BCS BAPv5 Exam Questions

Kaplan and Norton's balanced business scorecard is a strategic management tool that helps organisations to measure their performance across four perspectives: financial, customer, internal business process and learning and growth. The financial perspective focuses on how the organisation creates value for its shareholders and stakeholders. It includes measures such as revenue, profit, return on investment and cash flow. The customer perspective focuses on how the organisation meets the needs and expectations of its customers. It includes measures such as customer satisfaction, loyalty, retention and market share. The internal business process perspective focuses on how the organisation delivers its products and services to its customers. It includes measures such as quality, efficiency, productivity and innovation. The learning and growth perspective focuses on how the organisation develops its capabilities and competencies to achieve its goals. It includes measures such as employee skills, knowledge, motivation and empowerment. Therefore, option D is the correct answer, as financial measures have not been considered in the given list of key performance indicators. Option A is not correct, as learning and growth measures have been considered in the qualifications of production employees. Option B is not correct, as internal business process measures have been considered in the time to deliver orders for products and wastage in product production. Option C is not correct, as customer measures have been considered in consumer satisfaction with products.

Divergent thinking and convergent thinking are two types of thinking processes that can be used to solve problems creatively and effectively. Therefore, options A and B are correct answers, as they describe the purpose of both divergent and convergent thinking respectively. Option A describes the purpose of divergent thinking, which is to generate ideas. Divergent thinking involves exploring multiple possible solutions to a problem without judging or evaluating them. It helps to stimulate creativity and innovation by expanding the range and diversity of ideas. Option B describes the purpose of convergent thinking, which is to review ideas for way forward. Convergent thinking involves analysing and evaluating multiple possible solutions to a problem and selecting the best one for further development and implementation. It helps to ensure feasibility and suitability by narrowing down the range and diversity of ideas. Option C describes an aspect of divergent thinking, which is creatively considering multiple solutions to the problem, but not its purpose. The purpose of divergent thinking is to generate ideas, not just consider them creatively. Option D describes an aspect of convergent thinking, which is defining the solution in detail, but not its purpose. The purpose of convergent thinking is to review ideas for way forward, not just define them in detail. Option E describes an aspect of convergent thinking, which is defining the action to be taken, broadly, but not its purpose. The purpose of convergent thinking is to review ideas for way forward, not just define the action to be taken, broadly.

A resource audit is a technique for identifying and evaluating the resources that an organisation has or needs to achieve its objectives. It helps to assess the availability and quality of an organisation's resources, such as human, physical, financial and intangible resources. Therefore, options A, B and C are correct answers, as they should be included in the resource audit for Exquisite Analogue. They describe different types of resources that the organisation has and that contribute to its performance and potential. Option A describes a physical resource, which is a tangible asset that an organisation owns or uses, such as buildings, equipment or materials. Option B describes an intangible resource, which is a non-physical asset that an organisation owns or uses, such as intellectual property, brand or reputation. Option C describes a human resource, which is a person or group that an organisation employs or engages, such as staff, managers or customers. Option D is not a correct answer, as it should not be included in the resource audit for Exquisite Analogue. It describes a threat that affects the organisation externally, not a resource that the organisation has or needs internally. Option E is not a correct answer, as it should not be included in the resource audit for Exquisite Analogue. It describes a factor that affects the organisation externally, not a resource that the organisation has or needs internally.

A power/interest grid is a tool for analysing stakeholders based on their level of power or influence and their level of interest or involvement in the organisation or project. The grid has four quadrants: high power, high interest; high power, low interest; low power, high interest; and low power, low interest. The position of a stakeholder on the grid can help to determine the appropriate strategy for engaging and communicating with them. Therefore, option A is the correct answer, as the head of IT services currently occupies the high power, low interest quadrant. This means that he has the authority or ability to affect the outcome of the project, but he does not show much concern or involvement in it. Option B is not correct, as some power and influence and some interest would place the head of IT services in the middle of the grid, which is not a distinct quadrant. Option C is not correct, as high power or influence and high interest would place the head of IT services in the top right quadrant, which is not consistent with his lack of involvement. Option D is not correct, as low power and influence but high interest would place the head of IT services in the bottom right quadrant, which is not consistent with his authority.

Porter's Five Forces model is a technique for analysing the competitive forces that affect an organisation or industry. It helps to assess the attractiveness and profitability of an organisation or industry. Porter's Five Forces model consists of five forces: threat of new entrants, bargaining power of customers, bargaining power of suppliers, threat of substitute products and competitive rivalry. Therefore, option B is the correct answer, as these preliminary findings would be documented in the bargaining power of customers force of Porter's Five Forces model. Bargaining power of customers is the force that measures the ability and influence of customers to affect the price, quality and quantity of products or services offered by an organisation or industry. It depends on factors such as customer concentration, switching costs, differentiation and loyalty. An example of bargaining power of customers in this scenario is the market is saturated, customers have a lot of choice and it is easy for them to switch from one bank to another, which implies that customers have high bargaining power and can demand lower prices or better services from banks. Option A is not a correct answer, as these preliminary findings would not be documented in the threat of new entrants force of Porter's Five Forces model. Threat of new entrants is the force that measures the likelihood and impact of new competitors entering an organisation or industry. It depends on factors such as entry barriers, economies of scale, capital requirements and brand loyalty. An example of threat of new entrants in this scenario is an overseas bank launching a new bank in the UK, which implies that there is a potential threat of new entrants to the existing banks in the UK. Option C is not a correct answer, as these preliminary findings would not be documented in the bargaining power of suppliers force of Porter's Five Forces model. Bargaining power of suppliers is the force that measures the ability and influence of suppliers to affect the price, quality and quantity of products or services supplied to an organisation or industry. It depends on factors such as supplier concentration, switching costs, differentiation and dependency. An example of bargaining power of suppliers in this scenario is the suggested changes to the business structure will affect our relationships with suppliers, which implies that suppliers may have some bargaining power over the organisation or industry. Option D is not a correct answer, as these preliminary findings would not be documented in the threat of substitute products force of Porter's Five Forces model. Threat of substitute products is the force that measures the likelihood and impact of customers switching to alternative products or services that satisfy their needs or wants better than those offered by an organisation or industry. It depends on factors such as availability, price, quality and performance of substitute products or services. There is no example of threat of substitute products in this scenario.