HND大综合1答案

1.有关的知识: product line; product items; product positioning; product life cycle;可能的优势：coherent连贯grouping of products within one market (drinks)---can help to gain economies of scale in promotion and operations, build managerial expertise etc; Targeted at a number of different markets(eg orangina, Tizer); range of different product lines and items—some have a very clear identity (eg Irn-Bru)缺点：many are at the mature stage of the product life cycle; soft drinks is a rapidly changing market and new brands may be important (Barr’s may be finding it hard to develop new brands—its own brands are well-established and its franchises are in a static market(Orangina), or not well-know in the UK(Lipton Ice Tea).Part(b) 有关的知识：Price elasticity of demand; promotional methods; product life cycle; market research. Price elasticity may influence Barr’s in that it can lead to attempts to enhance brand loyalty so that price elasticity is reduced which, in turn, curtail the impact on sales of a change in price. There are many examples in the case study of attempts to develop brand loyalty, eg Irn-Bru, Tizer2. Relevant concepts: systems approach; stakeholders; government economic policy; users of financial information. Answers should use examples to show how Barr’s has reacted to feedback from its environment and how it has tried to influence it. Answers should analyse the process by which Barr’s interacts in each case. Possible example include: use of government. Assistance when entering the Russian market(and discussion of market failure); threats to or angina franchise; changing promotional methods to make use of the internet; currency fluctuations and the knock-on effects; ASA and possible public reaction to Barr’s . Answers which consist of a series of examples with no analysis should get a maximum of seven marks.3. （a）Relevant concepts: stakeholder; purpose of financial information; management control; organizational goals; objectives and policy; demand. Fidelity buys shares so that the dividends from them can be distributed to holders of its units. The information which it needs will depend on its organizational goals, eg: the degree of risk it is willing to take. These are not given so it is not easy to say which information will be valuable. Howeven, it may include: franchise agreements (eg when they start and end as this may influence Barr’s earnings); ASA adjudications which may affect the demand for Barr’s products; investments in new machinery(influence extent to which Barr’s is competitive); promotional campaigns(influence demand for product); dividends(because this will influence earning that it gets and how much it can pay its unit holders). Provide a reasoned argument which explains the link between the information and its value to Fidelity.（b）Relevant concepts: Stakeholder; strategies of control; organizational goals, objectives and policy; formal organization; users of financial information; purposes of information ; sources of relevant information. Answers should make it clear which item of information has been chosen, eg profit after tax. For fidelity, this could be used to monitor whether it has invested in terms of its objectives(eg these may relate to companies which have stable earnings), whether it has a suitable share profile across several companies; whether previous share purchasing decisions should be reviewed. Barr’s could use it to monitor the year on year progress of the company, to monitor the effectiveness of its profit sharing scheme. A reasoned argument which explains the link between the item information and control in the two companies.4.Relevant concepts: market demand; internal and external environment; goals; purpose and analysis of financial statements; sources of finance; product mix marketing mix; product life cycle;promotion.Possible advantage of concluding another partnership agreement include: variation of product portfolio; increase in market penetration (hence improved economies of scale); reduction of uncertainty about ending of current agreements; develop product at start of life cycle(like Lipton Ice Tea); updating of brands; chances of improved profitability; opening up new markets(if develop overseas markets). Possible disadvantage of concluding another partnership agreement include: need to obtain finance to support promotion of new product; Barr’s is a relatively small company and could spread its overstretched; the company may divert attention from efforts to build its own new brands such as Simply Citrus; may be problems in getting a strong brand(relatively small number of internationally known soft drinks and Barr’s may be unable to secure a deal with a brand without meeting a conflict of interest).5.Relevant concepts: Alternative forms of structure; pupose of financial statements; marketing mix; formal organization; stakeholders.Reasons why structure may be effective include: clear differentiation of responsibility(eg between finance and marketing) which, for barr’s, are quite distinct—finance is maintaining control on costs etc, while marketing is about creating an impact; finance may be able to adjudicate between competing spending demands of operations and marketing; Barr’s is traditional company with traditional values and this may fit well with a traditional structure(contingency); keeping marketing separate can allow it to develop new approaches as it has done. Reasons why structure may be less effective include: could inhibit change(there is not a lot of evidence of this although the appointment of two new young directors suggests that the company may need to develop more quickly than it has); may lead to empire building and conflict between two functions, especially as marketing in soft drink is expensive; an alternative structure(eg base on brands or product lines) may help Barr’s to set priorities for future development and make sure the organization of the company reflects its commitment to brands; a brand based structure could help ensure funds are allocated in a way that aligns more closely with the requirements of marketing each brand, which may be less easy to do in the current structure.6.(a) Relevant concepts: demand; promotion. Possible factors include: price (the soft drinks market is sensitive to price as the problem with the Euro shows); tastes and fashion (for some products like Tizer these seem very important as it has be relented several times in recent years); prices of other products (see the Euro example); weather (dip in profits in 2002); advertising and promotion (this is vital in influencing tastes and marking people aware of Barr’s products, eg Irn-Bru sponsorships).(b) Relevant concepts: demand; analysis of financial statements. Ways be which these factor Barr’s financial situation include: promotion may increase demand which can feed through into higher sales and profits; price of other goods may lead to reduced demand or force a reduction in price to maintain sales levels—this can lead to knock-on effects on sales revenue and costs, both of which may affect profits; weather conditions may affect cash flow if sales are more or less than anticipated.(c) Predicting effect of promotional activity. Award one mark for each relevant point plus up to one additional mark for development and/ or examples from the case study. Up to two marks may be given for a correct supply and demand diagram. An answer which does not have a diagram should get a maximum of four marks. If Barr’s are aware of the demand for its products, it can look at what may happen if any one changes. This is because a change in all, except price, willlead to a shift in the demand curve. A simple supply and demand diagram can illustrate the effect of shift in a demand curve to the left (a fall in demand) or to the right (a rise in demand)7.Relevant concepts: market demand; internal and external environment; goals; purpose and analysis of financial statements; sources of finance; product mix marketing mix; product life cycle, promotion. Possible advantage include: company has a clear focus on solf drinks; well-established company with a good reputation especially in Scotland; company has a good profit and dividend record; company has a net inflow of cash in the most recent financial year and should have money for investment; company has a record of investing in its brands, its operations; well-motivated staff; it has built a reputation for innovative advertising.Possible disadvantages include: company is in a highly competitive market and is vulnerable because it is small; its most well-known brands are in the mature stage of the product life cycle; it is heavily dependent on carbonated soft drinks—it has a water product but this is small; its main market is in Scotland and is likely to be hard—getting established in England is taking a long time and the company has few other markets; franchising is an inherently risky operation and is short term. Answer should give reason to explain exactly why a particular factor could be an advantage. Candidates who explicitly recognize, and explain, that a factor like the string Scottish base is both an advantage and a disadvantage should be given credit.Part(b) Relevant concepts: market demand; internal and external environment; goals; purpose and analysis of financial statements; sources of finance; product mix marketing mix; product life cycle, promotion. Some possible actions include: finding way to re-invigorate the product mix of yhe company( which relies heavily on Irn-Bru); the company does seem very traditional but this may be part of its success, so Roger white may have to find ways to retain the benefits of the old style family business but make sure it can continue to compete; prepare for the ending of the Or angina franchise in 2007(this product appeals to adults and is good for this reason but its market is static); develop new markets for Irn-Bru (progress in England is forward but slow so other markets like Russia maybe worth developing).。