BCS Written Management cheat sheet

SWOT records internal Strengths and Weaknesses and external Opportunities and Threats; it is an analysis input, not a strategy, and pairs with TOWS to generate options.

Porter's generic strategies: cost leadership, differentiation, and focus (cost focus or differentiation focus); a firm 'stuck in the middle' lacks competitive advantage.

Porter's Five Forces: rivalry among existing competitors, threat of new entrants, threat of substitutes, bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers.

Ansoff matrix axes are products (existing/new) and markets (existing/new), giving market penetration, product development, market development, and diversification.

The BCG matrix plots market growth rate against relative market share, yielding stars, cash cows, question marks, and dogs.

PESTLE covers Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental factors; it scans the macro-environment only.

A SMART objective is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound; a mission states purpose, a vision states future state, and values state behavioural principles.

Value chain (Porter) separates primary activities (inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, service) from support activities (firm infrastructure, HR, technology, procurement).

Vertical integration extends ownership along the supply chain (backward toward supply, forward toward customers); horizontal integration combines firms at the same stage.

Tuckman's group development stages are forming, storming, norming, performing, and (later addition) adjourning.

Maslow's hierarchy: physiological, safety, social belonging, esteem, self-actualisation; higher needs are pursued once lower needs are reasonably met.

Herzberg's two-factor theory separates hygiene factors (pay, policy, conditions) that prevent dissatisfaction from motivators (achievement, recognition, growth) that drive satisfaction.

McGregor's Theory X assumes employees avoid work and need control; Theory Y assumes employees seek responsibility and self-direction.

Vroom's expectancy theory: motivation = expectancy × instrumentality × valence; a zero in any term yields zero motivation.

McClelland's acquired needs are need for achievement (nAch), need for affiliation (nAff), and need for power (nPow).

Situational leadership (Hersey and Blanchard) matches style (telling, selling, participating, delegating) to follower maturity or readiness.

Belbin's nine team roles include plant, resource investigator, coordinator, shaper, monitor evaluator, teamworker, implementer, completer finisher, and specialist.

Equity theory (Adams) holds that employees compare their input-outcome ratio with referents; perceived inequity motivates restoring balance.

Gross profit = revenue − cost of sales; operating profit = gross profit − operating expenses; net profit deducts interest and tax.

Gross margin = gross profit / revenue; net margin = net profit / revenue; both expressed as percentages of revenue.

Current ratio = current assets / current liabilities; quick (acid-test) ratio = (current assets − inventory) / current liabilities.

Return on capital employed (ROCE) = operating profit / capital employed, where capital employed = total assets − current liabilities.

Payback period is the time to recover the initial investment; it ignores cash flows after payback and the time value of money.

Net present value discounts future cash flows at the cost of capital; accept a project when NPV is positive.

Internal rate of return is the discount rate at which NPV equals zero; accept when IRR exceeds the cost of capital.

Break-even units = fixed costs / contribution per unit, where contribution per unit = selling price − variable cost per unit.

A flexible budget is adjusted to actual activity volume; a zero-based budget requires every cost to be justified from zero each period rather than rolled forward.

A project is a temporary endeavour producing a unique output; a programme is a group of related projects managed together for coordinated benefits.

The iron triangle (triple constraint) trades off scope, time, and cost against quality; change in one constraint affects the others.

Critical path method: the critical path is the longest dependent sequence of activities and has zero total float; delaying it delays project completion.

Total float = late start − early start (equivalently late finish − early finish) for an activity.

Earned value: CV = EV − AC (cost variance); SV = EV − PV (schedule variance); CPI = EV / AC; SPI = EV / PV.

Estimate at completion (EAC) using CPI = BAC / CPI; variance at completion VAC = BAC − EAC.

A RACI matrix assigns each task Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed roles; exactly one person should be Accountable per task.

A stage gate (phase gate) is a decision checkpoint where a project is approved, held, redirected, or terminated before the next phase.

PRINCE2 principles include continued business justification, learn from experience, defined roles and responsibilities, manage by stages, manage by exception, focus on products, and tailor to the environment.

ITIL service lifecycle stages: service strategy, service design, service transition, service operation, and continual service improvement.

COBIT separates governance from management: governance domains are Evaluate, Direct, and Monitor (EDM); management domains are APO, BAI, DSS, and MEA.

Confidentiality, integrity, and availability (the CIA triad) are the core information security objectives.

