i am satisfied that i got full marks in section a. what did you put down for question 3 A did you discuss the marketing mix?

 

 

I wasn't sure on the Q3a either so mentioned basically most things in marketing! Marketing orientation, brand clarity, differentiation etc. Agree it wasn't clear at all! 3b was new as well (atleast to me) and a lot to define and explain which took time.

The MCQs were a OK with Kolb being the one i had to guess at. Hadn't seen Balanced Trade either but the other options didnt make sense so had to be 'not free trade'.

Agree the lack of Value Chain, quality questions were shocking and they threw in Inventory management instead.

I thought Q4 was pretty okay though did not really use many frameworks or models. 

Didn't find the paper too bad overall.  Gave myself 16/20 for the OTC's.

Did ok with most of Q2 apart from bit with Cousins supply wheel - couldn't remember all of the spokes and didn't write a lot about Protectionism.

Did well with Inventory management and CSR.

Feel as though the sustainability went ok but not confident with HR and marketing part.

Can't remember the other bits but overall hoping I have done enough to pass considering this was about the 4th time of sitting!!  How embarassing. 

That question wanted a Marketing plan answer.

Overall the paper was not that bad. It wasnt hard at all. 

Expecting pass mark, if god wills.

I too was unclear as to what question 3a was asking. So I just wrote the headings for the components of a marketing plan and tried to relate it to the TT drinks. Items such as Objectives, Marketing Strategy, Budget Control, Action Plan, Implementation and Review are what i focused on.

With 3b I just related how the Product Life Cycle and the BCG matrix would be beneficial for the product mix of drinks. 

Question 4 I found was a bit better as the question provided alot of information you could use when talking about virtual organisations. 

Section B was alright although I did struggle on the CSR question and the Cousins supply wheel. I was able to remember all of the spokes but had trouble applyign it to a priced based procurement (not even sure what that means)

MCQs were good and I only had to guess the balance trade one which I'm sure I got wrong anyway

How did everyone else find it?

 

 

i was wondering about 4b- i think it mentioned the adv and disadv to the staff who are working from home? how did you frame the answer- from the staff perspective or TB perspective? I did TB and then had to adapt by adding a couple lines each for staff!

 Can't remember 4a 

I think the paper was okay...

 Section 1 - pretty straight forward, guessed on Kolb

Section 2 - again straight forward, mentioned carroll and buchholtz PEEL but couldnt give an example for economic for some reason, and not sure my definition of ethical was spot-on. Forgot the 3 methods of wokforce flexibility, doh! Only remembered financial flexibility which I got correct. Strategic supply wheel (?) I drew a blank - left that Q :(

 Section 3 - good question. First part I drew up a marketing plan (executive summary, strategic and tactical plan, objectives/goal etc) and gave very quick example of what the new director could include. Second part - I cant really remember, was it the BCG Matrix/Product Lifecycle?? I drew the diagrams and explained how each product classification could be treated (eg "Dog" = divestment, "Cash Cow" = focus on growth eg expansion) Last section I cant remember

 Section 4 - first section I've forgotten but I remember not writing much on it. I think it was how can managers manage dispersed employees? Again, didnt write a lot here - if I've failed this Q is why! Second Q was pros and cons of working from home - pros = reduced commuting costs etc, cons = separation from colleagues, increased utility bills etc. Quite straightforward. Third section was how can HR dept help. I just mentioned training/development on WFH practices, and quickly mentiioned that they could sell it as an attractive option if recruiting in future.

 Phew...

You got it all correct except the inventory mgmt.

Yeah Agreed, Cousins was too long. Dude do you  think I will get a full mark if i get three factors of his theory.

 

Thanks Quett, i forgot the other elements of the plan just remember to discuss strategic alternatives and cost and then SMART objectives, but not sure if strategic alternatives related to a different lan i couldnt remember

 

seems alot of people answered 4b from the staff point of view i might have gone awry there by answering from the point of the company suppose there is some overlap there though!

 

did ok on cousins wheel but the bcg matrix/product life cycle i think i explained but didnt really relate to tt product portfolio

 

joanne for section 4a i think they were looking for stuff like cultural challege, lack of leadership, processes, and other disadvantages of virtual teams for a manager! 

Through revision, I always thought the marketing questions were better than HR but in this case I definitely preferred the HR question as the scenario was quite helpful. In addition the requirements were straight forward so it didn't leave trying to decipher what the examiner was asking for like Q3 did. What did you put for q4a ith regards to the manager overcoming the challenges of dispersed teams? I put stuff like video conference technology, internet, intranet, train or plane travel etc, and how these would help to combat lack of leadership/control and company culture of a team

With question 3b I drew the BCG matrix and explained about Star and Dog and Cash Cow and how this is a great representation for classification of TT products and how it would be able to help them allocate their product mix. I did the same with the Life cycle as well. Not sure if I did a good job on this question though 

 

On 4a, i don't see how saying or defining Virtual organisation would get or lose you any marks- i don't think i mentioned it either in any real way. TB was an example of a good virtual organisation but don't think we needed to mention it or what a Virtual org was etc. as didnt ask for it

Like a few people here, I thought that question 3a was appallingly badly worded. I was in a room with 50 Russians taking the exam in a second language and couldn't help but feel sorry for them. I've seen mealy-mouthed questions in BPP study materials before, but never on official CIMA work, and to be honest I expected better. I had a guess at what I thought was expected and will have to hope that will be good enough, but when you've put so much effort into studying the least you should expect is questions that are answerable.

I agree Michael, I wonder if there is a way to make CIMA aware of how badly this question was worded or just hope that they give credit for the fact they made it hard to interpret!

I thought the overall exam was ok, but the question that i struggled on was Q3, part a i thought wasn't really clear what it wanted you to do, i just talked a bit about being different from competitors and using branding to change that, also talked about waste and said they need to reduce costs, then also be aware of enviromental issue. did any one else mention that?

Part b i could only mention about the life cycle and said the four stages and that using pricing strategies will help increase profits. i.e. skimming / penetration.

Part c i wasn't to sure so i just said about looking at all stakeholders needs and trying to change processes and designs to accomplish that.

Question 4 part a i said the managers problems i.e. culture, time difference, language issues etc, resolving this by constant communication, conference calls with team members and managers.

 Part b i had about 5 points for pros and cons, think this was alright.

part c i mentioned about training on processes and IS systems, improve communication and a way to control staff activity, seeing if they are actually working. anyone else do that?

I think i might be just under 50 as i didn't answer cousins wheel and question 3 i think i scored low on due to part b not being clear