(b) What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a balanced scorecard to better assess the overallperformance of Lawson Engineering? (8 marks)

正确答案：
(b) Johnson, Scholes and Whittington define a strategic alliance as ‘where two or more organisations share resources and
activities to pursue a strategy’. There are a number of types of alliance ranging from a formal joint venture through to networks
where there is collaboration but no formal agreement. The type of strategic alliance will be affected by how quickly market
conditions are changing – swift rates of change may require flexible less formal types of alliance and determine whether
specific dedicated resources are required or whether the partners can use existing resources. Johnson, Scholes and
Whittington argue that for an alliance to be successful there needs to be a clear strategic purpose and senior management
support; compatibility between the partners at all levels – this may be complicated if it is a cross-border alliance; time spent
defining and meeting performance expectations including clear goals, governance and organisational arrangements; and
finally trust both in terms of respective competences and trustworthiness.

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Paper 3.5
6D–ENGAA
Paper 3.5
The advantages that may be gained by a successful strategic alliance include creating a joint operation that has a ‘critical
mass’ that may lead to lower costs or an improved offer to the customer. It may also allow each partner to specialise in areas
where they have a particular advantage or competence. Interestingly, alliances are often entered into where a company is
seeking to enter new geographical markets, as is the case with both divisions. The partner brings local knowledge and
expertise in distribution, marketing and customer support. A good strategic alliance will also enable the partners to learn from
one another and develop competences that may be used in other markets. Often firms looking to develop an e-business will
use an alliance with a partner with experience in website development. Once its e-business is up and running a firm may
eventually decide to bring the website design skills in-house and acquire the partner.
Disadvantages of alliances range from over-dependence on the partner, not developing own core competences and a tendency
for them not to have a defined end date. Clearly there is a real danger of the partner eventually becoming a competitor.
In assessing the suitability for each division in using a strategic alliance to enter European markets one clearly has to analyse
the very different positions of the divisions in terms of what they can offer a potential partner. The earlier analysis suggests
that the Shirtmaster division may have the greater difficulty in attracting a partner. One may seriously question the feasibility
of using the Shirtmaster brand in Europe and the competences the division has in terms of manufacturing and selling to large
numbers of small independent UK clothing retailers would seem inappropriate to potential European partners. Ironically, if
the management consultant recommends that the Shirtmaster division sources some or all of its shirts from low cost
manufacturers in Europe this may provide a reason for setting up an alliance with such a manufacturer.
The prospects of developing a strategic alliance in the Corporate Clothing division are much more favourable. The division
has developed a value added service for its corporate customers, indeed its relationship with its customers can be seen as a
relatively informal network or alliance and there seems every chance this could be replicated with large corporate customers
in Europe. Equally, there may be European workwear companies looking to grow and develop who would welcome sharingthe Corporate Clothing division’s expertise.

正确答案：
(b) Clearly, there is a link between the ability to write a business plan and the willingness, or otherwise, of small firms to carry
out strategic planning. Whilst writing a business plan may be a necessity in order to acquire financial support, there is much
more question over the benefits to the existing small business, such as Gould and King, of carrying out strategic planning.
One of the areas of greatest debate is whether carrying out strategic planning leads to improved performance. Equally
contentious is whether the formal rational planning model is worthwhile or whether strategy is much more of an emergent
process, with the firm responding to changes in its competitive environment.
One source argues that small firms may be reluctant to create a strategic plan because of the time involved; small firms may
find day-to-day survival and crisis management prevents them having the luxury of planning where they mean to be over the
next few years. Secondly, strategic plans may also be viewed as too restricting, stopping the firm responding flexibly and
quickly to opportunities and threats. Thirdly, many small firms may feel that they lack the necessary skills to carry out strategic
planning. Strategic planning is seen as a ‘big’ firm process and inappropriate for small firms. Again, there is evidence to
suggest that owner-managers are much less aware of strategic management tools such as SWOT, PESTEL and mission
statements than their managers. Finally, owner-managers may be reluctant to involve others in the planning process, which
would necessitate giving them access to key information about the business. Here there is an issue of the lack of trust and
openness preventing the owner-manager developing and sharing a strategic plan. Many owner-managers may be quite happy
to limit the size of the business to one which they can personally control.
On the positive side there is evidence to show that a commitment to strategic planning results in speedier decision making,
a better ability to introduce change and innovation and being good at managing change. This in turn results in better
performance including higher rates of growth and profits, clear indicators of competitive advantage. If Gould and King arelooking to grow the business as suggested, this means some strategic planning will necessarily be involved

