April 2026 Research, Consultancy and Advisory Past Paper Answers

Description

CERTIFIED SECRETARIES (CS) INTERMEDIATE LEVEL
RESEARCH, CONSULTANCY AND ADVISORY

TUESDAY: 21 April 2026. Afternoon Paper. Time Allowed: 3 hours.

This paper consists of five (5) questions. Answer ALL questions. Marks allocated to each question are shown at the end of the question. Do NOT write anything on this paper.

QUESTION ONE
Alpha Health Services (AHS) is a mid-sized health-service provider that has experienced inconsistent data reporting across branches, slow decision-making and staff resistance to changes introduced after previous advisory interventions. The Board has commissioned a combined research and consultancy assignment to identify root causes of the reporting weaknesses, propose a practical plan to strengthen governance and data-use for decision making and design a short coaching and facilitation sequence to increase local ownership of the new arrangements.

Required:
(a) Explain SIX ways in which a mixed-method research design would be appropriate to diagnose the reporting weaknesses at AHS. (6 marks)

(b) (i) As the lead consultant, recommend THREE evidence-based strategies to integrate the research findings into an advisory intervention that leads to sustained improvement in governance and data-use at AHS. (3 marks)
(ii) For each strategy in b (i) above, identify ONE measurable indicator of success. (3 marks)

(iii) The Board of AHS insists that any advisory intervention must include facilitation and coaching. Analyse FOUR facilitation techniques you would use in the initial change workshop. (8 marks)
(Total: 20 marks)

QUESTION TWO
(a) Explain FIVE management challenges that could arise when managing a professional consulting firm. (5 marks)

(b) With reference to research reporting, explain FOUR reasons why charts and graphical displays are used when presenting quantitative findings to managers. (4 marks)

(c) A professional association has a membership of 12 000 composed of: Corporate 6 000; Public sector 3 600; Small-firm 2 400. Using proportionate stratified sampling, compute the number of respondents to select from each stratum if the desired total sample size is 600. (3 marks)

(d) Describe the standard procedure for hypothesis testing in applied consultancy research. (8 marks)
(Total: 20 marks)

QUESTION THREE
(a) Explain FOUR essential sections of a technical proposal for a consultancy assignment. (4 marks)
(b) A consultancy firm has been invited to submit a tender for conducting a governance review.

Required:
(i) Discuss FOUR pricing approaches the consultancy firm may use when submitting its tender.
(4 marks)
(ii) For each approach in b (i) above, evaluate one limitation from the client’s perspective. (4 marks)
(c) Prepare a concise project implementation plan for a three-month consultancy assignment to introduce a new reporting framework. Show major activities by month, responsible roles, one key deliverable per activity and two appropriate KPIs. (8 marks)
(Total: 20 marks)

QUESTION FOUR
(a) Analyse FOUR causes of dysfunctional group behaviour during facilitated workshops. (8 marks)
(b) You are engaged to deliver a six-session coaching programme for middle managers to improve governance practice. a monitoring and evaluation framework for the coaching, two outcome indicators, two output indicators, data sources, frequency of measurement and one approach to assess attribution of observed change to the coaching. (12 marks)
(Total: 20 marks)

QUESTION FIVE
(a) Describe TWO ways how features of a conceptual framework assist in developing research hypotheses. (4 marks)
(b) A client wishes to test whether a short in-service training course increases compliance with a new procurement policy.

Required:
(i) State the overall approach for the study. (2 marks)
(ii) Explain the sampling strategy for the study. (2 marks)
(iii) Sample size rationale for the study. (2 marks)
(iv) Two data collection methods for the study. (2 marks)
(v) Main data analysis techniques for the study. (2 marks)

(c) Evaluate THREE factors a consulting firm would consider when deciding to specialise or remain a generalist. (6 marks)
(Total: 20 marks)
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