IQSSL GMQE cheat sheet

Management functions follow the POLC cycle: Planning, Organizing, Leading, Controlling; controlling feeds back into planning.

Mintzberg's ten managerial roles group into three clusters: interpersonal (figurehead, leader, liaison), informational (monitor, disseminator, spokesperson), decisional (entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator, negotiator).

Span of control widens as task standardization and subordinate competence rise; narrow spans add management layers and cost.

Tuckman's group development stages: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, Adjourning; conflict peaks at Storming.

Situational leadership matches style to follower maturity: telling (low readiness), selling, participating, delegating (high readiness).

Likert's four systems: exploitative authoritative, benevolent authoritative, consultative, participative group; System 4 is the high-performance target.

Grapevine communication is informal, fast and largely accurate on non-controversial items; it cannot be eliminated, only managed.

Delegation requires authority, responsibility and accountability; accountability cannot be delegated downward past the delegating manager.

SWOT pairs internal Strengths/Weaknesses with external Opportunities/Threats; TOWS converts them into SO, ST, WO and WT strategies.

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

Porter's Five Forces: rivalry, new entrants, substitutes, supplier power, buyer power; each force is rated to judge industry profit potential.

Ansoff matrix: market penetration, product development, market development, diversification (highest risk).

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

SMART objectives are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound; strategy without measurable objectives cannot be controlled.

Value chain splits primary activities (inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing, service) from support activities.

PESTLE covers Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, Environmental macro factors; it diagnoses the external environment, not internal capability.

Human resource planning formula: future demand minus current supply minus expected attrition equals net recruitment or redundancy need.

Job analysis produces a job description (duties, conditions) and a person specification (qualifications, competencies); selection criteria derive from the person specification.

Training needs analysis operates at three levels: organizational, task/operational and individual.

Kirkpatrick's four evaluation levels: reaction, learning, behaviour, results; results is the only level measuring business impact.

Herzberg separates hygiene factors (pay, conditions, policy) that prevent dissatisfaction from motivators (achievement, recognition, growth) that create satisfaction.

Labour turnover rate = (leavers in period ÷ average number of employees) × 100; compare against benchmark and by department to spot causes.

Collective bargaining covers pay, hours, leave and grievance procedures; a collective agreement binds the parties that signed it.

Disciplinary process principles: written rules, prompt investigation, right to be accompanied, right to respond, proportionate penalty, appeal.

Break-even units = Fixed costs ÷ (Selling price − Variable cost per unit); break-even revenue = Fixed costs ÷ Contribution margin ratio.

Contribution margin ratio = (Sales − Variable costs) ÷ Sales; margin of safety = (Actual sales − Break-even sales) ÷ Actual sales.

Gross profit = Revenue − Cost of goods sold; net profit = Gross profit − operating expenses − interest − tax.

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

Variance analysis: material price variance = (Standard price − Actual price) × Actual quantity; adverse (A) reduces profit, favourable (F) increases it.

Payback period = initial investment ÷ annual net cash inflow; it ignores cash flows after payback and the time value of money.

NPV discounts all cash flows at the cost of capital; accept if NPV > 0. IRR is the discount rate at which NPV = 0; accept if IRR > cost of capital.

Cash flow differs from profit: profit recognizes revenue when earned, cash flow records money actually received or paid.

Productivity = Output ÷ Input; multi-factor productivity uses a weighted bundle of inputs, so units must be converted to a common measure.

Capacity utilization = Actual output ÷ Design capacity × 100; efficiency = Actual output ÷ Effective capacity × 100.

Little's Law: Work-in-process = Throughput rate × Flow time; use it to size queues and inventory buffers.

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

Lean's seven wastes: overproduction, waiting, transport, over-processing, inventory, motion, defects. Overproduction is treated as the root waste.

Six Sigma targets 3.4 defects per million opportunities; DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) governs existing-process projects.

Pareto principle: roughly 80% of problems trace to 20% of causes; a Pareto chart ranks causes by frequency to prioritize action.

Statistical process control distinguishes common-cause variation (inherent, adjust the system) from special-cause variation (assignable, investigate the point).

Marketing mix 4Ps: Product, Price, Place, Promotion; services add People, Process and Physical evidence (7Ps).

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

Product life cycle stages: introduction, growth, maturity, decline; pricing shifts from skimming or penetration at launch to competitive pricing at maturity.

Customer lifetime value = average purchase value × purchase frequency × customer lifespan × gross margin; compare with acquisition cost to judge viability.

Customer retention rate = ((Customers at end − New customers) ÷ Customers at start) × 100.

Net Promoter Score = % promoters (9-10) − % detractors (0-6); passives (7-8) are excluded from the calculation.

Price elasticity of demand = % change in quantity demanded ÷ % change in price; demand is elastic when the absolute value exceeds 1.

AIDA describes buyer response stages: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action.

A valid contract requires offer, acceptance, consideration, intention to create legal relations and capacity; lack of any element can make it void or voidable.

Invitation to treat differs from offer: price displays, advertisements and tenders are generally invitations to treat, not offers.

Conditions are essential terms; breach of condition allows termination plus damages. Warranties are minor terms; breach allows damages only.

Agency law: the principal is bound by acts of an agent acting within actual or apparent authority; the agent owes duties of care, loyalty and disclosure.

Negligence requires duty of care, breach of that duty, causation and damage; the duty test is foreseeability of harm to a proximate party.

Ethical tests for a decision: utilitarian (greatest good), rights-based (respects entitlements), justice-based (fair and consistent), virtue-based (character).

Conflict of interest exists when a personal interest could improperly influence official judgment; the standard control is written disclosure and recusal.

Compliance framework: identify applicable laws, assign ownership, train, monitor, audit and remediate; a code of conduct alone is not a compliance programme.