flexible employment framework.
Implementing these plans will necessitate the closure of the existing facility in Arcadia, resulting in
hundreds of compulsory redundancies.
Required
Identify why staff within ABC Air will be resistant to change and advise the management on how to
lessen this resistance.
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Solution
9.1.2 Change (or 'move')

The change (or 'move') stage involves learning new ways of working. This is the transition stage, by
which an organisation moves from its current state to its future state. It is important that an
organisation encourages the participation and involvement of its staff in this phase so that they do
not feel alienated by the change process.
This phase is mainly concerned with identifying the new, desirable behaviours or norms;
communicating them clearly and positively; and encouraging individuals and groups to 'buy into' or
'own' the new values and behaviours. Johnson et al (2017) suggest five styles of change
management which leaders can adopt during the change stage:
Education and communication is an approach based on persuasion: the reasons for change
and the means by which it will be achieved are explained in detail to those affected by it. It is
appropriate when change is incremental.
Collaboration, or participation, brings those affected by strategic change into the change
management process by getting them involved in the creation of new routines during the
implementation of a change.
Intervention tends to be undertaken by a change agent (often an outsider such as a management
consultant) who delegates some aspects of the change process to teams or individuals, while
providing guidance and retaining overall control.
Direction is a top-down style in which managerial authority is used to establish and implement a
change programme based on a clear future strategy. It is thus suited to transformational change.
Coercion is an extreme form of direction, being based on the use of power to impose change. It is
likely to provoke opposition but may be the best approach in times of confusion or crisis.
9.1.3 Refreeze
The refreeze stage involves stabilising (refreezing) the new state of affairs, by setting policies to
embed new behaviours, and establishing new standards. It is crucial that the changes are embedded
throughout an organisation to ensure that staff do not lapse back into old patterns of behaviour.
Once new behaviours have been adopted, the refreeze stage is required to consolidate and
reinforce them, so that they become integrated into the individual's habits, attitudes and relationship
patterns.
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 Habituation effects (getting accustomed to the new situation) may be achieved over time,
through practice, application and repetition.
 Positive reinforcement can be used to reward and validate successful change. For example, an
element of a staff bonus scheme could be dependent on staff members adopting the new
methodology.
Activity 3: Auto Direct

You have recently started work as a finance professional at Auto Direct. Auto Direct is based in the
country of Ambion. At last week's board meeting Mark Howe, the Managing Director of Auto Direct,
asked each of the company's directors to provide him with some suggestions relating to a proposal
to expand the business. Due to other work commitments the finance director has asked you to
prepare this work on his behalf. To assist you he has prepared some background information
relating to Auto Direct and the proposal (Exhibit 1).
Required
Using the information provided in Exhibit 1, identify the type of change being proposed by Mark
Howe and briefly suggest practical approaches for managing the proposed change at Auto Direct.
(8 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for commercial acumen in showing insight when
suggesting approaches for managing the proposed change. (2 marks)
(Total = 10 marks)
Exhibit 1 – Proposed restructuring
Auto Direct created an innovative way of selling cars to the public which takes advantage of the
greater freedom given to independent car distributors to market cars more aggressively within the
country of Ambion. This reduces the traditional control and interference of the automobile
manufacturers, some of which own their distributors. Mark Howe has opened a number of
showrooms since he first set up the business 10 years ago. Today Auto Direct has 20 outlets in and
around Capital City.
Auto Direct's business model is deceptively simple; Mark buys cars from wherever he can source
them most cheaply and has access to all of the leading volume car models. He then concentrates on
selling the cars to the public, leaving servicing and repair work to other specialist garages. This
provides a classic high-volume/low-margin business model.
Mark now wants to expand the business nationally. His immediate plans are to grow the number of
outlets by 50% each year for the next three years. Such growth will place considerable strain on the
existing organisation and staff. Each showroom has its own management team, sales personnel and
administration. Currently the 20 showrooms are grouped into a Northern and Southern Sales
Division with a small head office team for each division. Auto Direct now employs 250 people, the
majority of which belong to the Ambion Auto Union (AAU). To deliver the proposed change Mark
envisages that a number of existing staff members will be required to relocate in the short term to
help establish the new outlets throughout Ambion.
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Solution
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Chapter summary
Enabling success and strategic change
Enabling success and Collaborative Performance

strategic change working excellence
Organisational structure and Boundary-less organisations The Baldrige criteria (framework

internal relationships (collaborate with external for assessing performance)
parties) • Elements of the Baldrige
• Hollow structure (non-core assessment (leadership,
Organisational structure processes outsourced) strategy, customers,
(responsibilities, communication • Modular structure (production measurement, workforce,
and skills) processes outsourced) operations, results)
Types of structure (simple, • Networks (groups of • Analysing performance
functional, divisional, holding organisations co-operate to
company, transnational and deliver service)
matrix) • Virtual structures (network of
organisations linked via
technology)
Internal relationships
• Centralisation (degree of
central control) Partnering
• Advantages of centralisation • Internal partnering
(control, standardisation) (co-operation and
• Advantages of decentralisation collaboration)
(local knowledge, flexibility) • External partnering (takes
• Strategic management many forms including
relationships (strategic franchising)
planning, strategic control,
financial control)
Outsourcing (use a third party)
• Offshoring (outsourcing in a
different country)
• Shared servicing (consolidate
transaction-processing
activities)
• Global business services
(global approach to shared
servicing and outsourcing)
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Empowering organisations Talent management Strategic change
Empowerment The need for a strategic view The need for change
• Workers responsible for setting People source competitive Balogun and Hope Hailey's scope
and achieving work targets advantage and nature of change
• Achieving empowerment (give
workers freedom, may need to
change culture and approach The benefits of talent Type of change
to HR) management Adaptation, reconstruction,
Create a learning organisation, evolution and revolution
attract new talent, succession
planning
Talent management activities

Activities (coaching, networking,
communication and involvement
with the board and key
customers)
Contextual features The four-view Lewin's

of change (POPIT) model three-stage model
Aspects of context Usefulness of POPIT Unfreeze, change, and refreeze

Time, preservation, diversity, Organisation, processes, people • Unfreeze (weaken resistance)
capability, capacity, readiness, and IT • Change (or 'move') (transition
power and scope stage)
• Refreeze (stabilise new state)
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1. Senior management need to give careful consideration to the organisation's structure and
internal relationships if the selected strategy is to be implemented successfully.
2. An organisation's formal structure reveals: who is responsible for what, it shows communication
patterns, the skills the organisation values.
3. Historically, organisational structures have tended to be 'self-contained' as they are distinct from
external groups.
4. Factors such as the age of the organisation, its size, the types of products/services sold and the
nature of the work undertaken all influence choices related to organisational structure.
5. There are a number of structural types: simple, functional, divisional, holding company,
transnational and matrix.
6. Internal relationships concerning responsibility and authority for decision making are particularly
important. There are two important issues in internal relationships: the degree of centralisation
and the way the centre relates to the strategic business units.
7. Goold and Campbell (1987) identified three major approaches to running divisionalised
conglomerates: strategic planning, strategic control and financial control.
8. Traditionally, external commercial relationships have been, to a greater or lesser extent,
adversarial. While this is still characteristic of most external relationships, many new ones have
been created that focus more on co-operation than rivalry.
9. Boundary-less organisations are those which have structured their operations to allow for
collaboration with external parties. There are various forms of boundary-less organisation, these
include hollow, modular, virtual and network organisation structures.
10. Internal partnering is concerned with increasing levels of co-operation and collaboration
between departments in the same organisation. External partnering involves collaborating with
external third parties, it also has implications for the way in which organisations are organised.
11. Outsourcing involves an organisation contracting out certain internal business functions to a
third party.
12. Offshoring is a form of outsourcing that involves an external entity based in a different country
providing an organisation with a particular product or process which had previously been
provided in-house.
13. An alternative to outsourcing is shared servicing, where shared service centres (SSC)
consolidate the transaction-processing activities of many operations within an organisation.
14. A global business service effectively brings together existing shared service and outsourcing
arrangements together to form an integrated, collaborative framework.
TM
15. The Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence provide a framework for assessing
performance, with a view to improving performance. The underlying purpose of the Baldrige
model is to help organisations improve, and achieve excellence.
16. In the widest sense the process of empowering an organisation involves identifying and
removing those constraints which prohibit the attainment of the organisation's strategic goals
and the improvement of performance.
17. Empowerment is the term for making workers (and particularly work teams) responsible for
achieving, and even setting, work targets, with the freedom to make decisions about how they
are to be achieved.
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18. Talent management is principally concerned with initially attracting and subsequently
identifying, developing and retaining individuals within the organisation who are considered to
be important to the future success of the organisation.
19. The need for change may arise from a number of sources including changes in the environment,
a review of strategic capability or a decision to implement a new strategy. Johnson et al (2017),
quoting Balogun and Hope Hailey (2008), analyse change on two axes: these are its scope
and its nature.
20. Balogun and Hope Hailey's (2008) four types of change are: adaptation, reconstruction,
evolution and revolution.
21. Organisational change can be considered under eight general headings proposed by Balogun
and Hope Hailey (2008): time, preservation, diversity, capability, capacity, readiness, power
and scope.
22. The POPIT model, also known as the four-view model (Paul et al, 2010), focuses on four
interrelated areas when undertaking organisational change: organisation, processes, people
and IT.
23. The essence of change is that it enables a person, department or organisation to move from a
current state to a future state. Lewin (1958) suggested that organisational changes actually have
three steps (stages): 'unfreeze', 'change' (or 'move') and 'freeze' or 'refreeze'.
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Question practice
Workbook):
Q13 8-Hats
Further reading
Own research
suggested some areas for you to investigate further research a well-known organisation and consider the
following:
 How has the organisation's structure changed over the years?
 Which type of structure does the organisation have now?
 Has the organisation embraced new collaborative approaches to working? If so, what are the
features of this?
 Has the organisation made changes to its processes, systems or business model? If so, how did the
organisation manage resistance when implementing the change?
 Why is Lewin's three stages of change model still in use today despite having been devised in
1958? There are a number of interesting articles available on the internet which provide useful
critiques of Lewin's work in relation to change management, you are strongly advised to review
these.
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Exercise answer
Exercise 1
Reasons for resistance:
1 Inertia, staff generally do not like change as a function of human nature
2 Fear of losing jobs
3 If staff are unionised this will galvanise and focus resistance
4 Jealousy on behalf of Arcadian staff seeing jobs transferred to the foreign country
5 Changes will feel like a criticism of existing performance
Lessening resistance:
1 Consult with staff, try to take on board their ideas
2 Work with unions to reduce the threat of strike action
3 Communicate clearly the need and rationale behind the changes
4 Take legal advice to ensure redundancies are handled fairly
5 Provide money for redundant staff to retrain or re-skill
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Process redesign
Learning objectives
Syllabus
reference no.
Evaluate the effectiveness of current organisational processes H6(a)
Establish an appropriate scope and focus for organisation process change using H6 (b)
Harmon's process-strategy matrix
Establish possible redesign options for improving the current processes of an H6 (c)
organisation
Assess the feasibility of possible redesign options H6 (d)
Recommend an organisation process redesign methodology for an organisation H6 (e)

Strategies are, to some extent at least, delivered by means of processes. We have already seen how
processes fit with structures and relationships and we have examined control processes in some
detail. In this chapter, we go on to examine processes in the wider sense, the contribution they make
to organisations and strategy and, overall, how processes may be improved and made more
effective. The topic of process redesign is intimately linked to project management which we consider
in the next chapter.
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Chapter overview
Process redesign
Process Harmon's Process redesign

redesign process-strategy matrix options
Organisational processes Low complexity/low strategic Re-engineering

importance processes
Evaluating existing Simplification

organisational processes Low complexity/high strategic
Value-added analysis
High complexity/low strategic

Gaps and disconnects
High complexity/high strategic

Feasibility A process redesign

methodology
Areas of feasibility
Advantages of having
a methodology
Harmon's process
redesign methodology
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14: Process redesign
1 Process redesign
1.1 Organisational processes
Organisational processes of all kinds have been subject to efforts towards their improvement for
many years. As we discussed in Chapter 5, the value chain analyses the organisation as a collection
of activities, but these activities are also joined together in processes.
A process: 'Is a bounded set of activities that are undertaken, in response to some event, in order
to generate an output'. (Harmon, 2014)
Key term
1.1.1 Drivers of process redesign

As the environment changes, an organisation's management need to consider the potential impact
external developments may have on the internal capabilities (including processes) of the
organisation. From time to time, organisations may be required to align (or re-align) their goals with
the environment. External regulation, or developments by competitors, will often require organisations
to makes changes to existing organisational processes in order to respond effectively.
Organisations may seek to improve their processes in order to:
 Reduce costs, particularly during an economic downturn
 Provide a scaleable platform for expanding production, or entering new markets
 Offer better products or services in order to be more competitive
 Exploit opportunities offered by technology (eg cheaper communication)
 Execute a new strategic direction
Illustration 1
This illustration highlights how changes in the external environment can lead to process redesign.
Competition among supermarket chains is fierce, price wars and innovation in retailing are common.
Busier lifestyles have led customers to demand greater flexibility in how they shop. Competitors in the
supermarket sector have been driven to modify their offering to help attract customers. This is evident
as, over the last 20 years, a number of supermarket chains have redesigned the processes
associated with shopping for groceries. The ability for customers to order their groceries over the
internet and to have them delivered to their home address at a time to suit represented a major
process redesign. This development required supermarkets to invest heavily in the IT infrastructures
needed to operate websites with the functionality to accept orders and to develop the processes
associated with operating a fleet of delivery vans.
Furthermore, growing demand from customers to spend less time queuing at the checkout when
visiting a supermarket store has led most major chains to redesign the checkout process that
customers encounter when paying for their groceries. The development of self-service checkouts,
where customers scan and process the payment for goods themselves has enabled supermarket
chains to become more responsive to the needs of their customers, as shoppers are able to spend
less time at the checkout. It also allowed the supermarkets to save on the associated costs and floor
space of having fewer conventional manned checkouts.
Not all proposals to redesign organisational processes come directly from the external environment.
Paul et al (2010) note that operational staff in an organisation may also push for changes to existing
business processes in order to deliver short-term improvements.
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1.2 Evaluating existing organisational processes
1.2.1 Gap analysis
Once the need for process redesign has been established, management need to consider the
practicalities of defining the improvement required. This will lead to the establishment of a formal
project team designated to explore and evaluate the available options to achieve the desired
change. This evaluation will often involve a 'gap analysis' where the project team assess the
organisation's current position and processes. Manwani (2008) highlights that 'gaps' between the
current position and targeted end state are then revealed. The gap analysis should help to provide
the project team with an idea of the work required to implement a successful change.
The 'gaps' identified will help to determine the type of process redesign required. For example, a
process redesign project to upgrade an organisation's existing website is likely to result in a
relatively basic change, whereas changes of a more complex nature will require a fundamental
rethinking of existing processes. Gap analysis gives particular consideration to the organisation's
core resources, including its people and IT infrastructure. The project team may conduct face-to-face
interviews with users of existing processes and may even observe staff while they work to better
understand the improvements needed.
1.2.2 Need for a holistic view

Manwani (2008) highlights the importance of taking a holistic view of proposed process redesign
projects. This is particularly important in helping the project team gain an understanding of how
different activities and resources interact. Most process redesign programmes will affect more than
one area of the organisation.
For example, the decision to introduce a new corporate website is likely to require a focus on both
the human and technical elements. Understanding how these elements interrelate helps to raise
questions that the project team will need to consider. These could include:
 Are those affected by the change likely to need training to use the website effectively?
 Will customers want to use it?
 Will it affect what our customers purchase from us?
 Will the introduction of a new website require improvements to the existing site or a complete
upgrade of the existing IT infrastructure?
 Will the change be supported by the use of in-house technical support or be provided by a
third party?
1.2.3 Business case and benefits
Proposals for a process change are drawn together to produce a business case. This sets out
supporting recommendations to help management decide the most appropriate process redesign
project to undertake. The business case will include the associated costs of the change options
identified. The project team will set out the improvement objectives that the desired change will
achieve. For example, a new call management system at a call centre should lead to improved call
response times, which will lower the number of customer complaints and boost sales.
Syllabus links
We will look at the activities involved in undertaking a project in greater detail in Chapter 15 when
we consider the subject of project management. As we will see in Chapter 15 the business case and
benefits management are key elements in project management.
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2 Harmon's process-strategy matrix

When an organisation's senior management have decided that a process needs to be redesigned,
careful consideration needs to be given how best to achieve the change. Harmon's (2014)
process-strategy matrix uses two criteria to categorise processes, and the best approach to improving
them:
Strategic importance
Low High
High Outsource Improve

Process complexity
and dynamics
Automate/
Low Outsource Automate
(Adapted from: Harmon, 2014)

The degree of process complexity and dynamics is plotted on the vertical axis; the horizontal
axis shows the degree of strategic importance of the process. Process 'dynamics' means the
extent to which the process is subject to adjustment in response to external stimuli. The effect of this
analysis is to create four classes of processes, each of which can be used in relation to a particular
improvement strategy (Harmon, 2014).
2.1 Low complexity/low strategic importance processes

Low complexity/low strategic importance processes need to be carried out as efficiently as
possible as there is little scope for improving them. These processes should be automated as far as
possible using technology and standard off-the-shelf software. In some cases such processes may be
outsourced, eg payroll processing.
2.2 Low complexity/high strategic importance processes

Low complexity/high strategic importance processes are key to the organisation's success.
Automation should be used to reduce costs and gain efficiency. The organisation's management
should aim to improve the efficiency of such processes, eg product assembly.
2.3 High complexity/low strategic importance processes

High complexity/low strategic importance. These processes will cause problems if they are
not performed, however they do not add much value. As these processes are complex, they may be
hard to automate. Organisations may decide to outsource these processes to a specialist outsource
partner, eg large-scale logistics and distribution.
2.4 High complexity/high strategic importance processes

High complexity/high strategic importance. These are critical and involve a lot of human
expertise. These processes will be a priority for major improvements, eg negotiating partnerships,
new product development.
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Activity 1: Dollar and Dime Bank

You are a finance professional working for Dollar and Dime Bank (DD). In addition to your duties in
the finance department you are also a member of a newly formed process change project team. The
team consists of employees from across a number of functional departments within DD; the team has
been put together to help DD undertake three process initiatives. The three process initiatives relate to
processes involving DD's use of Information Technology. During the most recent project meeting you
made some notes on the three process initiatives (Exhibit 1).
Required
Using the information provided in Exhibit 1, recommend and justify a solution option for each of the
three process initiatives. (6 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating commercial acumen in displaying
judgement when providing justified recommendations for each process initiative. (2 marks)
(Total = 8 marks)
Exhibit 1: Potential process initiatives
The three process initiatives under consideration are as follows:
 The first process initiative relates to DD's recent acquisition of rival bank, Fortunes Bank. DD
would like to integrate the two bespoke payroll systems currently being operated by the two
banks into one consolidated payroll system. This will save the cost of updating and
maintaining two separate systems.
 Updating of all personal desktop computer hardware and software used throughout DD. This
update is intended to reflect contemporary technologies and the subsequent maintenance of
that hardware. This will allow the desktop to be standardised and will bring staff efficiency
savings.
 The senior management at DD recently identified the need for a private personal banking
service for wealthy customers. Processes, systems and software will have to be developed to
support this new service. High net worth customers have been identified by the DD as an
important growth area.
The project manager of the process initiatives has indicated that DD's senior management will
consider three solution options for each initiative. These are outsourcing, the purchase of a standard,
off-the-shelf software package solution or the development of bespoke systems.
Solution
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3 Process redesign options

In this section, we will look more closely at the techniques that are available for use in the redesign
activity itself. Harmon (2014) calls these techniques redesign patterns.
A process redesign pattern: Is a general approach to redesigning processes for their

improvement.
Key term
Syllabus links
The focus of process redesign is upon improving existing ways of working, sometimes this may
involve undertaking a radical programme of change to significantly improve the performance of
existing processes. This topic ties in closely to our earlier discussion of the types of change which we
considered in Chapter13.
Performance Objective 5 'Leadership and Management' of the Practical Experience Requirement

requires you to 'work with others to recognise, assess and improve business performance. You use
PER alert
different techniques and appropriate technologies to support business improvement' (ACCA, 2019b).
You could illustrate your achievement of this Performance Objective by drawing upon any
experience of process redesign projects that you have been involved with in the workplace.
Harmon (2014) describes four basic redesign patterns:
3.1 Re-engineering
Re-engineering: Starts with a clean sheet of paper.

Key term
Re-engineering is also known as business process re-engineering (BPR).
Business process re-engineering: 'Is the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of
business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical contemporary measures of
Key term
performance, such as cost, quality, service and speed.' (Hammer and Champy, 2001: p.50)
The BPR approach is used when large-scale change is to be introduced. The aim is to achieve major
efficiency improvements. This pattern is hardly redesign at all, since its philosophy is to question all
assumptions and start from scratch. Harmon (2014) says that re-engineering can achieve very
large-scale improvements, but it is inevitably highly disruptive and has a high risk of
dramatic failure.
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Essential reading
the Workbook, for more detail on business process re-engineering (BPR).
Syllabus link
Process redesign forms a key part of the Strategic Business Leader syllabus, and links closely to the
Ethics and Professional Skills Module (EPSM) that you are required to complete on your journey
towards full ACCA membership. Process redesign often involves innovative thinking to ensure that
redesigned processes add value and are capable of implementation. One of the units that you will
need to complete as part of the EPSM focuses on encouraging open mindedness and innovative
thinking when responding to business problems. You are therefore strongly advised to complete the
EPSM before sitting your Strategic Business Leader exam as this will assist with your exam
preparations.
Activity 2: Super-Food Supermarkets

Commercial acumen: demonstrating awareness
You have recently started working in the finance department of Super-Food Supermarkets (SFS). SFS
is a chain of 20 supermarkets. You report to the finance director. The CEO at SFS has challenged
each director to suggest ways in which the company could operate more efficiently. The finance
director has been charged with considering how business process re-engineering (BPR) could be
used to improve SFS's supply chain processes, and she has asked for your assistance. She has
provided you with some notes about SFS's supply chain operations (Exhibit 1).
Required
Briefly explain how adopting the principles of BPR could help SFS to improve its supply chain
operations. You should also mention any implications for SFS of adopting BPR. (6 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for commercial acumen in demonstrating awareness of
BPR and how it could be used at SFS in relation to its supply chain. (2 marks)
(Total = 8 marks)
Exhibit 1 – SFS supply chain operations
When inventory items reach their re-order level in one of SFS's supermarket stores, the in-store
computerised inventory system informs the inventory clerk. The clerk then raises a request daily to the
SFS central warehouse for replenishment of inventory via email. If the local warehouse has available
inventory, it is forwarded to the supermarket within 24 hours of receiving the request. If the local
warehouse cannot replenish the items from its inventory holding, it raises a purchase order to one of
its suppliers. The supplier delivers the inventory to the warehouse and the warehouse then delivers
the required inventory to the supermarkets within the area. The SFS area warehouse staff conduct all
business communication with suppliers.
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Solution
3.2 Simplification
Simplification: Eliminates redundant process elements.

Key term
Harmon (2014) says that simplification is a far less radical pattern of redesign. It starts on the
assumption that most established organisational processes are likely to have developed elements
of duplication or redundancy. This assumption is probably most valid in relation to large-scale
processes that cut across departmental or functional boundaries.
Harmon (2014) highlights that the simplification approach commences with identification and
modelling of all the systems, activities and sub-processes involved in the organisational process
under investigation. Each element is then subject to challenge and may illustrate a number of issues
with existing processes:
 It may not actually be necessary
 It may provide information that is available elsewhere
 It may be a bottleneck
 It may repeat something done in another place
Whenever possible, activities are removed from the process so that duplication and unnecessary
complexity are gradually eliminated. This pattern is likely to produce improvements. Harmon
(2014) suggests that judgement and flexibility are needed to use this approach, since
apparently similar activities may incorporate subtle differences that are important in one
departmental context but not in another.
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Exercise 1: Process improvement
PS is a company which supplies and maintains heating systems for commercial customers with large
premises. Customers who need emergency servicing or repairs ring a helpline and describe the
problem to customer services staff. The engineer will then raise a request to the warehouse for any
spares and equipment they believe will be necessary and visit the customer. However, there are
increasing customer complaints that the engineer often brings the wrong items and needs to make a
repeat visit, delaying the repairs and costing the company money.
Required
Suggest possible reasons for this problem and potential solutions.
Solution
Potential reasons Solutions
3.3 Value-added analysis
Value-added analysis: Eliminates activities that do not add value. This has parallels with the
concept of 'lean' production.
Key term
Essential reading
the Workbook, for detail on the concept of 'lean' production. Close parallels exist between value-
added analysis and lean production.
Harmon (2014) notes that the aim of value-added analysis is to eliminate processes that do not add
value. Value-added analysis approaches processes from the point of view of the customer. Here,
'customer' means whoever receives the output of the process, so internal customers are included.
Harmon (2014) highlights that value-adding activities satisfy three conditions:
 The customer is willing to pay for the output
 The process changes the output in some way
 The process is performed correctly at the first attempt
Four categories of activity are defined by Harmon (2014) as non-value-adding:
 Preparation and set-up activities
 Control and inspection activities
 Movement of a product
 Activities that result from delay or failure of any kind
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There is a third category: value-enabling activities. Harmon (2014) suggests that these are
essential preliminaries to value-adding activities. If you think about this for a moment, you will see
that, just as with the simplification approach, judgement is required here: an obvious instance lies in
the area of preparation and set-up. We have defined such activities as non-value-adding, but, surely,
they are essential preliminaries?
Bearing in mind that the overall intention is to eliminate non-value-adding activities, we may thus
suggest that where preparation and set-up are concerned, we should aim to ensure that they qualify
as value-enabling activities by making them as simple and cost effective as possible.
Value-added analysis commences with identification and modelling of all the systems, activities
and sub-processes involved in the organisational process under investigation. Each element is then
categorised according to the criteria discussed above. Harmon (2014) suggests that, typically,
only 20% of the activities making up a process are identifiable as value-adding, with most of the
remainder falling into the value-enabling category. When all the clearly value-adding and
value-enabling activities have been identified, the remainder may be examined in detail. Careful
consideration can lead to the development of new methods that eliminate much non-value-adding
work in preliminary activities.
Illustration 2
This illustration shows how the removal of non-value-adding activities can be achieved following a
value-added analysis:
 Physical movement of products can be minimised by careful workplace layout.
 Workflow systems eliminate transit time for documents by scanning all documents to
produce electronic copies which are transferred at the click of a mouse.
Essential reading
the Workbook, for more detail on workflow systems.
3.4 Gaps and disconnects
Gaps and disconnects: Target problems at departmental boundaries.

Key term
A major problem with many processes is likely to be due to failures of communication between
organisational departments and functions. These failures can produce continuing gaps and
disconnects, both in the processes themselves and in the management of those processes.
Harmon (2014) notes that this approach commences in the usual way, with identification and
modelling of the selected process, but its focus is on occasions when information or materials pass
from one department or function to another, since this is where gaps and disconnects are to be
found.
Rummler and Brache (1995) identify that gaps and disconnects can occur at three levels:
(a) The organisation as a whole
(b) The process
(c) The job or performance level
It is only at the second and third of these levels that problems relating to actual workflow and
activities appear. At the organisational level, they are entirely concerned with the design of
processes and the monitoring and control of process outcomes. These are clearly
management activities.
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Activity 3: The Institute of Information Systems Architects

Evaluation: appraise
You are a consultant working for a management consultancy firm, based in the country of Gaulle.
You are currently undertaking an assignment at the Institute of Information Systems Architects (IISA).
The Head of the IISA approached your firm as he would like some advice on redesigning the script
handling process that the IISA operates. One of your colleagues has prepared some background
information about the IISA (Exhibit 1) and the current script handling process (Exhibit 2).
Required
Using the information in the Exhibits, suggest two options for the redesign of the current script
handling process at the IISA. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of each option.
(10 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for evaluation skills in appraising the current situation and
suggesting two options for the redesign. (2 marks)
(Total = 12 marks)
Exhibit 1 – IISA background information
The Institute of Information Systems Architects (IISA) was founded a number of years ago by
representatives of a number of organisations who felt that systems architecture should have its own
qualification. The Institute has its own Board which reports to a Council of 13 members. Policy is
made by the Board and ratified by Council. The IISA is registered as a private limited company.
All the examinations are open book, one-hour examinations, preceded by 15 minutes' reading time.
At a recent meeting, the IISA Board rejected the concept of computer-based assessment. They felt that
competence in this area was best assessed by written examination answers. The IISA is based in
Capital City where it employs staff to administer its examination scheme and provide services to its
members. It also employs two chief examiners on a full-time basis. These examiners are responsible
for setting the IISA certificate examinations which take place monthly in training and conference
centres around the country of Gaulle. At present no examinations are currently held outside of
Gaulle, although this is something the IISA Board are keen to explore. The nature of the Board and
its relationship with the Council make it a very conservative organisation. It is notably risk averse and
is only confident about its expertise within fairly restricted bounds of information systems architecture.
In recent years the IISA Board has become concerned about falling candidate numbers, with fewer
candidates attempting the IISA's exams. The Board has concluded that this drop reflects the maturing
marketplace in Gaulle.
Exhibit 2 – The script handling process
The examinations are held in conference centres and training rooms around the country. The open-
book nature of the examination means that many of the security measures surrounding closed-book
examinations are no longer required. However, examinations are invigilated by an external
invigilator employed by the IISA on a contract basis. The invigilator hands out the examination scripts
at the start of the examination and collects them at the end. They then take them home and arrange
for a secure designated courier to collect the scripts and take them to the IISA headquarters in
Capital City. When they arrive in Capital City, administrative employees identify the appropriate
and available markers and send the scripts, by secure designated courier, to these markers. The
markers then mark the scripts and return them (again by secure courier) to the IISA headquarters. In
recent times the IISA has struggled to find markers of sufficient experience to mark the scripts; this is
an ongoing issue. The administrative employees then review the need to audit selected scripts. All
scripts with a mark between 45 and 55 are sent to an auditor for second marking. The auditor (like
the marker and the invigilator) is employed by the IISA on a contract basis. Once audited, the scripts
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are returned with a recommended mark. Again, transport between the auditor and the headquarters
is only through secure, designated couriers. If the candidate has scored less than 45 or greater than
55 their results are published straight away. The candidate is notified by email or by post of their
actual mark. Candidates whose scripts were audited are sent their marks after the audit has been
completed.
It has been suggested that changes in the script handling process should be made before the
organisation attempts to expand overseas. A process diagram of the current script handling process
is presented below.
Script handling system
Complete Receive
Candidate Examination results
Collate
Invigilator Scripts
[Mark <45 OR Mark>55]

Distribute Determine Audit Publish
HQ Admin Scripts Results
Requirement Allocate
[Mark 45–55] Auditor
Mark
Marker Scripts
Audit
Auditor Scripts
Transport Transport Transport Transport Transport

Courier Scripts Scripts Scripts Script Script
Solution
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4 Feasibility
The feasibility of any proposed redesign pattern must be considered. The feasibility study is the
mechanism by which the organisation filters out proposals that would cost too much, cause too much
disruption, make excessive demands on human and other resources or have side effects whose
undesirability outweighs their advantages.
4.1 Areas of feasibility

The assessment of feasibility can be broken down into a number of areas.
Area of feasibility Detail
Technical feasibility The assessment of technical feasibility will depend on the nature of
the technology involved.
 Does all the necessary technology exist or is significant innovation
required?
 Is the technology mature enough to use or is further development
likely to be required?
 How specialised is the required technology and is the expertise
to make use of it available?
Social feasibility The social feasibility of a project depends on the nature and
extent of those effects. There are obvious human resource
management implications to most projects, in the area of forming,
leading and motivating the project team. The progress and outcome of a
process improvement project may also have important consequences for
employees outside the team, eg staff redundancies, training and
changed work patterns.
Environmental concerns Consideration of a project in environmental terms is usually not so much

about feasibility as about acceptability. Several different stakeholder
groups are likely to have environmental concerns and their opinions and
reactions may affect both the progress of a project itself and the desired
characteristics of its deliverables.
Financial feasibility It is appropriate to submit proposed process changes to cost-benefit

analysis, though this can be very difficult when the benefits are largely
in intangible form. Part of the difficulty lies in identifying the benefits and
part in assigning monetary values to them. Dealing with intangible or
qualitative benefits is likely to be particularly important in the public and
voluntary sectors, where objectives such as improved road safety or
education are common.
5 A process redesign methodology

Once a process has been selected for significant improvement, it is helpful for organisations to follow
a structured methodology. Process redesign methodologies are similar to the approaches we cover in
the next chapter when we discuss the role of project management.
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5.1 Advantages of having a methodology

Following a process redesign methodology provides the organisation's management with certain
advantages:
 A methodology is effectively a plan which provides discipline for the overall redesign
process and helps to prevent it from losing focus.
 Successful implementation depends on acceptance by staff and managers who will
have to operate the new process: the methodology emphasises the need for obtaining support
at all appropriate stages.
5.2 Harmon's process redesign methodology

Harmon (2014) proposes a process redesign methodology which consists of five phases:
Phase 1 Planning
Goals are set, project scope is defined, project team members and other roles are
identified and the overall schedule is developed.
Phase 2 Analysis
Current workflow is documented, problems identified and a general approach to a
redesign plan is established.
Phase 3 Redesign
Possible solutions are considered and the best chosen; objectives for the next
phase are defined.
Phase 4 Development
All functional implications are followed through, aspects are improved, including
management and information systems.
Phase 5 Transition
The redesigned process is implemented; modifications are undertaken as required.
Each of the five phases is considered in greater detail in the following sections.
5.2.1 Planning
Harmon (2014) highlights that a process redesign plan is needed by the redesign team so that the
scope of their work is clearly defined. Ideally, a high-level plan will have been defined by the senior
management within the organisation. Such a plan should include an account of how the process they
design supports the organisation's overall strategy and goals and how it relates to other processes
and stakeholders.
The planning phase ends with the agreement of a detailed project plan, including time and
cost budgets, at the senior management/executive committee level. Planning documentation at this
stage will state the project's assumptions, goals, constraints, scope and success measures. It is
particularly important that resource and systems constraints are considered in detail.
At the same time, the members of the process redesign team must be identified.
5.2.2 Analysing the existing process

This phase results in the preparation of full documentation of the existing processes and sub-
processes concerned. This involves the use of process diagrams and organisation charts. Process
diagrams provide a useful way of summarising the activities involved in an organisational process;
they can also identify potential areas of improvement in the process. The diagram in the last activity
(Activity 3) was a process diagram.
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Essential reading
the Workbook, for more detail on process diagrams. Process diagrams can be particularly useful in
process redesign.
Goals, activities, inputs and outputs are identified, named and described in detail. Known problems
with the system are noted, as are descriptions of past attempts to improve them. It is also necessary
to consider how the process is managed, what personal managerial responsibilities are
involved and whether improvements to the management system are required. In particular,
performance measures and incentives should be examined.
Once the analysis is complete, the project goals and assumptions should be re-examined and
revised as necessary.
5.2.3 Designing the new process

Design of the new process itself is only part of this phase: there are other important aspects. Harmon
(2014) notes:
(a) Design of supporting management roles and responsibilities is required, as are the
supporting performance measures.
(b) Rationalisation of reporting responsibilities may be possible and desirable. A new
organisation structure may result.
(c) Where very complex processes are concerned, it may be appropriate to run simulations
and prepare cost estimates on two or more possible new designs. This is likely to require
the use of software tools.
(d) The new design must be fully documented.
The final essential output from this phase is, once again, approval from senior management. To
achieve this, it will be necessary to explain the new process in detail.
5.2.4 Development
This phase of the process follows the design through into all of its functional and resource
implications. New Information System (IS) resources of hardware and software are specified and
designed; job descriptions are created and staff training provided; other necessary resources are
acquired.
At this stage, the implications of organising by processes, rather than by functions, become
apparent. The new process is more likely to be effective if it, and the staff and resources committed to
it, are managed by a process manager rather than by a group of separate functional managers. The
development phase ends when all the new arrangements have been tested and found satisfactory
and the new process is ready for installation.
5.2.5 Transition
Harmon (2014) notes that the success of the transition phase depends on successful change
management: it can be harmed or even prevented by opposition or passive resistance by
employees or users of the new process. There must be support from senior management and close
liaison with the managers who have to make the new process work. This may lead to revisions to the
process. Eventually, this phase merges into routine monitoring of the process for efficiency and
potential further improvements.
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Chapter summary
Process redesign
Process Harmon's Process redesign

redesign process-strategy matrix options
Organisational processes Low complexity/low strategic Re-engineering

• Drivers of process redesign importance processes Starts with a clean sheet of
• Internal and external Automate/outsource paper
developments
Low complexity/high strategic Simplification

Evaluating existing importance processes Eliminates redundant process
organisational processes Automate elements
• Gap analysis
– Current v desired position
• Need for a holistic view High complexity/low strategic Value-added analysis
– Need to consider how importance processes Eliminates activities that do not
activities and resources Outsource add value
interact
• Business case and benefits
– Helps management decide High complexity/high strategic Gaps and disconnects
which projects to undertake importance processes Target problems at departmental
Improve boundaries
Feasibility A process redesign

methodology
Areas of feasibility Advantages of having a

Technical, social, environmental, methodology
financial Discipline and acceptance
Harmon's process redesign

methodology
• Planning
– Goals set, scope defined
• Analysing the existing process
– Workflow documented,
problems identified, redesign
plan established
• Designing the new process
– Possible solutions considered
• Development
– Functional implications
followed through
• Transition
– Redesigned process is
implemented
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1. Organisational processes of all kinds have been subject to efforts towards their improvement for
many years.
2. 'A process is a bounded set of activities that are undertaken, in response to some event, in order
to generate an output.' (Harmon, 2014)
3. From time to time, organisations may be required to align (or re-align) their goals and processes
in response to external changes.
4. Some changes are driven from within the organisation as operational staff may push for
changes to existing organisational processes in order to deliver short-term improvements.
5. Evaluating existing processes may involve 'gap analysis'. This is where the project team assess
the organisation's current position and processes and compare these to a targeted end state.
The 'gaps' identified will help to determine the type of process redesign required.
6. A holistic view is needed as most process redesign programmes will affect more than one area
of the organisation.
7. Proposals for a process change are drawn together to produce a business case. This sets out
supporting recommendations to help management decide the most appropriate process
redesign project to undertake.
8. Harmon's (2014) process-strategy matrix uses two criteria to categorise processes, and the best
approach to improving them: process complexity and dynamics, and strategic importance of the
process.
9. Low complexity/low strategic importance processes should be automated or outsourced.
10. Low complexity/high strategic importance processes should be automated.
11. High complexity/low strategic importance should be outsourced.
12. High complexity/high strategic importance should be improved.
13. A process redesign pattern is a general approach to redesigning processes for their
improvement.
14. Harmon (2014) describes four basic redesign patterns. Re-engineering starts with a clean sheet
of paper. Simplification eliminates redundant process elements. Value-added analysis eliminates
activities that do not add value. Gaps and disconnects target problems at departmental
boundaries.
15. The feasibility of any proposed redesign pattern must be considered. The assessment of
feasibility can be broken down into a number of areas: technical, social, environmental and
financial.
16. Once a process has been selected for significant improvement, it is helpful for organisations to
follow a structured methodology
17. A methodology is effectively a plan which provides discipline for the overall redesign process
and helps to prevent it from losing focus. Successful implementation depends on acceptance by
staff and managers, therefore following a plan which achieves this is of critical importance.
18. Harmon (2014) proposes a process redesign methodology which consists of five phases:
planning, analysis, redesign, development, and transition.
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Question practice
Workbook):
Q14 Hooper University
Further reading
Job design
This article gives further consideration to the concept of business process re-engineering.
Own research
It is important to link the topics covered in this chapter to a practical, real world context. As such, we have
suggested some areas for you to investigate further. Research a well-known organisation, and/or think
about the organisation for which you work and consider the following:
 Identify a number of processes that your chosen organisation undertakes.
 Using Harmon's process-strategy matrix, categorise the processes identified.
 Do the recommendations per Harmon's process-strategy matrix seem appropriate in light of your
knowledge of the organisation's processes?
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Exercise answer
Exercise 1
Potential reasons Solutions
Information collected from the customer is Improved training in understanding the products for
incorrect or insufficient to diagnose the customer services staff
equipment needed Customer speaks directly to a trained engineer about
their problem
Information is correct but the engineer Improved training for engineers in product and customer
wrongly predicts the parts required knowledge
Increased specialisation of engineers in certain products
The customer's system has been modified Customer contract term to inform PS of any
in a way that is not in PS's records modifications
Regular checking/inspection of customer systems
The wrong part has been issued to the Parts to be checked by the engineer before they leave
engineer by the warehouse for the customer
Review sub-process of issuing parts that have been
ordered to identify errors
Wholly automated feed-through from engineer's order to
issuing parts
The relevant part is out of stock Improved stock control and re-ordering
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Project management
Learning objectives
Syllabus
reference no.
Determine the distinguishing features of projects and the constraints they operate in H7(a)
Discuss the implications of the triple constraint of scope, time and cost H7 (b)
Prepare a business case document and project initiation document H7 (c)
Analyse, assess and classify the costs and benefits of a project investment H7 (d)
Establish the role and responsibilities of the project manager and the project H7 (e)
sponsor
Assess the importance of developing a project plan and its key elements H7 (f)
Monitor and formulate responses for dealing with project risks, issues, slippage H7 (g)
and changes
Discuss the benefits of a post-implementation and a post-project review H7 (h)

Project management is an important aspect of putting strategy into action. In the first place, for many
organisations their activities consist largely of projects: civil engineering contractors and film studios
are two obvious examples. Secondly, even where operations are more or less continuous, the need
for continuing strategic innovation and improvement in the way things are done brings project
management to the forefront of attention. Finally, even relatively low-level, one-off projects must be
managed with a view to their potential strategic implications.
As we saw in Chapter 14, project management is also very closely linked to process redesign and
information technology issues. For example, major changes in technology are usually implemented
through projects and project management.
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Chapter overview
Project management
Project management Project initiation Project costs and benefits
What is a project? Pre-initiating tasks Identifying the benefits
What is project management? The project manager Measuring benefits
Projects and strategy Project sponsor Identifying the costs
Initiating tasks Cost-benefit evaluation
Project Project execution Project

planning and control completion
Planning tools Controlling projects The completion report
Project slippage The post-project review
Project change procedure The post-implementation review
Responding to project risk
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15: Project management
1 Project management
1.1 What is a project?
To understand project management, it is necessary to first define what a project is.
A project: Is 'an undertaking that has a beginning and an end and is carried out to meet
established goals within cost, schedule and quality objectives' (Haynes, 1997: p.3).
Key terms
Resources: Are the money, facilities, supplies, services and people allocated to the project.
In general, the work which organisations undertake involves either operations or projects.
Operations and projects are planned, controlled and executed. So how are projects distinguished
from 'ordinary work'?
Projects Operations
Have a defined beginning and end Ongoing
Have resources allocated specifically to them, Resources used 'full time'

although often on a shared basis
Are intended to be done only once A mixture of many recurring tasks
Follow a plan towards a clear intended end result Goals and deadlines are more general
Often cut across organisational and functional lines Usually follows the organisation or functional
structure
An activity that meets the first four criteria above can be classified as a project, and therefore falls
within the scope of project management. Whether an activity is classified as a project is
important, as projects should be managed using project management techniques.
Common examples of projects include:
 Producing a new product, service or object
 Changing the structure of an organisation
 Developing or modifying a new information system
 Implementing a new procedure or process
1.2 What is project management?

Project management is the combination of systems, techniques and people used to control and
monitor activities undertaken within the project.
Project management: 'Integration of all aspects of a project, ensuring that the proper knowledge
and resources are available when and where needed, and above all to ensure that the expected
Key term
outcome is produced in a timely, cost-effective manner. The primary function of a project manager is
to manage the trade-offs between performance, timeliness and cost' (CIMA, 2005).
1.2.1 The triple constraint

Projects are generally considered successful if they meet three specified objectives in terms of the
following (the 'triple constraint'):
(a) Scope – this relates to all of the work that needs to be done and all of the deliverables that
constitute the project's success. Scope is closely connected to the issue of quality.
(b) Time – this concerns the agreed date for the delivery of the project.
(c) Cost – this relates to authorised spend on the project.
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All three objectives are important: an organisation's management want their projects to finish on
time, within budget and to produce the required deliverable. The relative importance of each
objective may depend partly on the type of project being undertaken. Where a project is aiming to
beat a competitor to market, or has a non-negotiable deadline (eg organising the launch of a new
product that has been advertised for a particular date) time will be a priority. In the case of a project
with a limited budget, cost is a priority: once resources run out, the project ceases – complete or not!
In a safety-critical project (such as building or aircraft construction) ensuring the quality of all project
deliverables is a priority.
Later in this chapter we explore some of the ways in which project managers can respond to the
challenges presented by the triple constraint.
Activity 1: ABC Co

Analysis: Consider
The current date is March 20X5. You are a finance professional working for ABC Co in the country
of Ecuria. ABC specialises in the development and manufacture of cutting edge technological
innovations which it sells to the general public.
Required
Using the information provided in Exhibit 1, discuss the implications of the principle of the triple
constraint in relation to the launch of the T4i. (6 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating analysis skills when considering the
implications of the triple constraint in relation to the T4i project. (2 marks)
(Total = 8 marks)
Exhibit 1 – The T4i project
Last year a small team of engineers at the company undertook a project to develop a prototype of
the world's first flying car, the T4i. The T4i's design is based on the technology used by aviation
enthusiasts that fly radio-controlled drones. The T4i can take the weight of two adults, who are then
able to fly the device using on-board controls. Last month a team of independent experts acting on
behalf of the Ecurian government advised that the T4i was safe to fly; in turn the Ecurian government
granted ABC provisional consent to develop the T4i further with a view to manufacturing and selling
it to the general public.
The consent given by the government is provisional on a number of modifications being made to the
existing T4i model; these include the installation of landing lights and sound alarms to alert those on
the ground when the device is coming into land. Keen to get the T4i to market as soon as possible
the board at ABC have booked a launch party to unveil the T4i. The directors have charged the
company's engineers with making the required modifications before the official launch. If the
modifications are not made by the time of the launch, government restrictions mean that ABC will be
unable to accept customer orders for the T4i.
The T4i is due to be launched on 1 May 20X5. The launch has been heavily publicised, a prestigious
private airport venue has been booked and over 400 attendees are expected. ABC Co have
arranged for many newspaper journalists to attend. The modifications to the T4i are, however, not
quite finished, so although orders are intended to be taken at the launch this will depend on the
engineers' progress.
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Solution
A high-level overview of the main stages involved in the project management process is summarised
in the figure below.
Step 1 The project process begins with a plan detailing the work to be performed ie a plan
to build a house.
Step 2 Once a plan has been determined the project team will undertake the tasks involved
in the project ie start constructing the house.
Step 3 The progress of the project has to be recorded ie the extent of the build that is
complete by a set point in time.
Step 4 The progress needs to be compared to the plan in Step 1.
Step 5 Following the findings of Step 4, in the event that the progress of the project is not as
far as originally intended then action to improve this situation is needed, this might
involve adding extra resources to the project ie more builders etc.
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The project management process
plan project
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Pla Step 1
Pe
rfo ep 2
on
cti
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St
ea
task
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5
s
Take corre
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es
re
pa to
gr
a o
p r ctu pr
oj al r e 3
u
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S t ct p l o g re ss Me
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4
(Diagram: The project management process)
1.2.2 Project challenges

The nature of project work often presents project managers with a number of common challenges.
Some of these are outlined in the table below:
Challenge Comment
Teambuilding The work is carried out by a team of people, often from varied work and social
backgrounds. The team must 'gel' quickly and be able to communicate effectively
with each other.
Expected Expected problems should be avoided by careful design and planning prior to
problems commencement of work.
Unexpected There should be mechanisms within the project to enable these problems to be
problems resolved quickly and efficiently.
Delayed There is normally no benefit until the work is finished. The lead-in time to this can
benefit cause a strain on the eventual recipient who is also faced with increasing
expenditure for no immediate benefit.
Specialists Contributions made by specialists are of differing importance at each stage.
Potential for Projects often involve several parties with different interests. This may lead to
conflict conflict.
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1.3 Projects and strategy

Project management in its widest sense is fundamental to much strategy. This is because very few
organisations are able to do the same things, in the same ways, year after year. Continuing
environmental change forces many organisations to include extensive processes of adaptation
to their strategies. Circumstances change and new conditions must be met with new responses or
initiatives. Each possible new development effectively constitutes a project.
Project management can be a core strategic competence for organisations working in such
industries as consulting and construction. Such organisations must ensure that they maintain and
improve their project management abilities if they are to continue to be commercially successful. The
very nature of project work means that organisations need to develop appropriate approaches when
managing the ethical implications of implementing a change programme. Very often projects are
initiated to bring about improvements in organisational performance and as such may lead to
changes in working practices which affect project stakeholders, for example, a project may require
that certain staff members are made redundant in order to achieve required strategic objectives.
Therefore those tasked with project management need to develop communication and negotiation
skills as these are likely to be particularly important when managing the concerns of key project
stakeholders. Such skills are likely to be just as important as the technical skills required when
undertaking a project.
Syllabus links
Projects may link to many topics in the syllabus as follows:
 Some organisations' operations largely consist of projects, eg building contractors. Such
organisations will need to make project management a core competence.
 Changes in strategy may require projects to be undertaken, eg launching a new product
or integrating an acquisition
 Organisations looking to change their structure may manage this as a project
 All projects need to be consistent with an organisation's strategy
 Significant changes in processes are likely to require projects, including new technology
implementation
1.3.1 Project selection

Organisations have limited resources and therefore need to be selective about which projects they
decide to carry out. As with strategies, projects can be assessed using the Johnson et al (2017)
criteria of suitability, acceptability and feasibility.
2 Project initiation
When a project has been approved in general terms, it should be the subject of a number of
management processes and tasks before the actual project work begins. Schwalbe (2015) highlights
that such tasks can be broken down into pre-initiating tasks and initiating tasks. The pre-initiating
tasks follow on directly from the formal project selection process.
2.1 Pre-initiating tasks

Pre-initiating tasks are the responsibility of the senior managers who decide that the project should be
undertaken.
(a) Determination of project objectives and constraints. This involves setting the project
scope, but also identifying time or cost constraints. (This was discussed in the previous section)
(b) Selection of the project manager
(c) Identification of the project sponsor
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2.2 The project manager
The project manager: Takes responsibility for ensuring the desired result is achieved on time and
within budget.
Key term
Some project managers have only one major responsibility: a specific project. However, anyone
responsible for a project, large or small, is a project manager. As a result, many project managers
will have routine work responsibilities outside their project goals, which may lead to conflicting
demands on their time.
2.2.1 The role of the project manager

The role a project manager performs is, in many ways, similar to those performed by other
managers. There are, however, some important differences, as shown in the table which follows.
Project managers Operations managers
Are often generalists with wide-ranging Usually specialists in the areas managed
backgrounds and experience levels
Oversee work in many functional areas Relate closely to technical tasks in their area
Facilitate, rather than supervise, team members Have direct technical supervision
responsibilities
The process of selecting a project manager will largely be driven by the perceived importance of the
project being undertaken and the skills that the organisation's senior management believe are
needed to deliver the project successfully.
2.2.2 The responsibilities of a project manager

The overall issue for all project managers is understanding how to balance the factors of scope,
resources, time and risk.
However, a project manager also has responsibilities both to management and also to the project
team.
Responsibilities to management
 Ensure resources are used efficiently – strike a balance between cost, time and results
 Keep management informed with timely and accurate communications
 Manage the project to the best of their ability
 Behave ethically, and adhere to the organisation's policies
 Maintain a customer orientation (whether the project is geared towards an internal or external
customer) – customer satisfaction is a key indicator of project success
Responsibilities to the project and the project team
 Take action to keep the project on target for successful completion
 Ensure the project team has the resources required to perform tasks assigned
 Help new team members integrate into the team
 Provide any professional support required when members leave the team, either during the
project or on completion. Professional support may involve helping project team members to
settle back into functional roles following their involvement in a completed project, or when
they are required to adjust to a new role when undertaking future projects.
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2.2.3 Duties of a project manager

The project manager's responsibilities give rise to a number of fairly standard duties and managerial
activities.
Duty Comment
Detailed planning Budgeting, resource requirements, activity scheduling
Obtain necessary Resources may already exist within the organisation or may have to
resources be bought in; resource requirements unforeseen at the planning stage
will have to be authorised separately by the project board or project
sponsor
Team building Build cohesion and team spirit in the project team
Communication Keep all stakeholders suitably informed and ensure that members of
the project team are properly briefed; manage expectations
Co-ordinating Co-ordination will be required between the project team, external

project activities suppliers, the project owner and end users
Monitoring and Monitor progress against the plan, and take corrective measures where
control needed
Problem resolution Even with the best planning, unforeseen problems may arise
Quality control Understand and manage quality procedures; agree and manage any
appropriate trade-off of functionality against achieving deadlines
Performance Objective 5 'Leadership and Management' of the Practical Experience Requirement

requires you to 'manage resources – including teams – to deliver your objectives to agreed
PER alert
deadlines. You motivate other people and you're actively involved in helping them to develop'
(ACCA, 2019b). You could illustrate your achievement of this Performance Objective by drawing
upon any experience that you have of managing projects in the work place.
2.3 Project sponsor
The project sponsor: Provides and is accountable for the resources invested into the project and
is responsible for the achievement of the project's objectives.
Key term
It is common to refer to the person or group providing the resources to a project (and project
manager) as the project sponsor. The project sponsor may, in fact, be the senior management at
the top of the organisation, or may be a person or committee at a lower level; the essential feature is
that the project sponsor has the budgetary capability to authorise the project.
The project sponsor will not be involved in the management of the project and may not have the
capacity to provide effective supervision for the project manager. Under these circumstances, the
project sponsor may appoint a project owner, whose role will be to review project plans and
progress at regular intervals and to arbitrate on any conflicts that may arise between project and line
management. Of course, in smaller organisations, the roles of project sponsor and project owner
may be combined.
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2.4 Initiating tasks
Initiating tasks are carried out by the project manager. Two of the most important tasks carried out at
this stage concern the preparation of a business case for the project and the drafting of the project
initiation document.
2.4.1 Preparation of a business case
A business case: Is a key document for a project. It is used to propose a course of action to senior
management for their consideration.
Key term
When the project selection process is complete and a project selected for action, there is likely to be
a great deal of information available to justify the decision to proceed. However, it is unlikely that a
full account of the project has been prepared. A business case is a reasoned account of why the
project is needed, what it will achieve and how it will proceed.
An important use of the business case in any project is to maintain focus and to ensure that the
project remains on track. It is possible that final approval for a large project will depend upon the
preparation of a satisfactory business case. A business case is not, of course, something that is
confined to commercial organisations: the principles are equally applicable to any organisation
undertaking a project.
A typical business case will include:
 Description of current information/issues (the problem or problems to be solved)
 Analysis of costs and benefits, including any assumptions and consideration of
intangible costs and benefits. We consider costs and benefits in more detail in the next
section
 Any impact of the project on the organisation in addition to the cost, such as changes in
structure or recruitment of staff
 Key risks, including an assessment of their significance and any action to be taken to
mitigate them
 Recommendations
Essential reading
the Workbook, for more detail about building the business case.
2.4.2 The project initiation document
The project initiation document (also known as the project charter): Complements the
business case: while the business case explains the need for work on the project to start, the charter
Key term
gives authorisation for work to be done and resources used.
The project initiation document (also known as the project charter) complements the business
case: while the business case explains the need for work on the project to start, the project initiation
document gives authorisation for work to be done and resources used. The project initiation
document also has an important role in internal communication within the organisation, since it can
be given wide distribution in order to keep staff informed of what is happening. The exact content of
a project initiation document will vary from organisation to organisation and from project to project,
but some elements are likely to be present, including:
 Project title
 Project purpose and objectives
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 Project start date and expected finish date

 Details of the project sponsor and project
 Authorisation by the main stakeholders
Other elements of information may be included.
 Outline schedule of work
 Budget information
 Outline of project scope and work sequence
 Further details of roles and responsibilities
Exam Focus Point

which was responsible for providing rail services within the country of Beeland. The final question
required candidates to act in the capacity of a project manager working for Rail Co. The director of
Projects and Infrastructure at Rail Co had recently proposed that the company invest in an online
ticket sales system. The intention was that the project would be completed within 12 months, with the
development of the system being undertaken by an external firm. Part (a) of the question asked
candidates to prepare a business case for the board which justified 'why the investment in online
ticket sales could assist Rail Co in producing detailed and timely customer data to assist in customer
relationship management' (ACCA, 2017a). This task was worth 8 technical marks and tested the
ACCA Professional Skill of Evaluation.
To produce a good answer candidates needed to set out their answer using a business case format
which evaluated the benefits that the proposed new system could bring in terms of generating
customer data. To earn the two professional skills marks candidates needed to display 'professional
judgement in assessing the impact of the system on timely customer data and CRM […and to also
demonstrate] 'a clear ability to assess the impact of the new system on the stakeholders of Rail Co'
(ACCA, 2017a). Part (b) of the question asked candidates to 'produce a project initiation document
(PID) which could be used by Rail Co to assist in planning the implementation of an online ticket
sales system' (ACCA, 2017a). This was also worth 8 technical marks and tested the ACCA
Professional Skill of Communication. To earn the two professional skills marks candidates needed to
ensure that their PID would help with the implementation of the project.
Exam Focus Point

candidates to prepare a memo which critically evaluated the outline contents of a project initiation
document (PID) that had been prepared by a junior member of a project team. Candidates were also
expected to recommend improvements to the PID provided.
3 Project costs and benefits

In the previous section we introduced the important role that the business case plays in project
management. A key section of the business case is devoted to consideration of the associated costs
and benefits of undertaking the project.
This section should provide the benefits first, followed by the costs. This is to help the reader
appreciate the benefits before they are faced with the costs in achieving them.
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3.1 Identifying the benefits
Many organisations have adopted a benefits management approach to identify benefits. Benefits
management is made up of five key stages as shown by the following diagram:
Stages of benefits management
1. Identify and structure benefits
2. Plan benefits realisation
3. Execute benefits plan
4. Review and evaluate results
5. Establish potential for further benefits
(Adapted from: Ward and Daniel, 2006: p.105)

The first stage of the diagram, identifying and structuring benefits, is important for inclusion
in the business case. The point of the business case is to secure funding by demonstrating the benefits
for the organisation that the project will bring.
Ward and Daniel (2006) note that the purpose of identifying and structuring benefits is to:
 Establish agreed objectives for the investment
 Identify all the potential benefits that may arise if the objectives of the investment are met
(including where in the organisation it will occur)
 Understand how those benefits could be realised
 Determine ownership of the benefits
 Determine how the benefits can be measured to prove they have occurred
 Identify any issues that could delay the project or cause it to fail
 Produce an outline business case to decide whether to proceed with the project or stop
investment at this stage
Notice that as part of this process, it is important to determine who owns the benefit and how it will
be measured. If a perceived benefit cannot be measured, or no one owns it, then that benefit does
not really exist.
3.2 Measuring benefits
As well as identifying benefits, it is important to establish how they will be measured. Ward and
Daniel (2006) note that benefits can be classified as observable, measurable, quantifiable
and financial.
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Observable: Benefits are those which are measured by experience or judgement. 'Soft' benefits
such as staff morale fall into this category.
Key terms
Measurable: Benefits relate to an area of performance that could be (or already is being)
measured, but it is not possible to quantify how much performance will increase as a result of the
change.
Quantifiable: Benefits are those where the level of benefit that will result from the change can be
reliably forecast based on the evidence in place.
Financial: Benefits are quantified benefits that have had a financial formula (such as cost or price)
applied to them to produce a financial value for the benefits.
Financial benefits are most useful for establishing a business case, with observable benefits much less
useful (but should not be ignored).
Essential reading
the Workbook, for more detail about project benefits.
Activity 2: Freshco supermarkets

You are a senior finance manager working for Freshco supermarkets. You report to the finance
director.
Freshco operates a number of supermarkets across the country; it has always prided itself on the
service it provides to its customers. At last week's board meeting, Freshco's customer service director
highlighted his concerns over a recent spike in the number of customer complaints his team have
received. A common theme in the complaints received relates to increasing queuing times that
customers are experiencing at the checkout. The customer service director has proposed a project to
address the current issue. The finance director has provided you with some notes (Exhibit 1) from the
meeting; he has had a meeting with the customer service director and has asked if the finance
department could assist him in correctly classifying the benefits associated with undertaking the
project so that his proposal can be approved by the board at the next meeting.
Required
Using the information provided in the exhibit, identify and classify the benefits that are likely to result
from the proposed project. (6 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating commercial acumen in using judgement
when classifying the benefits presented by the project. (2 marks)
(Total = 8 marks)
Exhibit 1
Every Freshco supermarket has 20 checkout points and most of the time not all are manned, but at
peak times all are manned and there are significant queues, prompting customer complaints. The
number of complaints is tracked, but beyond this Freshco does not otherwise measure customer
feedback. As a result Freshco is considering improving the scanning technology at its tills. Based on
the experience of other users of the technology, this will cut the average time taken to process a
customer's shopping from 4 minutes to 20 seconds.
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Solution
3.3 Identifying the costs

As we have seen with project benefits, predicting costs can also be difficult – particularly as some
may not be recorded. Ward and Daniel (2006) highlight the types of costs that should be included
as part of the project cost assessment:
 Purchase costs such as hardware, software, consultancy and materials
 Internal systems development costs such as developing/purchasing software
 Infrastructure costs. These are costs that are incurred exclusively for the new system.
 Costs of carrying out the changes should be included to provide a complete financial
view of the investment. This includes costs such as training, recruitment, redundancy, refitting
buildings and so on.
 Ongoing costs. These are the permanent costs involved in the new ways of working. They
should be either explicitly stated as additional costs or netted off against the benefits.
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We can see from this that a project will include both capital and operational costs.
Capital expenditure: Acquires or produces an asset whose value continues to be used (or
consumed) over several financial years.
Key terms
Operating costs: Refer to any expenditure on things whose value is used up within the same
financial year.
The majority of capital expenditure is likely to occur at the start of the project and prior to
implementation. This could involve expenditure on items such as building new facilities, refits and
refurbishment, new technology and systems and so on.
Operating expenditure can be non-recurrent, such as consultancy fees, or can be recurrent, such as
staff salaries. Recurrent operating expenditure could continue long after the project has been
completed and the finished solution implemented.
Recurrent operating costs are as relevant to the business case as the capital and non-recurrent
operating costs incurred during the project itself. However, it is easy to overlook such costs as part of
'business as usual'. If such costs would not be incurred if the project did not go ahead, then those
costs must be built into the business case if it is to be a true representation of the worth of the project.
3.4 Cost-benefit evaluation

Once the costs and benefits have been quantified and assumptions verified, an investment appraisal
can be undertaken. Techniques commonly used here include:
 Accounting rate of return takes the average profit that the investment will generate and
expresses it as a percentage of the average investment made over the life of the project.
 Payback period is the length of time it takes for the initial investment to be repaid out of the
net cash inflows from the project.
 Net present value is the sum of the discounted value of the net cash flows from the
investment.
 Internal rate of return is the discount rate that, when applied to its future cash flows, will
produce an NPV of zero.
You should be familiar with these techniques from your earlier ACCA studies.
4 Project planning
The unique nature of each project means that careful planning is an essential component of project
management. Many project failures can be traced to failures of planning.
4.1 Planning tools

The project plan is used as a reference tool for managing the project. The plan is used to guide both
project execution and project control. It outlines how the project will be planned, monitored and
implemented. There are a number of tools which project managers can use when planning the
delivery of a project.
4.1.1 Work breakdown structure
Work breakdown structure (WBS): Is the analysis of the work required to complete the
project, broken down into manageable components.
Key term
Work breakdown structure (WBS) is fundamental to traditional project planning and control. Its
essence is the analysis of the work required to complete the project broken down into
manageable components.
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WBS allows the project manager to consider the outputs (or deliverables) the project is required
to produce. This can then be analysed into physical and intangible components, which can in turn be
further analysed down to whatever level of simplicity is required. Working backwards in this way
helps to avoid preconceived ideas of the work the project will involve and the processes that
must be undertaken.e
The WBS can allow for several levels of analysis, starting with major project phases and gradually
breaking them down into major activities, more detailed sub-activities and individual tasks that will
last only a very short time. The delivery phase of many projects will break down into significant
stages or sub-phases. These are very useful for control purposes, as the completion of each stage is
an obvious point for reviewing the whole plan before starting the next one.
4.1.2 The project budget
Project budget: The amount and distribution of resources allocated to a project.

Key term
Building a project budget should be an orderly process that attempts to establish a realistic estimate
of the cost of the project. There are two main methods for establishing the project budget: top-
down and bottom-up.
Top-down budgeting describes the situation where the budget is imposed from above. Project
managers are allocated a budget for the project based on an estimate made by senior management.
The figure may prove realistic, especially if similar projects have been undertaken recently. However,
the technique is often used simply because it is quick, or because only a certain level of funding is
available.
In bottom-up budgeting the project manager consults the project team, and others, to calculate a
budget based on the tasks that make up the project. WBS is a useful tool in this process.
4.1.3 Gantt charts
A Gantt chart: Shows the deployment of resources over time.

