CMA Intermediate · December 2025 · Paper 9
CMA Intermediate Operations Management and Strategic Management December 2025: paper analysis
Our own analysis of the official paper, as of 12 October 2026. The questions and answers belong to ICMAI; read them on ICMAI's website.
Chapter-wise marks
Where the marks were in this paper (out of 100; internal-choice alternatives not double counted).
What each question tested
In our words, by question number. Open the official paper for the full question.
| Q | Marks | Tests | Chapter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2(a) | 7 | Recent trends in production and operations management driven by global competition | Introduction to Operations Management |
| 2(b) | 7 | Phases of the product life cycle and the operations focus in each | Designing of Operational Systems and Control |
| 3(a) | 7 | Average annual cost and optimal replacement year for a machine with rising maintenance | Economics of Maintenance and Spares Management |
| 3(b) | 7 | Fitting a least squares regression of sales on advertising and forecasting sales | Operations Planning |
| 4(a) | 7 | Assignment problem: allocating workers to jobs to minimise total time | Job Evaluation, Job Allocation - Assignment |
| 4(b) | 7 | Monte Carlo simulation of delivery times with random numbers and average time | Simulation and Line Balancing |
| 5(a) | 7 | Formulating a product mix linear programme with resource and minimum demand constraints | Optimum Allocation of Resources - LPP |
| 5(b) | 7 | PERT: expected times, network paths, critical path and activity variances | Project Management, Monitoring and Control |
| 6(a) | 7 | SMART framework for setting organisational objectives | Strategic Analysis and Strategic Planning |
| 6(b) | 7 | Key components of a blockchain | Digital Strategy |
| 7(a) | 7 | PESTEL framework for environmental analysis | Strategic Analysis and Strategic Planning |
| 7(b) | 7 | Steps in the formal strategic planning process | Strategic Analysis and Strategic Planning |
| 8(a) | 7 | Project-based organisation structures: meaning, advantages and disadvantages | Formulation and Implementation of Strategy |
| 8(b) | 7 | Reasons for business process reengineering and concerns in implementing it | Formulation and Implementation of Strategy |
What stood out
- Section B followed a stable template: Questions 3 to 5 were operations research numericals (replacement, regression, assignment, simulation, LPP formulation, PERT) and the rest theory.
- Strategic management theory filled Questions 6 to 8 entirely, so a strategy-strong candidate could answer three full questions without any computation.
- Project management and maintenance together took five MCQs, including float and failure-cost computations.
- Digital strategy was tested through blockchain components, and BPR appeared in both the MCQs and Section B.
- As in other terms, the LPP question required only formulation, not a solution.
Practise the chapters that carried the marks
Strategic Analysis and Strategic Planning, Formulation and Implementation of Strategy, Project Management, Monitoring and Control: study guides and practice questions in the CMA Intermediate format.