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New Ideas Company (NIC) was launched early this year as a result of a scientific breakthrough at a university. The company was located in a relatively small regional city, some distance from the main centres of population. Because the initial capital needed was large, the scientists behind the company decided to float the company on the stock exchange and the take up of shares was very good. This meant that the initial capital needs were fully funded. The business itself was highly technical, with many shareholders only weakly understanding the science behind the company. Upon reading the share prospectus, some analysts believed that NIC was a relatively risky business and that it could fail within two years unless a very good management team, including suitable non-executive directors (ideally locally based), was in place.
None of the scientists involved in NIC had any experience of business before and had to learn about the roles of a board and how to effectively run a company. Dr Ranjana Foo, the lead scientist who made the scientific discovery, was thought to be the logical person to become chief executive but she herself questioned her suitability for the role. She said she was happiest working alone and in the quiet environment of her laboratory, and was not inclined to invest valuable time learning about running a business as she was not good at relating to a wide range of people.
Colleagues said of Ranjana that, being a good scientist, she was excellent at detail but sometimes struggled to see the bigger picture on a project. Always popular, however, Ranjana liked to think that all of her colleagues liked her and she tended to avoid confrontation and conflict wherever possible.
One potential director of NIC was an experienced local businessman, Dr Idris. Upon being approached about the position, he said that he may have a conflict of interest because he was a major shareholder in one of the potential suppliers of the capital equipment which NIC would be purchasing.
Required:
(a) Assess Ranjana Foo’s suitability to become chief executive officer (CEO) of New Ideas Company (NIC). Your answer should include an explanation of the roles and personal qualities of a CEO. (10 marks)
(b) Explain the benefits, specifically to NIC, of the appointment of ‘suitable non-executive directors’ and discuss the difficulties which the company may encounter in non-executive recruitment. (9 marks)
(c) Explain ‘conflict of interest’ and briefly discuss how a major shareholding in a potential supplier could be a conflict of interest to Dr Idris were he to become a director of NIC. (6 marks)
Section B – TWO questions ONLY to be attempted
The independent board of governors (an independent oversight body comprised of local residents, parents and other concerned citizens) of the state-funded Chambon school for 11–16 year old children met to consider its most recent set of public examination results. A key responsibility placed upon the school’s governors is the delivery, to its local government authority, of a report on exam performance in a full and timely manner. A report on both the exam results and the reasons for any improvement or deterioration over previous years are required from the governors each year. Accordingly, this annual meeting on exam performance was always considered to be very important. Although the school taught the national curriculum (a standard syllabus taught in all schools in the country) as required of it, the exam results at Chambon had deteriorated in recent years and on this particular occasion, they were very poor indeed. In order to address the weaknesses in the school, Chambon’s budget had increased in recent years and a number of new teachers had been employed to help improve results. Despite this, exam performance continued to fall. A recent overspend against budget was funded through the closure of part of the school library and the sale of a sports field.
One member of the board of governors was Sally Murol. She believed that the local government authority might attempt to close Chambon school if these exam results were reported with no convincing explanation. One solution to avoid this threat, she said, was to either send the report in late or to select only the best results and submit a partial report so the school’s performance looked better than it actually was. There is no central computerised exam results service in the country in which Chambon is located by which the local authority could establish the exam performance at Chambon school.
A general feeling of the governors’ meeting was that perhaps the school needed some new leadership and it was time to remove the existing headteacher. Mr Besse had been in the role for many years and his management style. was thought to be ineffective. He was widely liked by staff in the school because he believed that each teacher knew best how to manage their teaching, and so he tried not to intervene wherever possible. Mr Besse had sometimes disagreed with the governors when they suggested changes which could be made to improve exam performance, preferring to rely on what he believed were tried and tested ways of managing his teaching staff. He was thought to be very loyal to longstanding colleagues and had a dislike of confrontation.
Required:
(a) Explain, using evidence from the case, the characteristics which identify Chambon school as a public sector organisation and assess how its objectives as a public sector organisation have not been met. (10 marks)
(b) Explain the roles of a board of governors in the governance of Chambon school and discuss, in the context of Sally Murol’s suggestion, the importance of transparency in the board of governors dealings with the local government authority. (9 marks)
(c) Discuss the potential advantages to Chambon school of replacing the headteacher in seeking to address its problems. (6 marks)
The survey of more than 6,000managers and employees in 26 organizations in the U.S. and Canada showed that employees and managers felt their employers did a good job explaining their performance objectives and the way their performance is measured. They were unclear, though, about how performance was related to pay. Surprisingly, employees reported they knew more about stock options at their companies and how they are determined than how base pay is. However, the results showed that base pay knowledge plays a larger role in overall pay satisfaction than do other forms of compensation, such as bonuses. Employees who had higher levels of pay knowledge showed greater overall pay satisfaction, which, in turn, was linked to higher levels of retention(聘用), commitment to the company, and even trust in management. In other words, Heneman emphasizes, ensuring that employees understand their pay is good for a company’s bottom line.
