CIMA E1 Official Learning System - Enterprise Operations Aug 2009

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ENTERPRISE OPERATIONS E1

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Question practice. The test of how well you have learned the material is your ability to

tackle exam-standard questions. Make a serious attempt at producing your own answers,

but at this stage do not be too concerned about attempting the questions in exam condi-

tions. In particular, it is more important to absorb the material thoroughly by complet-

ing a full solution than to observe the time limits that would apply in the actual exam.

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Solutions. Avoid the temptation merely to ‘audit’ the solutions provided. It is an illusion

to think that this provides the same beneﬁ ts as you would gain from a serious attempt

of your own. However, if you are struggling to get started on a question you should read

the introductory guidance provided at the beginning of the solution, and then make

your own attempt before referring back to the full solution.

Having worked through the chapters you are ready to begin your ﬁ nal preparations for

the examination. The ﬁ nal section of the CIMA Learning System provides you with the

guidance you need. It includes the following features:

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A brief guide to revision technique.

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A note on the format of the examination. You should know what to expect when you

tackle the real exam, and in particular the number of questions to attempt, which ques-

tions are compulsory and which optional, and so on.

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Guidance on how to tackle the examination itself.

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A table mapping revision questions to the syllabus learning outcomes allowing you to

quickly identify questions by subject area.

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Revision questions. These are of exam standard and should be tackled in exam condi-

tions, especially as regards the time allocation.

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Solutions to the revision questions. As before, these indicate the length and the quality

of solution that would be expected of a well-prepared candidate.

If you work conscientiously through this CIMA Learning System according to the guide-

lines above you will be giving yourself an excellent chance of exam success. Good luck with

your studies!

Guide to the icons used within this text

Key term or deﬁ nition

Equation to learn

Exam tip to topic likely to appear in the exam

Exercise

Question

Solution

Comment or Note

Study technique

Passing exams is partly a matter of intellectual ability, but however accomplished you are

in that respect you can improve your chances signiﬁ cantly by the use of appropriate study

THE CIMA LEARNING SYSTEM

ENTERPRISE OPERATIONS

and revision techniques. In this section we brieﬂ y outline some tips for effective study dur-

ing the earlier stages of your approach to the exam. Later in the text we mention some

techniques that you will ﬁ nd useful at the revision stage.

Planning

To begin with, formal planning is essential to get the best return from the time you spend

studying. Estimate how much time in total you are going to need for each subject that you

face. Remember that you need to allow time for revision as well as for initial study of the

material. The amount of notional study time for any subject is the minimum estimated

time that students will need to achieve the speciﬁ ed learning outcomes set out earlier in

this chapter. This time includes all appropriate learning activities, for example, face-to-face

tuition, private study, directed home study, learning in the workplace, revision time, etc.

You may ﬁ nd it helpful to read Better exam results by Sam Malone, CIMA Publishing,

ISBN: 075066357X. This book will provide you with proven study techniques. Chapter

by chapter it covers the building blocks of successful learning and examination techniques.

The notional study time for Enterprise Operations is 200 hours. Note that the standard

amount of notional learning hours attributed to one full-time academic year of approxi-

mately 30 weeks is 1,200 hours.

By way of example, the notional study time might be made up as follows:

Hours

Face-to-face study: up to 60

Personal study: up to 100

‘Other’ study – e.g. learning at the workplace, revision, etc.: up to 40

200

Note that all study and learning-time recommendations should be used only as a guideline

and are intended as minimum amounts. The amount of time recommended for face-to-face

tuition, personal study and/or additional learning will vary according to the type of course

undertaken, prior learning of the student, and the pace at which different students learn.

Now split your total time requirement over the weeks between now and the examina-

tion. This will give you an idea of how much time you need to devote to study each week.

Remember to allow for holidays or other periods during which you will not be able to

study (e.g. because of seasonal workloads).

With your study material before you, decide which chapters you are going to study in

each week, and which weeks you will devote to revision and ﬁ nal question practice.

Prepare a written schedule summarising the above – and stick to it!

The amount of space allocated to a topic in the study material is not always a very good

guide as to how long it will take you.

It is essential to know your syllabus. As your course progresses you will become more

familiar with how long it takes to cover topics in sufﬁ cient depth. Your timetable may need

to be adapted to allocate enough time for the whole syllabus.

