E2 Practice Exam Questions and Answers

The purpose of PEST analysis is described by which of the following?

A large department store currently employs a total of 110 staff, of whom 72 are part-time hourly paid employees. The part-time employees generally work the same number of hours every week and have a stable pattern of work and regular income. During busy periods there is the opportunity for over-time, which is payable at 50% more than the normal hourly rate.

A new chief executive is aware that some part-time staff work much harder than others and intends to address the situation by moving all part-time staff onto zero hours contracts where no paid hours are guaranteed and the personal workload of each employee is notified in advance each week. Overtime should be eliminated. In return, the basic hourly rate will be increased by 20% and there will be opportunities for promotion and new responsibilities.

News of these changes has caused considerable unrest. The HR Director knows that resistance to change will have to be managed very carefully and is using Lewin's force field model as the framework for analysis. Which restraining forces are present in the scenario?

Select ALL that apply.

Which of the following statements are not true based on Stalk, Evans and Schulman's principles of capability-based competition?

Select ALL that apply.

Many companies use Critical Path Analysis (CPA) to manage projects.

Which TWO of the options below could be identified from a CPA diagram? 

A number of managers in an organisation approach change using a variety of techniques. Manager A focuses on staff training. Manager B provides large bonuses for effective project management. Manager C

restructures his team to reduce headcount. Manager D lays out the financial problems in the business and why change is unavoidable. Manager E calls his team together to openly discuss the issues. Manager F calls

for ideas from his team to make the change happen.

Based on Beer and Nohria's change theory, which of these managers can be described as Theory 0 managers?

Select ALL that apply.

A building project for developing new homes to customers' own specification is behind schedule and will incur penalty payments if the next milestone is not achieved on time.

Which of the following strategies would be appropriate in order to get the project back on track and that will not compromise customer satisfaction and could still minimse the overall cost of development?

Select All that apply.

For complex projects, Gantt charts have limitations.

Which THREE of the following apply?

Harvey Maylor created a project life cycle model based on four discrete and sequential stages. This is known as the 4D model. One of the stages involves the following activities:

- Documentation must be completed. Contracts, letters, accounting records etc. must be filed properly.

- Project systems must be closed down, including accounting systems - only after all costs have been settled.

- Handover to the client/end users must take place, and where appropriate obtain sign-off to signify that the contract is complete.

- Review the project to provide project staff with immediate feedback on performance.

To which stage of the 4D model do these activities apply?

The initial Balanced Scorecard design, defined by Kaplan and Norton, used four perspectives (or legs) for management control and the implementation of strategy. What are the FOUR original perspectives?

Which of the following are classed as part of the move stage of Lewin's model of change?

Select ALL that apply.

Kotter and Schlesinger devised a theoretical framework which set out six inter-related approaches to deal with resistance to organisational change.

One approach involves management taking a simplistic and authoritarian approach by instructing staff to comply with changes. This compulsory method is derived from the formal authority that senior management possesses. Senior managers often have the right to do this based on employment laws and regulations.

Select this type of approach as identified by Kotter and Schlesinger.

Which TWO of the following are soft elements of culture highlighted in the McKinsey 7-S Model?

As part of a project to refurbish a large hotel chain, the wiring of the computer network was subcontracted to a specialist IT organisation. In relation to managing risk in the project this approach can be referred to as:

GG, the new CEO in an organisation, was surprised to find out that the company does not undertake competitor analysis. He was told that, as the organisation operates in a very dynamic market,  things change too quickly to make analysis worthwhile.

Choose from the following the option that presents why competitor analysis is important.

Drawbacks of the formal top-down approach to strategy include which THREE of the following?

A large firm of chartered accountants decide to outsource all its IT and network support services to a specialist IT service provider based in a neighbouring town. From the list below, which are potential outcomes to the firm as a result of this decision?

Select ALL that apply.

Several researchers have identified strong connections between corporate culture and resistance to organisational change.

Which TWO of the following are likely to be most resistant to organisational change:

H is the owner of a motorcycle dealership in Los Angeles which provides sales, repair and servicing of very large motorcycles, typically with engines larger than 1000cc. Over the years H has built up a renowned team of highly skilled technicians that are experts in this particular size of motorcycle. H believes that their skills are rare and difficult, if not impossible, to imitate by any competitor in the region.

Despite this advantage the company has been suffering from declining profits in the past three years and the marketing consultant has advised H to change the focus of the company towards small 50cc mopeds and scooters - because that "is clearly what the market is now wanting".

The change being proposed is:

The Finance Director in an organisation has suffered from some criticism in her management approach, in particular her poor communication methods. For example, using finance jargon in her emails and sending messages out of normal office working hours.

This has lead to some of the members of staff being demotivated.

Which of the following possible recommendations would improve the communication situation present in this organisaion?

Select ALL that apply.

The role of competitor analysis, according to Wilson and Gilligan is threefold.

Which of the following does NOT apply?

X is a major energy company and has discovered substantial onshore shale gas reserves in a rural part of the country. With new "fracking" technology, underground gas production could be profitable, provide jobs for local people and boost the local economy. This would require the purchase of large areas of land, without which the projects could not proceed.

Although local landowners were generally pleased to sell land to X at high prices, the reactions of local residents were less favourable as they were very concerned about the environmental impact.

Although their powers were limited, their influence on local councils was more significant. Every new fracking site was subject to strict planning controls and local councils controlled this process.

Using Mendelow's stakeholder management theory, which stakeholder group should be categorised as high interest/low power - with a strategy of "keep informed" (unless their power and influence start to increase)?

DD is in charge of a group of twelve people involved in complex work. The group work together amicably and DD's leadership is valued. DD is supported by KK, who often deals with the group on behalf of D

D.  

Recently KK resigned for family reasons, along with another member of the group who became despondent with change and DD has now recruited new members to the group.

DD has found the group dynamics have changed and various members complain about what they are expected to do.

Which of the following is the least appropriate approach that DD should adopt to ensure the group reverts back to its former cohesiveness?

The Phase model of change, otherwise known as 'N step recipes for change', has come in for considerable criticism.

Which THREE of the following are common criticisms of this model of change?

Which of the following statements relating to disciplinary sanctions should not be true?

Select ALL that apply.

While initiating a project to relocate to a larger site, a company looked at how the project proposal fits with the current set up of the business. The premises are only 20 miles away and it is feasible that the current staff would travel to the new factory to work.

As part of the feasibility considerations, this represents which type of feasibility?

Stimulating conflict can provide benefits for the organisation. Select ALL of the following that apply.

Identify the benefit of using PRINCE2:

Setting a mission is the first stage of the rational approach to strategy setting. According to David, which THREE of the following are useful areas to include in an organisation's mission statement?

AW is a newly appointed manager of the accounts department in organisation S.  Her appointment has been well received by members of the department who recognise AW as a skilled and well qualified accountant.

However, AW has been frustrated by progress in departmental team meetings which tend to be unruly, unproductive and disorganised.  AW recognises a need to improve the effectiveness of the meetings.

Which THREE actions should AW take in order to have more effective meetings?

What are the disadvantages of a divisional organisational structure? Select ALL that apply.

In order to compete successfully Company A needs to change. It needs to become more innovative and generate new ideas to get ahead of the competition.

Which of the strategies below, relating to conflict management (Mainwaring 1991), would help Company A to achieve this?