Core A - Mock practice exam 1 (2023)
Core A – Mock practice exam 1 (2023)
Section A: Business context and culture
One type of hacker is a white hat hacker. Another type of hacker is a black hat hacker.
One potential impact is that people will be able to access information more easily online. Another potential impact is that social divides may arise with people who can’t use new technologies or can’t access them.
a) Isaac could cover the mitigation technique of monitoring systems to flag inappropriate or unsafe use of technology in the workplace.
b) Monitoring for inappropriate or unsafe use of technology in the workplace could make the staff more aware of how to use technology safely. For example, staff who show unsafe use of technology by the monitoring system could be reprimanded which deters other employees purposefully inappropriately using digital devices and spreads awareness of the dangers online.
a) Customers may be concerned about a loss of privacy as their private data is being held by a third party which has no guarantee of being secure, therefore breaching their privacy. They may also be concerned about non-compliance as the company in question must follow strict guidelines for handling data such as GDPR or the Data Protection Act. They may be concerned that by holding data in the cloud, areas of non-compliance could arise making their data more vulnerable to breaches and loss.
b) One impact of non-compliance could mean prosecution for the business. For example, the Data Protection Act is a set of laws in the UK introduced to regulate and control the handling and storage of data by companies or relevant people. If this law is breached the company could face fines based off total revenue or even imprisonment. The company would also gain a negative reputation among customers and other businesses, making them less competitive in their market.
One way that unsafe or inappropriate use of technology could affect the interns is that they could develop physical conditions due to the digital devices. For example, as stated, the interns may be required to work at their computers for long periods. This is unsafe as they may develop RSI or other conditions such as unsafe posture. To mitigate this, the marketing agency should promote safe working conditions and implement display screen equipment regulations.
Lily should take steps to ensure the change is implemented effectively. She should consider the time to implement the new system and if it will affect normal business processes. By introducing change management regulations, she can mitigate business downtime and keep customer satisfaction and productivity.
Olawale should consider economic factors that influence the business environment. For example, the economic environment could affect business spending drastically. His plan to incorporate larger organisations into his customer base could be greatly impacted by the current economic status in the technology market as large businesses may be able to afford internal technical support decreasing the demand for external IT support solutions.
He should also consider legal factors which could affect large organisations. With larger businesses, they often hold more data on their own systems which could create legal implications when relying on third party companies for technical support. Businesses must ensure they are always following GDPR regulations and the Data Protection Act. Legal impacts may occur as customers must be told who will access their data and any third parties involved such as Olawale’s support company.
Mehwish could manage the impact on staff with the growth of her business by supplying training. For example, Mehwish will need to hire more staff to handle the growth of the business especially internationally which means she will need to supply a training program for new recruits. She could supply this training to existing employees to help them understand the changes and how to deal with the new business structure. By supplying this training, she is managing the impact on staff as they are better prepared to deal with new situations that could arise after the change, therefore making the business more productive. Training would also motivate the employees to deal with the growth of the business, which could allow them to work more productively and make the business more profitable, therefore promoting growth and increasing their market share.
Understanding the risks when implementing technical change management is very important to successful change management. The project manager must be aware of the risks involved when making such a change, such as operational downtime through implementation, which could create a loss of revenue and negatively impact on the business’s reputation. By understanding these risks, planning the change can be made more effective to mitigate downtime and increase customer satisfaction.
The project manager must also consider the change advisory board when implementing change management processes. The change advisory board is a group of people used to give advice around change management and how the changes will affect different areas of the business. For example, listening to the change advisory board will give a deeper understanding of the risks and problems the change may cause as well as mitigation techniques for all sections of the business. This will reduce the negative impacts of the change and may increase productivity in all sectors of the company.
10. Digitalisation could add value to Emily’s business as she will be able to deal with the large growth of customers without having to open another physical store.
One way digitalisation could add value to Emily’s business is using e-commerce. For example, Emily could open an online web store where she can sell her products to a large audience over the internet. By doing this, she is expanding her customer base and profiting off the recent success without having to open another physical store. Therefore, digitalisation adds value to her business using an online web store which will make her more profitable and able to deal with the large volume of orders.
