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正确答案：
(b) There are a number of potential problems which the directors of HFG need to recognise. These are as follows:
(i) There needs to exist a sufficient incentive for SFO to share their information with HFG as the success of any
benchmarking programme is dependent upon obtaining accurate information about the comparator organisation. This is
not an easy task to accomplish, as many organisations are reluctant to reveal confidential information to competitors.
The directors of HFG must be able to convince the directors of SFO that entering into a benchmarking arrangement is a
potential ‘win-win situation’.
(ii) The value of the exercise must be sufficient to justify the cost involved. Also, it is inevitable that behavioural issues will
need to be addressed in any benchmarking programme. Management should give priority to the need to communicate
the reasons for undertaking a programme of benchmarking in order to gain the full co-operation of its personnel whilst
reducing the potential level of resistance to change.
(iii) Management need to handle the ethical implications relating to the introduction of benchmarking in a sensitive manner
and should endeavour, insofar as possible, to provide reassurance to employees that their status, remuneration and
working conditions will not suffer as a consequence of the introduction of any benchmarking initiatives.

正确答案：
(d) Many academic studies, together with actual managerial experience, point to the post-acquisition integration phase as being
the key to an acquirer achieving their acquisition objectives. In particular, the creation (or destruction) of shareholder value
rests most heavily on the success of the integration phase, which in turn helps determine whether the acquirer has chosen
the ‘right’ target company and paid the right price for it. One source strongly argues that the capability to manage the
integration of the two organisational sturctures, in particular the conversion of information systems and retention and
motivation of key employees, determines how much value can be extracted from the combined entities. The ability to manage
the integration process will therefore affect the success of the prior phases of the acquisition process – the search for and
screening of potential candidates, the effective carrying out of due diligence, financial evaluation and successful negotiation
of the deal.
Unfortunately, the failure to develop the necessary integration skills dooms many firms to continued failure with their
acquisitions, though some firms are conspicuously successful in developing such a capability and they gain significant
competitive advantage over their less successful competitors and create value for the stakeholders. One explanation for this
conspicuous inability to learn from past acquisition experience, compared with other activities in the value chain, lies with
their infrequency and variety. ‘No acquisition is like another.’ Much of the difficulty however lies in the complex

interrelationship and interdependency between the activities being integrated and a consequent difficulty of knowing what is
causing performance problems. Thus, it is no good communicating all the positives to the customer if there is a failure to
retain and motivate the sales force. To this complexity of integrating different processes is added the problem of developing
appropriate measures of and accurate monitoring of the integration processes. In one study of US bank acquirers, only 40%
had developed specific performance measures for the systems conversion process, despite the critical importance of systems
integration to efficient operation of the combined banks. Key performance indicators need to be set in the areas previously
identified as offering major opportunities for synergies. These synergies will affect both the cost and revenue side of the
business. Real cost reductions are clearly a major reason for the proposed acquisition in view of the competitive environment
faced. Equally relevant are appropriate measures of customer service. Each area will need appropriate key performance
indicators showing priorities and relevant timescales for achievement.
Therefore, there is a critical need to learn from previous experience and the relationship between decisions made, actions
taken and performance outcomes. This knowledge and experience needs to be effectively recorded and shared. It can then
influence the earlier phases of the acquisition referred to above, thus leading to a virtuous circle of better integration and
acquisitions that actually enhance value. In so doing, acquisitions can lead to faster growth and better performance.

正确答案：
(c) The usefulness of activity-based techniques is accentuated in situations where overheads comprise a significant proportion of
product costs. Manufacturing overheads comprise 30·9% of turnover during the year ended 31 May 2005. Traditional
methods of allocating overheads to products might result in product cost information which is misleading and detrimental to
managerial decision-making. Calculations of product costs are more prone to error in situations where higher levels of
overhead exist. The consequences can prove disastrous as, for example, in the under-pricing or over-pricing of products.
Since Taliesin Ltd is going to confine its activities to its home country it must be prepared to face increased competition and
this increases the need for greater visibility and more accurate product cost information.
At present, Taliesin Ltd offers a range of products which is increasing in number and this may lead to the need for a more
detailed costing system. Traditional absorption systems might well be inadequate as the number of product variants increases.
One would expect that each new product developed is more complex than its predecessors. The company would probably
start with simple Vanilla, then a few basic flavours but as Taliesin Ltd has expanded one would expect it to take longer to
originate and test new products until they are ready to be introduced. It will probably take longer to mix the ingredients for a
run of each product.
These two, development and mixing ingredients, are examples of activities which arise when new products are considered.
If traditional absorption costing and budgeting are used based on machine-time in production then the effect of these activities
would be ignored.
In order to gain a full appreciation of the impact of new product introduction activity-based techniques should be used to
guide Taliesin Ltd into the easiest way to maintain its policy of growth. It may be a better decision to expand abroad or into
new markets at home with the existing products than pursue growth by introducing new products to a dwindling number of
customers.
We are not told of the composition of the customer base of Taliesin Ltd. However, one thing we do know is that the scope of
activity-based techniques extends beyond products and services. For example, the application of activity-based costing can
provide vital information that enables management to undertake customer profitability analysis, thereby further improving
management decision-making and operating performance.