BSSE Business Management cheat sheet

SWOT separates internal factors (strengths, weaknesses) from external factors (opportunities, threats); it is a diagnostic, not a strategy.

Porter's generic strategies: cost leadership, differentiation, and focus (cost focus or differentiation focus); being stuck in the middle yields below-average returns.

Porter's Five Forces: rivalry, threat of new entrants, threat of substitutes, supplier power, buyer power; all five determine industry profit potential.

PESTLE covers Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, Environmental macro-environment factors.

VRIO test for sustained competitive advantage: Valuable, Rare, costly to Imitate, and the firm must be Organized to capture value.

Ansoff matrix: market penetration, market development, product development, diversification (increasing risk in that order).

BCG matrix: stars (high growth, high share), cash cows (low growth, high share), question marks, dogs; cash cows fund stars and selected question marks.

SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound.

Strategy hierarchy: corporate strategy (portfolio scope) → business strategy (competitive advantage) → functional strategy (operations, marketing).

4Ps: Product, Price, Place, Promotion; the extended 7Ps add People, Process, Physical evidence for services.

Product life cycle stages: introduction, growth, maturity, decline; profit typically peaks in late growth to early maturity.

Price elasticity of demand = % change in quantity demanded ÷ % change in price; |E|>1 elastic, |E|<1 inelastic.

Market share = firm sales ÷ total market sales × 100; relative market share = firm share ÷ largest competitor's share.

Break-even volume for marketing campaigns = fixed campaign cost ÷ unit contribution margin.

STP process: Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning; segments must be measurable, accessible, substantial, and actionable.

Customer acquisition cost (CAC) = total acquisition spend ÷ new customers acquired; compare against customer lifetime value (CLV).

CLV = average purchase value × purchase frequency × customer lifespan (simple form); a viable ratio is CLV:CAC of about 3:1.

Marketing funnel: awareness → interest/consideration → desire/evaluation → action → retention/loyalty.

Accounting equation: Assets = Liabilities + Equity.

Income statement: Revenue − Expenses = Net Income; it covers a period, unlike the balance sheet (a point in time).

Current ratio = current assets ÷ current liabilities; quick ratio = (current assets − inventory) ÷ current liabilities.

Gross profit margin = (Revenue − COGS) ÷ Revenue; net profit margin = Net income ÷ Revenue.

Return on equity = Net income ÷ Average shareholders' equity; Return on assets = Net income ÷ Average total assets.

Break-even units = Fixed costs ÷ (Price − Variable cost per unit).

Contribution margin ratio = (Price − Variable cost per unit) ÷ Price.

Net present value discounts future cash flows at the cost of capital; accept projects with NPV > 0; IRR is the discount rate where NPV = 0.

Debt-to-equity ratio = Total liabilities ÷ Total equity; measures financial leverage and solvency risk.

Little's Law: Work-in-process = Throughput rate × Flow time.

Economic order quantity (EOQ) = √(2DS ÷ H), where D = annual demand, S = order cost, H = holding cost per unit per year.

Reordering point = demand during lead time + safety stock.

Inventory turnover = Cost of goods sold ÷ Average inventory; days of inventory = 365 ÷ inventory turnover.

Lean principles target the seven wastes (overproduction, waiting, transport, overprocessing, inventory, motion, defects).

Capacity utilization = actual output ÷ maximum capacity × 100.

Six Sigma targets 3.4 defects per million opportunities; DMAIC = Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control.

Bullwhip effect: demand variability amplifies upstream in the supply chain; causes include forecast updates, batch ordering, and price promotions.

Make-or-buy and total cost of ownership decisions compare all lifecycle costs, not just unit purchase price.

Maslow's hierarchy (physiological, safety, social, esteem, self-actualization) is ordered; lower needs are generally satisfied first.

Herzberg's two-factor theory separates hygiene factors (prevent dissatisfaction) from motivators (drive satisfaction).

Vroom's expectancy theory: Motivation = Expectancy × Instrumentality × Valence; any factor at zero yields zero motivation.

Adams's equity theory: employees compare their outcome/input ratio with referents; perceived inequity motivates corrective action.

Tuckman's team stages: forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning.

Employee turnover rate = (Separations ÷ Average number of employees) × 100.

Cost per hire = total recruiting costs ÷ number of hires.

Training ROI = (Benefits − Training costs) ÷ Training costs × 100.

Big Five personality traits: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism; conscientiousness best predicts job performance.

Data hierarchy: characters → fields → records → files → database; information = data processed into meaning.

ACID properties for transactions: Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability.

Mean, median, and mode are measures of central tendency; standard deviation measures dispersion.

Correlation measures association, not causation; confounding variables can produce spurious correlation.

Descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive analytics answer what happened, what will happen, and what should be done.

GDPR principles: lawfulness, purpose limitation, data minimization, accuracy, storage limitation, integrity/confidentiality, accountability.

Data quality dimensions: accuracy, completeness, consistency, timeliness, validity, uniqueness.

A/B testing compares a control and a treatment group; statistical significance (typically p < 0.05) indicates a result unlikely by chance.

ERP systems integrate core business processes; CRM systems manage customer interactions and sales pipelines.

Leadership styles: autocratic, democratic/participative, laissez-faire, transformational, transactional, servant.

Situational leadership adjusts style (directing, coaching, supporting, delegating) to follower readiness.

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

Lewin's change model: unfreeze → change → refreeze.

Communication process: sender → encoding → message/channel → decoding → receiver → feedback, with noise as interference.

Active listening requires paraphrasing, clarifying questions, and reflecting feelings rather than rehearsing a reply.

Goleman's emotional intelligence components: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship management.

Change resistance is reduced by participation, clear communication, and visible leadership commitment.

Conflict resolution modes (Thomas-Kilmann): competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding, accommodating.