He feels that corporate culture is often a major problem in dealing with the lack of pay knowledge among workers. In many companies, it is considered taboo—or even explicitly forbidden—to discuss matters dealing with salary. In lieu of (代替) disclosing actual pay amounts of employees to others within the company, management can provide more information about pay practices and policies, such as the process used to determine salary, and the average of raises in a particular year. Workers want more than generalities; they want to know how pay policies apply to their particular situation, Heneman points out. That often means managers need to sit down with their employees one-on-one.
21. What does the North American Survey mainly suggest？
A. If the employers make their pay policy known better, the company would get more in return.
B. If the employers make their pay policy known better, they would get pay raises and bonuses.
C. If the employees know more about the pay policy of the company, they would get more.
D. If the employees know more about the pay policy of the company, they would become one in the management.
22. The employers of many companies failed to ______.
A. explain what their performance objectives were
B. explain the way performance was measured
C. explain the way performance was related to pay
D. explain how performance was related to promotion
23. Which of the following is the most important factor in overall pay satisfaction？
A. Stock options.
B. Bonuses.
C. Corporate culture.
D. Base pay.
24. The employees who understand and are satisfied with their pay would ______.
A. be willing to remain in the bottom line
B. be willing to be loyal and dedicated to the company
C. be ensured that their pay is justified
D. be ensured that their employers are worthwhile
25. What can employers do to help their employees know better how pay is determined？
A. They can shatter the taboo by encouraging discussion about salary matters among the employees.
B. They can disclose pay amounts of employees to others within the company.
C. They can talk with individual employee about how pay policies apply to his particular situation.
D. They can tell all employees the total of raises in a particular year.
Section A – This ONE question is compulsory and MUST be attempted
Cheapkit is a large clothes retailer in a major developed country. Its business strategy is based around vigorous cost leadership and it prides itself on selling fashionable garments for men, women and children at very low prices compared to its main rivals. For many years, it has achieved this cost leadership through carefully sourcing its garments from developing countries where labour is cheaper and where workplace regulation is less than in its home country.
As a company with a complex international supply chain, the board of Cheapkit regularly reviews its risks. It has long understood that three risks are of particular concern to the Cheapkit shareholders: exchange rate risk, supply risk and international political risk. Each one is carefully monitored and the board receives regular briefings on each, with the board believing that any of them could be a potential source of substantial loss to the shareholders.
For the past decade or so, Cheapkit has bought in a substantial proportion of its supplies from Athland, a relatively poor developing country known for its low labour costs and weak regulatory controls. Last year, 65% of Cheapkit’s supplies came from this one country alone. Athland has a reputation for corruption, including government officials, although its workforce is known to be hard-working and reliable. Most employees in Athland’s garment industry are employed on ‘zero hours’ contracts, meaning that they are employed by the hour as they are needed and released with no pay when demand from customers like Cheapkit is lower.
Half of Cheapkit’s purchases from Athland are from Cornflower Company, a longstanding supplier to Cheapkit. Owned by the Fusilli brothers, Cornflower outgrew its previous factory and wished to build a new manufacturing facility in Athland for which permission from the local government authority was required. In order to gain the best location for the new factory and to hasten the planning process, the Fusilli brothers paid a substantial bribe to local government officials.
The Fusilli brothers at Cornflower felt under great pressure from Cheapkit to keep their prices low and so they sought to reduce overall expenditure including capital investments. Because the enforcement of building regulations was weak in Athland, the officials responsible for building quality enforcement were bribed to provide a weak level of inspection when construction began, thereby allowing the brothers to avoid the normal Athland building regulations. In order to save costs, inferior building materials were used which would result in a lower total capital outlay as well as a faster completion time. In order to maximise usable floor space, the brothers were also able to have the new building completed without the necessary number of escape doors or staff facilities. In each case, bribes were paid to officials to achieve the outcomes the Fusilli brothers wanted.
Once manufacturing began in the new building, high demand from Cheapkit meant that Cornflower was able to increase employment in the facility. Although, according to Athland building regulations, the floor area could legally accommodate a maximum of 500 employees, over 1,500 were often working in the building in order to fulfil orders from overseas customers including Cheapkit.
