CIMA Paper E3 - The ExP Group

Chapter 4 extract from our ExPress notes for use with the current video. A full set of E3 Express notes can be downloaded free of charge at www.theexpgroup.com.

Notes CIMA Paper E3 Enterprise Strategy For exams in 2011/12

theexpgroup.com

ExPress Notes CIMA E3 Enterprise Strategy

Contents

Page | 2

About ExPress Notes

3

1.

External factors affecting organization’s strategy

7

2.

Strategy formulation and development

13

3.

Strategy implementation

26

4.

Change management

34

5.

Information technology

39

6.

Project management

46

© 2011 The ExP Group. Individuals may reproduce this material if it is for their own private study use only. Reproduction by any means for any other purpose is prohibited. These course materials are for educational purposes only and so are necessarily simplified and summarised. Always obtain expert advice on any specific issue. Refer to our full terms and conditions of use. No liability for damage arising from use of these notes will be accepted by the ExP Group. .

theexpgroup.com


START About ExPress Notes We are very pleased that you have downloaded a copy of our ExPress notes for this paper. We expect that you are keen to get on with the job in hand, so we will keep the introduction brief. First, we would like to draw your attention to the terms and conditions of usage. It’s a condition of printing these notes that you agree to the terms and conditions of usage. These are available to view at www.theexpgroup.com. Essentially, we want to help people get through their exams. If you are a student for the CIMA exams and you are using these notes for yourself only, you will have no problems complying with our fair use policy. You will however need to get our written permission in advance if you want to use these notes as part of a training programme that you are delivering. WARNING! These notes are not designed to cover everything in the syllabus! They are designed to help you assimilate and understand the most important areas for the exam as quickly as possible. If you study from these notes only, you will not have covered everything that is in the CIMA syllabus and study guide for this paper. Components of an effective study system On ExP classroom courses, we provide people with the following learning materials:    

The ExPress notes for that paper The ExP recommended course notes / essential text or the ExPedite classroom course notes where we have published our own course notes for that paper The ExP recommended exam kit for that paper. In addition, we will recommend a study text / complete text from one of the CIMA official publishers, but we do not necessarily give this as part of a classroom course, as we think that it can sometimes slow people down and reduce the time that they are able to spend practising past questions.

ExP classroom course students will also have access to various online support materials, including:  

The unique ExP & Me e-portal, which amongst other things allows “view again” of the classroom course that was actually attended. ExPand, our online learning tool and questions and answers database

Everybody in the World has free access to CIMA’s own database of past exam questions, answers, syllabus, study guide and examiner’s commentaries on past sittings. This can be

Page | 3


theexpgroup.com


an invaluable resource. You can find links to the most useful pages of the CIMA database that are relevant to your study on ExPand at www.theexpgroup.com.

How to get the most from these ExPress notes For people on a classroom course, this is how we recommend that you use the suite of learning materials that we provide. This depends where you are in terms of your exam preparation for each paper. Your stage in study for each paper

These ExPress notes

ExP recommended course notes, or ExPedite notes

ExP recommended exam kit

CIMA online past exams

Prior to study, e.g. deciding which optional papers to take

Skim through the ExPress notes to get a feel for what’s in the syllabus, the “size” of the paper and how much it appeals to you.

Don’t use yet

Don’t use yet

Have a quick look at the two most recent real CIMA exam papers to get a feel for examiner’s style.

At the start of the learning phase

Work through each chapter of the ExPress notes in detail before you then work through your course notes.

Work through in detail. Review each chapter after class at least once.

Nobody passes an exam by what they have studied – we pass exams by being efficient in being able to prove what we know. In other words, you need to have effectively input the knowledge and be effective in the output of what you know. Exam practice is key to this.

Don’t use at this stage.

Don’t try to feel that you have to understand everything – just get an idea for what you are about to study. Don’t make any annotations on the ExPress notes at this stage.

Page | 4

Make sure that you understand each area reasonably well, but also make sure that you can recall key definitions, concepts, approaches to exam questions, mnemonics, etc.

Try to do at least one past exam question on the learning phase for each major chapter.


theexpgroup.com


Page | 5

Your stage in study for each paper

These ExPress notes

ExP recommended course notes, or ExPedite notes

ExP recommended exam kit

CIMA online past exams

Practice phase

Work through the ExPress notes again, this time annotating to explain bits that you think are easy and be brave enough to cross out the bits that you are confident you’ll remember without reviewing them.

Avoid reading through your notes again. Try to focus on doing past exam questions first and then go back to your course notes/ ExPress notes if there’s something in an answer that you don’t understand.

This is your most important tool at this stage. You should aim to have worked through and understood at least two or three questions on each major area of the syllabus. You pass real exams by passing mock exams. Don’t be tempted to fall into “passive” revision at this stage (e.g. reading notes or listening to CDs). Passive revision tends to be a waste of time.

Download the two most recent real exam questions and answers.

The night before the real exam

Read through the ExPress notes in full. Highlight the bits that you think are important but you think you are most likely to forget.

Unless there are specific bits that you feel you must revise, avoid looking at your course notes. Give up on any areas that you still don’t understand. It’s too late now.

Don’t touch it!

Do a final review of the two most recent examiner’s reports for the paper you will be taking tomorrow.

At the door of the exam room before you go in.

Read quickly through the full set of ExPress notes, focusing on areas you’ve highlighted, key workings, approaches to exam questions, etc.

Avoid looking at them in detail, especially if the notes are very big. It will scare you.

Leave at home.

Leave at home.