Key term
A Gantt chart, named after the engineer Henry Gantt who pioneered the procedure in the early
1900s, is a horizontal bar chart used to plan the time scale for a project and to estimate the
resources required. Maylor (2010) notes that the Gantt chart displays the time relationships
between tasks in a project. Two lines are usually used to show the time allocated for each task, and
the actual time taken.
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A simple Gantt chart, illustrating some of the activities involved in a network server installation
project, follows.
Gantt chart
As at the end of week 11
Task
1. Order computer/arrange finance
2. Agree delivery dates
3. Select site
4. Plan and prepare site
5. Prepare for delivery
6. Install computer
7. Engineers' acceptance tests
8. Operational tests
9. Plan and prepare permanent staff

work areas and accommodation
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Weeks
Estimated Actual
(Diagram: Gantt chart)

The chart shows that at the end of the tenth week, Activity 9 is running behind schedule. More
resources may have to be allocated to this activity if the staff accommodation is to be ready in time
for the changeover to the new system.
Activity 4 has not been completed on time, although it appears that this has not had an impact on
subsequent activities. Activity 6 appears to have completed ahead of time.
A Gantt chart does not show the interrelationship between the various activities in the project as
clearly as a network analysis diagram (described below). A combination of Gantt charts and
network analysis will often be used for project planning and resource allocation.
4.1.4 Network analysis (or critical path analysis)
Critical path analysis (CPA): Aims to ensure the progress of a project, so the project is
completed in the minimum amount of time.
Key term
Maylor (2010) highlights the use of network analysis, also known as critical path analysis
(CPA), as a useful technique to help with planning and controlling large projects, such as
construction projects, research and development projects, and the computerisation of systems.
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CPA aims to ensure the progress of a project, so the project is completed in the minimum amount
of time. It pinpoints the tasks on the critical path, which is the longest duration sequence of tasks
in the project; a delay to any of these tasks would delay the completion of the project as a
whole. The technique can also be used to assist in allocating resources such as labour and
equipment.
Essential reading
the Workbook, for more detail about critical path analysis.
4.1.5 Resource histogram
A resource histogram: Shows a view of project data in which resource requirements, usage and
availability are shown against a time scale.
Key term
A simple resource histogram showing programmer time required on a software development

program follows:
Resource histogram
Programmer time required
Total
programmer
hours
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
9 16 23 30 6 13 20 27 6 13 20 27 3 10 17 24 1 8 15 22
January February March April May
Months ending
(Diagram: Resource histogram)
Some organisations add another bar (or a separate line) to the chart showing resource availability.
The chart then shows any instances when the required resource hours exceed the available hours.
Plans should then be made to either obtain further resource for these peak times, or to reschedule the
work plan. Alternately, the chart may show times when the available resource is excessive, and
should be redeployed elsewhere. An example follows:
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Resource histogram showing resource availability

Required workers to complete scheduled tasks
Number of workers
14
13
12
11
10 Available workers
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Day 1 Time (days) Day 27
(Diagram: Resource histogram)

The number of workers required on the ninth day is 13. Using this information the project manager
can then consider whether any of the non-critical activities can be re-scheduled to reduce the
requirement to the available level of 10 workers.
Essential reading
the Workbook, for a discussion of the importance of data visualisation in project management.
5 Project execution and control

The process of delivering the project is often referred to as project execution. Project execution and
the processes involved in controlling the project are in essence two separate stages but they tend to
happen at the same time. Projects need to be monitored closely to ensure that benefits are being
realised and costs kept under control.
5.1 Controlling projects

There are a number of techniques which can be used by the project manager to help control project
activity.
5.1.1 Gateways
A gateway: Is a project review point at which certain criteria must be met before the project can
pass through the gateway and proceed to the next stage.
Key term
A project gateway is a predetermined point where the project will be reviewed. This may include a
review by independent experts. It aims to ensure that benefits are being realised, key issues have
been resolved, risks dealt with and that the project should go on to the next stage.
It aims to prevent 'scope creep' whereby the scope of the project becomes expanded without
proper consideration.
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Scope creep: Relates to uncontrolled changes in the scope of a project.
Key term
Examples of gateways include:
 Prior to the awarding of contracts to subcontractors
 Prior to going live with a new system
 At key decision points
Gateway reviews might involve revisiting the business case to check that it is still realistic and the
assumptions remain valid.
5.1.2 Progress reports
A progress report: Shows the current status of the project, usually in relation to the planned
status.
Key term
The frequency and contents of progress reports will vary depending on the length of, and the
progress being made on, a project. The report is a control tool intended to show the discrepancies
between where the project is, and where the plan says it should be. A common form of progress
reports uses two columns – one for planned time and expenditure and one for actual. The report
should monitor progress towards key milestones.
A milestone: 'Is a significant event in the life of the project, usually completion of a major
deliverable.' (Greer, 2002: p.11)
Key term
5.2 Project slippage
Slippage: Occurs when a project is running behind schedule.

Key term
5.2.1 Addressing slippage
Exercise 1: IT project
Required
A project to develop and implement a new IT system has fallen three weeks behind schedule. So far,
the money spent is in line with the budget. What options are available to the project manager to
deal with this?
Solution
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When a project has slipped behind schedule, there are a range of options open to the project
manager. Some of these options are summarised in the following table.
Action Comment
Do nothing After considering all options it may be decided that things should be
allowed to continue as they are.
Add resources If capable staff are available, and it is practicable to add more people to
certain tasks, it may be possible to recover some lost ground. Are extra
funds available to hire more staff? Could some work be subcontracted?
Work smarter Consider whether the methods currently being used are the most suitable
– for example, would prototyping be more effective at eliciting
requirements?
Replan If the assumptions that the original plan was based on have been proved
invalid, a more realistic plan should be devised.
Reschedule A complete replan may not be necessary – it may be possible to recover

some time by changing the phasing of certain deliverables.
Introduce incentives If the main problem is team performance, incentives such as bonus
payments could be linked to work deadlines and quality. This is a positive
incentive. In some cases, poor team performance may need to be
addressed through more negative responses, for example, disciplinary
action if staff are not working to the level required of them.
Briefings and If the project is long, it may be beneficial for the manager to hold update
motivation briefings with the team to renew their energy and enthusiasm and thereby
increase productivity.
Change the If the original objectives of the project are unrealistic, given the time and
specification money available, it may be necessary to negotiate a change in the
specification.
This change could either be to reduce the number of activities
included in the scope, or to reduce the level of quality required in each
activity.
There are also two specific courses of action a project manager should consider if a project starts to
slip dramatically, but has a fixed deadline and so cannot be delayed. These are fast-tracking and
crashing.
5.2.2 Fast-tracking
Fast-tracking involves taking activities that are normally done in sequence, and doing them in parallel
instead (for example, starting construction alongside the design phase, instead of waiting for the
design phase to be completed before beginning construction).
5.2.3 Crashing
Crashing involves assigning additional resources to the critical path. For example, if one person was
working on a 12-day activity on the critical path, and it was essential to reduce the path length to
eight days, a second person could be added to work on the activity.
Crashing usually leads to an increase in the cost of the project, but this may be considered an
acceptable trade-off for getting the project back on schedule.
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5.3 Project change procedure
Some of the reactions to slippage discussed above would involve changes that would significantly
affect the overall project. Other possible causes of changes to the original project plan include:
 The availability of new technology
 Changes in personnel
 A realisation that user requirements were misunderstood
 Changes in the environment
 New legislation, eg data protection
The earlier a change is made, the less expensive it should prove. However, changes will cost time
and money and should not be undertaken lightly. When considering a change the project manager
should conduct an investigation to discover:
(a) The consequences of not implementing the proposed change
(b) The impact of the change on time, cost and quality
(c) The expected costs and benefits of the change
(d) The risks associated with the change, and with the status quo
The process of ensuring that proper consideration is given to the impact of proposed changes is
known as change control. Changes will need to be implemented into the project plan and
communicated to all stakeholders.
5.4 Responding to project risk

Projects carry an element of risk, for example the risk of an inappropriate system being developed
and implemented. Risk management is concerned with identifying such risks and putting in place
policies to eliminate or reduce these risks. The identification of risks involves an overview of the
project to establish what could go wrong, and the consequences. Risk management may be viewed
as a six-stage process:
Stage 1 Plan the risk-management approach
Determine the degree of risk aversion that the project sponsor is prepared to tolerate.
Stage 2 Identify and record risks

Identified risks should be recorded in a risk register. This will include details such as: a
description of the risk, the probability of the risk occurring, and the potential impact on
the project should it occur.
Stage 3 Assess the risks

There are two aspects to the assessment of risk.
 The probability/likelihood that the risk event will actually take place.
 The consequences of the risk event if it does occur.
The likelihood and consequences of risks may be plotted on a matrix so that those high
impact, high likelihood risks are identified.
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Stage 4 Plan and record risk responses

Schwalbe (2015) highlights that there are four strategies when dealing with risk.
Avoidance: activities that could carry risk are not performed or are removed from a
project. For example, an acquisition is rejected because of the potential legal liabilities
attached to the potential acquisition target.
Reduction or mitigation: the potential for the risk cannot be removed, but mitigation can
reduce the severity of any loss or the likelihood of the loss occurring, for example, by
entering into an escrow agreement alongside the purchase of a bespoke software
solution.
Transference: the risk is passed on to someone else, perhaps by means of insurance, or
possibly by building it into a supplier contract.
Absorption or acceptance: the potential risk is accepted in the hope or expectation that
the incidence and consequences can be coped with if necessary.
Stage 5 Implement risk-management strategies

Stage 6 Review the risk-management approach and actions for adequacy
Risk management is a continuous process. Procedures are necessary to regularly review and reassess
the risks documented in the risk register.
Activity 3: The Knowledge Partnership

It is 4 December 20X4 and today is your first day in your new job. You were recently appointed as a
senior finance manager working for The Knowledge Partnership LLP (TKP). The Knowledge
Partnership LLP (TKP) offers project and software consultancy work for clients based in Zeeland. As
you wait in reception for your new line manager to come and take you to the finance department
you start reading through the latest edition of TKP's internal newsletter (Exhibit 1). The newsletter is
dated 2 November 20X4 and describes one of the projects currently being undertaken by the
partnership.
Required
Using the information provided in the exhibit analyse how TKP itself and the iProjector project
demonstrate the principles of effective risk management. (12 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating commercial acumen by displaying
insight into how TKP and the iProjector project exhibit the characteristics of effective risk
management. (2 marks)
(Total = 14 marks)
Exhibit 1 – The iProjector project
The project client is the developer of the iProjector, a tiny phone-size projector which is portable,
easy to use and offers high definition projection. The client was concerned that their product is
completely dependent on a specialist image-enhancing chip designed and produced by a small start-
up technology company. They asked TKP to investigate this company. We confirmed their fears. The
company has been trading for less than three years and it has a very inexperienced management
team. We suggested that the client should establish an escrow agreement for design details of the
chip and suggested a suitable third party to hold this agreement. We also suggested that significant
inventory of the chip should be maintained. The client also asked TKP to look at establishing patents
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for the iProjector throughout the world. Again, using our customer contacts, we put them in touch with
a company which specialises in this. We are currently engaged with the client in examining the risk
that a major telephone producer will launch a competitive product with functionality and features
similar to the iProjector.
Further information:
TKP only undertakes projects in the business culture which it understands and where it feels
comfortable. Consequently, it does not undertake assignments outside Zeeland.
TKP has $10,000,000 of consultant's liability insurance underwritten by Zeeland Insurance Group
(ZIG).
Solution
6 Project completion
6.1 The completion report
The completion report: Summarises the results of the project, and includes client sign-off.
Key term
On completion of the project the project manager should produce a report which details:
 The outcomes of the project compared to the objectives
 The final cost of the project compared to the budget
 The time taken to complete the work compared to the schedule
The main purpose of the completion report is to document (and gain sign-off for) the end of the
project.
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6.2 The post-project review
The post-project review: Is a formal review of the project that examines the lessons that may be
learned and used for the benefit of future projects.
Key term
The review is intended to be beneficial to the organisation as it considers the success of the project
by asking the following.
(a) Was the project achieved on time and within budget?
(b) Was the management of the project as successful as it might have been, or were there
bottlenecks or problems? This review covers:
(i) Problems that might occur on future projects with similar characteristics.
(ii) The performance of the team individually and as a group.
In other words, any project is an opportunity to learn how to manage future projects
more effectively.
Real world examples
In 2008, the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) launched the Digital Media Initiative (DMI)
project. The project aimed to modernise the BBC's existing production operations, moving the
corporation away from the use of video tape towards digital production.
In 2013, the project was abandoned after years of technical problems in getting the technology to
work and delays in reporting on the project's progress. The BBC (2014b) reported that the estimated
project cost was £125.9m.
Hewlett (2014) highlighting the findings of a National Audit Office inquiry, reported that the
deteriorating fortunes of DMI were not adequately reported, either within management or, critically,
to the BBC Trust. 'A 'code red' warning of the imminent project failure for example, from the BBC's
own internal project management office from February 2012, wasn't reported to the Trust until July
that year.
Hewlett (2014) noted that the BBC Director General (the most senior executive officer at the
organisation) at the time had believed that the technology was being used on programmes including
the early evening 'One Show'.
A later report by the National Audit Office reported that 'the BBC had hoped to save £98m by
introducing the new system. However, the final estimate of the benefits it brought to the BBC was
zero. The report blamed the project's failure on confusion, a lack of planning and insufficient
scrutiny' (BBC, 2014b).
Commenting on the National Audit Office report, Margaret Hodge MP of the Public Accounts
Committee (the body which overseas UK government spending) wrote, 'this report reads like a
catalogue of how not to run a major programme. The BBC needs to learn from the mistakes it made
and ensure that it never again spends such a huge amount of licence fee payer's money with almost
nothing to show for it' (BBC, 2014b).
The BBC responded, saying it had adopted new procedures for managing big projects in the light of
the problems with the DMI project (BBC, 2014b).
In 2016 a report by the National Audit Office titled the Management of the BBC's critical projects,
highlighted the findings of a review into the BBC's oversight of its critical projects portfolio. The
report highlighted that the BBC had strengthened its oversight process of major projects. In response
to the report's findings the BBC Trust highlighted the improvements it had made to the way in which
the BBC's project management team now operated:
 Experienced staff now 'review and challenge submissions from project teams prior to reporting
this information upwards. This process provides additional assurance that projects will deliver
their expected benefits on time and on budget' (National Audit Office, 2016).
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 The 'speed of project reporting to the Executive Board and the BBC Trust had improved', with
reporting now taking 'less than half the amount of time that it took three years ago. As a result,
problems are raised and dealt with much quicker, reducing the risk of project failure'
(National Audit Office, 2016).
 The BBC has introduced new project assurance arrangements in recent years, including
'increased frequency of project reporting to the Executive Board, a single point of
accountability for each project, and the introduction of integrated approvals and reviews'
(National Audit Office, 2016).
6.3 The post-implementation review
Post-implementation reviews: Are assessments of the completed working solution.

Key term
The post-implementation review focuses more specifically on the output that was produced by the
project. It is carried out for three main reasons.
 To determine how well the project met its objectives, delivered the expected benefits and
addressed the requirements that were originally defined
 To consider the working solution to see if further improvements could be made to optimise the
benefit delivered
 To identify lessons that can be learned and fed back into the output production process;
this could involve improving processes such as research and development, and operational
processes as well as making changes to who is involved in certain processes and the timings
at which individual processes are carried out
In order to do this, work will centre around determining the current situation, identifying the benefits
actually being delivered in comparison to those originally defined by the project, and identifying any
further improvements that could be made and the learning points for the future.
458
Chapter summary
Project management
Project management Project initiation Project costs and benefits
What is a project? Pre-initiating tasks Identifying the benefits

A project has a beginning and an Set objectives, select project
end and is carried out to meet manager, identify the project
established goals within cost, sponsor Measuring benefits
schedule and quality objectives Observable, measurable,
quantifiable and financial
The project manager
What is project management? • The role of the project manager
• The combination of systems, is to take responsibility for Identifying the costs
techniques, and people used to ensuring the desired result is Capital expenditure and
control and monitor activities achieved on time and within operating costs
undertaken within the project budget
• The triple constraint (scope, • The responsibilities of a project
cost and time) manager Cost-benefit evaluation
• Project challenges • Duties of a project manager Accounting rate of return,
payback period, NPV and IRR
Projects and strategy Project sponsor

Project selection (suitability, Provides and is accountable for
acceptability and feasibility) the resources invested into the
project and is responsible for the
achievement of the project's
objectives
Initiating tasks
• Preparation of a business case
(This a key document for a
project. It is used to propose a
course of action to senior
management for their
consideration)
• The project initiation document
(Gives authorisation for work
to be done and resources used)
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Project Project execution Project
planning and control completion
Planning tools Controlling projects The completion report

• Work breakdown structure • Gateways are project review Summarises the results of the
(The project is broken down points project, and includes client
into manageable components) • It is at this point that certain sign-off
• The project budget criteria must be met before the
(The amount and distribution project can pass through the
of resources allocated to a gateway and proceed to the The post-project review
project) next stage Is a formal review of the project
• Gantt charts • Progress tests show the current that examines the lessons that
(Shows the deployment of status of the project, usually in may be learned and used for the
resources over time) relation to the planned status benefit of future projects
• Network analysis (or critical
path analysis)
(CPA aims to ensure the Project slippage The post-implementation review
progress of a project, so the • Slippage occurs when a project Are assessments of the
project is completed in the is running behind schedule completed working solution
minimum amount of time) • Addressing slippage
• Resource histogram • Fast-tracking
(Shows a view of project data • Crashing
in which resource
requirements, usage, and
availability are shown against Project change procedure
a time scale)
Responding to project risk

Avoidance, reduction,
transference, and acceptance
460
1. A project is 'an undertaking that has a beginning and an end and is carried out to meet
2. Project management is the combination of systems, techniques, and people used to control and
monitor activities undertaken within the project.
3. Projects are generally considered successful if they meet three specified objectives in terms of
the following (the 'triple constraint'): scope, time, and cost.
4. Projects and strategy are closely connected. Circumstances change and new conditions must be
met with new responses or initiatives. Each possible new development effectively constitutes a
project.
5. Project management can be a core strategic competence for organisations working in such
industries as consulting and construction.
6. As with strategies, projects can be assessed using the Johnson et al (2017) criteria of suitability,
acceptability and feasibility.
7. Some project managers have only one major responsibility: a specific project. However, many
project managers, will have routine work responsibilities outside their project goals.
8. The project sponsor provides and is accountable for the resources invested into the project and
9. A business case is a key document for a project. It is used to propose a course of action to
senior management for their consideration. A business case is a reasoned account of why the
project is needed, what it will achieve and how it will proceed.
10. The project initiation document (also known as the project charter) complements the business
case: while the business case explains the need for work on the project to start, the charter gives
authorisation for work to be done and resources used.
11. Measuring project benefits involves classifying them as observable, measurable, quantifiable
and financial.
12. Once the costs and benefits have been quantified and assumptions verified, an investment
appraisal can be undertaken. Techniques commonly used here include: accounting rate of
return, payback period, NPV and IRR.
13. The project plan is used as a reference tool for managing the project. The plan is used to guide
both project execution and project control. It outlines how the project will be planned, monitored
and implemented.
14. Projects need to be monitored closely to ensure that benefits are being realised and costs kept
under control. Gateways and progress reports are key methods of control.
15. Slippage occurs when a project is running behind schedule. Slippage can be addressed in a
number of ways including through fast-tracking and crashing.
16. Project completion involves a number of activities including the preparation of a completion
report, a post-project and post-implementation review.
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Question practice
Workbook):
Q15 LDB
Further reading
Own research
suggested some areas for you to investigate further. Research a well-known project with which you are
familiar. There are often stories in the media about large IT projects, and large scale construction projects
such as the building of sports stadia and ships. Then consider the following:
 Was the project a success or a failure?
 Which factors contributed to the project's success or failure?
 How did the project team manage the issues which arose during the execution phase of the project?
 What lessons could the project team learn having undertaken the project?
462
Exercise answer
Exercise 1
 Do nothing – it may not be feasible to make up the time
 Add resources by hiring extra staff, but this will mean additional cost
 Consider whether there are any ways of working more efficiently to speed things up
 Develop a revised plan with a later deadline, especially if it seems that, with hindsight, the
original plan was unrealistic. This may need negotiating with the project client, internal or
external
 Aim to improve team performance with incentives for meeting deadlines and/or sanctions if
staff do not meet them. Performance may also be improved by better communication
 Change the specification of the project, for example narrow the scope in order to meet the
deadline
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464
SKILLS CHECKPOINT 5
Implementing strategic change
Case scenario:
n aging information
Ma
aging information
Man Ans
w
Str er pl
uc an
tu ni
re n
Communication a
t
g: Lo
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manag ime
nd
Pr gic
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ACCA Professional Skills
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Scepticism acumen
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Efficient numerica
analysis
Introduction
In Stage 5 you have learned about the importance of Implementing Strategic Change.
The five Skills Checkpoints each focus on one of the five ACCA Professional Skills and provide further guidance
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Skills Checkpoint 5: Implementing strategic change
Your role
perspective.
Focus on ACCA Professional Skill: Communication

To communicate effectively you need to be able to express yourself clearly and convincingly using an
appropriate medium. Displaying good communication also involves being sensitive to the needs of
the intended audience. The name of the exam 'Strategic Business Leader' should provide a clear
steer that you will have to prepare responses to task requirements which are of a strategic nature and
which will be of interest to senior officers within an organisation. Individuals such as the CEO, Chair
or a director on the board will not be interested in lots of operational detail; they will however be
concerned about the main strategic issues facing the organisation.
Communicating with such individuals will require you to adopt a professional tone. This means
preparing answers which avoid ambiguity, repetition and unnecessary detail such as technical
jargon. Supporting your work using facts gleaned from the scenario detail and exhibits is a critical
skill, especially when you are asked to recommend solutions to address a given problem. When
attempting such tasks, using the word 'because' in your answer is a useful technique to use as it
ensures that you justify any recommendations you provide. For example, 'I recommend you do this
because…'
Presenting your work in the format specified in the task requirement is a key part of demonstrating
your communication skills. If you are asked to present your work using a report format it is important
that you do so. Task requirements in the exam may specify the use of a format which you have not
come across before in your earlier ACCA studies; you may be asked to prepare a presentation slide
accompanied with supporting notes. In such cases it is perfectly acceptable to use bullet points in
communicating the key issues from your answer on the presentation slide.

 Case scenario: Managing information. This question contains quite a lot of detail as
you are provided with some background information about the featured organisation, detail
about one of the organisation's internal processes and a diagram which shows in a visual
form the different stages involved in the featured process. To avoid being overloaded by all of
the information it is important that you take a moment to think carefully about how this detail
links to the task requirement. Therefore, a good starting point is to read the task requirement.
Understanding what is expected of you should help to keep you focused and may reduce
feelings associated with information overload. This is especially important as you have a lot of
information to take in, in a relatively short amount of time. Starting with the task requirement
should also help you to identify which elements of the scenario information will be of the most
use when formulating your answer.
 Correct interpretation of requirements. This is closely connected to the points raised
above. To avoid a situation where you answer a different question to the one actually asked, it
is important that you carefully read the task requirement a couple of times. Here you need to
be looking out for the verb(s) used; in some task requirements you may find that more than one
verb is used, and therefore that you are being expected to do more than one thing when
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Skills Checkpoint 5
answering the question. Once you have done this you should read through the scenario detail
as you should now have an idea of what you are looking out for. You should annotate any
relevant points that you pick out from the scenario while bearing in mind the verbs specified in
the task requirements. These points will form part of your answer plan. This approach is
particularly useful when you have more than one verb to consider, as it ensures that you are
generating sufficient points for use in answering the question.
 Effective writing and presentation. You should always use sub-headings in your
answer, as this helps to keep your answer on track, especially if there are more than two verbs
in the task requirement. Headings can be used as a checklist as they allow you to ensure that
all of the main points are included in your answer. Unless told otherwise, such as being asked
for a bullet-pointed slide, it is important that you write your answer using short, punchy
sentences. You need to make it as easy as possible for the marker to award your work the
marks on offer; avoiding lots of detail in your answer will help with this.
Skill Activity
STEP 1 Read the task requirement for the following question, identify the verbs and the
professional skills being examined, and set up your answer plan.
In this case you are expected to consider two verbs: 'analyse' and 'recommend'. When you are
asked to analyse something you are being asked to give reasons for a situation having occurred or
to provide an explanation of what has happened. In this case you are effectively being asked to
identify the weaknesses (faults) in WET's current membership renewal process that have given rise to
the problems listed by the CEO (the low response to payment requests, the despatch of renewal
reminders for people who have already paid, and the failure to send renewal invoices to some
members). The inclusion of the three problems listed by the CEO above the task requirement is
intended to direct you to the weaknesses which have caused them.
The second verb, recommend, requires you to advise appropriate actions that the recipient will be
able to understand. In the context of the scenario you are therefore required to put forward actions
which would resolve the weaknesses/faults that you identify from your analysis. When you are asked
to provide recommendations it is important that any suggestions you make are realistic and could be
implemented in light of the situation outlined in the scenario.
One thing you should have noticed is that there is no specific mention of any particular theory in the
task requirement, and therefore using the scenario and drawing upon your knowledge of
organisational processes to make sensible points in your answer would be perfectly acceptable.
Under the task requirement you should have picked up on the fact that it is your 'communication'
skills which are being tested. This professional skill requires you to 'inform', 'clarify' and 'persuade'.
To earn these professional marks you will need to produce an answer which concisely informs WET's
CEO of the current faults in the membership process. Your ability to clarify and simplify the issues
you identify is particularly important in light of the amount of detail provided in the scenario. Any
recommendations you make will need to be sufficiently persuasive if the CEO is to act upon them.
Although the task requirement does not specify any given format when presenting your answer, you
would still need to be mindful of the fact that you are preparing a response to the CEO, and would
therefore need to adopt a professional tone.
STEP 2 You should now briefly read the scenario. Remember your 'managing information'
skills, as the aim here is to pick out the key pieces of scenario detail which are going
to help you answer the question. You may find it helpful to have the process diagram
to hand as you go through the narrative detail.
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Question – The Wetland Trust (17 marks)
The Wetland Trust (WET), is a charity formed a number of years ago with the aim of preserving,
restoring and managing wetlands in the country of Arcadia. The wetlands of Arcadia are areas of
natural habitat made up of land that is saturated with moisture, such as swamp, marsh or bog.
Since its formation, the Trust has acquired the four remaining wetland sites left in the country. The
Trust's work is funded through the receipt of membership fees. Membership is through an annual
subscription which gives members the right to visit the wetlands. Each wetland is managed by
volunteers who provide access and guidance to members. Administrative costs have risen at a faster
rate than subscriptions. Administrative staff are all full-time paid employees of the charity.
However, despite an increase in staff numbers, there is a substantial backlog of This is a
weakness as it
Suggests WET
cleared applications in the Membership Department which have not yet been
is embarrassing
is potentially entered into the membership computer system. The membership computer to chase
losing out on system is one of the systems used to support administration. However, the members for
membership fee renewals if they
income. Again
functionality of this software is relatively restricted and cumbersome and there
already have
this is a have been complaints about its accuracy. For example, members claim paid.
weakness. that renewal reminders are often sent out to people who have
already paid and that members who should have received
renewal invoices have never received them. As a result the CEO
commented that 'we seem to be wasting money and losing members'.
Might have
WET's CEO is keen to improve the technology that supports the charity. WET's implications for
current website is very rudimentary, but she sees 'email and website recommendations to
improve the current
technology as facilitating the acquisition, retention and satisfaction of our member's membership
needs.' renewal process.
Membership renewal process
This may possibly One month before the date of membership renewal, the computer system This is a weakness
be an area in (Membership System) sends a renewal invoice to a current (not lapsed) member as people are
need of receiving their
giving subscription details and asking for payment. A copy of this invoice is
improvement as membership
cheque payments sent to the Membership Department who file it away. Approximately 80% of details and their
are slow. members decide to renew and send their payment (either by providing credit payment hasn't
necessarily
card details (60%) or as a cheque (40%)) to WET. The Membership
cleared yet.
Department matches the payment with the renewal invoice copy. The invoice
The Membership copy (stamped paid) is sent to Sales and Marketing who use it to
Department have produce a membership card and send this card, together with a
to handle the
Guide to Sites booklet, to the member. The Membership Department
original renewal
invoice and passes the payment to the Finance Department.
Seems like a
payment, and long time.
then receive Finance now submits payments to the bank. It currently takes the Finance
confirmation later Department an average of five days from the receipt of renewal to
Weakness of
on that they can
notifying the Membership Department of the cleared payment. accepting
update the
membership Once cleared, Finance notifies the Membership Department by email and they cheque
system to record update the Membership System to record that the payment has payments.
that the payment
been made. As mentioned before, there is a backlog in entering these details
has been made.
This seems long- into the computer system. Some cheques do not clear, often because
winded. they are filled in incorrectly (for example, they are unsigned or wrongly If a member has
received their
dated). In these circumstances, Finance raises a payment request and sends it membership card
to the member. Once the member re-submits a replacement cheque, it again but the payment
Weakness with
goes through the clearing process. has not been
accepting credit
accepted by
card payments.
Credit card payments are cleared instantly, but again there may be problems WET, members
might be inclined
with the details. For example, incorrect numbers and incorrect expiry to ignore a
dates will lead to the transaction not being authorised and so, in payment request.
these circumstances, Finance again raises a payment request. The
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Skills Checkpoint 5
members' response to payment requests is very low (about 5%). If a member has
Extra work for The finance manager has described this as scandalous and 'an unethical received their
the finance membership
department response from supposedly ethical people'. Also, not shown on the diagram: card but the
one week before renewal, the Membership System produces a payment has
renewal reminder and sends it to the member. Some members not been
accepted by
pay as a result of this reminder. If payment is not received then the WET, members
member details are recorded as 'lapsed'. might be
inclined to
ignore a
payment
Figure: Membership renewal process request.
Renew Membership
Membership Raise Renewal

System Invoice
Membership Match Payment Update

File Renewal
Department with Renewal Membership
Invoice copy
Invoice Copy System
[cleared] Notify
Finance Submit
Membership
Raise Payment
Department Payment Request
Department
[not cleared]
Receive
Receive Renewal Pay Renewal Pay Payment
Member Membership Card
Invoice Invoice Request
and Booklet
Receive Paid Produce

Sales & Renewal Invoice Membership
Package
Marketing Booklet
Copy Card
Required
WET's CEO has identified a number of problems with the current membership renewal process
including:
 the low response to payment requests
 the despatch of renewal reminders for people who have already paid
 the failure to send renewal invoices to some members
Analyse faults in the current membership renewal process that caused the problems identified
above and recommend solutions that would remedy these faults. (15 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating communication skills when highlighting
the faults in the current process and for suggesting practical solutions in addressing these faults.
(2 marks)
(Total = 17 marks)
A brief review of the scenario shows the following:
 The organisation is a charity. The fact that the charity only receives funding from the
membership fees that it earns means that its members are key stakeholders.
 This therefore tells us that any problems related to the membership renewal process are likely
to be very important to the organisation.
 The fact that administrative costs are rising at a faster pace than the fees received from
memberships suggests that at some point the charity may well run into financial difficulties if
this trend continues.
 There is a back log of uncleared applications. Again this is not good, given that the charity
receives all of its funding from the memberships it sells.
 The existing IT infrastructure is regarded as being rudimentary.
 The inclusion of the diagram provides a visual aid which complements the narrative detail
about the membership process.
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STEP 3 You are in a position from which you can create an answer plan. A good starting
point here is to focus on the weaknesses and disconnects that you identify in the
current process. Any recommendations you think of will come from the faults that you
identify.
Guidance in help you develop your Answer plan

minutes creating your answer plan, this leaves 29 minutes to write up your answer.
The most efficient way to plan an answer to this type of task requirement is to annotate the scenario,
underlining key points and making very brief notes about their significance. Identifying the faults/
weaknesses in the process by going through the scenario detail will then enable you to answer the
second part of the task requirement, which asks for recommendations to improve the process. We
will consider the second task requirement in more detail a little later on.
Your plan could look something like this:
Annotation of scenario detail
Question – The Wetland Trust (17 marks)

The Wetland Trust (WET), is a charity formed a number of years ago with the aim of preserving,
restoring and managing wetlands in the country of Arcadia. The wetlands of Arcadia are areas of
natural habitat made up of land that is saturated with moisture, such as swamp, marsh or bog.
Since its formation, the Trust has acquired the four remaining wetland sites left in the country. The
Trust's work is funded through the receipt of membership fees. Membership is through an annual
subscription which gives members the right to visit the wetlands. Each wetland is managed by
volunteers who provide access and guidance to members. Administrative costs have risen at a faster
rate than subscriptions. Administrative staff are all full-time paid employees of the charity.
This is not good However, despite an increase in staff numbers, there is a
given WET's
substantial backlog of cleared applications in the Membership This is a
dependence on weakness as it
its members. Department which have not yet been entered into the membership computer is embarrassing
system. The membership computer system is one of the systems used to support to chase
members for
administration. However, the functionality of this software is relatively restricted
Suggests WET renewals if they
is potentially and cumbersome and there have been complaints about its accuracy. For already have
losing out on example, members claim that renewal reminders are often sent out paid.
membership fee
to people who have already paid and that members who should
income. Again,
this is a have received renewal invoices have never received them. As a
weakness. result the CEO commented that 'we seem to be wasting money and losing
members'.
WET's CEO is keen to improve the technology that supports the charity. WET's current website is
very rudimentary, but she sees 'email and website technology as facilitating the acquisition, retention
and satisfaction of our member's needs'.
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Skills Checkpoint 5
Membership renewal process

One month before the date of membership renewal, the computer system This may
This is a possibly be an
weakness as
(Membership System) sends a renewal invoice to a current (not lapsed) member area in need of
people are giving subscription details and asking for payment. A copy of this invoice is improvement as
receiving their sent to the Membership Department who file it away. Approximately 80% of cheque
membership payments are
details and their
members decide to renew and send their payment (either by providing credit slow.
payment hasn't card details (60%) or as a cheque (40%)) to WET. The Membership
necessarily Department matches the payment with the renewal invoice copy. The invoice
cleared yet.
copy (stamped 'paid') is sent to Sales and Marketing who use it to
produce a membership card and send this card, together with a
Guide to Sites booklet, to the member. The Membership Department
passes the payment to the Finance Department.
Finance now submits payments to the bank. It currently takes the Finance Department an average of
five days from the receipt of renewal to notifying the Membership Department of the cleared
payment. Once cleared, Finance notifies the Membership Department by email and they update the
Membership System to record that the payment has been made. As mentioned before, there is a
backlog in entering these details into the computer system. Some cheques do not clear, often
because they are filled in incorrectly (for example, they are unsigned or wrongly dated). In these
circumstances, Finance raises a payment request and sends it to the member. Once the member
re-submits a replacement cheque, it again goes through the clearing process. Appears to be
a weakness as
If a member has Credit card payments are cleared instantly, but again there may be problems some members
received their with the details. For example, incorrect numbers and incorrect expiry dates will may have
membership lead to the transaction not being authorised and so, in these circumstances, already
card but the submitted a
payment has Finance again raises a payment request. The members' response to payment to
not been payment requests is very low (about 5%). The finance manager has renew their
accepted by described this as scandalous and 'an unethical response from supposedly membership.
WET members Again, this is
might be ethical people'. Also, not shown on the diagram: one week before embarrassing
inclined to renewal, the Membership System produces a renewal reminder from WET's
ignore a
and sends it to the member. Some members pay as a result of point of view as
payment it may appear
request. this reminder. If payment is not received then the member details are they are
recorded as 'lapsed'. hassling their
members. Not
Figure: Membership renewal process good as WET is
a charity.
Renew Membership
Membership Raise Renewal

System Invoice
Membership Match Payment Update

File Renewal
Department with Renewal Membership
Invoice copy
Invoice Copy System
[cleared] Notify
Finance Submit
Membership
Raise Payment
Department Payment Request
Department
[not cleared]
Receive
Receive Renewal Pay Renewal Pay Payment
Member Membership Card
Invoice Invoice Request
and Booklet
Receive Paid Produce

Sales & Renewal Invoice Membership
Package
Marketing Booklet
Copy Card
To ensure that you receive the professional skills marks it is important that you communicate a
response to both parts of the question by not only identifying the faults in the process but are able to
generate a range of solutions. You may find it helpful to set out your answer plan using a two-column
table, one half of which outlines the faults in the process, while the other outlines some
recommendations. Below is an example of two of the faults we identified and how these could be
addressed:
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Faults in current membership renewal Recommended solutions
process
The sales and marketing department currently The process needs to be changed so that the
receive renewal confirmation before the sales and marketing department only issue
member's payment has cleared. Therefore membership cards once receipt of the payment
membership cards are issued prior to WET has been confirmed by the finance department.
receiving the payment.
The five days taken by the finance department to The process could be improved by introducing
notify the membership department about those online payments through WET's website. WET
payments which have cleared is too long. would receive payments quicker. WET's website
would need improving though as this has been
described as rudimentary.
As the table above illustrates it is important that any solutions you recommend are realistic, and could
be implemented by WET's CEO if considered appropriate.

requirement again to ensure that there is nothing that you have overlooked. In this
case ensuring the following will be important:
 Have you focused on the faults in the current process which were outlined by
the CEO?
 Have you generated a sufficient number of faults and recommendations to
ensure that you have produced a well-balanced answer which will earn the
communication skills marks?

You can now bring your workings together to create a solution, making sure that you
use logical headings and short punchy sentences. Drawing together the key points
from the scenario with your recommendations will show the marker that you have
dealt with both task requirements. A model answer is given below, with comment
boxes illustrating where the answer is demonstrating good communication skills.
This sentence displays good communication skills as

Suggest Solution it is informing the reader that following your analysis
there are effectively two main issues with the current
Faults in the current process process.
Good use of
headings. This There are two key faults in the process which have led to a
makes it easier
for the marker
number of adverse consequences for WET:
to identify the
points raised,
1. Sales and marketing receive renewal confirmation before
especially if the payment has cleared
same terms are
used from the
task
requirement, ie
'Faults'
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Skills Checkpoint 5
This illustrates good This has led to the sending out of membership cards and booklets
communication skills in to members prior to their payment clearing. Once this is received, the
terms of clarifying the This point ties the answer
issues with the
member would conclude that their payment had cleared and therefore would back to one of the
renewal process not respond to any request for payment. This may be why there is a low problems identified by
the CEO in the task
especially as this rate of response to payment requests.
initially appears to be requirement ie the low
quite involved. The response to payment
Where these membership details are sent to members whose payments may
ability to simplify requests.
complex information
have not cleared, those members may accidently receive a year's free
concisely is an membership.
essential
communication skill. These members, however, would be recorded in the system as 'lapsed' and
would not be requested to renew the following year. It is likely that this is why
some members are not receiving renewal notices. This heading ties the answer back to one of the three
problems raised by the CEO in the task requirement, in
this case 'the despatch of renewal reminders for people
who have already paid'. Shows the marker that the
answer is applied as required.
This section 2. Reminder notice is sent out one week before renewal, irrespective of
displays the
ability to whether the renewal is actually 'in progress'.
combine
different pieces This has led to renewal reminders being sent out to those members whose payments are
of information awaiting clearance. This means that reminders are received by members whose
from different payment will clear, or possibly already has. Those whose payments do not clear will
parts of the
scenario detail.
also receive this letter; however, as mentioned above, given that they have already
The ability to received their membership pack, they will assume it did clear and ignore the renewal.
combine this
information, From receipt of the payment, it takes Finance five days to notify the
and explain membership department that payment has cleared, and there is a backlog of
why it matters,
displays good
cleared notifications awaiting entry to the computer systems. This means renewal
communication reminders may also be sent in error to members whose details have not yet been updated by
skills and shows the membership department.
that you are
able to manage Members received their card and booklet before payment has cleared and these people will
lots of
information.
also receive a renewal letter.
The people receiving these un-needed renewal letters may view this as wasteful and inefficient.
This may cause the members to leave WET in favour of another charity that they perceive to be
more efficient, one that will put their donation to maximum use.
Again, the use of headings breaks up the answer and shows the marker that you
Recommended solutions have addressed both of the verbs in the task requirement.
Notification to sales and marketing department
This section works Nice short
well as it provides a
Finance should only send notification of a membership renewal sentence, which
recommendation to the sales and marketing department after payment has make easier for
the marker to
and highlights the cleared, to ensure only fully paid members receive the read.
benefits of following
this recommendation
membership card and booklet.
ie reducing wastage
and improving
Review reminder letter process
perceptions.
Renewal reminders should be only sent to individuals that have
Highlighting the not responded to the renewal notice. This can be done by
benefits of a course updating the membership system when a payment is received to
of action to make it
show that it is being processed. This will reduce wastage and
more persuasive.
Persuasiveness is improve customer perceptions of WET.
one part of the
ACCA professional However, this will involve a change to the computer system and add more work
skill of to the already pressurised membership department (there is already a backlog
communication.
of cleared payments). It will also involve a further handoff between the finance
and membership departments which increases the risk of error and further
delays.
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Relatively
straightforward The problems can also be reduced by employing more staff in the membership
suggestions such
as this demonstrate department, however, this will increase administration costs.
good
communication Handoff reduction
skills. Remember,
these
The current system involves many handoffs which increase the time taken to carry out
recommendations processes as well as increasing the risk of error and cost of the process. Reducing the number
have been of handoffs between departments would improve the process.
prepared for
WET's CEO so One way this could be achieved would be by the finance department entering membership
keeping any
suggestions you
details of cleared payments into the system themselves rather than notifying the membership
make practical department that the payment has cleared. However, the finance department would require
helps to make your access to the system, appropriate training and sufficient resource to deal with the backlog.
work more useful
to the intended Bring payment validation forward in the process
recipient.
Payment validation should be part of the primary activity, rather than a separate activity as it
is currently.
Early validation could be achieved by offering the member the option of making their payment
online using credit/debit cards. This would eliminate the problem of errors in the details
provided, as the details would be immediately validated by the card provider. This would
mean that WET would receive the money quicker and would reduce the number of finance
requests, therefore also reducing costs and possibly headcount in the finance departments.
To do this the internet site will have to be developed to be capable of
taking secure payments. This will involve both initial costs and transaction fees
from the provider of the financial solution.
Having provided a recommendation such as the one given above (ie allow for memberships to
be paid for online), and then following this up with a brief mention of the implication of this
course of action represents good communication, as it helps the user of this work (WET's CEO)
Direct debits to understand the impact of implementing the suggested solution.
Members should be encouraged to set up direct debits for their membership; an incentive such as a
small reduction in annual membership may encourage members to choose this option. Direct debits
then allow for automatic renewals to take place which do not require any action from the members.
The members would have to opt out of membership rather than opt in as they do under the current
process, therefore action is only required if they chose not to renew their membership. This should
both improve member retention and reduce administration as those memberships can be quickly and
easily processed with no need to send out reminder letters, therefore easing the pressure on the
membership department and reducing administrative costs.
In order for this to happen changes will need to be made to the membership computer system.

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Skills Checkpoint 5
Case scenario: Managing Did you extract the key points from the scenario and diagram? In
information this case, you should have seen that the organisation was a not-
for-profit and therefore reference to shareholder wealth and similar
concepts would be inappropriate. The fact that the charity was
totally dependent on the membership fees to support its operations
made the issue of addressing any weaknesses in the membership
renewal process of critical importance.
Correct interpretation of Did you identify that the task requirement consisted of two verbs,
requirements 'analyse' and 'recommend'? Did you appreciate the importance of
displaying your communication skills?

Priorities, structure and the task requirements first, then working through the scenario to
logic extract relevant information? Did you stop to consider the diagram
provided, in addition to the narrative detail?

analysis
succinctly?
Time management Did you allocate sufficient time to attempt both parts of the task?
Summary
Answering exam questions is like any other skill – the more you practise the better you will get! But,
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Appendix 1 – Activity answers
Chapter 1 Strategy, leadership and culture
Activity 1: Academic Recycling Company

Tackling the question
Lots of information is given to you in the case and many marks can be gained simply by pulling out
the relevant points. You can apply the theory in this chapter about differing leadership approaches to
identify the changes in style, and why they might have gone wrong.
How to earn the professional skills marks
You are being assessed on your ability to analyse this situation and form an opinion about why
things went wrong for Sully. Consequently, it is your ability to investigate and consider various
elements that will show how well you understand the problems faced by Sully and his leadership
style.
However, don't forget that as well as analysing Sully's leadership style before and after the training
course, you also have to explain why the change in style was unsuccessful. For example, as well as
the appropriateness of the different styles in relation to the workforce, how did the speed with which
Sully tried to make the change affect its effectiveness?
Suggested solution
From: A Consultant
To: Sully Truin
Subject: Analysis of leadership issues at Academic Recycling Company – CONFIDENTIAL
Hi Sully – as discussed, here is my analysis of your changing leadership style and some reasons for
the problems that you have been experiencing.
Prior to attending the course
Your original management style was autocratic and focused on tight control. This was because you
believed that employees wished to avoid work and responsibility and therefore needed detailed
direction and close control. The jobs of the employees therefore increasingly began to consist of
simple, repetitive tasks which were carried out in accordance with well-defined procedures. Other
matters, even trivial ones, were escalated up to you for you to resolve. The escalation of these simple
issues seems to have further reinforced your opinion of the inadequacies of your employees and the
need for tight controls in order to ensure their work got done. You were displaying a largely
autocratic style of leadership.
After attending the course
The course promoted a more democratic style of leadership which evidently has caused you to
question your approach to management. You attempted to implement a style in which subordinates
are involved in task planning and where leadership responsibilities are shared.
Why the change of leadership was unsuccessful
There are a number of reasons why the change in your leadership style was not successful. First, the
speed of change was such that you radically changed your approach overnight. This will have
been confusing for employees and will have made it very hard for them to understand what was
expected of them under this new approach.
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In addition, the employees were uncomfortable with your new style. The original approach
was a fairly good match between the leader, the subordinates and the tasks. Employees who had not
liked your tough-minded management approach will have previously left the organisation. The
remaining staff are the ones who prefer to have their work clearly specified and
tightly controlled. This style may also have influenced choices when appointing new members of
staff, selecting those that will fit in with your views and the culture of the organisation. The views of
the staff can be seen in their suggestions that you revert back to the original style.
The original approach would also appear to have been well suited to the tasks carried out by
the employees for which you have developed a 'tight administration process' and have 'closely
defined what needs to be done for each contract and how it should be monitored'. The processes
are straightforward, but when quick decisions are required they are escalated up to you. You are
experienced in making fast decisions and have sufficient authority to do so. When this decision-
making responsibility was moved to subordinates, they felt they lacked both the experience
and the authority. They therefore consulted colleagues and the decision-making process took
much longer.
However, although reverting to the old style might be preferred by the employees, it does not
solve the original problems faced by you: being heavily relied upon to the point that it is
damaging to your health and preventing the company from expanding.
Many theorists have suggested that there is no one best way of leadership and that the style
which is appropriate in any given context will depend on the nature of the work and the people
involved. No management style is likely to fit all situations and the approach required will vary
at different times depending on business needs. In order to resolve problems or get things done a
democratic manager may, at some point, need to adopt an authoritarian approach and vice versa.
I hope this makes sense and is constructive – please contact me should you wish to discuss this
further.
Kind regards,
A. Consultant
Activity 2: iCompute
Using the Cultural Web as a framework is a good approach, as this will help you structure your
answer and help you identify the relevant information provided to you in the scenario. Note that
although the cultural web has been used in this model answer, the question did not ask for any
specific model or framework to be used (as in the real exam). You might, therefore, have taken an
alternative approach to answering this question. There are a number of frameworks and perspectives
through which the culture of an organisation can be assessed and you will still be awarded marks if
you have chosen a different approach.
To score highly you should make sure that, as well as picking out the relevant points via your
analysis skills (investigate and consider) you state what effect this is currently having on iCompute
and the long-term effect this might have should the behaviour continue.
Suggested solution
The cultural web model can assist in understanding the culture at iCompute as follows.
Stories
Stories circulate between the employees of an organisation and often relate to the history of the
organisation and can be very indicative of the issues that exist.
Stories at iCompute revolve around the weakness of the current management which is presented in
comparison with the management of the past.
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Symbols
Logos, language and terminology, offices, cars and titles used commonly within an organisation are
all symbols which give clues towards the culture of an organisation.
At iCompute the main language and symbols are dominated by technology. Possessing gadgets such
as the most up-to-date mobile telephone is not only considered to be important but is also seen as a
reflection of the individual's technical competence.
Playing computer games is referred to as a typical after-work activity. Combined with the culture of
long working hours this could be potentially viewed as divisive.
There appears to be a constant distraction caused by technological objectives and new alternatives
seem to cause doubt and delay. This was referred to by one of the managers as a 'state of constant
technical paralysis'.
Another manager suggests that customers are viewed as either incompetent or lazy due to their need
to make calls to the support team, indicating a need to refocus managers towards customers.
Routines and rituals
Routines and rituals relate to 'the way we do things around here'.
At iCompute, there is a culture of long working hours and male-oriented after-work activities such as
playing football and playing computer games. This culture would quickly alienate any member of
staff who may prefer to go home to undertake family commitments, or who do not have interest in
taking part in such activities.
Such a male-focused culture is likely to contribute to the company's difficulty in recruiting females and
also to its high first-year labour turnover. The culture therefore is contributing to the need to incur high
recruitment and training costs.
Control systems
In contrast to the technical focus of iCompute, there is a limit to how far technical expertise is
rewarded. In order to be promoted, it is necessary for the technical staff to move into management
and the evidence given in the scenario suggests that this is not always successful. There is the general
view that the managers are technically out of date and any technical work they produce is generally
viewed with contempt and quickly replaced.
The management of iCompute have recognised that there is a lack of measurement systems to permit
adequate control; however, the recent attempts to introduce a system that would improve time
recording has been met with anger from the software developers.
Paradigm and conclusion
When iCompute was first established, it was an entrepreneurial organisation with a strong work
ethic focused around innovation and aggressive management. The organisation now appears to
have superficially matured, but the analysis of the culture within the organisation would suggest that
this is not actually the case.
Managers appear to avoid problems by failing to negotiate with customers, outsourcing problematic
functions such as software support, and attempting to gain control by installing formal computer
systems.
The culture has directly impacted on the ability of the organisation to attract and retain female staff
and has created high levels of staff turnover as only a particular 'type' of employee will be suited to
an organisational culture such as this.
In order for iCompute to move forwards and recruit a more balanced and stable workforce, the
culture of the organisation must change. The focus must move away from the technology-centric
attitudes towards a more business-focused approach.
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Chapter 2 Stakeholders and social responsibility
Activity 1: Stakeholders
The list of possible answers to the question of 'who or what is a stakeholder' is theoretically endless,
especially as you are not given much detail in the scenario – however, you can infer plenty from the
details that you have been given and develop your answer from there. The mark scheme of
6 + 2 = 8 marks means that you need at least six stakeholders and then their claims need to have
been considered fully enough to merit the two professional marks.
Acting with commercial acumen requires you to demonstrate an awareness of wider external factors
and to act with perception and insight into a situation. Some of the stakeholders here are obvious
(employees, suppliers, customers etc) while others (such as involuntary stakeholders from the natural
world) may not be quite so obvious. Coupled with the need to identify stakeholder claims as well,
this is not an easy task but could be asked for in virtually any situation.
Suggested solution
The list of stakeholders is likely to include the following (with their claims in brackets)
 Shareholders who require a return on their investment – (this is a direct claim because they
are in contact with the organisation already)
 Lenders who require their loans to be serviced in full and on time (also direct)
 Customers who require good quality projects to be completed (also direct)
 Suppliers who require being paid on time (also direct)
 Employees who require good working conditions and being paid on time (also direct)
 The general public who require no adverse effects from the organisation and its projects
(such as safe housing, reliable infrastructure)(direct/indirect)
 The government which requires tax to be paid on corporate profits and other expenses,
plus the ideal of maximising employment levels in the economy (probably also direct)
 Professional bodies which require the organisation's accreditation process to be robust to
maintain their reputation (also direct)
 Flora and fauna whose natural environment is affected by civil engineering projects being
built – (they require a clean, unspoilt environment to live in, but their claims are indirect
because they did not ask to be affected by the organisation's projects)
 People living near a construction project (whether housing or some other kind) who
require a quiet, clean and safe environment in which to live but who may be adversely
affected by either the construction process or the finished asset (again, likely to be indirect)
Activity 2: Goaway Hotels

Remember that we are talking about one specific decision so we need to focus on that decision and
how each of the identified stakeholders will affect the process of changing terms and conditions.
Assessing means using professional judgement when considering issues. In this case, you will show
that judgement by carefully considering the different stakeholders and the potential impact of the
hotel's decisions on them.
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Suggested solution
Taking each stakeholder in turn:
The board of directors – need to be kept informed about the decision to change
working conditions
Power: Low, surprisingly perhaps. However, the new employment legislation appears to limit
significantly directors' freedom to reduce labour costs by changing contractual terms. The directors
also have little say over the decision of shareholders to sell shares. (This demonstrates that you
cannot take anyone's role for granted.)
Level of interest: High, as this is a major decision, integral to the directors' plans for the future of
the Goaway hotel chain. It may also have a significant effect on their remuneration.
Shareholders – they need to be kept satisfied due to their role in any decisions
taken
Power: High, because the shareholders are currently in a position to sell their shares if they feel
that they have received a good offer. If they do, unions and employees may find that the
international company is able to take a much tougher approach.
Level of interest: Low, as none of them participates actively in Goaway's decision making. Their
main concern is whether to continue to take dividends or realise a capital gain from their investment.
Trade unions – they are key players and will need to be managed closely when the
decision is made
Power: High. This is because they have the economic power to take legal action to prevent
Goaway from changing their members' employment terms.
Level of interest: High. This is because they wish to protect their members.
Migrant workers – minimal effort should be deployed as they do not have much
effect on the decision
Power: Low. This is because replacement workers can be recruited easily from the home country.
Level of interest: Low. The migrant workers seem quite happy with their current employment
terms, even though these are not as favourable as the home country's workers.
Each stakeholder group would be plotted on Mendelow's matrix as follows:
Level of interest
Low High
Low A B
Migrant workers Directors
Power
High C D
Shareholders Trade unions
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Activity 3: Corporate social responsibility
Balance is the key to answering this question as the slide requires both viewpoints to help inform the
board. You would probably need at least three points on each side to have a good chance of
scoring the marks on offer here.
Inform means to communicate concisely, objectively and unambiguously, using appropriate media. It
is essential that you use the slide format as requested, but do not overload your slides with too much
detail. The detail should be contained within the presenter's notes.
Suggested solution
The slide could look like this:
Business case for CSR Business case against CSR
 Builds reputation  Does not support shareholders

 Attracts investors/employees/customers  Cost vs benefit?
 Competitive advantage  Time-consuming
 Branding  Credible?
 Unregulated
Presenter's notes
For
 Reputation (eg focusing on health and safety for employees pre-empts the need for legislation
to be imposed by outside regulators)
 Attraction of individuals or organisations who support good CSR and see the company as
being a good place to work
 CSR can create competitive advantage (especially as the wider construction industry has a
reputation for poor health and safety)
 Can tie into our branding to reinforce 'responsible' credentials
 Unregulated = easy to incorporate (because there's no 'wrong' answer, so you will always be
right whatever you do)
Against
 Organisations are responsible to shareholders  CSR is 'stealing' their funds
 Benefits do not outweigh costs (no tangible evidence to support CSR)
 Time-consuming to implement across a business
 Seen as PR only (most stakeholders in construction will think it's only done for this reason) so is
it going to be seen as credible or merely cynical?
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Activity 4: CSR and tax

This solution has been framed around the Gray, Owen and Adams model but any similar approach
could have been used as long as four different perspectives were adopted. For example, taking
Carroll's model – GSA could have considered the following responses:
 Economic – why pay more tax if it reduces our profits (regardless of what the law says)?
Note that this perspective ignores the law, a position that most organisations cannot take.
 Legal – why pay more taxes if the law says we have paid enough already? We already pay
more than we want to because we want to obey the law.
 Ethical – maybe we should acknowledge that paying more corporate tax than we need to is
the right thing to do and presents a view of us being more socially responsible.
 Philanthropic – we will rearrange our tax strategy to pay what we think is right and start to
fill in some of the social and economic gaps left behind by government policy via targeted
donations and other benevolent initiatives.
Part of demonstrating commercial acumen is the ability to show insight and perception in
understanding work-related and organisational issues, including the management of conflict,
demonstrating acumen in arriving at appropriate solutions or outcomes. This is a classic example of
such a conflict where there is probably no right answer – however, the depth of your analysis is what
you are being asked to show here, along with good awareness of the external factors the company
must deal with.
Suggested solution
Taking Gray, Owen and Adams as an example, GSA could reach a number of different perspectives
regarding the decision to pay more tax on a voluntary basis.
 Pristine capitalist – the company should not pay any more tax than is legally due as that
would erode shareholder wealth.
 Expedient – the company could pay tax to present the impression that it wishes to empathise
with its customers, thus reducing the threat of further adverse reputational damage and sales
boycotts (it may even attempt to calculate the point at which marginal extra tax paid equals
marginal sales restored).
 Social contract – the company should pay a fair amount of tax as society expects it to play
its part.
 Social ecologist – all companies should pay as much tax as possible in order to support
society and those who need assistance.
 Socialist – the company should definitely pay more tax just like the workforce has to
(employing expensive tax advisors that employees cannot afford is unfair).
 Radical feminist – the company should pay tax in order to empathise with society and the
pain it feels from punitive taxation.
 Deep ecologist – the company should donate money to an environmental pressure group
(eg Greenpeace) and consider whether it is operating with enough of a social and
environmental mandate to continue trading (as a pharmaceutical company, this is debatable).
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Chapter 3 Impact of corporate governance on strategy
Activity 1: Rules for corporate governance

The key to any set of briefing notes is to try and consider as many of the alternatives as possible so
the person you are briefing is as prepared as they can be for their meeting. The marks scheme is
suggesting six marks so to maintain balance you would have needed to consider at least three points
for each side to score well here.
Communication skills are critical for this exam and to earn these marks your answer needs to show
that you can clarify the points you are making in a way that simplifies complex issues and can be
easily understood.
Suggested solution
The benefits of having international codes of corporate governance include the following.
(a) It provides a standardised approach which helps multi-national companies to enforce
consistent codes across their operations.
(b) It gives investors the understanding and therefore confidence to invest in global capital
markets.
(c) It makes it easier for countries to implement corporate governance codes since they are not
having to produce their own codes from scratch.
(d) It ensures a minimum level of corporate governance.
However, a number of problems have been identified with international codes of corporate
governance.
(a) International principles represent a lowest common denominator of general, fairly banal and
meaningless principles.
(b) Any attempt to strengthen the principles will be extremely difficult because of global
differences in legal structures, financial systems and structures of corporate ownership, cultural
and other economic factors.
(c) As international guidance has to be based on best practice in a number of regimes,
development will always lag behind changes in the most advanced regimes, who will always
feel theirs is the best one to start with.
(d) The codes will have no legislative power if they differ from local laws and regulations.
Activity 2: Chair and chief executive

Clearly there are more points here than you might expect to see in a traditional set of FAQs –
however, there are a number of angles that you could have taken. Take the USA for example where
the role of Executive Chair is more commonplace than in the UK: you could have explained this in
your answer to try and show balance.
Commercial acumen skills require you to demonstrate judgement in identifying the key points as to
why these two roles are best kept separate. However, as the previous points explain, should you
have concluded that these roles could easily be combined, professional skills marks would still be
awarded if you drafted the solutions to your FAQs in line with what's most appropriate for the
organisation and prioritising the key points.
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Suggested solution
Frequently asked questions
Separating the roles of Chair and Chief Executive (CEO)
Separating the roles ensures that there is not a single individual with unfettered power. The principle
that the roles should be separated was established following the frauds carried out by Robert
Maxwell at Mirror Group Newspapers in the early 1990s.
The CEO can then run the company, while the chair can run the board. Separation of the roles
allows them both to be given suitable focus. The chair should be looking to the interests of the
shareholders; the CEO is concerned with implementing the board's strategy.
It reflects the reality that both jobs are demanding roles. In particular in large companies (eg
FTSE100 companies) it would be too demanding for one person to carry out both functions.
Having two different people in the role brings two different perspectives, two sets of experience and
skills and therefore improves decision making.
The separation of roles avoids the risk of conflicts of interest. The CEO's remuneration will contain
performance-related bonuses. They may be inclined to take unacceptable risks to make sure that they
earn their bonus.
Accountability to shareholders
The board cannot make the CEO truly accountable for management if it is led by the CEO.
Separation of the roles means that the board is more able to express its concerns effectively by
providing a joint channel of reporting (the chair) for the non-executive directors.
Note. The UK Corporate Governance Code (2018) suggests that the CEO should not go on to
become chair of the same company. If a CEO did become chair, the main risk is that they will interfere
in matters that are the responsibility of the new CEO and thus exercise undue influence over them.
Activity 3: Non-executive directors

Starting with the marks scheme, eight marks are awarded here for a task with three components – what
should the split of marks be in this case? There are probably more advantages than disadvantages
(hence the reason for the widespread use of NEDs!) so you should be favouring these in your answer:
assuming one mark for each point, you could go with four advantages, two disadvantages and two
ways of overcoming these and this would nicely provide the eight marks on offer.
The professional skill in this activity is commercial acumen, specifically using judgement in identifying
key issues and demonstrating how to resolve problems by recommending suitable solutions. Provided
that your answer covers all this, you should score well.
Suggested solution
The main advantages of bringing NEDs onto our board are as follows:
 They bring external expertise and experience, which helps the board view matters from a
much wider perspective
 NEDs bring an independent and objective view, without being clouded by ego or reward
 NEDs demonstrate compliance with virtually all corporate governance codes throughout the
world
 The use of NEDs will provide assurance to, and confidence for, our many stakeholders (such
as lenders, suppliers, regulators, employees)
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The key disadvantages with NEDs tend to centre around two issues:
 Lack of independence – this comes from a variety of factors: as their length of service
increases, they become more closely aligned with an organisation; this is exacerbated by
cross-directorships (NEDs sharing executive and NED roles across two different companies);
reward schemes can create conflicts of interest too (such as inflated pay or the inappropriate
use of share options)
 Lack of effectiveness – this comes from not having the right calibre (either in terms of quality or
experience – unfortunately, the organisations that most need NEDs are unlikely to be able to
offer the same lucrative remuneration as other organisations that need them far less) or having
insufficient numbers of NEDs (or those without enough authority to make a difference).
How to overcome these disadvantages:
 Independence issues could be addressed by offering service contracts that stick to best
practice in terms of length of service
 Full disclosure of NEDs and their remuneration helps to reduce conflicts of interest appearing
'under the radar'
 Training and induction to the organisation will help with effectiveness issues
 Market rates of pay can help with both independence (making them reasonable) and
effectiveness (attracting the right calibre)
Activity 4: Remuneration packages

There are nine marks on offer for explaining the six separate elements of a remuneration package –
to score one and a half marks in each case, you will not only need to explain each component but
also illustrate something about the role that is played by human nature (allied to the professional skills
marks).
Commercial acumen marks are awarded here for displaying perception of, and insight into, a
work-related issue, specifically one which manages personal conflicts of interest.
Suggested solution
Basic salary will be in accordance with the terms of each director's contract of employment, and is
not related to the performance of the company or the director. Instead it is determined by the
experience of the director and what other companies might be prepared to pay (the market rate).
There are elements of both recruitment and retention when agreeing a basic salary – however, it is
unlikely to be the only part of an executive's remuneration (see next point).
Performance-related pay (often as a cash bonus) is paid for good performance (usually hitting
a specific financial target). To guard against excessive payouts, some companies impose limits on
bonus plans as a fixed percentage of salary or pay. Transaction bonuses tend to be much more
controversial. Some chief executives get bonuses for acquisitions, regardless of subsequent
performance, possibly indeed further bonuses for spinning off acquisitions that have not worked out.
Basic and bonus are often the majority of an executive director's remuneration package, but the
proportion each makes up of the whole package needs to tread a fine line:
 Too much basic and not enough bonus means the director is unlikely to try that hard – where's
the incentive?
 Too much bonus and not enough basic however could lead to excessive risk-taking by the
director so should be set at an ambitious but not dangerous level.
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Benefits could include transport, such as a company car, health insurance provision, life assurance,
holidays, expenses and loans. The remuneration committee should consider the benefit to the director
and the cost to the company of the complete package. Also the committee should consider how the
directors' package relates to the package for employees; ideally perhaps the package offered to the
directors should be an extension of the package applied to the employees.
Pensions Many companies may pay pension contributions for directors and staff. In some cases,
however, there may be separate schemes available for directors at higher rates than for employees.
The UK Corporate Governance Code (2018) states that, as a general rule, only basic salary should
be pensionable. The Code emphasises that the remuneration committee should consider the pension
consequences and associated costs to the company of basic salary increases and any other changes
in pensionable remuneration, especially for directors close to retirement.
Directors may be awarded shares in the company (aligning their interests with those of
shareholders) with time limits on when they can be sold in return for good performance: to
encourage long-term performance improvement, it is expected to be a number of years before shares
can be sold. Some shareholders may acquire a speculative shareholding simply to earn a short-term
gain, which is perceived to go against corporate strategy best practice, so setting time limits reduces
the risk of this occurring.
Share options give directors the right to purchase shares at a specified exercise price over a
specified time period in the future. If the price of the shares rises so that it exceeds the exercise price
by the time the options can be exercised, the directors will be able to purchase shares at lower than
their market value – this also aligns directors' and shareholders' interests to focus on longer-term
performance. [The UK Corporate Governance Code (2018) states that non-executive directors'
remuneration should not include share options or other performance-related elements, as this may
impact upon their independence.]
Chapter 4 The external environment
Activity 1: Organic fruit farm