正确答案：
(c) From the information given in the scenario, DPP will face significant problems if it chooses to develop a greenfield site. The
bureaucratic planning procedures adopted by the host government can add considerable time to get an efficient plant up and
running. In some ways, such governments are in a dilemma, anxious to secure foreign direct investment, but at the same
time protect inefficient domestic manufacturers. Certainly, DPP in its own risk assessment would need to take political risk
into account. In assessing the risks of a greenfield site, Ken could use Porter’s ‘diamond’ to good effect. Factor conditions
might be seen as quite favourable, with an educated, trained, albeit low productivity, labour force. However, the lack of
demanding tough global customers, a weak and inefficient domestic industry to supply the new venture and competitors who
have been highly protected mean that DPP will have to battle to create a supportive and sustaining environment. Financial
exposure may be increased through currency risk.
Clearly, the fresh start will allow integrated information systems to be developed and the latest technology to be used.
However, the new capacity will have a significant impact on DPP’s existing plants. The extent to which expatriate
management is used is clearly an issue. The host government is likely to require some commitment to the training of local
management and the degree of autonomy given to the new plant may well be an issue. Cultural issues and sensitivities will
be significant – often shop floor workers and managers will be used to high levels of absenteeism being tolerated in
government owned and controlled firms. Also the issue of involvement and participation could be an issue – there may be a
marked reluctance on the shop floor to contribute ideas towards raising productivity and quality. DPP is part of a group that
has experience of operating abroad and there is a real need to access information on key problems in greenfield operations.
In many ways the move to a greenfield site links the macro environmental analysis generated by a SLEPT or PEST to five
forces industry analysis with its focus on customers, competitors and suppliers. Certainly, creating an integrated value chain
with DPP’s existing business will be a real challenge to the management. It also adds capacity to a European industry where
there is already a problem. Choosing between the two options to achieve the strategic goal of a lower cost base can be doneusing the tests of suitability, acceptability and feasibility. The decision will not be an easy one.

正确答案：
(a) To: Joe Lawson, Managing Director, Lawson Engineering
From:
Business case for financial support
The treatment of intangible resources is an area of considerable concern to the financial community and in many ways the
situation that Lawson Engineering finds itself, is typical of the current confusion surrounding the value placed on intangible
resources. This in turn reflects a traditional concern that the strategic health and the financial health of a business are not
one and the same thing. Intangible resources cover a wide variety of assets and skills found in the business. These include
the intellectual property rights of patents; brands; trademarks; trade secrets etc through to people-determined assets such as
know-how; internal and external networks; organisational culture and the reputation of the company.
It is important for you to present a case which shows how the investment in intangible resources is just as important a source
of value creation for the customer as is investment in tangible assets such as plant and finance which are traditionally focused
on in financial statements of the firm’s well being. As one source expresses it, ‘for most companies, intangible resources
contribute much more to total asset value’. Kaplan and Norton in a 2004 article on intangible assets go further and argue
that ‘measuring the value of such intangible assets is the holy grail of accounting’. The increasing importance of service
businesses and service activities in the firm’s value chain compound the problems faced in getting a true reflection of the
firm’s ability to create value. One view is that the key value creation activity lies in the relationships a firm has with its key
stakeholders – its customers, suppliers and employees. These relationships develop into distinctive capabilities, defined as
‘something it can do that its competitors cannot’. These distinctive capabilities only become competitive advantage(s) when
the capability is applied to a relevant market. Firms attain a sustainable competitive advantage when they consistently
produce products or services with attributes that align with the key buying criteria for the majority of customers in the chosen
market.
Competitive advantage, to be strategically significant, must have the twin virtues of sustainability and appropriability.
Sustainability means the ability to sustain an advantage over a period of time. Fairly obviously, assets such as plant and
technology may be easily obtainable in the open market, however it is only when they are combined with less tangible
resources that advantages become sustainable over time because competitors cannot easily copy them. Equally significant
are intangible resources such as reputation and organisational culture in that they influence the firm’s ability to hold on to
or appropriate some of the value it creates. If other stakeholders both inside and outside the firm are able to take more than
their fair share of value created – for example customers forcing down prices or employees demanding excessive wage
increases – this will reduce the funds available for the firm to invest in further development of its intangible resources, and
as a consequence begin to weaken its competitive advantage.

