CMI (Other exams) cheat sheet

SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound; a goal lacking a measure or a deadline is not a SMART goal.

Tuckman's stages run Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, Adjourning; a team that regresses on a new task can re-enter Storming.

Belbin's nine team roles split into action (Shaper, Implementer, Completer Finisher), people (Coordinator, Teamworker, Resource Investigator) and thought (Plant, Monitor Evaluator, Specialist).

Situational leadership (Hersey-Blanchard) matches style to follower readiness: Telling for low competence/low commitment, Selling, Participating, Delegating for high readiness.

Feedback model: describe the observed behaviour, state its impact, then agree the action; avoid labels about personality.

Conflict handling modes (Thomas-Kilmann): competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding, accommodating; collaborating suits issues important to both sides.

A team briefing covers purpose, progress against targets, and actions owned by named individuals with dates.

Delegation requires matching the task to capability, defining the standard and deadline, granting authority, and setting a check-in point.

First-line managers convert departmental plans into daily schedules, work allocation and shift-level targets.

Gap analysis: current performance minus required standard equals the improvement gap; each gap needs a named cause and an owner.

RACI assigns Responsible (does the work), Accountable (one per activity), Consulted and Informed.

Absence and turnover rates are calculated as (days lost or leavers ÷ average headcount) × 100 over the same period.

A standard operating procedure states scope, sequence of steps, safety controls, and the escalation route.

Performance improvement plan elements: specific shortfall, evidence, support offered, review dates, and consequence of non-achievement.

Health and safety duty of a supervisor: identify hazards, assess risk, apply controls in the hierarchy (eliminate, substitute, engineer, administrate, PPE), record and review.

Induction covers role expectations, policies, systems access, health and safety, and a first review date.

A business case states the problem, options considered, costs, benefits, risks and a recommendation with an approval route.

Budget variance is actual minus budgeted; a positive cost variance is overspend, and the percentage variance is variance ÷ budget × 100.

Cost-benefit ratio equals total benefits ÷ total costs; a ratio above 1 indicates benefits exceed costs.

Stakeholder analysis maps power against interest: high power/high interest = manage closely; low power/low interest = monitor.

Risk score equals likelihood multiplied by impact; treatment options are avoid, reduce, transfer, accept.

Project scope must be baselined before change control begins; any change is assessed for time, cost and quality impact.

Key performance indicators need a definition, data source, frequency, owner and target to be usable.

Data protection principles require lawful purpose, minimum necessary data, accuracy, retention limits and secure handling.

Operational planning links the departmental plan to capacity: required output ÷ available productive hours gives the resource requirement.

The five operations performance objectives are quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost.

Continuous improvement cycles (PDCA: Plan, Do, Check, Act) require a measured baseline before a change is made.

An options appraisal scores each option against weighted criteria; weight × score, summed, gives the ranked decision.

A cost centre manager is accountable for expenditure against budget and for forecasting the year-end outturn.

Change curve (Kubler-Ross-style) stages: shock, denial, frustration, depression, experiment, decision, integration; communication should match the stage.

Service level agreements define scope, response and resolution times, exclusions, and review frequency.

Workforce planning compares demand for skills with current capability, identifying gap, recruit, develop or redeploy actions.

Higher technical study is assessed against learning outcomes and assessment criteria; evidence must map to each criterion explicitly.

Technical reports follow a structure of purpose, method, results, analysis, conclusion and recommendations, with sources cited.

Measurement uncertainty is reported alongside a result; a result without stated precision is incomplete.

A literature or evidence review states the search approach, inclusion criteria and how sources were evaluated for reliability.

Professional competence frameworks describe knowledge, skills and behaviours; evidence should be mapped to each element.

Ethical approval is required before collecting data from people; it covers informed consent, anonymity and right to withdraw.

Reflective models such as Gibbs (description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion, action plan) turn experience into documented learning.

Version control on technical documents records author, date, change and approval status.

AI governance roles: the board sets risk appetite, an accountable executive owns AI risk, and model owners document purpose and limitations.

The AI project lifecycle runs problem definition, data sourcing, model build, validation, deployment, monitoring and retirement.

Bias enters through training data, labelling and feature choice; mitigation includes representative data, fairness testing and human review.

Explainability and human oversight requirements scale with the impact of the decision on individuals.

Data minimisation, lawful basis and retention limits under data protection law apply to AI training and inference data.