After only two years of normal operation, the new Cornflower building collapsed with the loss of over 1,000 lives. Collapsing slowly at first, the number of people killed or injured was made much worse by the shortage of escape exits and the large number of people in the building. As news of the tragedy was broadcast around the world, commentators reported that the weakness in the building was due to the West’s ‘obsession with cheap clothes’. Cheapkit was criticised as being part of the cause, with many saying that if retailers in the developed world pushed too hard for low prices, this (the collapse of the building) was one consequence of that. In response, Cheapkit’s public relations department said that it entered into legal contracts with Cornflower in order to provide its customers with exceptional value for money. Cheapkit said that it was appalled and disgusted that Cornflower had acted corruptly and that the Cheapkit board was completely unaware of the weaknesses and safety breaches in the collapsed building.
One of those able to escape the building was Jess Lui, who was also the leader of a national pressure group ‘Protect workers’ rights’ (PWR) lobbying the Athland government for better working conditions and health and safety practices for workers in the country. Having seen hundreds of people killed and injured in the collapsed building, she believed that although the government could do more, much of the blame lay with Cheapkit and the pressure it continually placed on Cornflower to keep its prices low. Jess questioned whether multinational companies such as Cheapkit should be allowed to exert so much economic pressure on companies based in developing countries. As concern over the state of other workplaces in the developing world became an increasing concern in the media, Miss Lui wrote a letter to the board of Cheapkit, which she also sent to newspapers and other media. Many of the newspapers and television channels reproduced the letter and it became a talking point in many countries because of the issues it raised.
In the letter, she said that Cheapkit was an unethical company because it supplied a market in its home country which was obsessed with cheap clothes. As long as its customers bought clothes for a cheap price, she believed that no-one at Cheapkit cared about how they were produced. She said that the constant pressure on prices had created a culture of ‘exploitative wages’, including at Cornflower.
Miss Lui received a lot of support after her comments on Cheapkit’s accountability. She said that large international companies such as Cheapkit needed to recognise they had accountabilities to many beyond their shareholders and they also had a wider fiduciary duty in the public interest. The defective Cornflower factory in Athland, she argued, would not have existed without demand from Cheapkit, and so Cheapkit had to recognise that it should account for its actions and recognise its fiduciary duties to its supply chain as well as its shareholders.
At the same time as events in Athland unfolded, the business journalists reporting on the events and Cheapkit’s alleged complicity in the tragedy also became aware of a new innovation in business reporting called integrated reporting, an initiative of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC). Jess Lui read one article which said that integrated reporting might increase an organisation’s accountability and require it to account for a wider set of concerns than was traditionally the case. This new understanding led to her including the following comment in her letter to Cheapkit:
‘… as the leader of the PWR, it is always in my interests to gain as much information as possible from Cornflower and the other businesses with which it transacts, including, in this case, Cheapkit. Perhaps the integrated reporting initiative offers the advantage of a wider reporting model for businesses, to include accountability for a much more diverse set of concerns than has been the case in the past. The integrated reporting model appears to substantially enhance the existing business model and it would be in the interests of broader accountability if Cheapkit, and other businesses in the garment supply chain, were to adopt this new reporting approach. Anything that requires businesses to report on their wider impacts on society and the environment is a good thing as far as social pressure groups like PWR are concerned.’
The board of Cheapkit discussed the issues raised by the well-publicised discussion of Miss Lui’s open letter and the comments from business journalists about integrated reporting. The board was, in principle, a supporter of the integrated reporting initiative and thought it would be useful to explain its position on a range of issues in a press release.
Required:
(a) Discuss the stakeholder claims of Cornflower’s employees and customers, and how these claims may be in conflict. (7 marks)
(b) Explain ‘corruption’ in the context of the case and discuss how corruption at Cornflower contributed to the collapse of the building and the loss of life. (10 marks)
(c) Cheapkit’s board believed that its major risks were exchange rate risk, supply risk and international political risk.
Required:
Explain each of these risks and how each may be of importance to Cheapkit’s shareholders. (9 marks)
(d) The board of Cheapkit felt that the reputation of the company had been damaged following publication of Jess Lui’s letter. It was decided that it should make a public response to her comments and also respond to points about integrated reporting raised by the business journalists, both of which had received a lot of supportive comment in the media.