Although in the exam you would be expected to present your answer to a requirement like this, we
have used a 'two-column' format here to emphasis the 'analysis' element of the answer.
Analysis involves investigating relevant information, and then reflecting on its implications.
So, in this activity, you first need to identify (from the scenario) the factors which could affect the
farm, and then consider how they affect it, and what their impact could be.
Remember, the way external factors affect an organisation is by presenting opportunities or threats.
So, you need to think how any of the factors in the scenario could present an opportunity or a threat
to the farm (and what that opportunity or threat is).
The 'two-column' approach we have used as a template provides a structure in which to do this:
 Identifying the factors (in the left-hand column); and then
 Considering their impact (in the right-hand column).
In effect, the analysis in the right-hand column explains how or why the factors in the left-hand
column will affect the farm. These points – explaining 'how' or 'why' – are the ones which will help
you to score the professional skills marks available, because they demonstrate that you have
considered the information available, and reflected on its implications for the organisation in the
scenario.
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Suggested solution
Environmental factor Impact of the factors
Social – consumers' attitudes to organic These changing consumer attitudes will increase
food are changing because of concerns industry demand from organic farms. However, farmers'
about health and the environment. accountability – and compliance with organic
Organic food is perceived as more certification – is necessary to maintain consumer
socially responsible than non-organic confidence in buying organic produce.
alternatives.
[Note. You could also have included
these points in relation to the
'Environmental/Ecological' aspect of
the PESTEL model – because a key factor
in the growth of the organic farming
industry has been the drive for more
environmentally friendly products.]
Technological – the industry needs to Technological developments will increase yields, and
use technology (such as sophisticated also reduce problems of seasonality and perishability
weather management systems and by extending the life of the product through storage.
atmospherically controlled tunnels) to This will benefit farmers' cash flows.
avoid using fertilisers and pesticides. Further technological advances may enable the industry
to reduce costs further in future. If the price of organic
produce can also be reduced, this could make the
products accessible to more consumers. (At the moment,
organic products are typically more expensive than
non-organic ones.)
Legal (regulatory) – there is significant There are severe sanctions for breaching regulations. As
regulation in the food industry generally, a result, compliance is very important, and the
and particularly in relation to organic associated costs of compliance are likely to be high.
produce. Organic farms need to obtain Any changes in regulations or standards in the future
the relevant certification before they can could lead to additional compliance costs.
start selling produce as organic; and then
However, the existence of strict regulations should help
they need to comply with all the
to ensure consumer confidence in the industry.
appropriate regulations regarding
production, packaging and labelling.
Activity 2: Happy Days theme parks

Although the requirement doesn't specifically mention Porter's five forces, the fact that you are asked
to analyse the industry and to investigate the impact of environmental forces on 'the profitability of
the industry' should have been clear indicators that the five forces was the most appropriate
framework to use here.
A sensible approach to the question would be to use each force as a heading and then think how the
information provided in the scenario could affect each force.
Once you have identified the factors in the scenario that could affect each force, you need to think
about the impact they have on the industry and its profitability.
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For example, the scenario tells us that 'significant capital and technology [are] required to develop
… new rides.' But what is the significance of that? The capital and technology requirements are
barriers to entry, and so reduce the threat of new entrants.
Identifying relevant points in the scenario (such as capital and technology requirements) can help you
earn technical marks, but to earn the professional marks, you need to identify the implications of the
information in the scenario. How do the factors affect the strength of the forces, and therefore in turn
how do they affect the level of profit which can be sustained in the industry?
Suggested solution
Threat of new entrants – Low
The barriers to entry to the theme park industry in Western Europe are high due to difficulty and cost
of acquiring sites, and the high capital cost of building rides.
The maturity of the market, and strong market position (and brand name) of the existing multi-national
entertainment corporations will also act as a barrier to potential entrants.
In the short term, the economic climate may also act as a barrier to entry since consumer spending is
falling, making potential parks less profitable.
Competitive rivalry – High
The mature market in Western Europe means competition is intense, and opportunities for growth are
limited. Companies have to spend large amounts of money maintaining state-of-the-art rides in order
to attract, and retain, customers.
The current economic climate means competition will be intensified further, as parks try to attract
customers against a backdrop of reduced consumer spending.
The multinational operators are likely to be better placed to withstand competition than smaller, local
parks because they have access to greater resources. This might lead to multinational operators
acquiring regional or local parks. However, industry consolidation in this way is likely to increase
competitive rivalry even more.
Threat of substitutes – High
There is a wide variety of other tourist attractions, cultural and entertainment offerings, all competing
for a share of household leisure spend. Therefore the threat of substitutes, offering an alternative 'day
out', is quite high.
However there is an element of thrill/risk associated with theme parks which may mean these other
leisure pursuits are not perfect substitutes.
Bargaining power of consumers – Relatively high
As well as having a choice between visiting a theme park or a substitute 'day out', customers also
have a choice of different theme parks to attend.
Therefore, although individual consumers will have little bargaining power, consumers collectively
are likely to have a relatively high degree of power. This is reflected in the fact that 'price' is seen as
one of the key success factors for a park.
Conclusion
The competitive forces suggest that the theme park industry in Western Europe is fiercely competitive,
which is likely to restrict the level of profit it can sustain in the long run.
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Activity 3: Scenario plans
Note that the requirement isn't asking about the process NESTA should go through to produce a
scenario plan, but rather how it might use the scenarios as part of the decision-making process
around whether or not to expand into Eurobia.
Exhibit 1 suggests a number of areas of uncertainty, which should have been a clue that NESTA
could use scenarios to think about how different outcomes from these uncertainties could affect its
decision.
The underlying issue NESTA's managers are trying to resolve is how attractive is the market in
Eurobia for them to enter. Simply telling them how to construct a scenario plan, or the stages
involved in doing so, will not provide them with any insight into Eurobia's attractiveness.
By contrast, exploring how key elements of the market might change in future could have much more
practical benefit to them. As such, to score the professional skills marks, you need to focus on the
areas of uncertainty, and how these could be used in the scenarios, rather than simply describing the
process of scenario planning in general terms.
Suggested solution:
Scenarios help managers to envisage alternative futures in highly uncertain business environments.
A scenario is a detailed and consistent view of how the business environment of an organisation
might develop in the future. Scenarios are built with reference to key influences and change drivers in
the environment. They inevitably deal with conditions of high uncertainty, so they are not forecasts:
instead, they are internally consistent views of potential future conditions.
For the scenarios to be most use, the influencing factors should be:
 Limited to a few significant ones
 Largely out of the control of the organisation. Macroeconomic forces are usually outside the
control of the organisation and it can only react to, not influence, them.
Factors which could be used to develop scenarios in NESTA could be:
 Change to the economic climate. The success of the dollar shops seems to have been
built on the economic recession being experienced in Eurobia. An improvement in the
economy may lead to a loss of customers, as branded products and more upmarket suppliers
are sought out. Scenarios should be prepared for the economic situation improving, declining
and remaining constant.
 Competitor response. It is not easy to predict how the existing competitors will react to
NESTA's entry to the marketplace. Therefore, scenarios should consider the possibility of an
aggressive response, a muted response and no response.
 Conventional supermarket approach. The conventional supermarkets have not currently
adopted a fixed-price discount approach. However, they may decide to establish outlet style
stores to allow them to do so. They could also acquire one of the established dollar stores
(competitors) and enter the market this way.
 Internet shopping. Many customers are now choosing to shop online rather than visit
physical shops and the effect of this has been significant in many areas of retail. The
implications of this trend could be considered within the scenarios.
These factors would then be combined into scenarios. The attractiveness of the Eurobia market would
then be assessed for each scenario along with tactics for entering the market under those
circumstances.
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Chapter 5 Strategic capability
Activity 1: Carriages
To produce a good answer you need to present your work in accordance with the instructions set out
in the question detail. In this case you are told that you are 'keen to impress the client's management
team and want to make your slide interesting and attention grabbing'. The need to only produce the
one slide and supporting notes, coupled with the limited number of marks indicate that lots of detail
is not required, the mention of 'attention grabbing' should be a clue that the inclusion of a diagram
would be appropriate if it helps you to answer the question. In this case using the detail from the
exhibit to plot out the main points on the value chain diagram would be a good approach to follow
as you can then use this to construct some brief notes to support your answer; this is the approach
used in the suggested solution.
How to earn the professional skills marks.
As the 'inform' skill is a communication skill, you need to ensure that you express yourself in a clear
and concise manner using the appropriate medium. In this case as you are instructed to prepare one
slide to be used in a presentation with some supporting notes it is important that you do not provide
too much detail. As the requirement asked for the inclusion of supporting notes it was important that
you included these.
Suggested solution
Slide: Value-adding activities at Carriages restaurant
Tight centralised control by the owner/manager with full
autonomy for food-related decisions given to the head chef
Automated, reliable Soft piped
booking system music system
Recruit skilled Trained maitre d' Experienced
experienced chefs to welcome diners serving personnel
Purchase only
finest ingredients
Tightly controlled High quality Targeted Car parking

storage facilities kitchen facilities advertisements in service offered
and regular and utensils quality newspapers at the door
checks for High quality Inclusion in the
freshness of designer tables, Michelin guide and
stored produce chairs, decors 'best restaurants' guides
Primary activities
Supporting notes:
Value adding activities
Firm infrastructure is characterised by the tight control which Carriages owner has over the
business. This is evident as all hiring decisions are decided by the owner. This level of control is
crucial in ensuring only the very best staff are employed. The autonomy provided to the Head Chef is
key in ensuring that only best ingredients are purchased and most creative dishes made.
Inbound logistics are characterised by the role that the reliable automated booking system plays,
as in this sense diners are viewed as an input into the restaurant. The skills provided by appointing
only experienced chefs adds value as only the highest quality dishes are prepared. The focus on only
ordering the finest ingredients, supported by regular freshness checks help to add value as all food
served is guaranteed to be as fresh as possible.
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Operations relate to the running of the kitchen, and the restaurant environment which diners are
exposed to such as the service provided by the large numbers of attentive waiting staff and the
ambience created by the use of classical music. These activities help to create an enjoyable dining
experience.
Outbound logistics at Carriages relate to the physical delivery of dishes from the kitchen to the
diners. The use of experienced waiting staff helps to create a sense of occasion while at the
restaurant.
Marketing and sales activities help to reinforce the quality of the experience. Inclusion in the
Michelin guide over the last 20 years has helped to distinguish the dining experience at Carriages
from a standard restaurant. This ultimately adds value to the diners.
Service activities in this case relate to the activity of parking the diner's cars and then retrieving
them at the end of the meal. This helps to support the entire dining experience, and crucially is
something which cannot be matched by other local restaurants.
Activity 2: DRB Electronic Services

It is important to note that the question did not specify the use of a particular model when answering
the question. As the requirement asked you to 'analyse the activities of DRB' this should have given
you a sufficient hint that Porter's value chain was an appropriate model to use.
A good approach to use when structuring your answer was to use the main sections from the model
as headings around which you could build your answer. To produce a good answer it was
absolutely essential that you used the detail provided in the Exhibit to highlight the key activities
undertaken by DRB. As you read through the scenario detail you should have identified that the
activities described all related to DRB's primary activities.
Identifying the key activities undertaken by DRB is the first step towards producing a good answer
and earning the technical marks, however, to produce a great answer you need to consider the
significance of these activities and the value they offer customers. When thinking about 'significance'
you needed to consider whether each activity was likely to be important to DRB in terms of achieving
a competitive advantage. Is re-packaging a product without modifying the performance of a piece of
equipment going to give DRB's customers a better product than had they simply purchased the
product directly from SK Co? In this case the answer is clearly no, such activity therefore provides
DRB with no competitive advantage.
When considering the 'value offered to customers' aspect you may have found it helpful to have
taken a step back from the detail to consider whether you would value DRB's existing activities.
Would you be more or less inclined to purchase from DRB as a result of the activities they undertake?
Breaking the requirement down in this manner will help you to earn those valuable professional skills
marks.
Suggested solution
Inbound logistics
Inbound logistics at DRB consist of handling and storing fully configured inbound equipment imported
from SK. Once the equipment arrives DRB staff conduct quality inspections to ensure that they are fit
for purpose prior to being re-branded. Ensuring that equipment received passes the quality assurance
inspection is a critical activity for DRB. Quality assurance is essential for pre-configured equipment
where customers have high expectations of reliability. In turn high quality reduces service costs,
and contributes to customer satisfaction.
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Operations
The process of re-branding and re-packaging the products form the main part of DRB's operations
activities. The process of storing the re-branded equipment for resale and returning those products
which failed the inspection would also constitute operations activities. Given that DRB does not
enhance the features of the imported equipment it can be argued that the process of re-branding and
re-packaging does not add any value to the customer. Re-branding and re-packaging will not
enhance the performance of the equipment once in use by customers. Furthermore, these activities
are being undertaken in a relatively high-cost country, despite the fact that they add little
value.
Outbound logistics
Domestic customers collect their products from DRB, whereas business customers generally prefer DRB
to deliver and install the equipment on their behalf. Customer feedback indicates that the installation
service is particularly valued by customers. However, DRB's market is segmented into
domestic and business customers, and the installation service only applies to the smaller (business)
market. Nonetheless, most of DRB's larger competitors cannot offer an equivalent service so this is
currently a source of competitive advantage for DRB. However, if DRB increases the amount it
supplies outside its home region then it is likely this level of service will be uneconomic to
maintain.
Marketing and sales
DRB's marketing and sales activities consist of advertising its products in local and regional
newspapers. This is supplemented by a website which enables potential customers to enquire about
the availability of products via an email facility. At present sales and marketing are currently only
minor activities at DRB. They will have to be developed if the company is to achieve its growth
targets. Furthermore, the limited functionality of the website offers very little value to
customers or potential customers.
Service
The provision of on-site technical support and a 'back-to-base' facility for customers with equipment
out of warranty are service activities. Customer feedback indicates that after-sales service is
particularly valued by customers. Most of DRB's large competitors only offer an impersonal,
off-shore call centre service, so DRB's personal service is currently a source of competitive
advantage. However, if DRB increases the geographic area which it supplies then it is likely this
level of service will be uneconomic to maintain.
Activity 3: The Marlow Fashion Group

When attempting this question it was important that you recognised that you were not asked to
provide a full SWOT analysis on the operations of the Marlow Fashion Group. Including an
assessment of the external opportunities and threats facing the group would earn you no credit and
only waste your time if you were attempting this requirement under exam conditions. To produce a
good answer it was important to remember that strengths and weaknesses are internal factors. Note
also the requirement is to identify and explain; so for each strength or weakness you identify you
must explain its strategic significance.
The professional skills marks available in this question tested your communication skills, and
specifically your ability to inform. In order to illustrate your communication skills you need to be able
to express yourself clearly and convincingly using an appropriate medium while being sensitive to
the needs of the intended audience. To earn these marks it was important that you presented your
answer in the required format, ie laid out as a report headed up in the correct report style including
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the use of section headings in the body of your answer. As a short report was requested it was
important not to provide too much detail.
Adopting an appropriate tone was also very important as this work was being undertake as part of a
professional engagement. You should have also noted that at the current time Susan Grant has not
yet decided whether to join the Marlow Fashion Group as a director; as a result it is highly likely that
the assessment you provide will be used by her in making her decision. Therefore, producing an
informative and well-reasoned account of the strengths and weaknesses identified was crucial.
Suggested solution
To: Susan Grant
From: A consultant
Strategic strengths and weaknesses in Marlow Fashion Group
This report looks at the strengths which are helping Marlow Fashion Group (Marlow) achieve its
commercial success, and the weakness that are hindering it. It is also important to note that features
of a company that have historically been strengths can shift to become weaknesses as the
competitive environment changes over time, meaning that the company needs a strategic
turnaround in order to survive. This appears to be the case with Marlow.
Strengths
Market position and reputation. Marlow has successfully developed a niche market for its
products, based around traditional style and elegance. This enabled it to expand successfully, and
developed Marlow as a worldwide brand with a reputation for design excellence and quality.
Premium prices. Marlow's reputation for quality has enabled it to charge premium prices for its
clothes. The ability to sustain a high price premium is important in retaining the profitability of the
company.
Supplier relationships. Marlow has built up a strong relationship with its suppliers. This
relationship with the suppliers is important in maintaining the quality of the clothes produced, and so
has facilitated the brand's reputation and global expansion of the group.
Loyal network of franchise partners. Marlow has created a strong family atmosphere among
its network of retail partners around the world. As with the strong supplier relationships, this network
has also helped facilitate the global expansion of the group.
Weaknesses
Outdated business model. The business model which has served Marlow well in the past is no
longer appropriate to the fashion world in which they are now competing.
Lack of outsourcing, and high cost base. The competitive environment in which Marlow
operates is becoming increasingly competitive. Therefore clothing retailers are increasingly looking to
outsource the manufacture of their clothes. However, the approach pursued by Marlow prevents this,
and means that the company's cost base is higher than it should be, because the company is
failing to benefit from any economies of scale which outsourced providers enjoy. Consequently,
Marlow's costs are also likely to be higher than its competitors, reducing its profitability.
Unclear strategy. One of Marlow's strengths was the niche position and brand reputation it
established for itself. However, the changes in its environment have now led to some uncertainty as
to whether Marlow Fashion is a brand, a manufacturer, a retailer or an integrated fashion company.
It is likely that to be successful in the future, Marlow will need to identify its core competences
and focus only on its core activities.
Outdated styles. Women's tastes in clothing have also changed and Marlow's emphasis on soft,
feminine styles has become outdated. Consequently, demand for the clothes they sell has declined,
and this has prompted a significant fall in Marlow's sales and profits.
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Narrow product range. Although Marlow produces a comprehensive range of women's

clothing, it is all built round the theme of traditional style and elegance. This means that Marlow's
products are over-concentrated in one style, and therefore extremely vulnerable to a fall in
demand as styles change.
Resistance to change. The tight control which Rodney and Betty Marlow exerted over product
design has prevented recognition of the changes in consumer tastes, meaning the
company has continued to produce the type of designs that served it well in the past, rather than the
designs which consumers now want.
This resistance to change can also be seen in the management team's reluctance to accept that the
significant fall in sales and profits reflects the shift in demand for women's clothing.
Lack of awareness of competitive environment. It is possible that the failure to adapt
product design and manufacturing processes to keep pace with current trends may be as much due
to Rodney and Betty Marlow not being aware of the current trends as them resisting change. Either
way, the failure to produce clothes which current tastes demand is causing a significant fall in sales.
Rapid turnover of CEOs. Marlow has had a new Chief Executive Officer every year. A
succession of CEOs of this nature is indicative of a company which is performing poorly – with each
new CEO being brought in to try to turn around its fortunes.
Conclusion
The changes in the market for women's wear have caused Marlow to move from a strategically
sound position to one where it now needs a swift strategic turnaround. Its products and markets have
changed, and its value chain no longer delivers any distinctive value to its customers. These issues
need addressing urgently to try to reverse the decline in the company's sales and profitability.
Chapter 6 Competitive advantage and strategic choice

Activity 1: Shoal plc
Although the requirement does not specifically mention the BCG matrix, the fact that you are asked to
'analyse the position of the three companies in Shoal plc's portfolio' provided a hint that you needed
to use the matrix when formulating your answer. The inclusion of the sales turnover figures in respect
of the whole market and for each company was a clue that you needed to determine each
company's relative market share and the level of market growth, both of which are the axes on the
BCG matrix.
To demonstrate your 'judgement' skills you needed to ensure that you only focused on the key points
in your presentation slide. Being able to prioritise the key issues in this case related to simply stating
the position and recommended actions that the Shoal plc board take. Including lots of detail on the
presentation slide would not be appropriate as this is intended to be a visual aid to back up the
detailed analysis contained in the supporting notes. Furthermore, it was important that the
recommended actions that you included in your slide could in fact be implemented in reality by the
board at Shoal plc. This is particularly important especially as the firm for which you work has been
specifically appointed by Shoal plc to provide them with professional management consultancy
advice.
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Suggested solution
Slide: Position and contribution
Position: Action:
ShoalFish – Dog Potentially retain or lease out
ShoalPro – Cash Cow Retain
ShoalFarm – Question Mark Invest/divest
Notes
ShoalFish
Using the BCG matrix, in 20X2 ShoalFish has the characteristics of a dog. It has a small (11.3%)
market share and the market itself is declining (5% over two years). However, despite being an
apparent dog, disposing of the company may not be in Shoal plc's interest as it perceives there are
synergies between ShoalFish and the other companies in the Shoal plc portfolio; it provides 40% of
the fish used by ShoalPro, and it could directly supply the Captain Haddock restaurants post-
acquisition, therefore keeping the cost of raw materials down.
Shoal Plc must determine whether it can tolerate the declining performance of ShoalFish for the sake
of the supply chain to the other companies in the group. If this is not feasible, a possible alternative
may be to lease or sell their boats to individual owners with the guarantee of sales to Shoal plc
companies. Given that owner-skippered boats account for almost half of the boats in the western
oceans the leasing option could be a viable alternative.
ShoalPro
ShoalPro is a mature organisation that is still expanding (market growth of +2% from 20X0 to 20X2).
It has a market share of just over 40% and so is likely to be the market leader. Although a significant
percentage of its fish is provided by ShoalFish it is increasingly processing fish for other companies.
These characteristics (high relative market share; slow growth) in the BCG matrix suggest ShoalPro is
a cash cow. ShoalPro is a key part of Shoal plc and should be retained and maintained.
ShoalFarm
ShoalFarm is a fairly recent addition to the Shoal plc group and has a low market share (9.3%) of a
growing market. ShoalFarm is growing at a slower rate (+12% from 20X0 to 20X2) than the market
as a whole (+20% over same period). ShoalFarm has the potential to be a significant provider to
both ShoalPro and the Captain Haddock restaurants, and could replace fish supplies from ShoalFish
if the latter continues to decline.
ShoalFarm could be classified as a question mark in the BCG matrix as it requires further investment
to allow it to become a key player in a significant market place. If Shoal plc is happy to provide this
investment, then ShoalFarm should be expanded and developed. If it does not wish to take this risk,
then it may be better to divest itself of this company.
The three companies are closely linked in the value chain, however there are conflicting forces that
both reduce the dependency between the companies and encourage the synergies of a vertically
integrated group. The proposed acquisition of Captain Haddock could lead to additional synergies,
but only if the correct relationships are set up between the companies.
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Activity 2: Elite Fabrics

As we have seen before in other activity questions the requirement here did not mention the use of
any particular model(s); as a result it was perfectly acceptable to adopt a free-form approach when
structuring your answer. You needed to read the requirement carefully as this was made up of two
separate parts. Firstly, you needed to 'evaluate' the consequences of the proposed move into
retailing, and secondly to 'assess' the change in competences required by the expanded business.
Failure to fully read the requirement increased the likelihood that you would produce a solution which
only answers part of the question. Clearly, in order to determine the consequences of the proposal
and the required change in EF's competences you would have needed to draw upon your knowledge
of strategic capability. This was covered in Chapter 5.
In order to earn the 'assess' skills marks you needed to determine the advantages and disadvantages
associated with EF's proposed move into retailing. There was a clue immediately above the
requirement as to what you needed to do in respect of answering this element of the question as it
mentioned the advantages and disadvantages to EF of expanding into retailing. This is the approach
used in the suggested solution.
Suggested solution
Forward vertical integration into retail outlets
EF is proposing changing its business model further so that it has exclusive outlets for its own
products. The intention is to earn more of the value in the value system.
Advantages
 EF would have total control over production, pricing and marketing. It could
develop a precise marketing strategy that further differentiates the product, enabling an even
more targeted focus on its desired customer base. Moreover, it will have more freedom to
develop marketing messages and integrate its marketing strategy.
 EF will also be able to ensure that its products are available and visible, and are not
competing in the same clothes racks as other competitors – thereby avoiding price
comparisons. In other words, EF will not depend on retailers' professional buyers to order
or display its products.
EF will become fully informed of its target market. It may be able to make clothes to order,
if customer measurements can be transmitted electronically to the factory: this would be an example
of mass customisation.
Drawbacks
 EF will acquire a range of high street properties, with management problems of their own.
Debt service will eat into any extra profits that are made on clothing sales.
 Higher risk. If EF's clothes go out of fashion, the stores will become an expensive liability.
Owning a chain of retail outlets involves a much higher proportion of fixed costs than cloth
and clothing manufacture. Much depends on the location of the shops.
 If EF products are exclusively sold in its own shops, EF may forgo the sales it would
have made at the department stores.
 EF will need to produce a wide-enough range of products to encourage customers to
enter. EF may have to supplement its own wares with others by other suppliers – will it be able
to do so cost-effectively?
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Required changes to EF's competences
 As EF is acquiring the chain, it will inherit the many competences needed, providing both that
it can keep the staff and that EF's managers integrate the acquisition in a sensitive way.
 Inventory management for many small retail stores may prove to be quite complicated. EF may
well inherit the inventory systems currently employed in the acquired company. If not, new
systems will need to be purchased and staff training undertaken to enable them to be used in
EF's shops.
 EF needs to understand high street retailing, display and merchandising (ensuring a suitable
range of clothes is available in the right volumes and at the right time).
 EF needs a more responsive distribution system.
 EF is now running three different types of business. To benefit from economies of scale it may
need a performance monitoring system for each business.
Chapter 7 Assessing and managing risk
Activity 1: Risk awareness

This is a test of how you can explain the various ways that the board's views of risk are shared by
staff (and vice versa if there is concern that staff are not being listened to about risks in the
organisation's manufacturing sites).
These are communication (inform) marks, and the response is in the form of an IM for the purpose of
placating some potentially difficult questions, so concise, objective and sensitive responses are going
to be rewarded here.
Suggested solution
Embedding risk awareness:
 Good leadership from the board down – risk is always on the board's monthly agenda
 Communication of values that support the achievement of risk management in line with
stakeholder views of risk – intranet; meetings; appraisal objectives and targets
 Compliance/risk management department to connect the board and the workforce
 Build risk identification into job descriptions
 Create risk register
 Training of staff in risk awareness in manufacturing sites
 Workshops to share best practice/eliminate poor practice
 Monitoring (eg by Internal Audit)
 Shadowing employees (especially as part of induction)
 Ethical codes with sticks and carrots
Activity 2: Risk committee

Obviously there is no right answer to the overall question of who should be on a risk committee, as it
will always depend on the organisation in question. However, in practice, the best mix of risk
committee membership is probably a mixture of both types of director. Your answer must not lead the
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board to either type of director – instead it should provide balance, so for the six marks on offer you
need to structure your points 50:50.
Although a presentation slide is usually going to require strong communication skills, the activity asks
you to demonstrate evaluation skills here – this is to appraise a series of facts and work towards a
balanced view that the board can then use to make decisions. Your slide must have this balance to
secure the marks.
Suggested solution
Risk committee:
Executive directors
 Sound knowledge of the organisation and its products, employees and customers
 Risk is a key concern in our industry so needs the highest level of attention
 Remuneration can be linked to risk management for directors
 Supports strategic plan of imminent listing
Non-executive directors (NEDs)
 Recent appointment of NEDs brings independence and objectivity ('a fresh pair of eyes')
 External experience can add to the board's existing skill set
 NEDs will have no 'baggage' from any previously disputed decisions
 No incentive to pursue risk unnecessarily as NEDs are paid a flat fee
Activity 3: Risk appetite

This is not straightforward, as you are almost contradicting yourself to some extent – in the first part
of your answer, you need to alert the board to the risks they face so they don't ignore them, but in
the second part, you need to justify why more risk may need to be embraced. It is difficult at this
stage to go into too much detail, as the rest of the process for managing risks is covered later in this
chapter, but an overall awareness of why you can't ignore risks but why seeking risk (eg entering
new markets or acting as a disrupter in existing markets) is not always a bad thing.
How to earn the professional marks
The commercial acumen skills in this activity require you to show some insight into why more risk may
be asked for (remember that no organisation stands still and cannot operate in a vacuum).
Suggested solution
Why is risk always present for our organisation?
 Although we are growing, we cannot ignore the changing business environment – so PESTEL
factors (such as changing consumer tastes) or Porter's five forces (such as competition) cannot
be ignored
 We have a number of individual employees at all levels who are making decisions about
products and services for customers that relate to inherently risky activities
 Due to our growing nature, control failures are inevitable and some controls may be bypassed
in pursuit of maintaining growth
 Every sector operates with unexpected hazards on a daily basis (such as faulty equipment,
user error or freak accidents)
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Why might we wish to embrace more risk?
 Despite these inherent risks, we may still be subject to greater demands from our stakeholders
(customers, suppliers, lenders and eventually shareholders) all of whom might expect us to
increase risk in some way (eg pursuing greater growth to meet the level of investment offered)
 The market environment will become more competitive and we may need to innovate to stay
ahead – this may require more risk to be embraced (such as investing in new products and
services or changing some of our existing services)
Activity 4: Airline risks

This is a slightly artificial activity as it is essentially asking you to carry out some research (either on
British Airways (BA) or a similar airline with which you are familiar) so the process is of greater
importance than the end product. Obviously, if five risks were asked for, you needed to supply at
least five risks! Remember that this activity is designed to help you develop the right skills, rather than
be indicative of the type of task you will get in the real SBL exam.
Hopefully, you will have investigated the various elements of BA's operations to identify some key
risks – as they are so high profile, it is likely that any risks they face have been the subject of media
interest.
Commercial acumen skills are awarded here for demonstrating awareness of organisational and
wider external factors which contribute to the wider organisational objectives. The list would have
needed to be specific to BA or your chosen airline to secure these marks.
Suggested solution
Numerous risks could be identified for British Airways (BA) or indeed any airline. Some of the key
ones may include the following.
 Demand falls due to economic factors (customers can no longer afford to travel)
 Competition from low-cost airlines
 Rise in oil prices making fuel more expensive
 Industrial action from cabin crew as BA attempts to manage its staff
 Crew availability (such as the recent problems experienced by RyanAir and other companies)
 Poor service, whether from baggage handling, standards of in-flight care or customer
complaints handling
 Fleet replacement – are planes able to continue flying safely and efficiently? Is cabin, check-in
and online technology fit for purpose?
 Bad weather disrupting flights – snow, storms etc
 Concerns about climate change leading people to fly less
 Safety – injury to passengers and/or staff from terrorism or accidents
Activity 5: Categorising airline risks

This builds on your answer for Activity 4 so to score well, you need to show how you have matched
the risks you created with suitable categories. As there is no 'correct' list of categories, the choices
you make are always going to be arbitrary, but must still display some logic to be considered
sufficient to score marks.
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The professional skill being tested here is evaluation, so to score the marks, you need to demonstrate
that you can assess each risk and show the necessary judgement required to allocate risks to suitable
categories, prior to suitable assessment later in the risk management process.
Suggested solution
The risks identified could be categorised as follows (again using British Airways as an example):
 Demand falls due to recession – ECONOMIC (an aspect of environmental/PESTEL risk)
 Competition – BUSINESS (could be environmental/PESTEL or Stakeholder)
 Rise in oil prices – FINANCIAL
 Industrial action – OPERATIONAL
 Crew availability – OPERATIONAL
 Poor service – again, likely to be OPERATIONAL
 Fleet replacement – INVESTMENT
 Bad weather disrupting flights – snow, storms etc – EVENT
 Concerns about climate change leads people to fly less – SOCIAL/ENVIRONMENT (an
aspect of environmental/PESTEL risk)
 Safety – injury to passengers and/or staff (perhaps due to terrorism?) – HEALTH AND
SAFETY
Additional categories that would apply to British Airways would also be:
 Foreign exchange (FINANCIAL)
 Changes in regulations or tax (POLITICAL)
 Fines or reputational damage due to breaches of laws or regulations (COMPLIANCE)
Activity 6: TARA
It is unlikely in the real exam that you will be given the TARA framework, so you need to remember
how it is constructed. Similarly, the real exam may not choose to follow the model closely by
providing you with one risk for each of the four quadrants. However, once you have allocated the
risks, a suitable response should appear, although the tutor notes below show how complex this
process can be!
The skill here is analysis, which requires you to consider information so their implications can be
considered appropriately and ensure that your conclusions follow on from the information used.
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Suggested solution
Impact
Low High
'Shoplifting in a 'Loss of human life as part
supermarket: this happens of drilling for oil on an
quite often but items stolen oil rig'
tend to be of low value'
This is not straightforward –
This suggests high likelihood it is certainly possible that
High and low impact, so the lives could be lost on an oil
TARA model would rig and this represents a
recommend reducing this significant impact – will this
risk – probably using mean that an oil exploration
controls such as CCTV and company avoids such
store detectives. activity though?
Likelihood
'A courier company 'Repairing significant
experiencing minor, property damage arising
infrequent delays due to from unexpected flooding'
'rush hour' traffic'
This is suggesting a high
This appears to happen impact event that is unlikely
Low occasionally with little to occur frequently enough
impact to achieving goals – to deploy controls such as
rather than investing in flood defences – it is
controls to avoid travelling therefore a risk that will be
at these times, it is probably transferred (usually via
easier to just accept these insurance).
risks.
Tutor note. In some cases, risk may be assessed as being so great that risk avoidance is the
only possible response (for example, the risk to foreign workers based in a politically volatile country
would lead to immediate termination of operations and the evacuation of staff).
However, risk avoidance may not always be recommended when a risk is assessed as high impact
and high likelihood because in some cases, controls could be deployed rather than just avoid the risk
altogether.
For example, consider the idea of an economic downturn affecting consumer confidence – such
economic events are cyclical and can therefore be predicted with some certainty, making them likely
and their impact significant. However, no retailer would avoid trading simply because of this risk –
they would find ways of off-setting this risk somehow using a combination of other response methods.
The idea of managing risks in a more pragmatic manner will be discussed later in this section.
Tutor note. Transferring risk is often referred to as the 'insurance' option but can every situation
assessed as high impact and low likelihood be insured? Certainly, the more likely such a risk
becomes, the higher the insurance premium would be until something is deemed 'uninsurable' (such
as the damage to a company's reputation).
Let's also think about outsourcing as a way of transferring risk – is it the same as insurance where
you pay someone else to deal with a particular problem? Companies choose outsourcing as a way
of addressing a specific risk: over-spending, running out of production capacity or even the risk of
poor service delivery. Are these risks eliminated by the use of an outsourcing provider? It all depends
on who bears the ultimate risk – poor quality products may be the fault of the outsourced
manufacturer but if your reputation suffers from using them to save costs, you have not really
transferred this risk. If, however, the outsourced manufacturer is liable for any damage to your
reputation, then perhaps this is an insurance arrangement after all.
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Chapter 8 Internal control systems

Activity 1: Widmerpool
This is a good example of why you need to read scenarios carefully and highlight all relevant data.
Every point our answer makes is supported by relevant information from the scenario. The eight
marks on offer and the use of the verb 'explain' suggest that up to two marks could be awarded for
each area of control failure.
You are being asked to advise a client on their own weaknesses, which requires tact and diplomacy
in challenging the client's current practices. Remember that all points must be factual and backed up
by evidence.
Suggested solution
There could be up to four main areas where control systems need to be reviewed.
Lack of detail in guidance
The problems over the suppliers' data may indicate that some of the organisational guidance is
written too much in terms of general principles, without enough examples of detailed application.
It would appear that the guidance needs to spell out that confidential information should not be
removed from the office, and staff should not talk about business matters outside work.
Lack of awareness of risks
The accident with the machine indicates that staff did not understand the risks involved,
despite the health and safety documentation. This could be because they failed to read the
documentation or they read it but failed to understand it. This also suggests that training, on-the-job
or in formal courses, was non-existent or ineffective.
Poor culture
The problems over Stringham's information and the difficulties over the machine indicate that a
culture of carelessness is prevalent at Widmerpool. Managers, in positions of responsibility,
should naturally be careful with confidential information. The comments in the staff survey also seem
to suggest the culture is poor, that the board is seen as not caring about internal controls and
procedures.
Lack of enforcement
The staff comments underline what happened over the machine, that the company's internal
procedures are not being enforced by managers. The survey comments suggest that, while the
board is receiving sufficient financial information about the profitability of operations, it is not getting
the non-financial data it needs to obtain assurance that control systems are operating
effectively.
Activity 2: PKG High School Governing Body

It is very easy to stray from the subject and talk too generally about controls – the question asks you
to evaluate (often, as it is here, concentrating on the deficiencies), and recommend what the
governing body should be doing. Our answer is based around the structure of:
 How the governing body is constituted and how it operates
 The data it gets (financial/non-financial, internal/external)
 The decisions it takes and the monitoring it carries out
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This is a useful way of analysing how any governing body works.
You may have felt that the question could have given more detail about what the governing body is
doing and the information it receives. It is valid to assume that if you're not told anything about key
aspects of governance, such as a committee system, then they aren't being operated when they
should be.
It's also easy to fail to consider whether financial and other resources are being used to maximum
efficiency. Spending limits often mean that expenditure is made to the limits set down, with little
consideration of whether value for money has been obtained.
Note that this was set in a public sector context which is entirely possible for the real exam. Note
also that our answer has amalgamated deficiencies and improvements for each category – had you
followed the structure of the answer and shown parts (a) and (b) separately (or perhaps in a
two-column approach matching each of (a) and (b) on a line-by-line basis), this would have been
perfectly acceptable.
Part (a) focuses on evaluation skills and in particular assessing the control weaknesses. You will earn
the skills marks for showing that you can exercise judgement in prioritising which issues are most
significant.
Part (b) is likely to be a sensitive topic as you are discussing potential weaknesses in the governance
of the school, so the focus here is on your communication skills. The skill of 'persuade' means using
compelling and logical arguments, so you need to make sure that your reasoning is clear, and
backed up with evidence. You also need to ensure you are explaining why something is an issue, or
should be improved.
Suggested solution
(i) Structure and workings of governing body
Membership
The governing body includes representatives of the key stakeholder group of parents and the
local authority.
However, it may be a more effective monitor if it includes representation from key internal
stakeholders. Certainly it should include staff representatives and might include pupil
representatives as well.
Committee system
Having the full governing body consider all relevant items at every meeting may not be the
most efficient way of operating, and it may mean that some key risk areas receive
insufficient attention.
Although committees may be difficult to staff, a committee system with each committee
concentrating on certain key aspects of running the school may be the best way to conduct
decision making, with committees reporting into the main governing body. Certainly it may
provide a good mechanism for parent representatives to use their particular expertise.
1 Audit committee
An audit committee, including members with financial expertise, could be
responsible for detailed scrutiny of expenditure and liaising with auditors. Its remit could
also cover compliance with legislation and the operation of internal
controls. This would leave the main governing body to concentrate on the split of
expenditure and the overall review of control systems.
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2 Staff recruitment committee

Because of the significance of staffing, the board should establish a separate
recruitment committee. The committee should be involved in specific recruitment
decisions, and should also proactively consider staffing needs. For example, are
there sufficient experienced members of staff and does the staff body as a whole
have an appropriate range of skills in key areas such as IT? The committee must
consider how staffing headcount needs can be reconciled with planned staff
expenditure.
The committee should also consider the balance between teachers and other
support staff, whether support staff, with specific skills, need to be recruited or
whether their numbers could be reduced and more teachers recruited. It should also be
involved in internal promotion decisions and consider the effectiveness of the
system of responsibility allowances.
Induction of governing body members
There appear to be no induction procedures for new governing body members that would
enhance their knowledge of what the school does and the requirements the governing body
has to meet.
Certainly parent governors will need this understanding if they are to be effective
governors (hopefully the local authority will have selected suitably qualified and
knowledgeable members).
(ii) Information received by governing body
Financial information
It is unclear whether the financial information is sufficiently detailed. The governing body
needs to ensure that it receives sufficient information about expenditure, particularly
because of the wide discretion the headteacher has and the lack of segregation of duties.
Expenditure should be classified into different categories depending on its materiality
and the ways it is controlled. The information should include what has been spent,
expenditure commitments and phasing of expenditure during the year; not all
expenditure will be made in even amounts over the year. The governing body also needs to
ensure that the reliability of the monthly financial report is reviewed because of its
importance for decision making. As the external auditors may not spend time on this, this
review should perhaps be carried out by members of the audit committee.
Financial variances
Although the governors receive information about variances from budgeted expenditure, there
is nothing mentioned about how they are, as they should be, informed of action planned if an
overspend appears likely.
They should have input into what should be done.
Non-financial information
There appears to be a lack of non-financial information that the governors need in order to
ensure that educational standards are being maintained. An annual inspection
by the local education authority would not be frequent enough.
Governors should be supplied with the results of internal methods of assessing the effectiveness
of teaching such as termly exams and internal quality reviews of teaching
programmes. Since staffing is both a major element of expenditure and vital in ensuring
standards, governors should be receiving details about staff such as results of appraisals
and staff development programmes. Having parent, staff and pupil representatives on
the governing body will help measure the satisfaction levels of these key stakeholder
groups; the governors ought to consider other methods such as regular staff and parent
surveys.
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External information
No mention has been made of whether the governing body is receiving the external
information which it will need for longer-term decision making.
The governing body should be receiving details of population trends in the area and the
impact of changes in schools provision. It should also be considering specific information
about other schools in the area that it can use for benchmarking purposes, such as pupil
numbers, disposition of staff, facilities and exam results.
(iii) Actions taken by governing body
Strategic decision making
The governing body's time horizon appears to be limited to a year, and it does not appear to
be considering longer-term issues; there seems to be no strategic plan.
Better information should help it modify its strategy in response to local issues such as
changes in pupil numbers, the opening of new schools, particularly specialist schools or
government-promoted schools (such as UK academies) and changes in educational practice
(such as increased use of information technology).
Flexibility of decision making
The governing body needs to consider whether its decision making is too constricted; the
governors may have the flexibility to take decisions that ensure better use of resources
and better risk management.
For example it may consider whether class sizes can be increased in the lower age ranges, to
allow smaller class sizes and greater preparation time for more advanced teaching. It should
also consider whether to include a contingency fund for urgent items of additional
expenditure on staff, buildings and IT.
Review of small items of expenditure
The governing body does not appear to take any interest in expenditure under $1,000. There
may be scope for the headteacher to abuse this by spreading significant expenditure
out so that individual items are below $1,000, but the total sum is quite substantial.
The governors should review all expenditure below $1,000, even if they don't approve it
in advance. There may be scope for raising the limit on certain types of expenditure, so that
the governing body does not spend time considering what is essentially non-discretionary
expenditure.
Communication
The governing body needs to consider how its work should be communicated; there is
no evidence of how this is happening at present.
Clearly the headteacher will have prime responsibility for communicating and what the
governing body publishes should be consistent with what the headteacher is saying. However,
communication of what the governing body is doing and the issues it is
considering should prove to staff, pupils and current and prospective parents that the school
is well run. It should also aid future recruitment onto the governing body.
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Activity 3: PKG High School – Review and Audit of Controls

Remember that the stakeholders are different to those of a company, but they still need the assurance
provided by an objective review. Benchmarking is likely to be a particularly important aspect of the
audit, given that the governing body is responsible for educational standards.
The communication skills of being able to persuade are most important here as you are attempting to
educate the local authority with the benefit of your knowledge, so you need to present your findings
in an authoritative manner to score well.
Suggested solution
Independent and objective assurance
Having an external review carried out should provide an unbiased view of how the school is
performing. In particular this provides reassurance to stakeholders such as parents and
the local authority that the school is providing education of sufficient quality and expenditure is
being properly controlled.
Aid to monitoring
Like the board of directors in a listed company, the governors are responsible for establishing and
maintaining a sound system of internal control and risk management. The review should provide
feedback to the headteacher and governing body to enable them to set priorities for systems
improvements, based on the areas of greatest risk. It should also highlight where the headteacher
and governors should focus their own monitoring activity.
Expert opinion
The external reviewers can make recommendations based on their knowledge of best practice
in other schools. This can provide the school with benchmarks that it can incorporate into
financial and non-financial performance indicators.
Chapter 9 Applying ethical principles
Activity 1: Indicators of fraud

The reasons for fraud could be many and varied – we have chosen to use those suggested by
Cressey due to the absence of any further detail in the scenario – however, how you deal with each
condition must be clear and specific so the audit committee members understand how to stop these
conditions from flourishing.
You have more structure to work with in the second part as each of the areas of recommendation
relates to specific fraud risks.
Make sure that you justify the award of up to one mark in each case by making what you say
specific enough to not need any further explanation but remember that the requirement is to produce
briefing notes, so they do not need to be comprehensive.
You have been asked to consider the use of the professional skill 'scepticism' as part of this activity,
meaning that you need to have attempted to probe, question and challenge as part of the
briefing note. You are an independent consultant so can be objective and ambitious in your
recommendations without fear of creating any conflicts of interest.
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Suggested solution
Conditions for fraud to occur
Pressure
 Reward staff satisfactorily to reduce the need for them to consider fraud as a solution to their
problems
 Adopt suitable sympathetic HR policies that are sensitive to employee problems (and can
identify problems such as a gambling addiction)
Opportunity
 Remove temptation by making any fraud more likely to be spotted
 Introduce or improve controls and segregation of duties to reduce the likelihood of fraud
occurring
Rationalisation
 Ensure good examples are set by senior staff to discourage fraud as a viable option
 Obtain good references for staff to isolate those with previous criminal backgrounds
 Discipline offenders visibly to reinforce the message that such behaviour will not be tolerated
Recommended controls
Ghost employees
 Head count reconciliations to establishment listings should be performed (eg surprise visits by
internal audit)
Inflating expense claims
 Back-up receipts must be obtained for expenses to be reimbursed
 Consider reducing authorisation levels to allow a greater proportion of costs to be reviewed
 Good remuneration policies
 Consider data analytics to identify patterns that may indicate a greater risk of fraud
Stealing assets
 Asset registers should be regularly maintained and reviewed, with assets periodically
inspected
 Tracking systems should be considered for items above a certain value (eg RFIDs)
Manipulation of financial statements
 Audit (both internal and external) to challenge the assumptions underpinning performance and
position
 Introduce a whistle-blower policy to allow staff to feed back any questionable behaviour
without fear of retribution by senior staff
Activity 2: Low tax payments

As is expected for this exam, the requirement does not specifically ask for any one model to be used;
however, you can infer from the fact that it is the only ethical decision-making model you know and
that the requirement is worth five marks so you should probably be using the Tucker model!
In each case, ask the question 'is the decision to not voluntarily pay more tax….' and consider the
bigger picture as you are acting in the role of non-executive director.
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Scepticism requires the use of three types of skill: the ability to probe, challenge and question, so
your answer needs to display evidence of these being used – for example, considering what the
impact of paying it would be from a series of different angles.
Suggested solution
Using the Tucker 5-question model, the company's decision to not voluntarily pay more tax is
assessed below.
 Profitable? – Initially yes, as shareholders' funds have not been diverted to pay a voluntary
sum (however, paying tax voluntarily would reduce the threat of a sales boycott which may
offset any payment made so there may be a trade-off here).
 Legal? – Yes – in either case (paying or not paying tax) GSA is operating within the law.
 Fair? – GSA may establish how widespread the use of such tax avoidance really is – if others
in the same industry have also adopted this policy, it will probably continue to feel there is
'safety in numbers' (however, this will inevitably attract criticism that as GSA can afford the
best tax experts to interpret the law, such advice is too expensive for others, leading to
inequity in tax advice).
 Right? – Very difficult to call – as there is such resistance from the public, the continuing
defence of these actions as legal tax avoidance appears unsustainable (see below).
 Sustainable? – There are no environmental issues but this may affect profits in the longer
term, leading to questions over how economically sustainable such a policy really is. We must
consider our reputation in the eyes of our stakeholders when making this decision.
Activity 3: Tax savings

You have been given plenty of scope here, so can consider the facts as presented and use your
knowledge of the syllabus to structure a suitable answer: ASIFS in part (a) and theory in part (b). Part
(c) requires a bit more application but you must be prepared for this in the real exam.
Acting with scepticism does not necessarily mean always assuming the worst in people, but given the
situation as presented in the scenario, that's where you should be aiming to start! Be critical and
consider what seems to be happening here and what it means for you in your role.
(a) Identify the ethical threats presented in the scenario:
Advocacy – acting as tax advisers at the same time as being independent external auditors
(there is some self-review threat here too)
Self-interest – low fees; compromised ethics in order to retain the engagement
Intimidation – pressure to reduce fees; could a small firm stand up to a large multinational if
they disagreed on a proposed accounting treatment or modification to the auditor's opinion?
Familiarity – the partner is friends with the FD which could lead to a lack of objectivity and
independence in certain judgements during the audit
Self-review – internal audit services will need to be relied upon for external audit opinion
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(b) Explain what is meant by the public interest in this case:
The public interest relates to public confidence in professions, who act for the collective well-
being of the community of people that they serve (including clients, lenders, governments,
employers, employees, investors, the business and financial community and others who rely on
the work of those professions).
In this case, the public interest is those who feel the company should be paying its fair
share of taxes to support the national economy, and those who feel that the
accountancy firm should not assist the company to this aim, as it owes a duty to
society as well as to its clients. Any conflicts of interest should be identified as such by
awareness of the various threats mentioned above and may lead the firm to either adopt
certain safeguards before they can act or decline to act in certain cases.
(c) Describe the nature of the conversation that you have overheard, including
any possible actions that you feel you may need to take:
The conversation appears to have been discussing further tax avoidance and possibly
even illegal tax evasion and the payment of a bonus to the firm for securing such savings
on behalf of the company. This sounds like a situation where bribery and corruption are
being discussed – you are now placed in a difficult position as you need to consider your
responsibilities as an employee (albeit in a retained consultant capacity) but also your
responsibilities as a professional to act in the public interest, which should be
above those owed to your employer if illegal or unethical activity is being considered.
To address this conflict of interests, you may wish to consult an independent partner (such as
an ethics partner) within the firm – however, given the size of the firm here, this may not be
practical and no such role may exist. It may be illegal if you are aware of possible
criminal activity but do not disclose it, so in the absence of any formal mechanism
within the firm you may wish to present your concerns to a third party – this process is
known as 'whistleblowing' which satisfies your duty to act in the public interest but would
probably lead to your departure from the firm.
The threat of such retaliation from an employer (such as legal action, disciplinary
procedures, redundancy and poor employment references) can be significant, especially as
your reputation is so crucial, and so presents a difficult choice for any whistle-blower.
Chapter 10 Financial analysis
Activity 1: Syngen plc

To do well in this requirement, you will need to use the information in the email and link it to the
potential benefits of outsourcing or shared/global business services. It is best to work through the
information provided line-by-line, ensuring you have picked out and responded to the relevant pieces
of information. The second part of the question is idea generation, thinking about what would
practically be involved.
To demonstrate your 'appraise' skills you needed to show that you have carefully considered the
information and clearly demonstrated how the proposed solution will address the situation. In this
case, it is likely that the problems identified can be addressed by the proposed solutions, but this
needs to be argued not simply asserted.
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Suggested solution
To: Finance Director
From: Financial Controller
Reviewing the email from the Operations Director, it does seem likely that the issues raised could be
assisted by part of our finance function being either outsourced or moved into a shared or global
business service centre.
Cost
It is usually possible to make cost savings by these means. This is partly because a shared service
centre can achieve economies of scale by processing a larger volume of transactions, so
concentrating our regional hubs into one service centre would help with this. An outsourced provider
who processes transactions on behalf of a large number of clients would have higher volumes still,
and even more scope to benefit from this.
There may also be opportunities to reduce cost by locating some of our functions, particularly to do
with processing, in a low-cost location.
Variable support
Currently, our staff are fully committed during month-end and year-end close and are not available to
support the business. A shared service model may help to some extent – the shared service centre
could deal with processing and that would free up other staff to take on more of a business partner
role and focus on supporting the business.
However, it seems that the issue may be that we simply need more processing staff at certain times of
year than others. An outsourced provider could help us manage this – by taking on responsibility for
managing resource and having flexibility across a number of different clients, they could reduce the
pressure.
Processing times
By bringing together our processing functions, it will be easier to invest in modern technology that
will assist with processing times. For example, it will be easier to introduce online authorisation for
payments across the whole country. An outsource provider is also likely to maintain their investment
in the latest technology, as they can recover the cost of that investment across a number of clients.
Practical issues to consider
Moving to a shared service model would be a major undertaking and outsourcing a larger one still.
We may want to consider whether a shared service centre would be a good 'first step' before we
consider full outsourcing. Other considerations would include:
 Clarifying the drivers for the move, and the benefits we expect to see
 Choosing a partner if we outsource. This will be a critical decision.
 Deciding on a location, balancing cost considerations with the need for a good supply of
appropriately skilled labour, and also considering compatibility of time zones with ours
 Identifying those activities which are suitable to move into the new model. These will tend to
be the less strategically important and most routine activities.
 Setting up a project team to evaluate and manage the transition. We may not have this
expertise in-house and it might be helpful to bring in support from external consultants.
 Managing the impact on existing staff, whose jobs may be transferred or eliminated
These issues should not be under-estimated and we should manage expectations of the Operations
Director. Moving to a different finance function model will not be a 'quick fix' or a simple process.
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Activity 2: Investment appraisal
The requirement is to 'critically evaluate' remarks using scepticism, so there is a clear hint that the
manager's assertions should not necessarily be taken at face value. When you receive information, it
is important to consider whether it is reliable, and that will depend on the nature of the information,
the source, its plausibility and so on.
In order to earn the 'challenge' skills marks you needed to demonstrate that you were systematically
working through the assertions to see if they were supported by the available evidence. Where they
were not, you needed to point this out.
Suggested solution
Payback rate
Project 1
All figures in $'000
C/F 0 –110 –60 –45 –5
Total costs 110 10 10 10 10
Total savings 0 60 25 50 70
Cumulative –110 –60 –45 –5 55
Project 2
All figures in $'000
C/F 0 –90 –50 –30 –5
Total costs 90 20 20 10 10
Total savings 0 60 35 40 35
Cumulative –90 –50 –30 –5 20
The calculations above show that both Projects would have had a payback period of 4 years,
however, Project 1 ($55) would pay back more than Project 2 ($20) therefore Project 1 would still
have been preferable and so selected.
Payback ignores any cashflows that would be received in the years after payback. With hindsight,
we know Project 1 was a disaster, and it is possible Project 2 may have generated more revenue
subsequent to payback.
However, had the payback method been used, any such future cashflows would not have been
considered at the time of appraisal and so Project 1 would still have been selected over Project 2.
The manager's assertion that this method would have led to the selection of Project 2 is therefore
incorrect.
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The discount rate

The discount rate is not the same as the inflation rate. Although inflation may be taken into account,
other factors such as interest forgone (the opportunity cost of investing elsewhere), the cost of capital
(the cost of borrowing to fund the investment) and risk are influential in determining the discount rate.
The discount rate used will include a risk allowance which determines the required rate of return for a
project to be considered to be viable.
To determine the appropriate discount rate to use, it would be useful to have further information
about risk-free interest rates, the risk profile of the company and the company's cost of capital.
However, note that even if the discount rate was changed to 3% or 4%, this would make no
difference as to which project was selected. It would in fact increase the attractiveness of Project 1 as
there would be less discounting of the cash flows in Years 3 and 4. This would actually increase the
gap in the NPV between Projects 1 and 2.
The internal rate of return (IRR)
The IRR is the discount rate that would give an NPV of zero for the net cash flows of each project,
and the two Projects are of a similar scale. Therefore, in this case the project with the greater NPV
will produce the higher IRR, and so the result under IRR will the same as that selected under NPV
(ie Project 1 would still have been selected).
IRR may have been important, however, if the company has to achieve an internal hurdle rate, or
when different scales of investment are being compared. Neither of these situations exist here.
Activity 3: Performance appraisal

There is a lot of data here, of different types, so it is important to focus first on the key indicators and
then what could be driving its changes. For a quoted company, the share price is a critical
performance measure, which is driven by changes in profit, and expectations of future profit. The
company is in a fast-moving, competitive manufacturing business so we can expect quality and
innovation to be critical, measured respectively by data on faults and new product lines. Avoid
saying simply 'x is below budget by y%'. You will need to comment meaningfully on the figures in
order to score well at this level.
In order to earn the 'enquire' skills marks you needed to demonstrate that you were analysing your
data sources to come to appropriate conclusions. You would also show that you were not just
commenting on the numbers, but seeing if they could shed light on the reasons for ALPHA's financial
underperformance.
Suggested solution
Non-financial indicators
We budgeted for the launch of ten new product lines; we actually launched 12, but of these only one
was successful compared to a budget of four. This requires further investigation, since these figures
may indicate a degree of over-optimism both about the volume of R&D we are able to
undertake and about the overall competence of our R&D organisation. There is a risk that ALPHA is
developing new product lines for which there is no demand. Alternatively, the marketing aspects of
new product development may require attention if new lines are not being promoted effectively.
Output quality seems to have been much worse than expected, with rework, customer returns and
warranty claims all much higher than budget.
The actual number of units rejected and sent for rework was 54,000 against a flexed budget of
29,375; this represents an adverse variance of 84%.
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Warranty claims and other returns amount to 8.4% of all units sold. This is a very high figure,
especially when we consider the number of units which also had to be reworked. This suggests there
are serious problems in ALPHA's quality control procedures. Eighty-four warranty claims and returns
per '000 units equates to 197,400 dissatisfied customers in the year. We must not overlook the
effect of the high rate of returns on our reputation and brand values.
The average selling price is almost 6% below budget; which in the light of quality issues suggests
ALPHA may be having to discount prices to generate sales. This, combined with the returns problem
and the 50,000 unit shortfall on the sales budget, indicates a degree of customer dissatisfaction that
should be of concern.
Financial indicators
ALPHA is a listed company and EPS is a key market indicator; its shortfall on budget of 8% is
reflected in its share price, which, at J$334.5, is over 16% lower than forecast. Not surprisingly,
the company's poor performance is translating into a loss of value for its shareholders.
The main reasons for the shortfall in EPS are clear: turnover shows 7.6% adverse variance and
gross margin of 65.6% is lower than the planned 68%: together these effects produce a gross
profit shortfall on budget of 10.8%. These figures should be a serious cause for concern. Sales are
below budget (possibly due to quality issues damaging the company's brand – see below) yet at the
same time direct costs (%) are over budget. Some of the overspend may reflect the high labour costs
associated with the level of re-working currently being required, but there should be wider concerns
that costs are not being controlled tightly enough.
Net margin, at 36.4%, is similarly disappointing when compared with the 40.7% budgeted and
indicates that indirect costs are also higher than expected. It has already been remarked that
headcount is significantly above budget; and this will have an impact on the level of direct costs.
However, ALPHA needs to review its level of overheads critically in the light of below-budgeted sales.
Average capital employed was J$2,835m, which is 11.2% higher than expected. Taken
together with this, the fall in turnover and the evident increase in costs of all types produce a return
on capital employed of 23%, against a budget of 31%. Again, this is an indicator that the
company is not currently generating the level of value that it should be.
The closing cash balance of J$179m is much lower than the J$485m budgeted. We note that pre-
tax profit at J$652m is J$138m lower than budget, which may account for some of the J$306m
shortfall. We have no figures that would indicate any specific cash shortfall, though we note that
average inventories are J$20.6m above budget. It is not really appropriate to use these average
figures to discuss the year-end cash position, but their magnitude compared with the budget variance
seems to suggest that significant demands have been made on cash during the year, and may
suggest that there are weaknesses in the business's working capital management.
Inventories themselves deserve comment because they have run significantly above budget in all
categories, and total almost 30 days cost of sales.
Finished goods inventory is particularly noticeable, having averaged J$38.2m against a budget
of J$20m, an adverse variance of 91%. This represents 22.6 days rather than the 11.8 days
budgeted. There could well be a link here to the significant overall sales variance, but it also looks
like controls over the level of finished goods held could be improved.
WIP, at 0.47 days, is significantly higher than the 0.18 days budgeted, which should raise concerns
over the efficiency of the production process – especially if ALPHA is operating a JIT manufacturing
system.
Raw material inventories, at 6.75 days, also seem high for a routine mass production operation;
the budget, at 5.58 days seems to indicate an acceptance that this is normal. Greater attention to
delivery scheduling may be fruitful.
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Headcount averaged 2,259, against 2,128 budgeted, an increase of 6.16%. Unfortunately, there
does not seem to have been a corresponding increase in worthwhile activity. Sales were significantly
down on budget (2.35 million units against 2.40, an adverse variance of 2.1%; J$1,793m value
against J$1,941m, an adverse variance of 7.6%; sales per employee J$793,714 against
J$912,124, an adverse variance of 13%). The increased headcount alongside lower than budgeted
sales means that sales per employee have fallen from 1,128 (budget) to 1,040 (actual). This
indicates that efficiency is falling, although this could be in part due to ALPHA's products becoming
less desirable in the market place.
The adverse variance in unit production cost of sales (J$262 against J$259) is also likely to reflect
this increase in headcount. There may also be a link between the employment of new, inexperienced
staff and the clear indications of deteriorating quality.
Summary
ALPHA's performance is disappointing compared to budget expectations. Important features are
significant quality problems and failure to control costs of all kinds.
Workings
Sales per employee
Budget J$1,941m/2,128 = J$912,124
Actual J$1,793m/2,259 = J$793,714
Variance (912,124 – 793,714)/912,124  100% = 12.98%
Activity 4: DynoCars
This question involves using management accounting techniques from your previous studies but,
unlike the lower level exams, you will not be specifically directed as to what calculations to make or
what techniques to use. You need to carefully consider the specific information given. There is a clue
in the mention of capacity constraints, which suggests that production capacity is a limiting factor
and it would be worth analysing whether the current mix of production utilises this resource well.
In order to earn the 'estimate' skills marks you needed to identify that the issue is not quite as simple
as it first appears. Rather than just comparing the direct cost of manufacturing in-house with
outsourcing, you need to think about the organisation as a whole. This would lead you to consider
limiting factor analysis, which provides this perspective. You then need to draw clear implications of
your analysis for the decision the organisation needs to make.
Case for outsourcing
If we consider the Small model in isolation from the other DynoCar products we can see the main
benefits that would be achieved by outsourcing its production. The relevant supporting information is
shown in Figure 1 below.
Small
Selling price per car ($) 6,999
Variable cost per car ($) 4,500
Weekly demand (cars) 6
Production time per car (machine hours) 8
Contribution (6,999 – 4,500) 2,499
Contribution per machine hour (2,499/8) 312
Production time (6  8) 48
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Figure 1: Information relating to the in-house production of Small
The cost of manufacture quoted by the potential outsource provider is $3,500 which is cheaper than
the $4,500 variable cost of manufacturing this car at the existing site, therefore saving DynoCars
$1,000 per car. There is also a transport cost of $250 per car associated with the outsourcing
option which reduces this saving to $750, however this still suggests that outsourcing the production
of the Small is more attractive than retaining production in house.
Even the most profitable combination generates only a relatively small profit margin. Figure 2 shows
more information about the entire range.
Family Luxury Small
Selling price per car ($) 9,999 12,999 6,999
Variable cost per car ($) 7,000 10,000 4,500
Weekly demand (cars) 6 5 6
Production time per car (machine hours) 9 10 8
Contribution 2,999 2,999 2,499
Contribution per machine hour 333 300 312
Production time 54 50 48
Figure 2: Information relating to the current production of the DynoCar range
The case for outsourcing is further supported by the fact that DynoCar is unable to meet the demand
for its products using its current facilities. The production capacity at its site is 112 hours, which is 40
hours short of the 152 (54 + 50 + 48) hours of demand. This demand could be met and profits could
be increased if the outsourcing option is taken.
In addition, the scenario suggests this option would save overheads of $1,250 per week.
Case against outsourcing
The most profitable combination of products produced using the current system is as follows:
Cars produced Hours of production Contribution
Family 6 54 $17,994 (6  $2,999)
Luxury 1 10 $2,999 (1  2,999)
Small 6 48 $14,994 (6  $2,449)
112 $35,987
If the Small is outsourced, the most profitable combination would be as follows:
Cars produced Hours of production Contribution
Family 6 54 $17,994 (6  $2,999)
Luxury 5 50 $14,995 (5  2,999)
104 $32,989
This combination gives a total contribution of $32,989 which is less than the forecast $33,750
weekly overhead cost and utilises only 104 production hours, leaving 8 production hours unused.
This may mean that the production site may no longer be viable in the future once Small is
outsourced.
It may be possible to address this by changing to a three-shift pattern to increase production capacity
to 168 hours (7 days, 3 shifts of 8 hours each) per week. This would mean that demand (152 hours)
is met leaving 16 hours (168 – 152) available for maintenance. DynoCar would have to determine
whether or not this is feasible and if they consider the 16 hours of maintenance time to be sufficient.
Conclusion
Overall, outsourcing would be more financially viable than producing Small in house, but it would
leave the factory in a loss-making position. DynoCar may want to revisit their business model and
evaluate the outsourcing of all manufacturing. On the other hand, they may have different reasons
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for maintaining the factory (eg brand, social responsibility) which would apply even if it does not
make a profit.
Chapter 11 Applications of IT
Activity 1: Retail World

