This topic gathers four ideas from the last part of the management chapter. Technology business models describe how a firm earns money from technology. Project management describes how a one-off piece of work is planned and delivered. Emotional intelligence and social thinking describe the human side of working well with others. They look unrelated, but each is a way of getting results through planning, structure and understanding of people.
All four appear in the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) syllabus, and the earlier Pathfinder papers asked candidates to explain technology business models and project management together, so learn the definitions and lists carefully.
In 30 seconds
A technology business model shows how a company uses technology to create value and income. Typical models are product, solutions, intermediation, disintermediation, multi-sided, freemium, subscription, advertising-supported and e-commerce. A project is a task with an objective, limited resources and a finite timeline, and it moves through five phases: initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and control, and closure.
Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and handle emotions, in oneself and others, through self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management. Social thinking is the ability to consider others’ thoughts and feelings and respond to them.
Technology business models
Technology business modelling is a way of turning technology investment into business value. A technology business model describes how a firm uses technology to create and deliver value, earn revenue and meet its objectives. Digital models stress flexibility, innovation and agility, and can open new revenue streams and customers.
| Component | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Technology | The software, hardware and data analytics used |
| Business objectives | The goals, such as market share, profit or customer satisfaction |
| Value proposition | What the technology gives customers: efficiency, lower cost or new abilities |
| Revenue model | How income is earned: subscriptions, licensing or advertising |
| Customer relationships | How the firm deals with and engages customers |
| Model | How it works | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Product | Sells a standard product or service | Packaged software or hardware |
| Solutions | Provides customised answers to a customer’s needs | A bespoke accounting system |
| Intermediation | The firm sits between providers and users, offering convenience and comparison | Travel booking sites that bring together airlines, hotels and car hire |
| Disintermediation | Removes a step in the supply chain to streamline delivery | An online seller that handles sale and delivery without a retailer |
| Multi-sided | Serves several groups of users and earns from each | A platform serving customers and advertisers |
| Freemium | A basic version is free, premium features are paid for | A free app with a paid upgrade |
| Subscription | A recurring fee for access | A pay-TV service |
| Advertising-supported | Free to users, paid for by advertisers | Social media apps |
| E-commerce | Sells goods and services online through an electronic network | An online shop |
Project management
A project is an effort to complete tasks and reach an objective with limited resources and a finite timeline. Project management is the process of planning, carrying out, tracking and completing a project with a team, using principles, skills, methods and tools. Businesses, charities and governments all run projects.
The five phases
| Phase | What happens | Key documents |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Initiation | The project is shown to have value and be feasible. A team is assembled and a project office set up. It ends with a kick-off meeting that defines goals and scope | Business case (the need, objectives and return), feasibility study (can it be done in reasonable time and cost), project charter (what will be delivered) |
| 2. Planning | A detailed plan is created for how the project will be carried out | Schedule, budget, scope management plan, risk management plan, resource management plan, stakeholder management plan |
| 3. Execution | The plan is carried out. The manager reallocates resources, adjusts time and scope, handles risks and problems and incorporates changes | The project plan in use |
| 4. Monitoring and control | Runs alongside execution. Progress is tracked against schedule and budget, and quality control is applied | Status, timesheet, workload, allocation and expense reports |
| 5. Closure | Final deliverables go to stakeholders. Once approved, resources are released, documents completed and the project signed off | Sign-off and closing documentation |
Benefits of project management
- Better planning and organisation: clear objectives, scope, timeline and resources, and less waste.
- Better communication: regular updates keep stakeholders informed and roles are defined.
- Greater efficiency: early identification of risk cuts delay and cost.
- Higher quality: monitoring and review keep deliverables up to standard.
- Better time management: realistic estimates give workable schedules.
- Cost control: detailed budgets and tracking keep spending within limits.
The ten areas to manage
The project manager oversees scope, schedule, cost, quality, resources, communication, risk, procurement, stakeholders and integration. Each area has to be managed at every phase.
A cost example
A project has a budget of ₦12 million. When it is half finished, ₦7 million has been spent. At that rate, the final cost would be ₦7 million × 2 = ₦14 million, an expected overrun of ₦2 million, or 16.7% of the budget. Monitoring and control exists to spot this early, so the manager can act while the overrun is still avoidable.
Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence, or EQ, is a person’s ability to understand, use and manage emotions positively, in order to relieve stress, communicate well, show empathy, overcome challenges and settle conflict. The term was coined in 1990 by John Mayer and Peter Salovey, and made popular by Daniel Goleman in 1995. It can predict performance and can be improved by training and practice.
| Competency | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Self-awareness | Knowing one’s strengths and weaknesses, recognising one’s emotions and their effect on one’s own and the team’s performance |
| Self-management | Managing one’s emotions, especially under pressure, and staying positive despite setbacks |
| Social awareness | Recognising others’ emotions and the dynamics in the organisation, with empathy |
| Relationship management | Influencing, coaching and mentoring others and settling conflict well |
Ways to build it
- Keep a journal of how emotions affected decisions and meetings.
- Take a 360-degree assessment, comparing feedback from bosses, peers and reports with your own view to find blind spots.
- Practise active listening: remove distractions, paraphrase and show engagement.
- When a strong emotion arises, ask what caused it.
- Take a course or training.
Why it matters for leaders: leaders set the tone, and a leader lacking emotional intelligence can lower engagement and raise turnover. A technically excellent leader who cannot communicate or collaborate will have that skill overlooked. Emotional intelligence also builds the empathy and collaboration that good teams need.
Social thinking
Social thinking is the process of making sense of one’s own and other people’s thoughts, feelings and intentions in context. It is the ability to consider what others think, feel, believe and know, and to respond to it in behaviour. Michelle Garcia Winner, a speech and language pathologist, coined the term. It is part of social-emotional learning that starts at birth and develops throughout life.
Good social skills mean adapting well to the situation and the people in it.
It rests on the theory of mind, the ability to see how others think and feel and how that relates to oneself, and it shares ideas with self-regulation theory (guiding one’s own thoughts, behaviour and feelings towards goals), executive functioning (the mental processes that select and manage behaviour for chosen goals), weak central coherence (a theory about how some people with autism show strong ability in some subjects but struggle with language and social life) and perspective-taking (seeing a situation from another’s point of view).
Social thinking is also a teaching method, developed particularly to help people with autism spectrum disorder to handle social situations.
Worked example: applying the ideas
Scenario. A software firm plans to launch a payroll app. It will give a basic version free and charge for advanced features. The launch is a six-month project. The project manager notices that two team members clash, and that her own irritation is affecting the meetings.
- Name the business model. A free basic version with paid premium features is the freemium model. The revenue model is the premium upgrade.
- Place the project in its phase. Proving value and feasibility with a business case and feasibility study belongs to initiation. The schedule, budget and risk plan belong to planning. Tracking progress against budget is monitoring and control.
- Apply emotional intelligence. Noticing her own irritation shows self-awareness. Staying calm in meetings is self-management. Understanding why the two colleagues clash is social awareness. Coaching them and resolving the dispute is relationship management.
- Recommend. Run the project through the five phases, track budget and schedule, and use emotional intelligence to keep the team working together.
Projects, business models and people skills in more detail
A project plan in practice
A firm plans a six-month launch of a payroll app. In initiation it writes a business case (the need, the objectives and the expected return) and a feasibility study (can it be done within reasonable time and cost). In planning it breaks the work into tasks, sets the schedule, budget and risk plan, and assigns resources. In execution it develops the app and trains staff.
In monitoring and control it tracks progress against schedule and budget, reports status and deals with risks. In closure it delivers the product, gets sign-off, releases the team and records lessons learned.
The constraints a project manager balances
Every project is constrained by scope (what must be delivered), time (the deadline) and cost (the budget), and a change in one affects the others. Adding features increases cost and time, shortening time may raise cost or reduce scope, and a cut in budget may reduce scope or quality. The manager must keep the three in balance and keep quality acceptable.
Risk management in a project
Identify risks early, such as a key developer leaving or a supplier delay. Assess each by its likelihood and impact. Decide a response: avoid it, reduce it, transfer it, for example by insurance, or accept it. Monitor throughout. A risk register records each risk, its owner and its response.
Technology business models in practice
A software firm may sell a product (a licence), a solution tailored to a client, a subscription (a monthly fee), or a freemium app with a paid upgrade. Choosing a model means asking who the customers are, what they will pay for, how revenue is earned and how the firm will keep them. A subscription gives predictable income but needs continuous improvement.
Freemium attracts many users but only a few pay, so the firm needs scale.
Emotional intelligence at work, with examples
| Competency | Example at work |
|---|---|
| Self-awareness | A manager notices she becomes curt when under deadline pressure and its effect on the team |
| Self-management | She pauses before replying to a critical email and answers calmly |
| Social awareness | She senses that a colleague’s silence in a meeting signals worry, and checks in with him |
| Relationship management | She mentors a junior colleague and settles a disagreement so both sides feel heard |
Emotional intelligence matters most for leaders because their mood and reactions set the team’s tone. Leaders with low emotional intelligence tend to have lower engagement and higher turnover in their teams.
