CPA Contemporary Business Issues - independent subject foundations cheat sheet
CPA Contemporary Business Issues - independent subject foundations · Keep the key ideas within reach.
Business models, digital value and organizational change
Separate value proposition, operating capability and revenue mechanism.
Evaluate network effects and subscriptions through actual costs, retention and cash.
Use change models as lenses rather than deterministic laws.
Review realized benefits after a project delivers its output.
Human resource management
Turnover uses average employees; absenteeism uses possible working days.
Job description = duties; person specification = candidate attributes.
Herzberg separates hygiene factors from motivators; pay alone is hygiene.
Leadership style should be matched to task, workforce skill and time pressure.
Redundancy and dismissal have different legal and motivational implications.
Natural resources, sustainability and business evidence
Distinguish physical resource stocks, flows and accounting recognition.
A lower intensity can coexist with higher absolute resource consumption.
State boundaries, units, data ownership and uncertainty.
Circular and green labels do not prove a lifecycle improvement.
Stakeholders, communication and accountable business judgment
Differentiate analytical stakeholder interests from actual legal authority.
Power-interest mapping must not erase vulnerable affected groups.
Communicate verified facts, boundaries and uncertainty to the actual audience.
Reputation management includes operational correction and accountable follow-up.
Business strategy
A business model connects customer value, delivery, resources, costs and revenue; its assumptions require evidence.
Porter's generic strategies require a clear basis for competitive advantage.
Expected value weights outcomes by probability but ignores risk attitude.
Suitability, acceptability and feasibility structure strategy evaluation.
Implementation fails when culture, structure and resources are misaligned.
Operations management
Capacity utilisation = actual output ÷ maximum output × 100.
Break-even = fixed costs ÷ contribution per unit; margin of safety = current sales − break-even.
JIT cuts holding costs but raises supply-chain vulnerability.
TQM is preventive and company-wide; quality control is inspection-based.
Critical path is the longest route through the network and sets project duration.