DRAG DROP
YZ is a family-run business which manufactures and sells confectionery, employing almost 100 staff. It operates 10 shops in small towns in the north of country P.
Sales of YZ's products have decreased over the last 4 years due to competition from large supermarkets, internet shopping and a general economic downturn, which has hit the north of country P especially hard.
YZ's managing director has recently retired and the board decided to fill the vacancy with an external appointment. The new managing director plans to invest in new manufacturing technology, which would cut staffing levels by 15% and reduce wastage, allowing YZ to lower its prices. YZ's staff are very unhappy about these proposals, feeling that they will destroy YZ's family tradition and reputation that has developed over many years.
Select the correct descriptor for each of the forces for change below:
Select and Place:

Correct

When FarmCot Foods was founded five years ago, it was a small shop set up by a family of dairy farmers in a disused farm shed, selling their own produce to the local community. The family had decided, at that point in time, to diversify their dairy farming activities into also selling their own milk, cheese and ice cream products.
The aim was to increase their revenues, as dairy farming in their home country had been in decline for a number of years.
Since then, the shop has been very successful and has expanded rapidly over the last three years, due largely to a strong growth in tourism in its home country and a shift in consumer demand for locally sourced fresh farm products. FarmCot Foods is now located in a large purpose-built building on the site of the original farm shed and also operates a very popular cafa, a children's play area and sells a much wider range of products and gifts, which are all sourced from local suppliers.
Which of the following best describes FarmCot Foods approach to strategy development in the last five years?

• A. Rational
• B. Emergent
• C. Incremental
• D. Freewheeling opportunism

Z is a medium-sized UK based accounting practice. Z operates a graduate training scheme. The trainees are given an induction and then placed on a three-year training programme designed to help develop professional skills and experience.
The training programme has been in existence for many years. However, there is no clear consensus amongst the partners of Z about what the trainees should be able to do on completion of the programme and therefore what the training programme should emphasize. This lack of clarity is affecting the morale and commitment of the trainees and significant numbers are failing the programme or leaving to join a rival firm.
Z's HR Department recognizes the need for committed and well motivated accountants to meet the increased expectations of clients and the competition from rival firms. The HR Department has identified changes to the training programme that can be implemented gradually through a series of initiatives.
Which TWO of the following statements regarding the change required in Z are correct? (Choose two.)

• A. The skills, abilities and competences of the organization's employee's are a 'hard' factor according to the McKinsey 7 S model.
• B. The plans to combat competition would be considered as a 'structure' factor according to the McKinsey 7 S model.
• C. Understanding which day-to-day behaviors to reinforce within the training programme, is about 'routines and rituals' according to the Cultural Web.
• D. The change would be classified as a 'revolutionary change' according to Balogum and Hope Hailey.
• E. The need to manage the competitive position is an example of an 'external direct trigger' for change.

STU is a hospital that is wholly funded by its national government. In the last five years it has seen its funding cut by over 30% due to budgetary pressure on the government, caused by a global recession. As a result, the senior management team of STU has had to make some very difficult decisions about prioritizing how it spends the funds it receives from the government. Its main strategies have been to reduce the number of administration staff and nursing staff by 20%, in order to reduce its costs. It has also stopped providing a number of services to patients, including its counselling services and its physiotherapy unit.
Which of the following strategies has STU adopted to manage its reduced funding? (Choose all that apply.)

• A. Facilitation
• B. Divestment
• C. Retrenchment
• D. Turnaround
• E. Liquidation

Which of the following would be likely to encourage an organization to use Scenario Planning? (Choose all that apply.)

• A. The organization often experiences 'group-think', leading to a narrow view of the future.
• B. The organization has achieved all of its objectives and operates within a stable external environment.
• C. Uncertainty in the industry is high, relative to management's ability to predict or adjust to change.
• D. Competitor's are increasingly using Scenario Planning as part of their strategy formulation process.
• E. The organization has not previously experienced any major surprises or expensive strategic mistakes.