Essentially, intangible resources can be separated into those capabilities that are based on assets and those that are based
on skills. As one source puts it asset based advantages are derived from ‘having’ a particular asset and skills based advantages
stem from the ability to be ‘doing’ things competitors are unable to do. Assets are those things that the firms ‘owns’ – the
intellectual property as embodied in patents, trademarks and associated brands, copyrights, recognised by law and
defendable against copying under that law. It is worth noting the effort and investment that many companies are putting into
defending their intellectual property against the threat of copying and piracy. A more recent asset that many firms spend
considerable time and effort in developing are databases on key activities in the firm’s value chain – customer databases are
only one of the possible sources of firm information and know-how. One of the most prized intangible assets is that of the
firm’s reputation which may reflect the power of the brands it has created. Reputation may be easier to maintain than create
and meets the key tests of sustainability. The capability to produce innovation consistently may be instrumental in creating
in the minds of customers the longer-term competitive advantage of reputation. Reputation is argued to represent the
knowledge and emotions the customer may associate with a firm’s product range and can therefore be a major factor in
securing the competitive advantage derived through effective differentiation.
A positive organisational culture, staff know-how and networks are equally important intangible sources of competitive
advantage. These by their very nature may be more dynamic than asset based intangibles and the know-how of employees
in particular is an intangible resource that results in the distinctive capabilities which differentiate the firm from its competitors.
Much has been written about the significance of organisational culture and the way it reflects the style. of top management,
the ‘can do’ culture of Lawson Engineering clearly creates a competitive advantage. One interesting study of how chief
executive officers rate their intangible resources in terms of their contribution to the overall success of the business showed
that company reputation, product reputation and employee know-how were the most highly regarded intangible resources.
Hamel and Prahalad argue that core competences rather than market position are the real source of competitive advantage.
They gave three tests to identify a core competence – firstly the competence should provide potential access to a wide variety
of markets and thus be capable of being leveraged to good effect, secondly, it should be relevant to the customer’s key buying
criteria and thirdly, it should be difficult for competitors to imitate.
The disadvantages of intangibles stem from the differing value placed on such assets and competences by the various
interested stakeholders. How should a company’s reputation be measured? How long will that reputation yield competitive
advantage, particularly in view of how swiftly such reputations can disappear? It seems likely that the financial markets with
their ability to reflect all knowledge and information about the firm in its share price increasingly will take the contribution of
intangibles into account.
Overall the case should be clearly made that the strengths of the company rests in its unique combination of intangible
resources and the capabilities – both internal and external – that it has. Financial health is not always the same as strategichealth and by any objective measure Lawson Engineering is worthy of support.
Yours,
Strategy consultant

正确答案：
(ii) Advantages and disadvantages of being non-executive rather than executive
The UK Combined Code, for example, allows for risk committees to be made up of either executive or non-executive
members.
Advantages of non-executive membership
Separation and detachment from the content being discussed is more likely to bring independent scrutiny.
Sensitive issues relating to one or more areas of executive oversight can be aired without vested interests being present.
Non-executive directors often bring specific expertise that will be more relevant to a risk problem than more
operationally-minded executive directors will have.
Chen’s four members, being from different backgrounds, are likely to bring a range of perspectives and suggested
strategies which may enrich the options open to the committee when considering specific risks.
Disadvantages of non-executive membership (advantages of executive membership)
Direct input and relevant information would be available from executives working directly with the products, systems
and procedures being discussed if they were on the committee. Non-executives are less likely to have specialist
knowledge of products, systems and procedures being discussed and will therefore be less likely to be able to comment
intelligently during meetings.
The membership, of four people, none of whom ‘had direct experience of Chen’s industry or products’ could produce
decisions taken without relevant information that an executive member could provide.
Non-executive directors will need to report their findings to the executive board. This reporting stage slows down the
process, thus requiring more time before actions can be implemented, and introducing the possibility of some
misunderstanding.

正确答案：
(b) Nominations committees
General roles of a nominations committee.
It advises on the balance between executives and independent non-executive directors and establishes the appropriate
number and type of NEDs on the board. The nominations committee is usually made up of NEDs.
It establishes the skills, knowledge and experience possessed by current board and notes any gaps that will need to be filled.
It acts to meet the needs for continuity and succession planning, especially among the most senior members of the board.
It establishes the desirable and optimal size of the board, bearing in mind the current size and complexity of existing and
planned activities and strategies.
It seeks to ensure that the board is balanced in terms of it having board members from a diversity of backgrounds so as to
reflect its main constituencies and ensure a flow of new ideas and the scrutiny of existing strategies.
In the case of Rosh, the needs that a nominations committee could address are:
To recommend how many directors would be needed to run the business and plan for recruitment accordingly. The perceived
similarity of skills and interests of existing directors is also likely to be an issue.
To resolve the issues over numbers of NEDs. It seems likely that the current number is inadequate and would put Rosh in a
position of non-compliance with many of the corporate governance guidelines pertaining to NEDs.
To resolve the issues over the independence of NEDs. The closeness that the NEDs have to existing executive board members
potentially undermines their independence and a nominations committee should be able to identify this as an issue and make
recommendations to rectify it.
To make recommendations over the succession of the chairmanship. It may not be in the interests of Rosh for family members
to always occupy senior positions in the business.