Read through the technical articles written by the examiner. Read through the two most recent examiner’s reports in detail. Read through some other older ones. Try to see if there are any recurring criticism he/ she makes. You must avoid these!

theexpgroup.com


Our ExPress notes fit into our portfolio of materials as follows:

Notes

Notes

Provide a base understanding of the most important areas of the syllabus only.

Provide a comprehensive coverage of the syllabus and accompany our face to face professional exam courses

Notes Provide detailed coverage of particular technical areas and are used on our Professional Development and Executive Programmes.

To maximise your chances of success in the exam we recommend you visit www.theexpgroup.com where you will be able to access additional free resources to help you in your studies.

START About The ExP Group Born with a desire to be the leading supplier of business training services, the ExP Group delivers courses through either one of its permanent centres or onsite at a variety of locations around the world. Our clients range from multinational household corporate names, through local companies to individuals furthering themselves through studying for one of the various professional exams or professional development courses.

As well as courses for CIMA and other professional qualifications, our portfolio of

expertise covers all areas of financial training ranging from introductory financial awareness courses for non financial staff to high level corporate finance and banking courses for senior executives. Our expert team has worked with many different audiences around the world ranging from graduate recruits through to senior board level positions. Full details about us can be found at www.theexpgroup.com and for any specific enquiries please contact us at [email protected].

Page | 6


theexpgroup.com


Chapter 4

Change management

START The Big Picture Change management is an important aspect of management that tries to ensure that a business responds to the environment in which it operates. There are four key features of change management:    

Change is the result of dissatisfaction with present strategies It is essential to develop a vision for a better alternative Management have to develop strategies to implement change There will be resistance to change

Many factors drive change in a business. Despite the potential positive outcomes, change is nearly always resisted. A degree of resistance is normal since change is:  

Disruptive, and Stressful

As a result of change resistance and poorly managed change projects, many of them ultimately fail to achieve their objectives. Amongst the reasons commonly associated with failed change programmes are: 

Page | 7

Employees do not understand the purpose or even the need for change


theexpgroup.com


    

Lack of planning and preparation Poor communication Employees lack the necessary skills and/ or there is insufficient training and development offered Lack of necessary resources Inadequate/inappropriate rewards

KEY KNOWLEDGE Lewin’s change models 1. Unfreezing, Moving, Refreezing Unfreezing Shows the need for change and gets people “ready” for change.

Moving The actual change occurs here.

Refreezing Stabilising the situation to the new approach.

Change can only happen once people have been “unfrozen” and existing ideas and misconceptions have melted. 2. Force field analysis Driving forces (pushing for change)

Restraining forces (resisting change)

Current state

Desired state

The length of the arrow represents the time duration of the force and the thickness of the arrow represents the strength of the force.

Page | 8


theexpgroup.com


There are driving forces pushing for change and forces resisting change. To encourage change, change agents should strengthen driving forces and reduce restraining forces.

KEY KNOWLEDGE The Change Kaleidoscope (Balogun and Hope Hailey) This helps management design approaches to change within a company. It contains 3 rings:   

An outer ring which relates to the wider strategic change. A middle ring which looks at the more specific change features. An inner ring which provides a range of choices for management to use. Organisational Change Context

Power

Time

Design Choice

Readiness

Scope

- change path - change start

Capacity

- change target - change roles

Capability

Preservation

Diversity

The kaleidoscope does not create prescriptive choices for management to use. Instead, just like a real kaleidoscope changes the image so the change design mechanisms will change.

KEY KNOWLEDGE Business Process Reengineering (BPR) BPR is a method aimed at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of business processes within an organisation.

Page | 9


theexpgroup.com


The process – strategy matrix (Harmon) is based on:

Complex

The importance of the process The complexity of the process

Simple

Process type

 

Complex process that are not part of core competencies.

Complex processes of high strategic value.

Outsource

Focus on people based process improvements

Simple processes of low value.

Simple processes of high strategic value.

Automate in ERP application or outsource

Automate for efficiency

Low

High Strategic importance of process

Business processing Outsourcing (BPO) is a form of outsourcing that involves contracting 3rd parties to undertake specific functions. Typically, back office functions such as accounting activities are outsourced.

KEY KNOWLEDGE Methods of successful change implementation The key stages in a successful change project are likely to be to:       

Identify the changes required (a role here for SWOT and PEST analysis) Determine the major issues Identify and assess the key stakeholders Win the support of key individuals Identify the obstacles Determine the degree of risk and the cost of change Understand why change will be resisted and how it can be managed

People are the key factor in overcoming resistance to change. The successful implementation of new working methods and practices or integrating new businesses into a group is dependent upon the willing and effective co-operation of employees and

Page | 10


theexpgroup.com


management. Many change initiatives and programmes fail because they are derailed by the “people factor”! A key part of successful change is, therefore, building and communicating the reasons & the vision for change. Employee communication is critical for the success of the change. It will not ensure the success will come but without it a failure is nearly certain. Employees need to be clear about what a change involves and how they are involved in it:    

What are the proposed changes? What is the timescale? Why should we do it? What will the major effects be?

The way in which the change can be communicated / negotiated / discussed with employees might be any or some of those:      

Cross-functional teams Stronger internal communication Negotiation Action planning Appointing “change agents” or “champions of change” And a certain amount of compulsion manipulation and coercion

The change must also be clearly supported by the top. Employees need to feel that the changes has been accepted / invented by the top and thus it is unavoidable. Their voice will be heard and their input is welcome but the previous state cannot be reinstated. Thus the top managers should:      

Page | 11

Act decisively – demonstrate momentum Consider how they will be affected Involve them in the change Consult and inform frequently Be firm but flexible Monitor the change


theexpgroup.com