Data protection principles typically require lawfulness, purpose limitation, data minimisation, accuracy, storage limitation, integrity and confidentiality, and accountability.

Enterprise architecture frameworks include TOGAF (with the Architecture Development Method) and Zachman (a descriptive taxonomy of artefacts).

A system of record is the authoritative data source; master data management maintains consistent reference data across systems.

Segregation of duties in IT keeps development, change approval, and production access with different people to reduce fraud and error risk.

Shadow IT is technology used without central IT approval; it raises security, integration, and licensing risk.

A service level agreement (SLA) states measurable service commitments between provider and customer; an operational level agreement (OLA) supports internal dependencies.

Lewin's model: unfreeze, move (change), refreeze; refreezing embeds new behaviour into structures and norms.

Kotter's eight steps: urgency, guiding coalition, vision, communicate, empower action, short-term wins, consolidate gains, anchor in culture.

The change curve (Kübler-Ross-derived) moves through shock/denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance, then integration.

Bridges' transition model has three phases: ending, losing, and letting go; the neutral zone; and the new beginning.

Force field analysis (Lewin) weighs driving forces against restraining forces; change succeeds by strengthening drivers and removing restraints.

Resistance to change may be rational (self-interest), political, or emotional; participation and communication reduce it more than coercion.

A stakeholder map plots power/interest to choose strategies: manage closely (high/high), keep satisfied, keep informed, monitor.

ADKAR (Prosci) sequences change at individual level: Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement.

Risk = likelihood × impact; a risk register records description, owner, likelihood, impact, score, response, and review date.

Four standard risk responses: avoid, reduce (mitigate), transfer (e.g., insurance), and accept (retain).

Residual risk is what remains after controls; inherent risk is the level before controls are applied.

ISO 31000 process: establish context, identify, analyse, evaluate, treat, and monitor/communicate risk throughout.

Business impact analysis identifies critical activities and derives recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO).

RTO is the maximum acceptable downtime; RPO is the maximum acceptable data loss measured in time.

A business continuity plan addresses maintaining or restoring operations during disruption; disaster recovery focuses on restoring IT infrastructure and data.

Risk appetite is the amount of risk an organisation is willing to accept; risk tolerance is the acceptable variation around that appetite.

The risk matrix plots likelihood against impact, and risk heat maps aggregate exposures across a portfolio.

Little's Law: average number in system = arrival rate × average time in system (L = λW).

Capacity utilisation = actual output / maximum possible output; high utilisation lengthens queues non-linearly.

The four Vs of operations are volume, variety, variation in demand, and visibility.

Process types by volume-variety: project, jobbing, batch, mass (line), and continuous process.

The 4Ds of quality (Deming) are design, do, detect defects, and drive improvement; the Deming cycle is plan-do-check-act.

Lean's seven wastes (TIMWOOD): transport, inventory, motion, waiting, overproduction, overprocessing, and defects.

Six Sigma targets 3.4 defects per million opportunities; it uses DMAIC (define, measure, analyse, improve, control) for existing processes.

Queuing theory: as utilisation approaches 100%, waiting time rises sharply; adding capacity reduces queues more than speeding up service.

Total quality management emphasises customer focus, continuous improvement, employee involvement, and fact-based decision making.

Corporate governance mechanisms include the board of directors, audit committee, internal controls, external audit, and disclosure requirements.

Separation of ownership and control creates the agency problem; agency costs are reduced by incentives, monitoring, and transparency.

The UK Corporate Governance Code applies 'comply or explain'; key principles include board leadership, division of responsibilities, composition, audit, risk, and remuneration.

Independence criteria for non-executive directors commonly include no material business relationship and no long tenure beyond a stated period.

Ethical frameworks: consequentialism judges acts by outcomes (utilitarianism maximises total welfare), deontology by duty and rules, virtue ethics by character.

Kohlberg's moral development stages: pre-conventional (obedience, self-interest), conventional (interpersonal, law and order), post-conventional (social contract, universal principles).

A conflict of interest exists when personal interest could improperly influence professional judgement; the standard response is declare, recuse, or remove the interest.

Stakeholder salience (Mitchell, Agle, Wood) depends on power, legitimacy, and urgency; high on all three defines a definitive stakeholder.

The 'tone at the top' is the ethical culture set by senior leadership; codes of conduct are effective only when enforced and modelled.