CIMAPRO15-E03-X1-ENG mission - E3 Strategic Management Question Tutorial Updated: 2024

In the highly complex CIMA curriculum, the Management Level is yet another challenge: one that must be overcome. In order to assist you in surpassing this challenge, Wisdom, the pioneer CIMA institute in Sri Lanka, offers you the best possible lecture panel. Consisting of a group of diverse individuals with the most relevant and exciting corporate experience under their belts, they will ensure that coursing through the Management Level to the Strategic Level is no difficult task.

Performance Management
Performance Management, the performance pillar subject of the Management Level, is an area where both your theoretical skills and numerical skills get tested. Hasitha Premaratne, Wisdoms' highly popular lecturer for Performance Management will make sure that you are not at a loss when it comes to either of these skills.

Heading the finance function at Brandix Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, Hasitha's diverse and colourful corporate experience in areas such as capital markets, economics, finance and management adds flavour to his classes. He has produced over 12 Sri Lankan prize winners during his lecturing career of 10 years, while also having received the prestigious CIMA 'Tutor of the Year' Award for 2009. His academic and professional qualifications include an MBA in International Finance and a BSc in Computer Science, along with associate membership of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and the Society of Certified Management Accountants and also fellow membership of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

Enterprise Management
Enterprise Management, with a greater focus on the business and its competitive environment, requires students to gain a thorough understanding of the theoretical aspects and also to apply them in typical company related scenarios. Lectures for Enterprise Management are carried out by Tharindu Amaresekere, a young and vibrant lecturer who has received much praise and acclaim from his students over the past 6 years.

Tharindu bears many academic and professional qualifications, which include a Bachelor's Degree in computing. He is also the only EM lecturer in Sri Lanka to hold a Master's Degree in Project Management, a vital component of the EM syllabus. He is currently practicing for his MBA specialising in Marketing from the University of Colombo and CIM Diploma in Marketing.

Currently employed as a brand consultant for an international web solutions organisation, Tharindu's combined local and international experience renders him the perfect lecturer for a theory related subject in the likes of EM, where building the link between theory and practicality will never lose importance. His keenness on practising Corporate Stimulus Teaching, where theory is aligned with real world companies, has won him a large fan club among CIMA students. He also provides individual focus for improvement of writing skills, which will assist in presenting your arguments in a succinct and comprehensive manner.

Financial Management
For Financial Management, Wisdom presents two individuals with well respected financial and teaching skills. Mallik de Silva, who has found much favour among his students as a friendly and approachable person, has over 15 years lecturing experience. Currently serving as the Group Finance Manager at Richard Pieris and Company PLC, he counts diverse and versatile exposure in many multinational organisations. An associate member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and a fellow member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants UK, he also possesses an MSc in Financial Management.

Akalanka Saparamadu, who joins Mallik at Financial Management, is a CIMA passed finalist who has also completed his Bachelor of Business Administration (Finance Special) degree with a First Class from the University of Colombo. At present, he is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) - Level 3 candidate. Akalanka is presently employed at HSBC Sri Lanka as an Account Relationship Manager.
Together the duo has produced many prize winners and consistently maintained above average pass rates. Their combined efforts in teaching will expose you to a novel experience in finance.

In addition to the stimulating back up received from the lecture panel, Wisdom also provides you with a balanced environment where extra-curricular activities are promoted without disturbing academic activities. Thus, your CIMA studies are bound to be a combination of fun and success. When you are being presented with such a great opportunity to be coached under the best quality lecture panel for CIMA, would you want to say 'no'? Join Wisdom and experience a refreshing CIMA journey. Classes for Management Level began on June 4 2011.

We live in times of high uncertainty. That fact prompted the Drucker Forum, just ten days ago, to announce a five year initiative to re-frame the very concept of management. In implementing the initiative, the Drucker Forum could learn much from what the military itself, in both the U.S. and Europe, has learnt about managing in the quintessential context of high uncertainty—the battlefield.

