贵州省考生：ACCA考试怎么样才算成功正确的打印了准考证呢？

正确答案：
(c) (i) Protection products
Henry is still working and has a mortgage to support. He therefore needs to protect not only his assets but also cover
any debt, or the ability to repay. The following protection policies are relevant to Henry’s situation.
Life assurance
This is a form. of insurance that pays out on a chargeable event, usually death. The main types are:
– Term Assurance which provides cover for a fixed term with the sum assured payable only on death. No investment
benefits or payments arise on survival.
– Whole of Life Assurance where the policy provides life protection. The sum assured is payable on death at any time
and usually some form. of investment benefit will accrue in the form. of a surrender value.
A qualifying policy will give a tax-free lump sum that could, for example, be used to repay the mortgage.
Permanent health insurance
Permanent health insurance policies are designed to provide the policyholder with a benefit if s/he is unable to work
through sickness or if s/he needs medical expenses or long-term care.
This would provide Henry with an income in the event of illness – again useful given his mortgage, and would avoid
the need to liquidate other assets to pay the mortgage or ongoing costs.
Critical illness insurance
These policies provide a capital sum where a critical illness (from a large range listed in the policy) is diagnosed.
For the same reasons above, Henry should consider this in conjunction with permanent health insurance.
Note: Marks will also be given for other relevant protection products, e.g. specific mortgage protection insurance linked
to an event other than death.

正确答案：
(c) The Shirtmaster Group has decided to structure itself using two divisions who are dealing with very different markets,
customers and buying behaviours. In so doing the intention is to provide more value to the customer through a better
understanding of their needs. The existence of the two divisions also reflects the origins of the two family businesses.
Mintzberg in his work on organisation design and structure sees divisional configurations as being appropriate in relatively
simple and static environments where significant strategic power is delegated from the ‘strategic apex’ to the ‘middle line‘
general managers with responsibility for the performance of the division. Indeed one of the benefits cited for divisionalised
companies is their ability to provide a good training ground in strategic decision making for general managers who can then
progress to senior positions at company headquarters. Tony Masters’s reluctance to delegate real strategic decision making
power to the senior managers in the Shirtmaster division may be preventing those managers developing key managerial skills.
Using the Boston Box model one could classify the Shirtmaster division as a ‘dog’ with low market share in a market exhibiting
change but little growth. The Corporate Clothing division, by contrast, can be regarded as a ‘problem child’ having a small
share but of a growing market. Porter’s ‘better-off test’ needs to be met – are the two divisions better off being in the same
Group? As it stands there seems little synergy between the two divisions – there seems to be little evidence of the two divisions
sharing resources or transferring skills or learning between the two divisions. Their two value chains and systems are both
separate and different though on the face of it there are many activities that are similar. Operating independently may
encourage healthy competition between the two divisions and consequently better performance through better motivated staff.
Specialised competences such as Corporate Clothing division’s on-line response to customer orders and design changes are
more easily developed within a divisionalised structure. Performance can be clearly identified and controlled and resources
channelled to those areas showing potential. However, this may be at the expense of costly duplication of resources and an
inability to get the necessary scale to compete in either of their separate markets. Certainly, the lack of co-operation betweenthe divisions in areas such as information systems may lead to higher costs and poorer performance.