Model monitoring tracks drift, accuracy decay and error rates against an agreed threshold that triggers review or retraining.

Automation bias is over-reliance on system output; mitigation is documented challenge points and audit sampling.

An AI risk register records use case, affected stakeholders, likelihood, impact, controls and owner.

The three sustainability pillars are environmental, social and economic; a decision is assessed against all three.

Scope 1 emissions are direct fuel combustion; Scope 2 are purchased energy; Scope 3 are value-chain emissions including suppliers and product use.

Carbon footprint equals activity data multiplied by an emission factor; the factor's source and year must be stated.

Net zero requires reduction of emissions first; offsetting residual emissions is a last step, not a substitute for reduction.

Materiality assessment ranks issues by impact on the organisation and importance to stakeholders.

Circular economy principles: design out waste, keep materials in use, regenerate natural systems.

Sustainability reporting frameworks include GRI for impact reporting and the GHG Protocol for emissions accounting.

Science-based targets align reduction pathways with limiting global warming to 1.5°C or well below 2°C.

Strategic analysis tools: PESTLE for macro environment, Porter's Five Forces for industry attractiveness, SWOT to combine internal and external findings.

Porter's generic strategies are cost leadership, differentiation and focus; being stuck in the middle risks lower returns.

Ansoff's matrix: market penetration, product development, market development, diversification, ordered by risk.

Investment appraisal uses payback, net present value and internal rate of return; NPV above zero indicates value creation at the chosen discount rate.

A senior manager's people duties include talent review, succession planning and performance calibration across teams.

Governance separates direction (board) from execution (management); audit and risk committees provide independent challenge.

Business continuity requires a business impact analysis, recovery time objectives and tested recovery plans.

A decision paper records the recommendation, assumptions, alternatives rejected, risks and the decision owner.

Directors owe duties to the company: act within powers, promote success of the company, exercise independent judgement, avoid conflicts, declare interests.

Board effectiveness depends on composition, independence, diversity of thought, and a chair who separates agenda-setting from executive delivery.

Enterprise risk management aggregates risk across the portfolio; the board sets appetite and tolerance levels for each risk category.

Strategy at director level sets the mission, the portfolio of bets, capital allocation and the measures of success over a multi-year horizon.

Stakeholder governance balances shareholders, employees, customers, regulators and communities; the company's purpose statement anchors the trade-offs.

Executive remuneration and disclosure are set through an independent committee to manage conflict of interest.

Crisis leadership requires a defined decision authority, single source of truth for communication, and a post-incident review.

Succession for the CEO and executive team is a standing board agenda item, not a contingency triggered only by departure.

A one-to-one meeting agenda covers performance against targets, obstacles, development and agreed actions with dates.

Motivation theory (Herzberg): hygiene factors such as pay and conditions prevent dissatisfaction; motivators such as recognition and responsibility drive effort.

A performance standard must be observable: state the task, the quality measure and the deadline.

Escalation rule: a team leader escalates when an issue exceeds their authority, breaches policy, or carries safety or legal risk.

Effective handover records outstanding tasks, risks, contacts and the status of work in progress.

Equality in team management means consistent criteria for task allocation, development and recognition.

A simple team measure set includes output, quality errors, attendance and customer feedback.

Daily management boards display target, actual, gap and countermeasure; the countermeasure has an owner and a date.

Root cause tools: the 5 Whys and cause-and-effect (fishbone) diagrams separate symptoms from causes.

A disciplinary or grievance process requires documented stages, the right to be accompanied, and a recorded outcome.

Scheduling rule: available capacity equals headcount × shift hours × utilisation, less planned absence and training.

Quality control checks are defined by frequency, sample size, acceptance criteria and the action taken on failure.

A supervisor's cost levers are labour utilisation, overtime, waste, rework and consumable spend.

A risk assessment is reviewed when the activity, equipment or personnel changes, or after an incident.

Team development uses a skills matrix showing current competence and required competence per person and task.

A project plan defines scope, deliverables, milestones, dependencies, resources and acceptance criteria.

Critical path is the longest sequence of dependent tasks; any delay on it delays the project end date.

Earned value: cost variance = earned value − actual cost; schedule variance = earned value − planned value.

Meeting discipline: purpose, timed agenda, decisions recorded, actions with owners and dates, circulated within an agreed period.

Recruitment shortlisting scores candidates against published essential and desirable criteria only.