A good approach to structuring your work was to use the four Vs (volume, veracity, velocity and
variety) as a framework around which to develop your answer. You might have found it useful to set
the scene to your answer by briefly explaining what each of the Vs represents and to explain the
implications of each in modern business. However, to achieve good marks it was crucial that you
applied your knowledge of big data to RW and its approach to strategic development. For example,
when considering the V of volume, possessing greater quantities and types of customer data would
clearly be useful to RW. Such data should allow RW to identify trends in customer purchasing
behaviour and could help the company to plan which products it offers more of to customers, or in
which locations it should potentially open up more stores.
The professional skills marks in the question were on offer for demonstrating your communication
skills with a particular focus on your ability to inform. To earn these marks you needed to ensure that
you presented your answer in a clear and concise manner, which took into account the fact that the
intended recipient of your work was RW's finance director.
Suggested solution
Four Vs of big data
Big data is a generic term used to describe the exponential growth of data, provided from numerous
sources, available to organisations. The data is not useful in itself; it is the analysis of such data
which provides valuable insights to an organisation. The use of big data can lead to an in-depth
insight into trends and the driving forces behind those trends.
The four Vs of big data, volume, veracity, velocity and variety, can be examined to determine their
contribution towards strategic development.
Volume can enhance the understanding of customer requirements and behaviour. The more data
available, the greater the reliability of the trends and relationships discovered. The use of big data
would allow RW to use multivariate analysis over a greater time period or a greater number of
shorter time periods to understand purchasing patterns better. This could help RW to create better
strategies to capitalise on discovered trends.
Veracity refers to the truthfulness of data once captured. Given that RW is a major international
retailer and is continuing to expand at a rapid pace, it is of crucial importance that the data used to
base decisions on where to open new stores is not flawed and does not contain errors. Bad data will
lead to poor decisions when determining strategy. In the case of RW it would appear likely that the
data held will of a good quality as the company operates rigorous controls over its IT system.
Velocity refers to the speed of use of real-time data. As the majority of business transactions are
now carried out using technology, these transactions can be captured and processed in real time if
sufficient processing capacity is available. This ensures that strategies can be continually updated, in
order to deliver competitive advantage. For example, as a new product is trending on social media,
RW may then ensure they stock this product and aggressively market it in order to capture greater
market share. Similarly, when customers are shopping online, RW could analyse their transactions in
real time and use current and historic customer information to make recommendations for further
purchases.
Variety refers to the different sources from which data is provided. As sources take different forms
and include those not in RW's control, this is a challenging aspect of big data. However, if managed
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correctly, the variety provides the most detailed understanding of the market place, segmentation and
individual customers. This could include competitor and industry information, sourced through key
words online, to hashtags on social media and discussion forums.
Benefits
There are many potential benefits which could be obtained through the analysis of big data. RW
could use the results to reliably determine where to locate their new stores. By accessing customers'
shopping habits from credit and debit card records, they could determine which competing stores
are used, and in which locations. This could help in the strategic planning of store locations,
especially as RW is intending to continue to grow store numbers, at least over the next two years.
This could help maximise the additional revenue to be gained from new stores.
The use of big data will allow RW to identify trends in shopping habits and could lead to the
discovery of previously unsuspected trends, allowing RW to capitalise on these before its industry
competitors have even recognised the trend.
Further revenue streams are also available through the selling of data. Given the industry RW is in,
there will be a number of branded items on offer to customers. Manufacturers of these brands are keen
to carry out their own analysis and will pay for information to help with this. RW could capitalise on
this new revenue stream.
Overall therefore, RW may well find itself at a competitive disadvantage if it fails to explore the use
of big data. However, as with all decisions, the cost-benefit implications would need to be
considered before implementation.
Activity 2: Holiday Company

Although, the focus of this question was upon pricing, it also incorporates elements of both new
product development and marketing. Consideration was given to these three issues earlier in this
chapter. To produce a good answer it was crucial that you considered the fact that the holiday
packages to be offered by Inspirations were intended to be marketed at the luxury end of the market,
and therefore the pricing approach adopted would need to support this.
In essence the requirement was asking you to describe the economic (financial) and non-economic
(non-financial) factors that would impact on the pricing approach used by Inspirations. The trick to
producing a good answer was to draw upon the scenario detail. When considering economic
influences it was interesting to note that there was very little in the way of financial detail in the
scenario; however, you were told that the new managing director of Inspirations had set an objective
of 'achieving annual revenue of $100m by 20X8. This would be approximately 25% of the total
forecast revenue for HC that year, but it is expected to represent only about 5% of the total number
of holidays sold by HC'. This little snippet of information provided the basis for one of the key
economic influences on the pricing approach, in this case the amount of revenue to be generated.
You should have been able to identify a range of non-economic factors relatively easily by posing the
question: If you wanted to sell a product or service what factors would you want to consider when
setting the price? Hopefully, you would have considered factors such as competitors' prices, customer
affordability, the associated costs of offering the product/service, and type of image/perception
intended on being projected by the product/service. You could then use these points as the basis of
your answer in relation to Inspirations' pricing strategy.
'Demonstrating awareness' requires you to consider the specific context of a scenario in relation to a
particular issue; in this case the scenario detailed HC's establishment of a new business unit to sell
luxury holidays and required consideration of setting an appropriate pricing strategy. To earn the
professional skills marks it was important that you pitched your work at a strategic level. The fact that
you have been appointed to provide advice to the board of directors, and in light of the requirement
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which asked for a description of a 'strategic approach' to establishing prices should have provided
a clear indication that you needed to take a high level view of the situation at Inspirations.
Considering strategic level matters such as the new business unit's objectives and mission, and its
competitors, in relation to its approach to pricing were what was needed.
Suggested solution
There are a number of influences which must be considered when determining a pricing strategy
which will deliver the business and corporate objectives of an organisation.
Mission and objectives
Clearly, the objectives which are to be achieved should form a key element when determining the
pricing strategy. HC's new business unit has the mission of 'delivering a high quality service for
discerning travellers', and aims to 'achieve revenue of $100m by 20X8'. If the business unit is
aiming for high quality, then its pricing strategy should be in line with this, in order that customer
perception is in line with what the company hopes to deliver. This may lead to a premium pricing
strategy for Inspirations to maintain the suggestion of a difference between the standard holidays
offered and the new range of holidays. Prices should be higher to reflect the quality offered. HC must
also consider the desired revenue, 25% of total company revenue but only 5% of volume; this
suggests that the pricing must be set at a higher level than current offerings in order to achieve this.
Price is a key element in differentiating its product.
While organisations may use discounting as an aid to getting market share, a clear objective of HC,
the use of discounting, in this market segment, would contradict the desired message of premium
quality.
Cost
If a price fails to take cost into consideration, then the organisation may not be profitable and
difficulties may arise in the long term. Although organisations have been known to sell products as a
loss leader in order to attract other purchases, it does not seem as if this would be an appropriate
strategy for Inspirations. It must cover its costs when deciding its prices.
The premium holidays offered will make use of the best hotels, with high ratings and quality features,
and intend to use premium airlines and seat options only. These will be costly to the company and
should be incorporated into the price. Inspirations could choose to price each individual option on a
'cost plus margin' basis, or simply ensure that the overall cost is covered when deciding the final
price using some other basis.
Competition
There are a number of competitors already operating in the luxury holiday market, and Inspirations
must consider what it is charging for equivalent services. Given the transparency of information
available over the internet, customers may be able to compare holidays and prices online, however,
this transparency may be reduced to an extent given the bespoke nature of the holidays to be
offered. Inspirations does not own the hotels it intends to use for the holidays offered, and will not
have exclusive use of them. Therefore, the price should either match those offered by similar
competitors, or they should differentiate in some way and therefore be able to charge a justifiably
higher price.
Customers
Customers will have a limit regarding what they are prepared to pay for a particular offering.
Inspirations must ensure that its pricing is within that limit for its target customer group. Given that
these are luxury holidays, Inspirations is targeting higher income customers. While price competition
may not be the main focus for these customers, they will still want perceived value for money. This
will determine the upper price they are prepared to pay.
Controls
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There are a number of external influences affecting the travel industry. Although it is often the airline
or the hotel company which is subjected to these influences, such as local passenger taxes and visa
requirements, the holiday company must consider these when determining its pricing strategy. For
example, should these be incorporated into the price of the holiday or shown separately? Also, can
the airline or hotel companies impose controls on the holiday company, such as a legal requirement
not to discount their prices in any way?
Chapter 12 E-business
Activity 1: Accounting Education Consortium

The requirement did not specifically mention the 6 Is but it is the best way of answering the question.
You can generate ideas by looking at each in turn. You do need to make sure that everything is
being related back to the organisation in the scenario.
To demonstrate your 'demonstrate awareness' skills you needed to show that you have understood
the key drivers of success at AEC. They need to identify the potential customers for their services and
then approach them in the best way to encourage them to buy. This needed to be the focus of your
response.
Suggested solution
In traditional marketing media, such as advertising and direct mail, the marketing message is
initiated by the supplier sending out a message to potential customers. However, there is
limited interaction with the customer. In electronic media, the customer plays a much more
active role, for example visiting a website to find out information about a course or seminar.
Interactivity – interactivity is a key feature of electronic media, creating a dialogue between
supplier and customer. Usually this dialogue is through email exchanges. For example, AEC could
use emails to provide customers with information about courses which may be of interest to them.
However, in order to do this AEC needs to know the email address of potential customers,
and the courses they could be interested in. At the moment, AEC only collects personal information
about people who wish to download study material; there isn't a facility on the website for
potential customers to register their interest in a particular course, so that AEC can then
send them further details about the course, and any special deals available to encourage them to
book on the course.
In this respect, the functionality of AEC's website is more characteristic of traditional media (that is,
sending out generic messages) rather than encouraging the interactivity which is characteristic of
electronic media.
Individualisation – another characteristic of electronic media is that they allow marketing
messages to be tailored to specific market segments, whereas with traditional media a single
message is sent to all market segments.
For example, some of AEC's courses are for non-qualified candidates preparing for their professional
exams while others are for qualified accountants fulfilling their CPD requirements. At the moment,
AEC has a single website for all students. However, students could be asked to indicate which
courses they are interested in (professional exams, or CPD) when they first visit the website, and then
the information could be filtered so that only parts relevant to them are displayed on the
screen, or they are taken to different screens depending on their interest.
The interactivity noted above also promotes individualisation. Once students have registered an
interest in a particular course, or for a course in a particular location, subsequently emails
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individually relevant to them can be sent out advertising courses for related subjects in the nearest
centre to them.
Intelligence – because advertisers using traditional media do not engage in any dialogue with
potential customers, they cannot use their marketing to find out anything about customers'
requirements, and also which products or services are meeting them most effectively.
However, website software allows web owners to record information every time a user
clicks on a page. For AEC, this would be useful to see which pages on its website (ie which
courses) potential customers view most frequently. It would also be useful for AEC to see how the
number of visitors to a web page translates into them signing up for a course of study material.
If the conversion rate from hits (visits) to sales is low for particular products it suggests there
is either a problem with the web page promoting that product (for example, it is not clear to follow),
or with the underlying product itself (for example, potential customers are put off by the price of a
course).
AEC could possibly even get more customer intelligence by including a short survey on its
website asking visitors to the site for their feedback, on either the site itself, or the products AEC is
offering.
Integration – advertisers can use the intelligence which they gather from customers to add value to
their products or services, by sharing the intelligence with other people across their company.
For example, at the moment only 10% of people who view AEC's downloadable study material
proceed to purchase it. The online marketing team should discuss this low conversion rate with other
areas of the business to assess whether there is anything that could be done to make the material
more attractive to potential customers. These discussions could be with the authors of the material to
discuss if it could be made more student-friendly, or with the finance department to see if any
discounts or incentives could be offered to make the price more attractive.
Independence of location – by its nature, internet marketing has a global reach and so allows
advertisers to access potential customers who were outside the reach of traditional media. Moreover,
the internet is also accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so it allows potential customers to find
information about a company's products and services outside normal office hours.
The ability to communicate globally may be more useful to AEC for selling study material than selling
courses. Although AEC has eight worldwide centres, it is only likely to be practical for students to
attend these centres if they live relatively close to them. However, study materials can be sent to
students wherever they live.
There are some practical considerations here though. The procedures for booking courses do not
support the 'global' aspect of the electronic media, for example, because customers cannot book a
course online.
Activity 2: Moor Farm

This is a very practical, applied question that involves taking account of the feedback you are given
and considering specific ways in which the website could help to address these. A good approach
would be to work through the comments one by one, then offering advice on how to address the
issue.
You will earn the professional skills marks by communicating in a way appropriate to your audience
– the manager of the farm. She does not want discussion of theoretical models or vague comments.
She is looking for specific, actionable ideas that will help address her issues. You also need to
ensure that you use a report format of some sort as that has been specifically requested.
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Suggested solution
Report
To: Manager, Moor Farm
From: A. Consultant
Date: XX/XX/XX
There are a number of ways in which the website could be further developed to address some of the
issues highlighted in the survey.
Search engine optimisation
A key problem noted with the website is the difficulty in finding it: 'We didn't know you had a
website. We almost had to type in the complete website address before we found it!' If people
cannot find the website, it doesn't matter how good it is, it will not do its job. Moor Farm needs to
determine what terms are most directly relevant, for example 'moor farm', 'walking' 'hiking' 'rural'
and 'Cornaille' are possibilities, and ensure they are included in such a way as to optimise search
engine listings. There is conflicting advice as to the best way to achieve this. Sponsored links could
be a good approach for a charity organisation such as this estate.
Weather feed
Some visitors have commented that the weather spoilt a good day out. A live weather feed on the
home page of the website may help prevent this from happening, so that visitors who require better
weather can plan their visit to suit their needs and gain more enjoyment from their day at the estate.
Webcams placed at a number of points around the estate would allow visitors to view the estate
'live' and make an informed decision on conditions. The pictures from the webcam could also be
supplemented by photos and videos of the estate 'at its best' in good weather conditions, perhaps
encouraging people to visit the estate.
Online booking
The estate occasionally holds events, the details of which are provided on the website. However, the
stakeholder survey highlighted the disappointment of a family that had travelled 100km to the estate,
only to find that the event was sold out. Improving the interactivity of the website to allow online
booking and payment would allow families to secure their tickets before setting out. They would also
prevent a wasted trip in the situation of the event being fully sold out.
Introducing online booking would also allow the estate to predict demand prior to the event allowing
it to adjust the scale and make any alterations as necessary. Cash flow will also be improved as
payment will be received in advance.
Feedback
There does not appear to be the facility on the existing website for customers to post comments,
photos or recommendations. Such feedback both helps to attract new customers to the estate, and
also helps the estate to understand where improvements can be made to better meet customer
demand.
The knowledge and enthusiasm of the volunteers could also be captured in the form of a blog
describing what they are doing and what is currently going on at the estate. Social networking sites
such as Twitter could be linked to this.
Online community
The stakeholder survey highlighted that there are a number of regular visitors to the estate who are
keen to know what is going on. However, it would seem they are not getting this information at
present. This could be solved via the website by setting up a community which can be joined online.
The members will then be sent e-newsletters, regular updates and special offers. A section of the
website could be dedicated to this community, and members can access it by logging in to their
account.
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In addition to meeting the demands of the regular visitors, establishing an online community would
provide the estate with the opportunity to build a marketing profile of likely visitors and better
understand what different visitors want from the estate.
Conclusion
Development of the website does offer scope to address the issues raised in the visitor survey, and
thus contribute to the success and financial sustainability of Moor Farm going forward.
Chapter 13 Enabling success and strategic change
Activity 1: Ergo City

Reading the question requirement carefully was particularly important as you were not asked to
evaluate the drawbacks of the outsourcing arrangement, but were instead only expected to comment
on the benefits. Discussing the drawbacks would earn you no marks and would waste your time if
you were attempting the question under exam conditions. It was important that you made active use
of the two exhibits (especially Exhibit 1), as this provided lots of detail about the issues facing ECA.
Understanding the issues at ECA should have helped to make it easier to generate a range of
benefits that outsourcing might bring. It was important that you kept your answer at a high level
especially as the ECA board is unlikely to have lots of time to listen to a highly detailed presentation.
Identifying and commenting on the key benefits associated with the proposal would have been
sufficient.
How to earn professional skills marks
The professional skills marks were available for clarifying the benefits on offer to ECA of outsourcing
its IT function. Your ability to provide clarity when discussing a given issue is a key communication
skill. In this case clarity was needed as there was some confusion among the ECA board when
discussing the benefits offered by the Pro-Tech proposal. You could have earned the professional
skills marks by focusing on the key points (in this case the benefits) and by keeping the level of detail
in your answer to a minimum. The fact that you needed to produce a single presentation slide and
some supporting notes should have helped contain the length of your answer.
Suggested solution
Slide: potential benefits of outsourcing IT to Pro-Tech-Public
 Reduction in staffing costs
 Resolve internal conflicts (IT and Finance Department)
 Allow ECA to focus on core business activities
 Gain access to new technological opportunities
 Improve staff morale/offer employees opportunities
 Stake in a new company/opportunities to provide IT to other authorities
Note. Outsourcing could be beneficial to ECA for a number of reasons:
Reduction in staffing costs
ECA has well documented problems in shedding labour as the IT department has steadily grown in
size. Therefore staff costs are likely to be too high. Outsourcing would allow demand to be matched
to supply and so IT staff costs would only be incurred when needed.
Internal conflicts
Outsourcing could potentially resolve the ongoing conflict between the finance and IT department or,
if resolution is impossible, it would at least be passed on to the outsource provider. This would free
up the CEO's time.
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Core business activities
ECA has been criticised for not addressing the housing problems of the city. Outsourcing a non-core
activity, such as IT, would allow ECA to focus more on core business activities.
Technological opportunities
The outsourced IT provider should be at the leading edge of technology and have highly skilled and
knowledgeable staff. This should allow ECA access to the new technological opportunities that the
director of IT wishes to explore and exploit.
Staff morale
There is low staff morale in the current IT department at ECA which is partly influenced by the
ingratitude of users. In the outsourced company, IT would be the core business function and so it is
likely the staff will feel more highly valued and their morale might improve. The outsourced company
may provide employees with better promotion and development opportunities.
Stake in new company
ECA will hold a significant stake in the new company and the CEO has observed that is it likely that
other authorities will follow the outsourcing route in the future. ECA's stake in the new company may
help Pro-Tech-Public to gain contracts with those authorities due to its extensive public sector
experience. In addition the new company may bring in income to ECA.
Activity 2: Blue Cherry Mobile

Clearly to make a reasonable attempt at answering this question you would need to have an
understanding of the principles of talent management. As this requirement is effectively asking you to
come up with suggestions to improve the graduate recruitment programme to bring it in line with the
principles of talent management it is important that any suggestions you make are realistic in light of
the situation outlined in the scenario detail.
To demonstrate your 'persuade' skills you need to be able to construct a well-reasoned, counter-
argument to a stated point of view. In this case you are told that the Chair of the board wishes to put
forward a counter-argument to address the concerns of those directors unhappy with the performance
of the graduate recruitment programme. It was important to remember that the Chair's argument is
not simply that the programme be maintained but instead how the current scheme could be
developed and improved by acting upon your suggestions to bring the current scheme in line with
the principles of talent management. To do this it was therefore important that you were able
highlight the benefits of the current graduate recruitment programme and to suggest ways in which
BCM could get more out of the scheme if the principles of talent management were adopted. This
required supporting your argument with facts outlined in the Exhibit.
Suggested solution
BCM's management need to take a strategic view of human resource management. This involves not
only recruiting talented individuals to develop new products in the short term but to also provide
opportunities for the graduates to develop into the long term. This could be achieved by allowing
graduates to make more meaningful contributions to the work of the R&D department. This is
illustrated by the leaver who commented that 'I have lots of good ideas, it is just a shame that I
cannot seem to get anyone in management to listen to them.'
Developing a strategic view of human resources will require BCM's management to listen more
proactively to the suggestions of the graduates. This may involve assigning them special projects
which are distinct from the main workings of the R&D department so that they can test out new ideas
and innovations that they may have. In light of the fact that BCM's graduates are recruited from top
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universities increases the potential for break-through innovations to be discovered which could be
integrated into future phone designs. Addressing this issue is of critical strategic importance for BCM
especially as Kiwi Phones is eroding the company's market share through releasing increasingly
advanced devices.
Appointing a CEO with a strong background and/or interest in talent management is needed. This
is an important step as it helps to ensure that BCM's talent management strategy is led and supported
from the top.
The graduate programme needs to be developed so that those individuals who complete the scheme
are put to work in more meaningful ways, as at present graduates appear to being placed in
unsuitable administrative roles. BCM should look to use these individuals in coaching roles so that
they can support the new graduate recruits. This would provide them with the opportunity to develop
their managerial skills.
Activity 3: Auto Direct

When attempting the question it is important to recognise that the requirement is effectively formed of
two parts. The first part requires you to draw upon your knowledge of Balogun and Hope Hailey
(2008), as you need to consider which of the four types of change relates to the situation at Auto
Direct. The second part did not require the use of any specific theory, as you were asked to 'briefly'
suggest practical approaches for managing the proposed change. Picking up on the use of the word
'briefly' here was crucial as there were potentially a number of different points you could have made.
Writing too much can be as damaging as writing too little.
When asked to 'show insight' you need to remember that this is effectively your opportunity to
display your understanding of real-world issues that organisations face, such as change management
considerations when undertaking a new strategy. To earn the professional skills marks you needed to
ensure that your suggestions of approaches for managing the change were indeed practical, and
could feasibly be implemented. Considering whether or not your suggestions would be accepted by
key stakeholders (in this case Auto Direct's workforce) is a good way of assessing their viability.
Suggested solution
Type of change
The change that has been proposed, while extensive, is incremental and does not involve the
transformation of the organisation. It therefore falls into the category of adaptation, which implies
that a step-by-step approach which leaves Auto Direct's existing business model and approach
unchanged would be appropriate. Therefore, any change strategies need to be consistent with this
type of change.
Approaches for managing the proposed change
While good project management of a programme of change is very important, it is the human
aspects of the change management process that are crucial. This is because change will not happen
unless people make it happen. A number of strategies are proposed for dealing with this aspect of
change management.
Participation
Participation in decision making is sometimes recommended as a way of improving motivation
generally and may be useful in the context of the change at Auto Direct. It would be advantageous to
involve staff in the decisions which will affect them, their conditions and their work processes.
Participation is likely to be particularly important as some of Auto Direct's existing staff are expected
to have to relocate to the new outlets when established. Allowing staff to participate in some way, for
example by being allowed to state their preferences in terms of the new outlet they would be
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prepared to relocate to, may help to reduce feelings of uncertainty and cynicism about the change
among the workforce.
Communication and education
Communication with Auto Direct's workforce about the proposed change will be critical to the
successful implementation of the change. In the event that the decision is made to proceed,
information outlining the change should be made available to all staff as early as possible. Such
communication should detail why the change is necessary and the course that will be followed
during its implementation. Although the change proposal does not include any scope for
redundancies, there is likely to be anxiety among the workforce, particularly around the issue of job
security. Concern is common during periods of change, and a programme of communication and
education can go a long way to allay it.
Negotiation
Sometimes neither participation nor communication can resolve all problems and some degree of
negotiation may be required between Auto Direct's workforce and the management. This is often the
case when the labour force is strongly organised. Given that the majority of Auto Direct's workforce
are members of the AAU, this suggests that any aspects of the change proposal which the workforce
disapprove of may have to be worked out by going through formal channels with the trade union.
Chapter 14 Process redesign
Activity 1: Dollar and Dime Bank

As the requirement asks you to recommend and justify a solution for each of the three process
initiatives, this is a clue that you would need to address each in turn. The suggested solution below
deals with each initiative individually. Given that there were three process initiatives and three
solution options specified it would be reasonable to assume that each initiative could be matched to
one of the solutions mentioned in the scenario. Although no specific theory was mentioned in the
requirement you should have realised that referring to the axes on Harmon's process-strategy matrix
would be an appropriate way to structure your answer. Using the theory in this way provides a neat
framework through which the three initiatives can be considered.
Displaying your judgement requires you to identify the key issues in the information provided and to
recommend solutions to resolve a particular matter. In this case, to earn the professional skills marks
you need to consider the three process initiatives detailed in the exhibit and then justify which of the
three solution options outlined by the project manager would be most appropriate. Simply stating
that purchasing a software solution in respect of the integration of the two bespoke payroll systems
would not be sufficient. You need to explain why purchasing the software solution would be
appropriate.
Suggested solution
The integration of the two bespoke payroll systems
Operating payroll systems is likely to be regarded as being of low strategic importance. Despite this,
payroll is a necessary process, even though it does not add any significant value to the end
customer. Payroll systems are likely to be viewed as being of relatively low complexity as they tend to
be simple and straightforward to operate. As a result payroll can be automated to some extent.
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Recommendation
DD should purchase a standard, off-the-shelf software package solution and transfer data from both
existing systems to the new one. Any possible issues with transferring the data will have to be taken
into consideration.
Updating of all personal desktop computer hardware and software
The process of updating all personal desktop computer hardware and software is likely to be of low
strategic importance, particularly as this process is unlikely to form part of the core competences of
the bank. Despite this the process is likely to be of high complexity, as DD will need to deploy
individuals with the required expertise to update the computers. The need for expertise makes the
process too complex to automate. It is unclear from the scenario detail whether DD has employees
with the required expertise in-house or not to carry out the update.
Recommendation
In light of the above analysis, DD should look to outsource this work to a specialist technology
company.
Development of processes, systems and software to support the new private
personal banking service
The development of processes, systems and software needed to support the new private banking
service can certainly be regarded as being of high strategic importance. This is due to the fact that
DD has identified high net worth customers as an important growth area. As a result this process
could potentially be a source of competitive advantage. In addition, as DD intends for this to be a
personalised service which requires human interaction and judgement, this makes this a high
complexity process.
Recommendation
It is therefore recommended that DD pursue a bespoke in-house development approach to this
initiative. The potential for this process to deliver high future profits suggests that it should be given
high priority and resources should be focused on this area.
Activity 2: Super-Food Supermarkets

The use of the words 'briefly explain' coupled to the limited amount of detail provided in the exhibit
should make it sufficiently clear that a long answer is not required. Clearly, to produce a good
answer you would need to have an understanding of the principles of BPR. The suggested solution
below begins with the definition of BPR as offered by Hammer and Champy. Setting out the answer
in this way is useful as some of the key themes of BPR can then be picked out in relation to the
situation at SFS. Despite this it is important not to overlook the second element of the requirement
which asks you to mention the implications of SFS adopting BPR.
In order to demonstrate awareness skills you need to display an appreciation of a 'real world'
concept, in this case BPR and how this could be used in relation to SFS's supply chain. In light of the
requirement which asked you to consider how BPR could 'improve' SFS's supply chain as well as to
consider the 'implications' it is crucial that you are able to apply both aspects in a practical setting,
in this case to the scenario detail.
Suggested solution
Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) 'is the fundamental rethinking and radical design of business
processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical contemporary measures of performance, such
as cost, quality, service and speed' (Hammer and Champy, 2001: p.50).
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In other words, BPR involves significant change in the business rather than simply making minimal or
incremental changes to processes. This is essentially different from procedures such as automation
where existing processes are simply computerised. Although some improvements in speed may be
obtained, the processes are essentially the same. For example, the local warehouse could use EDI to
send an order to the supplier, which may be quicker than email. However, the process of sending the
order and receiving the goods to the warehouse is the same.
Using BPR, the actual reasons for the business processes being used are queried, and where
necessary replaced with more efficient processes. For example, rather than inventory being ordered
from the store via the central warehouse, the supplier could monitor inventory in each store using an
extranet. When goods reach the re-order level, the supplier would already be aware of this and
could send the goods directly to the store. Not only does this provide inventory replenishment much
more quickly, it is also more cost effective for SFS as the central warehouse effectively becomes
redundant.
Key features of BPR involve the willingness of the organisation to accept change and the ability to
use new technologies to achieve those changes. As a result SFS would have to clearly explain the
benefits to staff from using the new systems, to ensure that they are accepted. SFS may also need to
obtain additional skills in IT and the ability to implement and use those systems. New hardware and
software will also certainly be required. The aim of BPR is to provide radical improvements in
efficiency and cost savings. Amending the supply chain as noted above will help to achieve these
benefits.
Activity 3: The Institute of Information Systems Architects

There are a range of options which you could mention to improve the script handling process.
However, the IISA's decision to continue with open book written examinations, and not to adopt
computer-based assessment, should be noted and reflected in your answer. It is also important to
include a reference to the falling number of candidates attempting the IISA's exams and the risk-
averse nature of the organisation. Including such points shows that you have made use of the detail
in the exhibits. A good way of structuring your answer is to suggest each appropriate redesign
option in turn; this will help to ensure that your answer gives sufficient consideration of two distinct
options. It is important not to be put off by the inclusion of the process diagram in the exhibit. This is
included to supplement the narrative detail provided. You may find that by taking a moment to read
the detail while reviewing the visual aid helps you to better understand the stages involved in the
process.
To produce a good answer you need to explain how the options you suggest would address a
problem with the current script handling process. Ensuring that you consider the advantages and
disadvantages associated with each is of critical importance, as the requirement explicitly asks for
this.
To demonstrate your ability to 'appraise', you need to consider the facts of a situation, in this case
the current process for handling scripts at the IISA, before making appropriate recommendations on
how to improve the process. As the detail outlined below the requirement asks you to provide a
balanced appraisal of the two options you suggest, it is important that you consider the advantages
and disadvantages of these. Clearly, an answer which only discusses the merits of a given
suggestion would fail to show sufficient 'appraisal' skills.
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Suggested solution
Option 1: Remove the need for couriers
The first option is to essentially remove the dependency on couriers. This could be achieved through
the use of a workflow system which would treat the examination scripts as an electronic document. At
present all scripts are currently moved three times by couriers, and audited scripts have two further
movements, to and from the auditors. Each movement incurs cost and delays, and increases the risk
of losing the physical script. If the script was scanned into a computer system (either by the invigilator
at the examination centre or by HQ Admin after one courier movement) then the script could be
distributed electronically. Scanning by the invigilator appears to offer the best solution, but the
technical feasibility of providing high quality portable scanners to invigilators would have to be
investigated. Markers and auditors would work with electronic copies of the script, either marking the
script on screen or by physically marking a script they had chosen to print out. However, all marks
would be entered into the workflow system and so even if markers and auditors print out copies of
the script they would not physically distribute it. Markers would have to be provided with appropriate
technology for downloading and printing out examination scripts. However, these technical
requirements are not particularly onerous. It can be reasonably assumed that markers and auditors
already have access to the internet.
Interestingly, because the cost of data transmission is not related to physical location, the IISA could
consider employing markers and auditors overseas and this would allow them to address the marker
shortage alluded to in the case study scenario. The workflow solution also provides them with a
scaleable process which would cope with the planned expansion of the scheme. However, the IISA is
noted as a risk-averse organisation and they may not wish to use, or pay the cost of, such a
technology-dependent solution. The transmission of scripts across the internet may also raise security
issues which would have to be addressed.
Option 2: Relocate markers and auditors to reduce HQ admin
The second option is to retain the physical scripts but to reduce their movement by relocating markers
or auditors or reducing the direct involvement of HQ Admin. For example, scripts may be sent
directly from the invigilator to the marker and from the marker to the auditor. This would remove one
transport of scripts (for scripts not requiring audit) and a further movement for scripts requiring audit.
However, such time and cost savings may not be too attractive given the problems of maintaining
marker and auditor addresses and availability. It could be argued that removing HQ Admin from this
process is very risky as it removes important controls performed by full-time employees of the IISA.
Markers and auditors are sub-contracted resources. An alternative to reducing the involvement of HQ
Admin is to move the physical location of marking or auditing. For example, the role of marker and
invigilator might be combined so that people who have invigilated the examination are also paid to
mark the scripts and to submit them to HQ Admin. The process may be further streamlined by inviting
auditors to HQ to perform their auditing. These two changes would reduce the physical movement of
scripts to one move (invigilator/marker to HQ Admin). Furthermore, this movement would take place
after the scripts were marked and so markers/invigilators could be asked to physically record their
marks before sending the scripts. Hence, there is a fail-safe system if the scripts are lost. The script
scanning option does not offer this (unless scripts are scanned by the invigilator at the examination
centre). This second option is technically less risky and expensive than the script scanning option and
so might be a more appropriate solution in an organisation which is noted as being risk averse.
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Chapter 15 Project management
Activity 1: ABC Co
As the requirement asks you to discuss the 'triple constraint' in relation to the launch of the T4i it is of
crucial importance that you explore each of these in your answer. You could potentially use each of
the constraints (scope, time and cost) as headings when structuring your answer. However, it is
equally valid to adopt a free-form approach as illustrated by the suggested solution below. In order
to produce a really good answer you should look to highlight which of the three constraints is the
most important in light of the scenario detail.
The 'consider' skill requires you to use the information provided in the scenario in order to reflect
upon its implications. In this case, this means considering the implications of the triple constraint on
the launch of the T4i. Therefore it is important that you relate the issues of scope, time and cost back
to the ability of ABC to launch the T4i, and don't just provide a description of the three constraints.
Suggested solution
The launch date of the T4i has been announced and this therefore means that the project deadline is
fixed. This indicates that time is the key constraint. The directors at ABC have heavily promoted the
launch and have even gone to the lengths of booking a prestigious private airport venue to host 400
attendees at the product's launch party. Although the T4i will be formally launched on 1 May 20X5,
ABC's ability to accept orders for the product is totally dependent on the engineers having made the
requirement modifications.
This raises some interesting considerations around the scope of the T4i project as the product at the
current time (March 20X5) is not quite finished. Due to the short time frame it is possible that the T4i
displayed at the launch party may not quite be the finished item. Clearly, such quality issues will
need to be explained to those individuals attending the launch in order to avoid an embarrassing
situation where those in attendance are unable to place an order for the product due to the
government's restrictions.
To ensure such a situation does not arise, it is important that the landing lights and alarm
modifications are made to the T4i prior to the launch party. This will enable ABC to showcase T4i
and highlight these new safety features. In order to ensure a successful launch of the T4i, ABC should
make sufficient funds available to address any technical deficiencies as soon as possible as time,
and not cost, is the key constraint.
Activity 2: Freshco supermarkets

As the requirement tells you to use the exhibit in order to 'identify and classify the benefits' from the
proposed project this should be a clue that you need to carefully read through the information
provided in order to pick out those potential benefits which you could then discuss. Drawing on your
knowledge of how project benefits are classified (observable, measurable, quantifiable and
financial) is crucial as this gives you a framework around which to construct an answer. This is the
approach illustrated in the suggested solution, with every benefit considered under each heading.
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The skill of using your judgement requires you to identify the key issues in a scenario and to make
points which help to resolve the issue at hand. In this case you need to ensure that you are able to
identify the different types of benefit from the limited detail provided in the exhibit and are then able
to illustrate why you have classified the benefits as you have. In answering this question you need to
be mindful of the fact that your classification will form the basis of the customer service director's
argument for getting the project agreed at the next board meeting, therefore your answer needs to
support this.
Suggested solution
Observable benefits
Are those which are measured by experience or judgement. Subjective benefits such as staff opinions
fall into this category. In relation to the situation at Freshco, observable benefits are likely to include
improved staff morale due to shorter queues, less stress and fewer complaints at peak times.
Measurable benefits
Relate to an area of performance that could be (or already is being) measured, but it is not possible
to quantify how much performance will increase as a result of the change. In relation to Freshco
customer satisfaction is likely to improve due to less queuing time but it is not possible to say by how
much as this is not being tracked at present. Increased revenue might also fall into this category –
more customers may choose to shop at Freshco, but it would be very hard to estimate how many, or
how much they might spend.
Quantifiable benefits
Are those where the level of benefit that will result from the change can be reliably forecast based on
the evidence in place. At Freshco the improvement in processing time is a benefit that can seemingly
be estimated reliably.
Financial benefits
Are quantified benefits that have had a financial formula (such as cost or price) applied to them to
produce a financial value for the benefits. Improved checkout technology will lead to faster
processing. Faster processing will presumably mean fewer checkout staff are required at non-peak
times. It should be possible to estimate the impact of this fairly accurately and so the reduction in staff
costs.
Activity 3: The Knowledge Partnership

A good approach to adopt before starting the question is to consider what constitutes effective risk
management. Risk management involves a series of stages (including identifying and assessing risks,
and taking steps to eliminate them). You could have looked to use these stages in structuring your
answer. However, if you were unable to remember them, it would have been just as effective to think
about what you would need to do to manage a given risk. Ultimately, risk management is concerned
with identifying the risks associated with undertaking a particular project or activity, and putting in
place policies to eliminate or reduce them.
To earn the professional skills marks you need to demonstrate your ability to 'show insight'. Showing
insight requires you to use your knowledge of best practice in risk management and to illustrate how
TKP and the iProjector project display these characteristics. Central to this is having an appreciation
of the wider business environment and the actions that real-life organisations can take to address the
risks they face. Simply explaining the term 'risk management' with no application to the commercial
detail set out in the scenario would be insufficient to score the professional skills marks.
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Suggested solution
Risk assessment
Effective risk management involves a series of stages, some of which are considered here in relation
to TKP and the iProjector project. Initial risk management involves the identification and assessment
of risk. Risk assessment is largely focused on determining the probability that a risk event will occur
and the consequences that may arise as a result.
Risk-management strategies
Once risks have been identified and assessed appropriate risk-management strategies can be
deployed. Dealing with risk involves four strategies: avoidance, reduction, transference and
acceptance.
Avoidance
A risk-avoidance strategy involves avoiding those activities that carry risk. It is evident that TKP is
pursuing a risk-avoidance approach as it only undertakes 'projects in the business culture which it
understands'. As a result TKP does not undertake assignments outside of Zeeland. There is no
evidence of a risk-avoidance strategy being followed in respect of the iProjector project.
Transference
Risk transference involves passing risk on to another party. This is often achieved through the use of
insurance. TKP itself has taken out a consultant's liability insurance policy to protect the firm from
claims up to the value of $10,000,000 for issuing poor advice. Due to the inability to assess the
likely impact of potential future claims, the pursuit of a risk-transference strategy using an insurance
company seems highly appropriate. Although TKP is liable to pay the insurance premiums when they
fall due, these costs are clearly outweighed by the benefit and peace of mind that such insurance
policies offer the firm's management.
It is also evident that TKP transferred risk in respect of the iProjector project. The developer of the
iProjector sought TKP's advice on establishing a worldwide patent on the device to reduce the risk
that competitors will copy the product. Due to a lack of specialism in this area TKP referred the client
to a company with expertise in patent protection, thereby transferring the provision of the advice to a
third party.
Reduction (mitigation)
Risk reduction is appropriate in cases where a risk cannot be removed but the likelihood of the loss
occurring can be reduced in some way. In the iProjector project, TKP has identified that the
manufacturer of the chip used in the client's iProjector product has been trading for less than three
years and has a very inexperienced management team. To avoid future problems resulting from this
TKP has suggested that an escrow agreement be established between the client and the chip
manufacturer. This is an example of a risk-reduction strategy, as an escrow agreement would require
the chip manufacturer to place the design details of the chip with a suitable third party. In the event
that the chip manufacturer ceased trading, TKP's client would still be able to gain access to the chip
used in producing the iProjector. The nature of this risk to TKP's client is likely to be high as failure of
the supplier could critically damage production of the iProjector.
As a short-term risk-management strategy TKP has also suggested to the client that significant
quantities of the chip be held in inventory to alleviate concerns over the company's supply chain.
Acceptance
A risk-acceptance strategy is where a potential risk is accepted in the hope or expectation that the
incidence and consequences can be coped with if necessary. Risk acceptance is usually appropriate
where the likelihood of a risk occurring is deemed low or the consequences of it happening are
insignificant or if it is not possible to mitigate/transfer the risk. In the case of the iProjector project,
the client is 'concerned that a major telephone producer will launch a competitive product with
functionality and features similar to the iProjector'. Although this risk is of justifiable concern to the
client, in reality there is very little that can be done to stop a competitor producing a similar product
to the iProjector. In such cases the only realistic option here is to accept the risk.
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Strategy, leadership
and culture
Essential reading
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1 Leadership theories
1.1 Trait theories
Mullins (2002) highlights that trait theories are based on the idea that some people are inherently
suited to positions of leadership because they possess appropriate personal qualities. This
approach can be seen as rooted in a class-based social structure, but extensive attempts were made
to define specific leadership qualities. However, there was little agreement as to what those qualities
actually were. This approach was overtaken in the mid-20th century by the belief that leaders were to
be identified by what they did, rather than by who they were. Leadership came to be seen as a
matter of behaviour and could therefore be taught.
Nevertheless, personal qualities and their development form a continuing strand in the progress of
thought on leadership. Research has identified a number of traits that have been linked to leadership
effectiveness with reasonable consistency, including emotional maturity and tolerance of stress. There
is also evidence of a genetic basis for leadership ability differences.
1.2 Behavioural theories

Behavioural theories are often talking (broadly) about the same thing: a continuum of behaviours
from:
(a) Wholly task-focused, directive leadership behaviours (representing high leader control) at
one extreme; and
(b) Wholly people-focused, supportive/relational leadership behaviours (representing high
subordinate discretion) at the other.
It is important to note that in the sections that follow the terms 'leader' and 'manager 'are often used
interchangeably.
1.2.1 A continuum of leadership styles

Tannenbaum and Schmidt (1973) proposed a continuum of behaviours (and associated styles) based
on the degree of authority used by a manager and the degree of freedom for the team.
Continuum of behaviours and associated styles
Authoritarian Democratic
Task orientation Relationship orientation
Use of authority by manager

Area of subordinate freed om
Manager Manager Manager Manager Manager Manager Manager

makes 'sells' presents presents presents a defines allows
decision decision ideas and intended problem, gets limits and subordinates
and invites decision, suggestions, goals and to act as they
announces questions subject to and makes a asks the wish, within
it amendment decision group to specified
make the limits
decision
(Adapted from: Tannenbaum and Schmidt, 1973)
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Appendix 2 – Essential reading
1.2.2 Blake and Mouton's Managerial Grid

Blake and Mouton (1985) carried out research (The Ohio State Leadership Studies) into managerial
behaviour, and observed two basic dimensions of leadership: concern for production (or task
performance) and concern for people.
Along each of these two dimensions, managers could be located at any point on a continuum, from
very low to very high concern. Blake and Mouton (1985) observed that the two concerns did not
seem to correlate, positively or negatively: a high concern in one dimension, for example, did not
seem to imply a high or low concern in the other dimension. Individual managers could therefore
reflect various permutations of task/people concern.
A questionnaire was designed to enable users to analyse and plot the positions of individual
respondents on the grid. This was to be used as a means of analysing individuals' managerial styles
and areas of weakness or 'unbalance', for the purposes of management development.
The managerial grid
High 9
1.9 (country club) (team) 9.9
8
7
Concer n f or peopl e
5 5.5
(middle road)
4
1 1.1 (impoverished) (task) 9.1

Low
Low Concern for production High
(Adapted from: Blake and Mouton, 1985)

The extreme cases shown on the grid are:
(a) 1.1 impoverished: the manager is lazy, showing little interest in either staff or work.
(b) 1.9 country club: the manager is attentive to staff needs and has developed satisfying
relationships. However, there is little attention paid to achieving results.
(c) 9.1 task oriented: almost total concentration on achieving results. People's needs are
virtually ignored.
(d) 5.5 middle of the road or the dampened pendulum: adequate performance through
balancing (or switching between) the necessity to get work done and having a concern for
team morale.
(e) 9.9 team: high work accomplishment through 'leading' committed people who identify
themselves with the organisational aims.
The grid thus offers a number of useful insights for the identification of management training and
development needs. It shows, in an easily assimilated form, where the behaviour and assumptions
of a manager may exhibit a lack of balance between the dimensions and/or a low degree of
concern in either dimension or both. It may also be used in team member selection, so that a 1.9
team leader is balanced by a 9.1 co-leader, for example.
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However, the grid is a simplified model, and as such, has practical limitations.
(a) It assumes that 9.9 is the desirable model for effective leadership. In some managerial
contexts, this may not be so. Concern for people, for example, would not be necessary in a
context of comprehensive automation; compliance is all that would be required.
(b) It is open to oversimplification. Scores can appear polarised, with judgements attached about
individual managers' suitability or performance. The grid is intended as a simplified 'snapshot'
of a manager's preferred style, not a comprehensive description of their performance.
(c) Organisational context and culture, technology and other 'givens' influence the manager's
style of leadership, not just the two dimensions described by the grid.
(d) Any managerial theory is only useful in so far as it is useable in practice by managers: if the
grid is used only to inform managers that they 'must acquire greater concern for people', it
may result in stress, uncertainty and inconsistent behaviour.
1.2.3 Theory X and Theory Y

McGregor (1987) suggested that managers (in the US) tended to behave as though they subscribed
to one of two sets of assumptions about people at work: Theory X and Theory Y.
(a) Theory X suggests that most people dislike work and responsibility, and will avoid both if
possible. Because of this, most people must be coerced, controlled, directed and/or
threatened with punishment to get them to make an adequate effort. Managers who operate
according to these assumptions will tend to supervise closely, apply detailed rules and
controls, and use 'carrot and stick' motivators.
(b) Theory Y suggests that physical and mental effort in work is as natural as play or rest. The
ordinary person does not inherently dislike work: according to the conditions it may be a
source of satisfaction or dissatisfaction. The potentialities of the average person are rarely fully
used at work. People can be motivated to seek challenge and responsibility in their job, if their
goals can be integrated with those of the organisation. A manager with this sort of attitude to
their staff is likely to be a consultative, facilitating leader, using positive feedback, challenge
and responsibility as motivators.
Both are intended to be extreme sets of assumptions – not actual types of people. However, they also
tend to be self-fulfilling prophecies. Employees treated as if 'Theory X' were true will begin to behave
accordingly. Employees treated as if 'Theory Y' were true – being challenged to take on more
responsibility – will rise to the challenge and behave accordingly.
Theory X and Theory Y can be used to heighten managers' awareness of the assumptions underlying
their motivational style.
1.3 Contingency theories

Contingency theory as applied to leadership suggests that no one style is likely to be entirely
appropriate for all circumstances. For example, in an emergency, an autocratic approach is likely to
be far more effective than an approach based on consultation and participative decision-making. The
setting for the exercise of leadership will vary from case to case. In particular, the nature of the group
and its needs and desires are critical.
Contingency theories are based on the belief that there is no 'one best way' of leading, but that
effective leaders adapt their behaviour to the specific and changing variables in the leadership
context: the nature of the task, the personalities of team members, the organisation culture and so on.
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1.3.1 Adair
Adair's (1979) action-centred, or situational model sees the leadership process in a context made up
of three main variables, all of which are interrelated and must be examined in the light of the whole
situation. These are task needs, the individual needs of group members, and the needs of
the group as a whole. The total situation dictates the relative priority that must be given to each of
the three sets of needs. Effective leadership is identifying and acting on that priority to create a
balance between the needs. Adair's model is unusual in that it integrates both the needs of the
individual and the dynamics of the group.
1.3.2 Fiedler
Fiedler (1967) found that people become leaders partly because of their own attributes and partly
because of the nature of the situation they find themselves in. Leadership style depends on the
personality of the leader, which is fixed. The extent to which the situation favours the leader depends
on three things.
(a) Position power. This is the same thing as organisational authority.
(b) Task structure. Work is easier to organise and accountability easier to determine when the
task is clear, well defined and unambiguous. The quality of performance is difficult to control
when the task is vague and unstructured.
(c) Leader-subordinate relations. The leader's task is eased when subordinates have trust
and confidence in them.
Fiedler found that a task-oriented approach was most productive when the situation was either
very favourable to the leader or very unfavourable. In less extreme cases, a more people-
centred approach was more effective.
1.3.3 Hersey and Blanchard

Hersey and Blanchard (1993) developed a model of leadership which appears to map style
theories on to the grid suggested by Blake and Mouton. The leader should determine the
maturity of followers. Maturity has three components.
(a) Achievement motivation (can the followers set high but realistic goals?)
(b) Responsibility (willingness and ability to assume it)
(c) Education/experience. Maturity in practice is divided into psychological maturity (eg
attitude to work) and job maturity (eg problem solving ability)
Where maturity is high, the manager needs to exert little effort in support of either task or
relationships and may delegate to a great extent.
Where maturity is low, on the other hand, an autocratic approach may be required, with greater
attention to the task but little need for attention to relationships.
Followers of moderate maturity will probably respond well to a high degree of concern for
relationships combined with a moderate degree of attention to the task. Participative approaches
are useful here.
1.4 Transformational theories

Mullins (2002) highlights that transformational theories generally accept that the world is a
much less stable place than it was and that changes of all kinds are frequent and far-reaching. It is
necessary for leaders of all kinds to accept this and to provide leadership that will help their
organisations to respond in creative and effective ways.
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There are a number of expectations of modern leaders:
 To change organisations and systems from within.
 To drive forward adventurous, visionary strategies. Leaders need to have a clear vision
for the future, and what needs to be done to get there, so that they can inspire others to aim
for that future as well.
 To motivate others. Visionary leaders motivate others to work harder by making work seem
as natural as play, and by making their teams see the value and purpose in what they do.
 To provide clarity of purpose and direction.
 To be good communicators, both to communicate their vision and purpose, but also to
listen to others' points of view and to gain their trust.
There are therefore three main themes within the transformational theories of leadership:
 Teams
 Vision
 Change
2 The role of culture

2.1 Organisational culture
The word culture is used by sociologists and anthropologists to encompass the sum total of the
beliefs, knowledge, attitudes of mind and customs to which people are exposed in their social
conditioning.
Through contact with a particular culture, individuals learn a language, acquire values and learn
habits of behaviour and thought.
(a) Beliefs and values. Beliefs are what we feel to be the case on the basis of objective and
subjective information (eg people can believe the world is round or flat). Values are beliefs
which are relatively enduring, relatively general and fairly widely accepted as a guide to
culturally appropriate behaviour.
(b) Customs. Customs are modes of behaviour which represent culturally accepted ways of
behaving in response to given situations.
(c) Artefacts. Artefacts are all the physical tools designed by human beings for their physical
and psychological wellbeing, including works of art, technology, products.
(d) Rituals. A ritual is a type of activity which takes on symbolic meaning; it consists of a fixed
sequence of behaviour repeated over time.
The learning and sharing of culture is made possible by language (both written and spoken, verbal
and non-verbal).
Knowledge of the culture of a society is clearly of value to businesses in a number of ways.
(a) Marketers can adapt their products accordingly, and be fairly sure of a sizeable market.
This is particularly important in export markets.
(b) Human resource managers may need to tackle cultural differences in recruitment. For
example, some ethnic minorities have a different body language from the majority, which may
be hard for some interviewers to interpret.
Culture in a society can be divided into subcultures reflecting social differences. Most people
participate in several of them.
Culture is both internal to an organisation and external to it. The culture of an organisation is
embedded in the culture of the wider society. Its importance to strategy is that it can predispose the
organisation towards, or away from, a particular course of action.
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All organisations will generate their own cultures, whether spontaneously or under the guidance of
positive managerial strategy. Schein (1985) suggests that three aspects of culture can be
distinguished in organisations.
(a) Basic, underlying assumptions which guide the behaviour of the individuals and groups
in the organisation. These may include customer orientation, or belief in quality, trust in the
organisation to provide rewards, freedom to make decisions, freedom to make mistakes and
the value of innovation and initiative at all levels.
(b) Overt beliefs expressed by the organisation and its members, which can be used to
condition the assumptions mentioned above. These beliefs and values may emerge as sayings,
slogans and mottoes. They may emerge in a rich mythology of jokes and stories about past
successes and heroic failures.
(c) Visible artefacts. The style of the offices or other premises, dress rules, visible structures or
processes, the degree of informality between superiors and subordinates and so on.
Management can encourage this by selling a sense of the corporate mission, or by promoting the
corporate image. It can reward the right attitudes and punish (or simply not employ) those who are
not prepared to commit themselves to the culture.
An organisation's culture is influenced by many factors.
(a) The organisation's founder. A strong set of values and assumptions is set up by the
organisation's founder, and even after they have retired, these values have their own
momentum. Or, to put it another way, an organisation might find it hard to shake off its
original culture. Peters and Waterman (1982) believed that 'excellent' companies began with
strong leaders.
(b) The organisation's history. In some cases the way in which an organisation works will be
due in part to the era when it was founded. Farming, for example, sometimes has a craft
element to it. The effect of history can be determined by stories, rituals and symbolic
behaviour. They legitimise behaviour and promote priorities. (In some organisations, certain
positions are regarded as intrinsically more 'heroic' than others.)
(c) Leadership and management style. An organisation with a strong culture recruits
managers who naturally conform to it.
(d) Structure and systems affect culture as well as strategy.
2.2 The organisational iceberg

French and Bell (1998) described the organisational iceberg in which formal aspects are overt
and informal aspects are covert or hidden, rather as the bulk of an iceberg is underwater.
Formal aspects
 Goals
 Terminology
 Structure
 Policies and procedures
 Products
 Financial resources
Informal aspects
 Beliefs and assumptions
 Perceptions, attitudes and feelings about the formal systems
 Values
 Informal interactions
 Group norms
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Stakeholders and
social responsibility
Essential reading
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1 Agency problem
Although ordinary shareholders (equity shareholders) are the owners of the company to whom the
board of directors is accountable, the actual powers of shareholders tend to be restricted. They
normally have no right to inspect the books of account, and their forecasts of future prospects are
gleaned from the annual report and accounts, stockbrokers, journals and daily newspapers.
The day-to-day running of a company is the responsibility of the directors and other managers to
whom the directors delegate, not the shareholders. There is an information asymmetry; the
agent has more information than the principal.
The separation of ownership from management can cause issues if there is a breach of trust by
directors by intentional action, omission, neglect, or incompetence. For example, if managers hold
none or very few of the equity shares of the company they work for, what is to stop them from
working inefficiently, concentrating too much on achieving short-term profits and hence maximising
their own bonuses, not bothering to look for profitable new investment opportunities, or giving
themselves high salaries and perks?
You should consider cases where the separation of ownership from management has led to
significant shareholder losses: the obvious example is the story of US company Enron which went
into administration in 2002, but there are plenty of other stories where uncontrollable agents have let
down the trust placed in them by their principals.
2 The emergence of ecosystems

What is an ecosystem?
Ecosystem: ‘A complex web of interdependent enterprises and relationships aimed at creating and
allocating business value. Ecosystems tend to be broad, potentially spanning multiple geographies
Key term
and industries, including public and private institutions and consumers.’ (IBM, 2017: p.3).
Ecosystems in business
The ecosystem concept suggests that organisations should be viewed as participants in the
environments in which they operate as they too need to adapt and evolve the relationships that they
have with other stakeholder groups operating in that environment.
The emergence of ecosystems forces organisations to not only focus on their core business
operations in their traditional industries, but also to seek opportunities for growth in new areas and
markets. These changes are forcing organisations to engage, co-ordinate, co-operate and
collaborate more closely with a network of other participants (stakeholders) in pursuit of a shared
common purpose, the focus of which usually involves the creation and delivery of products and
services which add value for the customer.
Participants in an ecosystem network might include:
 Suppliers
 Distributors
 Customers
 Competitors
 Government bodies and regulators
 Digital business platform providers (discussed in the essential reading for Chapter 12)
It is important to recognise that individuals and organisations can both be classified as participants.
The role that different participants play in an ecosystem environment is illustrated in the following
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Appendix 2 – Supplementary reading
diagram. It is important to note however, that the diagram which follows is only intended to be
indicative of the most common ecosystem participants. It does not provide an exhaustive illustration
of every participant that may exist in every type of ecosystem as they will be unique to that
environment.
Government bodies, regulators
and others including:
• Trade unions
• Standard-setters
• Policy-makers
• Consumer associations
These stakeholder groups set
governing rules, frameworks and
regulations for the operation
of ecosystem environments.
Orchestrator
The party driving the co-ordnation,
arrangement and management of
stakeholder interactions and
architecture of an ecosystem
environment. The important role
that the orchestrator plays in
ecosystem environments is
Producers discussed later in this chapter.
Represent the Consumers
supply-side of the Represent the
ecosystem by demand-side of
providing goods and Ecosystem the ecosystem,
services which are purchasing the
exchanged with other Environment goods and services
ecosystem participants. produced by
Rival producers are suppliers to
competitors to a the ecosystem
producer’s own offering. Infrastructure suppliers
Suppliers of the techinical
infrastructure needed to support
and maintain the digital business
platforms (discussed later in this
chapter) which enable ecosystems
to thrive. Suppliers here provide
communication and IT systems, and
systems development expertise.
Ecosystem roles and interactions. (Adapted from: The World Economic Forum, 2017: p.12)
As highlighted by the diagram above, government bodies and regulators will continue to play a key
role in protecting the interests of society in ecosystem environments. However, ecosystem regulators
are increasingly focusing on co-ordinating and collaborating with participants to help them to meet
their obligations to comply with relevant laws and regulations. This represents a shift in the role of
regulators as they are becoming less focused on managing the consequences of participants that fail
to comply with relevant regulations, and are moving towards a role based on providing proactive
support.
Real world examples

The development of self-driving cars is bringing together technology companies with traditional car
makers. Kelly (2015) highlights that such projects are changing the automobile industry into a
‘mobility ecosystem’ by bringing together previously unconnected groups, including 'city planners,
technology and energy players, public transportation providers, regulators, infrastructure and
construction players, insurance companies, and peer-to-peer networks.'
Partnering and the forming of alliances among participants in an ecosystem are central to building
co-operative relationships.
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3 Purpose and advantages of environmental reporting
3.1 Purposes of environmental reporting
A company's environmental reporting is capable of serving the information needs of a range of both
internal and external stakeholders, and discharge their accountabilities to shareholders, society and
to future generations.
The company is less able to conceal important information and this helps to reduce the agency gap
between a company's directors and its shareholders.
3.2 Advantages of environmental reporting:

Environmental reporting has environmental, social and business benefits.
 Demonstrates the firm's responsiveness to issues that threaten the perception of their ethics and
competence.
 Covers a range of environmental risks. Concerned shareholders will use environmental reports
to assess the ways that environmental risks are being effectively managed.
 Encourages operational efficiency because the systems necessary to collect and process the
data that comprises the environmental report would produce management information that
could save costs and increase operational efficiency.
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Impact of corporate
governance on strategy
Essential reading
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1 Institutional investors
1.1 Means of exercising institutional investors' influence
A number of different methods may be effective.
(a) One-to-one meetings
These discuss strategy, whether objectives are being achieved, how the company is achieving
its objectives and the quality of management. However, new information cannot be divulged
to any single analyst or investor in these meetings, as it would give that investor an information
advantage over others.
(b) Voting
Generally institutional investors would prefer to work behind the scenes and to avoid voting
against the board if possible. If they were intending to oppose a resolution, they should
normally state their intention in advance. Most corporate governance reports emphasise the
importance of institutional investors exercising their votes regularly and responsibly.
(c) Focus list
This means putting companies' names on a list of underperforming companies. Such
companies' boards may face challenges.
(d) Contributing to corporate governance rating systems
These measure key corporate governance performance indicators such as the number of non-
executive directors, the role of the board and the transparency of the company.
1.2 Intervention by institutional shareholders

In extreme circumstances the institutional shareholders may intervene more actively, by for example
calling a company meeting in an attempt to unseat the board. The UK Institutional Shareholders'
Committee has identified a number of reasons why institutional investors might intervene.
 Fundamental concerns about the strategy being pursued in terms of products, markets and
investments
 Poor operational performance, particularly if one or more key segments has persistently
underperformed
 Management being dominated by a small group of executive directors, with the
non-executive directors failing to hold management to account
 Major failures in internal controls, particularly in sensitive areas such as health and
safety, pollution and quality
 Failure to comply with laws and regulations or governance codes
 Excessive levels of directors' remuneration
 Poor attitudes towards corporate social responsibility
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The external
environment
Essential reading
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1 Porter's five forces
1.1 The threat of new entrants (and barriers to entry to keep them out)
A new entrant into an industry will bring extra capacity and more competition (and so could, in turn,
drive down profits). The strength of this threat is likely to vary from industry to industry and depends
on two things.
 The strength of the barriers to entry. Barriers to entry discourage new entrants.
 The likely response of existing competitors to the new entrant.
Barriers to entry
(a) Scale economies. High fixed costs often imply a high breakeven point, and a high
breakeven point depends on a large volume of sales. If the market as a whole is not growing,
the new entrant has to capture a large slice of the market from existing competitors. This is
expensive (although Japanese companies have done this in some cases).
(b) Product differentiation. Existing firms in an industry may have built up a good brand
image and strong customer loyalty over a long period of time. A few firms may promote a
large number of brands to crowd out the competition.
(c) Capital requirements. When capital investment requirements are high, the barrier against
new entrants will be strong, particularly when the investment would possibly be high-risk.
(d) Knowledge requirements. As well as high capital requirements, knowledge and know-
how are also a barrier to entry. It is much more difficult to enter an industry which requires
significant specialist knowledge and skills, than an industry where no specialist skills are
required.
(e) Switching costs. Switching costs refer to the costs (time, money, convenience) that a
customer would have to incur by switching from one supplier's products to another's. Although
it might cost a consumer nothing to switch from one brand of frozen peas to another, the
potential costs for the retailer or distributor might be high.
(f) Access to distribution channels. Distribution channels carry a manufacturer's products to
the end-buyer. New distribution channels are difficult to establish; and existing distribution
channels, hard to gain access to.
(g) Cost advantages of existing producers, independent of economies of scale
include:
(i) Patent rights
(ii) Experience and know-how
(iii) Government subsidies and regulations
(iv) Favoured access to raw materials
Entry barriers might be lowered by the impact of change:
 Changes in the environment
 Technological changes (including the internet)
 New distribution channels for products or services (again, including the internet)
When considering the impact of change nowadays it is impossible not to mention the impact of
e-commerce and the internet, because they have enabled new business models to be established.
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1.2 The threat from substitute products

A substitute product is a good or service produced by another industry which satisfies the same
customer needs. Substitutes are always present, but they can be easy to overlook because they may
be very different from the industry's product. For example, video conferencing could be a substitute
for business travel.
When the threat of substitutes is high, industry profitability suffers. Substitute products or services limit
an industry's profit potential by placing a ceiling on prices (because buyers will switch to the
substitute if it offers a better-value alternative).
The threat of a substitute is high if:
 It offers an attractive alternative to the industry's product in terms of price and performance.
 The buyer's cost of switching to the substitute is low.
1.3 The bargaining power of customers

Customers want better quality products and services at a lower price. Satisfying this want might force
down the profitability of suppliers in the industry. The strength of customers' bargaining power could
depend on a number of factors:
 How much the customer buys
 How many buyers there are: if there are relatively few buyers but each is large relative to the
supplier, then the buyers will be powerful
 How critical the product is to the customer's own business (if the customer is completely reliant
on a product, this will reduce the customer's bargaining power)
 Switching costs (ie the cost of switching supplier)
 Whether the products are standard items (hence, easily copied) or specialised
 The customer's own profitability: a customer who makes low profits will be forced to insist on
low prices from suppliers
 Customer's ability to bypass the supplier (or take over the supplier)
 The skills of the customer's purchasing staff, or the price-awareness of consumers
 When product quality is important to the customer, the customer is less likely to be price-
sensitive, and so the industry might be more profitable as a consequence
1.4 The bargaining power of suppliers

Suppliers can exert pressure for higher prices. The ability of suppliers to get higher prices depends
on several factors.
 Whether there are just one or two dominant suppliers to the industry, able to charge
monopoly or oligopoly prices
 The threat of new entrants or substitute products to the supplier's industry
 Whether the suppliers have other customers outside the industry, and do not rely on the
industry for the majority of their sales
 The importance of the supplier's product to the customer's business
 Whether the supplier has a differentiated product which buyers need to obtain
 Whether switching costs for customers would be high
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1.5 The rivalry amongst current competitors in the industry
The intensity of competitive rivalry within an industry will affect the profitability of the industry
as a whole. Competitive actions might take the form of price competition, advertising battles, sales
promotion campaigns, introducing new products for the market, improving after-sales service or
providing guarantees or warranties. Competition can stimulate demand, expanding the market, or it
can leave demand unchanged, in which case individual competitors will make less money, unless
they are able to cut costs.
Factors determining the intensity of competition
(a) Market growth. Rivalry is intensified when firms are competing for a greater market share
in a total market where growth is slow or stagnant. For example, the major supermarkets in the
UK (eg Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda) are becoming increasingly competitive in their attempt to
increase market share, in the context of the economic downturn which has seen shoppers
become more cautious in their spending.
(b) Cost structure. High fixed costs are a temptation to compete on price, as in the short run
any contribution from sales is better than none at all. A perishable product produces the same
effect.
(c) Switching. Suppliers will compete if buyers can, and do, switch easily
(d) Capacity. A supplier might need to achieve a substantial increase in output capacity, in
order to obtain reductions in unit costs.
(e) Uncertainty. When one firm is not sure what another is up to, there is a tendency to respond
to the uncertainty by formulating a more competitive strategy.
(f) Strategic importance. If success is a prime strategic objective, firms will be likely to act
very competitively to meet their targets.
(g) Exit barriers make it difficult for an existing supplier to leave the industry. These can take
many forms.
(i) Non-current assets with a low break-up value (eg there may be no other use for
them, or they may be old)
(ii) The cost of redundancy payments to employees
(iii) If the firm is a division or subsidiary of a larger enterprise, the effect of withdrawal
on the other operations within the group
(iv) The reluctance of managers to admit defeat, their loyalty to employees and their
fear for their own jobs
(v) Government pressures on major employers not to shut down operations, especially
when competition comes from foreign producers rather than other domestic producers
1.6 Complementors and network effects