Managing Forces In The High Uncertainty Of The Battlefield

Tackling the wicked problem of managing forces on the battlefield involves a recognition that warfare is probabilistic and unpredictable, with large elements of disorder and uncertainty. Some parts of the military have learned to cope by a combination of decentralization, spontaneity, informality, loose rein, self-discipline and initiative. This can result in acceptable decisions made faster. The approach requires the involvement of all echelons, with communications characterized by interaction, both vertical and horizontal, rather than one-way and top-down.

This way of managing is described in detail in the U.S. Army’s manual, Army Doctrine Publication Mission Command 6.0, (2003, D0D) which brilliantly depicts the essence of organizational agility in the table shown in Figure 1. It is called “mission command,” which contrasted with top-down bureaucracy, which it called “detailed command.”

The necessity of agility is obvious on the physical battlefield: soldiers who are not agile are likely to die. The Army Doctrine Publication Mission Command of 2003 noted that “historically, commanders have employed variations of two basic command-and-control concepts: mission command and detailed command. Military regimes have frequently favored detailed command, but an understanding of the nature of war and the patterns of military history point to the advantages of mission command.”

The Case Of General McChrystal In Iraq

In 2003 in the U.S. military, however, aspiration was not yet reality. As General Stanley McChrystal discovered when he was leading the Joint Task Force in Iraq, the U.S. Army was still deeply embedded in a top-down system of “detailed command.” McChrystal found himself being asked to make decisions and supply approvals on matters on which the teams themselves were better placed to make the call.

It was just too slow, even against an under-skilled, under-equipped and under-resourced adversary. “In the time it took to move a plan from creation to approval,” writes McChrystal in his wonderful book, Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World (Penguin 2015): “the battlefield for which the plan had been devised had changed. By the time it could be implemented, the plan—however ingenious in its initial design—was often irrelevant. We could not predict where the enemy would strike, and we could not respond fast enough when they did.”

McChrystal saw that the problem wasn’t collaboration within the teams themselves, but rather collaboration between the teams. “The bonds within squads are fundamentally different from those between squads or other units. In the words of one of our SEALs, ‘The squad is the point at which everyone else sucks.”

The teams “had very provincial definitions of purpose: completing a mission or finishing intel analysis, rather than defeating [the enemy]. To each unit, the piece of the war that really mattered was the piece inside their box on the org chart; they were fighting their own fights in their own silos. The specialization that allowed for breathtaking efficiency became a liability in the face of the unpredictability of the real world.”

He saw that the ability to adapt to complexity and continuous unpredictable change was more important than authority and carefully prepared plans. Rapid horizontal communications were more important than vertical consultations and approvals. Teams had to be able to take decisions as needed, without seeking approvals higher up the command.

McChrystal’s approach was to create a “team of teams.” This meant turning the Task Force from a top-down bureaucracy into a network. Each team needed to look beyond its own goals and concerns and see its work as part of the larger mission of the collectivity.

Regression In 2019

Yet in 2019, there was also a major step backwards at the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). Even the aspiration for agility was lacking at upper levels of the DoD. Thus the Mission Command publications of 2003 and 2012 were “superseded” by a new version of Mission Command 6.0, which put the main emphasis on hierarchical command-and-control and top-down bureaucracy.

“Mission Command” was now to be a matter of explicit delegation. Instead of delegation within “the commander’s intent” being the norm, now there had to be explicit delegation from the hierarchy. In effect, “mission command” in 2019 had morphed into the 2003 concept of “detailed command”, a term that curiously is not even mentioned in the Mission Command 6.0 of 2019.

While “mission command” back in 2003 looked like a remarkably far-sighted articulation of 21st century management, “mission command” in 2019 had degenerated into traditional top-down bureaucracy. “Mission command” had essentially been defined out of existence at DoD.

Steps are under way to redress the situation. As Israel re-discovered on October 7, 2023, even the most sophisticated surveillance systems are not immune to surprise.