Tips for effective studying

1 Aim to ﬁ nd a quiet and undisturbed location for your study, and plan as far as possible

to use the same period of time each day. Getting into a routine helps to avoid wasting

THE CIMA LEARNING SYSTEM

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time. Make sure that you have all the materials you need before you begin so as to

minimise interruptions.

2 Store all your materials in one place, so that you do not waste time searching for items

around the house. If you have to pack everything away after each study period, keep

them in a box, or even a suitcase, which will not be disturbed until the next time.

3 Limit distractions. To make the most effective use of your study periods you should be

able to apply total concentration, so turn off the TV, set your phones to message mode,

and put up your ‘do not disturb’ sign.

4 Your timetable will tell you which topic to study. However, before diving in and becom-

ing engrossed in the ﬁ ner points, make sure you have an overall picture of all the areas

that need to be covered by the end of that session. After an hour, allow yourself a short

break and move away from your books. With experience, you will learn to assess the

pace you need to work at. You should also allow enough time to read relevant articles

from newspapers and journals, which will supplement your knowledge and demon-

strate a wider perspective.

5 Work carefully through a chapter, making notes as you go. When you have covered

a suitable amount of material, vary the pattern by attempting a practice question.

Preparing an answer plan is a good habit to get into, while you are both studying and

revising, and also in the examination room. It helps to impose a structure on your solu-

tions, and avoids rambling. When you have ﬁ nished your attempt, make notes of any

mistakes you made, or any areas that you failed to cover or covered only skimpily.

6 Make notes as you study, and discover the techniques that work best for you. Your

notes may be in the form of lists, bullet points, diagrams, summaries, ‘mind maps’, or

the written word, but remember that you will need to refer back to them at a later date,

so they must be intelligible. If you are on a taught course, make sure you highlight any

issues you would like to follow up with your lecturer.

7 Organise your paperwork. There are now numerous paper storage systems available to

ensure that all your notes, calculations and articles can be effectively ﬁ led and easily

retrieved later.

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ENTERPRISE OPERATIONS

Paper E1 – Enterprise Operations

Syllabus Overview

This paper addresses several functional areas of business, as well as introducing candidates

to the economic, social and political context of international business. For each of the

sections dealing with information systems, operations, marketing and managing human

capital, the learning requirements alert students to major developments in the ﬁ eld as well

as tools and techniques important to each functional area.

Syllabus Structure

The syllabus comprises the following topics and study weightings:

A The Global Business Environment 20%

B Information Systems 20%

C Operations Management 20%

D Marketing 20%

E Managing Human Capital 20%

Assessment Strategy

There will be a written examination paper of 3 hours, plus 20 minutes of pre-examination

question paper reading time. The examination paper will have the following sections:

Section A – 20 marks

A variety of compulsory objective test questions, each worth between 2 and 4 marks. Mini

scenarios may be given, to which a group of questions relate.

Section B – 30 marks

Six compulsory short answer questions, each worth 5 marks. A short scenario may be

given, to which some or all questions relate.

Section C – 50 marks

One or two compulsory questions. Short scenarios may be given, to which questions

relate.

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Learning Outcomes and Indicative Syllabus Content

E1 – A. The Global Business Environment (20%)

Learning Outcomes

Content

Lead Component

1. Explain the social, political

and economic context of

business. (2)

(a) Explain the emergence of major economies in

Asia and Latin America.

(b) Explain the emergence and importance of

outsourcing and offshoring.

developments (e.g. long-term shifts in trade

balances), on the ﬁ rm’s organisation’s competitive

environment.

• Liberalisation and economic nationalism. (A, C)

• Cross-cultural management and different forms of business

organisation. (A)

• Emerging market multinationals. (A)

• Liberalisation and economic nationalism. (A, C)

• Outsourcing and offshoring. (B)

• Major economic systems including US, European and transition

economies. (C)

• National account balances (especially from international trade),

monetar

y policy and their impact on mar

kets. (C)

2. Analyse the relationship

between the internal

governance of the ﬁ rm

and external sources

of governance and

regulation. (4)

(a) Explain the principles and purpose of corporate

social responsibility and the principles of good

corporate governance in an international context.

(b) Analyse relationships among business, society

and government in national and regional contexts.

(d) Discuss the nature of regulation and its impact on

the ﬁ rm.

