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SB L: STRA T EGIC BUS INESS LEAD ER
53 BA TIMES
The country of Umboria has two professional business analysis associations, both running
certification examination schemes for business analysts worldwide. These are the
Association of Benefits Consultants (ABC) and the Institute of Consultants, Finance and
Commerce (ICFC). Many private and public sector learning providers run accredited training
courses to prepare candidates for the examinations.
Some learning providers provide courses for both associations, whilst others focus on niche
markets. Umboria itself is a wealthy country with high labour costs and property prices,
particularly in the capital city of Ambosium.
Victor Isaacs is the editor of the BA Times, a subscription magazine, published once a
month, which provides news and articles preparing students for the examinations of both
business analysis associations. The magazine is edited and printed in offices and an
adjoining factory in Ambosium. The offices and factory are leased and the magazine A
currently employs 20 people, all of whom live closee to the offices. It is the only independent C
magazine in the sector. Each association has its own magazine and website, but relatively
tight control is maintained over their editorial policy. Victor was the editor of the ABC C
magazine (Business Analysis Today) for 16 years ars before establishing the BA Times nine A
years ago. Because of its independence, the BA Times can be a little more controversial and
provocative than its rivals and it is popular with students and well respected by the
profession. G
However, despite such recognition, the magazine is currently unprofitable due to increased L
production, distribution and office costs, falling subscriptions and reduced advertising.
Changing reading habits in Umboria, particularly
particularly amongst the young, has led to less reading O
of printed media. All of the traditional media providers are experiencing financial problems. B
The sales of printed magazines and the profits of publishers are both falling dramatically
throughout Umboria. Furthermore, advertiser
advertisers are increasingly unconvinced about the A
effectiveness of advertising in printed magazines and so the advertising revenues of these L
magazines are also falling.
The BA Times currently has a website but its ro role is to convince the visitor to order the
printed magazine. The website offers extracts of news and articles, often with provocative B
headlines, which may only be read in full in the printed magazine.
O
Recent survey
X
A recent survey of people who had decided not to renew their BA Times subscription
revealed the following comments:
.
I quite enjoy reading the news parts, but not the in-depth analysis of examinations C
that I am not taking. ABC student O
I have reached the final stage of my examinations. I do not want to read articles M
about the stages I have already passed. I reckon only about 15% of BA Times is
relevant to me now. ABC Final Stage student
I became a business analyst to get a job, not just to sit examinations and read about
examining bodies. ICFC student
The examinations are getting more demanding and Victor is under pressure to increase the
number of technical examination articles in the magazine, despite the fact that this will
make the magazine longer and heavier and so increase print and distribution costs.
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TE CHNI CAL PRACTICE QUE ST IO NS : SECT I ON 1
Victor is aware that new technology and new media offer opportunities for changing the
business model and the financial performance of the BA Times. However, he likes the
physical, tactile feel of printed magazines and he feels that some of his subscribers do as
well. Also, he cannot see how harnessing new technology will make him money, particularly
if it leads to decreasing sales of the printed magazine. He is also concerned about how his
subscribers and advertisers will react to technological change. He feels that some
subscribers will not have access to online technology and that many advertisers would
prefer to continue with display advertisements in a printed magazine.
Required:
Write a short report to Victor which addresses the specific concerns Victor has about the
effect of any potential technology or media change on his subscribers, on his advertisers
and on the financial viability of his company. (10 marks)
A
C 54 RETAIL WORLD
C Retail World (RW) is a major international retail chain, selling groceries, clothing, electronic
items, toiletries and homeware items. It has grown rapidly across a number of different
A countries, offering a broad product range to suit a wide range of customer segments. Growth
has been through the expansion of existing stores,, the opening of new stores and on line sales.
G The new finance director, whose background is in a non-retail environment, is keen to
understand the sales trends of the organisation, as well as the industry, in order to help
L develop a strategy which can take advantage of these trends in the future. A business
O analyst has provided summarised internal sales data for this purpose detailing the last three
years of trading and detail the growth in the number of stores and average quarterly sales.
B
The companys IT systems are fully integrat
integrated and associated controls are rigorous,
A allowing the data to be manipulated in many ways. The number of stores has grown
L annually and the analyst believes that this is a better indicator of the expected future
revenue than simply the passage of time. The ave average number of stores expected to be in
operation in 2019 is 3,700 rising to 4,000 in 2020.
B The finance director was interested to receive th
the analysis; however, he also stated that it
O was not quite as useful as he would have hope
hoped for, commenting, I have been hearing a lot
about big data at industry meetings I have at
attended. I think we should investigate the ways
X in which we could use this, and the benefits we might hope to obtain from it.
. Required:
C Prepare a briefing note for the Finance Director which:
O (a) Outlines big data and how it could be used to enhance strategic development
within RW. (10 marks)
M
In a similar context the FD had recently attended a forum of retail consultants who had stressed
the future significance of blockchain technology for the enhancement of the retail industry.
The FD would like to present his initial thoughts on this concept to the board at their next
scheduled meeting and has asked you to help.
(b) Prepare two presentation slides, together with accompanying notes, for the FD to
be used which outlines why blockchain technology could be beneficial at Retail
World and the challenges that the introduction of such technology might present.
(8 marks)
(Total: 18 marks)
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