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CIMA E3 · Strategic Level

D. Making strategic choices

Master the frameworks and tools for evaluating strategic options by assessing organisational resources, capabilities, and strategic fit. Learn to apply suitability, acceptability, and feasibility criteria to make informed strategic choices that align with stakeholder expectations and organisational constraints.

  • 14 lessons
  • 2 modules
  • 2.3h of video
  • ~15% of the exam
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What you'll learn

By the end of D. Making strategic choices.

  • Explain the concept of resource audit and identify the Nine Ms framework for evaluating organisational capabilities
  • Describe how organisations create value through their resources and identify key value drivers
  • Apply the suitability criterion to evaluate whether strategic options align with organisational objectives and competitive advantage
  • Analyse the acceptability of strategic options by assessing financial returns, risk, and stakeholder expectations
  • Evaluate the feasibility of strategic options by considering resource requirements, implementation timescales, and organisational constraints
  • Evaluate strategic choices using integrated frameworks that balance suitability, acceptability, and feasibility criteria

The lessons

14 lessons, module by module.

Resources and capabilities

10 lessons
  1. 1 Resources and capabilities - introduction 5m
  2. 2 Resource audit (9 Ms) 9m
  3. 3 Creating value 13m
  4. 4 Value drivers 9m
  5. 5 Porter's value chain - part 1 9m
  6. 6 Porter's value chain - part 2 10m
  7. 7 Supply chain management 14m
  8. 8 Product life cycle 7m
  9. 9 BCG matrix 12m
  10. 10 Benchmarking 19m

Evaluating strategic choices

4 lessons
  1. 1 Evaluating strategic choices - introduction 4m
  2. 2 Suitability 10m
  3. 3 Acceptability 9m
  4. 4 Feasibility 6m

Questions

About D. Making strategic choices.

What does the Making Strategic Choices section cover?

This section covers the frameworks and tools required to evaluate strategic options systematically. You will learn to conduct resource audits using the Nine Ms model, understand how organisations create value, and apply the suitability, acceptability, and feasibility (SAF) framework to assess strategic choices. This enables you to make informed recommendations that balance organisational capabilities, stakeholder expectations, and available resources.

Is this section important for the E3 exam?

Yes, this section is fundamental to the E3 exam. The suitability, acceptability, and feasibility framework is a core tool tested extensively in objective test questions and case study scenarios. You must be able to evaluate strategic options systematically and justify your recommendations using these criteria, making this section essential for exam success.

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