• Corporate governance, including stakeholders and the role of

vernment. (A)

• Principles of corporate social responsibility and the scope for

international v

ariation, e.g. between developed and developing

economies. (A, B)

• Business–government relations in developed and developing

economies. (A, B, C)

• Regulation in the national and international context and its

impact on the ﬁ

rm. (A, B, D)

• Role of institutions and governance in economic growth. (B)

• Corporate political activity in developed and developing markets.

(B, C)

• Country and political risk. (B, C)

THE CIMA LEARNING SYSTEM

ENTERPRISE OPERATIONS

E1 – B. Information Systems (20%)

Learning Outcomes

Content

Lead Component

1. Discuss the wider business

context within which

information systems

operate. (4)

(a) Identify the value of information and information

systems in organisations.

(b) Discuss the reasons for organisations’ increased

dependence on information systems.

technology.

• The role of information systems in organisations. (A, B, C)

• Emerging information system trends in organisations (e.g.

enterprise-wide systems; kno

wledge management systems;

customer r

elationship management systems, e.g. e-business,

Web 2.0 tools). (A, B, C)

• Information technology – enabled transformation; the

emergence of ne

w forms of organisation. (B)

• Geographically dispersed (virtual) teams; role of information

systems in virtual teams and challenges for virtual

collaboration. (B)

2. Analyse how information

systems can be implemented

in support of the

organisation’s strategy. (4)

(a) Discuss ways for overcoming problems in

information system implementation.

(b) Discuss ways of organising and managing

information system activities in the context of the

wider organisation.

• Assessing the costs and beneﬁ ts of information systems; criteria

for ev

aluating information systems. (A)

• Privacy and security. (A)

• System changeover methods (i.e. direct, parallel, pilot and

phased). (A)

• Information system implementation as a change management

ocess; avoiding problems of non-usage and resistance. (A)

• Information system outsourcing (different types of sourcing

strategies; client–v

endor relationships). (B)

• Aligning information systems with business strategy (e.g.

strategic importance of information systems; information

systems for competitive advantage; information systems for

competitive necessity). (B)

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E1 – C. Operations Management (20%)

Learning Outcomes

Content

Lead Component

1. Explain the relationship of

operations management

to other aspects of the

organisation’s operations.

(2)

(a) Explain the shift from price-based to relational

procurement and operations.

(b) Explain the relationship of operations and supply

management to the competitiveness of the ﬁ rm.

management in services.

(d) Explain the importance of sustainability in

operations management.

• Supply chain management as a strategic process. (A, D)

• An overview of operations strategy and its importance to the

ﬁ rm.

(B)

• Supply chains in competition with each other; role of supply

networ

ks; demand networks as an evolution of supply chains. (B)

• Design of products/services and processes and how this relates to

operations and supply. (C)

• The concept of sustainability in operations management. (D)

2. Apply tools and techniques

of operations management.

(3)

(a) Apply contemporary thinking in quality

management.

(b) Explain process design.

(d) Illustrate a plan for the implementation of a quality

programme.

(e) Describe ways to manage relationships with suppliers.

• Different methods of quality measurement (e.g. Servqual). (A)

• Approaches to quality management, including Total Quality

Management (TQM), various British and European Union

systems as well as statistical control processes. (A)

• External quality standards. (A)

• Systems used in operations management: Manufacturing Resource

Planning II (MRPII); Optimized Production Techniques (OPT);

and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). (B)

• Use of process maps to present the ﬂ ow of information and

product across supply chains and networks. (B)

• Methods for managing inventory, including continuous inventory

systems (e.g. Economic Order Quantity, EOQ), periodic

inventory systems and the ABC system (Note: ABC is not an

acronym; A refers to high value, B to medium and C to low value

inventory). (B, C)

• Methods of managing operational capacity in product and

ser

vice delivery (e.g. use of queuing theory, forecasting, ﬂ exible

manufacturing systems). (B, C)

• Application of lean techniques to services. (C)

• Practices of continuous improvement (e.g. Quality circles, Kaizen,

5S, 6 S

igma). (C, D)

• The characteristics of lean production. (C)

• Criticisms and limitations of lean production. (C, D)

• Developing relationships with suppliers, including the use of

supply portfolios. (E)

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ENTERPRISE OPERATIONS

E1 – D. Marketing (20%)

Learning Outcomes

Content

Lead Component

1. Explain developments in

marketing. (2)

(a) Explain the marketing concept, and the alternatives to

it.