A procurement decision compares whole-life cost, not just purchase price, including maintenance, energy and disposal.

Customer complaint handling records the issue, the cause, the remedy and the prevention action.

A manager's report to seniors leads with the conclusion and recommendation, then supporting evidence.

A departmental strategy translates organisational goals into objectives, measures, initiatives and resource allocation for the function.

Lean waste categories: overproduction, waiting, transport, over-processing, inventory, motion, defects, unused talent.

Capacity planning distinguishes design capacity, effective capacity and actual output; utilisation = actual output ÷ design capacity.

A business case's financial appraisal distinguishes cash flow from profit and includes sensitivity analysis on key assumptions.

Stakeholder engagement plan records stakeholder, interest, influence, engagement level sought, channel and owner.

Performance management cycle: set objectives, monitor, review, rate, reward, and address underperformance.

A risk register entry includes cause, event, effect, existing controls, residual rating and risk owner.

Budget-setting methods include incremental, zero-based and activity-based; zero-based requires justification of every cost line.

Project or technical work at Level 5 requires a plan with milestones, resource needs, risk assessment and a quality assurance method.

Referencing must be consistent; every in-text citation appears in the reference list and vice versa.

Data analysis distinguishes descriptive statistics (mean, median, mode, range) from inferential conclusions drawn from samples.

Validity means the method measures what it claims; reliability means repeated measurement gives consistent results.

A professional discussion or portfolio defence requires evidence mapped to each assessment criterion with a rationale.

Health and safety and environmental legislation relevant to the technical area must be identified and applied in the work.

A technical recommendation states the constraints, the trade-offs made and the conditions under which it would change.

Reflective practice records what happened, what was learned, and the specific change to future practice.

AI use-case screening asks: what decision does it support, what data does it need, what is the harm if it is wrong, and who is accountable.

Human-in-the-loop is required where an AI output affects a person's rights, safety or access to services.

Generative AI policy covers permitted tools, prohibited data inputs, output verification and disclosure of AI-assisted work.

Model performance metrics must be chosen to match the task: precision, recall, F1, or error rate depending on the cost of mistakes.

Data quality checks cover completeness, accuracy, consistency, timeliness and provenance.

AI incident reporting records the incident, affected users, model version, containment and corrective action.

Third-party AI suppliers need due diligence on data use, model transparency, security and exit arrangements.

AI literacy at Level 3 covers capability and limits; at Level 7 it covers governance, risk appetite and board assurance.

The GHG Protocol scopes must be reported separately; combining them without disclosure obscures where reductions are needed.

Environmental management systems follow Plan-Do-Check-Act with aspects, impacts, legal obligations, objectives and review.

A sustainability business case quantifies cost savings, risk reduction, revenue opportunity and reputational value.

Supplier sustainability assessment uses questionnaires, audits or certifications, weighted by spend and risk.

Social value covers employment, skills, community, wellbeing and supply-chain labour standards.

Climate risk splits into physical risk (events, chronic change) and transition risk (policy, technology, market).

Target-setting follows measure, baseline year, target year, scope and pathway; a target without a baseline cannot be tracked.

Greenwashing risk arises when claims are vague, unsubstantiated or omit significant impacts; claims need verifiable evidence.

Strategic choice follows analysis: define the problem, generate options, evaluate against criteria, select, then plan implementation.

McKinsey 7S covers strategy, structure, systems, shared values, style, staff and skills; change requires alignment across all seven.

Financial statements connect: profit is revenue less expenses over a period; cash flow is movement in cash; the balance sheet is position at a date.

Working capital = current assets − current liabilities; cash conversion cycle = days inventory + days receivable − days payable.

A senior manager sponsors change by securing resources, removing barriers and modelling the required behaviour.

Talent management uses a performance and potential grid to plan development, retention and succession.

Contract and commercial awareness: scope, price, payment terms, liability, termination and dispute resolution.

Ethical decision test: is it legal, does it fit policy, would it withstand public scrutiny, and who is affected.

Corporate strategy choices include portfolio diversification, vertical integration, market entry mode and build-buy-partner decisions.

Capital allocation ranks investment against hurdle rate; the hurdle rate reflects the cost of capital and risk of the project.

Board committees typically include audit, remuneration, nomination and risk; each has written terms of reference.

Investor communication must be accurate, timely and consistent with published guidance; selective disclosure is prohibited.

Organisational culture is shaped by what leaders measure, reward and tolerate, not by stated values alone.

