CIMA E1 key terms

The shared values, beliefs and behavioural norms that shape how members of an organisation act and make decisions, often transmitted informally rather than through written rules.

A model separating culture into visible artefacts, espoused values and underlying basic assumptions; the deepest assumptions are hardest to observe yet most powerfully drive behaviour.

A framework mapping an organisation's culture through stories, rituals, symbols, power structures, organisational structures, control systems and the paradigm that ties them together.

A stakeholder mapping tool plotting power against interest, suggesting strategies of minimal effort, keep informed, keep satisfied or manage closely for each quadrant.

Any individual or group that affects, or is affected by, an organisation's objectives and actions, including owners, employees, customers, suppliers, lenders, regulators and local communities.

A conflict arising where managers (agents) pursue their own interests rather than those of shareholders (principals), typically addressed through incentives, monitoring and governance structures.

The system of rules, practices and processes by which an organisation is directed and controlled, balancing stakeholder interests and ensuring accountability of those who run it.

A subcommittee of non-executive directors responsible for overseeing financial reporting, internal controls and the relationship with external auditors, strengthening independence and accountability.

A board member without day-to-day management responsibilities who provides independent oversight, challenges executive decisions and contributes to strategy and governance.

A technique for scanning the external environment across political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors to identify opportunities and threats.

Porter's framework assessing industry attractiveness through the threat of new entrants, bargaining power of buyers and suppliers, threat of substitutes and competitive rivalry.

A sequence of primary and support activities through which an organisation creates and delivers value, used to identify where cost advantage or differentiation can be built.

A structured summary of an organisation's internal strengths and weaknesses alongside external opportunities and threats, often used to inform strategic option generation.

A growth framework combining existing and new products with existing and new markets to give market penetration, product development, market development and diversification strategies.

Assessment of a range of business units or products, often using growth and market share, to guide decisions on investment, maintenance, harvesting or divestment.

The disposal or closure of a business unit, product line or asset that no longer fits strategy or fails to generate acceptable returns, releasing resources for other uses.

Contracting an activity previously performed internally to an external provider, typically to reduce cost, access specialist skills or allow focus on core competences.

A capability that is difficult for competitors to imitate, contributes significantly to customer value and can be applied across several products or markets.

The formal arrangement of roles, reporting lines and coordination mechanisms that determines how work is divided and integrated within an organisation.

The number of subordinates directly reporting to a manager; a wide span produces flatter structures, while a narrow span produces taller hierarchies with closer supervision.

Removing one or more levels of management from a hierarchy to reduce cost, shorten communication lines and increase responsiveness, usually widening spans of control.

A structure in which employees report to both a functional manager and a project or product manager, improving coordination but creating dual authority and potential conflict.

Radical redesign of core processes from first principles to achieve dramatic improvements in cost, quality, speed or service, rather than incremental adjustment.

A continuous improvement philosophy in which all employees take responsibility for quality, driven by customer requirements, prevention rather than inspection, and factual measurement.

The total of prevention, appraisal, internal failure and external failure costs; used to show that investing in prevention typically reduces far larger failure costs.

A data-driven improvement methodology targeting near-perfect process performance by reducing variation and defects, using defined project phases and statistical measurement.

The set of controllable elements a organisation combines to meet target market needs, commonly summarised as product, price, place and promotion.

Dividing a heterogeneous market into distinct groups of buyers with similar needs or characteristics so that offers and marketing can be tailored to each group.

Evaluating and selecting which market segments an organisation will serve, based on attractiveness, fit with capabilities and competitive position.

The progression of a product through introduction, growth, maturity and decline, with differing sales, profit and competitive conditions at each stage shaping marketing decisions.

Forecasting an organisation's future demand for people and comparing it with expected supply, so that gaps are closed through recruitment, training, redeployment or redundancy.

The linked processes of attracting suitable applicants to vacancies and choosing among them using valid, reliable and fair assessment methods.

The process of introducing a new employee to the organisation, their role, colleagues and policies, helping them become productive and reducing early leaver risk.

Identifying and developing internal people to fill key roles when they become vacant, reducing disruption and dependency on external recruitment for critical positions.

A periodic review of an employee's work against agreed objectives, providing feedback, development needs and evidence for pay or promotion decisions.

The people, records and procedures that capture transactions, process them into statements and reports, and distribute financial information to internal and external users.

The provision of financial and non-financial information to managers for planning, decision-making, performance measurement and control within the organisation.

The policies and procedures designed to safeguard assets, ensure reliable reporting and support compliance with laws and regulations.

A quantified plan for a defined future period, expressed in money or units, used to coordinate activities, allocate resources and provide a benchmark for control.

Comparing actual results with budgeted or standard figures, identifying the size and cause of differences so that corrective action or revised plans can follow.