Required:
Draft a press statement from the board of Cheapkit to include the following content:
(i) An explanation of Cheapkit’s role as a ‘corporate citizen’ given its international supply chain. (6 marks)
(ii) An explanation of ‘accountability’ and ‘fiduciary duty’ as used in the case, and a discussion of how these are relevant to Cheapkit using a shareholder or ‘pristine capitalist’ perspective. (6 marks)
(iii) A description of the basic framework of integrated reporting, and the potential benefits to Cheapkit’s different stakeholders, of reporting on different capital types. (8 marks)
Professional marks will be awarded in part (d) for clarity, tone, logical flow and persuasiveness of your statement. (4 marks)
In conducting research on culture and ethnic minority issues, investigators distinguish between the emic approach and the etic approach. In the emic approach, the goal is to describe behavior. in one culture or ethnic group in terms that are meaningful and wit to the People in that culture or ethnic group, without regard to other cultures or ethnic groups. In the etic approach, the goal is to describe behavior. so that generalizations can be made across cultures. If researchers construct a questionnaire in an emic fashion, their concern is only that the questions are meaningful to the particular culture or ethnic group being studied. If, however, the researchers construct a questionnaire in an etic fashion, they want to include questions that reflect concepts familiar to all cultures involved.
How might the emic and etic approaches be reflected in the study of family processes？ In the emic approach, the researchers might choose to focus only on middle-class White families, without regardfor whether the information obtained in the study can be generalized or is appropriate for ethic minority groups. In a subsequent study the researchers may decide to adopt an etic approach by studying not only middle-class, White families, but also lower-income White families, Black American families, Spanish American families, and Asian American families. In studying in ethic minority families, the researchers would likely discover that the extended family is more frequently a support system in ethnic minority families than in White American families. If so, the emic approach would reveal a different pattern of family interaction than would the etic approach, documenting that research with middle-class White families cannot always be generalized to all ethnic groups.
61.According to the first paragraph, researchers unfamiliar with the target cultures are inclined to ____.
A.be overcautious in constructing meaningful measures
B.view them from their own cultural perspective
C.guard against interference from their own culture
D.accept readily what is alien to their own culture
62.What does the author say about the emic approach and the etic approach_____
A.They have different research focuses in the study of ethnic issues.
B.The former is biased while the latter is objective.
C.The former concentrates on the study of culture while the latter on family issues.
D.They are both heavily dependent on questionnaires in conducting surveys.
63.Compared with the etic approach, the emic approach is apparently more ____.
A.culturally interactive
B.culture-oriented
C.culturally biased
D.culture-specific
64.The etic approach is concerned with____.
A.the general characteristics of minority families
B.culture-related concepts of individual ethnic groups
C.features shared by various cultures or ethnic groups
D.the economic conditions of different types of families
65.Which of the following is true of the ethnic minority families in theUSAaccording to the passage_____
A.Their cultural patterns are usually more adaptable.
B.Their cultural concepts are difficult to comprehend.
C.They don't interact with each other so much as White families.
D.They have closer family ties than White families.
(a) Gasnature is a publicly traded entity involved in the production and trading of natural gas and oil. Gasnature jointly owns an underground storage facility with another entity, Gogas. Both parties extract gas from offshore gas fields, which they own and operate independently from each other. Gasnature owns 55% of the underground facility and Gogas owns 45%. They have agreed to share services and costs accordingly, with decisions regarding the storage facility requiring unanimous agreement of the parties. The underground facility is pressurised so that the gas is pushed out when extracted. When the gas pressure is reduced to a certain level, the remaining gas is irrecoverable and remains in the underground storage facility until it is decommissioned. Local legislation requires the decommissioning of the storage facility at the end of its useful life. Gasnature wishes to know how to treat the agreement with Gogas including any obligation or possible obligation arising on the underground storage facility and the accounting for the irrecoverable gas. (9 marks)
(b) Gasnature has entered into a 10-year contract with Agas for the purchase of natural gas. Gasnature has made an advance payment to Agas for an amount equal to the total quantity of gas contracted for 10 years which has been calculated using the forecasted price of gas. The advance carries interest of 6% per annum, which is settled by way of the supply of extra gas. Fixed quantities of gas have to be supplied each month and there is a price adjustment mechanism in the contract whereby the difference between the forecasted price of gas and the prevailing market price is settled in cash monthly. If Agas does not deliver gas as agreed, Gasnature has the right to claim compensation at the current market price of gas. Gasnature wishes to know whether the contract with Agas should be accounted for under IFRS 9 Financial Instruments. (6 marks)
(c) Additionally, Gasnature is finalising its financial statements for the year ended 31 August 2015 and has the following issues:
(i) Gasnature purchased a major refinery on 1 January 2015 and the directors estimate that a major overhaul is required every two years. The costs of the overhaul are approximately $5 million which comprises $3 million for parts and equipment and $2 million for labour. The directors proposed to accrue the cost of the overhaul over the two years of operations up to that date and create a provision for the expenditure. (4 marks)
(ii) From October 2014, Gasnature had undertaken exploratory drilling to find gas and up to 31 August 2015 costs of $5 million had been incurred. At 31 August 2015, the results to date indicated that it was probable that there were sufficient economic benefits to carry on drilling and there were no indicators of impairment. During September 2015, additional drilling costs of $2 million were incurred and there was significant evidence that no commercial deposits existed and the drilling was abandoned. (4 marks)
Required:
Discuss, with reference to International Financial Reporting Standards, how Gasnature should account for the above agreement and contract, and the issues raised by the directors.