The Origins Of Mission Command In Germany

“Mission command” is not an American invention. Its origins can be traced to Helmuth von Moltke, who was appointed Chief of the Prussian (later German) General Staff in 1857. The dictum that made him famous was: “No plan of operations extends with any degree of certainty beyond the first encounter with the main enemy force.”

Von Moltke can be seen as the godfather of mission command in particular and Agile management more generally. To cope with uncertainty, von Moltke developed and applied the concept of Auftragstaktik (literally, “mission tactics”), a strategic approach stressing decentralized initiative within an overall strategic design. Von Moltke had no time for perfect comprehensive plans. He believed that, beyond calculating the initial mobilization and concentration of forces, leaders at all levels of the force needed to make decisions based on an assessment of a fluid, constantly evolving situation within an overall strategic design.

In the 20th century, von Moltke’s thinking grew steadily more influential in the military and in due course became the formal doctrine of the US Army—at least on the battlefield. The Army in its formal theory of warfare thus contrasts information-based “detailed command” with action-oriented “mission command.”

Mission Command Across The Entire Economy

Yet the issue is broader than the military. With the increasing role of government in our lives, it is vital that governments as a whole operate with genuine organizational agility. In government, as in the private sector, only the Agile will survive.

On December 1, the Drucker Forum declared that “that we cannot continue as we have been doing. We must change what Drucker calls the practice of management, and the discipline of management behind it.” Its five-year initiative to re-frame management could learn much from what we already know from the experience of managing in high uncertainty in the military.

And read also:

The Drucker Forum Proposes Re-framing Management For The 21st Century

How The Discipline Of Management Grew To Be Cool

Risk Management aspires to be a cost-effective, efficient, impactful, and transparent operation within the Office of Legal Counsel.  We will serve the campus community and affiliated entities as a highly valued strategic partner and resource; providing innovation, high quality service, and cost efficient tools for appropriately balancing risk and opportunity.

Our Mission Our Vision

We Identify and Evaluate Risk to which the Purdue Community is Exposed and Develop Efficient Ways to Manage and Finance those Risks

Identify and Evaluate Risk….

Through facilitated partnerships with campus community and others, we identify and evaluate present and future risks to which Purdue, the Purdue community, its Trustees, and affiliated organizations might be exposed        

Develop Efficient Ways to Manage and Finance Risk…..

Our goal is to efficiently and appropriately manage and finance risks, maximizing Purdue’s overall mission and performance.

The Opportunity

Risk Management aspires to be a cost-effective, efficient, impactful, and transparent operation within the Office of Legal Counsel.  We will serve the campus community and affiliated entities as a highly valued strategic partner and resource; providing innovation, high quality service, and cost efficient tools for appropriately balancing risk and opportunity.

The Approach

Risks or uncertainties are identified and evaluated within the framework of Purdue’s Enterprise Risk Management model.

Risks or uncertainties are managed and financed through a variety of risk management interventions that include:

• Avoid – remove risk by eliminating the situation or activity that presents risk
• Share/Transfer – transfer risk though an insurance intermediary or through other types of contracts
• Mitigate – setting up policies, procedures, training, etc. that reduce the risks being undertaken
• Accept/Retain – assume risk because some risks cannot be eliminated and there may be value in assuming the risk

The Benefits as Seen by Our Clients

• Better exploitation of opportunities
• More efficient use of resources
• Promotion of continuous improvement
• Enhanced strategic and business planning
• Fewer unwelcome surprises
• Improved focus and perspective on risk
• Improved communication   

The Office of Emergency Management (OEM) collaborates across the Institution to Improve the Smithsonian's ability to respond to emergencies and recover from disasters. OEM works closely with Smithsonian staff to perform emergency planning and manage emergency operations, conduct training and exercises, perform risk reduction activities, and Improve the Smithsonian's overall capacity to respond to and recover from natural, technological, and human-made hazards. Our work also involves working side-by-side with local, state and federal partners to address emergency issues at our facilities and properties, and promote the greater public safety interests in the communities we call “home.”

