Page 10 - CIMA MCS Workbook May 2019 - Day 1 Tasks

Chapter 3

JORD HOMES FAMILIARISATION

1 INTRODUCTION

It is absolutely crucial that you completely familiarise yourself with the pre‐seen information prior
to attempting the Case Study exam. Merely reading through the materials is unlikely to be
sufficient and it is also important that you consider which aspects of the three technical subjects
may be useful and relevant for the Case Study.
The exercises in the following three chapters will help you to gain a thorough understanding of
the Case Study scenario and ensure you are fully prepared to attempt the Practice Tasks later in
this Workbook.
Solutions to these exercises are provided but are not exhaustive. It is important that you attempt
the exercises yourself and makes notes of your answers before reviewing the solutions.

2 OVERVIEW OF PRE‐SEEN

Formed in 1966, Jord Homes (Jord) quickly gained a reputation for the construction of high‐
quality, prefabricated timber‐framed houses in its home country of Corvola. Under the leadership
of the founder, Karl Larsson, this reputation continued to grow with Jord successfully completing
over 30 houses by 1970. The success continued and resulted in the need to build a factory in
1980, where the manufacturing facilities, showroom and head office are all still currently based.

Karl Larsson, the founder of Jord, was replaced by his son the current Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) with several other members of the Larsson family also working within the business. Jord
remains privately‐owned with 60% of Jord’s shares owned by members of the Larsson family and
the remaining 40% are owned by several Corvola based institutional shareholders.

The business currently employs approximately 250 staff, mostly based at the factory site but due
to the nature and location of the final construction work, Jord also employs teams of expert
builders, tradespeople and landscapers. This latter group is responsible for the internal and
external completion and landscaping stages of the on‐site construction of the prefabricated sub‐
assemblies at the final construction location.

In recent years fuelled by continuous technological developments, favourable international
governmental regulations in building construction, growing populations and the drive for
sustainable housing the market for the prefabricated house industry has continued to grow and,
as a result, the industry has seen considerable growth in the number of competitors. Jord’s quality
approach, professionalism, focus on sustainability and critically the constant and transparent
liaison with the customer throughout the stages of the construction process are core to its
competitive advantage and continued success in this increasingly competitive environment.

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