Top case study tips from student ranked 5th in the world!

Earlier this month thousands of students got their results from the November case study exams. Having spoken to a number of these students, there was a rather mixed set of results, with some unfortunately just missing out and others excelling in the final exam.

Last week CIMA released the list of top performers in each of the November case study exams.

Among these lists, there was once again a familiar name.

Student Survey Results - What does it take to pass the Objective Tests?

You may remember a post back in June where we brought you the results from our student survey asking what it takes to pass the OT exams..

Well if not, then I'd like to share with you the latest results from that same survey, which has now had over a hundred responses from OT students from all levels, Operational, Management and Strategic.

The Key Points

The first results are based on the hours spent on revision per week: 

Industry Research Checklist - CIMA Operational Case Study Exam

One of the key areas where you can gain extra marks in the case study exam is having a deep understanding of the company and the industry in which it operates.

We find many students are unsure where to begin when it comes to researching the industry and often there is just too much information available! It can be hard for them to distinguish what is relevant, distill the key points, how they relate to the case study and how they can be applied in the exam to gain vital marks.

So, to ensure you are on the right track we have produced a list of key topics for you to focus on. We recommend that you use this as a checklist when researching the industry. 

Industry Topics

The Products and their History

History

• How old is the industry?
• How did it originate?
• What’s the history from that start point to now?
• Industry life cycle

Tips for Effective Industry Research

Today I came across an old article from one of our many esteemed affiliates, Matthew Evans. The article is centred around 5 tips for the best approach to take when analysing the case study industry.

Although the article relates specifically to the old T4 exam, the principles remain the same for the OCS. The industry analysis is an important part of the case studies now, with recent examiner's reports referring directly to the proper use of industry analysis within the exams. Although the company is at the centre of the case study, with a little bit of industry information provided alongside this, the examiners have highlighted the importance of not simply reciting the information found in the case study. 

Ethical Thinking - Corporate Social Responsibility

In recent years organisations have put tremendous amounts of time, money and effort into ensuring that their corporate image and reputations are better than they have ever been! 

However, as onlookers it can be hard to distinguish between those who do this simply to appear as socially responsible as possible to potential investors, customers or the general public, and between those who genuinely believe that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is an important, ethical and moral part of their organisational culture, and something that they truly believe in.

"Corporate social responsibility is about how the company acts towards the community and environment in which it operates. CSR focuses on ethical business management through ways that improve and protect the environment and social relations and supply a positive public image."

2015 - The Final Push!

For many of us the last 11 months have brought with them a whole plethora of highs, lows, triumphs and obstacles. Where some have seen the year as  roaring success, others may be counting down the days until it is over and a new page can be written.

It is to those people that I would like to target now, the ones who perhaps haven't achieved what they wanted to achieve since the clock ticked over to introduce 2015!

Whether you are trying to finish your objective test that has been haunting you since February, or whether you are waiting for the turnaround in the new year and the latest case study exam, I have one tip for you...

Why not finish with a bang?! 

Three themes to come out of the recent OCS survey

It's been a week since our OCS Experience Survey went live!

We've had even more responses over the last few days and it appears that three key themes are emerging.

Overall, students have said that their exam experience went pretty well. Most students felt comfortable with the topics that were assessed and I'm pleased to say they said there were no real surprises!

So, here are the three main themes to come out of the survey:

1. Topics assessed were as expected
The good news is that the subjects that came up in the exam were alligned to the expectations of many students. Here are some of the comments we received:

Operational Case Study Student Survey!

It's been over a week since the final day of the operational case study exams finished and we have been getting lots of feedback from our students about how well they felt their exams went.

Within this article I would like to share with your some of that feedback, hopefully providing some sort of reassurance to those who felt similarly about the exam, or a little guidance to those looking to take part in the next exam in February.

We'll start of with the positives...

The problem with self-actualisation

Motivation Theory is something that, by now, we are all familiar with, and perhaps one of the most recognisable theories to date, often being the first one mentioned when the concept of motivational theory is raised, is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

To recap the theory briefly, Abraham Maslow suggested that there are five tiers of motivation; physiological, safety, belonging, esteem and self-actualisation, with each one superseding the previous factor, until you reach self-actualisation, where all of an individual’s motivational needs are met and hence, this is when they have reached the top and have become the “best that they can be”.

How to plan your revision (around your life!)

Revision is inherently not meant to be enjoyable. At the same time, we all need to do it at some point or another and we can’t put it off for ever.

With the latest set of case study exams just around the corner for operational, management and strategic case study students, it is currently crunch time when it comes to swotting up on everything you need to know!

Having spoken to many students in the past regarding all levels of exams, as well as during the lead up to these particular ones, I have had a number of questions concerning how best to approach the exam and revision process in general. Although it can be different for every student individually, one common theme I have gathered from listening to these students is that the revision is not the only thing that they have had to think about during the last few weeks.