Mission – Manages the institutional Emergency Management program, leading and supporting Smithsonian units in enhancing preparedness and resilience, through training, exercises, planning, risk mitigation, and coordinating emergency response and recovery operations in genuine or potential emergencies/disasters.

Vision – Become the preeminent emergency management (EM) organization for research, education, and museum facilities and organizations in the world!

The Office of Enrollment Management is part of the Student Academic Affairs division within the Office of the Provost. Enrollment Management (EM) consists of the Office of Admissions, Division of Financial Aid, Office of the Registrar, Enrollment Management Analysis and Reporting, Enrollment Management Strategic Communications and Initiatives.

Enrollment Management also maintains collaborative relationships with other units including Student Success, IT Enterprise Relationship Management, the Office of the Bursar, International Students and Scholars, International Programs and Graduate Admissions and Records, the Office of the Bursar, University Residences, and the Office of the Comptroller.  

Vision Statement

The Core Enrollment Management Group will be a recognized leader at Purdue University and among higher education institutions by exceeding our constituents’ expectations and for meeting institutional enrollment, reputational, and student success goals. We will further be a recognized leader for strategic activities that contribute to institutional, state, regional and national priorities for postsecondary education participation and degree attainment. 

Mission Statement

Enrollment Management provides leadership, support, service and essential infrastructure for attracting, enrolling, retaining and graduating a talented and diverse student body. To those ends, EM provides the following: comprehensive recruitment activities and holistic admissions; strategically packaged student aid coupled with financial education and services; high-quality communications to students, their families, the University community and external constituencies: valid enrollment projections, data and analyses for both operations and decision-making; self-service tools for academic and student financial transactions, degree progress and records; and compliance with state and federal laws.

Enrollment Management also contributes to and advances our professions and public policy and discourse regarding critical issues in education. These activities are conducted through partnerships and in a collaborative and intentional manner that supports student access and success, progress, degree attainment, and post-graduate success.

Values

Mission: Advancing Health Worldwide

UC San Francisco is the leading university dedicated to advancing health worldwide through preeminent biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care.

Within our overarching advancing health worldwide mission, UCSF is devoted at every level to serving the public.

UCSF’s commitment to public service dates to the founding of its predecessor institution, Toland Medical College, in 1864. Born out of the overcrowded and unsanitary conditions of Gold Rush-era San Francisco, Toland Medical College trained doctors to elevate the standards of public health in the burgeoning city.

By 1873, the University of California acquired the college and forged a partnership with San Francisco General Hospital that continues to this day and serves as a model for delivering leading-edge care at a public safety-net hospital.

Today UCSF’s public mission goes beyond San Francisco and delivers a substantial impact on a national and global level by innovating health care approaches for the world’s most vulnerable populations, training the next generation of doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists and scientists; supporting elementary and high school education; and translating scientific discoveries into better health for everyone.

Values

In his 2016 State of the University Address, Chancellor Sam Hawgood announced that UCSF is embracing a common set of values to set a clear direction for all members of the UCSF community as we work together to fulfill our mission. This set of overarching values aligns with UCSF’s Principles of Community and Code of Ethics.

PRIDE values are:

Professionalism: To be competent, accountable, reliable and responsible, interacting positively and collaboratively with all colleagues, students, patients, visitors and business partners.

Respect: To treat all others as you wish to be treated, being courteous, kind and acting with utmost consideration for others.

Integrity: To be honest, trustworthy and ethical, always doing the right thing, without compromising the truth, and being fair and sincere.

Diversity: To appreciate and celebrate differences in others, creating an environment of equity and inclusion with opportunities for everyone to reach their potential.

Excellence: To be dedicated, motivated, innovative and confident, giving your best every day, encouraging and supporting others to excel in everything they do.

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