Merger integration risk concentrates in culture, systems and customer retention; a integration plan is set before completion.

Regulatory and legal obligations at director level include competition law, anti-bribery, market abuse and health and safety.

Scenario planning tests strategy against a small set of plausible futures and identifies no-regret moves.

Task allocation criteria: skill match, workload balance, development need and availability.

A brief is complete when the team can state the task, the standard, the deadline and who to ask for help.

Recording decisions and actions prevents repeat discussion and provides evidence at review.

Team meetings should have a stated purpose and end with owned actions; meetings without decisions consume time without output.

Recognising good work promptly and specifically reinforces the behaviour you want repeated.

Confidential information shared with a team leader is held within the agreed need-to-know boundary.

A simple improvement approach: identify the problem, test one change, measure the result, keep or discard.

A shift plan sequences work by priority, dependency and available resource; unplanned work is buffered with contingency capacity.

Standard work defines the sequence, time and quality check for a repeatable task, forming the baseline for improvement.

Overtime and agency spend are leading indicators of capacity shortfall; investigate before they become routine.

A near-miss is reported and investigated with the same rigour as an injury; it is free information about risk.

Coaching model: observe, ask what the person noticed, agree one improvement, follow up.

A team's key measures should be few, visible and owned; more measures than the team can act on dilute focus.

Grievance and disciplinary meetings require preparation, a neutral record-keeper and clear written follow-up.

A project risk log is reviewed at each milestone; risks are closed only when the trigger can no longer occur.

Forecasting compares actual to date plus forecast to complete against the approved budget.

A decision log records date, decision, rationale, owner and the assumptions that would reopen it.

Delegation at manager level transfers the task and the authority, while accountability for the outcome stays with the manager.

A supplier performance review uses agreed measures: quality, delivery, cost and responsiveness.

Team capability review compares required skills for the plan against current skills and sets development actions.

Communication plan maps audience, message, channel, frequency and sender.

Data used for decisions should be checked for source, date and completeness before it is presented.

Process improvement starts with mapping the current process, measuring it, then redesigning before automating.

Cost of quality splits into prevention, appraisal, internal failure and external failure; external failure is usually the most expensive.

A service improvement plan sets baseline, target, initiative, owner and review date for each measure.

Change readiness assessment covers stakeholder support, capability, capacity and the incentive to change.

A departmental risk appetite statement defines which risks the function may accept and which must escalate.

People metrics include engagement, absence, turnover, time to hire and internal fill rate.

A business continuity plan for a department identifies critical activities, minimum staffing and manual workarounds.

Negotiation preparation defines the must-haves, the tradeables and the walk-away position before entering discussion.

A project proposal at Level 5 states the problem, aims, objectives, method, resources, timescale and success criteria.

Evidence quality is judged by relevance, currency, authority and methodological soundness of the source.

Health and safety risk assessment for technical work records hazard, who is affected, existing controls, residual risk and review date.

A test or experiment records the variables controlled, the measurement method and the acceptance criteria in advance.

Professional standards and codes of conduct in the technical field set the expected behaviour and reporting of concerns.

A costed technical solution includes capital cost, running cost, lifetime and disposal or decommissioning.

Presentation of technical findings uses appropriate charts for the data type and states units and sources.

Continuing professional development is recorded against identified competence gaps, not just courses attended.

AI risk classification often distinguishes unacceptable, high, limited and minimal risk uses, with controls proportionate to the category.

Training data provenance must be documented: source, permissions, collection date and any known limitations.

Model cards and system documentation record intended use, out-of-scope use, performance and known limitations.

Human review of AI output is only effective if the reviewer has the information, authority and time to override.

AI security risks include data poisoning, prompt injection, model theft and exposure of sensitive data in prompts.

AI ethics principles commonly cited: fairness, accountability, transparency, safety, privacy and human oversight.

Monitoring thresholds should be set before deployment so that drift or error triggers a defined action.

An AI assurance review asks whether the benefit is evidenced, the risks controlled and the decision auditable.

Emissions reduction hierarchy: avoid, reduce, substitute, then offset residual; offsets do not count as reduction.

Energy management: energy use equals power rating × hours used; the biggest saving usually comes from eliminating use, not efficiency alone.

Water and waste metrics are reported as absolute and intensity measures (per unit of output or per employee).

Life cycle assessment considers raw material, manufacture, distribution, use and end-of-life impacts.