Exam focus: technology business models and project management in the syllabus
Technology business modelling
It is a way of linking technology investment to business value by showing how technology is used to create and deliver value and earn revenue. The key components are the technology itself, business objectives, the value proposition, the revenue model and customer relationships.
| Model | How it works | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Product model | Sells a standard product or service | Software or hardware |
| Solutions model | Provides customised solutions for a customer’s needs | Bespoke systems |
| Intermediation model | The business acts as a bridge between supplier and end user | Booking.com, Expedia |
| Disintermediation model | Removes a step in the supply chain | Amazon, removing retailers |
| Multi-sided model | Serves several user groups, such as customers and advertisers, and earns from each | Social platforms |
| Freemium model | Free basic version, paid premium features | Streaming apps |
| Subscription model | Recurring fee for access | DSTV |
| Advertising-supported model | Earns by showing ads to users | Facebook, Instagram |
| E-commerce model | Sells goods and services online | Online retailers |
Project management
A project is an endeavour that completes tasks to meet an objective with limited resources and a finite timeline. Project management is the process of planning, executing, tracking and completing projects with a team. The five phases are initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and control, and closure.
- Benefits. Improved planning and organisation; enhanced communication; increased efficiency; higher quality deliverables; better time management; and cost control.
- Ten areas to manage. Scope, schedule, cost, quality, resource, communication, risk, procurement, stakeholder and integration management.
- Initiation documents. The business case justifies the project and its return. The feasibility study shows it can be done in reasonable time and cost. The project charter states what it will deliver. Initiation ends with a kick-off meeting.
- Planning documents. The project schedule, the project budget, and the scope, risk, resource and stakeholder management plans.
Common mistakes in the exam
- Confusing intermediation with disintermediation. One adds a bridge, and the other removes a step.
- Describing a technology business model without a revenue model.
- Mixing up the project phases, or skipping monitoring and control, which runs alongside execution.
- Confusing project management knowledge areas with phases. Phases are stages in time. Areas are aspects to manage throughout.
- Describing emotional intelligence as intelligence quotient.
- Listing the four competencies without saying what each means.
Quick revision
- Technology business model: technology, objectives, value proposition, revenue model, customer relationships. Nine models.
- Project phases: initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and control, closure.
- Ten project areas: scope, schedule, cost, quality, resources, communication, risk, procurement, stakeholders, integration.
- Emotional intelligence: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship management.
- Social thinking: considering others’ thoughts and feelings, based on the theory of mind.
Practice questions
These are original questions written in the style of the ICAN exam. Try each one before you open the answer.
Section A style: multiple choice
Question 1. A model that offers a basic product free and charges for premium features is called:
- Subscription
- Freemium
- Disintermediation
- Intermediation
Show the answer
B. A subscription charges a recurring fee for access.
Question 2. Removing a step from the supply chain to streamline delivery is:
- Intermediation
- Disintermediation
- Subscription
- Freemium
Show the answer
B. Intermediation adds a bridge between providers and users.
Question 3. The phase of a project in which progress is tracked against schedule and budget is:
- Initiation
- Planning
- Monitoring and control
- Closure
Show the answer
C. It runs alongside execution.
Question 4. A document that justifies the need for a project, its objectives and its return on investment is the:
- Project charter
- Business case
- Risk management plan
- Project schedule
Show the answer
B. The feasibility study shows the project can be done in reasonable time and cost.
Question 5. The ability to recognise others’ emotions and the dynamics in an organisation is called:
- Self-awareness
- Self-management
- Social awareness
- Relationship management
Show the answer
C. It involves empathy.
Question 6. Emotional intelligence was popularised by:
- Daniel Goleman
- Frederick Taylor
- Elton Mayo
- Michelle Winner
Show the answer
A. Mayer and Salovey coined the term in 1990 and Goleman popularised it in 1995. Winner created the term social thinking.
Question 7. Which three constraints does a project manager balance?