正确答案：
(b) Benchmarking
Benchmarks enable goals to be set that may be based on either external measures of ‘best practice’ organisations or internal
cross-functional comparisons which exhibit ‘best practice’. A primary aim of the traditional budgeting process is the setting of
realistic targets that can be achieved within the budget period. The setting of realistic targets means that the extent of
underperformance against ‘best practice’ standards loses visibility, and thus short-term financial targets remain the
predominant focus of the traditional budgeting process. It is arguable that because the budgetary reporting system purports
to give managers ‘control’, there is very little real incentive to seek out benchmarks which may be used to raise budgeted
performance targets. Much depends upon the prevailing organisational culture since benchmarking may be viewed as an
attempt by top management to impose impossible targets upon operational managers. The situation is further exacerbated
where organisations do not measure their success relative to their competition.
Balanced scorecard
The Balanced scorecard is often misunderstood as a consequence of the failure by top management to ensure that it is
implemented effectively within the organisation. Thus it may be viewed as the addition of a few non-financial measures to
the conventional budget. In an attempt to overcome this misperception many management teams now establish a
performance-rewards linkage based upon the achievement of Scorecard targets for the forthcoming budget period.
Unfortunately this can precipitate dysfunctional behaviour at every level within the organisation.
Even in situations where the Scorecard has been well-designed and well-implemented it is difficult for it to gain widespread
acceptance. This is because all too often there exists a culture which places a very high value upon the achievement of the
fixed annual targets in order to avoid the loss of status, recognition and rewards.
A well-constructed Scorecard contains a mix of long-term and short-term measures and therefore drives the company in the
direction of medium-term strategic goals which are supported by cross-functional initiatives. On the other hand, the budgeting
process focuses the organisation on the achievement of short-term financial goals supported by the initiatives of individual
departments. Budgets can also act as an impediment to the acceptance of responsibility by local managers for the
achievement of the Scorecard targets. This is often the case in situations where a continued emphasis exists on meeting shortterm
e.g. quarterly targets.
Activity-based models
Traditional budgets show the costs of functions and departments (e.g. staff costs and establishment costs) instead of the costs
of those activities that are performed by people (e.g. receipt of goods inwards, processing and dispatch of orders etc). Thus
managers have no visibility of the real ‘cost drivers’ of their business. In addition, it is probable that a traditional budget
contains a significant amount of non-value-added costs that are not visible to the managers. The annual budget also tends
to fix capacity for the forthcoming budget period thereby undermining the potential of Activity-based management (ABM)
analysis to determine required capacity from a customer demand perspective. Those experienced in the use of ABM
techniques are used to dealing with such problems, however their tasks would be much easier to perform. and their results
made more reliable if these problems were removed.

正确答案：
(ii) Performance measures that may be used to assess the customer perspective of the balanced scorecard of GER include
the following:
Lost or damaged luggage per 1,000 passengers
Train cancellation rate
Denied boarding rate
Number of passenger complaints.
Note: Only three measures were required.

正确答案：
(c) A joint audit is when two or more audit firms are jointly responsible for giving the audit opinion. This is very common in a
group situation where the principal auditor is appointed jointly with the auditor of a subsidiary to provide a joint opinion on
the subsidiary’s financial statements. There are several advantages and disadvantages in a joint audit being performed.
Advantages
It can be beneficial in terms of audit efficiency for a joint audit to be conducted, especially in the case of a new subsidiary.
In this case, Lead & Co will have built up an understanding of Maxwell Co’s business, systems and controls, and financial
statement issues. It will be time efficient for the two firms of auditors to work together in order for Chien & Co to build up
knowledge of the new subsidiary. This is a key issue, as Chien & Co need to acquire a thorough understanding of the
subsidiary in order to assess any risks inherent in the company which could impact on the overall assessment of risk within
the group. Lead & Co will be able to provide a good insight into the company, and advise Chien & Co of the key risk areas
they have previously identified.
On the practical side, it seems that Maxwell Co is a significant addition to the group, as it is expected to increase operating
facilities by 40%. If Chien & Co were appointed as sole auditors to Maxwell Co it may be difficult for the audit firm to provide
adequate resources to conduct the audit at the same time as auditing the other group companies. A joint audit will allow
sufficient resources to be allocated to the audit of Maxwell Co, assuring the quality of the opinion provided.
If there is a tight deadline, as is common with the audit of subsidiaries, which should be completed before the group audit
commences, then having access to two firms’ resources should enable the audit to be completed in good time.
The audit should also benefit from an improvement in quality. The two audit firms may have different points of view, and
would be able to discuss contentious issues throughout the audit process. In particular, the newly appointed audit team will
have a ‘fresh pair of eyes’ and be able to offer new insight to matters identified. It should be easier to challenge management
and therefore ensure that the auditors’ position is taken seriously.
Tutorial note: Candidates may have referred to the recent debate over whether joint audits increase competition in the
profession. In particular, joint audits have been proposed as a way for ‘mid tier’ audit firms to break into the market of
auditing large companies and groups, which at the moment is monopolised by the ‘Big 4’. Although this does not answer
the specific question set, credit will be awarded for demonstration of awareness of this topical issue.
Disadvantages
For the client, it is likely to be more expensive to engage two audit firms than to have the audit opinion provided by one firm.
From a cost/benefit point of view there is clearly no point in paying twice for one opinion to be provided. Despite the audit
workload being shared, both firms will have a high cost for being involved in the audit in terms of senior manager and partner
time. These costs will be passed on to the client within the audit fee.
The two audit firms may use very different audit approaches and terminology. This could make it difficult for the audit firms
to work closely together, negating some of the efficiency and cost benefits discussed above. Problems could arise in deciding
which firm’s method to use, for example, to calculate materiality, design and pick samples for audit procedures, or evaluate
controls within the accounting system. It may be impossible to reconcile two different methods and one firm’s methods may
end up dominating the audit process, which then eliminates the benefit of a joint audit being conducted. It could be time
consuming to develop a ‘joint’ audit approach, based on elements of each of the two firms’ methodologies, time which
obviously would not have been spent if a single firm was providing the audit.
There may be problems for the two audit firms to work together harmoniously. Lead & Co may feel that ultimately they will
be replaced by Chien & Co as audit provider, and therefore could be unwilling to offer assistance and help.
Potentially, problems could arise in terms of liability. In the event of litigation, because both firms have provided the audit
opinion, it follows that the firms would be jointly liable. The firms could blame each other for any negligence which was
discovered, making the litigation process more complex than if a single audit firm had provided the opinion. However, it could
be argued that joint liability is not necessarily a drawback, as the firms should both be covered by professional indemnity
insurance.