Another way digitalisation could add value to Emily’s business is using digital devices in store. For example, by implementing a digital till system she will be able to process orders quicker and more efficiently than before. Increasing her customer throughput is essential especially due to her recent success and growth in demand. More customers will be wanting to come in store and purchase goods which could put stress on her and her employees leading to less motivation and, in turn, productivity. Therefore, digitalisation adds value to her business as she can accept the increased demand and become more profitable and efficient.
Another way digitalisation could add value to Emily’s business is through digital devices allowing for better communication. With the increase in demand, Emily can introduce a system where customers can order online to pick up their items in store. By creating this system, Emily can deal with the increased demand better as physical wait times will be decreased and her employees will feel less stressed with orders. Therefore, digitalisation adds value to her business as customer satisfaction will be retained or increased with the large growth.
In conclusion, digitalisation can add a great amount of value to Emily’s business especially with her recent growth in the market. Digitalisation will allow Emily to be more profitable and competitive in her market as well as increasing customer satisfaction, business reputation and motivation for her and her employees.
Section B: Diversity, inclusion and digital environments
11. One benefit of cloud computing is that it's a much less expensive way of holding data than using physical resources. Another benefit is that cloud computing hardware is more reliable than self-hosted resources and backups are easy to manage.
12. One benefit of diversity and inclusion in a business is that it can help to bring in new ideas and promotes neurodiversity. Another benefit is that it can increase employee motivation and atmosphere in the workplace.
13. One reason why storing data securely is important to businesses is because it allows them to avoid fines for data protection breaches. For example, if a business happens to break GDPR they could be met with serious fines or even imprisonment for serious cases.
14. A) The graphics processor unit (GPU) is a hardware component dedicated to processing large amounts of instructions and rendering graphic intensive applications. The fans help to cool down the hardware inside the computer as components get very hot from working on resource intensive projects. Fans keep components at the optimal temperature to work as efficiently as possible.
b) The graphics processor unit (GPU) will be important in George’s new computer as he is planning on playing video games and rendering high-definition video which is very graphically intensive. A powerful GPU is required to run these programs efficiently and smoothly increasing the computers computing power.
15. Milene could explain to the students about how digital inclusion can lead to increased career opportunities. For example, promoting digital inclusion can allow people to access career opportunities online which is now the easiest way to access job opportunities. Promoting this idea of digital inclusion to the students will allow them to understand the positive impact it brings to society and how it can help in all sectors.
Milene could also explain how digital inclusion can lead to enhanced access and connectivity to digital technology. For example, digital inclusion will allow people who may not be able to afford or can’t use technology to access the internet and become connected to the digital world. This is important as it allows for them to communicate with their family members and friends.
16. One way virtual computing systems could help the IT team provide better support is because virtual machines are much easier to manage than physical hardware. This allows the IT team to provide support remotely making it quicker and easier to get issues resolved and increase productivity.
17. A) The network layer
b) This layer of the OSI model provides routing capabilities for data transmission across networks. It also receives IP packets from other networks where the data is being sent which is critical for network communication.
18. Safia could benefit from moving the ticket system to cloud using a platform as a service (PaaS). PaaS means that the whole system is cloud located and accessed remotely by staff. By using PaaS, there is less need for extensive setup or management as the system can be configured quickly mitigating downtime and longer waits for support tickets to be answered. Therefore, PaaS will increase customer satisfaction as support tickets are more efficiently answered.
19. One approach organisations can use to address demographic imbalance is to provide funding and training to economically poorer or less educated individuals. For example, companies can choose to run workshops where less educated people are given training how to use digital technologies by professionals. This training creates awareness around demographic imbalance and aims to reduce digital discrimination. People will benefit from these workshops as they will be educated on digital devices which may allow them increased communication and access to opportunities online such as jobs.
