CIMA E3 - E3 Strategic Management

PPP is a company that designs and markets attractive handsets, tablets, and laptop PCs globally. Its brand is one of the top ten global brands. PPP uses external companies to manufacture its products.

 

The recently appointed CEO of PPP presented the company's strategy to a meeting of investors and journalists.

 

The CEO referred to public concerns about its past ways of doing business. He stated that PPP was actively seeking to address concerns about exploitation of workers in the factories of its suppliers. He said that PPP is also establishing a system to recycle or refurbish its products to avoid hazardous materials leaking into the environment and to give recycled products free of charge to people in poorer countries who cannot afford to buy them.

 

One investor asked the CEO to confirm whether this strategy would improve the profits of PPP in the present financial year. The CEO replied that it would not but that the strategy was essential to protect the future of the PPP brand. The investor was unhappy with this response from the CEO of PPP.

 

Which of the following statements reflects BOTH the CEO's and investor's stances on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) expressed at the meeting?

DEF is a medium sized business which manufactures children's clothing. In the last 5 years demand has steadily increased and DEF is struggling to meet this demand within its current manufacturing capacity. DEF's current manufacturing machinery was installed over 10 years ago and now requires updating, if DEF is to survive in the marketplace. 

 

DEF has established that the latest manufacturing technology would cost $2 million. This would be funded by the shareholders. It would payback within 2 years and would allow DEF to double output from its current level within this 2 year period. It will also improve product consistency and quality. However, it will result in the loss of 20% of DEF's manufacturing staff, most of whom are low paid and low skilled.

 

DEF is currently reviewing this proposed investment strategy, in terms of whether it meets the criteria of Suitability, Acceptability and Feasibility.

 

Which of the following correctly identifies the criteria which are met, in regard to DEF's proposed investment strategy?

Strategy is usually described as having three different levels: namely corporate strategy, business strategy and functional strategy. Which of the following are corporate strategies? Select ALL that apply.

QQQ is Country M's largest supermarket with 40% of the market share. In addition it has opened several stores around the world in the last 10 years. One of the reasons for QQQ's success is its loyalty card. The loyalty card is used to gather information about the spending patterns of its customers. Around two billion pieces of information each week are captured and stored in an enormous data warehouse that can be accessed by QQQ and other selected large retail partners.

 

The information can be used to assess the success of new product launches as well as which demographics of customer are making the purchases. The system also allows QQQ to tailor its special offers to particular segments of the market and to predict the buying behaviour of its customers, which assists QQQ in procurement planning.

 

Which of the following best describes the activities outlined above for QQQ?

Select the MOST appropriate leadership style to manage each change situation outlined below.

Which of the following of Porter's Five Forces would affect the power of suppliers?

Company W manufactures marshmallows for sale to supermarkets across Europe. W follows a logical and formal approach to strategic planning. Which of the following are valid stages of such a rational strategic planning model? Select ALL that apply.

HHH intends to introduce a Balanced Scorecard to assist with its strategic policy formation and achievement of strategic plans. Which TWO of the following stakeholders are addressed by a Balanced Scorecard perspective?

MMM operates leisure parks in Country S. a mature economy in Europe. These are parks that are popular with people between the ages of 8 and 25 years who visit them to ride on the high speed roller-coasters and to visit other attractions at the parks. Nearly 60% of visitor expenditure is to buy meals and drinks at the park MMM estimates that 20% of its visitors travel to its parks from outside Country S.

Which THREE of the following environmental changes will have the greatest impact on MMM in the next five years?

Which THREE of the following are valid reasons to follow a Corporate Social Responsibility strategy?