Complementors can be considered a 'sixth force' in some industries – being an organisation that
enhances your business attractiveness to customers or suppliers. Rather than consider only
competitors, this approach means thinking about organisations with whom you can co-operate as
well. One situation where this occurs is where customers value a product or service more if other
customers also use. This is known as a network effect. Social networking tools are a good
example of this – their value increases the more people use them. Network effects lead to high
barriers to entry and low intensity of rivalry as it becomes very difficult to enter the market or
compete.
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Complementors and network effects can create strategic lock-in, where it becomes difficult or
impossible for users to switch suppliers. For example, businesses which operate using Microsoft
Office would find it very difficult to switch to a different package without extensive transition and
training costs.
2 Market attractiveness
2.1 Factors affecting market attractiveness
If a company is considering trying to enter a market it needs to assess whether it will be able to trade
profitably in the market. Key considerations include:
 What is the size of the market? How durable is the market (for example, how might it be
affected by changes in political or economic conditions?) Or what opportunities for growth are
there in the market?
 Who are the main, existing suppliers to the market? What are their relative strategies,
market shares, strengths and weaknesses? (Could the company compete effectively against
them, to capture market share?)
 What are the attributes and specifications of existing products in the market? (Again, will
the characteristics of the company's product enable it to compete effectively against existing
products?)
 Who are the main customers? How, why, where, when and how much do they buy?
 What are the main distribution channels? (eg do companies sell directly to customers, or
do they use distributors, agents?) Could this affect the company's ability to enter the market
(eg by needing to establish a distribution network)?
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Essential reading
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1 Managing strategic capability
Managers must take great care not to disrupt strategic capability that arises from flexible, informal
practices by trying to systematise and improve them. However, a policy of gradual extension and
improvement of desirable activities may be useful and may be combined with culling of superfluous
ones. Also, since much strategic capability is traceable to individual skill and ability, good HRM
practice can help to create and improve it.
1.1 Limitation on the management of strategic capability

There is an important problem in the management of strategic capability, in that it can be very
difficult to understand it properly. Quite often, core competences derive from informal and
flexible activities and processes that are not subject to management from above: they simply
exist. Sometimes, managers do not appreciate that these competences exist; where they do, they
may or may not understand them or value them. Where managers recognise such competences, it is
very important that they take great care with attempts to improve or even to formalise them. The
former can be highly disruptive, while the latter can eliminate the inherent flexibility such
competences tend to display.
1.2 Improving strategic capability

Despite the limitations discussed above, there may be opportunities to stretch existing capabilities
and to add new ones.
(a) Competences can be extended. Competences that support existing ways of working may
be equally relevant to new activities.
(b) Non-essential activities can cease. It may be possible to make significant cost savings
by abolishing, minimising or outsourcing current activities that do not support critical success
factors.
(c) Best practice can be extended. Strategic capability identified in one part of the
organisation might be introduced in other parts, though the difficulties associated with the
management of change can make this very difficult.
(d) Activities can be added and existing ones improved in order to better support
critical success factors.
(e) Activities can be restructured. System overlaps and inconsistencies may require
attention, particularly when there are marked differences between the requirements of the
various market segments served.
(f) Weaknesses can be remedied. Known weaknesses in resources or activities might have
the potential to create competitive advantage if suitable market opportunities exist. Such
weaknesses must then be remedied by suitable investment and management activity.
(g) External capability can be introduced by acquisition and through alliances and joint
ventures.
1.3 Developing competences through the human resource

Since much strategic capability resides in the organisation's staff in the form of their abilities and
skills, human resource development is often particularly important in building that capability.
(a) Recruitment and selection practice can be designed to emphasise the need for particular
aptitudes, such as leadership or innovation.
(b) Training and development can be targeted at specific requirements rather than generic
skills.
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(c) Individual strategic awareness can be developed so that staff understand how their
activities enhance strategic capability.
2 Staff development
2.1 HRD and strategic capability
Human resource development should be seen as an investment in strategic capability since it
improves both skills and commitment. Bratton and Gold (2012) highlight that it may be approached
top-down, in the form of human capital theory, or bottom-up through empowerment.
Features of human resource development (HRD):
(a) The view of training as a cost is being replaced with a view of HRD as an investment in
strategic capability. This view also highlights that people are a resource, so HRD plays
a crucial role in how those resources are used, managed, controlled and motivated to create
competencies in key business processes.
(b) Investment in employee learning and recognition of the competitive advantage
conferred by upgraded skills triggers the creation of an internal market in such qualities
with consequent implications for other HR activities such as recruitment, retention and reward.
(c) Organisations seeking to benefit from employee loyalty and commitment find that HRD can
enable employees to contribute to the development and success of strategy and
operations.
This wider vision of HRD can link to the organisation's strategy in two ways: these correspond to
the traditional 'top-down' model of strategy as a controlled response to environmental change and
the emergent or 'bottom-up' model.
(a) Under the top-down model, the organisation's senior managers are responsible for
recognising new, more general and wide-ranging environmental factors that mandate HRD
effort. For example, technological developments may lead to the recognition of a skills gap and
the need for staff training.
(b) Under the bottom-up model, empowered employees recognise individual gaps in skills,
knowledge or capability and take steps to resolve them through discussion, co-operation and
the development of new methods. An example would be the improvement of a product as a
result of customer contact and internal consultation and action.
It is appropriate for organisations to utilise both approaches, though this requires senior management
effort to reconcile them and enable them to work in a synergistic fashion, rather than interfering with
each other.
A traditional view of the place of HRD in strategic management is that it responds to
imperatives generated by the strategic management process, whatever form that takes. Some HRD
professionals would argue that HRD should be a major component of that process in order to create
a learning culture as a basis for more effective strategy. This is not yet a popular approach in the UK.
2.2 Establishing HRD

The prevailing view of HRD in UK commercial organisations is human capital theory. Bratton and
Gold (2012) suggest that human capital theory sees investment in HRD as analogous to investment in
other assets and judges its value in terms of return on investment. This approach requires clear
evidence of probable benefit before investment is made in HRD and restricts developmental activities
that have uncertain though possibly important benefits. The extreme case of this view is the drive to
reduce training costs and ensure control of work practices through deskilling and careful job
design.
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The alternative view is a developmental humanistic approach, as highlighted by Bratton and
Gold (2012). This approach features empowerment; lifelong learning and the learning organisation;
productivity through a sense of meaningful work; and learning as a way of both coping with change
and fulfilling ambitions. Advocates of this approach accept that it is necessary to present its
advantages in terms that relate to human capital theory if it is to be adopted.
The benefit of an active commitment to HRD may be considered at three levels:
(a) The individual's job prospects and potential income are enhanced by vocational and
academic qualifications.
(b) The organisation may find that recruitment, adaptation to change, staff turnover and
productivity are enhanced by good HRD.
(c) At the national economic and social level, there is a link between general education
and economic growth, but it is difficult to establish one between training and growth.
2.3 Competence frameworks

Competency frameworks are concerned with the behaviour that is relevant to the job, and the
effective (or competent) performance of that job.
2.3.1 Application of competencies

Competency frameworks can be used to provide a more structured approach to recruitment; for
managing performance; for providing a benchmark for rewards and promotion; and for training and
development.
(a) Recruitment. Competencies can be used as a basis for person specifications, and as a basis
for comparing candidates during the selection process. The competencies required to do the
job are identified, and then the suitability of various candidates is compared against them.
(b) Managing performance. Competencies can be used to demonstrate the levels of
performance and behaviour needed to achieve the business strategy. An organisation will
have competencies for its business overall, but these can then be filtered down to individual
departments, and ultimately, individual employees. In this way, if each individual achieves
their objectives (competencies) the organisation will achieve its objectives as well.
(c) Benchmark for rewards and promotion (appraisal). The comparison of a person's
actual performance against their target competencies can be used as the basis of an appraisal
system.
(d) Training and development. Competencies can be used to identify the training needs of
staff, so that a development plan can be drawn up to meet those needs.
2.4 Workplace learning

Advocates of HRD suggest that learning is fundamental if the organisation is to cope with
environmental change, uncertainty and complexity. HRD practitioners place the following concepts
under the umbrella of workplace learning.
 Organisational learning
 Knowledge management
 The learning organisation
 E-Learning
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3 Knowledge work
3.1 Rise of knowledge work
Knowledge work has become a major part of the economies of developed countries. This has
had important effects on the way organisations work and are managed, with a shift away from
procedure and control towards a looser, more flexible system based on problem solving and
empowerment.
Service industries have become far more important to the economies of developed countries. This
trend has been accompanied by the recognition of the knowledge worker as a vital feature of
modern business. This has two important implications:
(a) Knowledge is recognised as a vital asset and crucial to business success. Organisations
must therefore acquire, organise, manage and exploit knowledge if they are to survive.
(b) This vital asset, knowledge, fundamentally exists in the brains of knowledge workers and is
controlled by them. If the organisation is to benefit, its workers must be organised and
managed in a way that will stimulate both learning and creativity.
These factors have led to a shift away from the classic bureaucratic structure of management and
organisation, which was built around the careful planning and control of procedures and operations,
to a looser, 'post-modern', 'post-bureaucratic' or 'post-industrial' approach that emphasises
information sharing, flexibility and empowerment.
3.2 The move to knowledge work
From To
Type of work Individual Project teams
Focus Task performance Customers, problems, opportunities
Skills and Narrow Specialist but with wide interest

knowledge
Feedback and Rapid Slow

results
Employee loyalty Organisation and career within it Peers, profession
Contribution to Individual support to the wider A few major successes

success strategy
3.3 Impact on the organisation

As organisations evolve to take account of these changes, they will display five features:
(a) Organisational dialogue and trust reduces the scope for managerial control and
direction and enables a wide range of bottom-up and lateral inputs. This feature depends on
the other four.
(b) Sharing of information about the organisation's operations, problems and opportunities.
(c) Principle-based management replaces management based on formal rules and
procedure and leads to greater flexibility and adaptation.
(d) Communication flows and decision-making are built around projects and problem-
solving rather than hierarchical routine.
(e) Peer evaluation of performance replaces formal credentials and supervisor opinion.
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4 Data, information and knowledge
Data are simple facts that can be organised in a way that creates information. Knowledge is
patterns of information that are strategically useful and context independent.
There is an important conceptual hierarchy underpinning knowledge management. This distinguishes
between data, information and knowledge. The distinctions are not clear-cut and, to some
extent, are differences of degree rather than kind. An understanding of the terms is best approached
by considering the relationships between them.
4.1 Data
Data typically consists of individual facts, but in a business context may include more complex items
such as opinions, reactions and beliefs. A quantity of data, no matter how large, does not constitute
information.
4.2 Information
Information is data that is organised in some useful way. For instance, an individual credit sale will
produce a single invoice identifying the goods, the price, the customer, the date of the sale and so
on. These things are data: their usefulness does not extend beyond the purpose of the invoice, which
is to collect the sum due. Even if we possess a copy of every invoice raised during a financial year,
we still only have data.
However, if we process that data we start to create information. For instance, a simple
combination of analysis and arithmetic enables us to state total sales for the year, to break that down
into sales for each product and to each customer, to identify major customers and so on. These are
pieces of information: they are useful for the management of the organisation, rather than just
inputs into its administrative systems.
Nevertheless, we still have not really produced any knowledge. Information may be said to consist
of the relationships between items of data, as when we combine turnover with customer details
to discover which accounts are currently important and which are not. We need to go beyond this in
order to create knowledge.
4.3 Difference between information and knowledge

The conceptual difference between data and information is fairly easy to grasp: it lies chiefly in the
processes that produce the one from the other. The difference between information and knowledge
is more complex and varies from setting to setting. This is not surprising, since knowledge itself is
more complex than the information it derives from.
A good starting point for understanding the difference is an appreciation of the importance of
pattern: knowledge tends to originate in the discovery of trends or patterns in information.
To return to our invoicing example, suppose we found that certain combinations of goods purchased
were typical of certain customers. We could then build up some interesting customer profiles that
would enhance our market segmentation and this in turn might influence our overall strategy, since
we could identify likely prospects for cross-selling effort.
Another important aspect of the differences between data, information and knowledge is the
relevance of context. Our sales invoice is meaningless outside its context; if you, as a marketing
person, found an invoice in the office corridor, it would be little more than waste paper to you,
though, no doubt, the accounts people would like it back. However, if you found a list of customers
in order of annual turnover, that would be rather more interesting from a marketing point of view.
The information is useful outside of its original context of the accounts office.
This idea also applies to the difference between information and knowledge. If you were a visitor to
a company and found a copy of the turnover listing, it would really only be useful to you if you were
trying to sell the same sort of thing to the same customers. Its value outside its context would be small.
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However, if you found a marketing report that suggested, based on evidence, that customers were
becoming more interested in quality and less interested in price that would be applicable to a wide
range of organisations, and possibly of strategic importance.
4.4 Progression from data to knowledge

Here are a table and a diagram that summarise the progression from data to knowledge.
Data Information Knowledge
Nature Facts Relationships between Patterns discerned in information

processed facts
Importance of context Total Some Context independent
Importance to Mundane Probably useful for May be strategically useful

organisation management
Progression of data to knowledge

Context
independence
Knowledge
Understanding
patterns
Information
Understanding
relations
Data
Understanding
(Diagram: Progression of data to knowledge)
There is one final important point to note here and that is that the progression from data to
knowledge is not the same in all circumstances. The scale is moveable and depends on the general
complexity of the setting. Something may be information within its own context. Something similar
may be knowledge in a different context. The difference will often be associated with the scale of
operations.
Take the example of ABC, a small business which has identified that one of its customers, Chester
Co, has an outstanding receivables balance of $200,000. The $200,000 represents data. It also
appears that the balance has been outstanding for over four months, again the four months just
represents data. However, when the balance amount is combined with the length of time, and
compared against ABC's credit terms, which are set at three months this turns into information as
the we can now see that the amount outstanding is in breach of the approved credit terms. In such
instances it is common practice for ABC to begin legal proceedings against customers to retrieve
outstanding balances. A further review of the customer's account indicates that Chester Co is in fact
a subsidiary company of ABC's largest customer, Smartie Co, both companies are owned by the
same family. Smartie Co makes regular purchases often in excess of $1m, and always abides by
ABC's credit terms. Therefore, combining this detail with the situation concerning Chester Co's
outstanding balance, the Finance Director at ABC can make an informed decision to not begin legal
proceedings as to avoid upsetting the owners of both customers. Given the importance of Smartie Co
to ABC it may more appropriate to simply contact Chester Co to remind them of the outstanding
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balance. As this example shows the Finance Director was able to use his knowledge of the
situation to determine an appropriate response.
5 TOWS Matrix
Weihrich (1982), one of the earliest writers on corporate appraisal, originally spoke in terms of a
TOWS matrix in order to emphasise the importance of threats and opportunities. This is
therefore an inherently positioning approach to strategy. A further important element of Weihrich's
discussion was his categorisation of strategic options:
 SO strategies employ strengths to seize opportunities
 ST strategies employ strengths to counter or avoid threats
 WO strategies address weaknesses so as to be able to exploit opportunities
 WT strategies are defensive, aiming to avoid threats and the impact of weaknesses
One useful impact of this analysis is that the four groups of strategies tend to relate well to
different time horizons. SO strategies may be expected to produce good short-term results, while
WO strategies are likely to take much longer to show results. ST and WT strategies are probably
more relevant to the medium term.
The consideration of time horizons may be linked to the overall resource picture: SO strategies
can be profitable in the short term, generating the cash needed for investment in WO strategies,
improving current areas of weakness so that further opportunities may be seized. ST and WT
strategies are likely to be more or less resource-neutral, but care must be taken to achieve an overall
balance.
External Opportunities (O) External Threats (T)

1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.
4. 4.
Internal Strengths(S) SO ST
1. 'Maxi-Maxi' Strategy 'Maxi-Mini' Strategy
2. Strategies that use strengths to Strategies that use strengths to
3. maximise opportunities. minimise threats.
4.
Internal Weaknesses (W) WO WT

1. 'Mini-Maxi' Strategy 'Mini-Mini' Strategy
2. Strategies that minimise Strategies that minimise
3. weaknesses by taking weaknesses and avoid threats.
advantage of opportunities.
4.
(Source: Weihrich, 1982)
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Competitive advantage
and strategic choice
Essential reading
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1 Conceptual difficulties with generic strategy
In practice, it is rarely simple to draw hard and fast distinctions between the generic strategies as
there are conceptual problems underlying them.
1.1 Cost leadership

 Internal focus. Cost refers to internal measures, rather than the market demand. It can be
used to gain market share: but it is the market share which is important, not cost
leadership as such.
 Only one firm. If cost leadership applies across the whole industry, only one firm will pursue
this strategy successfully. However, the position is not clear-cut.
– More than one firm might aspire to cost leadership, especially in dynamic markets
where new technologies are frequently introduced.
– The boundary between cost leadership and cost focus might be blurred.
– Firms competing market-wide might have different competences or advantages that
confer cost leadership in different segments.
 Higher margins can be used for differentiation. Having low costs does not mean you
have to charge lower prices or compete on price. A cost leader can choose to spend more on
R&D or marketing. Being a cost leader arguably gives producers more freedom to choose other
competitive strategies.
1.2 Differentiation
Porter (1980) assumes that a differentiated product will always be sold at a higher price.
 However, a differentiated product may be sold at the same price as competing products
in order to increase market share.
 Choice of competitor. Differentiation from whom? Who are the competitors? Do they serve
other market segments? Do they compete on the same basis?
 Source of differentiation. This can include all aspects of the firm's offer, not only the
product. Restaurants aim to create an atmosphere or 'ambience', as well as serving food of
good quality.
1.3 Focus
Focus probably has fewer conceptual difficulties, as it ties in very neatly with ideas of market
segmentation. In practice, most companies pursue this strategy to some extent, by designing
products/services to meet the needs of particular target markets. 'Stuck-in-the-middle' is therefore
what many companies actually pursue quite successfully. Any number of strategies can be pursued,
with different approaches to price and the perceived added value (ie the differentiation factor)
in the eyes of the customer.
2 The seven Ps
2.1 Product
A product (goods or services) is anything that satisfies a need or want (Kotler and Armstrong,
2010). It is not a 'thing' with 'features,' but a package of benefits. From the firm's point of view, the
product element of the marketing mix is what is being sold. From the customer's point of view, a
product is a solution to a problem or a package of benefits. Many products might satisfy
the same customer need.
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Product issues in the marketing mix will include such factors as:
 Design (size, shape)
 Features
 Quality and reliability
 After-sales service (if necessary)
 Packaging
2.2 Place
Place deals with how the product is distributed, and how it reaches its customers.
 Channel. Where are products sold?
 Logistics. The location of warehouses and efficiency of the distribution system.
A firm can distribute the product itself (direct distribution) or through intermediary organisations such
as retailers.
2.3 Promotion
Many of the practical activities of the marketing department are related to promotion. Promotion is
the element of the mix over which the marketing department generally has most control. Promotion in
the marketing mix includes all marketing communications which let the public know of the product or
service.
 Advertising (newspapers, billboards, TV, radio, direct mail, internet)
 Sales promotion (discounts, coupons, special displays in particular stores)
 Direct selling by sales personnel
 Public relations
2.4 Price
The price element of the marketing mix is the only one which brings in revenue. Price is influenced
by many factors including economic factors (supply and demand), competitors' prices and payment
terms.
2.5 The extended marketing mix

This is also known as the service marketing mix because it is specifically relevant to the marketing of
services, rather than physical products. The intangible nature of services makes these extra three
Ps particularly important.
2.5.1 People
Employees are particularly important in service marketing. Front-line staff must be selected,
trained and motivated with particular attention to customer care and public relations. In some
services, the physical presence of people performing the service is a vital aspect of customer
satisfaction. The staff involved are performing or producing a service, selling the service and also
liaising with the customer to promote the service, gather information and respond to customer needs.
2.5.2 Processes
Efficient processes can become a marketing advantage in their own right. If an airline, for
example, develops a sophisticated ticketing system, it can offer shorter waits at check-in or a wider
choice of flights through allied airlines. This both increases customer satisfaction and cuts down on
the time it takes to complete a sale.
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2.5.3 Physical evidence
Services are intangible: they have no physical substance. The customer has no evidence of
ownership and so may find it harder to perceive, evaluate and compare the qualities of service
provision, and this may therefore dampen the incentive to consume. This could be addressed through
physical representation such as tickets and programmes relating to entertainment, or by
incorporating evidence into the design and specification of the service environment such as decor,
colour scheme, noise levels, background music, fragrance and general ambience.
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Assessing and
managing risk
Essential reading
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1 COSO Enterprise Risk Management – Integrating with
Strategy and Performance (2017)
The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) has been leading
the way in the US on risk management and internal control methodologies since 2004. In 2017, a
revised approach to risk management was published to reflect the changing world, retaining the term
enterprise risk management (ERM) from previous guidance to refer to managing risks across a whole
enterprise, not just individual elements.
ERM provides a framework for an organisation to effectively manage risk by considering how it can
implement an appropriate strategy that connects its core values with enhanced performance. COSO
believes that it is important to consider risk as part of strategy setting.
This ERM framework uses five connected components that each contains a set of principles.
ERM component Principles
Governance and culture This component emphasises the importance of the board
leading the way when deciding on ethics, culture and core
values. This is demonstrated by the way risk is overseen and
the people who the board employs to make it all happen.
Strategy and objective-setting Strategy does not happen by accident: it requires an

effective planning process that considers where the
organisation is (including its risk appetite) where it wants to
be and how it will get there.
Performance In order to achieve the desired strategic outcome, the

organisation needs to manage its risks. This requires a
balanced identification, assessment and prioritisation of,
and appropriate responses to, risks, all of which is in line
with that strategy.
Review and revision The classic feedback loop – how well are we doing and do
we need to change anything? If so, what?
Information, communication ERM is supported by good information, both internal and

and reporting external, shared and reported across the organisation.
(Source: COSO, 2017)
2 Significant rapid changes in risk

Consider the following factors that may result in significant rapid changes in risks:
 Technology. Sectors where developments in new technology can quickly and significantly
benefit innovators.
 Supply. Businesses may be dependent on sources of raw materials that are increasingly
uncertain.
 Social. Businesses selling goods in markets where fashion is a significant influence on
consumer demand.
 Economic. Sellers of non-essential goods or services to consumers being particularly
vulnerable to adverse swings in the business cycle or even short-term losses of confidence
caused by stock market volatility, such as was seen worldwide during the summer of 2011.
 Political. Businesses operating in unstable political environments or facing major changes in
legislation.
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Internal control
systems
Essential reading
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1 Controls
1.1 Prevent controls
Prevent controls are controls that are designed to prevent errors from happening in the first place.
Examples of prevent controls are as follows.
 Effective development and design procedures which should ensure that, for example, safety
features are built into new products, enough time is spent testing for susceptibility to key risks
and a project and product is not being signed off until all the weaknesses identified during
testing have been addressed
 Checking invoices from suppliers against goods-received notes before paying the invoices
 Regular checking of delivery notes against invoices, to ensure that all deliveries have been
invoiced
 Signing of goods-received notes, credit notes, overtime records and so forth, to confirm that
goods have actually been received, credit notes properly issued, overtime actually authorised
and worked, and so on
1.2 Detect controls

Detect controls are controls that are designed to detect errors once they have occurred. Examples
of detect controls in an accounting system are bank reconciliations and regular checks of physical
inventory against book records of inventory.
1.3 Correct controls

Correct controls are controls that are designed to minimise or negate the effect of errors. An
example of a correct control would be back-up of computer input at the end of each day, or the
storing of additional copies of software at a remote location.
1.4 Direct controls

Direct controls direct activities or staff towards a desired outcome. Examples include operational
manuals or training in dealing with customers.
2 Reviewing internal control reports

The UK's Institute of Internal Auditors suggests that the board needs to consider the following
information in order to carry out an effective review of internal controls:
(a) The organisation's Code of Business Conduct (if it has one – see Chapter 9)
(b) Confirmation that line managers are clear as to their objectives
(c) The overall results of a control self-assessment process by line management or staff
(d) Letters of representation ('comfort letters') on internal control from line management
(confirmations about the operation of systems or specific transactions)
(e) A report from the audit committee on the key procedures which are designed to provide
effective internal control
(f) Reports from internal audit on audits performed
(g) The audit committee's assessment of the effectiveness of internal audit
(h) Reports on special reviews commissioned by the audit committee from internal audit or
others
(i) Internal audit's overall summary opinion on internal control
(j) The external auditors' report on deficiencies in the accounting and internal control
systems and other matters, including errors, identified during the audit
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(k) Intelligence gathered by board members during the year

(l) A report on avoidable losses by the finance director
(m) A report on any material developments since the balance sheet date and up to the
present
(n) The board's proposed wording of the internal control report for publication
3 The internal audit team

As well as the objectives listed earlier, the scope of the work performed by internal audit can include:
(a) Review of the accounting and internal control systems. The establishment of
adequate accounting and internal control systems is a responsibility of management and the
directors. Internal audit is often assigned specific responsibility for the following tasks.
(i) Reviewing the design of the systems
(ii) Monitoring the effectiveness of the operation of the systems by risk assessment and
detailed testing
(iii) Recommending cost-effective improvements
Review will cover both financial and non-financial controls.
(b) Examination of financial and operating information. This may include review of the
means used to identify, measure, classify and report such information and specific enquiry into
individual items including detailed testing of transactions, balances and procedures.
(c) Review of the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of operations. In the public
sector, especially, this helps to determine whether or not value for money has been achieved.
(d) Review of compliance. This should be carried out in relation to laws, regulations and other
external requirements, with internal policies and directives, and with other requirements
including appropriate authorisation of transactions.
(e) Review of the safeguarding of assets. Are valuable, portable items such as computers
or cash secured, is authorisation needed for dealing in investments?
(f) Review of the implementation of corporate objectives. This includes review of the
effectiveness of planning, the relevance of standards and policies, the organisation's corporate
governance procedures and the operation of specific procedures such as communication of
information.
(g) Identification of significant business and financial risks. This involves monitoring
the organisation's overall risk management policy to ensure it operates effectively,
and monitoring the risk management strategies to ensure they continue to operate
effectively.
(h) Special investigations. These can be carried out in particular areas, for example
suspected fraud.
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Applying ethical
principles
Essential reading
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1 Possible fraud risks
The following is a list of possible fraud risks; you will see that a number of the signs listed are
examples of poor corporate governance procedures, such as domination by one person or pressure
on the accounting or internal audit departments.
Fraud
Previous Management dominated by one person (or a small group) and no effective
experience or oversight board or committee
incidents which call Complex corporate structure where complexity does not seem to be
into question the warranted
integrity or
High turnover rate of key accounting and financial personnel
competence of
management Personnel (key or otherwise) not taking holidays
Personnel lifestyles that appear to be beyond their known income
Significant and prolonged understaffing of the accounting department
Poor relations between executive management and internal auditors
Lack of attention given to, or review of, key internal accounting data such
as cost estimates
Frequent changes of legal advisors or auditors
History of legal and regulatory violations
Particular financial Industry volatility

reporting pressures Inadequate working capital due to declining profits or too rapid expansion
within an entity
Deteriorating quality of earnings, for example increased risk taking with
respect to credit sales, changes in business practice or selection of accounting
policy alternatives that improve income
The entity needs a rising profit trend to support the market price of its
shares due to a contemplated public offering, a takeover or other reason
Significant investment in an industry or product line noted for rapid
change
Pressure on accounting personnel to complete financial statements in an
unreasonably short period of time
Dominant owner-management
Performance-based remuneration
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Fraud
Weaknesses in the A weak control environment within the entity

design and Systems that, in their design, are inadequate to give reasonable assurance
operation of the of preventing or detecting error or fraud
accounting and
Inadequate segregation of responsibilities in relation to functions involving
internal controls
the handling, recording or controlling of the entity's assets
system
Poor security of assets
Lack of access controls over IT systems
Indications that internal financial information is unreliable
Evidence that internal controls have been overridden by management
Ineffective monitoring of the system which allows control overrides,
breakdown or weakness to continue without proper corrective action
Continuing failure to correct major weakness in internal control where such
corrections are practicable and cost effective
Unusual Unusual transactions, especially near the year end, that have a significant
transactions or effect on earnings
trends Complex transactions or accounting treatments
Unusual transactions with related parties
Payments for services (for example to lawyers, consultants or agents) that
appear excessive in relation to the services provided
Large cash transactions
Transactions dealt with outside the normal systems
Investments in products that appear too good to be true, for example
low-risk, high-return products
Large changes in significant revenues or expenses
Problems in Inadequate records, for example incomplete files, excessive adjustments to

obtaining sufficient accounting records, transactions not recorded in accordance with normal
appropriate audit procedures and out-of-balance control accounts
evidence Inadequate documentation of transactions, such as lack of proper
authorisation, unavailable supporting documents and alteration to
documents (any of these documentation problems assume greater
significance when they relate to large or unusual transactions)
An excessive number of differences between accounting records and third
party confirmations, conflicting audit evidence and unexplainable changes
in operating ratios
Evasive, delayed or unreasonable responses by management to audit
enquiries
Inappropriate attitude of management to the conduct of the audit, eg time
pressure, scope limitation and other constraints
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Fraud
Some factors Inability to extract information from computer files due to lack of, or non-
unique to an current, documentation of record contents or programs
information Large numbers of program changes that are not documented, approved
systems and tested
environment which
Inadequate overall balancing of computer transactions and databases to
relate to the
the financial accounts
conditions and
events described
above
2 Bribery and corruption

Further details about why bribery and corruption can create serious problems for organisations:
2.1 Lack of honesty and good faith

Corruption means that someone in a position of authority or responsibility, including corporate
governance responsibility, will no longer be acting impartially and in accordance with a position of
trust. Bribery encourages others to violate a duty of service. It can also undermine behaviour in other
ways. If staff are aware that bribery goes on within their organisation, even if they are not involved
in it themselves, then this may undermine attempts by the organisation to impose standards of
behaviour. It may also result in an overall lack of trust in what the organisation is doing.
2.2 Conflicts of interest

Those taking bribes will face a conflict between their legitimate duties and responsibilities (for
example to shareholders), and any personal gains they may make through unethical activities. The
personal gains may not be directly in the forms of money or gifts. Involvement by directors in bid
rigging, for example, may generate higher profits for their company, which in turn may enhance
their performance bonuses.
Further conflicts of interest may also arise if anyone who has participated in corruption is threatened
with public exposure. The actions they take to ensure public exposure does not occur may also
not be in the interests of their organisation, or those whose interests they should be representing.
2.3 International risk management

UK Government guidance on the 2011 UK Bribery Act acknowledges that commercial organisations
in some parts of the world and in some sectors may come under pressure to pay 'facilitation
payments' to foreign officials to promote their business ends.
The main problem with payments or gifts to officials is making the distinction between those that
should never be made, and those that can be made in certain cultural circumstances.
(a) Extortion. Foreign officials have been known to threaten companies with the complete
closure of their local operations unless suitable payments are made.
(b) Bribery. This is payment for services to which a company is not legally entitled. There are
some fine distinctions to be drawn. For example, some managers regard political contributions
as bribery.
(c) Grease money. Multinational companies are sometimes unable to obtain services to which
they are legally entitled because of deliberate stalling by local officials. Cash payments to the
right people may then be enough to oil the machinery of bureaucracy.
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(d) Gifts. In some cultures (such as Japan) gifts are regarded as an essential part of civilised
negotiation, even in circumstances where to Western eyes they might appear ethically
dubious. Managers operating in such a culture may feel at liberty to adopt the local customs.
However, trading in places where organisations need to pay bribes to conduct business legitimately
is debatable. If organisations had effective procedures for assessing and managing these risks, then
they should probably decide to avoid these places anyway.
2.4 Economic issues

Bribery and corruption result in a misallocation of resources. Contracts do not go to the most
efficient producer but the producer that pays the highest bribes. Costs of doing business will
increase. Bribery and corruption therefore threaten the basis on which markets are established and
the operation of those markets. Participation in economic activity may be less likely if it is felt that
bribery or market rigging make it unlikely that an acceptable return will be achieved for the risks
taken. Alternatively, if one company is believed to be thriving by offering bribes, other companies
may then follow its example and those being bribed may come to expect illicit payments as a matter
of course.
2.5 Reputation
Those who do business with the organisation, for example suppliers or customers, may cease to do
so if they have no confidence in its honesty. Honest staff may decide to leave if they feel that
they cannot trust their employer. Professionalism and professional reputation are discussed further in
this chapter. If accountants are found guilty of bribery, this can have an adverse impact not only on
their employer but also on the reputation of the profession as a whole, giving the impression of
dishonesty and lack of objectivity.
3 Combating bribery and corruption

3.1 Methods for combating bribery and corruption
Methods that could be used to combat bribery and corruption include the following.
3.1.1 Establishing culture

The UK guidance highlights the need for board commitment to fight corruption. Directors may seek to
establish a commitment against corruption by a formal statement, setting out a zero tolerance
policy and spelling out the consequences for employees or managers who transgress. The statement
should include an assertion of the benefits of avoidance of corrupt activity (for example maintaining
reputation, and customer and business partner confidence). The commitment of the management
team should be reinforced by the involvement of senior management in the development and
implementation of bribery prevention procedures.
As with other areas, communication of the organisation's procedures and policies, and training
in their application, will be very important in helping to establish the culture. Training should include
general training on the threat of bribery on induction, and also specific training for those involved in
higher risk activities such as purchasing and contracting.
However, while establishing the right culture is an important part of taking effective action to combat
corruption, a culture that is ambiguous or not enforced may adversely affect the success of other
measures. This may occur if managers and staff feel that they are receiving mixed messages. They
may believe that they are expected to do what it takes to earn sufficient returns in environments
where ethical temptations exist, or that ethically dubious conduct will be ignored or implicitly
accepted.
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3.1.2 Code of conduct
A code of conduct is perhaps the most important element of communication that the UK guidelines
stress. As well as being central to communication with employees, a publicly communicated code
also reassures those doing business with the organisation and can act as a deterrent to misconduct.
We have already seen in this chapter the example code of conduct that includes provisions about
dealing truthfully with suppliers and refraining from seeking or participating in questionable
behaviour to secure competitive advantage. Organisations may decide to issue a separate anti-
bribery code. However, there may also be the same issues with an anti-bribery code as a general
ethical code, that for example staff do not feel it is relevant to them. This reinforces the need for
effective training of staff.
3.1.3 Risk assessment

Identification of circumstances where bribery may be a problem must be built into business risk
assessments. Sensitive areas could include the activities of intermediaries or agents or staff within the
organisation responsible for hospitality or promotional expenditure. Note that the UK guidance
stresses that risks may change over time (for example as the organisation enters new markets) and so
may need to be reassessed. A poor internal control environment may also be a factor that contributes
significantly to increased risk.
Real world examples
Guidance published in by the UK Ministry of Justice (2011) highlighted five areas where the risk of
bribery and corruption may be high.
(a) Country. Countries with high levels of corruption, that lack anti-bribery legislation and which
fail to promote transparent procurement and investment policies, are at high risk.
(b) Sectoral. Higher-risk sectors include the extractive and large-scale infrastructure sectors.
(c) Transaction. Risky transactions include charitable and political contributions, licences and
permits, and transactions relating to public procurement.
(d) Business opportunity. Potentially risky projects include high-value projects, projects
involving many contractors or intermediaries, and projects not apparently undertaken at
market price or which lack a clear business objective.
(e) Business partnership risk. Risky situations could include the use of intermediaries in
transactions with foreign public officials, involvement with consortia or joint venture partners
and relationships with politically exposed persons.
The guidance also highlights various internal failings that could add to risk.
 Deficiencies in employee training, skills and knowledge
 Bonus culture that rewards excessive risk taking
 Lack of clarity in the organisation's policies on, and procedures for, hospitality and
promotional expenditure and political or charitable contributions
 Lack of clear financial controls
 Lack of clear anti-bribery message from top-level management
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3.1.4 Conduct of business

As the UK guidance states, a strong tone at the top and the ethical code may be undermined by a
lack of detailed guidance on the implementation of anti-bribery procedures.
Areas where detailed guidance may be required include the extent of due diligence procedures
on potential business partners or intermediaries – highlighted as a key area in the UK guidance
above. The guidance points out that due diligence is both risk assessment and a means of mitigating
risks.
Due diligence procedures may be carried out at different levels. They may be at a low level, for
example, when contracting for the provision of information services, but at a higher level when an
organisation is obliged to use a local agent in another country or is selecting an intermediary when
establishing business abroad. Procedures may include questioning, investigations or general
investigation. Appraisal and monitoring should continue once the relationship has been established.
Other important areas will include:
 The need for contractual terms with consultants and intermediaries to reflect internal rules
and to emphasise zero tolerance of bribery
 Policies on hospitality and promotional expenditure and charitable and political
donations
 Procurement and tendering guidelines
 Differentiation between properly payable fees (for example inspection certificates) and
facilitation payments (often bribes)
 Recruitment and human resource procedures to mitigate the risks of employees in
business-sensitive areas becoming involved in bribery
However detailed the procedures, they will not be able to give absolute assurance that corrupt
activities will not take place. Staff may misinterpret the requirements, or may encounter
ethically dubious situations not covered by the guidance. They may assume that conduct not
forbidden by the guidance is legitimate.
There is also the issue that detailed guidance is meant to ensure compliance with the law. In many
countries the law is not entirely clear. The US Chamber of Commerce, for example, has criticised
American law for prohibiting bribery in some circumstances but not others, although critics have
claimed that the evidence supporting this claim is thin.
3.1.5 Reporting of transactions and whistleblowing

Ethical guidance points out that threats to compliance may appear to arise not only from the
accountant making or accepting the inducement but also from the offer having been
made in the first place. It recommends that directors or senior managers be informed, and
disclosure may have to be made to third parties. An organisation's guidance should make it clear
that managers and staff should seek guidance about, and disclose, any activities that are
questionable. Guidance on whistleblowing procedures should also make clear that they extend to
reporting suspicions of bribery and corruption. Staff should have the opportunity to make suggestions
for improvement of bribery-prevention procedures.
3.1.6 Monitoring
As part of their regular monitoring of risk management, the board should receive reports on
compliance with internal procedures, such as due diligence on agents and details about questionable
behaviour that has been discovered. The UK guidance makes it clear that monitoring the systems
designed to prevent bribery is an important element of the board's overall monitoring of internal
control systems and consideration of whether systems need to be improved as the risk environment
changes. Events that may result in changes to systems include changes of government, reports of
bribery or other negative press coverage.
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Financial analysis
Essential reading
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1 Investment appraisal techniques
1.1 ROCE, Payback period, NPV and IRR
A number of techniques are assumed knowledge at this level, and you need to be familiar with them.
However, the emphasis will not be on detailed calculations but interpreting results. A brief overview
of the main features of return on capital employed (ROCE), payback period, discounted cash flows
and NPVs, and the IRR methods is provided below. The sections which follow provide a more
detailed recap of these approaches.
1.1.1 Return on capital employed (ROCE)

This is also known as accounting rate of return or return on investment. It can be used for projects as
well as organisations. It is calculated as:
Average annual profit from investment  after depreciation but before interest and tax 
Initial investment
It is a simple measure and allows a simple decision rule – accept all projects with ROCE above the
company's target return. However, it ignores the timing of cashflows and the profit figure includes
costs which are not relevant costs.
1.1.2 Payback period

This measures how many years it takes for cashflows affected by the decision to invest to repay the
cost of the original investment. The longer the payback, the higher the risk, so this is a good way of
screening out risky investments. However, it ignores the timing of cashflows and also ignores
cashflows which happen after the payback period.
1.1.3 Net present value

This includes all relevant costs and benefits of a project, and then discounts them to allow for the time
value of money. The discount rate used should reflect the company's cost of capital, although may
also be adjusted to reflect risk. If the final net present value of all cashflows is positive, then, subject
to non-financial factors, the project will be beneficial for the organisation and should go ahead.
1.1.4 Internal rate of return

This is the discount rate which, when applied to a set of cashflows, results in a net present value of
zero. It is effectively a percentage return and, if it is higher than the organisation's cost of capital, the
project should be accepted, subject to any non-financial considerations.
2 Return on capital employed

2.1 What is ROCE?
The return on capital employed method (ROCE) (also called the accounting rate of return
method or the return on investment (ROI) method) of appraising a capital project is to estimate
the accounting rate of return that the project should yield. If it exceeds a target rate of return, the
project will be undertaken.
2.1.1 ROCE and the comparison of mutually exclusive projects

The ROCE method of capital investment appraisal can also be used to compare two or more projects
which are mutually exclusive. The project with the highest ROCE would be selected (provided that the
expected ROCE is higher than the company's target ROCE).
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2.1.2 The drawbacks to the ROCE method of capital investment appraisal

The ROCE method of capital investment appraisal has the serious drawback that it does not take
account of the timing of the profits from an investment. Whenever capital is invested in a
project, money is tied up until the project begins to earn profits which pay back the investment.
Money tied up in one project cannot be invested anywhere else until the profits come in.
Management should be aware of the benefits of early repayments from an investment, which will
provide the money for other investments.
There are a number of other disadvantages.
(a) It is based on accounting profits and not cash flows. Accounting profits are subject to a
number of different accounting treatments.
(b) It is a relative measure rather than an absolute measure and therefore takes no account of
the size of the investment.
(c) It takes no account of the length of the project.
(d) Like the payback method (see below), it ignores the time value of money.
There are, however, advantages to the ROCE method.
(a) It is a quick and simple calculation.
(b) It involves the familiar concept of a percentage return. The fact that it gives a relative measure
means that ROCE makes it easy to compare two investment options.
(c) It looks at the entire project life.
3 Payback method
3.1 What is the Payback method?
Payback is the time it takes the cash inflows from a capital investment project to equal the cash
outflows, usually expressed in years. It is the length of time before the cash inflows from an
investment pay back the investment outlay.
Payback is often used as a 'first screening method' in investment appraisal. By this, we mean that
when a capital investment project is being considered, the first question to ask is: 'How long will it
take to pay back its cost?' The organisation might have a target payback, and so it would reject
a capital project unless its payback period were less than a certain number of years.
However, a project should not be evaluated on the basis of payback alone. If a project gets through
the payback test, it ought then to be evaluated with a more sophisticated investment appraisal
technique that takes into consideration the total return over the full investment period.
3.2 Why is payback alone an inadequate investment appraisal

technique?
The reason why payback should not be used on its own to evaluate capital investments should seem
fairly obvious if you look at the figures below for two mutually exclusive projects (this means that only
one of them can be undertaken).
Project P Project Q
$ $
Capital investment 60,000 60,000
Profits before depreciation (a rough approximation of cash flows)
Year 1 20,000 50,000
Year 2 30,000 20,000
Year 3 40,000 5,000
Year 4 50,000 5,000
Year 5 60,000 5,000
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Project P pays back in Year 3 (about one quarter of the way through Year 3). Project Q pays back
halfway through Year 2. Using payback alone to judge capital investments, Project Q would be
preferred.
However, the returns from Project P over its life are much higher than the returns from Project Q.
Project P will earn total profits before depreciation of $140,000 on an investment of $60,000.
Project Q will earn total profits before depreciation of only $25,000 on an investment of $60,000.
3.3 Disadvantages of the payback method

There are a number of serious drawbacks to the payback method.
(a) It ignores the timing of cash flows within the payback period.
(b) It ignores the cash flows after the end of the payback period and therefore the total project
return.
(c) It ignores the time value of money (a concept incorporated into more sophisticated
appraisal methods). This means that it does not take account of the fact that $1 today is worth
more than $1 in one year's time. An investor who has $1 today can either consume it
immediately or alternatively can invest it at the prevailing interest rate, say 10%, to get a
return of $1.10 in a year's time.
(d) Payback is unable to distinguish between projects with the same payback period.
(e) The choice of any cut-off payback period by an organisation is arbitrary.
(f) It may lead to excessive investment in short-term projects.
(g) It takes account of the risk of the timing of cash flows but not the variability of those cash
flows.
3.4 Advantages of the payback method

In spite of its limitations, the payback method continues to be popular, and the following points can
be made in its favour.
(a) It is simple to calculate and simple to understand. This may be important when management
resources are limited. It is similarly helpful in communicating information about minimum
requirements to managers responsible for submitting projects.
(b) It uses cash flows rather than accounting profits.
(c) It can be used as a screening device as a first stage in eliminating obviously inappropriate
projects prior to more detailed evaluation.
(d) The fact that it tends to bias in favour of short-term projects means that it tends to minimise both
financial and business risk.
(e) It can be used when there is a capital rationing situation to identify those projects which
generate additional cash for investment quickly.
4 Discounted cash flow

4.1 What is a DCF?
Discounted cash flow, or DCF for short, is an investment appraisal technique which takes into
account both the timings of cash flows and also total profitability over a project's life.
Three important points about DCF are as follows.
(a) DCF looks at the cash flows of a project, not the accounting profits. Cash flows are
considered because they show the costs and benefits of a project when they actually occur
and ignore notional costs such as depreciation.
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(b) Only future incremental cash inflows and outflows are considered. This means that costs
incurred in the past (sunk costs) should be ignored. Costs which would need to be incurred
regardless of whether or not the project is undertaken should also be ignored.
(c) The timing of cash flows is taken into account by discounting them. $1 earned today will
be worth more than $1 earned after two years. This is partly due to the effect of inflation, and
partly due to the greater certainty in having $1 in hand today compared with the promise of
$1 in a year's time. In addition, cash we have in hand today can be spent or invested
elsewhere: for example, put into a savings account to earn annual interest.
4.2 Compounding
Suppose that a company has $10,000 to invest, and wants to earn a return of 10% (compound
interest) on its investments. This means that if the $10,000 could be invested at 10%, the value of the
investment with interest would build up as follows.
(a) After 1 year $10,000  (1.10) = $11,000
2
(b) After 2 years $10,000  (1.10) = $12,100
3
(c) After 3 years $10,000  (1.10) = $13,310 and so on.
This is compounding. Compounding tells us how much an investment will be worth at the end, and
can be used to compare two projects with the same duration. The formula for the future value of an
investment plus accumulated interest after n time periods is:
n
FV = PV (1 + r)
Where FV is the future value of the investment with interest
PV is the initial or 'present' value of the investment
r is the compound rate of return per time period, expressed as a proportion
(so 10% = 0.10, 5% = 0.05, and so on)
n is the number of time periods
4.3 Discounting
Discounting starts with the future value, and converts a future value to a present value. Discounting
tells us how much an investment will be worth in today's terms. This method can be used to compare
two investments with different durations.
For example, if a company expects to earn a (compound) rate of return of 10% on its investments,
how much would it need to invest now to have the following investments?
(a) $11,000 after 1 year
(b) $12,100 after 2 years
(c) $13,310 after 3 years
The answer is $10,000 in each case, and we can calculate it by discounting. The discounting
formula to calculate the present value of a future sum of money at the end of n time periods is:
1
PV = FV
(1+r)n
1
(a) After 1 year, $11,000  =$10,000
1.10
1
(b) After 2 years, $12,100  =$10,000
1.10 2
1
(c) After 3 years, $13,310  =$10,000
1.10 3
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Discounting can be applied to both money receivable and also to money payable at a future date.
By discounting all payments and receipts from a capital investment to a present value, they can be
compared on a common basis at a value which takes account of when the various cash flows will
take place.
4.4 The discount factor

In the compounding and discounting examples above, we used the company's required rate of return
as the discount factor. How do companies decide the rate of return that they require?
Imagine Company A has a bank account, earning 5% interest. When considering whether or not to
invest in a project, the company's directors may use the bank interest rate as a benchmark. If the
investment's rate of return is 3%, would Company A invest? Probably not, because a higher level of
return can be earned by simply depositing the same amount of money in the bank account.
However, if the investment's rate of return is 8%, then the company will probably choose to invest.
On the other hand, consider Company B, which has no cash in hand. It will be required to borrow
from a bank should it decide to invest in a project. Company B's directors may use the loan interest
as a benchmark when evaluating investments to ensure that they only accept projects which
sufficiently reward the company for the additional costs the company has to bear in making the
investment. If the company borrows at 6%, it will most likely reject a project which yields a rate of
return of 3%. However, it may consider a project that is expected to yield a rate of return of 8%.
These examples are two simplistic ways of thinking about the cost of capital, often used to derive
a discount rate for DCF analysis and investment appraisal.
The cost of capital has two aspects to it.
(a) It is the cost of funds that a company raises and uses.
(b) The return that investors expect to be paid for putting funds into the company. It is therefore the
minimum return that a company should make from its own investments, to earn the cash
flows out of which investors can be paid their return.
The cost of capital is not the cost of borrowing, although the cost of borrowing may be an element in
the cost of capital.
5 The net present value (NPV) method

5.1 What is the NPV method?
The NPV method compares the present value (PV) of all the cash inflows from an investment
with the present value of all the cash outflows from an investment. The NPV is thus calculated
as the PV of cash inflows minus the PV of cash outflows.
NPV
NPV positive Return from investment's cash inflows in excess of cost of capital  undertake
project
NPV negative Return from investment's cash inflows below cost of capital  don't undertake
project
NPV 0 Return from investment's cash inflows same as cost of capital
Note. We assume that the cost of capital is the organisation's target rate of return for proposed
investment projects.
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Illustration: NPV
A company is considering a capital investment, where the estimated cash flows are as follows.
Year Cash flow
$
0 (ie now) (100,000)
1 60,000
2 80,000
3 40,000
4 30,000
The company's cost of capital is 15%. You are required to calculate the NPV of the project and to
assess whether it should be undertaken.
Solution
Year Cash flow Discount factor 15% Present value
$ $
0 (100,000) 1.000 (100,000)
1
1 60,000 = 0.870 52,200
(1.15)
1
2 80,000 = 0.756 60,480
(1.15)2
1
3 40,000 = 0.658 26,320
(1.15)3
1
4 30,000 = 0.572 17,160
(1.15)4
NPV = 56,160
Note. The discount factor for any cash flow 'now' (Year 0) is always = 1, regardless of what the
cost of capital is.
In this example, the PV of cash inflows exceeds the PV of cash outflows by $56,160, which means
that the project will earn a DCF yield in excess of 15%. It should therefore be undertaken.
(It may also be predicted that the investment should add $56,160 to the value of the company.)
5.2 Timing of cash flows: conventions used in DCF

Discounted cash flow applies discounting arithmetic to the relevant costs and benefits of an
investment project. Discounting, which reduces the value of future cash flows to a present value
equivalent, is clearly concerned with the timing of the cash flows. As a general rule, the following
guidelines may be applied.
(a) A cash outlay to be incurred at the beginning of an investment project ('now') occurs in
Year 0. The present value of $1 now, in Year 0, is $1 regardless of the value of r.
(b) As explained earlier, a cash outlay, saving or inflow which occurs during the course of a
time period (say, during a year) is assumed to occur all at once at the end of the time
period (at the end of the year). Receipts of $10,000 during Year 1 are therefore taken to
occur at the end of Year 1.
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(c) A cash outlay or receipt which occurs at the beginning of a time period (say, at the
beginning of one year) is taken to occur at the end of the previous year. Therefore a
cash outlay of $5,000 at the beginning of Year 2 is taken to occur at the end of Year 1.
5.3 NPV and shareholder wealth maximisation

If a project has a positive NPV it offers a higher return than the return required by the company to
provide satisfactory returns to its sources of finance. This means that the company's value is
increased and the project contributes to shareholder wealth maximisation.
6 The internal rate of return method

6.1 What is the IRR method?
Using the NPV method of discounted cash flow, present values are calculated by discounting
at a target rate of return, or cost of capital, and the difference between the PV of costs and the PV of
benefits is the NPV. In contrast, the internal rate of return (IRR) method is used to calculate the
exact DCF rate of return which the project is expected to achieve; in other words, the rate at
which the NPV is zero. If the expected rate of return (the IRR or DCF yield) exceeds a target
rate of return, the project would be worth undertaking (ignoring risk and uncertainty factors).
6.2 Steps
Without a computer or calculator program, the calculation of the internal rate of return is made using
an approximating 'hit and miss' technique known as the interpolation method.
Step 1 Calculate the net present value using the company's cost of capital.
Step 2 Having calculated the NPV using the company's cost of capital, calculate the NPV
using a second discount rate.
(a) If the NPV is positive, use a second rate that is greater than the first rate.
(b) If the NPV is negative, use a second rate that is less than the first rate.
Step 3 Use the two NPV values to estimate the IRR. The formula to apply is as follows.
NPVa
IRR  a + (b − a) %
NPVa − NPVb
Where a = the lower of the two rates of return used

b = the higher of the two rates of return used
NPVa = the NPV obtained using rate a
NPVb = the NPV obtained using rate b
Note. Ideally NPVa will be a positive value and NPVb will be negative. (If NPVb is negative, then in
the equation above you will be subtracting a negative, ie treating it as an added positive.)
The IRR method

A company is trying to decide whether to buy a machine for $80,000 which will save costs of
$20,000 per annum for five years and which will have a resale value of $10,000 at the end of
Year 5. If it is the company's policy to undertake projects only if they are expected to yield a DCF
return of 10% or more, ascertain whether this project should be undertaken.
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Solution
Step 1 Calculate the first NPV, using the company's cost of capital of 10%.
Year Cash flow PV factor 10% PV of cash flow
$ $
0 (80,000) 1.000 (80,000)
1–5 20,000 3.791 75,820
5 10,000 0.621 6,210
NPV = 2,030
This is positive, which means that the IRR is more than 10%.
Step 2 Calculate the second NPV, using a rate that is greater than the first rate, as the first
rate gave a positive answer.
Suppose we try 12%.
Year Cash flow PV factor 12% PV of cash flow
$ $
0 (80,000) 1.000 (80,000)
1–5 20,000 3.605 72,100
5 10,000 0.567 5,670
NPV = (2,230)
This is fairly close to zero and negative. The IRR is therefore greater than 10%
(positive NPV of $2,030) but less than 12% (negative NPV of $2,230).
Step 3 Use the two NPV values to estimate the IRR.

The interpolation method assumes that the NPV rises in linear fashion between the
two NPVs close to 0. The IRR is therefore assumed to be on a straight line between
NPV = $2,030 at 10% and NPV = –$2,230 at 12%.
Using the formula:
NPVa
IRR  a + (b − a) %
NPVa − NPVb
2,030
IRR  10 + × (12 − 10) % = 10.95%, say 11%
2,030 + 2,230
If it is company policy to undertake investments which are expected to yield 10% or

more, this project would be undertaken.
If we were to draw a graph of a 'typical' capital project, with a negative cash flow at the start of the
project, and positive net cash flows afterwards up to the end of the project, we could draw a graph
of the project's NPV at different costs of capital. It would look like Figure 1 below.
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NPV
Positive IRR
0
Cost of capital %
Negative
Figure 1
If we use a cost of capital where the NPV is slightly positive, and use another cost of capital where it
is slightly negative, we can estimate the IRR – where the NPV is zero – by drawing a straight line
between the two points on the graph that we have calculated. Figure 2 below illustrates this.
6.3 NPV and IRR compared

Given that there are two methods of using DCF, the NPV method and the IRR method, the relative
merits of each method have to be considered.
6.4 Advantages and disadvantages of IRR method

The main advantage of the IRR method is that the information it provides is more easily
understood by managers, especially non-financial managers. For example, it is fairly easy to
understand the meaning of the following statement.
'The project will be expected to have an initial capital outlay of $100,000, and to earn a yield of
25%. This is in excess of the target yield of 15% for investments.'
It is not so easy to understand the meaning of this statement.
'The project will cost $100,000 and have an NPV of $30,000 when discounted at the minimum
required rate of 15%.'
However, managers may confuse IRR and accounting return on capital employed, ROCE.
The IRR method ignores the relative size of investments. Both the following projects have an IRR
of 18%.
Project A Project B
$ $
Cost, Year 0 350,000 35,000
Annual savings, Years 1–6 100,000 10,000
Clearly, project A is bigger (ten times as big) and so more 'profitable' but if the only information on
which the projects were judged were to be their IRR of 18%, project B would be made to seem just
as beneficial as project A, which is not the case.
6.5 Non-conventional cash flows

The projects we have considered so far have had conventional cash flows (an initial cash outflow
followed by a series of inflows). When flows vary from this they are termed non-conventional. The
following project has non-conventional cash flows.
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Year Project X
$'000
0 (1,900)
1 4,590
2 (2,735)
Project X would have two IRRs as shown by this diagram.
NPV
30
Positive 20
10
0
5 10 20 30 40 Cost of capital %
–10
–20
Negative
–30
–40
–50
The NPV rule suggests that the project is acceptable between costs of capital of 7% and 35%.
Suppose that the required rate on Project X is 10% and that the IRR of 7% is used in deciding
whether to accept or reject the project. The project would be rejected since it appears that it can only
yield 7%.
The diagram shows, however, that between rates of 7% and 35% the project should be accepted.
Using the IRR of 35% would produce the correct decision to accept the project. Lack of
knowledge of multiple IRRs could therefore lead to serious errors in the decision of whether to
accept or reject a project.
In general, if the sign of the net cash flow changes in successive periods, the calculations may
produce as many IRRs as there are sign changes. IRR should not normally be used when there are
non-conventional cash flows.
6.6 Mutually exclusive projects

Mutually exclusive projects are two or more projects from which only one can be chosen. Examples
include the choice of a factory location or the choice of just one of a number of machines. The IRR
and NPV methods can, however, give conflicting rankings as to which project should be given
priority.
Let us suppose that a company is considering two mutually exclusive options, Option A and
Option B. The cash flows for each would be as follows.
Year Option A Option B

$ $
0 Capital outlay (10,200) (35,250)
1 Net cash inflow 6,000 18,000
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The company's cost of capital is 16%.
The NPV of each project is calculated below.
Option A Option B
Discount
Year factor Cash flow Present value Cash flow Present value
$ $ $ $
0 1.000 (10,200) (10,200) (35,250) (35,250)
1 0.862 6,000 5,172 18,000 15,516
2 0.743 5,000 3,715 15,000 11,145
3 0.641 3,000 1,923 15,000 9,615
NPV = +610 NPV = +1,026
The IRR of Option A is 20% and the IRR of Option B is only 18% (workings not shown). On a
comparison of NPVs, Option B would be preferred, but on a comparison of IRRs, Option A would be
preferred.
If the projects were independent this would be irrelevant since under the NPV rule both would be
accepted. With mutually exclusive projects, however, only one project can be accepted. Therefore
the ranking is crucial and we cannot be indifferent to the outcomes of the NPV and IRR appraisal
methods. The NPV method is preferable.
6.7 Reinvestment assumptions

An assumption underlying the NPV method is that any net cash inflows generated during the life of
the project will be reinvested at the cost of capital (that is, the discount rate). The IRR method, on
the other hand, assumes these cash flows can be reinvested to earn a return equal to the IRR of the
original project.
In the example above, the NPV method assumes that the cash inflows of $6,000, $5,000 and
$3,000 for option A will be reinvested at the cost of capital of 16% whereas the IRR method assumes
they will be reinvested at 20%. In theory, a firm will have accepted all projects which provide a
return in excess of the cost of capital. Any other funds which become available can only be
reinvested at the cost of capital. This is the assumption implied in the NPV rule, but is unlikely to be
the case in practice.
6.8 Summary of NPV and IRR comparison

(a) When cash flow patterns are conventional both methods give the same accept or reject
decision.
(b) The IRR method is more easily understood.
(c) NPV is technically superior to IRR and simpler to calculate.
(d) IRR and accounting ROCE can be confused.
(e) IRR ignores the relative sizes of investments.
(f) Where cash flow patterns are non-conventional, there may be several IRRs which decision-
makers must be aware of to avoid making the wrong decision.
(g) The NPV method is superior for ranking mutually exclusive projects in order of
attractiveness.
(h) The reinvestment assumption underlying the IRR method cannot be substantiated.
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(i) When discount rates are expected to differ over the life of the project, such
variations can be incorporated easily into NPV calculations, but not into IRR calculations.
(j) Despite the advantages of the NPV method over the IRR method, the IRR method is widely
used in practice.
6.9 Assessment of DCF methods of project appraisal

6.9.1 Advantages of DCF methods
DCF is a capital appraisal technique that is based on a concept known as the time value of money:
the concept that $1 received today is not equal to $1 received in the future. Given the choice
between receiving $100 today and $100 in one year's time, most people would opt to receive
$100 today because they could spend it or invest it to earn interest. If the interest rate was 10%, you
could invest $100 today and it would be worth ($100  1.10) = $110 in one year's time.
There are, however, other reasons why a present $1 is worth more than a future $1.
(a) Uncertainty. Although there might be a promise of money to come in the future, it can never
be certain that the money will be received until it has actually been paid.
(b) Inflation. Inflation also means $1 now is worth more than $1 in the future because of
inflation. The time value of money concept applies even if there is zero inflation but inflation
obviously increases the discrepancy in value between monies received at different times.
Taking account of the time value of money (by discounting) is one of the principal advantages of the
DCF appraisal method. Other advantages are as follows.
 The method uses all relevant cash flows relating to the project.
 It allows for the timing of the cash flows.
 There are universally accepted methods of calculating the NPV and the IRR.
6.9.2 Problems with DCF methods

Although DCF methods are theoretically the best methods of investment appraisal, you should be
aware of their limitations.
(a) DCF methods use future cash flows that may be difficult to forecast. Although other
methods use these as well, arguably the problem is greater with DCF methods that take cash
flows into the longer term.
(b) The basic decision rule, accept all projects with a positive NPV, will not apply when the
capital available for investment is rationed.
(c) The cost of capital used in DCF calculations may be difficult to estimate.
(d) The cost of capital may change over the life of the investment.
6.10 The use of appraisal methods in practice

One reason for the failure of many businesses to use NPV is that its (sometimes long-term) nature may
conflict with judgements on a business that are concerned with its (short-term) profits. Managers'
remuneration may depend on the level of annual profits, and they may thus be unwilling to risk
large initial expenditure on a project that only offers good returns in the significantly uncertain long
term.
In addition, the NPV method is based on the assumption that businesses seek to maximise the
wealth of their shareholders. This may conflict with the interests of other stakeholders. Public
sector organisations will be concerned with the social opportunity costs.
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Even when wealth maximisation is the key objective, there may be factors that help maximise
wealth but cannot be quantified for NPV purposes, for example investment in a loss-making project
for strategic reasons such as obtaining an initial share in an important market.
7 Key financial ratios

Financial ratios are a useful tool to gain extra understanding of a set of financial statements.
Commonly used ratios include:
Efficiency ratios
Revenue
Net asset turnover =
TALCL
TALCL = Total assets less current liabilities, representing the net assets turned over. Can also be
calculated as debt + equity.
Cost of sales Inventories

Inventory turnover/days = or  365 days
Inventories Cost of sales
Trade receivables
Receivables collection period =  365 days
Credit turnover
Gearing ratios
Interest - bearing debt
Debt/equity = %
Equity
Interest - bearing debt

Debt/ (debt + equity) = %
Interest bearing debt + Equity
PBIT
Interest cover =
Interest payable
Liquidity ratios such as current ratio and quick ratio
Current assets
Current ratio =
Current liabilities
Current assets – inventories
Quick ratio (or acid test) =
Current liabilities
Profitability ratios
PBIT
Return on capital employed (ROCE) = %
Debt + Equity
Gross profit
Gross profit margin = %
Revenue
PBIT
Operating profit margin = %
Revenue
Investment ratios such as dividend yield, earnings per share and dividend cover
Dividend per share
Dividend yield = %
Mid market price (MMP)
EPS
Dividend cover =
Dividend per share
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MMP
P/E ratio =
EPS
The interrelationship of ratios can be understood using tools such as a "ratio pyramid":
Return on equity
Return on investment × Total assets ÷ equity
Return on sales × Asset turnover