- Scope, time and cost
- Price, profit and place
- Staff, stock and sales
- Risk, return and reward
Show the answer
A. A change in one affects the others.
Question 8. A risk response that moves the financial effect of a risk to an insurer is:
- Avoid
- Reduce
- Transfer
- Accept
Show the answer
C. Insurance transfers risk.
Question 9. A business model that offers a basic version free and charges for extra features is:
- Subscription
- Freemium
- Solutions
- Disintermediation
Show the answer
B. Few users pay for the upgrade.
Question 10. A manager who pauses before replying to an angry email shows:
- Self-management
- Social awareness
- No emotional intelligence
- Relationship management
Show the answer
A. She controls her reaction.
Section B style: written questions
Question 11 (10 marks). Explain what is meant by a technology business model and project management.
Show the marking guide
Technology business model (4 marks). How a company uses technology to create and deliver value, earn revenue and reach its objectives, through its technology, value proposition, revenue model and customer relationships. Give an example such as subscription.
Project management (6 marks). Planning, carrying out, tracking and completing a project, which has an objective, limited resources and a finite timeline, using principles, skills and tools. Name the five phases.
Question 12 (20 marks).
(a) Explain four technology business models. (8 marks)
(b) Describe the five phases of the project management process. (7 marks)
(c) Explain the four competencies of emotional intelligence. (5 marks)
Show the marking guide
(a) 8 marks, 2 each. Any four of: product, solutions, intermediation, disintermediation, multi-sided, freemium, subscription, advertising-supported and e-commerce.
(b) 7 marks. Initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and control, and closure, 1 mark for each phase and 2 extra for the key documents.
(c) 5 marks. Self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management, 1 mark each, with 1 extra for a link to leadership.
A further written question
Question 13 (10 marks). Explain how a project manager can manage risk in a project.
Model answers
Show the model answer to Question 11
A technology business model describes how a company uses technology to create and deliver value, earn revenue and meet its objectives. It rests on the technology itself, the firm’s objectives, its value proposition, its revenue model and its customer relationships. A subscription service, where customers pay a recurring fee for access, is an example.
Project management is the process of planning, carrying out, tracking and completing a project, which has an objective, limited resources and a finite timeline, using principles, skills, methods and tools. Its five phases are initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and control, and closure.
Show the model answer to Question 12
(a) Four technology business models. Product: sells a standard product, such as packaged software. Subscription: customers pay a recurring fee for access, such as a pay-TV service. Freemium: a basic version is free and premium features are paid for. Advertising-supported: the service is free to users and paid for by advertisers, such as social media apps. Others are solutions, intermediation, disintermediation, multi-sided and e-commerce models.
(b) Five phases. Initiation: showing the project has value and is feasible, with a business case, feasibility study and project charter. Planning: creating the schedule, budget, scope, risk, resource and stakeholder plans. Execution: carrying out the plan, managing resources and risks. Monitoring and control: tracking progress against schedule and budget, running alongside execution. Closure: delivering to stakeholders, getting approval, releasing resources and documenting lessons.
(c) Emotional intelligence. Self-awareness: knowing one’s own strengths, weaknesses and emotions. Self-management: controlling emotions under pressure. Social awareness: recognising others’ emotions with empathy. Relationship management: influencing, coaching and settling conflict. They are linked to leadership because leaders set the tone for their teams.
Show the model answer to Question 13
Risk management in a project has four steps. Identify risks early, such as a key team member leaving, a supplier delay or a change in requirements, using brainstorming and past projects. Assess each risk by its likelihood and its impact on scope, time and cost, and rank them.
Respond to each:
- avoid it by changing the plan
- reduce it by taking action, such as training a back-up person
- transfer it, for example through insurance or a contract with the supplier
- accept it and set aside a contingency
Monitor risks throughout the project and update the risk register, which records each risk, its owner and its planned response. Managing risk early reduces cost overruns and delay.
Pathfinder on project management and emotional intelligence
These are the ICAN Pathfinder questions that test this topic. ICAN owns the questions and the suggested solutions, so we point you to them and do not copy them. Open your Pathfinder, attempt each question under exam conditions, then check your answer against the notes above.
From the earlier Business, Management and Finance paper. Part (a) asks you to explain a technological business model and project management. Revise both sections.
Revise first: Exam focus: technology business models and project management in the syllabus
Tested the multi-sided business model. Revise technology business models.
Revise first: Technology business models
Tested self-regulatory theory in social thinking. Revise social thinking.
Revise first: Social thinking
Multiple-choice questions can test the business models, project phases and emotional intelligence. Check Section A of every diet you practise for items on these points.
Revise first: Project management
Source: ICAN Pathfinder, Business Environment. Diets covered: May Diet, 2021 to May Diet, 2026. November Diet, 2024 is not yet mapped.
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