正确答案：
(b) The three strategic goals are to become the leading premium ice cream brand in the UK; to increase sales to ￡25 million;
and to achieve a significant entry into the supermarket sector. On the basis of performance to date these goals will certainly
be stretching. All three strategies will involve significant growth in the company. Johnson and Scholes list three success criteria
against which the strategies can be assessed, namely suitability, acceptability and feasibility. Suitability is a test of whether a
strategy addresses the situation in which a company is operating. In Johnson and Scholes’ terms it is the firm’s ‘strategic
position’, an understanding of which comes from the analysis done in the answer to the question above. Acceptability is
concerned with the likely performance outcomes of the strategy and in particular whether the return and risk are in line with
the expectations of the stakeholders. Feasibility is the extent to which the strategy can be made to work and is determined
by the strategic capability of the company reflecting the resources available to implement the strategy. It is interesting to see
that the three growth related goals are compatible in that becoming the leading premium brand will involve increased market
penetration, product development and market development. If achieved it will increase sales and necessitate a successful
entry into the supermarket sector. Time will be an important influence on the success or otherwise of these growth goals –
five years seems to be a reasonable length of time to achieve these ambitious targets.
Suitability – Churchill is currently a small but significant player at the premium end of the market. This segment is becoming
more significant and is attractive because of the high prices and high margins attainable. This is leading to more intense
competition with global companies. One immediate question that springs to mind is what precisely does ‘leading brand’
mean? The most obvious test is that of market share and unless Churchill achieve the access to the supermarkets looked for
in the third strategic goal, seems difficult to achieve. If ‘leading brand’ implies brand recognition this again looks very
ambitious. On the positive side this segment of the ice cream market is showing significant growth and Churchill’s success
in gaining sponsorship rights to major sporting events is a step in the right direction. The combination of high price and high
quality should position the company where it wants to be. Achieving sales of ￡25 million represents a quantum shift in
performance in a company that has to date only achieved modest levels of sales growth.
Acceptability – as a family owned business the balance between risk and return is an important one. The family to date has
been ‘happy’ with a modest rate of growth and modest return in terms of profits. The other significant stakeholder group is
the professional managers headed up by Richard Smith. They seem much more growth orientated and may be happier with
the risks that the growth strategy entails. The family members seem more interested in the manufacturing side than the
retailing side of the business and their bad previous experiences with growing the business through international market
development may mean they are risk averse and less willing to invest the necessary resources.
Feasibility – again this is linked to how ‘leading brand’ is defined. If as seems likely the brand becomes more widely known
through increasing the number of company owned ice cream stores then a significant investment in retail outlets will be
necessary. Increasing the number of franchised outlets will reduce the financial resources required but may be at the expense
of the brand’s reputation. Certainly there would seem to be a need for increased levels of advertising and promotion –
particularly to gain access to the ice cream cabinets in the supermarket chains. This is likely to mean an increase in the
number of sales and marketing staff. Equally important will be the ability to develop and launch new products in a luxury
market shaped by impulse buying and customers looking to indulge themselves.
Overall, becoming the leading brand of premium ice cream may well be the key to achieving the desired presence in the
supermarket ice cream cabinets, which in turn is a pre-requisite for increasing company sales to ￡25 million. So the three
strategic goals may be regarded as consistent and compatible with one another. However each strategic goal will have to be
broken down into its key elements. For example in achieving sales of ￡25 million what proportion of sales will come from its
own ice cream stores and what proportion from other outlets including the supermarkets? Sales to date of Churchill ice cream
are dominated by impulse purchases but in achieving sales of ￡25 million penetrating the take home market will be essential.
Finally, what proportion of these take home sales will be under the supermarkets own label brands? Over reliance on own
label sales will seriously weaken Churchill’s desire to become the leading national brand of premium ice cream. It looks to
be an ambitious but attainable strategy but will require a significant planning effort to develop the necessary resources andcapabilities vital to successful implementation of the strategy.