正确答案：
(c) Matthew has set ambitious growth goals for the 2005–7 period in his quest to become ‘unquestioned leader’ in their region
and to roll out the model nationally. Clearly there are choices to be made in terms of implementing the strategy and much of
the success of the strategy will depend on the extent to which appropriate resources, structure and systems are in place to
facilitate growth. Many alternative models consider how strategy is implemented, but one of the most popular is the McKinsey
7S model in which the 7S’s are strategy, structure, systems (the so called ‘hard’ or tangible variables) and staff, style, skills
and shared values (the ‘soft’ or less tangible variables). The 7S model has a number of key assumptions built into it. Normally
we tend to think of strategy being the first variable in the strategic management process, with all other variables dependent
on the chosen strategy. However, Peters and Waterman argue that the assertion, for instance, that a firm’s structure follows
from its strategy ignores the fact that a particular structure may equally influence the strategy chosen. If we have a simple
functional structure, this may severely limit the ability of the firm to move or diversify into other areas of business. Equally
important is to understand the linkages between the variables, just as with the value chain, recognising if you change one of
the variables you then have to see the consequences for each of the other variables.
Our earlier analysis will have provided us with an understanding of the strategy being pursued by Universal. It is now looking
to offer its service to other parts of the country and become a national provider. In strategy terms, this is a process of growth
by way of market development, with the same service in different regions or markets. Universal’s experience is dominated by
operating in one region and the consequences of moving into new regions should not be underestimated. There are interesting
examples of companies having conspicuous success in their home territory but finding competition and customer relationships
very different outside their home market, even in the same country.
Matthew has already recognised the need to create a new structure to handle the growth strategy. This is ‘growth by
geographic expansion’ and while it may be the most simple growth strategy to control and co-ordinate, the creation of regional
centres managing the sales and installations in the region will add an additional level of administration and complexity.
This structural change will have significant implications for the systems employed by the company. Development of a national
operation will necessitate new methods of communication and reporting. Customer service levels depend on the management
information systems available. There is an opportunity for the new regions to benchmark themselves against the home region.
Efficient systems lie at the heart of Universal’s ability to offer a higher value added service to the customer. Standardised
processes have allowed a ‘no surprises’ policy to be successfully implemented. The extent to which the same business models
can be simply repeated in region after region will have to be tested. There is little mention of IT systems, but the pace of
expansion should be closely linked to the system’s ability to cope with increased demands.
Staff – reference has been made earlier to Universal being a people business, able to deliver a better quality of service to the
customer. The heavy reliance on self-employed staff means that a very active recruitment and training process will have to
be in place as Universal moves into different regions. New layers and levels of management will have implications for the
recruitment and development of both managers and staff reporting to them. The degrees of autonomy given to each of the
regions will materially affect the way they operate. Reward systems clearly link both staff and systems dimensions and there
is need to ensure that the right number and calibre of staff are recruited to expand the market coverage. Does Universal have
a staffing model that is easily ‘rolled’ out into other regions?
Equally important are any changes to the skill set needed by staff to operate nationally. Matthew feels that the model is
relatively lowly skilled with staff controlled through standardised systems. However, change is inevitable and the recruitment
and retention of staff in a labour intensive service will be key to success.
Universal is very much a family business dominated by the two founding brothers. Even with expansion being entirely within
their local region the rate of growth to a ￡6 million turnover business predicted to treble in size over the next three years, will
necessitate changes in the style. of management. Time management issues amongst the owner-managers have already begun
to emerge and a move from involvement with day-to-day management to a more strategic role is needed. Certainly growth to
date has been more emergent than planned, but vision and planning will be equally necessary as the firm operates nationally.
There are tensions for Matthew in making sure that his change in role and responsibilities does not result in him becoming
remote from his management and staff. Communication of the core values of the company will become even more necessary
and communication is key to managing the growth process.
The 7S’s is not the only model that will be useful in understanding the problems of implementing the growth strategy.
Greiner’s growth model has merit in drawing attention to the stages a growing business following an organic growth strategy
can expect to go through. Johnson and Scholes now refer to strategic implementation as ‘strategy in action’ made up of three
key activities, structuring an organisation to support successful performance. Universal’s move from a regional to a national
company will call for different structures and relationships. Enabling links the particular strengths and competences, built
round separate resource areas, to be combined to support the strategy – which in turn recognises and builds on identified
strengths. Finally, growth strategies will involve change and the management of the change process. They argue that change
will involve the need to change day-to-day routines and cultural aspects of the firm, together with overcoming resistance to
change.
All too often, a company grows at a rate which exceeds the capacity to implement the necessary change. This can expose
the firm to high levels of risk. Growth pressures can stimulate positive change and innovation, but in companies such as
Universal where considerable stress is placed on performance, targets and quality may be a casualty. Equally concerning is
if the rate of growth exceeds the capacity to invest in more people and technology. Growing the people and the systems isalmost a prerequisite to growing the business.