Sustainability governance assigns board accountability, an executive owner and a reporting line for performance data.

Employee engagement on sustainability requires targets linked to roles, not a standalone awareness campaign.

Sustainable procurement criteria are set at specification stage; they cannot be applied meaningfully after award.

Assurance of sustainability data uses the same discipline as financial data: defined method, evidence trail and independent check.

Strategic implementation requires alignment of structure, processes, measures, incentives and capability with the chosen strategy.

A programme is a group of related projects managed together for benefits; a portfolio is the whole set prioritised against strategy.

Benefits realisation is tracked against a baseline after project closure; a benefit claimed but not measured is unproven.

Financial ratios: gross margin = gross profit ÷ revenue; return on capital employed = operating profit ÷ capital employed.

Risk appetite is expressed as a statement plus tolerance limits for each risk category.

A change communication plan sequences messages: why, what, when, and what it means for each audience.

Talent and succession planning identifies critical roles and at least one ready-now or ready-later successor.

A senior manager's decision record states the evidence used, the assumptions, the dissent and the review trigger.

The board's role is to set direction, appoint and oversee the executive, approve strategy and accounts, and assure risk and controls.

Executive accountability means the CEO owns delivery of strategy and the board holds the executive to account for it.

Materiality guides disclosure: information is material if omitting it could influence the decisions of users.

Risk appetite at board level is a written statement of the types and levels of risk the organisation will accept to pursue its strategy.

Stakeholder engagement at director level is a governance mechanism, with a recorded view of stakeholder interests in board decisions.

Culture and conduct are monitored through indicators such as speak-up volumes, exit feedback and conduct breaches.

A crisis response defines who decides, who speaks and how the board is informed, before the crisis occurs.

Long-term value creation considers financial, human, social and natural capital, not financial return alone.

A team's purpose statement should say who the team serves, what it delivers and how success is measured.

Ground rules agreed by the team are more likely to be followed than rules imposed without discussion.

Performance conversations should be regular and recorded, not held only when something goes wrong.

A new team member needs a named buddy, a task list for the first weeks and a first review date.

Task handover to a colleague includes status, next action, deadline, risks and contacts.

Conflict between team members is addressed early by focusing on the behaviour and its effect, not on intent.

Team capacity should be reviewed when absence, leave or demand changes, not only at planning time.

A daily or weekly review compares target, actual and gap, and records the countermeasure with owner and date.

Customer or service standards define response time, resolution time and the escalation point.

A supervisor's legal duties include providing information, instruction, training and supervision for health and safety.

A team skills matrix supports cover planning by showing who can perform each critical task.

Cost control at first-line level focuses on labour hours, materials, waste and rework.

A quality failure is contained first, then the cause investigated, then the process changed to prevent recurrence.

A performance improvement conversation records the gap, the expected standard, the support and the review date.

New equipment or process changes require an updated risk assessment and briefing before use.

A work plan breaks deliverables into tasks with durations, dependencies, owners and due dates.

A stakeholder communication follows the principle: right information, right audience, right time, right channel.

Budget monitoring distinguishes committed spend, actual spend and forecast outturn.

A decision recommendation should state the option, the evidence, the risks and the consequence of not deciding.

Team meetings should be run to an agenda with decisions and actions recorded and circulated.

Delegation should include the standard required, the deadline, the authority granted and the check-in point.

A shortlisting or appraisal decision must be based on written criteria applied consistently to all candidates.

A simple process map identifies where delays, errors or handover failures occur.

Operational performance is managed through a small set of measures reviewed at a fixed rhythm with named owners.

Demand and capacity should be reviewed together; adding capacity without understanding demand can increase cost without improving service.

A cost improvement plan distinguishes cash savings from cost avoidance and from one-off savings.

A change impact assessment covers people, process, systems, customers, suppliers and risk.

A risk register is reviewed at each management meeting; overdue actions are escalated.

A supplier or partner relationship plan sets the review frequency, measures and escalation route.

An engagement plan targets the specific drivers of engagement identified in survey results, not generic initiatives.

A business case recommendation states the preferred option, the reason, the risk and the decision required.

Assessment evidence should be sufficient, authentic and mapped to each criterion; a single piece of evidence can cover several criteria if mapped.

A technical report should state assumptions, limitations and the confidence with which conclusions are drawn.

Ethical practice in technical work includes declaring conflicts of interest and reporting data honestly.