正确答案：
(b) It is important to note that there is nothing in the nature of the activities carried out by HR staff and departments that prevents
outsourcing being looked at as a serious option. Indeed, amongst larger companies the outsourcing of some parts of the HR
function is already well under way, with one source estimating that HR outsourcing is growing by 27% each year. Paul,
therefore, needs to look at the HR activities identified above and assess the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing a
particular HR activity. Outsourcing certain parts of the recruitment process has long been accepted, with professional
recruitment agencies and ‘head-hunters’ being heavily involved in the advertising and short listing of candidates for senior
management positions. Some HR specialists argue that outsourcing much of the routine personnel work, including
maintaining employees’ records, frees the HR specialist to make a real contribution to the strategic planning process. One
study argues that ‘HR should become a partner with senior and line managers in strategy execution’.
If Paul is able to outsource the routine HR activities this will free him to contribute to the development of the growth strategy
and the critical people needs that strategy will require. In many ways the HR specialist is in a unique position to assess current
skills and capabilities of existing staff and the extent to which these can be ‘leveraged’ to achieve the desired strategy. In
Hamel and Prahalad’s terms this strategy is likely to ‘stretch’ the people resources of the company and require the recruitment
of additional staff with the relevant capabilities. Paul needs to show how long it will take to develop the necessary staff
resources as this will significantly influence the time needed to achieve the growth strategy.
Outsourcing passes on to the provider the heavy investment needed if the company sets up its own internal HR services with
much of this investment now going into web-based systems. The benefits are reduced costs and improved service quality.
The downside is a perceived loss of control and a reduced ability to differentiate the HR function from that of competitors.
Issues of employee confidentiality are also relevant in the decision to outsource.

正确答案：
(b) Franchising is typically seen as a quick and cost effective way of growing the business but Ramon should be aware of both
the advantages and disadvantages of using it as the preferred method of growth. Franchised chains are argued to benefit from
the sort of brand recognition and economies of scale not enjoyed by independent owner/managers. When combined with the
high levels of motivation normally associated with owner/managed businesses, franchises can be argued to get the best of
both worlds.
Franchising is defined as ‘a contractual agreement between two legally independent companies whereby the franchisor grants
the right to the franchisee to sell the franchisor’s product or do business under its trademarks in a given location for a specified
period of time. In return, the franchisee agrees to pay the franchisor a combination of fees, usually including an up-front
franchise fee, royalties calculated as a percentage of unit revenues, and an advertising conbribution that is also usually a
percentage of unit sales.’
Ramon is considering a type of franchising called ‘business-format franchising’, where the franchisor sells a way of doing
business to its franchisees. Business-format franchising is a model frequently found in the fast food and restaurant industry,
hotels and motels, construction and maintenance, and non-food retailing. Often these franchises are labour intensive and
relatively small-scale operations.
Franchising is seen as a safer alternative to growing the business organically, so while this may be true of well established
global franchises, failure rates among franchised small businesses were greater than those of independent businesses (in one
US study a 34·7% failure rate for franchises as opposed to 28·0% for independents over a six or seven year period). Often
it is the failure of the franchisor that brings down its franchisees. Failure stems from the franchisee not only having to rely on
their own skills and enthusiasm but also the capacity of the franchisor and other franchisees to make the overall operation
work.
The advantages to the franchisee are through gaining access to a well-regarded brand name that will generate a higher level
of demand and use of a tried and tested business model that should reduce the franchisee’s operating costs. Both of these
benefits stem from being a member of a well-established franchised system. Yet La Familia Amable along with many other
franchises will be new and small. These smaller franchises tend to be regional in scope, and fairly unknown outside their
regional market. This has a significant effect on what the franchisees can expect to gain from their franchisors and their
prospects of success. Both parties need to carefully assess the strengths and weaknesses of the system. Companies growing
via franchises need to take the time to understand their business model thoroughly and determine how franchising fits with
their long-term strategy. Care must be taken with the franchise agreement that creates a genuine partnership with the rightbalance between freedom and control over the franchisees.

