A mind map is a technique for organising and visualising information in a hierarchical and associative way. It helps to generate, structure and classify ideas and concepts and show how they are related or connected. Therefore, option A is the correct answer, as a mind map would enable Girby to model the arising themes and how they relate to each other. A mind map would help to identify the main theme or problem (declining production) and the sub-themes or causes (staff blaming each other, more parts being faulty etc.) and arrange them in a tree-like structure. A mind map would help to use colours, symbols, images and keywords to represent and emphasise the themes and their relationships. A mind map would help to analyse and evaluate the themes and their relationships and identify any patterns or gaps that may exist. Option B is not a correct answer, as a business activity model is not a technique for modelling the arising themes and how they relate to each other. A business activity model is a technique for modelling business activities within an organisation or project at a high level of abstraction. It helps to understand what an organisation does, how it does it, who does it, where it does it and why it does it. Option C is not a correct answer, as a rich picture is not a technique for modelling the arising themes and how they relate to each other. A rich picture is a technique for drawing a holistic view of a complex situation or problem using informal symbols and images. It helps to capture the main elements and aspects of a situation or problem and how they interact or influence each other. Option D is not a correct answer, as a business process model is not a technique for modelling the arising themes and how they relate to each other. A business process model is a technique for modelling business processes within an organisation or project at a low level of abstraction. It helps to understand how business processes are performed or delivered in terms of inputs, outputs, activities, tasks, roles, rules, events etc.

A key performance indicator (KPI) is a measurable value that demonstrates how effectively an organisation is achieving a key business objective or critical success factor (CSF). A KPI should be relevant, specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound (SMART). Therefore, options C, D and E are appropriate KPIs for the CSF ‘provide excellent customer service’, as they measure aspects of customer satisfaction and loyalty that are directly related to the quality of service provided by the hotel chain. Option A is not an appropriate KPI, as it does not measure customer service, but rather customer consumption. Option B is not an appropriate KPI, as it does not measure customer service, but rather customer preference.

An enabling activity is an activity that supports or facilitates another activity within a business activity model. It helps to ensure that another activity can be performed or delivered effectively and efficiently. Therefore, option B is the correct answer, as it is an enabling activity linked to this planning activity. Define sales targets is an enabling activity linked to this planning activity, as it supports or facilitates defining marketing strategy. It helps to ensure that marketing strategy can be aligned with sales objectives and outcomes. Option A is not a correct answer, as it is not an enabling activity linked to this planning activity, but a monitoring and control activity. Monitor sales is a monitoring and control activity that measures or evaluates another activity within a business activity model. It helps to ensure that another activity meets quality and performance standards and criteria. Option C is not a correct answer, as it is not an enabling activity linked to this planning activity, but a doing activity. Advertise clothes is a doing activity that produces or delivers value or satisfaction for customers within a business activity model. It helps to achieve customer demand and satisfaction for products or services. Option D is not a correct answer, as it is not an enabling activity linked to this planning activity, but a doing activity. Sell clothes is a doing activity that produces or delivers value or satisfaction for customers within a business activity model. It helps to achieve customer demand and satisfaction for products or services.

A consensus BAM is a conceptual model that depicts the agreed view of what the organisation does or should do. It shows the high-level activities and the logical dependencies between them. By comparing the consensus BAM with the current situation, a gap analysis can identify where the organisation is not performing as desired or where there are opportunities for improvement. Therefore, option A is the correct answer.

 An investment appraisal calculation is a technique for assessing whether a proposed business change or solution is financially viable and worthwhile. It helps to compare the costs and benefits of different options and select the best one based on objective criteria. There are different types of investment appraisal calculations, such as payback calculation, net present value, internal rate of return and discounted cash flow. Therefore, option A is the correct answer, as payback calculation is the simplest investment appraisal calculation that considers the tangible costs and benefits of a project, as well as showing when it will have saved as much money as it has cost. Payback calculation measures how long it will take for a project to recover its initial investment by comparing its cumulative cash inflows with its cumulative cash outflows over time. It helps to show how quickly a project will break even or generate profit. Option B is not a correct answer, as net present value is not the simplest investment appraisal calculation that considers only tangible costs and benefits. Net present value measures how much value a project will add or subtract from an organisation by comparing its present value of cash inflows with its present value of cash outflows over time. It helps to show how profitable a project will be in today’s terms. Net present value requires discounting future cash flows using an appropriate discount rate, which adds complexity to the calculation. Option C is not a correct answer, as internal rate of return is not the simplest investment appraisal calculation that considers only tangible costs and benefits. Internal rate of return measures how efficient a project is by calculating its annualised effective compounded return rate or rate of growth over time. It helps to show how attractive a project is compared to other investment opportunities. Internal rate of return requires finding an unknown discount rate that makes net present value equal to zero, which adds complexity to the calculation. Option D is not a correct answer, as discounted cash flow is not an investment appraisal calculation itself, but a method for estimating future cash flows by applying an appropriate discount rate to reflect their present value. Discounted cash flow can be used in other investment appraisal calculations, such as net present value or internal rate of return.

The notes that will go into the MOST analysis are a, b and d, as they correspond to the elements of Mission, Strategy and Tactics. The mission is to supply 10% of the local bespoke furniture market by the end of the financial year (a). The strategy is to adopt new 3D printing technologies to gain an advantage when quoting for bespoke furniture designs (d). The tactics are to invest in local radio advertising and appoint a creative team to develop an appropriate advertisement (b). Note c is not part of the MOST analysis, as it is not related to any of the elements.

 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.