Page 13 - CIMA May 18 - MCS Day 1 Tasks

ZEDEX FAMILIARISATION

development of new services, investing in new technology, project appraisal and project
management techniques.

Stakeholders
Being a multinational and complex business Menta interacts with many differing groups of
stakeholders. It will be important to recognise who these groups are, how they may affect or be
affected by decisions taken.

Risk management
The identification, analysis and management of risks will be important throughout and will
support the analysis, choice and implementation aspects of future strategic direction. Ethical
issues (seat belts on buses); environmental issues along with the usual business issues, including
safety and reliability are prominent.

Management of change
It will be important to consider and have in place a change management process so that all
affected parties will be involved and be aware of how changes will be managed. In that context a
clear plan for communication, negotiation and team building will be necessary. This will require
strong leadership.

From a P2 perspective:

The primary responsibilities for the student are associated with management accounting.

Pricing
Menta operates in a very competitive market and its pricing policies reflect that, with pricing
often on the basis of a tender (leading to potential use of target costing and relevant costing
techniques) or by aiming to undercut competitors.

Investment appraisal
With many old buses apparently in service it is likely that the company will have to do a refresh of
its fleet (potentially forced by changes in government regulations, e.g. on seat belts). Equivalent
annual cost calculations may be used to help with replacement decisions. Capital rationing could
also be an issue as the company follows an acquisitive strategy.

Rationalisation/restructure
The company has many operating units and the impression is that these are fairly self‐running. A
decision may be made to operate them from a more centralised position.

Performance Measurement
Mention is made of local governments closely monitoring bus operators and of the industry being
highly regulated but no mention is made of how Menta itself monitors its adherence to
regulations, so non‐financial performance indicators may be very important for them to monitor /
introduce.

Decision making
The business uses break‐even analysis (a P1 topic) for passenger loads but it isn’t clear what
decisions are made on the basis of this information.

KAPLAN PUBLISHING 9