(profit margin)
Net income ÷ Sales Sales ÷ Total assets
Sales – Total costs Non-current + Current

assets assets
In practice, care must be taken when interpreting ratios. Financial data may be very out-of-date,
particularly if a business has changed significantly, they may be distorted by inflation, accounting
policies or timing issues (eg large sale made just before year end, resulting in high receivables).
It is also hard to identify an 'ideal' ratio, which is why it is important to look at trends. Ratios can be
compared between organisations but in practice it is very difficult to identify companies that are
similar enough to be really comparable.
8 Variances
Sales variances
Sales volume variance is the difference between the original and flexed budget profit figures.
This is an important variance because losing sales generally means losing profit as well. If it has the
effect of making profit lower than budgeted, it is adverse; if it makes profit higher than budgeted, it
is favourable.
Sales price variance is the difference between actual sales revenue and actual volume at the
standard sales price. Higher sales prices (if all else remains constant) means an increase in profit, or
reduction in loss.
Materials variances
Total direct materials variance is the difference between the actual and direct materials cost
and the direct materials cost according to the flexed budget. If the actual material cost is higher than
budget, it has an adverse effect on profit.
Direct materials usage variance is the difference between actual usage and budgeted usage
for the actual volume of output, multiplied by the standard materials cost. If actual usage is higher
than budgeted usage, then there will be an adverse effect on profit.
Direct materials price variance is the difference between actual materials cost and the actual
usage multiplied by the standard materials cost. Again, if actual costs are higher than those
budgeted, there will be an adverse effect on profit.
Labour variances
Total direct labour variance is the difference between the actual direct labour cost and the
direct labour cost according to the flexed budget. If more is spent on labour than was budgeted,
there will be an adverse effect on profit.
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Direct labour efficiency variance is the difference between the actual labour time and
budgeted time, for the actual volume of output, multiplied by the standard labour rate. It looks at the
actual versus the budgeted number of hours used to produce the output. If actual time is greater than
budgeted time, the effect on the profit will be adverse. The faster people work, the more profit can be
made. This is only likely to hold true if the quality of the output is not reduced by working faster.
Direct labour rate variance is the difference between the actual labour cost and the actual
labour time multiplied by the standard labour rate. This means it compares the actual cost of the
hours worked against the anticipated cost based on a standard hour. Where actual costs exceed the
standard, profit will be adversely affected.
Fixed overhead variances
Fixed production overhead total variance is the difference between the actual and budgeted
spending on fixed overheads. Higher than budgeted overheads lead to less profit, so have an
adverse effect.
Variances can occur for various reasons and it is important not to make assumptions about them. For
example, an adverse variance in materials price might be due to:
 The buying department negotiating badly
 Higher quality material being used
 A general increase in prices
 Failure of a supplier, with the only available replacement being more expensive
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Applications of IT
Essential reading
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1 Computerised accounting process controls
1.1 Use of computerised accounting processes
Today, most organisations operate computerised accounting processes, replacing manual accounting
systems.
In many ways, the use of computerised accounting systems has helped to reduce the scope for
human error in the processing of data. Accounting software correctly installed and set up should
ensure that all data input follows a standardised set of rules to ensure that entries of the same type
are treated in the same manner. For example, a good system should ensure that entries posted to the
program are sent to the correct accounts, making it impossible to post a one-sided entry, ie only
posting the debits and failing to post the credits.
1.2 Chart of accounts

Establishing the rules a system will follow is of paramount importance if it is to work effectively.
When the software is first installed, a chart of accounts should be set up to define how each
accounting transaction will be treated. The aim is to ensure that assets, liabilities, revenue and
expenditure are segregated. The chart of accounts will list the different account names which will
feed through to the financial statements. When entries are posted to the system, the value will be
posted to the respective code – for example, the rent and rates code. When the chart of accounts is
set up it is important that consideration is given to the business's information and reporting
requirements from the accounting system.
1.3 Controlling the chart of accounts

Once established, ensuring that there are adequate controls over the chart of accounts is critical. The
organisation needs to have in place control mechanisms to ensure that new account codes are not
added or deleted by users without the approved level of authority to make such amendments.
Management should conduct regular reviews of the chart (on an annual basis) to ensure that it still
covers the organisation's needs.
1.4 Verifying the rules are working

To ensure that the accounting software posting rules are working effectively, management should
conduct system tests. You should be familiar with the use of test data as a test of control from your
earlier auditing studies.
Test data involves entering data (eg a sample of transactions) into an entity's computer system and
comparing the results obtained with pre-determined results. Test transactions are selected from
previously processed transactions or are created to test specific processing characteristics of a
computer system. Test data can be used to check that controls which prevent the processing of invalid
data are working in a number of ways, including:
 Entering data with non-existent customer codes
 Submitting unrealistic amounts into the system
 Posting transactions which break customer credit limits
In each case, provided the controls are working correctly such data will not be accepted.
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E-business
Essential reading
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1 Benefits and risks of e-procurement
1.1 Benefits
Benefits of e-procurement include
Cost reduction Might include process efficiencies, reduction in the actual cost of goods
and services, and reduced purchasing agent overheads
Reduced inventory Knowing product numbers, bid prices and contact points can help
levels businesses close a deal while other suppliers are struggling to gather
their relevant data.
Control The ability to control parts inventories more effectively
Wider choice of In theory, resources can be sourced from suppliers anywhere in the
supplier world, perhaps at much lower prices than could be obtained if the
organisation only considered local suppliers.
Improved Moving to e-sourcing speeds up the sourcing process dramatically, but

manufacturing the increased efficiency and speed can also put the rest of a supply
cycles chain in chaos if it is not prepared to step up its performance to meet the
increased speed in the purchasing link of the chain.
Intangible benefits Staff are able to concentrate on their prime function and there is
financial transparency and accountability.
Benefits to suppliers Reduction in ordering and processing costs, reduced paperwork,

improved cash flow and reduced cost of credit control
1.2 Risks
However, e-procurement also carries risks
(a) Control. If anyone can order goods from anywhere, there is a major risk that unauthorised
purchases will be made. There is also an increased likelihood that purchases will be made
from suppliers who cannot deliver the required quality (or cannot deliver at all).
(b) Organisational risk. In moving to an e-procurement tool, an adopting company will make
a substantial investment in the software, but for any number of reasons, the implementation
may never take flight. Users may not adapt to it well. Suppliers may reject the technology or
new process. Technical issues may stall the implementation. Also, managing the internal
processes around the changeover is challenging.
(c) Data security. Putting a company's spending online means dealing with the security issues
that come with any internet-related deployment. This brings up questions like: Who has access
to our data? Where is it stored? How is it protected? What happens if we change providers?
Do we get our data back? Do they sell spending data to our competitors?
(d) Management loses spending control. There is a perceived risk that moving to
e-procurement will put spending decisions in the wrong hands internally and management will
lose decision-making control over who spends how much on what.
(e) Supply chain problems. Moving to e-sourcing speeds up the sourcing process
dramatically but the increased efficiency and speed can also destabilise the rest of a supply
chain if it is not able to step up its performance to meet the increased speed in the purchasing
link of the chain.
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2 Ecosystems and digital business platforms

2.1 Mutuality and orchestration
Mutuality and orchestration are fundamental components of ecosystems that emphasise the
importance of co-ordination between different participants.
Mutuality: ‘An enhanced level of co-ordination with formally or informally shared ideals, standards
Key term
or goals.’ (Davidson et al, 2014: p.5).
Orchestration: ‘The co-ordination, arrangement and management of complex environments.’
(Davidson et al, 2014: p.6).
Mutuality refers to the extent of closer co-ordination between participants operating in an

environment in pursuit of a common goal.
Real world examples
Mutuality
The activities of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), a not-for-profit organisation, provide a useful
example of increasing levels of mutuality. According to the GFSI’s own website it ‘brings together key
actors of the food industry to collaboratively drive continuous improvement in food safety
management systems around the world.’ (Global Food Safety Initiative, 2019).
As Kelly (2015) notes the work of the GFSI involves bringing together the ‘world’s largest food
producers, distributors, and retailers. […] Some of its members compete ferociously in their markets,
but also collaborate aggressively to ensure the certification, shared standards, superior monitoring,
and shared learning and leading practices that together create a safer food industry and boost
consumer confidence.’ (Kelly, 2015). As this example illustrates the work of the GFSI is directed
towards the pursuit of a common goal, being the provision of safe food for consumers around the
world. A goal which benefits all participants in global food production.
Orchestration in an ecosystem may be established on an informal or formal basis among

participants. Where the activities undertaken by those participants in an ecosystem are formally co-
ordinated by another participant, this party is known as the ecosystem orchestrator. The role of the
orchestrator will not always be performed by a commercial entity in the ecosystem, ie a supplier or
manufacturer of goods, but may in fact be performed by a government body or regulator that
requires participants to conform to certain regulations.
Real world examples
Orchestration
A travel company that creates individualised holidays for customers would orchestrate the
relationships between the various parties involved in delivering the customer experience. This would
involve co-ordinating the efforts of the hotel chains and airlines involved to ensure that the customer
receives the best possible experience.
2.2 Opportunities presented by ecosystem environments: co-

operation and collaboration
The focus on co-operation and collaboration in ecosystem environments presents participants with
opportunities to enhance their existing product and service offerings, and to improve their internal
capabilities. Co-operation in ecosystems is intended to facilitate the sharing of ideas, with
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participants within the ecosystem learning from one another in terms of improving their own
processes in the delivery of products or services. Greater collaboration between ecosystem
participants is intended to fuel creativity and innovation, thereby helping to develop the
competences, resources, and capabilities of participants.
Collaboration should help participants to ensure that the products and services they provide remain
relevant to the needs of customers.
2.3 Digital business platforms

Digital business platforms are intrinsically linked to the ecosystem concept. Digital business platforms
facilitate the creation of ecosystem environments as they provide a virtual space in which participants
can interact with one another. Digital business platforms are having a disruptive impact on traditional
industries and markets as they displace traditional organisations and ways of operating.
A number of well-known digital business platforms exist which allow participants to exchange a
range of different products and services. As the following real-world example illustrates the types of
products and services exchanged in ecosystem environments are the same as those traded in a
traditional market setting. In essence anything can be exchanged in an ecosystem.
Real world examples
eBay
Online auction website eBay is a digital business platform which brings together millions of buyers
and sellers from around the world. eBay allows both individuals and organisations to enter into
transactions to buy and sell virtually anything.
Alibaba
Alibaba connects suppliers with buyers of products around the world. Yueh (2013) explains that
Alibaba is effectively a ‘combination of eBay and Amazon. It is an online company with multiple
revenue streams that are more conventional than a social network site. Alibaba is a B2B, or business-
to-business, website. It links up businesses around the world looking for suppliers. For instance, it
links wholesalers to distributors around the world, from the UK to China to the US.’ Alibaba allows
buyers to collaborate and work directly with manufacturers to design and develop products as
required.
Uber and Airbnb
Uber and Airbnb both operate digital business platforms which help to match the differing needs of
participants in their respective ecosystem environments. Participants in need of transportation or
accommodation services are able to book a taxi or rent a property using each company’s respective
platform. This benefits the owners of assets (vehicles or buildings) which might otherwise have been
under-utilised as it provides them with the opportunity to generate income.
In this regard Uber and Airbnb are facilitators of exchanges in the ecosystem as opposed to
providers of such services. Most digital business platform providers require participants to pay fees to
access the platform.
2.4 Interaction between digital business platforms and the ecosystem

It is important to recognise that digital business platforms such as eBay and Amazon do not
necessarily encompass the entire ecosystem as some participants may exist outside of the platform.
For example, a retailer may sell goods and services to an end customer via a platform such as eBay
or Amazon, but other participants will exist in the broader ecosystem environment and are critical in
enabling the retailer/customer transaction to take place.
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Other participants in this example might include:

 The company which designed and manufactured the product sold by the retailer
 The government authority which sets and regulates the safety standards of products produced
by the manufacturer
 Companies such as PayPal which facilitate the movement of funds between participants to pay
for goods and services rendered
 The courier firm responsible for getting the end product that is sold by the retailer through the
platform to the end customer
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602
Enabling success and
strategic change
Essential reading
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1 Team-based and project-based structures
1.1 The team-based structure
A team-based structure extends the matrix structure's use of both vertical functional links and
horizontal, activity-based ones by utilising cross-functional teams (Johnson et al, 2017). Business
processes are often used as the basis of organisation, with each team being responsible for the
processes relating to an aspect of the business. Thus, a purchasing team might contain procurement
specialists, design and production engineers and marketing specialists in order to ensure that
outsourced sub-assemblies are properly specified, and contribute to brand values and are promptly
delivered at the right price.
1.2 The project-based structure

The project-based structure is similar to the team-based structure except that projects, by definition,
have a finite life and so, therefore, do the project teams dealing with them (Johnson et al, 2017).
This approach is very flexible and is easy to use as an adjunct to more traditional organisational
forms. Management of projects is a well-established discipline with its own techniques. It requires
clear project definition, if control is to be effective; and a comprehensive project review, if longer-
term learning is to take place.
2 Collaborative working between organisations and their

customers
2.1 Rise collaborative working
Buchanan and Huczynski (2010) note that organisations have collaborated with their customers for
many years through the use of feedback questionnaires and customer satisfaction surveys. In recent
times, many large organisations have created user contribution systems as a means of
extracting and collating customer contributions.
New technologies such as Web 2.0 have enabled the widespread use of user contribution systems.
People are now able to freely interact with each other and organisations by passing on information
or expressing their opinions on a company's latest products and services via websites and online
forums. Interaction between the individual and the company may be of a behavioural nature, as an
individual's purchasing behaviour can be tracked.
User contribution systems provide organisations with the opportunity to better understand customers
and their needs. Organisations can use this information to their advantage by producing enhanced
products and services, which may lead to reduced costs and help to attract further customers. This
customer acquisition can be achieved through the use of tailored marketing messages, offering
discounts on certain purchases and providing purchase recommendations.
2.2 Crowdsourcing
Buchanan and Huczynski (2010) highlight that crowdsourcing involves obtaining information from
a large group of people. News agencies often ask individuals to phone in when they are aware of
breaking news stories or even traffic jams on the road. Such information can then be used to inform
and help other users.
In a commercial context, large companies are able to use internet technologies to ask online users for
creative ideas on a particular matter or to provide information which the organisation can then use to
solve particular problems.
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Real world example

Computer giant IBM undertakes regular collaborative exercises to allow employees and external
contributors to share their thoughts to help the company address significant challenges. This exercise
is known as an online 'jam' session. In 2016, IBM's jam events webpage offered the following
explanation of these sessions:
'An IBM jam is a guided online discussion with thousands of trusted collaborators from which we
extract insights, discoveries and decisions. Since 2001, IBM has used jams to involve its more-than
400,000 employees around the world in far-reaching exploration and problem solving. ValueJam in
2003 gave IBM's workforce the opportunity to redefine the core IBM values for the first time in nearly
100 years. During IBM's 2006 Innovation Jam, IBM brought together more than 150,000 people
from 104 countries and 67 companies. As a result, ten new IBM businesses were launched with seed
investment totalling $100m' (IBM, 2016).
The IBM jam events website contained a recording of an interview with Liam Cleaver (Vice President
of the IBM social insight group and jam program office) in which he provided further insight into
IBM's jam sessions:
'Jams are online collaborative discussions, they serve as a spark, a catalyst for change within an
organisation. It is a way to really harness the creativity and innovation of a group of people on a
very specific topic, or on a set of specific topics, so that it is not a free for all, but a very focused
conversation for a practical outcome. Innovation Jam 2006 and 2008 helped to redefine the markets
and products that IBM has gone into' (Cleaver, 2016).
Cleaver (2016) describes IBM's Value Jam as 'a watershed event' for the company, recognising that
'it truly redefined the relationship between employees and management, and how to interact with
one another in an online fashion, and how to connect IBMers with one another to create our values
not only for IBMers but with IBMers.'
Value Jam enabled IBM to tap into the natural, creativity and passion that people have about the
company.
During the interview, Cleaver (2016) highlights how the 'jam' concept is now being used in the
public sector. Interestingly, IBM undertook a jam project with Coventry city council in the UK called
'CovJam'. Jam sessions were run by the city council and invited residents to make suggestions on
ways to improve their city.
2.3 Crowdsourcing and user contribution systems

Crowdsourcing can be considered to be distinct from user contribution systems as an organisation
decides which contributions it will use. As illustrated above, IBM use the 'jam' sessions as a sounding
board for ideas and suggestions, with only those deemed most appropriate taken forward for
development.
2.4 Drawbacks of crowdsourcing

2.4.1 Lack of credibility
The use of free information does have its drawbacks − the use of community-generated contributions
are likely to lack the credibility which would have been obtained had input been received from paid
professionals with expertise in a particular field. Crowdsourcing may not be appropriate when
higher risk issues are debated (Buchanan and Huczynski, 2010).
2.4.2 Collaborators do not have to collaborate
This is an important issue for companies which use the suggestions of others. Collaborators engage
of their own free will, meaning that they have no obligation to continue providing contributions in the
future (Buchanan and Huczynski, 2010).
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3 Succession planning
3.1 Importance of succession planning
Succession planning is closely linked to the topic of talent management.
Succession planning is undertaken in order to ensure continuity in the organisation's leadership.
It involves the systematic identification, assessment and development of managerial talent at all
levels. Succession planning should be an integral part of the HR plan and should support the
organisation's chosen strategy. The developed plan should also be compatible with any changes that
are foreseen in the way the organisation operates. It is likely that strategic objectives will only be
obtained if management development proceeds in step with the evolution of the organisation.
3.2 Benefits of succession planning

(a) The development of managers at all levels is likely to be improved if it takes place within the
context of a succession plan. Such a plan gives focus to management development by
suggesting objectives that are directly relevant to the organisation's needs.
(b) Continuity of leadership is more likely, with fewer dislocating changes of approach and
policy.
(c) Assessment of managerial talent is improved by the establishment of relevant criteria.
3.3 Features of successful succession planning

(a) The plan should focus on future requirements, particularly in terms of strategy and culture.
(b) The plan should be driven by top management. Line management also have important
contributions to make. It is important that it is not seen as a HR responsibility.
(c) Management development is as important as assessment and selection.
(d) Assessment should be objective and preferably involve more than one assessor for each
manager assessed.
(e) Succession planning will work best if it aims to identify and develop a leadership cadre rather
than merely to establish a queue for top positions. A pool of talent and ability is a flexible
asset for the organisation.
4 Creating a digital workforce

To survive the digital revolution and capitalise on the opportunities that it presents, organisations
need to give consideration to how they will develop their workforce.
4.1 Seven steps

The World Economic Forum (2016) suggests that the creation of a digital workforce requires
organisations to follow seven steps:
Step 1: Attract and retain
The first step requires the organisation to put in place measures that will help it to attract and then
subsequently retain workers with the digital technology skills that it needs. Attracting suitable staff can
be achieved in part by getting existing employees to use their contacts and online networks to
identify and refer prospective employees to the firm.
Retaining staff requires organisations to not only offer appealing levels of remuneration and reward,
but to also offer employees opportunities to develop their digital skills further. This might be achieved
by offering relevant training on the latest technological developments or through secondments to
different projects. (This is discussed further in Step 3).
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Step 2: Become an employer of choice

The second step requires the organisation to become an employer of choice among those with the
necessary digital skills that it requires. The organisation needs to become a sufficiently attractive
place to work to appeal to individuals that are likely to be younger with strong technological skills
(often referred to as millennials). This requires the organisation to develop clear career development
opportunities and work environments/arrangements to attract suitable workers.
Step 3: Develop digital skills
The third step involves developing the digital skills of the workforce. The organisation can achieve
this by providing workers with training in digital technologies and the techniques needed to be able
to use them.
This might be achieved by bringing in external training providers or by hiring individuals with
specialist expertise in a particular digital field, such as data analytics or the use of Artificial
Intelligence.
Step 4: Develop digital leadership
The fourth step requires the organisation to enhance the skills of its leaders in relation to digital
matters. Here, the focus is on developing a willingness among senior management to embrace new
technologies and different approaches to working.
This can be achieved by hiring individuals with a background in digital projects who are capable of
challenging senior management to try out new ways of doing things.
Step 5: Foster a digital culture
The fifth step requires the development of an organisational culture that is open to digital
disruption and using new technologies. Senior management need to champion the need to embrace
digital change in the work environment by allowing employees to challenge existing ways of doing
things. This may involve permitting staff extra freedom to be creative in developing new processes,
products or services which make use of digital technologies.
Step 6: Harmonise environments
The sixth step requires organisations to consider how to redesign the work environment especially
when the use of new technologies will require employees to work in closer proximity to automated
machinery. This challenge will particularly affect those organisations that operate in manufacturing
environments.
However, it is important to note that service sector environments may also be affected if certain
customer interactions are eventually performed by ‘chatbot’ systems. Increasing levels of automation
heighten the risk that some jobs performed by human workers may no longer be needed. This may
require the organisation to retrain or upskill workers so that they can be retained in different roles.
Step 7: Integrate on- demand workforce
The seventh step requires organisations to make use of on-demand workers (ie third-party
subcontractors) with relevant digital skills which can be brought into the organisation as and when
they are needed.
This approach provides flexibility as it avoids the need to hire workers on an ongoing basis and
helps to support the digital talent in the workforce. Organisations looking to bring in on-demand
workers are increasingly using digital business platforms which match the needs of the organisation,
ie matching the need for a specialist in computer science with freelance individuals with the required
skills.
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Process redesign
Essential reading
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1 Business process re-engineering (BPR)
1.1 What is BPR?
Business process re-engineering (BPR) involves fundamental changes in the way an organisation
functions. For example, processes which were developed in a paper-intensive processing
environment may not be suitable for an environment which is underpinned by IT.
1.2 Why focus on processes?

Many organisations recognise that value is delivered through processes, but still define
themselves in terms of their functional roles. To properly harness the resources within an organisation,
a clear agreement of the management and implementation of processes is needed. Without this
focus on processes:
(a) It is unclear how value is achieved or can continue to be achieved.
(b) The effects of change on the operation of the organisation are hard to predict.
(c) There is no basis to achieve consistent organisational improvement.
(d) Knowledge is lost as people move around or out of the organisation.
(e) Cross-functional interaction is not encouraged.
(f) It is difficult to align the strategy of an organisation with the people, systems or
resources through which that strategy will be accomplished.
Business process re-engineering is the 'fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of

Key term
The key words here are 'fundamental', 'radical', 'dramatic' and 'process'.
(a) Fundamental and radical indicate that BPR assumes nothing: it starts by asking basic
questions such as, 'Why do we do what we do?' (Hammer and Champy, 2001: p.35),
without making any assumptions or looking back to what has always been done in the past.
(b) 'Dramatic' means that BPR should achieve 'quantum leaps in performance' (Hammer and
Champy, 2001: p.36), not just marginal, incremental improvements.
(c) 'Process' was considered earlier in the chapter.
BPR is not automation or rationalisation. Automation is the use of computerised working methods
to speed up the performance of existing tasks. Rationalisation is the streamlining of operating
procedures to eliminate obvious inefficiencies. Rationalisation usually involves automation.
2 Lean production
2.1 Beginnings of lean production
Lean production or 'the Toyota system' have been widely adopted and developed in an attempt
to achieve Japanese levels of productivity and quality. Bratton (1992) suggests that three notable
elements of the Japanese production model:
• Flexible manufacturing
• Minimisation of waste
• Quality methods
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2.2 Flexible manufacturing

Flexibility of manufacturing means the ability to produce relatively small batches of a range of
products without incurring excessive set-up costs. The principal features of the Japanese method of
achieving this are multi-skilled workers and careful shop floor layout that makes a range of
machinery and equipment available to each of them. Machine cells are a common feature of this
approach. This approach stands in strong contrast to both the principles of Scientific Management
and the assembly line layout; it inevitably brings a high degree of job enrichment through the
variety of work and the skills needed to perform it.
2.3 Quality methods

Japanese manufacturers paid close attention to statistical quality control methods very early in that
country's post-1945 recovery. One of the results of this focus was the development of the total
quality approach. This puts quality at the heart of the manufacturing process by abolishing
inspection as an independent function and separate process within the organisation and making
production workers responsible for the quality of their own output. This feature, together with
participation in activities aimed at achieving continuous improvement, also produces job
enrichment.
2.4 Minimisation of waste

Incorporating quality responsibility into production work is also an example of the Japanese
approach to waste. Separate inspection processes (and the rework they lead to) add no value,
therefore they are abolished. The just-in-time philosophy is a further example. Inventories of
materials, components and work-in-progress must be financed with capital that could be better
employed earning a return elsewhere. Inventories are therefore cut to an absolute minimum and
capital released. To achieve this, Bratton (1992) highlights the use of the kanban system. A kanban
is a signal calling for productive effort: a series of kanbans flows back from the final customer
through all the various manufacturing and logistic stages of production. As a result, production is
pulled through the factory by demand, not pushed by production schedule. This again places
enhanced responsibility on individuals and work groups to respond appropriately. It is also a
good illustration of one application of e-business methods – the use of electronic data interchange to
link stages in the value network.
3 Workflow systems
Harmon (2014) highlights the use of workflow systems in automating existing manual processes.
The first software-based workflow systems appeared in the early 1990s. Harmon (2014) notes
that they were essentially systems for the automation of document flows and were based on
electronic copies of scanned original documents. The early systems had no potential for
improvements to major organisation processes.
Subsequently, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems were developed to provide a menu
of communication and control links between software application packages. ERP worked best
in well-understood applications such as accounting and inventory management. Like the original
workflow systems, ERP systems are essentially a form of automation of existing processes and
therefore qualitatively different from BPR, as discussed above.
4 Process diagram
4.1 Process diagram
This example illustrates how process diagrams can be used in relation to process redesign. Make-It is
a manufacturing company.
Imagine that one of the items Make-It makes is a wooden chair, with a cushioned seat.
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The production of the chair involves a number of processes. It starts with requisitioning materials from
inventory, and then preparing them. After that the chair is assembled, and then finished (which
includes being polished).
We can show the construction process as a process diagram:
Chair construction process diagram
Get raw Wood to carpenter

Store manager materials Fabric to upholsterer Reject
Receive raw Accept Make chair Send to

Carpenter materials Inspect frame upholsterer
Receive raw Accept Receive Assemble Polish and

Upholsterer materials
Inspect Make seat
chair frame chair finish
Inspect Accept item

Quality Inspector Reject
Reject item
Once the diagram is complete, we can see who is responsible for what areas of the process, and
whether there are any aspects of it which can be improved. For example:
 Are there any elements of duplication or redundancy?
 Are there any gaps or disconnects?
 Are there any activities which do not add value?
In this case, we have assumed that the carpentry work involved in carving the wood is a specialised
job, so the carpenter should not also be assembling the chair. Therefore, there is no duplication as a
result of having both a carpenter and an upholsterer involved in the process.
However, there is potential redundancy in the raw material inspection. If the storeroom manager
inspected the materials before giving them to the carpenter and the upholsterer, then they could
concentrate on their core activities of using the materials to make a chair.
There are also some potential issues in the order of the construction process. If the upholsterer makes
the seat cushion before receiving the chair frame from the carpenter, there is a risk that the size may
not be right. (There is no indication that all the chairs are made to the same size, or that the
carpenter tells the upholsterer the exact dimensions of the chair being made.) Therefore, there is
potentially a disconnection between the two processes, and we suggest this could be resolved by the
upholsterer waiting until the carpenter has finished the chair frame before making the seat cushion.
You might also question whether the final quality inspection adds value, but we have assumed it
does. The customer will only want to pay for the chair if it is well-built, and the quality inspection
ensures this.
The diagram can now be redrawn to show the proposed changes:
Revised chair construction process diagram
Reject
Get raw Accept Wood to carpenter

Store manager materials Inspect Fabric to upholsterer
Receive raw Make chair Send to

Carpenter materials frame upholsterer
Receive raw Receive Make Assemble Polish and

Upholsterer materials chair frame seat chair finish
Inspect Accept item

Quality Inspector
Reject item
However, note that before implementing these changes, management should discuss them with all the
people involved to make sure there are not any reasons which would mean the changes are not
suitable or feasible.
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Project management
Essential reading
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1 Building the business case
The business case is a key document which is initially used to secure funding for a project, then
revisited and revised during the life of the project to ensure the project remains on track and the
identified benefits are realised.
1.1 Purpose of a business case

The purpose of a business case is to:
 Secure funding for significant financial investment
 Provide information to decide whether or not to make the financial investment
 Enable the organisation to plan, manage and successfully complete the project so that the
benefits which underpin the rationale for both the investment and the changes are achieved
 Provide, where appropriate, arguments that define how the project will contribute to
enhancing existing capabilities or create new ones
 Help ensure the effective co-ordination and management of the activities and resources
involved
 Ensure the investment is understood from the viewpoints of both what benefits can be expected
and how feasible it is to achieve those benefits, in comparison with alternative uses of funds
and resources
The business case is not a one-off process; it will be continually developed and revised throughout
the life of the project.
1.2 Structure of a business case

Business cases vary greatly in size depending on the preferences of the organisation in question.
While some prefer large documents, backed up with supporting evidence, documentation,
calculations and analysis, others prefer short, summarised business cases. Regardless of their size
and format, they generally contain the same key elements.
 Introduction
 Management summary
 Description of the current situation
 Options considered
 Analysis of costs and benefits
 Investment appraisal
 Impact assessment
 Risk assessment
 Recommendations
 Appendices and supporting information
1.2.1 Introduction
The introduction defines the scope and objectives of the change and provides the necessary
background information to illustrate why the business case is being put forward. It may also describe
the methods used in developing the business case and thank key contributors to the study.
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1.2.2 Management summary

This is the last piece of the business case to be prepared. It summarises the main points in only a few
paragraphs. It should be carefully worded as it may be the only part of the business case which is
actually read in detail by senior decision makers. It should cover:
 What the study was about
 What was discovered about the issues under consideration
 Details of the options considered and the main merits and drawbacks of each
 A clear statement of the recommendation being made and the decision required
1.2.3 Description of the current situation

This section details what is happening at the moment, and where the problems and opportunities lie.
This section should be as short as possible, as senior managers can become frustrated at reading
large amounts of text, only to discover what they already knew! The exception is where the real
problems are not in line with the current understanding of management, in which case more detailed
explanation can be provided.
1.2.4 Options considered

This briefly details what options were considered and why they were rejected, followed by a full
description of the recommended solution.
1.2.5 Analysis of costs and benefits

This section should provide the benefits first, followed by the costs. This is to help the reader
appreciate the benefits before they are faced with the costs in achieving them.
1.2.6 Investment appraisal

Once the costs and benefits have been assessed, they must be presented in a way that allows the
reader to see whether, and when, the project will pay for itself.
1.2.7 Impact assessment

Any impacts the project may have on the organisation, in addition to the cost, should be described
here. For example, changes may need to be made to the organisational structure, or specialist staff
may need to be recruited.
All changes such as these should be clearly described, along with details of any costs these changes
will incur.
1.2.8 Risk assessment

Strong business cases clearly identify the risks involved and illustrate the suitable countermeasures
available. For every risk, the following should be stated.
 Description of the cause of the risk and its impact
 Impact assessment of the scale of the damage that would be suffered, should the risk event
occur
 Probability of how likely that risk is to occur
 Countermeasures describing how the likelihood of the risk occurring can be reduced, how
to lessen its impact if it occurs, and how the risk can be transferred (eg insurance)
 Ownership of the risk (the individual responsible for managing that risk should be defined)
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1.2.9 Recommendations
This section should summarise the business case and clearly state the decisions that senior
management are being asked to take.
1.2.10 Appendices and supporting information

Detailed information should be put into appendices to separate out the supporting detail from the
main points included in the body of the case. Statistics, charts and the detailed cost/benefit
calculations may also be put into the appendices.
2 Project benefits
2.1 Observable benefits
The realisation of observable benefits can only be determined by judgement or experience. The
benefit gained from the process is observed. However, if such benefits have been tracked over
time, then it may become possible to measure, rather than just observe, their impact.
Observable benefits are unlikely to be sufficient to argue the business case. However, their impact
should not be devalued or underestimated. They should be included in the business plan, even if
there are plenty of other financial and quantifiable benefits to secure funding.
2.2 Measurable benefits

As their name suggests, measurable benefits relate to areas where performance could be measured.
The impact of the improvement, however, cannot yet be quantified. This will only be possible after
the improvement has been put in place and the appropriate measurements taken. Performance is
measured, both before and after the implementation, and the improvement can then be attributed to
the investment. Process improvement benefits are often measurable benefits.
It is often necessary with such benefits to have more than one measure in order to determine if the
benefit has been fully realised. These measures should be relevant to both the measure itself and the
changes needed to realise it. This helps to ensure that the improvement can be directly attributable to
the investment.
2.3 Quantifying benefits

A big challenge when defining benefits for inclusion in the business plan is to find a way of
quantifying the benefits.
Quantifiable benefits differ from measurable benefits because it is possible to quantify the degree of
improvement before the change is actually made.
Many investment cases are criticised for being unable to provide sufficient evidence to back up the
assumptions made to quantify the benefits listed in their business case. If the quantification cannot be
verified, then any financial figure placed on this benefit will be meaningless. This is therefore the
most crucial stage in building a sound economic case for investment. Ward and Daniel (2006)
suggest five approaches to quantifying benefits.
1 Evidence. Relevant detailed evidence may be obtained from existing systems over an
appropriate period of time. This method is particularly useful when the change requires
stopping the carrying out of a certain process.
2 Modelling and simulating can be carried out using computer software to identify the level
of performance that could be achieved if particular new processes are adopted, providing a
basis for estimates for what could be achieved in the specific situation under review.
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3 Benchmarking. Benefits can be quantified by evaluating the changes in relation to best

practices in the industry, or in similar processes in different industries. This is a helpful
technique for quantifying the effects of process improvement initiatives but less helpful when
attempting to quantify the benefits of innovations.
4 Reference sites are examples of the change being made or of the technology being used in
other organisations or industries. Unless it is a first-of-its-kind innovation, there should be a
reference site available, often from the suppliers of the technology who will be keen to
demonstrate its prior success. Once a relevant implementation has been identified, it will be
necessary to determine:
 How the technology has been deployed
 What changes had to be made in order to obtain the required improvement in
performance
 The starting point (in performance terms) of the reference organisation in order to
determine how much of their achievement is relevant and feasible for the current
organisation
5 Pilot implementations can be used, both to test technology and to evaluate potential
benefits from new systems and ways of working. This method is necessary where proof of the
benefit is required. The process is tested on a small scale and the benefits are recorded, then
extrapolated to provide the total expected benefit. Ideally, a comparable control group,
working in the old way, will be monitored simultaneously to provide a baseline.
2.4 Financial benefits

A business case should aim to express as many of the benefits as possible in financial terms in order
for the expected return of the investment to be calculated. However, over-reliance on financial
benefits will limit the benefits included because, as we have seen, not all benefits can be reliably
quantified and hence no reliable financial value can be attached to it.
Quantifiable benefits can be converted to financial benefits by applying a financial formula (such as
cost or price) to that benefit. However some quantified benefits, such as increased productivity, can
be difficult to convert to a financial benefit, especially if the improved productivity arises from a
saving in staff time. This is because the value placed on such benefits can be very subjective and
varies greatly across organisations.
Financial benefits are only realisable through reductions in cost, avoidance of known future costs or
costs associated with unacceptable risks, increases in revenue, or avoidance of revenue loss.
Generally, reductions in costs are easier to identify, quantify and prove than increases in revenue.
However, converting the benefit to a financial benefit will be relatively straightforward, assuming the
benefits were appropriately quantified based on sound assumptions and evidence.
3 Critical path analysis (CPA)

3.1 How CPA works
CPA is quite a simple technique. The events and activities making up the whole project are
represented in the form of a diagram. Drawing the diagram or chart involves the following steps.
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Step 1 Estimating the time needed to complete each individual activity or task that makes up a
part of the project.
Step 2 Sorting out what activities must be done one after another, and which can be done at
the same time, if required.
Step 3 Representing these in a network diagram.
Step 4 Estimating the critical path, which is the longest sequence of consecutive activities
through the network.
The duration of the whole project will be fixed by the time taken to complete the longest path through
the network. This path is called the critical path and activities on it are known as critical
activities. Activities on the critical path must be started and completed on time, otherwise
the total project time will be extended. The method of finding the critical path is illustrated in the
example below.
Network analysis shows the sequence of tasks and how long they are going to take. The diagrams
are drawn from left to right. To construct a network diagram, you need to know the activities involved
in a project, the expected duration of each and the order (or precedences, or dependencies) of the
activities.
For example:
Activity Expected duration Preceding activity

(days)
A 3 –
B 5 –
C 2 B
D 1 A
E 6 A
F 3 D
G 3 C, E
3.2 Activity-on-arrow presentation

Here is a network diagram showing our example in the form known as activity-on-arrow.
3 D 4
2 3 1
4
9
A
0 3 E F
1 0 6 3
B
5 5 C 9 G 12
3 5 9
6 12
7 2 3
(a) The network is made up of events and activities, represented by circles and arrows
respectively. The diagram is laid out to show the dependencies that exist between the
activities, working from left to right. The first event is the start of the overall sequence of
activities (or the project). Each subsequent event marks the beginning of at least one activity
and, therefore, the end of any activities on which it is dependent. In the network diagram
above, for example, event 5 marks the completion of activities E and C and the start of activity G.
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(b) Events are numbered, working from left to right and the numbers are entered in the
left-hand halves of the event circles. Also by convention, the events are numbered so that the
event at the end of any activity has a higher number than the one at its start.
(c) Activities are lettered, again working from left to right. The duration of each
activity is shown by a number entered against its identifying letter.
(d) When the basic information has been entered onto the network, it becomes possible to
determine the critical path through it: this is the sequence of activities that takes the longest
time and which therefore determines the overall expected duration of the project.
(e) A forward pass is made through the network and the earliest event time (EET) is
entered in the upper-right quadrant of each event circle. This time depends on the duration of
any sequence of activities leading to the event in question and therefore reflects the
dependencies involved. In the diagram, event 5, for example, cannot occur (and activity G
therefore cannot begin) until the sequences A–E and B–C are both complete. B–C takes (5 + 2)
days, while A–E takes (3 + 6) days. The EET for event 5 is therefore 9 days. This is a general
rule: the EET for any event shows the longest duration sequence of activities leading
to it.
(f) When the forward pass is complete, a rearward pass is made, starting at the final event
and working back to establish the latest event time (LET) for each event. The LET for an
event is entered in the lower-right quadrant of its symbol. Like the EET, the LET depends on the
longest sequence of activities involved, but this time it is the sequences of events that follow the
event in question that are relevant, rather than the ones that precede it. In the example network
diagram, event 2 is followed by sequences D–F and E–G with durations (1 + 3) days and (6 +
3) days respectively. If there is to be time to complete the longer sequence E–G, the LET for
event 2 must be 3 days.
(g) When both forward and rearward passes are complete, the critical path is identifiable as
the route through the network that links all the events that have LET equal to EET: there is no
float on this path (see below). The critical path activities are highlighted on the diagram in
some way, such as by using double lines or hash marks.
The critical path in the diagram above is AEG. Note the float time of 5 days for Activity
F. Activity F can begin any time between days 4 and 9, thus giving the project manager a
degree of flexibility.
(h) Float time is the time available for unforeseen circumstances. Total float on an activity is
the time available (earliest start date to latest finish date) less the time needed for the job. If,
for example, a project's earliest start time was day 7 and its latest end time was day 17, and
the job needed 4 days, total float would be:
(17  7)  4 = 6 days
(i) Free float is the delay possible in an activity on the assumption that all preceding activities
start as early as possible and all subsequent activities also start at the earliest time.
(j) Independent float is the delay possible if all preceding jobs have finished as late as
possible, and all succeeding jobs are to start as early as possible.
By definition, there is no float time on the critical path.
4 Data visualisation
The sheer volume of data that is created when managing a project creates a risk that stakeholders
get caught up in minutiae and lose sight of the big picture. One of the benefits of Gantt charts and
network charts is that they summarise data in a clear, succinct manner that is easy for users to
process.
This concept, referred to as data visualisation, is especially useful when managing a project.
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Data visualisation: is the presentation of data in a pictorial or graphical format which is easier
for recipients to process than detailed written data.
Key term
Tufte (2001) identifies four ways in which data visualisation can support project managers. It can:
 Enhance communication – Given a large number of diverse stakeholders within a project,
communication is crucial. Whereas project updates may have been conducted as written or
verbal reports, data visualisation allows for key messages to be communicated clearly and
succinctly. For example, project dashboards can be set up that enable users to track key
metrics in a concise manner. The dashboard may include a measure of progress, milestones
approaching or passed and project spending.
 Boost collaboration – Data visualisation allows teams to work more effectively together.
Processes that would be cumbersome to explain verbally can be presented and developed
visually.
 Improve clarity – Data visualisation is often based on real-time project management software.
This means that stakeholders can track projects more closely and understand changes as they
happen rather than having to wait for a written report from the project manager.
 Interactive – Data visualisation is an interactive experience. Instead of users being the passive
recipients of a standard report, there is an opportunity for them to create their own bespoke
dashboard and to drill down into areas of particular interest to them.
(Data dashboard: Source: Smartsheet, 2019)
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Further question practice
1 Bonar Paint

Communication
It is early 20X7. You work as a consultant advising organisations undergoing significant strategic
change. The senior management team of Bonar Paint has asked for your advice in evaluating the
current position of the organisation and its attractiveness for a management buyout.
Bonar Paint is a medium-sized paint manufacturer set up by two brothers, Jim and Bill Bonar. The
company is based in Gaulle, a developed country. Bonar Paint's turnover has been static for some
years and both brothers now want to retire from the business. The brothers have created a loyal
workforce and feel that this loyalty will be strengthened if they sell the business to the three senior
managers: Roy Crawford, production manager; Tony Edmunds, sales and marketing manager; and
Vernon Smith, chief accountant.
The three managers recognise that this is a major opportunity for them, but one that will involve the
raising of significant loan and equity finance to buy the business. Equally significant are the equity
stakes of $100,000 from each of them, which the banks require to show their personal commitment.
Required
Explain the advantages and disadvantages of developing a formal mission statement to guide Bonar
Paint's future direction after the buyout and briefly explain the role the mission statement could play
in the strategic planning process. (10 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating communication skills in explaining the
advantages and disadvantages of mission statements. (2 marks)
(Total = 12 marks)
Exhibit 1
Company product range and processes
Bonar Paint makes high quality specialist paints for a range of industrial customers. Its major
customers include car manufacturers and steel makers. Bonar Paint also supplies many smaller
industrial customers. Raw materials are sourced from large chemical companies. Jim Bonar has
chemical expertise and Bill has the complementary sales skills to meet the specialised paint needs of
their demanding customers. Bonar Paint has a good reputation for product innovation and its product
range of over 200 paints include paints able to tolerate harsh and demanding conditions. The small
research and development team, headed by Jim, has an excellent track record of meeting the
technical demands and timescales for developing new high performance paints. New paints are
normally developed in response to customer demand and, consequently, there is no formal process
for new product development.
Replacing Jim's technical skills and leadership will undoubtedly create problems for the buyout team.
The brothers have taken all the key strategic decisions to date, with little reference to the senior
management team. Bonar Paint's product innovation success has come at a price. Its product range
is far too extensive to sustain, with the majority of the paints produced infrequently and in small
batches.
Customers often experience long lead times when ordering a particular paint. This results in higher
than necessary inventory levels, much of which is unlikely to be bought. Paints are supplied directly
to each and every customer. Unfortunately, Bonar Paint's management information systems fail to
show the profitability or otherwise of individual paints and the future demand for the paint. There is
little communication between sales and the research and development part of the business. Roy
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Crawford has consistently argued for the benefits of reducing the product range and increasing the
size of the batches produced. This would improve control over production, and lower costs. Higher
volumes would justify investment in new production technology, and bring labour savings with fewer,
less-skilled, workers needed to operate the new machinery. There has been little recent investment in
new plant or machinery.
Competitive environment
The paint industry in Gaulle is very fragmented – at the top end of the industry are large international
paint manufacturers with significant brands, which supply both industrial and domestic paint
customers. They produce in high volumes and offer a comprehensive but limited range of paints. At
the bottom end of the industry are many small and medium-sized paint makers.
Many have chosen to produce own label paints for the large Do-It-Yourself (DIY) retailers. Specialist
paint makers, such as Bonar Paint, are finding it increasingly difficult to survive, with neither the sales
volumes nor brands to compete. The industry as a whole is seen as mature and lacks innovation.
There is increased environmental concern about the toxic by-products of lead-based paints and the
development of less toxic water-based paints is only slowly emerging. Even more worrying is the
increased usage of plastics and other materials, which do not require painting. The DIY market is
dominated by the same large international paint makers and the market for industrial paint is
vulnerable to the usage of alternative materials and the entry of large overseas paint makers.
Future strategy
Each of the prospective buyout managers has a different view of how Bonar Paint should develop
after the buyout takes place. Roy Crawford sees his proposed reduction of the product range and
increased investment in new production technology as a means of reducing costs, improving margins
and focusing on getting a larger share of the large industrial paint market. Product innovation should
only come when there is a clear and profitable need for a new paint.
Tony Edmunds, however, sees an extension of the customer base as a necessary step in securing the
future of the firm. The product range should be extended to meet the needs of the professional
painters and decorators looking for high performance paints.
Finally, Vernon Smith is anxious that the internal control systems be improved to establish which
paints are, or are not, making money. Investment in new paint ranges or technology should be
resisted until the buyout has been successfully completed. Vernon is also anxious that a fair valuation
is made of the business and that the sales forecasts for 20X7 and 20X8, made by Bill Bonar, are
realistic.
Table 1: Financial information on Bonar Paint ($'000)
20X7 20X8
20X4 20X5 20X6 (estimate) (forecast)
Sales 10,500 10,250 10,000 10,500 11,000
Cost of sales 5,250 5,400 5,500 5,460 5,500
Gross profit 5,250 4,850 4,500 5,040 5,500
Marketing 100 100 100 150 150
Distribution 1,575 1,650 1,700 1,785 1,650
Administration 2,100 2,150 2,200 2,250 2,200
Research and development 105 100 100 105 110
Net profit 1,370 850 400 750 1,390
Customer analysis:
Sales to large industrial companies 75%
Sales to small industrial companies 25%
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2 ZK

Scepticism
You are a senior manager working in the policy support function of ZK plc ('ZK'), reporting to the
Chief Executive.
ZK is a publicly quoted company selling cosmetics, cleansing and other beauty products. Its products
are based on raw materials grown in tropical countries and processed either in these countries or in
the eventual sales markets. Processing is undertaken partly by ZK and partly by sub-contractors. The
products are branded and sold worldwide, but mainly in the United Kingdom and North America.
They are sold to consumers through a very large number of outlets.
ZK's chief executive has always regarded annual reporting as ideally never exceeding minimum
legal requirements and has never considered such reporting to be relevant to anyone apart from
shareholders. However the non-executive directors have for some time expressed concern that the
company has not developed any systems of environmental or social reporting to shareholders, let
alone stakeholders, despite many comparable companies already regularly publishing such
information as part of their Annual Report.
A government minister has now stated that legislation will be considered if all companies do not
make progress on reporting on social and environmental policies and the impact on stakeholders as
well as shareholders. One non-executive director has raised the possibility of going further and
preparing a report based on the principles of integrated reporting.
In order to appear fully briefed and able to contribute to the next board meeting where this topic is
on the agenda for discussion, the Chief Executive has asked you to challenge what he currently
knows so that he can be prepared for the vigorous debate that he is expecting to occur at the
meeting.
Required
Prepare briefing notes for the Chief Executive which will:
(a) Identify the main issues that could be covered in the environmental and social report.
(8 marks)
(b) Analyse the impact of business partners and other stakeholders on the content of the
environmental and social report. (5 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating scepticism skills in producing this briefing
note for the Chief Executive. (2 marks)
(Total = 15 marks)
3 Caius

Commercial acumen
You work as a freelance consultant advising companies on governance issues, specialising in

companies that are keen to become listed. One such company, Caius, has contacted you for help.
The company's main business is manufacturing domestic electrical appliances, but it is keen to
expand into telecommunications, particularly focusing on the opportunity to embrace the 'internet of
things' and connect a number of its products to the web.
In order to support this growth and development, Caius is seeking a listing on the Stock Exchange of
a developed country. The directors of the company are aware that certain listed companies have
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attracted considerable criticism in recent years over directors' pay and conditions. There have been
claims in the media that the pay and conditions of some directors have been far too generous and
that the remuneration policies adopted by some companies have been far from transparent.
The directors of Caius are keen to ensure that, if the bid for a listing is successful, all aspects relating
to their pay and conditions must be in line with best practice. Consequently, they have asked for your
help in advising them about their remuneration policy for all directors.
Required
Write a report to the directors of Caius which identifies the policies and frameworks that should be
adopted by the company to ensure that directors' pay and conditions are fair and transparent. Your
report should include any objections to paying NEDs in shares or share options and whether you
agree with these objections. (12 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating commercial acumen as part of your
explanation of how Caius should remunerate its directors. (2 marks)
(Total = 14 marks)
4 Joe Swift Transport

Evaluation: Assess
You a senior finance manager working for Joe Swift Transport ('Swift'), and reporting to the finance
director.
Swift is the largest logistics company in Ambion, owning 1,500 trucks. It is a private limited
company with all shares held by the Swift family. It has significant haulage and storage contracts
with retail and supermarket chains in Ambion. (Ambion is a large, industrialised country. It is densely
populated with a high standard of living.)
Joe Swift, the founder and CEO of the company, is becoming increasingly disillusioned with the
business environment in Ambion. In a recent interview, he said that 'trading here is becoming
impossible. The government is more interested in over-regulating enterprise than stimulating growth.'
Joe is considering moving large parts of his logistics operation to another country, and Ecuria is one
of the possibilities he is considering.
The finance director has provided you with some notes from recent meetings he has had with Joe
Swift (Exhibit 1), and has asked you to analyse the factors which could influence a potential move
into Ecuria.
Required
In the context of national competitive advantage, assess the factors which could influence Swift's
decision to move a large part of its logistics business to Ecuria. (10 marks)
implications of the factors on Swift's decision. (2 marks)
(Total = 12 marks)
Exhibit 1
The logistics marketplace in Ambion is mature and extremely competitive, and Swift has become
market leader through a combination of economies of scale, cost efficiencies, innovative IT solutions
and clever branding.
However, the profitability of the sector is under increased pressure from a recently elected
government that is committed to heavily taxing fuel and reducing expenditure on roads in favour of
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alternative forms of transport. The government has also announced a number of taxes on vehicles
which have high carbon emission levels, as well as reducing the maximum working hours and
increasing the national minimum wage for employees.
Ecuria
Ten years ago, following a period of political change, a number of new independent states were
formed. One of these states was Ecuria. The people of Ecuria (known as Ecurians) traditionally have
a strong work ethic and a passion for precision and promptness. Since the formation of the state,
their hard work has been rewarded by strong economic growth, a higher standard of living and an
increased demand for goods which were once perceived as unobtainable luxuries. Since the
formation of the state, the government of Ecuria has pursued a policy of privatisation. It has also
invested heavily in infrastructure, particularly the road transport system, required to support the
increased economic activity in the country.
The state haulage operator (EVM) was sold off to two Ecurian investors who raised the finance to buy
it from a foreign bank. The capital markets in Ecuria are still immature and the government has not
wished to interfere with or bolster them. EVM now has 700 modern trucks and holds all the major
logistics contracts in the country. It is praised for its prompt delivery of goods. Problems in raising
finance have made it difficult for significant competitors to emerge. Most are family firms, each of
which operates about 20 trucks making local deliveries within one of Ecuria's 20 regions.
The two investors who own EVM now wish to realise their investment in the company, and have
announced that it is for sale. In principle, Swift is keen to buy the company and is currently
evaluating its possible acquisition.
5 Chelsea Co

Analysis: Consider
You are Ross Clark, a management consultant heading up a small team of business advisors which is
undertaking an assignment at Chelsea Co (Chelsea). The board at Chelsea have appointed the firm
for which you work, as they are keen to gain a better understanding of the company's strategic
position. Chelsea Co is a large civil engineering company, which carries out various building
contracts within both its home and in a number of overseas markets. Its main area of work,
particularly overseas, is in road construction. The company has a strong financial track record and
successfully survived a major recession within its home market about ten years ago.
You and your team have collected and analysed the following information about the group to help
you prepare the consultancy report.
 Exhibit 1: A review of the economic circumstances facing Chelsea in its overseas markets by
your colleague Katie Parry.
 Exhibit 2: An email received from Chelsea's Head of Construction, Andrew Hussain, which
outlines the company's current work in progress.
 Exhibit 3: A note detailing Chelsea's market share prepared by your colleague Klem Speck.
 Exhibit 4: An extract from a recent article which appeared in the construction industry journal
Building for Tomorrow.
Having reviewed your team's findings you are now required to putting together a presentation which
is to be presented to the Chelsea board of directors. The presentation will summarise your key
findings to date.
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Required
Prepare information for TWO presentation slides to be presented to the Chelsea board of directors,
including relevant points and brief supporting notes which consider the main strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats facing the company.
The first slide should consider Chelsea's THREE main strengths and THREE main weaknesses.
The second slide should consider the THREE main opportunities and THREE main threats facing
Chelsea. (16 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating analysis skills in considering the position
of Chelsea. (2 marks)
(Total = 18 marks)
Exhibit 1 – A review of the economic circumstances facing Chelsea's overseas
markets
During the last three years, the overseas markets in which Chelsea has been carrying out building
contracts have suffered as a result of a serious economic recession. Business confidence in these
markets has been seriously weakened over this period. One country which has been adversely
affected is Eastlandia. Chelsea has been engaged in carrying out contract work in Eastlandia for
several years. Government action in Eastlandia to protect its ailing economy has also had an
adverse impact on foreign contractors such as Chelsea operating within this country.
The concern felt by Chelsea's directors regarding the economic situation in Eastlandia has been
increased as a result of recent events involving a large construction company called Derby Co, which
Chelsea had done work for in the past. Derby Co, which was wholly owned by Eastlandian
shareholders, had previously received Eastlandian government backing. However, it has recently
been allowed to go into receivership without any further government support. The government
announced that partial repayment of debts owed by Derby Co to local subcontractors that it had
used would take priority over those it owed to foreign firms. The result of this is that foreign firms are
unlikely to see any recovery of monies owed for work performed.
The serious economic situation in Eastlandia has threatened to result in an economic recession. There
has been a constant negative effect on related industries within the country, such as steel, building
materials and transport. Another major concern for Chelsea's directors is the constant threat posed
by currency fluctuations and the possibility of the Eastlandian government being forced into currency
devaluation.
Exhibit 2 – Email received from Chelsea's Head of Construction, Andrew Hussain,

outlining the company's current work in progress
To: Ross Clark

From: Andrew Hussain
Subject: Work in progress
Dear Ross,
Further to your request for details in relation to Chelsea's current projects please find below a note
which outlines the situation as it stands today.
In recent times Chelsea has increased the amount of work that it undertakes overseas, with a sizeable
amount of this taking place in Eastlandia. Chelsea's growth has been helped by increasing criticism in
Eastlandia over the poor quality of civil engineering projects which have been completed by
Eastlandian firms. There have been reports of numerous site casualties among the site workers during
the construction process. Some buildings have partially collapsed after construction has been
completed and there have been instances where roads have started to break up shortly after they have
opened. This has caused civilian casualties with some fatalities and resulted in noisy public protests in
Eastlandia about the lack of attention to safety in civil engineering and building work. As a result
Chelsea is well regarded by the Eastlandian government. It has taken a long time for the directors of
Chelsea to build the company's reputation and gain recognition in Eastlandia for its workmanship.
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Chelsea is currently engaged in the construction of a major road linking two parts of a new
Eastlandian city, bypassing the central congested area. Chelsea is engaged as a subcontractor to a
major Eastlandian development company – after the original subcontractor, Derby Co, went into
receivership recently. The board at Chelsea accepted the contract to take over the work performed
by Derby Co after estimating that it would provide a high net present value. As far as Chelsea's
overall business is concerned, the contract represents about 10% of total turnover for the company.
The contract commenced three months ago and Chelsea is to be paid in Eastlands. Progress
payments for the work done to date have been delayed without any explanation. The contract is
about 15% complete and is expected to be completed in 21 months, which is three months later than
planned. This will result in penalty payments being incurred by Chelsea.
The directors at Chelsea recently expressed their concerns about the quality of the work undertaken
by the previous subcontractor. The directors have become increasingly alarmed at the amount of
remedial work which has been needed so far to bring the work performed by Derby Co up to the
required standard. The remedial work has already consumed the total amount of the financial
contingency which was allowed for in the contract estimates.
I hope the above proves useful.
Exhibit 3 – Note detailing Chelsea's market share
Chelsea uses external databases to establish the levels of its own share of the market and overall
patterns of market growth and development. In addition, the management accounting department of
the company provides internal information on market share and growth and internal capacity to meet
its future contractual demands. Over the last two years there has been a general decline in market
opportunities but Chelsea has managed to increase its overall market share. This has been achieved
because of its strong reputation for using good quality materials and applying high standards of
workmanship.
Exhibit 4 – Extract from the construction industry journal, Building for Tomorrow.
Building for Tomorrow

Chelsea Co proposes strategic alliance
Yesterday it was announced that the Eastlandian government had invited well renowned construction
firm, Chelsea Co, to tender for further civil engineering work. We learned late last night that Chelsea
Co's directors have taken up the invitation to tender. If the company is successful in all of its tenders,
then this would bring the company's commitment in Eastlandia up to about 40% of its total order
book.
In the last edition of Building for Tomorrow we reported that a number of Chelsea Co's directors had
grown increasingly concerned at the dangers posed by the insolvency of customers in Eastlandia. To
overcome these concerns we have subsequently learned that the Chelsea Co board have proposed
that a strategic alliance be formed with an Eastlandian civil engineering contractor who, it is hoped,
will have an insight into the financial integrity of potential customers. The alliance partner would be
able to give clear advice as to which of these Eastlandian customers would be suitable for the
establishment of contractual arrangements.
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6 Environment Management Society

Evaluation: Assess
You have recently started work at the Environment Management Society (EMS) as a senior finance
manager. You report directly to the finance director.
EMS was established a number of years ago by environment practitioners who felt that
environmental management and audit should have its own qualification. EMS is based in the
developed country of Ambion. EMS has its own Board who report to a Council of eight members.
Policy is made by the Board and ratified by Council. EMS is registered as a private limited entity.
EMS employs staff to administer its qualification and to provide services to its members. The
qualification began as one certificate, developed by the original founding members of the Society. It
has since been developed, by members and officers of the EMS, into a four-certificate scheme
leading to a Diploma.
In recent times EMS has experienced a significant fall in the number of candidates registering for the
EMS Diploma qualification. In response, the EMS Board are exploring ways to address the decline,
at the last Board meeting it was agreed that different methods of developing EMS be explored;
including via internal development, acquisitions, and strategic alliances.
The finance director has been tasked with conducting a preliminary evaluation of the three methods
of development mentioned at the Board meeting. He is keen to get your input on the matter as you
are a new employee and as such may offer a fresh perspective on the current situation facing EMS.
He has provided you with some notes (Exhibit 1) about EMS's operations and the highlights from the
recent Board meeting. He has asked you to assess the three methods of development in relation to
EMS's current situation.
Required
Assess the factors which could influence the Board's decision relating to its choice of the three
methods of development discussed in the Board meeting. (18 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating evaluation skills in assessing the factors
relating to the three methods of development currently being explored EMS. (2 marks)
(Total = 20 marks)
Exhibit 1
Background
EMS employs a full-time chief examiner who is responsible for setting the certificate examinations
which take place monthly in training centres throughout Ambion. No examinations are currently held
in other countries. If candidates pass all four papers they can undertake an oral Diploma
examination. If they pass this oral they are eligible to become members. All examinations are
open-book one-hour examinations, preceded by 15 minutes reading time. At a recent meeting, EMS
Council rejected the concept of computer-based assessment. They felt that competence in this area
was best assessed by written examination answers.
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Decline
Candidate numbers for the qualification have fallen dramatically in the last two years. The Board of
EMS has concluded that this drop reflects the maturing marketplace in the country. Many people who
were practitioners in environmental management and audit when the qualification was introduced
have now gained their Diploma. The stream of new candidates and hence members is relatively
small.
Response
Consequently, the EMS Board has suggested that they should now look to attract international
candidates and they have targeted a number of developing countries where environmental
management and audit is becoming more important. They are now formulating a strategy to launch
the qualification in four large, developing nations. However, any strategy has to recognise that both
the EMS Board and the Council are very cautious and notably risk averse. EMS is only confident
about its technical capability within a restricted definition of environmental management and audit.
Attempts to look at complementary qualification areas (such as soil and water conservation) have
been swiftly rejected by Council as being non-core areas and therefore outside the scope of their
expertise. The Board are keen to explore the potential opportunities offered by three different
methods of development: internal development, acquisition and strategic alliance.
7 Azure Airline

Evaluation
You work as a risk consultant supporting organisations in a variety of industries. You have just been
contacted by the Managing Director of Azure Airline ('Azure') for help in managing the
organisation's risks.
Azure, a limited liability company, was incorporated in Sepiana on 1 April 20X6. In May, the
company exercised an exclusive right granted by the government of Pewta to provide twice-weekly
direct flights between Lyme, the capital of Pewta, and Darke, the capital of Sepiana. The introduction
of this service has been well advertised as 'efficient and timely' in national newspapers. The journey
time between Sepiana and Pewta is expected to be significantly reduced, so encouraging tourism
and business development opportunities in Sepiana.
Azure operates a refurbished 35-year-old aircraft which is leased from an international airline and
registered with the Pewtan Aviation Administration (the PAA). The PAA requires that engines be
overhauled every two years, putting the aircraft out of commission for several weeks.
The aircraft is configured to carry 15 first class, 50 business class and 76 economy class passengers.
The aircraft has a generous hold capacity for Sepiana's numerous horticultural products (eg cocoa,
tea and fruit) and general cargo.
The six-hour journey offers an in-flight movie, a meal, hot and cold drinks and tax-free shopping. All
meals are prepared in Lyme under a contract with an airport catering company. Passengers are
invited to complete a 'satisfaction' questionnaire which is included with the in-flight entertainment and
shopping guide. Responses received show that passengers are generally least satisfied with the
quality of the food – especially on the Darke to Lyme flight.
Azure employs ten full-time cabin crew attendants who are trained in air stewardship including
passenger safety in the event of accident and illness. Flight personnel (the captain and co-pilots) are
provided under a contract with the international airline from which the aircraft is leased. At the end
of each flight the captain completes a timesheet detailing the crew and actual flight time.
Ticket sales are made by Azure and travel agents in Sepiana and Pewta. On a number of occasions
economy seating has been overbooked. Customers who have been affected by this have been
accommodated in business class, as there is much less demand for this, and even less for first class.
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Ticket prices for each class depend on many factors, for example, whether the tickets are
refundable/non-refundable, exchangeable/non-exchangeable, single or return, midweek or
weekend.
Azure's insurance cover includes passenger liability, freight/baggage and compensation insurance.
Premiums for passenger liability insurance are determined on the basis of passenger miles flown.
It is 5 December 20X6 and the Managing Director has requested a report that explains business risks
for Azure and how they can be mitigated.
Required
Draft sections of the report requested by the Managing Director, using the following structure:
(a) Explain the business risks facing Azure. (9 marks)
(b) Recommend how the risks you have identified could be managed and maintained at an
acceptable level by Azure. (9 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating evaluation skills when discussing risks and
how they can be mitigated. (2 marks)
(Total = 20 marks)
8 LMN

Communication
You work as a senior advisor for a government department which provides support for organisations
with varying governance needs. You have been asked to contact LMN, which is a charity that
provides low-cost housing for people on low incomes.
The government has privatised much of the home building, maintenance and management in this
sector. The sector is heavily regulated and receives some government money but there are significant
funds borrowed from banks to invest in new housing developments, on the security of future rent
receipts. Government agencies subsidise much of the rental cost for low-income residents.
The board and senior management of LMN have identified what they perceive to be their major
risks, which are shown in the exhibit below. As a result of this process, they have been able to
produce a risk register as part of the organisation's risk management process. For each of more than
200 individual risks, the risk register identifies a description of the risk and the (high, medium or low)
likelihood of the risk eventuating and the (high, medium or low) consequences for the organisation if
the risk does eventuate.
The management of LMN is carried out by professionally qualified housing executives with wide
experience in property development, housing management and maintenance, and financial
management. The board of LMN is composed of volunteers with wide experience and an interest in
social welfare. The board is representative of the community, tenants and the local authority, any of
whom may be shareholders (shareholdings are nominal and the company pays no dividends). The
local authority has overall responsibility for housing and social welfare in the area.
The audit committee of the board of LMN, which has responsibility for risk management as well as
internal control, wants to move towards a system of internal controls that are more closely related to
risks identified in the risk register. They have asked you to help them in this move by using your skills
and experience to advise them on their next steps.
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Required
Produce for the audit committee of LMN a draft set of instructions which covers the following:
 An explanation for the audit committee of the importance of a management review of controls.
(6 marks)
 A discussion of the principles of good corporate governance as they apply to the board's role
in conducting a review of these internal controls. (6 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating communication skills when advising the
audit committee about their next steps. (2 marks)
(Total = 14 marks)
Exhibit
Risks for LMN:
 Insufficient housing stock of a suitable type to meet the needs of local people on low incomes
 Making poor property investment decisions
 Having dissatisfied tenants due to inadequate property maintenance
 Failing to comply with the requirements of the regulator
 Having a poor credit rating with lenders
 Poor cost control
 Incurring bad debts for rental
 Having vacant properties that are not earning income
9 Pogles

Analysis
You work as a freelance ethical consultant and have been approached by the chief executive of
Pogles to help him understand a problem that has just emerged.
Pogles is a clothing manufacturer, based in an EU member state, with an international market for its
designs. The company's regular monthly board meeting will take place in a couple of days' time. It
seems likely that most of the meeting will be taken up with discussing one particular issue.
One of the company's directors has recently returned from visiting a factory located in another
European Union member state. Over the last few years this factory has performed better than any
other in comparison with cost budgets, and has been particularly good at keeping its labour costs
under control. However, on his return from his visit, the director reported some worrying facts to the
chief executive.
The factory had suffered a significant number of losses of experienced part-time female staff.
Although none had been dismissed, other employees still working at the factory made serious
accusations that some had been 'forced' to resign by the actions of the factory manager. Among
other accusations, it was suggested that they had been pressurised to take on work outside their
contractual hours, or at times when they had never in the past had to work, such as during school
holidays, weekends or on late shifts.
Some had taken on the extra work in fear of losing their jobs and in the knowledge that other
clothing factories locally had closed down in recent months. However, many of the other staff had
found the new working arrangements impossible to fit in with their domestic situations and had
reluctantly handed in their notice. To replace the staff who had left, the factory manager recruited
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full-time staff on flexible contracts, which required them to accept shift changes provided two weeks'
notice was given to them.
The chief executive has asked you to produce one presentation slide with accompanying notes for
him to present at the upcoming board meeting.
Required
Produce the slide and supporting notes which analyse whether the factory manager's treatment of his
staff is ethical or not. (10 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating analysis skills when analysing the factory
manager's decision to treat staff in this way. (2 marks)
(Total = 12 marks)
10 Hammond Shoes

You are a consultant who has been asked to advise the management of Hammond Shoes about its
financial position and investment opportunity.
Required
Analyse the financial position of Hammond Shoes and evaluate the proposed investment of $37.5m
in upgrading its production facilities. (14 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating analysis skills in considering the
information from different sources to identify the causes of problems and opportunities.
(3 marks)
(Total = 17 marks)
Exhibit 1
Background information about Hammond Shoes
Hammond Shoes is a well-established company in Petatown, in the country of Arnland, formed 120
years ago by two brothers, Richard and William Hammond and still owned by their descendants.
They are keen to promote ownership and are averse to risk and borrowing. They believe that all
stakeholders should be treated fairly. Reflecting this, the company aims to pay all suppliers within 30
days of the invoice date. These are the standard terms of supply in Arnland, although many
companies do, in reality, take much longer to pay their creditors. Arnland has comprehensive
legislation on health and safety as well as a statutory minimum wage and generous redundancy
rights and payments for employees.
Although the Hammond family still owns the company, it is now totally run by professional managers.
The last Hammond to have operational responsibility was Jock Hammond, who commissioned and
implemented the last upgrade of the production facilities over 20 years ago. In the past five years the
Hammond family has taken substantial dividends from the company, while leaving the running of the
company to the professional managers that they had appointed.
During this period the company has been under increased competitive pressure from overseas
suppliers who have much lower labour rates and more efficient production facilities. The financial
performance of the company has declined rapidly.
Recent strategies
Senior management at Hammond Shoes have recently suggested that the company should consider
closing its Petatown production plant and move production overseas, perhaps outsourcing to
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established suppliers in Orietaria and elsewhere. This suggestion was immediately rejected by the
Hammond family, who questioned the values of the senior management. The family issued a press
release with the aim of re-affirming the core values which underpinned their business. The press
release stated that 'in our view, the day that Hammond Shoes ceases to be a Petatown company, is
the day that it closes'. Consequently, the senior management team was asked to propose an
alternative strategic direction.
The senior management team's alternative is for the company to upgrade its production facilities to
gain labour and energy efficiencies. The cost of this proposal is $37.5m. At a recent scenario
planning workshop the management team developed what they considered to be two realistic
scenarios. Both scenarios predict that demand for Hammond Shoes' footwear would be low for the
next three years. However, increased productivity and lower labour costs would bring net benefits of
$5m in each of these years. After three years the two scenarios differ. The first scenario predicts a
continued low demand for the next three years with net benefits still running at $5m per year. The
team felt that this option had a probability of 0.7. The alternative scenario (with a probability of 0.3)
predicts a higher demand for Hammond's products due to changes in the external environment. This
would lead to net benefits of $10m per year in years four, five and six. All estimated net benefits are
based on the discounted future cash flows.
Exhibit 2 – Financial information about the manufacturing operations of Hammond
Shoes
EXTRACTED FROM THE STATEMENT OF PROFIT OR LOSS
20X9 20X7 20X5
$m $m $m
Revenue 700 750 850
Cost of sales (575) (600) (650)
Gross profit 125 150 200
Administration expenses (95) (100) (110)
Other expenses (10) (15) (20)
Finance costs (15) (10) (5)
Profit before tax 5 25 65
Income tax expense (3) (7) (10)
Profit for the year 2 18 55
EXTRACTED FROM STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION
Trade receivables 70 80 90
Share capital 100 100 100
Retained earnings 140 160 170
Long term borrowings 70 50 20
In 20X5, Hammond Shoes paid, on average, their supplier invoices 28 days after the date of
invoice. In 20X7 this had risen to 43 days and in 20X9, the average time to pay a supplier invoice
stood at 63 days.
11 Shop Reviewers Online

Analysis: Consider
Assume it is now 20X6.