A project plan at Level 5 includes a risk assessment, a quality assurance method and a contingency for key risks.

A reflective account should identify a specific change in practice, not just describe what happened.

Sources should be evaluated for authority, date, methodology and relevance to the specific question.

A costed recommendation compares options on whole-life cost and states the sensitivity of the result to key assumptions.

Professional development planning links identified competence gaps to specific actions and review dates.

AI governance at board level sets risk appetite, approves high-risk use cases and receives assurance on controls.

Data protection impact assessment is required where AI processing is likely to result in high risk to individuals.

Automated decision-making safeguards include human intervention, the right to contest and an explanation of the logic.

Model validation is independent of the model development team and tests performance on data not used in training.

AI procurement due diligence covers data use, security, sub-processors, model updates and exit.

Monitoring after deployment covers input drift, output quality, complaints and error rates against thresholds.

AI literacy for leaders covers capability, limitations, risk, governance and the questions to ask of technical teams.

An AI incident log records what happened, the affected model version, the impact and the corrective action.

Scope 3 is usually the largest share of an organisation's footprint and the hardest to measure; it requires supplier data or spend-based estimates.

Science-based targets require a baseline year, a target year and a reduction pathway consistent with climate science.

The circular economy replaces take-make-dispose with design for reuse, repair, remanufacture and recycling.

Social value in procurement is measured through agreed metrics and reported against the contract.

Climate transition planning covers governance, strategy, risk management and metrics and targets.

Sustainability data needs the same controls as financial data: defined method, evidence, review and sign-off.

Stakeholder materiality assessment informs which sustainability issues are reported and managed.

A credible net zero claim states the baseline, the scopes covered, the reduction pathway and the use of offsets.

Strategic analysis should distinguish internal capability from external environment before choosing a direction.

Porter's Five Forces: supplier power, buyer power, threat of new entrants, threat of substitutes, competitive rivalry.

Investment appraisal compares payback, NPV and IRR; NPV is preferred where projects differ in size or timing.

A change programme needs a sponsor, a case for change, a plan, capability building and reinforcement of the new way.

Performance management at senior level aligns objectives across teams and calibrates ratings for consistency.

Governance of projects includes stage gates with defined criteria for continuation, change or stop.

Commercial risk is managed through contract terms, due diligence and a defined approval route for commitments.

An ethical decision framework considers legality, policy, stakeholder impact and public scrutiny.

The board approves strategy and the annual accounts; the executive delivers strategy and reports against it.

Board independence is supported by a majority of independent non-executive directors and a separate chair and CEO.

Risk appetite is set by the board and translated into limits and controls by management.

Disclosure obligations require timely, accurate and equal access to information for all investors.

Executive succession planning identifies critical roles and ready successors, reviewed by the nomination committee.

Stakeholder governance balances competing interests and records how trade-offs were made.

A crisis communication plan defines the spokesperson, the approval route and the update frequency.

Long-term value creation considers financial, human, social and natural capital.

A one-to-one should cover performance, obstacles, development and wellbeing, with actions recorded.

Motivation is supported by clear goals, feedback, recognition and a sense of control over the work.

A team brief should state the task, the standard, the deadline and who to ask for help.

Escalation is triggered when an issue exceeds authority, breaches policy, or carries safety or legal risk.

A handover record lists outstanding tasks, risks, contacts and the status of work in progress.

Consistent criteria for task allocation, development and recognition support fairness in the team.

A small measure set for a team includes output, quality errors, attendance and customer feedback.

A daily management board shows target, actual, gap and countermeasure with an owner and date.

Root cause analysis uses the 5 Whys and cause-and-effect diagrams to separate symptoms from causes.

A disciplinary or grievance process requires documented stages, the right to be accompanied and a recorded outcome.

Available capacity equals headcount × shift hours × utilisation, less planned absence and training.

Quality control checks are defined by frequency, sample size, acceptance criteria and action on failure.

A supervisor's cost levers are labour utilisation, overtime, waste, rework and consumable spend.

A risk assessment is reviewed when the activity, equipment or personnel changes, or after an incident.

A skills matrix shows current and required competence per person and task.

A project plan defines scope, deliverables, milestones, dependencies, resources and acceptance criteria.

The critical path is the longest sequence of dependent tasks; delay on it delays the project end.

Earned value: cost variance = earned value − actual cost; schedule variance = earned value − planned value.

