Managing Performance (E2)
150 questions mapped to the current AICPA & CIMA Management Level blueprint (2026/27). Covers business models and value creation, managing people performance, and managing projects. Switch to Exam Sim mode for a timed CIMA E2 mock exam: 60 questions, 90 minutes.
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The E2 exam format
| Format | Computer-based objective test. All questions are compulsory. |
|---|---|
| Length | 90 minutes, 60 questions. |
| Scoring | Reported as a scaled score from 0 to 150. Questions are weighted by difficulty, so the scaled score is not a straight percentage of questions answered correctly. |
| Pass mark | 100 out of 150. |
| Case Study | Separate from this exam. The Management Case Study is sat after the three management-level objective tests and has its own pass mark of 80 out of 150. |
Always check the current exam format on the AICPA & CIMA website before you sit.
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Sample E2 questions
Three questions from this bank, each with its answer and worked explanation. The quiz above draws from all 150.
A manager adapts their leadership approach depending on the experience level of each team member and the nature of the task at hand. Which leadership approach does this best illustrate?
- Trait leadership, which assumes leadership ability is fixed and based on innate personal characteristics
- Transactional leadership, which relies solely on rewards and penalties tied to performance targets
- Contingency or situational leadership, which adapts the leader's style to the specific circumstances and people involved
- Distributive leadership, which assumes leadership responsibility is always shared equally among every team member
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Adapting leadership style to fit the specific situation - such as a team member's experience or the nature of the task - is the defining feature of contingency or situational leadership. Trait leadership instead assumes leadership ability stems from fixed, innate characteristics, regardless of context. Transactional leadership centres specifically on rewards and penalties linked to performance, and distributive leadership is about how leadership responsibility is shared across people, not about adapting style to circumstances.
Technology is described as driving the emergence of ecosystems that are 'connected, open, simple and intelligent, and fast and scalable'. Which of the following best illustrates this?
- A retailer continuing to use paper-based stock records across all of its branches
- A bank that only offers its services through physical branches, with no app
- A manufacturer signing one ten-year exclusive supply contract with a single component supplier
- A logistics platform using real-time data sharing and APIs to connect carriers and onboard partners fast
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. A platform that connects multiple independent organisations through shared data and open interfaces (such as APIs) - enabling rapid, scalable onboarding of new participants - exemplifies the connected, open, fast-scaling characteristics technology brings to ecosystems. Paper-based records and branch-only banking reflect the opposite: closed, slow, non-digital ways of working. A single long-term exclusive contract is a traditional, fixed bilateral arrangement, not the open, multi-participant connectivity that characterises a digital ecosystem.
What is the primary purpose of a work breakdown structure (WBS) in project management?
- To calculate the exact final cost of a project before any planning has taken place
- To replace the need for any project manager once it has been created
- To break a project down into smaller, more manageable tasks and workstreams that can be planned, assigned and tracked individually
- To determine which department within the organisation should ultimately be liable for project failure
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. A work breakdown structure exists to break a project down into smaller, more manageable tasks and workstreams, which can then be planned, assigned to individuals or teams, and tracked individually as the project progresses. It is a planning and organisational tool, not a costing exercise in itself, even though it can support cost estimation. Creating a WBS does not remove the need for a project manager, who remains responsible for coordinating the tasks it identifies, and it is not designed to assign blame for failure - that is a different concern entirely from breaking down project work.
About this question bank
150 questions across 3 syllabus sections, each mapped to a reference in the official CIMA syllabus for E2 and each with a worked explanation. All 150 are multiple choice.
- Written to CIMA's 2019 Professional Qualification syllabus.
- Spotted a mistake? Report it and it will be corrected.
| Syllabus section | Questions |
|---|---|
| A: Business Models & Value Creation | 45 |
| B: Managing People Performance | 60 |
| C: Managing Projects | 45 |