Question 1

‘All procurement requirements valued at more than $100,000 must be competitively tendered, and any contracts arising therefrom must be signed by the Procurement Director’. This is an example of a:

Accepted Answer

A

Explanation: This is an example of a procurement threshold. Below the threshold, one set of actions; above the threshold, another set of actions. As an aside, one relatively common and undesirable practice is to 'disaggregate' a requirement - break a requirement down into smaller units, to avoid having to conform with the rule. Such behav- iour, can be, in some situations, be unlawful, and can bring an organisation and possibly the individ- uals concerned into disrepute. I hope you can see why it is none of the other answer options available.

Question 2

The Mendelow matrix deals with:

Accepted Answer

D

Explanation: The matrix helps assess how different stakeholders should be managed, dependent on the extent of their power and interest. The reference to products and markets is about Ansoff's work; market share and market growth is a reference to work by the Boston Consulting Group.

Question 3

According to CIPS, which of the following are not included in the five ‘rights’ of procurement and supply?

Accepted Answer

Explanation: All three of them. CIPS appears to have excluded these three possible candidates for inclusion, concentrating instead on quantity, quality, price, place, time. Or QQPPT.

Question 4

The letters ‘BPR’ stand for:

Accepted Answer

B

Explanation: Business Process Re-engineering is the correct answer. As far as I am aware, the other terms do not exist. They are 'red herrings'.

Question 5

Where there is transformational change coupled with a slow rate of change, is this:

Accepted Answer

A

Explanation: This is a description of Evolution. The others answers given may be the subject of other questions in this test.

Question 6

Thinking of Tannenbaum and Schmidt’s work, which of the following terms describes a leader @who
is not a dictator, but nonetheless makes the decisions. The team depends heavily on the lead-er, and
what the leader says'.

Accepted Answer

A

Explanation: The QUESTION NO : gives us the clue that the answer is not dictatorial. Both democratic and laissez-faire are less dogmatic than is suggested in the QUESTION NO :. You will probably want to be fairly clear on Tannenbaum and Schmidt's ideas for your assessment, I should think.

Question 7

It is said that society is undergoing the ‘fourth industrial revolution’. Which description most close-ly defines this idea?

Accepted Answer

C

Explanation: The bringing together of various technologies, such as artificial intelligence, efficient energy storage, 3D printing, quantum computing, etc. The correct answer shown defines nicely the characteristics of the radical changes being brought about during the fourth industrial revolution. The other answers may, to a greater or lesser extent, be changes in modern society, but they do not represent Industry 4.0

Question 8

Which two of the following are personality traits?

Accepted Answer

B, D

Explanation: Honesty and social skills; the other options might be described as skills or experience.

Question 9

‘A person who is reliable in seeing a task through to the end’. Which of the Belbin team roles is being described here? (An easy one – perhaps too easy)

Accepted Answer

C

Explanation: Completer / finisher sees the task through to the end. A scarce resource, in my experience...

Question 10

A psychological view in which an employee treats the business and the work as if it were their own:

Accepted Answer

B

Explanation: Work ownership - the idea that a person 'takes ownership' of their work, and thus performs better. A sub-set could be problem ownership - taking ownership of workplace problems because of work ownership.

Question 11

Thinking about the STEP / PESTEL / STEEPLE model, into which two categories would taxation most suitably fall?

Accepted Answer

B, D

Explanation: This should be a straightforward QUESTION NO :. Taxation is determined by politicians and can affect the economy significantly. PEST, which appears in your syllabus, can be expanded into PESTEL or STEEPLE. They are all appropriate. Legal, environmental and ethical have been added by some writers to expand the original PEST model.

Question 12

Which of the following is a benefit from compliance with procurement processes and procedures? Select all that apply.

Accepted Answer

A, B, C, D

Explanation: All of these options apply.

Question 13

A small group of workers, under the leadership of a supervisor, seeking to make constructive practi- cal small changes to bring about operational improvement in the workplace.

Accepted Answer

A

Explanation: Quality circle. Although it might be part of a quality initiative, the description describes a quality circle - a concept which has been credited with making significant improvements in some organisations, including, in some instances, creating cost savings. It is an important part of the idea of quality circles, that it is the actual workers, those at 'the coal face' (to use a somewhat outdated expression, perhaps) who lead and have the discussions. The belief, quite correct in my opinion, is the workers actually know what is going on, what is being done sensibly or otherwise, and therefore in operational terms, they need to be listened to. A team at the working level, solving problems.

Question 14

A publication which sets out how the buying organisation wishes to trade with suppliers, including,
for example, standard terms and conditions of business, packaging and transportation requirements,
as well as, for example, delivery requirements. This is called a:

Accepted Answer

A

Explanation: The supplier manual will advise suppliers how they should interact with the buying organisation. A procurement manual will tell people inside the organisation what they need to do to be buying effectively - a buyer's rulebook, effectively. Similarly for a purchasing manual, and fairly obviously, a warehouse manual will provide guidance on how things should be done inside a warehouse.

Question 15

An employee responsible for managing both warehousing and transport in an organisation would best be described as a:

Accepted Answer

C

Explanation: Logistics essentially being about the storage and transportation of goods. The QUESTION NO : requires an answer at managerial level.

Free CIPS L3M4 Actual Exam Questions