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Unit 3: Management of Financial Resources and Performance Learning outcome: 1. Critically consider the impact that resource decisions have both internally and externally on an organisation’s performance and effectiveness. Indicative content: Identify the need for resources within a strategic plan. Identify and appraise methods by which resources are allocated and controlled effectively and efficiently within strategic implementation (such as budgeting, measurement, and control systems). Develop strategies for identified resource gaps, for example human resources, finance and facilities etc
Learning outcome: 2. Critically evaluate, appraise and analyse financial data, techniques and tools to aid decision-making in business strategy and planning. Indicative content: Identify and evaluate alternative sources of finance available to organisations. Calculate an organisation’s cost of capital and use to evaluate capital projects. Evaluate strategic investment opportunities and financially appraise alternative strategic proposals. Appraise the role of treasury management in the financing and control of working capital.
Critically debate the tensions between financial and strategic objectives Learning outcome: 3. Evaluate, appraise and analyse international aspects of financial strategy. Indicative content: Appraise the role and importance of the international financial environment and financial markets. Identify and analyse the different financial risks of operating in an international market. Evaluate international investment decisions. Evaluate financing options for multinationals and overseas subsidiaries. Learning outcome: 4.
Identify and critically assess the management and performance of tangible and intangible resources in business strategy and planning. Indicative content: Identify and map the key processes and activities of an organisation and use these to reduce and re-engineer processes to improve resource efficiency and effectiveness. Benchmark an organisation’s products, services, processes, practices and performance against best practice to identify opportunities to reduce cost and deliver value. Interpret and use financial statements to evaluate performance, and ppreciate the limitations of such analysis. Use published financial statements and industry intelligence to evaluate performance and to assess intangibles – goodwill, patents, corporate image, brands etc. Undertake an audit of an organisation’s tangible and intangible resources to assess management competences and the congruence of goals at corporate, business and divisional level. Learning outcome: 5. Critically evaluate and appraise contemporary management accounting methodology to support the effective management and control of resources.
Indicative content: Appreciate the role of activity based management and use activity based cost approaches to support re-engineering, product costing, budgeting and benchmarking. Use cost management methodology to support lean enterprise, business excellence, and value chain analysis. Critically analyse the role and limitations of traditional budgets and approaches to driving value through better budgeting. Prepare and present strategic management accounting information to support investment in advanced manufacturing technology and product/market decisions.
Learning outcome: 6. Analyse the risks attached to environmental change, the consequences and appropriate responses. Indicative content: Identify types and sources of risk for organisations, for example financial, technological, reputation, social etc. Appraise the risks associated with international operations, for example cultural, regulatory, economic, political etc. Assess the role of treasury management in managing financial risk. Use techniques for evaluating environmental risk, for example risk mapping, contingency planning, gap analysis etc.
Identify and assess techniques to manage risk through avoidance, reduction, transference and retention. Prepare and utilise risk management reports. Learning outcome: 7. Critically appraise the importance of communication for information providers in organisations and appraise and develop your own communication skills. Indicative content: Identify the types and appraise the importance of internal communication of strategic tasks within an organisation. Identify and evaluate external communication to government and the community at large. Appraise the effectiveness of different types of communication to different stakeholder groups.
Critically assess the impact on communication strategies of the relative power and importance of individual stakeholder groups. Reading List for Unit 3 Unit 3: Management of Financial Resources and Performance Arnold, G. Corporate Financial Management (2008). Prentice Hall. ISBN-13: 978-0273719069 Kaplan, R. S. , and Cooper, R. Cost and Effect: Using Integrated Cost Systems to Drive Profitability and Performance (1997). Harvard Business School Press. ISBN-13: 978-0875847887 Watson, G. H. Strategic Benchmarking Reloaded with Six Sigma: Improving Your Company’s Performance Using Global Best Practice (2007).
John Wiley & Sons. ISBN-13: 9780470069080 Ball, D. A. International Business – The Challenge of Global Competition (2003). McGraw-Hill. ISBN-13: 978-0072537970 Reuvid, J. Managing Business Risk: A Practical Guide to Protecting Your Business (2008). Kogan Page Ltd. ISBN-13: 978-0749450595 Assessment A 2000 word assignment Chronicling the development, delivery and personal reflection on the candidate’s communication of a specific organisational performance issue. The communication itself should be an appendix to the assignment, not part of the word count. Compromising choice of Questions. A three-hour written examination