Note: The mark allocation is shown against each of the items above.
Professional marks will be awarded in question 3 for clarity and quality of presentation. (2 marks)
Examples of public goods are not as rare as one might expect.A flood control dam is a public good.Once the dam is built, all persons living in the area will benefit------irrespective of their own contribution to the construction cost of the dam.The same holds true for highway signs or aids to navigation.Once a lighthouse is built, no ship of any nationality can be effectively excluded from the utilization of the lighthouse for navigational purposes.National defense is another example.Even a person who voted against military expenditures or did not pay any taxes will benefit from the protection afforded.
It is no easy task to determine the social costs and social benefits associated with a public good.There is no practicable way of charging drivers for looking at highway signs, sailors for watching a lighthouse and citizens for the security provided to them through national defense.Because the market does not provide the necessary signals, economic analysis has to be substituted for the impersonal judgement of the marketplace.
1.With what topic is the passage mainly concerned？
A.Mechanisms for safer navigation.
B.The economic structure of the marketplace.
C.A specific group of commodities.
D.The advantage of lowering taxes.
2.Which of the following marks the feature of public goods？
A.Each citizen has a share of the ownership of the commodity.
B.No one is excluded from the benefits of the goods.
C.People can enjoy the utilization of them if they contribute to it.
D.The use of them is determined by how much one pay.
3.According to the passage, finding out the social costs of a public good is a （）.
A.difficult procedure
B.daily administrative duty
C.matter of personal judgement
D.citizen's responsibility
4.To find out the market for public goods, people need to （）.
A.watch out for the necessary market signals
B.invent a practicable way of charging users
C.make impersonal judgement of the marketplace
D.do economic analysis of their costs and benefits
5.Which of the following statements best describes the organization of the first two paragraphs？
A.Suggestions for the application of an economic concept are offered.
B.Several generalizations are presented from which various conclusions are drawn.
C.Persuasive language is used to argue against a popular idea.
D.A general concept is defined and then examples are given.
The McIntyre Resort (MR), which is privately owned, is a world famous luxury hotel and golf complex. It has been chosen as the venue to stage ‘The Robyn Cup’, a golf tournament which is contested by teams of golfers from across the globe, which is scheduled to take place during July 2009. MR will offer accommodation for each of the five nights on which guests would require accommodation.
The following information is available regarding the period of the tournament:
(1) Hotel data:
Total rooms 2,400
Room mix:
Double rooms 75%
Single rooms 15%
Family rooms 10%
Fee per room per night ($):
Double rooms 400
Single rooms 300
Family rooms 600
Number of guests per room:
Double rooms 2
Single rooms 1
Family rooms 4
When occupied, all rooms will contain the number of guests as above.
Costs:
Variable cost per guest per night $100
Attributable fixed costs for the five-day period:
Double rooms $516,000
Single and family rooms (total) $300,000
(2) Accommodation for guests is provided on an all-inclusive basis (meals, drinks, entertainment etc).
(3) The objective of the hotel management is to maximise profit.
(4) The hotel management expect all single and family rooms to be ‘sold out’ for each of the five nights of the
tournament. However, they are unsure whether the fee in respect of double rooms should be increased or
decreased. At a price of $400 per room per night they expect an occupancy rate of 80% of available double
rooms. For each $10 increase/decrease they expect the number of rooms to decrease/increase by 40.
Required:
(a) (i) Calculate the profit-maximising fee per double room that MR should charge per night during the
tournament; (6 marks)
(ii) Calculate how much profit would be earned from staging the tournament as a consequence of charging
that fee. (4 marks)
(b) The management of the hotel are concerned by the level of variable costs per guest night to be incurred in respect of the tournament. A recent review of proposed operational activities has concluded that variable cost per guest per night in all rooms in the hotel would be reduced by 20% if proposed changes in operational activities were made. However, this would result in additional attributable fixed costs amounting to $200,000 in respect of the five day period.
Required:
Advise management whether, on purely financial grounds, they should make the proposed changes in
operational activities. (6 marks)
(c) Discuss TWO initiatives that management might consider in order to further improve the profit from staging the golf tournament. (4 marks)