(b) Describe the marketing environment of a range of

organisations.

(d) Explain the social context of marketing behaviour.

(e) Describe theories of consumer behaviour.

• The marketing concept as a business philosophy. (A)

• The marketing environment, including societal, economic,

technological, political and legal factors affecting mar

keting. (A, B)

• Marketing in not-for-proﬁ t organisations (i.e. charities, non-

vernmental organisations; the public sector). (C)

• Theories of consumer behaviour (e.g. social interaction theory),

as well as factors affecting buying decisions, types of buying

behaviour and stages in the buying process. (D, E)

• Social marketing and corporate social responsibility. (D)

2. Apply tools and techniques

used in support of the

organisation’s marketing. (3)

(a) Explain the relationships between market research,

market segmentation, targeting and positioning.

(b) Apply tools within each area of the marketing mix.

principles can be applied.

(d) Describe the market planning process

(e) Explain the role of branding and brand equity.

• Market research, including data gathering techniques and

methods of analysis. (A, D)

• Segmentation and targeting of markets, and positioning of

oducts within markets. (A)

• How business-to-business (B2B) marketing differs from business-

to-consumer (B2C) mar

keting in its different forms (i.e. consumer

marketing, services marketing, direct marketing, interactive

marketing, e-marketing, internal marketing). (C)

• Promotional tools and the promotion mix. (B)

• The ‘service extension’ to the marketing mix. (B)

• Devising and implementing a pricing strategy. (B)

• Experiential marketing. (B)

• Marketing communications, including viral, guerrilla and other

indir

ect forms of marketing. (B)

• The role of marketing in the business plan of the organisation. (B)

• Brand image and brand value. (A, B, E)

• Product development and product/service life-cycles. (B)

• Internal marketing as the process of training and motivating

employees so as to support the ﬁ rm’s external marketing activities.

(C)

• The differences and similarities in the marketing of products,

ser

vices and experiences. (B, C)

• Product portfolios and the product mix. (B, D)

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E1 – E. Managing Human Capital (20%)

Learning Outcomes

Indicative Syllabus Content

Lead Component

1. Explain the relationship of

Human Resource (HR)

to the organisation’s

operations. (2)

(a) Explain how HR theories and activities can contribute

to the success of the organisation.

(b) Explain the importance of ethical behaviour in

business generally and for the line manager and their

activities.

• Theories of Human Resource Management relating to ability,

motiv

ation and opportunity. (A)

• The psychological contract and its importance to retention. (A)

• The relationship of the employee to other elements of the

business. (A)

• Personal business ethics and the fundamental principles (Part A)

of the CIMA Code of E

thics for Professional Accountants. (B)

2. Discuss the activities

associated with the

management of human

capital. (4)

(a) Explain the HR activities associated with developing

the ability of employees.

(b) Discuss the HR activities associated with the

motivation of employees.

the opportunities for employees to contribute to the

ﬁ rm.

(d) Discuss the importance of the line manager in the

implementation of HR practices.

(e) Prepare an HR plan appropriate to a team.

• Practices associated with recruiting and developing appropriate

abilities including r

ecruitment and selection of staff using

different recruitment channels (i.e. interviews, assessment

centres, intelligence tests, aptitude tests, psychometric tests). (A)

• Issues relating to fair and legal employment practices (e.g.

ecruitment, dismissal, redundancy, and ways of managing these). (A)

• The distinction between development and training and the tools

available to develop and train staff. (A, B)

• The design and implementation of induction programmes. (A, B)

• Practices related to motivation including Issues in the design

of reward systems (e.g. the role of incentives, the utility of

performance-related pay, arrangements for knowledge workers,

ﬂ exible work arrangements). (B)

• The importance of appraisals, their conduct and their relationship

to the reward system. (A, B)

• Practices related to the creation of opportunities for employees

to contribute to the organisation including job design,

communications, involvement procedures and appropriate

elements of negotiating and bargaining. (C)

• Problems in implementing an HR plan appropriate to a unit or

team and ways to manage this. (D)

• HR in different organisational forms (e.g. project–based, virtual or

networ

ked ﬁ rms) and different organisational contexts. (B, C, D)

• Preparation of an HR plan (e.g. forecasting personnel

equirements; retention, absence and leave, wastage). (E)

THE CIMA LEARNING SYSTEM

The Global Business

Environment