正确答案：
(d) One of the most widely used models to identify excellence is that of Peters and Waterman developed in their research into
excellent American companies. Interestingly, they agreed with Leavitt in that the companies identified as excellent, whether
they were manufacturers or service businesses, could be seen as offering an excellent service to their customers. This required
them to understand what their customers really valued and then put in place the resources, competences and decision making
processes that delivered the desired attributes. Excellence was positively associated with innovation. Using their checklist of
excellent attributes, Universal could see to be excellent in the following ways:
A bias for action – there is evidence to suggest that both Matthew and Simon are action orientated. They showed an admirable
willingness to experiment and develop a service that added significant value to the customer experience.
Hands-on, value driven – again, the commitment to deliver a quality service – one that they are totally familiar with and able
to deliver themselves – suggests that this value is communicated and shared with staff. The use of self employed installers
and sales people make this commitment particularly important.
Close to the customer – all the evidence points to a real and deep understanding of customer needs. The opportunity for the
business stems from the poor customer service provided by their small competitors. Systems are designed to achieve the ‘no
surprises’ service, which leads to significant levels of customer recommendation and advocacy.
Autonomy and entrepreneurship – there is evidence of a strong belief that individuals and teams should be encouraged to
compete with one another, but not in ways that compromise the quality of the service delivered.
Simple form. – lean staff – Universal is a small functionally managed firm. There is no evidence of creating a large
headquarters, since managers are closely involved with the day-to-day management of their function.
Productivity through people – people are key to the service provided and there is recognition that teams are crucial to the
firm’s growth and success.
Simultaneous loose-tight properties – more difficult to identify in a small company, but there is clearly commitment to shared
values and giving people the freedom to achieve results within this value framework.
These measures of excellence again show the importance of ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ factors in achieving outstanding performance.
An alternative interpretation is to see these attributes as critical success factors, which if achieved, are clearly linked to key
performance indicators. Universal’s growth shows the link between strategy and the qualities needed to achieve this growth.
The ubiquitous balanced scorecard could also be used to measure four key criteria of company performance and
benchmarking the company against the major installers could also provide evidence of excellence. The recent gaining of a
government award for Universal’s contribution to inner city job creation is also a useful indicator of all round excellence.

正确答案：
(c) Assessment of three risks
Disruption and resistance by Stop-the-dam. Stop-the-dam seems very determined to delay and disrupt progress as much as
possible. The impact of its activity can be seen on two levels. It is likely that the tunnelling and other ‘human’ disruption will
cause a short-term delay but the more significant impact is that of exposing the lenders. In terms of probability, the case says
that it ‘would definitely be attempting to resist the Giant Dam Project when it started’ but the probability of exposing the
lenders is a much lower probability event if the syndicate membership is not disclosed.
Impact/hazard: low
Probability/likelihood: high
The risk to progress offered by First Nation can probably be considered to be low impact/hazard but high probability. The case
says that it ‘would be unlikely to disrupt the building of the dam’, meaning low impact/hazard, but that ‘it was highly likely
that they would protest’, meaning a high level of probability that the risk event would occur.
Impact: low
Probability: high
There are financing risks as banks seems to be hesitant when it comes to lending to R&M for the project. Such a risk event,
if realised, would have a high potential for disruption to progress as it may leave R&M with working capital financing
difficulties. The impact would be high because the bank may refuse to grant or extend loans if exposed (subject to existing
contractual terms). It is difficult to estimate the probability. Perhaps there will be a range of attitudes by the lending banks
with some more reticent than others (perhaps making it a ‘medium’ probability event).
Impact: medium to high (depending on the reaction of the bank)
Probability: low to medium (depending on how easy it would be to discover the lender)

正确答案：
(c) (i) Organic Foods Ltd (OFL) with a market share of 6·66% is the market leader at 30 November 2005 and is forecast to
have a market share of 8% by 30 November 2007. Operating profits appear to be healthy and therefore it seems
reasonable to regard OFL as a current ‘strength’ of Diverse Holdings Plc. This is supported by the fact that OFL has built
up a very good reputation as a supplier of quality produce.
Haul Trans Ltd was acquired on 1 December 2005 and has a demonstrable record of recent profitability. It is noticeable
that the profitability of HTL is forecast to increase by 40% (excluding inflation) during its first two years of ownership.
No one organisation appears to dominate the market. Forecast profits are expected to grow significantly from an almost
static turnover and thus more information is required regarding how this increase in profitability is to be achieved.
Management may have identified opportunities for achieving significant cost savings and/or forming business
relationships with new and more profitable customers, while ceasing to service those customers who are less profitable.
Kitchen Appliances Ltd (KAL) has been identified as both a weakness and threat. KAL’s market is slowly contracting,
but its share is falling more quickly. It was almost the market leader at 30 November 2005. Judging by its fall in the
level of operating profit KAL is carrying heavy fixed costs which must make it more difficult to compete. Indeed, it is
forecast to make a loss during the year ending 30 November 2007. KAL has suffered from squeezed margins as a
consequence of competition from low cost imports. The situation may be further exacerbated as competition from abroad
intensifies.
Paper Supplies Ltd (PSL) has stood still in a growing market, one which is dominated by a single supplier. PSL appears
to be struggling to achieve any growth in turnover, profits and therefore cash flow. PSL cannot really compete with a
narrow range of products and only two customers.
Office Products Ltd (OPL) is growing but appears unable to increase its operating profit in % terms. It appears to be
operating in a high-growth market but unable to achieve a reasonable market share in spite of the fact that its products
are highly regarded by health and safety experts.