Another approach organisations can use to address demographic imbalance is to review their equality policies in the workplace and recruitment process. The equality act requires businesses to be indiscriminate of key characteristics such as race, gender and age when hiring new recruits. By reviewing their equality policies, the company can spread awareness of demographic imbalance especially around gender inequality in the digital sector. This addresses the demographic imbalance as people will be less likely to be discriminatory in the workplace or during the hiring process therefore decreasing demographic imbalance.
20. BulbusNet Ltd could benefit greatly from improved security in their processes and systems. After their recent cyber-attack, security measure must be put in place to mitigate attacks from happening again.
One way security improvements could have an impact on BulbusNet Ltd is that they will be more legally compliant. In the cyber-attack, it states that important confidential documents were lost. This is very concerning for BulbusNet as it breaches the company’s requirements in GDPR and data protection. Following the cyber-attack, the company’s failure to implement correct security procedures could lead them to face large fines or even imprisonment for incorrect data handling and security. By implementing security improvements, the company will become more robust and secure to data breaches meaning that they are more legally compliant with the Data Protection Act and GDPR. This will help the company to avoid fines and other reprimands for cyber incidents.
Another way security improvements could have an impact on BulbusNet Ltd is that they may receive a more positive reputation from clients. In the cyber-attack, it states that customers were not happy with the lengthy service outage and loss of data BulbusNet encountered. This will cause less trust between the company and its clients leading to a loss of customers and in-turn profit. By implementing security improvements, BulbusNet Ltd can regain a more positive reputation by proving that their systems are robust to cyber threats and data breaches. Clients will feel safer hosting with BulbusNet as they know that their data will be secure, and the company is in compliance with GDPR and data protection regulations. Therefore, the company’s reputation will be improved because of the security improvements.
Another way security improvements could have an impact on BulbusNet Ltd is that they can become more robust to cyber-attacks. For example, the reason for the incident mentioned is that BulbusNet failed to rectify issues around the hardware and software infrastructure, including out of date operating systems and uncontrolled wireless network access. By implementing security improvements like network access controls and patches to the operating system, the company can ensure their systems are more secure and robust to future attacks. This will help BulbusNet to become more legally compliant and secure from cyber threats.
In conclusion, BulbusNet Ltd will greatly benefit from security improvements implemented after the recent cyber-attack. They will also have an improved reputation among current customers and potential clients leading to more customer satisfaction and profitability.
Section C: Learning and planning
21. Kolb’s learning cycle
22. One principle of project planning is SMART. This makes sure project aims and objectives meet a useful criteria.
23. A) One consequence is that the project may have a delayed release.
b) This consequence could have an impact on Richard’s app as customers have already been given a launch window. This means that if the project is delayed and they miss the release window, customers may be disappointed with the app and it may deter users and generate bad reviews, leading to the app gaining a bad reputation.
24. A) Origin of the source
b) She should consider this factor to make sure the source is trustworthy. She should validate the origin of the information to see if the correct research and statistics have been recorded and there is no potential bias from the author.
25. Bindi can implement an AI system to make the logistics process more efficient. For example, AI can be used to create the most efficient routes for distributors to follow mitigating delays for deliveries. This makes the delivery process more streamlined and could increase customer satisfaction leading to the company gaining a better reputation, the staff becoming more motivated and the business earning more revenue leading to them becoming more competitive in the market.
26. By using critical path analysis (CPA), the project can be broken down and all the steps layed out to produce an efficient path to take when working through the steps. This may make Erin’s project easier to manage and the relevant stakeholders have a greater understanding as they are more aware of the stages in which the project must be undertaken. If CPA is implemented, the project will be greatly improved and more efficient.
27. a) Empathise
b) In the empathising stage of design thinking, client needs are identified and fully understood by the project team. By using this technique, the design team can fully focus on the end user’s requirements which will make them more likely to produce a more accurate project.
28. A) Quality assurance
b) Tanveer can use quality assurance to monitor the quality used within the project management lifecycle. By using this method, he can ensure his project is of better quality throughout its lifecycle meaning the result is more successful.
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