You are Gavin Marsh, a business consultant, your firm has recently been engaged to carry out a
review of the IT/IS controls currently in operation at a new client, Shop Reviewers Online (SRO).
Shop Reviewers Online (SRO) was founded in 20X0 by Amy Needham. She felt that many customers
buying from online stores were misled by advertising and that, too often, purchased products turned
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out to be unreliable, faulty or failed to meet the customers' expectations. Amy believed that the online
retail industry was increasingly acting unethically, caring only for profits at the expense of the needs
and expectations of customers. Consequently, she set up SRO to 'provide an unbiased review of online
stores to ensure the customer has all available information'.
You are in the process of preparing sections of the report your team will deliver to Amy and the senior
management team at SRO. One of your colleagues has collated some background detail on SRO's
business model and the state of the company's current IT/IS controls (Exhibit 1).
Required
Using the information in Exhibit 1, analyse the adequacy of the general and application controls in
place within SRO, with respect to its information technology and information systems. Suggest any
improvements you consider to be necessary. (15 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating analysis skills in considering the adequacy
of SRO's existing controls and for suggesting improvements. (2 marks)
(Total = 17 marks)
Exhibit 1 – SRO background information
SRO offers reviews of current online stores and provides direct links for customers to shop at the stores
featured on its site. The reviews include price comparisons, provided by SRO, as well as general
reviews provided by registered users of the site. The company has two main revenue streams. The first
is advertising revenue from online stores who place advertisements on the SRO site. The second
revenue stream is commission from sales by online stores to customers who have clicked on the
sponsored links provided on the SRO website. This commission is only paid by stores who have entered
into such a commission arrangement with SRO.
SRO relies upon its website being available online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For this reason it
has backup servers running concurrently with the main servers on which data is processed and stored.
The servers are directly linked so that any update to the main servers automatically occurs on the
backup. The servers are all housed in the same computer centre in the company head office. The
computer centre has enhanced its security by implementing a fingerprint recognition system for
controlling access to the site. However, as the majority of staff at headquarters are IT personnel, and
often temporary staff are hired to cover absentees, the fingerprint recognition system is not
comprehensive and, to save time, is often bypassed. Similarly, to save time needed to set up new
permanent staff with passwords to access the company's systems, a general 'administrator' user has
been created, with the password 'password'. Many temporary staff access the system in this way.
SRO has an intelligent software application which constantly searches the internet for product price
changes, uploading these into the reviews of the online store in question. Sometimes, however, there
have been problems. Usually this is when the application has not recognised an outdated page and
has replaced the correct latest price with an old price found on the outdated page. Furthermore, this
intelligent software application needs permanent continual access to the internet, and SRO has
identified a problem with its firewall which has prevented the software application from sometimes
updating the internal systems. For this reason, it has removed the firewall protection to help ensure that
the correct up-to-date prices of all online stores are shown on the website.
SRO rarely generates other elements of reviews (such as product experience), leaving this to registered
users of the site. However, it will, occasionally, submit its own review to help boost a store which pays
a higher commission rate than its competitors. SRO is always honest in its reviews, but the more
reviews a store has, the higher up the search list it appears, when a customer searches for a specific
product.
Registered users can submit as many reviews as they wish. Unregistered users may also submit reviews,
which will be published under the name 'anonymous', but these reviewers will be unable to comment
on the reviews of others. SRO checks reviews for appropriate content, but does not contact the store to
verify the accuracy of the review. SRO is about to undertake an audit of the adequacy of its general
and application IT controls.
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12 Jayne Cox Direct

Evaluation: Assess
You work for Jayne Cox Direct, a company that specialises in the production of bespoke sofas and
chairs. Following a review of its processes and most recent customer satisfaction survey, you have
been asked by your manager to suggest ways in which technology could be used to improve its
upstream and downstream supply chain.
Required
Using the information in the exhibit, evaluate how technology could be used in both the upstream
and the downstream supply chain to address the problems at Jayne Cox Direct.
(13 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating evaluation skills in assessing the options
and recommending appropriate solutions. (2 marks)
(Total = 15 marks)
Exhibit 1 – Background information about the company
Jayne Cox Direct products are advertised in most quality lifestyle magazines. The company was
started ten years ago. It grew out of a desire to provide customers with the chance to specify their
own bespoke furniture at a cost that compared favourably with standard products available from
high street retailers. It sells furniture directly to the end customer. Its website allows customers to select
the style of furniture, the wood it is to be made from, the type of upholstery used in cushion and seat
fillings and the textile composition and pattern of the covering. The current website has over 60
textile patterns which can be selected by the customer. Once the customer has finished specifying the
kind of furniture they want, a price is given. If this price is acceptable to the customer, then an order
is placed and an estimated delivery date is given. Most delivery dates are ten weeks after the order
has been placed. This relatively long delivery time is unacceptable to some customers and so they
cancel the order immediately, citing the quoted long delivery time as their reason for cancellation.
Jayne Cox Direct orders wood, upholstery and textiles from long-established suppliers. About 95% of
its wood is currently supplied by three timber suppliers, all of whom supplied the company in its first
year of operation. Purchase orders with suppliers are placed by the procurement section. Until last
year, they faxed purchase orders through to suppliers. They now email these orders. Recently, an
expected order was not delivered because the supplier claimed that no email was received. This
caused production delays. Although suppliers like working with Jayne Cox Direct, they are often
critical of payment processing. On a number of occasions the accounts section at Jayne Cox Direct
has been unable to match supplier invoices with purchase orders, leading to long delays in the
payment of suppliers.
The sofas and chairs are built in Jayne Cox Direct's factory. Relatively high inventory levels and a
relaxed production process means that production is rarely disrupted. Despite this, the company is
unable to meet 45% of the estimated delivery dates given when the order was placed, due to the
required goods not being finished in time. Consequently, a member of the sales team has to
telephone the customer and discuss an alternative delivery date.
Telephoning the customer to change the delivery date presents a number of problems. Firstly,
contacting the customer by telephone can be difficult and costly. Secondly, many customers are
disappointed that the original, promised delivery date can no longer be met. Finally, customers often
have to agree a delivery date much later than the new delivery date suggested by Jayne Cox Direct.
This is because customers often get less than one week's notice of the new date and so they have to
defer delivery to much later. This means that the goods have to remain in the warehouse for longer.
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A separate delivery problem arises because of the bulky and high value nature of the product. Jayne
Cox Direct requires someone to be available at the delivery address to sign for its safe receipt and to
put the goods somewhere secure and dry. About 30% of intended deliveries do not take place
because there is no-one at the address to accept delivery. Consequently, furniture has to be returned
and stored at the factory. A member of the sales staff will subsequently telephone the customer and
negotiate a new delivery date but, again, contacting the customer by telephone can be difficult and
costly.
Delivery of furniture is made using the company's own vans. Each of these vans follows a defined
route each day of the week, irrespective of demand.
The company's original growth was primarily due to the innovative business idea behind specifying
competitively priced bespoke furniture. However, established rivals are now offering a similar
service. In the face of this competition the managing director of Jayne Cox Direct has urged a
thorough review of the supply chain. She feels that costs and inventory levels are too high and that
the time taken from order to delivery is too long.
Exhibit 2 – summary of recent customer satisfaction survey
There was major criticism about the lack of information about the progress of the order after it was
placed. One commented that 'as soon as Jayne Cox Direct got my order and my money they seemed
to forget about me. For ten weeks I heard nothing. Then, just three days before my estimated delivery
date, I received a phone call telling me that the order had been delayed and that the estimated
delivery date was now 17 June. I had already taken a day off work for 10 June, my original delivery
date. I could not re-arrange this day off and so I had to agree a delivery date of 24 June when my
mother would be here to receive it.'
People were also critical about after-sales service. One commented 'I accidently stained my sofa.
Nobody at Jayne Cox Direct could tell me how to clean it or how to order replacement fabrics for my
sofa'. Another said 'organising the return of a faulty chair was very difficult'.
When the managing director of Jayne Cox Direct saw the results of the survey she understood 'why
our customer retention rate is so low'.
13 8-Hats

Evaluation: Assess
You are Karen Bardsley, a management consultant working for the firm Business Matters. You and
your team are currently undertaking an assignment at 8-Hats Promotions. 8-Hats Promotions was
formed 20 years ago by Barry Gorkov to plan, organise and run folk festivals in Arcadia. It soon
established itself as a major events organiser and diversified into running events for the staff and
customers of major companies. For example, for many years it has organised launch events, staff
reward days and customer experiences for Kuizan, the car manufacturer. 8-Hats has grown through
a combination of organic growth and acquiring similar and complementary companies. Recently, it
purchased a travel agent (now operated as the travel department of 8-Hats) to provide travel to and
from the events that it organised.
Barry is keen to explore changing the company's organisational structure and has asked your team
to provide him with some thoughts on the prospect of introducing a matrix structure at 8-Hats. One of
your colleagues has prepared some notes (Exhibit 1) on 8-Hats' current set up.
Required
Using the information provided in Exhibit 1, discuss the principles, benefits and problems of
introducing a matrix management structure at 8-Hats. (10 marks)
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Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating evaluation skills in assessing the current
situation at 8-Hats and suggesting relevant benefits and problems associated with the introduction of
a matrix management structure. (2 marks)
(Total = 12 marks)
Exhibit 1 – 8-Hats
Barry Gorkov is himself a flamboyant figure who, in the early years of the company, changed his name
to Barry Blunt to reflect his image and approach. He calls all the events 'jobs', a terminology used
throughout the company. A distinction is made between external jobs (for customers) and internal jobs
(within 8-Hats itself). The company is organised on functional lines. The sales and marketing department
tenders for external jobs and negotiates contracts. Sales managers receive turnover-related bonuses
and 8-Hats is known in the industry for its aggressive pricing policies. Once a contract is signed,
responsibility for the job is passed to the events department which actually organises the event.
It is known for its creativity and passion
The operations department has responsibility for running the event (job) on the day and for delivering the
vision defined by the events department. The travel department is responsible for any travel arrangements
associated with the job. Finally, the finance department is responsible for managing cash flow throughout
the job, raising customer invoices, paying supplier invoices and chasing any late payments.
However, there is increasing friction between the departments. The operations department is often
unable to deliver the features and functionality defined by the events department within the budget
agreed by the sales manager. Finance is unaware of the cash flow implications of the job. Recently, an
event was in jeopardy because suppliers had not been paid. They threatened to withdraw their services
from the event. Eventually, Barry Blunt had to resolve friction between finance and other departments by
acquiring further funding from the bank. The event went ahead, but it unsettled Kuizan which had
commissioned the job. The sales and marketing department has also complained about the margins
expected by the travel department, claiming that they are making the company uncompetitive.
14 Hooper University

Analysis: Consider
You are Sadiq Patel, a management consultant. Your firm is currently engaged to provide
consultancy advice to Hooper University which is situated in your home country of Mowria. There are
currently over 300 universities operating in Mowria. University tuition fees have increased in the last
few years and students are expecting a better level of service as a consequence of this. Results of
student satisfaction surveys are published by the Mowrian government, and can greatly influence the
student's choice of university. At Hooper University, students are assessed in two ways: by
examinations and coursework. Both types of assessment contribute towards the degree classification
awarded to students. In a recent, internally commissioned, student experience report, Hooper
University received some negative feedback from students on the coursework organisation,
submission and feedback process. Consequently, the university is keen to rectify problems in this
process and the Vice-Chancellor's office contacted your firm for assistance.
You and your team have been asked to review the coursework organisation, submission and
feedback process, and to suggest potential improvements to address any issues you identify. To help
you with your work your colleagues have prepared some background information on the current
process (Exhibit 1), and extracts from the student experience report which details student feedback
relating to the process (Exhibit 2).
Required
Identify and explain four problems in the current coursework, organisation, submission and feedback
process and suggest appropriate solutions to address each of these problems. (16 marks)
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Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating analysis skills in identifying problems with
the current process at Hooper University and for suggesting appropriate solutions. (2 marks)
(Total = 18 marks)
Exhibit 1 – Coursework organisation, submission and feedback process
At the start of a new semester, an administrator distributes term dates and coursework guidance to
lecturers. There are many different subjects within a course and each subject is managed by a
different lecturer. The guidance includes a stipulation that coursework should be marked and returned
to students within two teaching weeks of the submitted coursework being collected from the course
administration office by the lecturer. Lecturers write their own coursework requirements and set their
own deadlines, informing the head of department so that a consolidated course schedule can be
produced.
Coursework requirements are uploaded by lecturers onto a virtual learning environment (VLE) system,
which is accessed by students. Lecturers release these requirements at the beginning of the course, in
accordance with the administrative guidelines. Students download the requirements and then
complete and submit their work.
Students are required to submit two copies of their completed coursework: a hard copy to the
administration office and a soft copy uploaded into the VLE system. The VLE system produces an
automatic receipt showing the date and time coursework was submitted, as proof of the upload. An
administrator periodically sorts the submitted hard copies by subject, ready for lecturers to collect.
Lecturers collect the coursework when they have some free time in their schedule for marking.
Once collected, lecturers mark the coursework and type their feedback into a new word-processed
document, and then upload that document against the student profile on the VLE. The VLE issues an
automatic email to students informing them that feedback is available. The lecturer also collates total
marks onto a spreadsheet and emails this to the administrators. The administrators input these marks
manually into a computerised administration system and then send a report to the head of
department, who records the marks against the individual student's assessment profile.
The above information is presented in the coursework organisation, submission and feedback
process diagram shown in Figure 1.
1. Issue term dates 9. Sort coursework 14. Record

Administrators and coursework into subjects marks
guidance
2. Write 4. Issue 10. Collect 11. Submit marks

Lecturers coursework and coursework and and mark and feedback
set deadline publish on VLE coursework
3. Note deadline 15. Record

Head of In course marks on
Department schedule student
record
7. Complete 13. Download

6. Download marks on
Student coursework
coursework
and
and submit
feedback
12. Marks and

5. Coursework 8. Issue receipt feedback
VLE System available available for
download
Figure 1: Coursework origination, submission and feedback process
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Exhibit 2 – Student feedback

The following extracts from the student experience report are representative of the feedback received
from students:
'I received one mark from the VLE system, but when my end-of-year results were released the mark
was different.'
'My feedback was on a separate document so I found it difficult to relate to the coursework
submitted.'
'I accidentally submitted an unfinished piece of coursework to the administration office but submitted
the correct one to the system. The lecturer marked the unfinished piece.'
'It takes weeks to receive my marks, by which time I've forgotten what the coursework was about.
When I asked the lecturer she said she had marked it within the time allowed.'
'We always have about four pieces of coursework to submit at the same time, and then weeks where
nothing is required. I wish the university would manage our programme better.'
'The lecturer said he did not receive the hard copy of my coursework but I know I handed it in. This
was counted as a non-submission.'
'There were errors in the initial coursework requirements, which were subsequently significantly
changed. I had already started the assignment so this time was wasted.'
'I completed and submitted my coursework early in order to manage my workload better, but then
the lecturer gave an additional lecture to help us with our coursework. This contained very useful
information, which we had not previously covered. I was not allowed to resubmit my work and so
suffered from being efficient.'
15 LDB Bank

You are a senior finance manager working for LDB Bank, and report to the finance director. Part of
your role involves assisting the work of the bank's project management office (PMO). You have been
approached by the Head of the PMO to help her team identify the elements which contributed to the
successful delivery of a major project at the bank. The PMO conducted a post-project review
following the completion of the project but are now carrying out a cold review of the project
documentation to see if any additional lessons can be learned which can be incorporated into future
projects at LDB. The Head of the PMO has provided you with some background information on the
branch rationalisation project (Exhibit 1), and some detail on the issues experienced during the
execution of the project (Exhibit 2).
Required
Using the information provided by the Head of the PMO, identify and analyse the elements of good
project management that helped make the branch rationalisation project successful. (10 marks)
Professional skills marks are available for demonstrating analysis skills in investigating the key
elements of good project management. (2 marks)
(Total = 12 marks)
Exhibit 1 – Background information: The branch rationalisation project
Four years ago Lowlands Bank acquired Doe Bank, one of its smaller rivals. Both had relatively large
local branch bank networks and the newly merged bank (now called LDB) found that it now had
duplicated branches in many towns. One year after the takeover was finalised, LDB set up a project to
review the branch bank network and carry out a rationalisation that aimed to cut the number of
branches by at least 20% and branch employment costs by at least 10%. It was agreed that the project
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should be completed in two years. There were to be no compulsory staff redundancies. All branch
employment savings would have to be realised through voluntary redundancy and natural wastage.
LDB appointed its operations director, Len Peters as the sponsor of the project. The designated
project manager was Glenys Hopkins, an experienced project manager who had worked for
Lowlands Bank for over 15 years. The project team consisted of six employees who formerly worked
for Lowlands Bank and six employees who formerly worked for Doe Bank. They were seconded full-
time to the project.
Exhibit 2 – Project issues and conclusion
During the project there were two major issues. The first concerned the precise terms of the voluntary
redundancy arrangements. The terms of the offer were quickly specified by Len Peters. The second
issue arose one year into the project and it concerned the amount of time it took to dispose of
unwanted branches. The original project estimates had underestimated how long it would take to sell
property the bank owned or to re-assign or terminate the leases for branches it rented. The project
board overseeing the project agreed to the project manager's submission that the estimates had been
too optimistic and they extended the project deadline for a further six months.
The project team completed the required changes one week before the rearranged deadline. Glenys
Hopkins was able to confirm that the branch network had been cut by 23%. Six months later, in a
benefits realisation review, she was also able to confirm that branch employment costs had been
reduced by 12%. At a post-project review the project management office of the bank confirmed that
they had changed their project estimating assumptions to reflect the experience of the project team.
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Further question practice solutions
1 Bonar Paint
When considering advantages and disadvantages you must ensure that your answer brings balance
as well as depth, so you should be looking to generate around four points for each side of the
debate. Assuming one mark per point, that would score eight out of ten, leaving two marks for the
role that the formal mission statement could play in the strategic planning process. As the requirement
explained that this explanation should be brief, two marks seems sensible.
You will find that many of the points in your answer are generated from an overall appreciation of
the case information, and that there is a lot to wade through. This is going to happen in the real
exam, so being able to focus on key information only is a good skill to start practising right now.
The skill that you are required to demonstrate is communication, because you are advising the senior
management team on a subject that is complex and outside their comfort zone, hence your answer
needs to be able to inform in a concise and unambiguous manner, while also clarifying the complex
strategic issues and conveying the information using an appropriate tone.
Suggested solution
The management buyout will be a significant change for Bonar, and so it will be important for the
new owners to make clear their strategy for the business and what they expect from their staff. They
may look to use a mission statement to summarise the purpose of the business going forward.
Advantages of developing a formal mission statement
Goal congruence
Determine direction – A mission statement will determine the direction of the business after the
buyout, and focus attention on achieving the stated strategy and direction. It will focus the business'
efforts on a single goal, as expressed in the statement.
Unified strategy – The three members of the senior management buyout (MBO) team each has a
different view of how Bonar Paint should develop after the buyout. Creating a mission statement will
force the buyout partners to reconcile these differences and to determine a unified strategy for the
business.
Communication – Bonar Paint will need to communicate its business model and purpose going
forward after the MBO: for example, what is its business, its products and its markets? Such matters
should be clearly communicated in a mission statement.
Determine market approach
Basis of competition – The mission statement will determine the basis on which Bonar Paint
competes in the industry, for example whether it wants to be a specialist paint maker which creates a
strong brand and a reputation for customer service, or whether it wants to be a low-cost producer.
It is important for Bonar to establish the basis on which it wants to compete because of the
fragmented nature of the paint industry – from branded international manufacturers offering luxury,
high-end paints, to low-end manufacturers producing own label paints for DIY stores. There is a
danger that without a clear strategy Bonar Paint will be left stuck in the middle, and will see its
profitability fall as a result. This is particularly important as the paint industry is seen as mature, and
so margins will come under increasing pressure.
Consistency of offering – A mission statement will help Bonar Paint ensure that all aspects of its
business are consistent with the basis on which it is competing in the market. For example, if Bonar
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Paint decides it wants to focus on the high-end market, then all its processes, from manufacturing the
paint itself, to customer service and delivery must be of sufficiently high quality to support this
strategic position.
Satisfy key stakeholders
Identify key stakeholders – One of the key elements of a business' purpose is to satisfy the
needs of stakeholders, and a mission statement should help a business achieve this purpose.
However, before a business can begin to assess the needs of stakeholders it first needs to
determine who the key stakeholders are.
Keep key stakeholders satisfied – Alongside the MBO team, the banks which provided loan
funding for the MBO, Bonar's employees and customers are all key stakeholders. Therefore
Bonar's future direction after the buyout needs to keep them satisfied in order for the business to be
successful.
The mission statement should demonstrate how Bonar Paint will serve its customers and reward its
employees, recognising that customer loyalty and employee loyalty will be very important as
the business undergoes a change of ownership.
Disadvantages of developing a formal mission statement:
Wasted time
Time consuming. Creating a mission statement will be time consuming, especially as Bonar Paint
has never had one before and so it will need to be developed from nothing. If the mission statement
does not generate any positive results in terms of corporate values and profitability, then the time
spent will have been wasted. This is especially important given the number of other issues which
need addressing at Bonar Paint.
Identifying priorities. The senior management team will have a number of practical issues – for
example, ensuring that they pay a fair price in the buyout, securing funding from their banks and
working out how they are going to control and manage the business going forward. While
developing a mission statement could be useful in guiding the strategic planning process, it is
debatable whether it is a top priority at the moment. Spending too much time developing a mission
statement could deflect attention from more pressing issues.
May be ignored. There does not appear to be any history of formal planning at Bonar Paint – for
example, there is no formal process for new product development and paints are developed in
response to customer demand. Consequently, a mission statement as part of a formal strategic
planning process may be alien to the company; as a result, employees may not understand the
relevance of a mission statement to their day-to-day activities, and it may ultimately be ignored.
Too restrictive
Deter innovation. Bonar Paint has a good reputation for product innovation and developing new
high performance paints. This is one of the company's strengths, but if a mission statement imposes a
more prescriptive approach to planning, these qualities of innovation may be lost.
To be successful going forward, it is likely that Bonar Paint will need to balance its innovative
qualities and skills at new product development with an overall company strategy. However, that
strategy could be one which emerges and adapts over time, depending on changes in the external
environment. In this context, a mission statement as part of a formal planning process may not be
appropriate, because it may actually prevent the company taking advantage of new opportunities
which arise.
Role of mission statement in the strategic planning process:
Fits with rational planning model. Mission statements can play an important role in the
strategic planning process, but they are most suitable for companies which follow the full rational
planning model. In such companies, a mission statement can influence the way a company
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implements its planned strategy and it can act as a reference document against which future business
plans can be judged.
Limited impact on its own. However, it appears Bonar Paint does not have a formal strategic
planning process in the way the rational planning model suggests. Without that kind of context and
support, a mission statement on its own will have little impact on the strategic planning process.
2 ZK
In (a) a good way of thinking through the environmental consequences is to go through the inputs,
processes, outputs model and consider the likely environmental consequences at each stage. The
social issues discussion is a good illustration of why background reading is useful; you can bring in
topics that are currently areas of concern, such as low-cost labour.
In (b) the range of business activity covered will depend on what is significant. The discussion about
how the business can impact on its suppliers is an important acknowledgement that sometimes these
issues cannot be tackled in isolation.
You are being asked to be sceptical as part of your response, so you will be rewarded for
demonstrating the ability to probe into the reasons for the Chief Executive's reluctance to embrace
environmental and social reporting so far, and challenge this viewpoint with a view to justifying a
suitable counter-argument.
Clearly, the idea of a leader displaying such ignorance of the role that environmental and social
reporting could play is unlikely in the 21st Century, but you need to be driven by the requirement to
produce what is asked for!
Suggested solution
(a) The range of environmental and social issues to cover
Consumption of raw materials
The greatest focus from an environmental point of view is likely to be on consumption of
raw materials from tropical areas. You may therefore wish to consider the concept of
'sustainability' – is ZK replanting at a rate equal to or greater than that at which it is
harvesting? If so, it is likely to be viewed favourably – however, if not, this could reflect badly
on our environmental footprint (the impact we leave behind on the natural world from our
activities).
Costs of processing
The costs of processing should also be considered, in particular the percentage of energy
coming from renewable and non-renewable sources and the steps taken to increase the
efficiency with which ZK uses energy.
Packaging
Packaging is of increasing concern to many consumers. The proportion of both ZK's
products and their packaging made from recycled material should be measured, as should the
ease with which they can be recycled after use.
Social issues
Social issues to cover include minimum rates of pay, the minimum age of child labour,
working conditions and living conditions, such as the availability of health care and
education. The public's interest in consumer markets tends to focus on the discrepancies
between 'living standards' in their affluent market compared to those in less
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developed countries. In setting standards the board needs to gather data about these
issues in the source countries. Rates of pay expressed in relation to UK earnings may seem
derisory but when expressed in relation to the local average they may seem much more
acceptable. Using children aged just 14 as part of the labour force may seem less offensive if
local schooling is provided up to the age of 12 and ZK provides additional education as part
of its benefits package.
Nature and extent of reporting
How well actual performance compares with what the board considers to be
acceptable standards will determine the nature and extent of any reporting on these
issues. If the board believes ZK's performance is above average it may well make extensive
disclosures in order to gain maximum benefit. The poorer the performance, the less it may
choose to disclose. If there are any single issues that, were they disclosed would lead to
adverse publicity, it may choose to make no disclosures until these issues are resolved to an
acceptable level.
An integrated report provides an overall framework for understanding the
business that a focus on environmental and social issues may not do. It sets the business in
the context of the overall environment and the opportunities and risks that it faces. It
also should describe the challenges and uncertainties that will arise from the business
pursuing its current strategy and what the business intends to do about them. This is usually
expressed in terms of value or capital used and created by ZK, which makes value creation
transparent.
(b) Business partners
ZK also needs to consider whether to report on the activities of ZK alone or on
those of all of its business partners, including those from whom ZK sources its raw
materials and the sub-contractors it employs during production. It could be argued that ZK
cannot control its sub-contractors, and therefore should not include their activities within its
report. For example, it could be deemed unfair if ZK was held responsible for contractors
employing young children without the board's knowledge.
It is unlikely that 'we didn't know' would be accepted as a defence were
damaging information made public, however. Once the range of performance
benchmarks is established, ZK should therefore provide it to all of its sub-contractors and
advise them that they are expected to conform to such standards. These could be included as
a requirement in the supplier tendering process.
Impact of other stakeholders
Problems are likely to centre on identifying those issues that will be of concern in
the future to stakeholders. ZK will also need to balance the demands of shareholders for
maintaining a profitable activity with the concerns of pressure groups over the activity in
question.
The advent of social media and the ability to share camera footage taken anywhere in the
world means that our customers are likely to want to make an informed purchasing choice
based on the impact our products have on indigenous populations and environments. Our
target demographic for many of our products will also include younger consumers traditionally
more likely to embrace such technology and who can chose to buy more socially and
environmentally friendly products.
Changing viewpoints
The popularity or otherwise of environmental and social issues moves constantly with
changes in public opinion and government policy. The board should endeavor to
anticipate the demands of its stakeholders, however, rather than appear to be simply
reacting to the current 'popular' issues.
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3 Caius
A good guideline for this type of question would be to start with the key points relating to directors'
remuneration that you know from your studies so far, regardless of the jurisdiction. This will give you
an overview of the key areas that are usually to be discussed in such debates around the world. You
can then move on to discuss shares and share options as a viable source of remuneration for NEDs.
You also need to ensure that your answer is set in the context of the case – the key elements of
strategy for this organisation are growth, technology, risk from research and development and
competition, so build these into your answer to score well.
You have been asked to demonstrate commercial acumen, meaning that you need to know what is
commercially viable for directors' remuneration and what would work well in this industry sector.
Suggested solution
To: Board of Directors of Caius
From: Consultant
Date: XX/XX/XX
Subject: Directors' remuneration
In order to ensure that directors' pay and conditions are fair and transparent, Caius should adopt the
following policies and frameworks.
Level and make-up of remuneration
The level of remuneration offered to directors should be sufficient to attract, retain and motivate
directors of the quality required to run the company successfully, especially given the need to recruit
directors who can support the aim of growth into telecommunications. However, Caius should avoid
paying more than is strictly necessary for this purpose, especially as it is likely to attract attention
which may erode any competitive advantage within this fledgling industry. The levels of pay offered
by other similar companies can be considered, but such comparisons should be used with caution.
A significant proportion of executive directors' remuneration should be structured so as to link their
interests with those of the shareholders and give the directors keen incentives to perform to the
highest levels. This will require a 'leap of faith' from shareholders, given the extra risk that Caius is
looking to embrace. Therefore, incentive schemes are acceptable but they must always be related to
performance and they must be geared to the long term rather than the short term. Where incentive
schemes are used the amount paid to the directors should be based upon them meeting or exceeding
clearly defined targets.
Service contracts and compensation
Service contracts for directors are necessary but there must be a balance between the directors'
needs and the interests of the shareholders. In general terms notice periods under contracts should be
set at one year or less. The board must be prepared to dismiss a director for poor performance and
much thought should be given to compensation commitments, although this is obviously going to
need to consider the longer timeframes required for research and development. The aim should be to
avoid being seen to reward poor performance by excessive compensation payments and the board
should take a robust line on reducing compensation to reflect a departing director's obligations to
mitigate loss.
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Remuneration committee
The board should appoint a remuneration committee made up entirely of independent
non-executive directors (NEDs). The aim of this is to ensure that there is a formal and transparent
procedure for developing policy on executive remuneration and for the remuneration packages of
individual directors. Most importantly, no director should be involved in deciding their own
remuneration.
Communication with shareholders
The remuneration committee should enter into communication with major shareholders about
directors' remuneration. Shareholders should be invited specifically to approve all new long-term
incentive schemes and significant changes to existing schemes. In your annual report there should be
a report on the remuneration policy and details of the remuneration of each director. The chair of the
remuneration committee should also attend the AGM and be prepared to answer any questions from
shareholders relating to directors' remuneration. Such transparency will be crucial in cementing the
trust required to support shareholders along the first few years of listing to reward their faith.
Share payments for NEDs?
In many companies, NEDs receive a fixed cash payment for their services, without any incentives.
However, some companies pay their NEDs in shares.
They would argue that the more equity the NEDs hold, the more likely they will be to look at issues
from the point of view of the shareholders. There is a risk that a NED holding shares could be more
concerned with short-term movements in the share price and the opportunity of making a
short-term profit from selling their shares. However, a suitable precaution against this could be to
obtain the agreement of a NED not to sell their shares until after leaving the board.
Share options instead?
The argument that NEDs should be rewarded with share options is more contentious, but it has been
widely practised in the UK and is even more common in the US. The argument against rewarding
NEDs with share options is that this form of remuneration could align the interests of the NEDs more
closely with the executive directors, who also hold share options. NEDs should give independent
advice, and it can be argued that it is therefore not appropriate to incentivise them in the same way
as the executives.
Taking the UK Corporate Governance Code (2018) as an example, holding share options could be
relevant to the determination of a non-executive director's independence. It states that remuneration
for non-executive directors should not include share options or other performance-related elements.
4 Joe Swift Transport

The requirement doesn't specify that you have to use particular model or framework here, but the
reference to 'national competitive advantage' should be a clue that Porter's Diamond is appropriate
here.
The question asks you to 'assess the factors' so a sensible approach to this question would be to
explain the different aspects of the diamond, and then think how they relate to Ecuria. However,
don't spend time drawing the model. You will earn few, if any marks, for drawing the diagram.
Instead you should use the model as a framework for assessing the specific conditions in Ecuria, as
described in the scenario.
The 'assess' skill requires you to use professional judgement when considering the scenario. In this
case, this means assessing which of the characteristics of Ecuria make it attractive as a location for
Swift's logistics and which don't. So make sure you indicate these points in your answer, and don't
just describe the environmental factors in Ecuria.
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Suggested solution
Porter summarises the factors which determine competitive advantage in his Diamond model, and we
use these factors to assess Ecuria's attractiveness as a potential location for Swift's logistics
businesses.
Factor conditions
These are factors – such as skilled labour and infrastructure – that are necessary for firms to compete
in a given industry.
These factors seem to be present in Ecuria, with the work ethic of the people, and the government
investment in the transport infrastructure both potentially being significant benefits for firms located
there.
Demand conditions
The home demand conditions are how firms perceive, interpret and respond to buyer needs.
In Ecuria, there has been a rapid growth in the transport of goods due to the move to a market
economy. The people of Ecuria are traditionally demanding and have a passion for promptness and
precision which has shaped the operations of EVM. (These demands will ensure high standards in
the industry which should help improve international competitiveness.)
Related and supporting industries
Competitive success in one industry is often linked to success in related industries.
The initial notes about Ecuria (Exhibit 1) do not provide any evidence that it has any internationally
competitive industries related to logistics. The absence of internationally successful related and
supporting industries could be a concern, and is an important factor to take into account when Swift
decides whether to move a large part of its logistics business to Ecuria.
Firm strategy, structure and rivalry
Nations are likely to display competitive advantage in industries that are culturally suited to their
normal management practices and industrial structures.
EVM was created by the nationalisation of the state-run haulage system. There were few competitors
initially and it has been difficult for potential new competitors to raise finance, due to the structure of
the capital markets in Ecuria. As a result, most of EVM's competitors are small, family-run firms that
offer a local service.
The Diamond model suggests that intense domestic rivalry help to create and sustain competitive
advantage. By contrast, in countries where there is little rivalry, firms tend to be happy to rely on the
home market rather than looking to compete internationally. As such, a lack of rivalry can be
detrimental to national competitiveness, and the evidence suggests that there is little rivalry in the
logistics industry in Ecuria at the moment.
Other factors
In addition to the four main determinants highlighted in the Diamond, competitive advantage can
also be influenced by governments and chance factors.
Government helps to shape the Diamond overall by creating policies which affect all four of the
determinants. Ecuria's government has influenced factor conditions by investing in infrastructure, and
has influenced firm structure and rivalry via its policies on capital markets.
Chance factors are developments outside of the control of firms and the nation's government, such as
wars or falls in foreign demand. By definition, it is difficult to assess these factors in advance,
although if any such factors arise – affecting Ecuria – they could have a significant impact on Swift's
decision.
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5 Chelsea Co
The requirement doesn't specify the use of a particular model, however it should be clear that you
are, in essence, being asked to perform a SWOT analysis. It is important to remember that strengths
and weaknesses are internal considerations, whereas opportunities and threats arise from the
external environment. It is very easy to muddle weaknesses and threats, however, remembering that
one is focused on internal matters and the other on external factors should help you to avoid any
such confusion.
As the requirement asks you to produce two slides it is important that you give consideration to the
amount of detail to include. Providing lots of detail on the slides ultimately undermines the prompt in
the requirement to include supporting notes. As the solution below illustrates it is the supporting notes
in which the real explanation of the SWOT items is considered.
The 'consider' skill requires you to make use of the information in the scenario in order to reflect upon
the implications that this brings for the organisation featured in the question. As the requirement asks
you to consider three main SWOT items, the inclusion of the word 'main' is a clue that discussing
every single SWOT item that you could possibly identify from the exhibits was not required. The
inclusion of lots of additional points only wastes time and would earn you no additional marks.
Determining what constitutes a 'main' point should be driven by the content of the exhibits. As a
result, careful reading of each exhibit with a view to picking out the key themes is essential. The
suggested solution below is indicative of the points that you could have made when answering the
question. It is worth noting that when faced with requirements and exhibits such as the ones in this
question there are potentially a number of different, equally valid main points which could be made
and which would still earn marks provided they are well explained.
Suggested solution
Presentation slides
Slide 1: Three main strengths and three main weaknesses facing Chelsea Co
Strengths
 Strong financial track record
 Strong reputation
 Relationship with the Eastlandian government
Weaknesses
 Exposed to the construction industry
 Process for determining projects to undertake
 Growing dependence on Eastlandian work
Notes. Chelsea's core strengths are evident as the company has built a strong financial track record
which has helped it come through 'a major recession' in its home market. This is impressive given
that the construction industry is renowned for being particularly volatile. It is likely that this strength
will prove central to Chelsea's ability to survive should the economic situation in Eastlandia worsen.
Chelsea's financial record is closely linked to its strong reputation. It would appear that the
company's reputation for using good quality materials and applying high standards of workmanship
have helped it to increase its overall market share. This is particularly impressive given that there has
been general decline in market opportunities. As a result of Chelsea's reputation it would appear that
the company has been able to build a good relationship with the Eastlandian government. This is
evident as it has recently received an offer from the government to tender for further civil engineering
work.
Chelsea faces an inherent weakness in that it operates in a highly volatile industry in which
construction firms such as Derby Co can easily become insolvent. The nature of construction projects
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require significant financial commitments are made upfront (ie buying building supplies and paying
workers), all of which increases risk. There would appear to be a weakness in the process Chelsea
uses when determining which projects to undertake. This is evident given the amount of remedial
work needed to complete the road development contract in Eastlandia appears to have been
significantly misjudged and has resulted in the project's contingency fund having been used well
before the completion of the project. Chelsea's growing dependence on getting work in Eastlandia
can also be viewed as a weakness as it is increasing its exposure to the unpredictability of the
economy there. If the report by Building for Tomorrow is correct then the amount of work which may
potentially be undertaken by Chelsea in Eastlandia would represent about 40% of its total orders.
Slide 2: Three main opportunities and three main threats facing Chelsea Co
Opportunities
 Win new contracts from new customers
 Win new contracts with the Eastlandian government
 Exploit the knowledge of alliance partner
Threats
 Currency devaluation
 Insolvency of customers
 Recession in Eastlandia
Notes. The poor quality of the workmanship undertaken by Eastlandian construction firms represents
an opportunity. Chelsea's strong reputation should enable it to exploit the failings of Eastlandian
construction firms and win new civil engineering contracts. Chelsea's almost preferred status with the
Eastlandian government is evident based on the government's recent invitation to tender for more
work. All of which is likely to present further opportunities if Chelsea can continue to meet the
government's needs with its existing contracts. In the event that the strategic alliance with a local
Eastlandian firm is formed, Chelsea should look to exploit the knowledge of local partners about the
construction industry in Eastlandia to ensure that only viable potential customer contracts are
accepted. Exploiting this opportunity would help to ensure that contracts are only taken on when the
risk of customer insolvency is deemed sufficiently low. One of the most significant threats facing
Chelsea concerns the possibility of the Eastlandian government devaluing its currency. The
devaluation of the Eastlandian currency would reduce the value of work being undertaken by
Chelsea, which given the potential size of some construction contracts may be significant. The
insolvency of customers in Eastlandia represents a significant threat for Chelsea. As the Derby Co
case highlights, Chelsea would be unlikely to receive much (if any) compensation for any work
performed, as the Eastlandian government has stipulated that partial repayments to local firms must
take priority before payments are made to foreign firms (such as Chelsea). Chelsea also faces a
potentially significant threat resulting from the economic conditions in Eastlandia which may lead to a
recession. A recession would most likely result in customers going out of business or those remaining
customers deferring construction projects until the economic outlook improves. A recession would
increase the price of building supplies, all of which would increase the pressure on Chelsea.
6 Environment Management Society

The requirement clearly sets out that your assessment must focus upon the three methods of
development which were discussed in the Board meeting. These methods of development were
mentioned in the opening paragraphs of the question and were again repeated in the exhibit. This
highlights the importance of carefully reading the detail provided in the scenario as a discussion of
the other approaches to development is not required. You may find it useful to introduce the key
characteristics of each method of development under its respective heading before moving on to
assess each option in respect of EMS. Using headings in this way breaks up your answer and helps
to keep your work focused. The fact that there are 18 marks available is a clue that are six marks
going for an evaluation of each method of development, therefore, writing lots about one of these
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will only waste your time and lead you to produce a weaker answer in respect of the other methods
of development.
The 'assess' skill requires you to use your professional judgement when considering organisational
issues. Central to this is the ability to take account of the situation facing the organisation featured in
the scenario, in this case EMS, and the implications, ie the advantages and disadvantages of a
proposed course of action which in this case relate to three different methods of development. The
key issues here were that any strategic development initiative needs both to fit with EMS's risk-averse
culture, and also provide access to new markets. To bring your assessment to a close it would be
useful to the reader of your work, in this case the finance director, if you provided a short conclusion
which outlines which of the three would be most appropriate to EMS.
Suggested solution
Internal development
Internal development – also known as organic growth – is achieved through an organisation
developing its own internal resources. This is the way EMS has grown up until now. After the
original certificates were developed by the founders of the society, the qualification has been
enhanced by adding additional certificates and then the Diploma programme. These changes have
all been developed by the members and officers of the Society. Internal development offers the
following advantages:
Low risk. As a means of growth, internal development involves much less risk than an acquisition.
Therefore it is likely to be suited to the culture of the Society, which is notably risk-averse and
cautious.
Easier to plan. Internal development would make the growth of EMS much easier to manage and
plan and offers less disruption than an acquisition.
There are however disadvantages to this approach:
Slow growth. Growth can be very slow, and the problems which EMS are currently facing reflect
that current growth has ceased altogether.
Constrained by resources. Because growth is driven from within an organisation, it is restricted
by the breadth of the organisation's capabilities. EMS is currently constrained by its narrow product
range, but if it continues a policy of internal development it cannot expand this product range
because its members and officers do not have any expertise in other subject areas. This is illustrated
by the fact that attempts to move into complementary qualification areas (such as soil conservation)
have been rejected by the council as being non-core areas, and therefore outside the scope of EMS's
expertise.
Barriers to entry. Internal development is an appropriate method for market development in
EMS's home country of Ambion but it is less appropriate for breaking into new market places and
countries. It will be difficult for EMS to establish itself as a brand in the four developing countries it is
targeting, especially as it does not have any previous experience of developing products in foreign
markets.
Acquisitions
A strategy of acquisition is one where one organisation (such as EMS) takes ownership of another
existing organisation, it is a form of business combination.
Speed of growth. One of the most important advantages of growth by acquisition is that is allows
the acquiring company very fast access to a new market area or product range. In this case,
EMS might look to acquire organisations already offering professional examination qualifications
and certificates in its four target markets. It could then use these existing organisations as a
mechanism for launching the EMS qualifications in these markets. In this way, EMS has effectively
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acquired the infrastructure it needs to operate in its target markets, overcoming any
geographical barriers to entry.
New products. The organisation EMS acquires will already offer qualifications of their
own, and it is likely that these will be ones which EMS does not currently offer. Therefore there is an
opportunity that EMS could offer these qualifications in its home market of Ambion,
thereby increasing the range of products it offers. In effect, it has acquired new competences in
these new subjects and so they are now within the scope of its expertise.
There are a number of disadvantages of pursuing development by acquisition.
Cost. Acquiring an organisation usually requires considerable expenditure, and evidence
suggests that the returns delivered from the organisation acquired are often less than promised in the
takeover process. Given the risk-averse nature of EMS, the Board and the Council may not want to
spend a large amount of money when the returns are not guaranteed.
Access to funds. Given the reduction in candidate numbers it is unlikely that EMS will have
enough money to fund the acquisition without looking for external financing. However, because it is
a private company it cannot use a share issue on the stock market to raise
additional finance. It will either have to seek a bank loan, or seek funding from private equity
investment or the society members themselves.
Incompatibility. Acquisitions can bring problems of assimilating employees and
different operating systems. This is likely to be the case here since this is an international
acquisition, so there could well be problems of cultural fit between EMS and the companies
acquired. Again, given EMS's cautious and risk-averse nature it is unlikely they will be prepared to
jeopardise the corporate culture through acquiring new companies.
Strategic alliances. A strategic alliance is a type of external partnering that involves some form of
co-operation between two or more organisations. Strategic alliances often involve the sharing of
resources and activities to pursue a given strategy.
Cost. One of the major advantages of a strategic alliance compared to an acquisition is that it
allows an organisation to enter into a new marketplace without the large financial outlay
required to acquire a local organisation. This could be important for EMS, given the
difficulties it may face in trying to finance an acquisition.
Corporate culture. A strategic alliance allows each of the partner organisations to maintain its
own corporate culture, and so it will avoid the cultural dislocation of either acquiring or merging
with another organisation.
Core competences. The motive for the alliance would be co-specialisation, with each partner
concentrating on the activities that best match their capabilities. This would appear to meet EMS's
requirements. The exact nature of the alliance would need to be considered carefully, and it may be
that different types of alliances are established in the three new markets which EMS is targeting.
Joint venture. If EMS established a joint venture with an appropriate partner it would have to
contribute to the costs and resources needed by the newly established organisation; such an
approach may be beneficial provided the cost and resource requirements are less than
those needed for an acquisition.
However, the time taken to establish the joint venture may be a problem if EMS wants
to move quickly into a target marketplace to attract new students. When setting up the joint venture,
EMS will have to agree with its venture partner who contributes what in terms of time and resources,
and how future profits will be shared. This could take time to agree if any points are disputed.
Licence agreement. EMS could license the use of its qualification in the target markets. Two ways
this could be arranged are:
(a) A local organisation could market the EMS qualification as its own and pay EMS
a fee for each certificate and diploma issued.
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(b) The qualification could be marketed by the local organisation as an EMS
qualification, and EMS pays the local organisation a commission for every certificate and
diploma it issues in that country.
The licence agreement will require less commitment from EMS than an acquisition, but it
will also bring less financial return because EMS has to split the revenues with the licensees in
the three target countries.
Also, by relying on licence partners to market the qualification for them, EMS will have less control
over how it is marketed. The Board and Council may consider that this loss of control is
undesirable.
Furthermore, if the qualification is successful, there is a risk that the local organisation will
develop its own alternative to EMS's qualification. It could then promote its own
qualification instead of EMS's, thereby keeping all the revenue from its own certificates rather than
just the percentage of the fee it receives on EMS's qualification.
Conclusion
In light of the above assessment it would appear that a strategic alliance is likely to be the most
appropriate method of development for EMS. The potential to establish licensing agreements is
potentially attractive because it offers quick access to new markets without requiring any
significant financial commitment from EMS or causing any cultural change within EMS.
Importantly though, entering a licensing agreement does raise concerns over losing control of the
EMS qualification in foreign markets. Ultimately, whether or not the Board and Council are prepared
to place the necessary trust in a partner organisation may well determine whether this method is
acceptable to EMS or not.
7 Azure Airline
When asked to identify, you should aim to be brief and not copy out chunks of the scenario. Instead
concentrate on explaining the risks well. In (a) you would probably need to identify and explain five
risks to gain full marks. The answer below contains more than this for illustration. Most of the risks
identified below are signalled in the question. However, it is acceptable to use your general
knowledge to identify a risk not signposted in the question, such as the fact that the price of fuel can
escalate, and Azure needs fuel to operate. You can easily spend too much time on competition risk
and on (a) in general, though. It's easy to overrun on this part and lose the chance of gaining marks
elsewhere.
In (b) you are asked for controls for the risks, and you must think widely about how the risks could be
managed. For example, think about the lease contract. It must have contingencies and protections for
Azure's operation in it. It's also important to make realistic suggestions. For example, saying that the
company should buy a new plane or employ its own captain and co-pilot would be irrelevant, as it is
only operating two days a week.
The skill on offer here is evaluation, which is a higher level skill. Fortunately, because you have been
asked to explain and recommend already, the higher level 'evaluation' skills of using professional
judgement and making a balanced assessment will hopefully have already been considered.
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Suggested solution
Factor Business risks Managing risks
Leasing of As Azure leases its equipment and the Azure must ensure that the terms of
equipment and most specialised of its staff from the contract with the international
specialist staff another airline, there is a risk that its airline ensure that aircraft and staff
equipment and/or pilots could cannot be withdrawn without
be withdrawn leaving it unable to reasonable notice, and, that in the
operate event of withdrawal, suitable
substitutes will be provided.
Conditions of The PAA requires Azure's aircraft Azure must ensure that all staff are
exclusive right engines be overhauled biannually. aware of any conditions and
There is a risk that Azure will be the importance of meeting
unable to meet this condition, if them. However, this risk must simply
the lessor company does not be accepted, as there is little Azure
agree to regular overhaul, or if it can do about conditions imposed on
will be too expensive for Azure them by the governing body of their
to meet this requirement. It could then industry.
lose the right to operate, or its
exclusivity, opening it up to
competition. There may be other
conditions which Azure has to meet,
such as the two weekly flights being a
minimum.
Necessary As Azure is required to overhaul its Azure must have contingency

service engines every two years, there will be plans for service suspension,
suspension a significant period every two years such as ensuring its contract with the
where Azure will either have to incur international airline ensures
the cost of leasing other planes alternative aircraft will be made
(assuming this is possible) or will have available in the event of maintenance
to suspend services. The cost of or damage to the aircraft, or by
leasing other planes might be making arrangements to lease from a
prohibitively expensive or the different airline in the event of
disruption to service might mean that emergency. As a minimum, Azure
conditions relating to the right to must ensure that the airline it leases
operate might not be met. As Azure from would give it financial
only has one plane, service would compensation in the event of
also be interrupted if there was an aircraft or staff not being available,
emergency relating to the plane, such so that Azure's customers could be
as fire or a crash. compensated.
Age of aircraft The aircraft being leased is old. This Azure should have plans in place to
raises operational risks (it may not be able to lease/afford newer
always be able to fly due to planes if required to by law. Again,
necessary maintenance), finance this could be written into its contract
risks (it may require regular repair) with the airline. Azure should
and compliance risks (it may not manage cash flow and
meet environmental or safety borrowing facilities so as to be
standards, now or in the future). able to afford ongoing maintenance
when required.
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High proportion The plane leased by Azure has a Azure should negotiate a
of expensive high proportion of empty reconfiguration of the plane
seats expensive seats and therefore with the lessor so that business
insufficient (overbooked) and first class seating could be
cheaper seats. Although Azure can reduced and more economy seats
appease customers by upgrading made available. If this is not possible
them, this means the airline is with the current lessor, Azure should
operating well below capacity. investigate leasing differently
configured planes from a different
company. If it is not feasible to adjust
the plane seating, Azure should
consider its pricing and on-board
facilities policies to make business
and first class seats more attractive to
customers. As the seats are not being
sold anyway, it is probable that a
reduction in prices would increase
overall revenue.
Cargo The flight route results in the airline Azure should publish a cargo
carrying a large amount of policy to ensure that customers are
horticultural produce. This raises aware of their legal obligations. They
various risks. Azure might be liable to should ensure that staff are
passengers if their cargo sufficiently trained to discuss the
deteriorates in transit. The airline contents of baggage with customers
might be liable for any breaches and are aware what items Azure
of law by its passengers (for should not carry. They should insure
example, if prohibited items are against lost and damaged cargo.
transferred into Pewta or Sepiana.
Many countries prohibit the
importation of animals or meat
products or plants).
On-board Customers are currently dissatisfied Azure should consider entering into
services with the food provision on the a contract with a company in
flight and there is a risk that food Darke to provide food for the
prepared in Lyme may become less Darke to Lyme journey. Obviously
appealing and even dangerous they must not breach any existing
when served on a Darke to Lyme flight contract with the Lyme company and
(when it has been prepared a so in the meantime should review the
substantial time earlier, given a type of food provided. For example, it
six-hour flight, at least an hour's might be safer to only offer cold food
turnaround time, and time for getting like sandwiches and cakes until a
to the airline in the first place). If the Darke contract can be set up. Even if
food makes customers ill, Azure might a new contract is set up, it might still
be faced with compensation claims. be best to offer cold food, as there is
less chance of health problems arising
as a result of serving cold food rather
than hot food.
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Pricing There is a complex system of As discussed above, Azure should

pricing and a large number of sales review the pricing policy. It
agents, and Azure is at risk of should also establish limits on
operating at a sales value less how many of certain types of
than required to cover costs (for tickets (non-refundable/single etc)
example, if too many of the cheapest can be issued for one flight and it
tickets are sold). should institute a centralised
system to ensure that each agent is
aware when limits have been
reached. As the agents must be linked
to a similar system already (to be
aware of whether tickets are available
for sale) this should not be too difficult
to achieve.
Safety The airline industry has stringent The company should appoint a
safety conditions and Azure may member of staff to be specifically
face customer boycotts or responsible for safety
difficulty in recruiting staff if safety operations (such as training,
requirements are not met, as well as updating for legal requirements,
the threat of not being allowed to fly. educating passengers) and should
ensure that staff are regularly
appraised about safety issues.
Fuel The aircraft cannot fly without The company could take out
fuel, which can be a scarce or hedging contracts against the cost
high-cost resource. If fuel prices of fuel. Other than this, there is little it
escalate due to world conditions, the can do about this matter, and it is
company might not be able to meet another risk that has to be accepted.
the costs of operating.
8 LMN
This question illustrates that questions won't always be about companies!
It's necessary to read both parts quite carefully to see what the requirement really wants – an
assessment of how much a review by the professional managers contributes to the work of the audit
committee, and therefore why the review should be carried out. You should start off by defining what
the work of the audit committee is, then consider how much managers' review contributes compared
with other sources of information that they can use.
In the second part, again you can't be too theoretical. Any discussion of principles has to be related
to how they impact on the audit committee and board's reviews. Selected examples from the
scenario information are also needed here to boost the discussion. If you can remember that the
board needs to carry out a regular and annual review and the main elements you would have scored
well here and gone a long way towards passing this question.
The question is asking you to demonstrate communication skills here and the reason they are being
rewarded here is because of the need to consider your audience: the audit committee consists of
volunteers so the tone and language you use needs to be appropriate to show that you can inform,
persuade and (above all) clarify these responsibilities.
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Suggested solution
Audit committee's role in internal control
Under corporate governance guidelines, audit committees are responsible for creating a climate of
discipline and control. To do this, they have to obtain assurance that internal control is working
effectively and providing an adequate response to the risks faced; in particular for LMN,
these will be controls over expenditure.
Importance of management review
The management review provides you with evidence of whether the control systems appear to be
effectively managing the most significant risks. It also gives you an indication of the scope
and quality of management's monitoring of risk and internal control; whether it appears to be
adequate given the risks faced. In the circumstances of LMN, as a board of volunteers, you will
wish to gain assurance that the professional managers are carrying out their duties effectively
and are worth the salaries that LMN is paying them. The review should provide feedback on
weaknesses and should lead to improvements in the control systems.
Other sources of evidence
However, management's review of internal control is only one source of evidence that you should use
to gain assurance. The audit committee should also receive reports from staff undertaking
important and high-risk activities, such as property investment, and from control functions, such
as human resources or internal audit (if you have any). Feedback from external sources such as
external audit or regulatory visits (from some of my colleagues!) will also provide information.
Review of internal controls
Taking one example of best practice in this area, the UK's FRC guidance (2014)emphasises the
importance of organisations conducting an annual review of their internal control systems. This
should involve reviewing the effectiveness of the systems to ensure that the organisation’s
management have ‘considered all significant aspects of risk management and internal control
for the company for the year under review and up to the date of approval of the annual report and
accounts.’ (FRC, 2014).
Regular review
Regular review is an essential part of the strategy for minimising risks. As audit committee members,
you are likely to have responsibility for this review, and as best practice recommends, you should
hold at least three audit committee meetings a year; this is therefore how often the review
should take place. Its findings should be communicated to the board.
The review should cover the following areas.
(1) Risk evaluation
Whether LMN is identifying and evaluating all key risks, financial and non-financial.
This is a very significant task given the variety of risks faced and also the need to devote
limited resources to the most important risks.
(2) Risk responses
Whether responses and management of risks are appropriate.
(3) Effectiveness of internal controls
The effectiveness of internal controls in countering the risks. The board should consider to what
extent controls could be expected to reduce the incidence of risks, any evidence that controls
have not been operating effectively and how weaknesses are being resolved. The board
would consider such evidence as incidence of bad debts, records of property occupation and
complaints from tenants.
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Annual review
The annual review of internal control should be more wide ranging, taking into account the
strategic objectives of the charity and undertaken by the whole board rather than just the
audit committee. It should examine controls and risk management systems in all major areas.
(1) Changes in risks
The changes since the last assessment in risks faced, and the charity's ability to respond
to changes in its environment. For example, the board would consider any changes in
LMN's credit ratings and longer-term trends, such as changes in the incidence of low-income
earners.
(2) Monitoring
The scope and quality of management's monitoring of risk and control, also
whether internal audit is required. In particular the review should consider whether the scope
and frequency of the regular review should be increased.
(3) Reports
The review should consider the extent and frequency of reports to the board; whether
reports on high incidence, high likelihood risks should be made more regularly.
(4) Impact on accounts
Significant controls, failings and weaknesses that may materially impact on the
financial statements, for example problems over its property portfolio management should be
looked at.
9 Pogles
You are not asked to use any specific ethical decision-making model (as in the real exam) but the
syllabus specifically name checks Tucker, so we should be aiming to use this by default. It's possible
to extend the concept of sustainability as we have done here, although this is usually the area with
the most leeway in definition. Note that the concept of right can be seen as meaning what is
profitable – this is the pristine capitalist view we saw in the learning materials. However, you do
need to consider other definitions of right as well.
Structuring your answer around the five questions seems to support the 10 marks on offer so this
should have been straightforward to plan.
The skill of analysis requires investigation, enquiry and consideration. You are only given the facts in
the case, but you should display the ability to consider information in such a way that their
implications are clear from your answer.
Suggested solution
Slide contents
Is the decision to treat staff in this way:
 Profitable?
- Yes, but any fines or penalties for illegal action may erode these profits
 Legal?
- Probably not due to likely breaches of EU employment laws
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 Fair?
- Not really, due to marginalising one group of employees over others
 Right?
- Perhaps in the eyes of shareholders, yes, but would it stand up to public scrutiny?
 Sustainable?
- Hard to define, but assuming labour is a resource, it may not be infinite due to these
actions
Supporting notes for each category
Profitable
At present the decision appears to be profitable. The factory is performing well against budget and
the changes in the employment terms offered to new staff should mean the factory is more
flexible in meeting customer demands. However, if the factory manager's treatment of staff is
challenged successfully in the courts, Pogles may have to pay fines and compensation.
Legal
It certainly seems that some of the factory manager's actions could be held to contravene the
law, particularly as Pogles is located in an EU state. EU law does not look kindly on employers who
are unwilling to allow their staff to work part time as long as this is reasonably
practicable for their business, as always seems to have been the case for Pogles. Pogles will also
probably have contravened local employment laws if the allegations of bullying are held to
be justified.
Fair
From the point of view of the longstanding employees, the treatment is clearly unfair, if they are
viewed as significant stakeholders because of the commitment they have shown to Pogles
over the years. The factory manager's actions are also not fair to the new employees in the sense
that they are working under different terms to longstanding employees. However, arguably they are
being given employment opportunities that they are willing to take up, so the terms do not appear to
be a significant issue for them.
Right
If right is judged solely in terms of maximising profits, then the manager's treatment of staff can be
justified. However, most societies would regard bullying in the workplace as wrong. The board
would need to consider the threat to Pogles' reputation if the behaviour became public knowledge.
Sustainable
If the idea of sustainability is confined to the natural environment, then this criterion is not relevant. It
can however be extended. If labour is treated in the same way as a natural resource, then the
factory manager's exploitation of the labour market may have its limits. Eventually they may find that
people are not prepared to be employed on those terms. If the concept of sustainability is extended
to social sustainability, then the factory manager's treatment of staff is not sustainable in the
sense that they are ignoring their need for decent working conditions that do not cause
employees stress.
10 Hammond Shoes
As with all analysis of financial statements, the starting point is to calculate relevant ratios. Focus on
the ones that seem most critical, or that can be linked to other information provided. Profitability
ratios are always important, but the company's shareholders are averse to risk and borrowing, so it
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would be helpful to understand the trend in gearing also. The delays in paying creditors suggest
some cashflow issues, so we should look at the trend in receivables days as well.
The second part of the question requires application of expected value, which is one of the
techniques you are expected to be familiar with. However, beyond the calculations, you should be
able to draw out the implications of the analysis, which is not simply the resulting number.
The 'consider' skill requires you to reflect carefully on the evidence and analysis. This would be
demonstrated by not simply performing calculations but linking them to other pieces of evidence and
demonstrating thoughtfulness about their implications. What is particularly concerning about the
financial information, given the attitude of the shareholders? The expected value is below the
proposed investment but is there a good reason for the six-year time horizon, which has a critical
impact on the calculation results?
Suggested solution
Financial analysis
The financial analysis of Hammond Shoes (HS) is considered below under the key headings of
profitability and gearing.
Profitability
The impact of the cheap imports can be clearly seen in Figure 1 as both revenues and gross profit
have fallen significantly over the four years.
The gross and net profit margins have declined steadily over the years, as shown below:
20X5 20X7 20X9
Gross profit margin 23.5% 20.0% 17.9%
Net profit margin 8.2% 4.7% 2.9%
The company has failed to keep costs under control and, while sales have fallen by $150m over the
four years (approximately 18% decrease), cost of sales has only decreased by $75m (approximately
11.5%). It is likely that this has been caused by reacting to reduced demand by reducing labour.
Given the large redundancy payments required by law in Arnland and HS's heavy use of local
labour it is likely that this was a costly exercise.
The Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) has also plummeted from 24.14% in 20X5 to just 6.45% in
20X9.
Gearing
The capital structure of HS has changed significantly over the last few years, no doubt causing
concern to this generally risk-averse organisation. In particular:
 Long-term borrowings have dramatically increased.
 Retained earnings are declining, reflecting the higher dividends taken by the family.
 Traditionally the social values of the family have been reflected in the company's very low
level of gearing, which was only 6.9% in 20X5.
 By 20X9 the company was much higher geared, having risen to 22.5%.
 While this gearing level is still relatively low, the speed with which these changes have
occurred should be of concern to the senior management of HS.
A further concern linked to gearing arises by considering the way the company manages its trade
receivables and trade payables.
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Goods in Arnland are normally supplied on 30 days' credit and back in 20X5 HS had no problem
in meeting this; however, the time taken on average to pay their suppliers has more than doubled.
Over the same period, trade receivables have slightly reduced, as shown below:
20X5 20X7 20X9
Trade payables (days) 28 43 63
Trade receivables (days) 38.65 38.93 36.50
This would indicate that HS appear to be using their suppliers as a source of free credit, on top of the
bank loans they have taken out in the last few years.
Financing costs have also risen over the last few years. This has directly affected profits and has also
caused the interest cover ratio to plummet from 14 to 1.33.
This financial analysis backs up the worrying picture presented in the scenario. Profits are falling and
HS is struggling to make the fast cost cuts needed to survive. It is becoming increasingly reliant on
external finance which will undoubtedly be a cause of great concern to the owners (on ethical
grounds) as well as to their suppliers who are unlikely to remain loyal to HS should the worrying
trend of increasingly late payment continue.
Investment analysis
The senior management appear to have accepted that the company will continue to experience low
sales despite investing in new production facilities. They then only anticipate a 30% chance of sales
increasing if there are favourable changes in the environment. This pessimistic view of the company
is reflected in both of the scenarios they have developed.
The lower labour costs and increased productivity are projected to provide net benefits of $15m over
the first three years ($5m per year) in both scenarios.
The two scenarios then split to look at the likely outcomes depending on whether low demand
continues (Scenario 1) or higher levels of demand are experienced (Scenario 2). The anticipated
value of the benefits each of these scenarios would provide are shown below:
Scenario 1:
Probability of continued low demand 0.7
Net benefits per year $5m
Total benefit for Years 4–6 ($5  3) $15m
Expected value of benefits ($15  0.7) $10.5m
Scenario 2:
Probability of higher demand 0.3
Net benefits per year $10m
Total benefit for Years 4–6 ($10  3) $30m
Expected value of benefits ($30  0.3) $9m
Total expected benefits ($15m + 10.5m + 9m) $34.5m
The total expected benefits of $34.5 is below the cost of the proposed investment $37.5. This
suggests that this investment would not be financial viable unless the second scenario actually
materialises, in which case the total benefits would be $45m ($15m + $30m).
It must be noted, however, that the projection covers only the first six years and, given that the last
upgrade was carried out 20 years ago, it is likely that net profits would continue for many years
beyond these six. However, it becomes increasingly difficult to predict net benefits beyond that six-
year timescale.
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11 Shop Reviewers Online