A meeting should have a purpose, a timed agenda, recorded decisions and actions with owners and dates.

Shortlisting scores candidates against published essential and desirable criteria only.

A procurement decision compares whole-life cost, including maintenance, energy and disposal.

Complaint handling records the issue, cause, remedy and prevention action.

A report to seniors leads with the conclusion and recommendation, then the supporting evidence.

A departmental strategy translates organisational goals into objectives, measures, initiatives and resource allocation.

Lean waste categories: overproduction, waiting, transport, over-processing, inventory, motion, defects, unused talent.

Utilisation = actual output ÷ design capacity; effective capacity accounts for planned downtime.

A business case appraisal distinguishes cash flow from profit and includes sensitivity analysis.

A stakeholder engagement plan records stakeholder, interest, influence, engagement level sought, channel and owner.

The performance management cycle sets objectives, monitors, reviews, rates, rewards and addresses underperformance.

A risk register entry includes cause, event, effect, controls, residual rating and risk owner.

Budget methods include incremental, zero-based and activity-based; zero-based requires justification of every cost line.

A Level 5 technical project requires a plan with milestones, resources, risk assessment and quality assurance.

Referencing must be consistent: every in-text citation appears in the reference list and vice versa.

Descriptive statistics summarise data; inferential conclusions depend on sample size and representativeness.

Validity means the method measures what it claims; reliability means repeated measurement is consistent.

Portfolio defence requires evidence mapped to each assessment criterion with a rationale.

Relevant health, safety and environmental legislation must be identified and applied in the work.

A technical recommendation states constraints, trade-offs and the conditions under which it would change.

Reflective practice records what happened, what was learned and the specific change to future practice.

AI use-case screening asks what decision it supports, what data it needs, the harm if wrong and who is accountable.

Human-in-the-loop is required where AI output affects rights, safety or access to services.

Generative AI policy covers permitted tools, prohibited data inputs, output verification and disclosure.

Performance metrics must match the task: precision, recall, F1 or error rate depending on the cost of mistakes.

Data quality checks cover completeness, accuracy, consistency, timeliness and provenance.

An AI incident record includes the incident, affected users, model version, containment and corrective action.

Third-party AI due diligence covers data use, model transparency, security and exit arrangements.

AI literacy at Level 3 covers capability and limits; at Level 7 it covers governance, risk appetite and board assurance.

GHG Protocol scopes are reported separately: Scope 1 direct, Scope 2 purchased energy, Scope 3 value chain.

An environmental management system follows Plan-Do-Check-Act with aspects, impacts, obligations, objectives and review.

A sustainability business case quantifies cost savings, risk reduction, revenue opportunity and reputational value.

Supplier sustainability assessment uses questionnaires, audits or certifications weighted by spend and risk.

Social value covers employment, skills, community, wellbeing and supply-chain labour standards.

Climate risk splits into physical risk and transition risk.

A target needs measure, baseline year, target year, scope and pathway to be trackable.

Greenwashing risk arises when claims are vague, unsubstantiated or omit significant impacts.

Strategic choice follows analysis: define the problem, generate options, evaluate against criteria, select, then plan implementation.

The McKinsey 7S model covers strategy, structure, systems, shared values, style, staff and skills.

Profit is revenue less expenses over a period; cash flow is movement in cash; the balance sheet is position at a date.

Working capital = current assets − current liabilities; cash conversion cycle = days inventory + days receivable − days payable.

A senior manager sponsors change by securing resources, removing barriers and modelling the behaviour.

Talent management uses a performance and potential grid to plan development, retention and succession.

Commercial awareness covers scope, price, payment terms, liability, termination and dispute resolution.

An ethical decision test considers legality, policy, public scrutiny and who is affected.

Corporate strategy choices include diversification, vertical integration, market entry mode and build-buy-partner decisions.

Capital allocation ranks investment against the hurdle rate, which reflects cost of capital and project risk.

Board committees typically include audit, remuneration, nomination and risk, each with written terms of reference.

Investor communication must be accurate, timely and consistent with published guidance; selective disclosure is prohibited.

Culture is shaped by what leaders measure, reward and tolerate, not by stated values alone.

Merger integration risk concentrates in culture, systems and customer retention; the integration plan is set before completion.

Director-level legal obligations include competition law, anti-bribery, market abuse and health and safety.

Scenario planning tests strategy against a small set of plausible futures and identifies no-regret moves.