正确答案：
(a) To: Board of directors
From: Management Accountant
Date: 8 June 2007
The potential benefits of the adoption of a balanced scorecard approach to performance measurement within GER are as
follows:
A broader business perspective
Financial measures invariably have an inward-looking perspective. The balanced scorecard is wider in its scope and
application. It has an external focus and looks at comparisons with competitors in order to establish what constitutes best
practice and ensures that required changes are made in order to achieve it. The use of the balanced scorecard requires a
balance of both financial and non-financial measures and goals.
A greater strategic focus
The use of the balanced scorecard focuses to a much greater extent on the longer term. There is a far greater emphasis on
strategic considerations. It attempts to identify the needs and wants of customers and the new products and markets. Hence
it requires a balance between short term and long term performance measures.
A greater focus on qualitative aspects
The use of the balanced scorecard attempts to overcome the over-emphasis of traditional measures on the quantifiable aspects
of the internal operations of an organisation expressed in purely financial terms. Its use requires a balance between
quantitative and qualitative performance measures. For example, customer satisfaction is a qualitative performance measure
which is given prominence under the balanced scorecard approach.
A greater focus on longer term performance
The use of traditional financial measures is often dominated by financial accounting requirements, for example, the need to
show fixed assets at their historic cost. Also, they are primarily focused on short-term profitability and return on capital
employed in order to gain stakeholder approval of short term financial reports, the longer term or whole life cycle often being
ignored.
The limitations of a balanced scorecard approach to performance measurement may be viewed as follows:
The balanced scorecard attempts to identify the chain of cause and effect relationships which will provide the stimulus for
the future success of an organisation.
Advocates of a balanced scorecard approach to performance measurement suggest that it can constitute a vital component
of the strategic management process.
However, Robert Kaplan and David Norton, the authors of the balanced scorecard concept concede that it may not be suitable
for all firms. Norton suggests that it is most suitable for firms which have a long lead time between management action and
financial benefit and that it will be less suitable for firms with a short-term focus. However, other flaws can be detected in
the balanced scorecard.
The balanced scorecard promises to outline the theory of the firm by clearly linking the driver/outcome measures in a cause
and effect chain, but this will be difficult if not impossible to achieve.
The precise cause and effect relationships between measures for each of the perspectives on the balanced scorecard will be
complex because the driver and outcome measures for the various perspectives are interlinked. For example, customer
satisfaction may be seen to be a function of several drivers, such as employee satisfaction, manufacturing cycle time and
quality. However, employee satisfaction may in turn be partially driven by customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction
may partially drive manufacturing cycle time. A consequence of this non-linearity of the cause and effect chain (i.e., there is
non-linear relationship between an individual driver and a single outcome measure), is that there must be a question mark
as to the accuracy of any calculated correlations between driver and outcome measures. Allied to this point, any calculated
correlations will be historic. This implies that it will only be possible to determine the accuracy of cause and effect linkages
after the event, which could make the use of the balanced scorecard in dynamic industries questionable. If the market is
undergoing rapid evolution, for example, how meaningful are current measures of customer satisfaction or market share?
These criticisms do not necessarily undermine the usefulness of the balanced scorecard in presenting a more comprehensive
picture of organisational performance but they do raise doubts concerning claims that a balanced scorecard can be
constructed which will outline a clear cause and effect chain between driver and outcome measures and the firm’s financial
objectives.

正确答案：
(ii) Disadvantages of an EVA approach to the measurement of financial performance include:
(i) The calculation of EVA may be complicated due to the number of adjustments required.
(ii) It is difficult to use EVA for inter-firm and inter-divisional comparisons because it is not a ratio measure.
(iii) Economic depreciation is difficult to estimate and conflicts with generally accepted accounting principles.
Note: Other relevant discussion would be acceptable.

参考答案：

●Embodies the principle of fairness and justice.

●Regularization of educational models and ease of operation.

●Train students to master super leaning and imitation ability.

●Deny the students' individuality, and classify them without teaching.

●The content of teaching is one sided and the pursuit of profit is blind.

● General attention is paid to Chinese, maths and English.