To help get started you may have found it useful to highlight the critical importance to SRO of
protecting its IT infrastructure. IT is clearly important as the company's operations are completely
internet based. Making this point helps to put your answer into context. An appropriate next step in
answering this question was to consider each of the two types of controls separately. Setting your
answer out under the headings of 'general controls' and 'application controls' should have made this
easier.
To produce a good answer, it was important that you read carefully through the detail in the exhibit
as there was a lots of information available for you to draw upon when identifying control
deficiencies and then classifying them as either relating to general or application controls. To
structure your work you may have found it helpful to adopt the following approach: first, state the
control weakness that you identify and classify it as either a general or application control; second,
briefly explain why this control weakness is potentially problematic; third, make a practical
improvement suggestion which could be implemented to address the weakness identified.
The 'consider' skill requires you to make use of information in a scenario as to be able to recommend
appropriate actions. In essence this requirement was asking for you to consider whether the controls
currently in place at SRO are likely to be effective in protecting the company's IT systems. This was a
great opportunity for you display your skills at identifying the issues outlined in the exhibit and to
show that you were capable of generating potential improvements. As your work is intended to be
used by SRO's founder Amy Needham and her senior management team, it is of crucial importance
that any recommendations provided were realistic and could be implemented.
Suggested solution
SRO has recognised the importance of the need for functioning systems at all times, and so has
ensured that a backup is available. This is key, as any loss of functionality will affect its ability to
operate, given that the entire operations are carried out online. However, there are some problems
with its general controls, which could severely disrupt business.
General controls
These are controls which relate to the computer environment and, hence, could affect any or all
applications in use. These may be policies with regards to the treatment of hardware or procurement,
for example, or could be specific security procedures which are in place. SRO appears to recognise
the need for general controls by having a separate computer centre, with secure access, a firewall
and a password system to protect against unauthorised access. However, despite this recognition,
there are a number of areas where the general controls are inadequate.
The computer centre is not secured despite the capability to do so. The reason given – saving time –
is not sufficient to risk security controls for. Although the 'majority of staff' at headquarters are IT
support personnel, there are still some staff who should not have access to the computer centre.
Indeed, not all IT staff need access to the main servers. Temporary staff should not fulfil roles which
are strategically important; to risk the entire operations by providing them with unrestricted access,
SRO is not showing adequate control.
Similarly, the use of a general user ID and simple password means that they have access not just to
the hardware, but to the entire system too. The user ID and password would be simple to guess
should anyone be attempting to hack into the system. SRO must immediately revert to the fingerprint
access system, and must ensure that all staff are aware of the importance of preventing unauthorised
access. The 'administrator' user should be removed immediately, and only those with administrator
rights should be afforded them in conjunction with their unique user ID. Temporary staff should be
issued with unique user IDs so that SRO can ascertain who has carried out any transactions on the
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system. In addition, users should be reminded of the necessity of changing passwords regularly and
not writing them down anywhere. This could be enforced in training and by the provision of a
procedures document.
The firewall has been turned off to allow the intelligent software to upload its findings onto SRO's
system. Unfortunately, turning off the firewall not only allows this to happen; it also opens the systems
to the threat of hackers. The firewall should be immediately re-installed. If it is finding difficulties with
the application, it may be that there is a security risk with that. This should be thoroughly investigated
and corrected.
SRO has taken precautions to have a backup system in place as contingency against disasters.
However, the system should be in a remote location, rather than in the same location as the main
servers. If there were a fire, for example, both the main servers and the backup servers would be
affected. Similarly, by having a direct link between the servers, any data corruption or unauthorised
access would affect both the servers and their backups. There should be a slight time delay in the
connection to prevent this from happening, so immediately a problem is detected the link could be
terminated, allowing the backup to be unaffected.
The controls mentioned above would affect all systems. There are some controls which affect only
specific applications used by the organisation. These are known as application controls and help
ensure that transactions are authorised, and are completely and accurately recorded, processed and
reported.
Application controls
There are some issues with the application controls on the review system, which form a threat to the
accuracy and reliability of the information provided on the system.
The intelligent software itself appears to provide out-of-date information and there is, currently, no
way of assessing whether this is the case. A verification check may be necessary to ascertain the
date of the initial posting of information and whether this is earlier or later than the date of
information already held.
The reviews posted by users may, or may not, be a fair representation of the service offered. SRO
does not verify that the information is correct, nor do they verify whether the users are who they claim
to be. Indeed, the ability for users to post anonymously means that they could post whatever they
like. There is a possibility that the users may be employed by the stores being reviewed, and giving
positive reviews in order to benefit from them. Alternatively, they may be posting negative reviews
about their competitors, again compromising the reliability and independence of the reviews. If this
were happening, and were to be discovered, it could threaten the entire existence of SRO. It may be
that a control needs to be included whereby reviewers can only submit a review if there has been an
actual transaction with the store. Similarly, the stores should have the opportunity to respond to a
review, made simpler if there is a transaction identifier available.
Overall, it appears that, despite having many of the tools in place, SRO is not using them
adequately. Procedures should be clearly defined and adhered to in order to protect from such risks.
12 Jayne Cox Direct

You need to read the question carefully and see that it is specifically asking about how technology
can be used to address the organisation's problems. This means that you need to identify the key
problems, and also link your suggestions directly to technology, rather than general ideas about
process improvement. As always, your suggestions need to be specific to this organisation – very
generic suggestions will not score well.
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The 'assess' skill requires you to use your judgement and consider the implications of your decisions.
This means identifying the most critical problems for Jayne Cox Direct to solve, and not making
suggestions that are unrealistic, or would have a negative overall effect on the organisation. It will
also help if you can show evidence of considering alternative solutions, and then using your
judgement to decide on the most appropriate one.
Suggested solution
Upstream supply chain
Upstream activities in the supply chain are those that relate to suppliers and the obtaining and storing
of raw material. Therefore, the problems that can be addressed via technology in the upstream
supply chain are those relating to procurement and inbound logistics.
Problems Suggested solutions
Long-term supplier Use e-procurement websites to identify a broader range of suppliers.

relationships may have The suppliers which may offer the best balance of quality and cost
created uncompetitive, can then be more easily selected and cost savings can be made.
complacent suppliers
Cumbersome ordering The occasional failure of the payment system to correctly match
process leading to the purchase orders to supplier invoices has led to payment delays and
occasional failure to receive criticism from suppliers.
deliveries JCD could implement a linked procurement and payment system
which connects via electronic data interchange to their suppliers.
This would allow orders to be automatically entered into the
supplier's system and all invoicing and payments would occur
electronically.
This system may not be compatible with the above suggestion as it
may be necessary to retain a smaller supplier base in order to
implement such a system. However it would reduce administrative
costs, improve the relationship with suppliers and solve the non-
delivery problem the company has experienced.
Delays as a result of An integrated system could be installed which allows suppliers to

inventory shortage view demand for particular products. This might allow them to
anticipate demand and therefore supply materials to JCD quicker.
This could help JCD to meet a greater proportion of estimated
customer delivery dates and reduce delivery lead time. This is most
likely to work with trend-driven demand such as that for particular
textiles and the usefulness of such linkages should be investigated.
Poor inventory management JCD currently stock high levels of inventory. This could be addressed
via integration between the stock system, the ordering system and the
suppliers' systems. This would allow suppliers to produce to order
(rather than to stock) and JCD could move towards a just-in-time
system so that stock is only ordered just before it is needed. This
would also enhance the suppliers' understanding of demand,
allowing them to improve their own inventory management. This
could create cost savings which may be reflected in the prices
charged to JCD and therefore lowering input costs. JCD should also
be able to implement systems that optimise the quantities of products
ordered as a result of the improved understanding of demand and
the costs of ordering and storing inventory.
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Downstream supply chain
As JCD sells direct to the customers, the downstream supply chain is reasonably straightforward. The
main weaknesses that could be addressed by technology in the downstream supply chain are
therefore the ones relating to outbound logistics and after-sales support.
Problems Suggested solutions
Failed deliveries 30% of deliveries currently fail causing an increase in the cost of
storing finished goods, increased administrative costs, and the
costs of repeat deliveries.
Route planning software could improve van utilisation, while the
use of automated emails/text messages and updates on delivery
slots would increase the chances of customers being at home when
the delivery is made.
Failure to update customers Following the initial delivery estimate provided at the time of
on order status ordering, customers receive no more updates or communication
from JCD until a week before the delivery is due to take place. This
date is often different from that originally quoted as a result of
issues with JCD's procurement processes. This date is often not
suitable for the customer (who has often planned to be available on
the date previously quoted). Yet another date then has to be
arranged and the completed product must be stored until that date.
JCD could address this by implementing an 'order tracking' facility
on their website. This involvement would enhance customer
satisfaction and also leave them more informed and more likely to
be available on the date of delivery, as they can now better plan
for this. This would reduce storage costs, as well as the costs
associated with multiple delivery attempts.
Poor/limited after-sales An FAQ section could be provided on JCD's website, eg 'how do I

service clean my new sofa?' and 'how do I order replacement materials?'.
For questions relating to replacements a link can be provided to the
relevant page where such orders can be made quickly and directly
online.
To improve customer retention, targeted emails, newsletters and
'existing customer only' special offers could be sent out on a
regular basis.
13 8-Hats
This requirement effectively consists of three parts, as you are firstly asked to discuss the principles of
matrix management, and to then consider the benefits and the problems that this presents in relation
to 8-Hats. When faced with such requirements you might find it helpful to present your answer using
these three terms as headings around which you can build your response. Adopting this approach
helps to ensure that you have addressed each part of the requirement. The suggested solution has
largely adopted this approach as it begins with a discussion of the current structure in place at
8-Hats, before moving onto discuss the features of matrix management and the benefits and issues
that this brings.
'Assess' is one of the evaluation professional skills. When you are asked to assess a situation this
requires you to use your professional judgement to consider organisational issues, in this case 8-Hats'
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current structure, and to determine the advantages (benefits) and disadvantages (problems) of a
proposed course of action, in this case the introduction of a matrix management structure at 8-Hats.
The trick to producing a good answer was to ensure that you picked up on the clue under the
requirement which asked for 'relevant' benefits and problems; this means that you need to ensure
that any points you make relate the detail provided about 8-Hats' current situation in the exhibit.
Simply listing all the generic benefits and issues associated with matrix structures would not be
sufficient to earn the professional skills marks on offer.
Suggested solution
8-Hats is currently structured on a functional basis. There is a department for each activity of the
company and each job is passed between functions. Each function is focused on optimising its part
of the transaction, and has defined objectives sometimes reflecting the reward system in place.
However, these objectives are not always aligned with those in other areas of the business and
therefore objectives clash. For example the sales department are rewarded based on turnover (not
profit) and so will try to win sales by heavily discounting the price, whereas the events department
focus on providing the best client experience. This will cause problems for the operations department
who then have the task of delivering the functionality promised by the events department at the price
promised by the sales department, while still making a profit.
Such clashes are typical of a silo mentality with functions (departments) sub-optimising based on their
own interests at the detriment to the organisational overall objectives. These conflicts can only be
resolved by referring upwards, as shown by the scenario where Barry Blunt had to arrange extra
funding to ensure suppliers could be paid before their event was boycotted.
Implementing a matrix structure would be an attempt to manage the key 'jobs' (projects) across
various functional departments. Each job has the characteristics of a project – it has a start, runs for
a specified time period, and then an end (often the actual event). Under the matrix structure the
organisation would be split into multi-disciplinary teams drawn from each of the functional
departments. Each of these teams would focus on delivering a successful and profitable project.
Decisions taken within that project will generally represent a consensus view of all those involved and
so their objectives are brought back into line with the overall objectives of the organisation. Such
focus on the event itself should greatly improve customer experience and satisfaction with 8-Hats.
A potential drawback of the matrix structure would be that decisions may take longer, due to the
need for consensus. This would perhaps create more conflict within the company, particularly if cost
and profit responsibilities are either unclear or counter-productive. To minimise potential conflict, the
reward systems at 8-Hats will probably have to be re-structured, particularly for sales managers
(currently rewarded based on turnover).
Another matrix structure problem is that job and task responsibilities may not be clear, so 8-Hats will
have to ensure these responsibilities are properly defined. This could be achieved by transferring
responsibilities for profit and work allocation to the project, while maintaining technical support and
employee appraisal and competency development within the departments. Changing to matrix
management is a fundamental change for the organisation and would therefore require significant
cultural changes to take place at 8-Hats.
14 Hooper University
To stand a reasonable chance of answering the question it is important that you read the requirement
carefully. You are only expected to focus on four problems in the current process. Failing to pick up
on this increases the risk that you may produce a considerably longer answer than is required,
especially given the number of problems outlined in the exhibits.
A good way of structuring your answer is to follow the layout of the three requirement verbs, ie
identify the problem, explain why it is a problem and then suggest a solution to address the problem.
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Adopting such an approach should ensure that you address each part of the requirement. You may
also find it useful to include headings above each of the issues you identify; this should help to ensure
that you have considered at least four issues as required.
'Consider' is one of the 'analysis' professional skills; to demonstrate these skills you need to be able
to use information from a variety of sources and to logically process it with a view to recommending
appropriate action. In this case, you are provided with two different exhibits which provide an
insight into Hooper University's coursework organisation, submission and feedback process. As a
result it is important that you use the detail from both exhibits to construct your answer. Making
generic points with limited use of the detail provided will restrict your ability to earn the two
professional skills marks on offer.
Suggested solution
The current process has a number of problems which may be causing the student comments in the
student experience report.
Timing of coursework deadlines
The course appears to be badly co-ordinated in that similar deadlines are set for different subjects.
This causes periods of high activity for students, followed by periods of low activity. It would be
preferable if the workload was evened out over the duration of the programme. This would address
one of the student comments:
'We always have about four pieces of coursework to submit at the same time, and then weeks where
nothing is required. I wish the university would manage our programme better.'
A solution would be to co-ordinate this at the start of the course. The head of department could play
a more proactive role and communicate with the lecturers after coursework deadlines have been
submitted, to organise a more balanced schedule across all subjects.
Timing of the coursework requirements publication
The lecturer releases the coursework requirements on the VLE at the beginning of the course, and so
requirements are available before the work has been covered in class. This means that students may
complete the work without having all of the relevant information to help them. As one student
commented:
'I completed and submitted my coursework early in order to manage my workload better, but then
the lecturer gave an additional lecture to help us with our coursework. This contained very useful
information, which we had not previously covered. I was not allowed to resubmit my work and so
suffered from being efficient.'
A solution may be to issue a timed release on the VLE, which will release the coursework details as
soon as the lectures relating to that topic are complete. This could also assist with students feeling that
too many pieces of coursework need completing simultaneously, as it will stagger their release.
Release of marks
It appears there are three different records of student marks, and all are input manually, which could
lead to errors. The student who commented that their end-of-year results gave a different mark would
be rightly concerned that the incorrect mark had been allocated to their degree classification.
'I received one mark from the VLE system, but when my end-of-year results were released the mark
was different.'
As a solution, the data should be input only once, by the lecturer marking the work, and a summary
of the marks should be available for download by the head of department and the administrator,
should they still need to do this. The VLE system could also be linked to other systems within the
university, automatically feeding marks directly into these systems, so avoiding input errors.
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Accuracy of coursework requirements

It appears that there are problems with the accuracy of coursework requirements, and that
adjustments have been made after they have been published. As one student commented, this meant
that time was wasted on work which was not necessary.
'There were errors in the initial coursework requirements, which were subsequently significantly
changed. I had already started the assignment so this time was wasted.'
An additional step could be added into the process, whereby another lecturer proofreads the
requirements and checks them for accuracy, relevance and validity. Although this would add time to
the overall process, it does not appear that time is an issue at the start of the process.
Tutor note. There are more than four problem areas to discuss, and for tutorial purposes we have
included a range of the areas you could have discussed. However, as the question requirement
specifically only asked for the identification and explanation of four problem areas, this is all you
should have included in your answer.
Marking and feedback activities
The guideline relating to the timing of marking is a little vague, 'within two teaching weeks of the
submitted coursework being collected from the course administration office by the lecturer', and
allows the lecturer to delay collection of the scripts in order to delay the marking. This could be one
of the reasons why students complain about the time taken to mark their coursework.
'It takes weeks to receive my marks, by which time I've forgotten what the coursework was about.'
Additionally, there appears to be no communication to the lecturer when coursework is ready to
mark. The VLE or the administration office should inform the lecturer that scripts are available.
It would appear that the lecturer marks the hard copy and types their feedback onto a new word-
processed document which is then uploaded on to the VLE. This appears to lead to the feedback
being difficult to understand, as the feedback is on a separate document. As one student commented:
'My feedback was on a separate document so I found it difficult to relate to the coursework
submitted.'
There are a number of possible solutions to these problems. The hard copy seems to be redundant if
the VLE system is used for feedback. One possibility is to drop the hard copy submission to the
administrator so that the student makes just a single submission on the VLE. The system could send an
automated email to the lecturer once a submission has been made, or the lecturer could periodically
log on to the system to view submissions.
The VLE system could be upgraded to allow online marking, with the online annotation of scripts, and
automatic addition of marks awarded. This would align the feedback to the coursework and would
ensure that the lecturer marks the correct, up-to-date version of the work submitted. This should help
eradicate the following problems.
'The lecturer said he did not receive the hard copy of my coursework but I know I handed it in. This
was counted as a non-submission.'
'I accidentally submitted an unfinished piece of coursework to the administration office but submitted
the correct one to the system. The lecturer marked the unfinished piece.'
The university guideline should be amended to suggest that marking should be completed within a set
number of weeks of the coursework submission date, not the date that the lecturer collects the scripts
from the administration office.
It may be possible for the administrator to be removed entirely from the process; guidelines could be
issued by the head of department, and it has already been suggested that marks could be
automatically fed into the administrative systems, eliminating the need for manual input.
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System deficiencies
The system does not appear to allow for the re-submission of completed coursework. This means that
if an upload does not occur correctly, or the student uploads the wrong document, they may be
assessed unfairly.
'I completed and submitted my coursework early in order to manage my workload better… I was not
allowed to resubmit my work and so suffered from being efficient.'
It should be possible to submit coursework more than once, with a new receipt given each time, until
the final submission deadline. To ensure that the correct file is uploaded, there should be an
additional process whereby the system opens the uploaded file and asks the student to verify that it is
the correct, up-to-date version.
15 LDB Bank
The requirement was formed of two closely connected parts as you were asked to 'identify' and then
'analyse' the elements of good project management. In this case the need to 'identify' effectively
meant that you needed to state the elements of good project management detailed in the scenario.
The requirement to 'analyse' in essence is asking you to explain why the point that you stated
represents good project management practice. As you were only asked to consider the 'elements of
good project management' any discussion of poor practice would only have served to waste your
time and would earn no marks.
The 'investigate' skill requires you to pick out the relevant information from different sources in order
to construct an answer. In this case you were provided with two exhibits. These required you to read
through them carefully so that you firstly understood the nature of the branch rationalisation project
and secondly appreciated the issues that had occurred and ultimately how they had been resolved.
As mentioned above, to demonstrate your analysis skills you needed to provide reasoned
explanations as to why the elements you identified represented good project management. Repeating
points from the scenario with no attempt at explaining their significance will lead to a failure to earn
the professional marks on offer.
Suggested solution
The elements of good project management that helped make the branch rationalisation project
successful include:
 Experienced project manager: the project manager was experienced and had worked
for the bank for many years. He was assigned to the project full time allowing him to focus
entirely on the project.
 Dedicated team: the project team were also seconded full time to the project. This prevents
them becoming distracted by day-to-day pressures. Where project teams are also expected to
continue with their usual role, the project is much less likely to succeed. This is because it has a
long-term focus, whereas day-to-day tasks usually require more urgent attention. The project
will inevitably take a lower priority.
 Mix of team: the team consisted of 12 members of staff, six of which came from each of the
banks that existed prior to the acquisition. This meant that they had a good understanding of
each of the banks, and that the team was 'politically' balanced, not favouring one over the
other.
 Project sponsor: the operations director, a high-ranking employee in LDB, was appointed
as project sponsor. This indicates management support for the project and shows that they are
committed to its success. His high level within the organisation also means that he has the
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authority to make key decisions relating to the project and authorise both decisions and
expenditure. This prevents the project from drifting.
 Defined objectives: the aims of the project were clearly defined and quantified at the start
of the project (to cut the number of branches by 20% and branch employment by 10%). By
doing this, it was easy to measure whether or not the objectives were met. It also meant that
everyone involved in the project knew exactly what they were working towards.
 Defined constraints: it was specified at the start of the project that there would be no
compulsory staff redundancies. This meant that those working on the project were clear about
what was outside the scope of the project and prevented the implementation of inappropriate
solutions.
A timescale of two years was also set at the start of the project. This meant staff knew how
long was available for them to complete the project and kept them focused. If there is no clear
time frame, projects can easily expand or lose focus.
 Potential slippage identified: the timescale was carefully monitored, and both potential
slippage and its cause were identified and dealt with early on. This allowed for a revised
schedule and deadline extension to be authorised.
 Formal review: at the end of the project, both a benefits realisation review and a post-
project review were carried out. This allowed the team to prove that the project's original
objectives had been met. It also ensured any lessons learnt were fed back into the project
management system, preventing future teams making the same mistakes.
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Glossary
Chapter 1 Strategy, leadership and culture

 Change agent: 'Is an individual or group that helps to effect strategic change in an organisation.'
 Corporate governance: Concerns the conduct of senior officers in an organisation. It also relates
to the way organisations are directed and controlled.
 Corporate social responsibility (CSR): The approach taken by organisations to provide benefit
to society in general rather than specific stakeholders.
 Cultural web: An analysis that compares the paradigm (assumptions) in an organisation's culture
with the physical manifestations of that culture.
 Entrepreneurship: Is a process by which individuals, teams or organisations identify and exploit
opportunities for new products or services that satisfy a need in a market.
 Ethics: The study of right and wrong.
 Instrumental leadership: Leadership based on systems and controls (also called transactional
leadership).
 Intrapreneurship: Means applying entrepreneurial principles within organisations.
 Leadership: Is the process of influencing an organisation (or group within an organisation) in its
efforts towards achieving an aim or goal (Johnson et al, 2017: p.470).
 Mission statements: Are formal documents that state the organisation's mission. They are
published within organisations to promote desired behaviour: support for strategy and purpose,
adherence to core values and adoption of policies and standards of behaviour.
 Organisational culture: 'A pattern of shared basic assumptions…considered valid and
transmitted to new members' (Schein, 1985). It has also been described as 'the way we do things
round here'.
 Strategy: 'Is the long-term direction of an organisation.' (Johnson et al, 2017)
 Trait theories: The qualities possessed by good leaders.
 Transformational leadership: Leadership that energises people and builds a clear vision of the
future (also called charismatic leadership).
Chapter 2 Stakeholders and social responsibility

 Ecosystem: ‘A complex web of interdependent enterprises and relationships aimed at creating and
allocating business value. Ecosystems tend to be broad, potentially spanning multiple geographies
and industries, including public and private institutions and consumers.’ (IBM, 2017: p.3).
 Integrated thinking: 'Is the active consideration by the organization of the relationships between
its various operating and functional units and the capitals that the organization uses or affects.'
(International Integrated Reporting Council, 2019)
 <IR>: 'Is a process founded on integrated thinking that results in a periodic integrated report by an
organization about value creation over time and related communications regarding aspects of value
creation. An integrated report is a concise communication about how an organization's strategy,
governance, performance and prospects, in the context of its external environment, lead to the
creation of value in the short, medium and long term.' (International Integrated Reporting Council,
2018)
 Agency relationship: 'Is a contract under which one or more persons (the principals) engage
another person (the agent) to perform some service on their behalf that involves delegating some
decision-making authority to the agent'. (Jensen and Meckling, 1976: p.5)
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 Agent: Is usually a director who is interested in personal gain from their employment.
 Environmental footprint: Is a measure of the impact that a particular business's activities have
upon the environment including its resource, environment and pollution emissions.
 Fiduciary duty: Is a duty of care and trust which one person or entity owes to another. It can be a
legal or ethical obligation.
 Principal: Is usually a shareholder who is interested in wealth creation from their investment.
 Social accounting: Is a concept describing the communication of social and environmental effects
of a company's economic actions to stakeholders. A number of reporting guidelines have been
developed to serve as frameworks.
 Social footprint: Is a measure of the impact or effect that an entity can have on a given set of
concerns or stakeholder interests.
 Stakeholder: Is someone who affects or is affected by an entity and who has a corresponding
claim (usually this is what they want).
 Sustainability: Means limiting the use of depleting resources to a level that can be replenished.
 Sustainable development: Is development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Chapter 3 Impact of corporate governance on strategy

 Accountability: Having to answer for the consequences of actions and knowing who that relates
to.
 Chair: Is employed to run the board of directors, usually non-executive.
 Chief Executive Officer (CEO): Is employed to manage the company through its executive
directors.
 Corporate governance: 'A set of relationships between a company's directors, its shareholders
and other stakeholders. It also provides structure through which the objectives of the company are
set, and the means of obtaining these objectives and monitoring performance are determined.'
(OECD, 2004: p.4)
 Corporate governance: Is the system by which organisations are directed and controlled.
(Cadbury, 1992: p.15)
 Fairness: Is concerned with balance; respecting the rights and views of any group with a legitimate
interest.
 Independence: Means being free from bias or undue influence; independence of mind and in
appearance.
 Innovation: Change happens and governance must stay fit for purpose regardless.
 Insider system: Occurs when most companies listed on the local stock exchange are owned by a
small number of dominant investors (eg family-owned).
 Institutional investors: Include investors such as pension funds that make up a sizeable
proportion of shareholders in any one company, usually for the purpose of holding a portfolio of
shares.
 Integrity: Is concerned with straightforward dealing and completeness; high moral character;
honesty.
 Judgement: Making complex decisions that enhance the organisation's prosperity.
 Multi-tier board structure: This could be two or three-tiered and have a variety of
representation.
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Glossary
 Non-executive director: Is employed to support the board in the areas of strategy, scrutiny,
people and risk but not employed in an executive position (so can be independent of the main
board).
 Outsider system: Occurs where shareholding is more widely dispersed by large numbers of
investors (eg stock market shareholders).
 Principles-based governance: Uses a broad series of ideas to set corporate governance
behaviour, usually requiring 'comply or explain' disclosure (eg UK Corporate Governance Code).
 Probity: Means being truthful and not misleading; avoiding disingenuous behaviour.
 QuANGO: Is a quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisation (supporting government even if
not a government department).
 Reputation: Other people's perceptions or expectations: a valuable asset of any organisation.
 Responsibility: Acknowledgement of praise or blame; open management of errors and failures.
 Rules-based governance: A system based on inflexible rules that must be complied with, or else
face sanctions from a regulator (eg Sarbanes-Oxley in the USA).
 Scepticism: Means considering all parts of a business with an open mind; no preconceptions.
 Transparency: Providing open and clear disclosure, including voluntary disclosure of reliable
information.
 Unitary boards: A board structure with only one board of directors
Chapter 4 The external environment

 Critical success factors: The aspects of a product or service that are particularly valued by
customers and therefore those at which a business must excel in order to outperform its competitors.
 Demographics: Is the study of the human population and particular groups within it; analysis of
data relating to the population.
 Market segmentation: The division of a market into homogeneous groups of potential customers
who may be treated similarly for marketing purposes.
 Scenario planning: Involves constructing plausible views of how the business environment of an
organisation might develop in the future, based on sets of key drivers for change.
 Strategic drift: An organisation's strategies fail to address its strategic position, particularly in
response to environmental change, leading to a deterioration in the organisation's performance.
Chapter 5 Strategic capability

 Competitive advantage: The ability of an organisation to generate greater returns than those of
competitors over the long term, as opposed to short-term tactics which provide a temporary advantage.
 Core competences: The activities and processes through which resources are deployed in such a
way as to achieve competitive advantage in ways that others cannot imitate or obtain.
 Dynamic capabilities: 'Are an organisation's abilities to develop and change competences to
meet the needs of rapidly changing environments.' (Johnson et al, 2017)
 Strategic capability: An organisation's ability to survive and prosper depends on its strategic
capability; this can be defined as the adequacy and suitability of its resources and competences.
 SWOT analysis: Summarises the key issues from the business environment and the strategic
capability of an organisation that are most likely to impact on strategy development.
 The value network: 'Is the set of inter-organisational links and relationships that are necessary to
create a product or service.' (Johnson et al, 2017)
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 Threshold competences: Those activities and processes needed to meet the customer's minimum
requirements.
 Threshold resources: Those resources needed to meet the customer's minimum requirements.
Resources can be tangible or intangible.
 Unique resources: Those resources that critically underpin competitive advantage and that others
cannot easily imitate or obtain. Resources can be tangible or intangible.
 Value activities: Are the means by which a firm creates value in its products.
Chapter 6 Competitive advantage and strategic choice

 A merger: Involves two separate organisations joining together to form a single entity.
 A strategic alliance: Is a type of external partnering that involves some form of co-operation
between two or more organisations. Strategic alliances often involve the sharing of resources and
activities to pursue a given strategy.
 Acquisition: Involves the purchase of one entity by another.
 Business combination: Occurs where an entity enters into formal, legal relationships with another
entity through some form of joint ownership. Acquisitions and mergers are common types of business
combination.
 Cost leadership: Means being the lowest cost producer in the industry as a whole.
 Differentiation: Is the exploitation of a product or service which the industry as a whole believes to
be unique.
 Ethnocentrism: Is a home country orientation. The organisation focuses on its domestic market and
sees exports as secondary to domestic marketing.
 External partnering: Joint ventures, franchising and strategic alliances are all forms of partnering
in which arrangements are established with external third parties with a view to achieving a common
purpose. External partnering usually restricts formal legal arrangements between entities to specific
operations.
 Focus: Involves a restriction of activities to only part of the market (a segment).
– Providing goods and/or services at lower cost (cost focus)
– Providing a differentiated product or service (differentiation focus)
 Franchising: Is a method of expanding the business on less capital than would otherwise be
possible, because franchisees not only pay a capital lump sum to the franchiser to enter the franchise
but they also bear some of the running costs of the new outlets/operations.
 Geocentrism and regiocentrism: Are based on the assumption that there are both similarities
and differences between countries that can be incorporated into regional or world objectives and
strategies.
 Globalisation: Refers to the growing interdependence of countries worldwide through increased
trade, increased capital flows and the rapid diffusion of technology.
 Horizontal integration: Makes use of current capabilities by development into activities that are
competitive with, or directly complementary to, an organisation's present activities.
 Internal development (sometimes referred to as organic growth): Is the primary method
of growth for many organisations, for a number of reasons.
 Joint venture: Is an arrangement when two (or more) entities join forces to create a separate entity
which has a purpose which is distinct from the business operations of the two entities that established it.
 Lock-in: Is achieved in a market when an organisation's product becomes the industry standard.
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Glossary
 Marketing mix: Is the set of controllable variables and their levels that the organisation uses to
influence the target market.
 Partnering: Is the term used to describe the types of arrangements which fall short of formal
business combinations.
 Polycentrism: Involves the formulation of objectives on the assumption that it is necessary to adapt
almost totally the product and the marketing programme to each local environment. Thus, the various
country subsidiaries (SBUs) of a multinational corporation are free to formulate their own objectives
and plans.
 Product-market mix: Is a shorthand term for the products and services a firm sells (or a service
which a public sector organisation provides) and the markets it sells them to.
 Related diversification: Is strategy development beyond current products and markets but within
the capabilities or value network of the organisation (Johnson et al, 2017).
 Unrelated diversification: Is the development of products or services beyond the current
capabilities or value network (Johnson et al, 2017).
 Vertical integration: Occurs when an organisation expands backwards or forwards within its
existing value network and thus becomes its own supplier or distributor.
Chapter 7 Assessing and managing risk

 ALARP: Refers to 'as low as reasonably practicable' – a pragmatic approach to managing risks that
seeks the most appropriate response to any risk by balancing cost and benefit.
 Correlated risks: Two risks that vary together. If positive correlation exists, the risks will increase
or decrease together. If negative correlation exists, one risk will increase as the other decreases and
vice versa.
 Diversification: Offsetting risks that are negatively correlated to balance their impact and
likelihood regardless of the circumstances (sometimes called a 'portfolio' approach).
 Embedding risk: Ensuring that the approach to managing risks is considered at all times and in all
roles by making it a part of the culture and values of an organisation.
 Fundamental risks: Are those that affect society in general, or broad groups of people, and are
beyond the control of any one individual. For example, there is the risk of atmospheric pollution
which can affect the health of a whole community but which may be beyond the control of an
individual within it.
 Operational risk: Risk that arises from the normal day-to-day activity of a company.
 Particular risks: Are risks over which an individual may have some measure of control. For
example, there is a risk attached to smoking and we can mitigate that risk by refraining from
smoking.
 Pure risks: Are those whose only possible outcome is harmful. The risk of loss of data in computer
systems caused by fire is a pure risk because no gain can result from it.
 Related risks: Risks that are connected because the causes of the risk are the same.
 Risk: Is a condition in which there exists a quantifiable dispersion in the possible results of an
activity.
 Risk appetite: Describes the nature and strength of risks that an organisation is prepared to bear.
 Risk attitude: Is the directors' views on the level of risk that they consider desirable.
 Risk averse: Accepting risks up to a certain point as long as they represent an acceptable return.
 Risk capacity: Describes the nature and strength of risks that an organisation is able to bear.
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 Risk manager: A role that supports the board by taking the lead on risk and developing policy
and practice on managing risks.
 Risk maps (sometimes called heat maps): These show risks in a visual way by plotting them
on a chart according to their impact and likelihood.
 Risk seeker: Pursuing the highest returns regardless of risks (within reason).
 Speculative risks: Are those from which either good or harm may result. A business venture, for
example, presents a speculative risk because either a profit or loss can result.
 Strategic risk: The risk that arises from longer-term decisions or events.
 TARA: The model referred to when considering responses to risks – Transfer, Avoid, Reduce and
Accept.
Chapter 8 Internal control systems

 APIPS: The most common forms of control activity: authorisation; performance reviews; information
processing; physical controls; segregation of duties.
 Control procedures: The activities that make up any system of internal control (see 'APIPS'
above).
 COSO: The US standard approach to internal controls which supports 'RORCS'.
 Enterprise Risk Management (ERM): The system used to apply the COSO approach.
 Internal control: 'Is a process affected by an entity's board of directors, management and other
personnel, designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the achievement of objectives,
reporting and compliance.'
(Committee of Sponsoring Organisations of the Treadway Commission, 2013: p.3)
 RORCS: The objectives of any system of internal control: risk management; operations; reporting;
compliance; safeguarding assets.
 Sarbanes-Oxley (sometimes referred to as either SarbOx or just SOx): Is the US
corporate governance legislation (of greatest relevance here is the section that relates to the need for
a management review of the effectiveness of internal controls).
 FRC guidance: UK guidance relating to risk management and internal controls.
Chapter 9 Applying ethical principles

 Advocacy: The ethical threat arising from representing a client in two different capacities.
 Bribery: Influencing someone to behave inappropriately by means of money, goods or services.
 Confidentiality: The fundamental ethical principle associated with respecting information and not
abusing it.
 Corruption: Deviation from prescribed behaviour, usually in conjunction with some other gain.
 Familiarity: The ethical threat arising from having a personal connection with a client.
 Fraud: The deliberate act of gaining an advantage by knowingly breaking the law.
 Integrity: The fundamental ethical principle associated with honesty and truthful behaviour.
 Intimidation: The ethical threat arising from being forced into a course of action against your will.
 Objectivity: The fundamental ethical principle associated with avoiding bias.
 Professional behaviour: Imposes an obligation on professional accountants to 'comply with
relevant laws and regulations and avoid any conduct that may bring discredit to the profession.'
(IESBA, 2018: p.18)
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 Professional behaviour: The fundamental ethical principle associated with acting in a manner
that respects the accountancy profession.
 Professional competence and due care: The fundamental ethical principle associated with
maintaining professional skills and carrying out your duties to the best of your ability.
 Self-interest: The ethical threat arising from actions that benefit you and not your clients.
 Self-review: The ethical threat arising from reviewing your own work (in other words, a failure to
be sufficiently sceptical).
 The public interest: The collective wellbeing of the community of people and institutions the
professional accountant serves.
Chapter 10 Financial analysis

 A budget: Is a business plan for the short term, usually one year. It is likely to be expressed in
financial terms and its role is to convert the strategic plans into specific targets.
 A decision tree: Is a diagram which illustrates choices and the possible outcomes of decisions. It
shows both the probability and the value of expected outcomes.
 A standard cost: Is an estimated unit cost.
 A standard: Is a carefully predetermined quantity target which can be achieved in certain
conditions.
 Business partner: Means finance (or other support) professionals being fully embedded in the
operations of the business.
 Expected value (or EV): Is a weighted average value, based on probabilities.
 Full cost: Is the total amount sacrificed to achieve a particular objective, including all related costs.
 Initial coin offering (ICO): Involves the creation of virtual 'tokens' which are sold to raise funds
for business projects.
 Internal rate of return: Is the discount rate that will bring the net present value to zero for a
given set of cash flows.
 Leading and lagging: Means raising cash by delaying payments to suppliers and accelerating
receipts from customers.
 Linear regression: Is the numerical relationship between two variables.
 Net present value: Is a calculation of all cash flows relating to an investment, allowing for the
time value of money.
 Payback: Is a calculation of how long it will take an investment to pay itself back, ignoring the time
value of money.
 Relevant costs: Are those costs that are relevant to a particular decision. All fixed costs are
irrelevant to the decision because they will be the same whatever decision is made. Similarly, any
costs which do not represent cash, or have already been incurred, are not considered relevant.
 Return on capital employed: This is also known as accounting rate of return or return on
investment. It can be used for projects as well as organisations.
 Risk: Involves situations or events which may or may not occur, but whose probability of occurrence
can be calculated statistically and the frequency predicted.
 Sensitivity analysis: Means calculating the effect of changes in certain variables such as demand
or inflation on a forecast.
 Standard costing: Involves the establishment of predetermined estimates of the costs of products
or services, the collection of actual costs and the comparison of the actual costs with the
predetermined estimates. The predetermined costs are known as standard costs and the difference
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between the standard and the actual cost is known as a variance. The process by which the total
difference between standard and actual results is analysed is known as variance analysis.
 The coefficient of determination: Explains the proportion of variation in one variable that is
explained by variation in the other.
 Time series analysis: Aims to separate seasonal and cyclical fluctuations from long-term
underlying trends.
 Uncertainty: Involves situations or events whose outcome cannot be predicted with statistical
confidence.
Chapter 11 Applications of IT
 An information system: Consists of the systems, processes and procedures involved in
collecting, storing, processing and distributing information.
 Big data: 'Is a popular term used to describe the exponential growth and availability of data, both
structured and unstructured.' (SAS, 2016)
 Cloud computing: Is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a
shared pool of configurable computing resources (eg, networks, servers, storage, applications and
services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service
provider interaction (National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2011).
 Cybersecurity: Is concerned with the protection of systems, networks and data in cyberspace.
 Cyberspace: Is the term used to describe the environment in which communication over IT networks
takes place.
 Mobile technology: Is concerned with technology that is portable. Mobile technology devices
include: laptops, tablet computers, smartphones, GPS technologies. Such devices enable users to
communicate with one another in different ways, some of which may make use of the internet.
Communicative features of mobile technologies include: Wi-Fi connectivity, Bluetooth and 4G
technologies.
 The information systems (IS) strategy: Is the long-term plan for systems to exploit information
in order to support organisational strategies or create new strategic options.
 The 'Internet of Things': This relates to sensors embedded in physical objects which are capable
of creating, communicating and sharing data across wired and wireless networks that function in a
similar way to the internet.
Chapter 12 E-business
 A brand: Is a name, symbol, term, mark or design that enables customers to identify and distinguish
the products of one supplier from those offered by competitors (Pride and Ferrell, 2014).
 A business model: Describes a value proposition for customers and other participants, an
arrangement of activities that produces this value, and associated revenue and cost structures
(Johnson et al, 2017).
 Blockchain: Is a public form of bookkeeping that uses a digital ledger to allow individuals to share
a record of transactions.
 Cryptocurrency: Is a digital currency, which uses internet technologies to facilitate transactions
made online. Cryptography is a key feature of cryptocurrency.
 Disruptive innovation: Describes a process by which a product or service takes root initially in
simple applications at the bottom of a market and then relentlessly moves up market, eventually
displacing established competitors.
 E-business: Has been defined by IBM (1997) as cited by Chaffey and Smith (2013) as 'the
transformation of key business processes through the use of internet technologies'.
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Glossary
 E-business strategy: Is defined as the approach by which the application of internal and external
electronic communications can support and influence corporate strategy.
 E-procurement: Is the purchase of supplies and services through the internet and other information
and networking systems, such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI).
 Innovation: Involves the conversion of new knowledge into a new product, process or service and
the putting of this new product, process or service into actual use (Johnson et al, 2017).
 Mutuality: ‘An enhanced level of co-ordination with formally or informally shared ideals,
standards or goals.’ (Davidson et al, 2014: p.5).
 Orchestration: ‘The co-ordination, arrangement and management of complex environments.’
(Davidson et al, 2014: p.6).
 Social innovation: Describes 'a broad range of organisational and inter-organisational activity
that is ostensibly designed to address the most deep-rooted "problems" of society, such as poverty,
inequality and environmental degradation.' (Tracey & Stott, 2016)
Chapter 13 Enabling success and strategic change

 A global business service: Effectively brings together existing shared service and outsourcing
arrangements together to form an integrated, collaborative framework which helps to co-ordinate
and support the global operations of the organisation in areas including finance, HR, IT and
procurement.
 Boundary-less organisations: Are those which have structured their operations to allow for
collaboration with external parties.
 Centralisation: Means a greater degree of central control.
 Decentralisation: Means a greater degree of delegated authority to regions or sub-units.
 Empowerment: Is the term for making workers (and particularly work teams) responsible for
achieving, and even setting, work targets, with the freedom to make decisions about how they are to
be achieved.
 Offshoring: Is a form of outsourcing that involves an external entity based in a different country
providing an organisation with a particular product or process which had previously been provided
in-house.
 Outsourcing: Involves an organisation contracting out certain internal business functions to a third
party.
 Shared servicing: Is an alternative to outsourcing, where shared service centres (SSC) consolidate
the transaction-processing activities of many operations within an organisation.
 Talent management: Is principally concerned with initially attracting and subsequently
identifying, developing and retaining individuals within the organisation who are considered to be
important to the future success of the organisation.
Chapter 14 Process redesign

 A process redesign pattern: Is a general approach to redesigning processes for their
improvement.
 A process: 'Is a bounded set of activities that are undertaken, in response to some event, in order to
generate an output'. (Harmon, 2014)
 Business process re-engineering: 'Is the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of
 Gaps and disconnects: Target problems at departmental boundaries.
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 Re-engineering: Starts with a clean sheet of paper.
 Simplification: Eliminates redundant process elements.
 Value-added analysis: Eliminates activities that do not add value. This has parallels with the
concept of 'lean' production.
Chapter 15 Project management

 A Gantt chart: Shows the deployment of resources over time.
 A business case: Is a key document for a project. It is used to propose a course of action to senior
management for their consideration.
 A gateway: Is a project review point at which certain criteria must be met before the project can
pass through the gateway and proceed to the next stage.
 A milestone: 'Is a significant event in the life of the project, usually completion of a major
deliverable.' (Greer, 2002: p.11)
 A progress report: Shows the current status of the project, usually in relation to the planned
status.
 A project: Is 'an undertaking that has a beginning and an end and is carried out to meet
 A resource histogram: Shows a view of project data in which resource requirements, usage and
availability are shown against a time scale.
 Capital expenditure: Acquires or produces an asset whose value continues to be used (or
consumed) over several financial years.
 Critical path analysis (CPA): Aims to ensure the progress of a project, so the project is
completed in the minimum amount of time.
 Data visualisation: Is the presentation of data in a pictorial or graphical format which is easier
for recipients to process than detailed written data.
 Financial: Benefits are quantified benefits that have had a financial formula (such as cost or price)
applied to them to produce a financial value for the benefits.
 Measurable: Benefits relate to an area of performance that could be (or already is being)
measured, but it is not possible to quantify how much performance will increase as a result of the
change.
 Observable: Benefits are those which are measured by experience or judgement. 'Soft' benefits
such as staff morale fall into this category.
 Operating costs: Refer to any expenditure on things whose value is used up within the same
financial year.
 Post-implementation reviews: Are assessments of the completed working solution.
 Project management: 'Integration of all aspects of a project, ensuring that the proper knowledge
and resources are available when and where needed, and above all to ensure that the expected
outcome is produced in a timely, cost-effective manner. The primary function of a project manager is
to manage the trade-offs between performance, timeliness and cost' (CIMA, 2005).
 Project budget: The amount and distribution of resources allocated to a project.
 Quantifiable: Benefits are those where the level of benefit that will result from the change can be
reliably forecast based on the evidence in place.
 Resources: Are the money, facilities, supplies, services and people allocated to the project.
 Scope creep: Relates to uncontrolled changes in the scope of a project.
 Slippage: Occurs when a project is running behind schedule.
 The completion report: Summarises the results of the project, and includes client sign-off.
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Glossary
 The post-project review: Is a formal review of the project that examines the lessons that may be
learned and used for the benefit of future projects.
 The project initiation document (also known as the project charter): Complements the
business case: while the business case explains the need for work on the project to start, the charter
gives authorisation for work to be done and resources used.
 The project manager: Takes responsibility for ensuring the desired result is achieved on time and
within budget.
 The project sponsor: Provides and is accountable for the resources invested into the project and
 Work breakdown structure (WBS): Is the analysis of the work required to complete the
project, broken down into manageable components.
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690
Index
Index
<IR>, 50, 51, 52 Business case, 442, 461
Business combination, 165
6 Is model, 347
Business ethics, 85
A Business model, 357
Business partner, 288
AA1000 standard, 49 Business process controls, 223
Absorption, 455 Business process re-engineering, 419
Accountability, 63 Business, 11
Acquisition, 165 Business-level strategy, 11
Active stakeholders, 36
Administrative and accounting controls, 224 C
Administrative controls, 224
Cadbury report, 236
Advantages and disadvantages of COSO,
Campbell and Yeung, 11
221
Capital expenditure, 447
Advocacy, 262
Cash cows, 154
Agency problem, 15
Category of capital, 51
Agency relationship, 32
Centralisation, 383
Agency theory, 32
Chair, 73
Agent, 32
Change agent, 6, 7
ALARP, 205
Change and leadership, 6
Annual reports, 85
Change control, 454
Annual review of controls, 234
Change management styles, 7
APIPS, 228
Characteristics of strategic decisions, 16
Ashridge College model of mission, 11
Charismatic and transactional leadership, 7
Audit committee, 77, 236
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), 73
Avoidance, 455
CIMA, 435
B Cloud computing, 287, 314, 315
Co-branding, 352
Baldrige Criteria, 390 Coefficient of determination, 302
Balogun and Hope Hailey, 7, 398, 399, 410 Collaborative working, 384
Banner advertising, 353 Communication, 441
Baxter, 354 Competences, 131
BBC, 457 Competitive advantage, 129
BCG matrix, 153 Competitive products, 150
Big data analytics, 318 Completion report, 456
Big data, 287, 319 Confidentiality, 261, 262
Blockchain, 360 Conflict of interest, 32
Board leadership, 73 Conglomerate, 162
Board membership, 71 Connected stakeholders, 36
Board responsibilities, 70 Control activities, 220
Bottom-up budgeting, 448 Control environment, 195, 220
Boundary-less organisations, 384 Control procedures, 220, 228
Boundary-less organisations, 384 Controls over financial reporting, 229
Brand, 350 Core competences, 129
Branding, 350 Corporate appraisal, 139
Breakthrough products, 150 Corporate citizenship, 42
Bribery, 252 Corporate codes of ethics, 258
Budget, 302 Corporate controls, 223
Budgeting, 302 Corporate governance in the UK, 66
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Corporate governance, 15, 62 Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS),
Corporate social responsibility (CSR), 49
15, 41 Ecosystem, 542
Corporate social responsibility and business Economies of scope, 158
ethics, 85 Effectiveness of boards, 70
Corporate strategy, 11 Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), 352
Correlated risks, 205 E-marketing mix (6 Is), 347
Corruption, 252 E-marketing, 347
COSO, 216 Embedding risk, 191
Cost focus strategy, 151 Empowerment structure, 394
Cost focus, 149 Empowerment, 393, 409
Cost leadership, 149, 150 Empowerment, 393, 409
Cost-benefit analysis, 426 Enterprise Risk Management (ERM),
Cost-benefit evaluation, 447 219
Crisis, 383 Entrepreneurship, 10
Critical path analysis (CPA), 449 Environmental and social issues, 47
Critical success factors, 119 Environmental audit,50, 54
Cross-subsidisation, 159 Environmental feasibility, 426
Cryptocurrency, 360 Environmental footprint, 47
CSR 2.0, 44 Environmental policy, 49
CSR viewpoints, 43 E-procurement, 352
Cultural web, 18 Ethical stances, 42
Customers, 119 Ethics, 5, 13
Cybersecurity, 331 Ethnocentrism, 163, 302
Cyberspace, 331 Expected value, 295
Expert system, 132
D External auditors, 85
External environment, 107
Data analytics, 318
External partnering, 166, 386
Datamining, 132
External stakeholders, 36
Data visualisation, 620
Decentralisation, 383 F
Decision tree, 295
Delayering, 393 Fairness, 63
Demographics, 109 Familiarity, 262
Differentiation focus strategy, 151 Feasibility, 426
Differentiation focus, 149 Fiduciary duty, 40
Differentiation, 149, 150, 153 Financial, 445
Discretionary and non-discretionary controls, Financial and non-financial controls, 228
226 Financial controls, 228
Disruptive innovation, 359 Financial feasibility, 426
Diversification, 205 Financial Return, 286
Diversity, 163 Financial Risk, 286
Dividend decisions, 289 Financing decision, 289
Dogs, 154 FinTech, 287, 359
Dynamic capabilities, 131 Firm infrastructure, 134
Flexibility, 393
E Focus (or niche) strategy, 151
Focus, 149, 151
E-business, 344 Forecasting, 300
E-business strategy, 344 Franchising, 167
Fraud, 249
692
Index
FRC guidance, 216 Innovation, 63, 138, 356

Full cost, 300 Insider system, 83
Functional boards, 75 Institutional investors, 84
Fundamental risks, 190 Instrumental leadership, 7
Funding, 286 Integrated Reporting, 50
Integrated thinking, 50
G Integration, 347
Integrity, 63, 261
Gantt chart, 448, 449
Intelligence, 347
Gaps and disconnects, 423
Interactivity, 347
Gateway, 451
Internal audit, 238
General and application controls, 227
Internal Auditing Handbook, 239
Geocentrism and regiocentrism, 164
Internal control, 216
Geocentrism, 164
Internal development, 164
Global business service, 390
Internal environment, 220
Global Reporting Initiative (GR), 49
Internal partnering, 168, 385
Globalisation, 163
Internal rate of return, 292
Greer, 452
Internal stakeholders, 36
Groupware, 132
Internet of Things, 318
Growth vector matrix, 158
Intimidation, 262
H Intranet, 132
Intrapreneurship, 10
Habituation, 405 Investment decision-maker, 441
Hammer and Champy, 419 Investment decisions, 289
Harmon, 417, 419, 421, 422, 423, 427, Investment trusts, 84
430 ISO 14000, 50
Harmon's process redesign methodology, 427 ISO 14001, 50
Harmon's process-strategy matrix, 417
Haynes, 435, 461 J
Hewlett, 457
Johnson, 5, 153, 158, 172
Hierarchical structure, 394
Joint venture, 166
Home country orientation, 163
Judgement, 63
Horizontal integration, 159
Human resource management, 134
K
I King report, 67
Knowledge management technology, 132
Improved products, 150
Knowledge management, 131, 132
Inbound logistics, 133
Independence, 63
Individualisation, 347
L
Industry life cycle, 116 Laney, 319
Industry standard, 153, 172 Leadership roles, 6
Industry structure, 348 Leadership, 5
Information, 232 Leading and lagging, 290
Information and communication, 220 Learning curve, 150
Information system, 327 Learning organisation, 131
Information systems (IS) strategy, 327 Lewin's three-stage model, 402
Inimitability, 130 Linear regression, 301
Initial coin offering (ICO), 291 Linear regression, 302
Initial coin offering (ICO), 291 Linkages, 134
Innovation and competitive advantage, 356 Lock-in, 153
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Long-term direction, 10 Office automation systems, 132
Lotus Notes, 132 Offshoring, 388
Operating costs, 447
M Operational information, 232
Operational risk, 198, 199
Macro-environment, 107
Operational strategies, 11
Management controls, 223
Operations, 133
Management or executive board, 75
Opportunities, 139
Manwani, 416
Orchestration, 599
Marginal cost, 305
Market development, 158 Organic growth, 164
Market power, 159 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD), 63
Market segmentation, 119
Organisation, 10
Marketing and sales, 133
Organisational culture, 17
Marketing mix, 152
Organisational data, 317
Markets, 119
Organisational knowledge, 131
Maylor, 448, 449
Organisational learning, 131
McDonald and Wilson, 347
Organisational structure, 380
Measurable, 445
Organisational support, 131
Mendelow, 37
Outbound logistics, 133
Mendelow's approach to analyse
Outsider system, 83
stakeholders, 37
Outsource, 287
Merger, 165
Outsourcing, 386
Micro-environment, 107
Ownership and management, 63
Middle managers, 6
Milestone, 452
Mission statements, 11
P
Mission, 12 Paradigm, 18, 398
Mobile technology, 315 Particular risks, 190
Modular organisation structure, 384, 409 Partnering, 166, 385
Monitoring, 221 Passive stakeholders, 36
Monocratic boards, 75 Paul et al, 400, 401, 410
Mullins, 382 Payback, 292
Multi-tier board structure, 75 Performance evaluation, 297
Mutuality, 599 Performance excellence, 390
Perspectives on leadership, 5
N PESTEL analysis, 109
Policy boards, 75
Net present value, 292
Polycentrism, 163, 302
Network diagram, 449
Porter, 133, 138, 150, 151
Nominations committee, 77
Porter's Diamond, 112
Non-discretionary controls, 226
Porter's five forces model, 115
Non-executive director, 73
Porter's generic strategies, 149
Non-executive director, 77
Porter's value chain, 133
Non-financial controls, 228
Post-implementation reviews, 458
Non-substitutability, 131
Post-project review, 457
O Power and interest, 37
Predictive analytics, 287
Objectivity, 261, 262 Price-based strategies, 153
Observable, 445 Primary activities, 133
OECD Principles of Corporate Governance Principal, 32
2004, 63 Principles-based governance, 65
694
Index
Probity, 63 Relative market share, 154

Process redesign methodology, 426 Relevant costs, 305
Process redesign pattern, 419, 430 Remuneration committee, 77
Process redesign pattern, 419, 430 Reputation, 63
Process redesign, 415, 419 Resource histogram, 450
Process, 415 Resource, 131
Procurement, 134 Resources, 435
Product development, 158 Responsibility, 63
Product-market mix, 157 Return on capital employed, 292
Professional behaviour, 259, 261, 262 Review of internal control, 234
Professional competence and due care, 261 Risk, 190, 291, 295
Professional competence and due Risk appetite, 195
care, 261 Risk assessment, 220
Progress report, 452 Risk attitude, 195
Project budget, 448 Risk averse, 195
Project change procedure, 454 Risk capacity, 195
Project completion, 456 Risk committee, 77, 193
Project costs and benefits, 443 Risk factors, 198
Project execution and control, 451 Risk management process, 192
Project gateway, 451 Risk management, 454
Project initiation document, 442 Risk manager, 194
Project initiation, 439 Risk maps, 202
Project management, 435 Risk register, 201
Project manager responsibilities, 440 Risk seeker, 195
Project manager, 440 Risk, 190, 291, 295
Project planning, 447 Risk-averse, 195
Project risk, 454 Risk-seeking, 195
Project sponsor, 441, 461 Robustness, 130
Project stakeholders, 447 Role of the investor, 82
Project, 435, 461 RORCS, 216
Public interest, 259 Rules-based governance, 65
Public sector and third sector governance, 86 Rummler and Brache, 423
Public sector portfolio matrix, 157
Pure risks, 190 S
Q Sarbanes-Oxley, 67, 216, 236
Scenario planning, 120
Qualities of good information, 233 Scepticism, 63
Quality control, 441 Schwalbe, 455
QuANGO, 87 Scope creep, 452
Quantifiable, 445 Search engine, 353
Question marks, 154 Self contained, 380, 409
Self-interest, 262
R Self-review, 263
Rarity, 130 Sensitivity analysis, 290
Reduction, 455 Separation of ownership and management,
Re-engineering, 419 63
Refreeze, 404 Service contracts, 80
Seven Ps, 151
Regiocentrism, 164
Shared servicing, 389
Related diversification, 159, 172
Simplification, 421
Related risks, 205
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Singapore Code of Corporate Governance, Systems security controls, 328
68
Six Is, 347 T
Slippage, 452
Tactical information, 232
SMART objectives, 13
Talent management, 394
Social accounting, 48
TARA model, 203
Social audit, 54
TARA, 203
Social enterprise, 361
Teambuilding, 438, 441
Social entrepreneurship, 10
Technical feasibility, 426
Social extrapreneurship, 361
Technology development, 134
Social feasibility, 426
Termination payments, 80
Social footprint, 47
Threats, 139
Social innovation, 360
Threshold competences, 129
Social intrapreneurship, 361
Threshold resources, 129
Speculative risks, 190
Time series analysis, 302
Stakeholder mapping, 40
Top managers, 6
Stakeholder, 34
Top-down budgeting, 448
Stakeholders, 10, 34, 159
Trait theories, 5
Standard, 303
Transaction controls, 223
Standard cost, 304
Transference, 455
Standard costing, 303, 304
Transformational leadership, 7
Stars, 154
Transparency, 63
Strategic alliance, 168
Tucker's 5 questions, 257
Strategic alliance, 168
Turner report, 202
Strategic capability, 129, 130
Types of online community, 354
Strategic change, 398
Strategic choices, 16 U
Strategic control style, 384
Strategic cost management, 300 UBS, 250
Strategic direction, 10 Uncertainty, 295
Strategic drift, 109 Unfreeze (Lewin's stage model), 402
Strategic in action, 16 Unique resources, 129
Strategic information, 232 Unitary boards, 75
Strategic leadership, 6 Unrelated diversification, 162, 172
Strategic management, 16
Strategic options, 305 V
Strategic position, 16
Value activities, 133
Strategic risk, 198
Value capture, 358
Strategic values, 13
Value configuration, 358
Strategy, 10
Value creation, 358
Strengths, 139
Value network, 138
Strong sustainability, 47
Value, 130
Stuck-in-the-middle strategy, 151
Value-added analysis, 422
Suitability, acceptability and feasibility, 169
Variance analysis, 303, 304
Supervisory board, 75
Variance, 304
Support activities, 134
Vertical integration, 159
Sustainability, 47
Viral marketing, 353
Sustainable competitive advantage, 130, 151
Visionary leaders, 5
Sustainable development, 47
Visual identity, 351
Swiss Cheese model, 217
Voluntary and mandated controls, 227
SWOT analysis, 139
Vs of big data, 319
696
Index
Work breakdown structure (WBS),

W 447
Wall, 321
Wal-Mart, 253
Ward and Daniel, 446
Y
Yukl (2013), 5
Weak sustainability, 47
Weaknesses, 139
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The PER alert

Exam success skills

ACCA Professional skills focus

Real world examples

Introduction to the Essential reading

Chapter Summary of Essential reading content

1 Strategy, leadership and  Leadership theories. This section explores in greater

3 Impact of corporate  Institutional investors. This section focuses on institutional

5 Strategic capability  Managing strategic capability. This section focuses on

6 Competitive advantage  Conceptual difficulties with generic strategy. This section

7 Assessing and  COSO’s Enterprise Risk Management - Integrating with

9 Applying ethical  Possible fraud risks. This section highlights a number of

10 Financial analysis  Investment appraisal techniques. This section highlights

11 Applications of IT  Computerised accounting process controls. This section

12 E-business  Benefits and risks of e-procurement. This section explores

Chapter Summary of Essential reading content

13 Enabling success and  Team-based and project-based structures. This section

14 Process redesign  Business process re-engineering (BPR). This section

Brought forward knowledge

Links with other exams

Strategic Business Leader (SBL)

EPS Module Applied Skills exams

A1 Qualities of leadership Chapter 1

A2 Leadership and organisational culture Chapter 1

A3 Professionalism, ethical codes and the public interest Chapter 9

B2 Stakeholder analysis and social responsibility Chapter 2

B3 Governance scope and approaches Chapter 3

B4 Reporting to stakeholders Chapter 2

B5 The board of directors Chapter 3

B6 Public sector governance Chapter 3

C1 Concepts of strategy Chapter 1

C2 Environmental issues Chapter 4

C3 Competitive forces Chapters 4 and 5

C4 The internal resources, capabilities and competences of an organisation Chapter 5

C5 Strategic choices Chapter 6

D1 Identification, assessment and measurement of risk Chapter 7

D2 Managing, monitoring and mitigating risk Chapter 7

E Technology and data analytics

E1 Cloud and mobile technology Chapter 11

E2 Big data and data analytics Chapter 11

E3 E-business: value chain Chapter 12

E4 IT systems security and control Chapter 11

F Organisational control and audit

F1 Management and internal control systems Chapter 8

F2 Audit and compliance Chapter 8

F3 Internal control and management reporting Chapter 8

G Finance in planning and decision-making

G1 Finance function Chapter 10

G2 Financial analysis and decision-making techniques Chapter 10

G3 Cost and management accounting Chapter 10

H Innovation, performance excellence and change management

H1 Enabling success: organising Chapter 13

H2 Enabling success: disruptive technology Chapter 12

H3 Enabling success: talent management Chapter 13

H4 Enabling success: performance excellence Chapter 13

H5 Managing strategic change Chapter 13

H6 Managing Innovation and change management Chapter 14

H7 Leading and managing projects Chapter 15