Test3

PARTONE

Questions1-7

Lookatthestatementsbelowandtheadviceoffour

marketanalystsaboutacompany'sfuturestrategyon

theoppositepage.

Whichanalystsadvice(A,B,CorD)doeseach

statement!"?referto?

Foreachstatement1-7,markoneletter(A,B,CorD)

onyouranswersheet.

Youwillneedtousesomeoftheselettersmorethan

once.

Example:

0ItwouldbeinadvisableforDextertoextenditsrangeofproductsatthistime.

0ABCD

1[

i

ThekindofpromotionDexterhasreliedonsofaris

unlikelytoinfluenceitstarget

customers.

2AlthoughDextercanprobablyextenditsrange,

findingenoughcapitalwillbedifficult.

3Dexterneedstothinkcarefullyaboutthebrand

imageofitsproducts.

4SupplyingnicheretailerscouldgiveDexteraccess

toanewgroupofcustomers.

5Dextershouldconsiderworkingwithacompany

experiencedinadvertisingonalarge

scale.

6Increasingthemarginonthecurrentrangeisan

areaDextershouldconcentrateon.

2

7Dexter'sapproachtodoingbusinesshasenabledit

tocompetewithlargercompanies.

WhatnextforDexter?

Dexter'snewshavingcreamisahitintheUK.The

company'snextchallengesaretobranchoutintonew

productsandtosucceedinAmerica.Fourtopanalysts

givetheiradvice.

AJoeHutchinson

ForDexterthehardestpartisyettocome.Many

BritishcompaniesfallintheU.S.andDexteris,

unsurprisingly,findingittough.Andwhafsthe

senseinseekingcashforexpansionintonew

productareaswhilehavingtosupportaloss-making

Americanoperation?Therearemoreimportant

thingstodowiththemoney,forexampledealingwith

3

thecompany'slowprofitability-a2%returnonsales.

Itmightwellbetimetolookatafewcostheadings.

BDanValero

Breakingoutoftheshavingcreammarketshouldnot

beimpossibleforDexter,butraisingthemoneyto

launchtheproductsistherealchallenge.Dexter

mightseekapartnerwiththepromotionalskills

neededformassmarketing,orfocusonproduct

developmentandfranchising.Theyoughtto

considerwhethertheyshouldcontinuetoattackthe

Americanmarket,and,ifso,theyshouldseekalocal

partner.Ifcontrolisapriority,theEuropeanmarket

maybeworthalookinstead.

CJamesSunderland

4

Dexter'sentrepreneurship,whichhashelpeditgeta

shareofmarketpreviouslydominatedbytwo

players,willbethekeytofurthergrowth.The

Americanmarketisparticularlychallenging,buta

possiblestrategyistotargetdistributorsto

AmericanretailersoraBritish-basedsubsidiaryof

anAmericanparent.Anotherapproachmaybeto

formallianceswithlike-mindedcultfashionorsports

outletsandattractasliceoftheU.S.marketopento

tryingnewproducts.

DMelanieLeconte

Dexterintendstoincreaseitsmarketshare,andone

wayofdoingthisistointroducenewproducts,

perhapsaimedatwomen,intoitsexistingrange.

However,itsmanagersmustbeaware,thatthe

women'sgroomingmarketiscrowed,andthatto

extendheretheymustremainloyaltothevaluesof

5

theirexistingrangewhilestillgroovingattractiveto

thenewsector.Theyneedtotakeahardlookathow

togeneratedemand;sofarifsworkedwellthrough

wordofmouthbuttheaverageAmericanbuyer

expectsahugeadvertisingcampaign.

PARTTWO

Questions8-12

Readthearticlebelowaboutdevelopmentsatabank.

Choosethebestsentencefromtheoppositepageto

filleachofthegaps.

Foreachgap8-12,markoneletter(A-G)onyour

AnswerSheet.

Donotuseanylettermorethanonce.

Thereisanexampleatthebeginning,(0).

ThePan-SlavicTradingBank

6

Miroslavhascomea

WhenMiroslavNovak

longwayfromhis

startedworkasa

modestbeginnings.

graduatetrainee,his

Recentlyappointed

employer,thePan-Slavic

directorofthebranch

TradingBank(P-STB),

network,henowsitson

wasastate-ownedbank

theexecutiveboard.

specializinginexport

(8)Ofparticular

trade.Thoughtonlythe

concernisthefactthat

country'sfourthbankin

theP-STBhasbecomea

sizeandturnover,itwas

retailbank,nolonger

wellrunandhada

dealingexclusivelywith

proventrackrecord.

largecompanies.This

(0).?.GDespiteits

sectorhas,infact,been

inclusioninthe

downgradedto

governments

secondarystatus,since

programmeof

themostimportant

privatization,expansion

marketisseentobe

ormajorchangewere

elsewhere.

notontheagenda.

Thenewemphasisison

Today,tenyearson,

7

offeringawiderangeofmonitoringtheprogress

productstothegeneraloftheP-STBasitmoved

public.(9)When,towardsprivatization.

thispolicywasfirstput(10)Afterlengthy

forward,Miroslavandnegotiations,including

hiscolleaguesdoubtedwithgovernment

itsfeasibility.Sinceitdepartments,the

wasnotpartoftheirLuxembourgbankwas

plans,however,andassuccessfulandbecame

successfollowedthemajorityshareholder.

success,theirdoubtingTheP-STBnowfound

employeewereforcedtoitselfthesubsidiaryofa

admittohavingbeenforeignbank.

mistaken.

Notimewaswastedin

Thesourceoftheflyinginateamof

P?STB'schangeofmanagersfromthe

directionwastobeparentcompany.No

foundabroad;thesoonerhadtheyarrived

directorsofabankfromthanmajorchanges

Luxembourghadbeenbegantobe

8

implemented.(11)optimisticabout.

Thiswasexcitingand(12)Miroslavgrew

challenging,buttheretoenjoythedemands

wasahighpricetopay.madeonhim,andbefore

Theaverageworkingdaylongwaspromotedto

increasedfromeighttohispresentposition,

twelvehoursalmostwithresponsibilityfor

immediately,andseveralconvertingallhe

ofthelonger-servingbranchesinthenetwork

staffweregivenearlytoretailbanking.He

retirement.Thosewhospendslesstimethanhe

remainedfeltextremelywouldlikewithhis

uncomfortableaboutthefamily,andstillmisses

contrastintheirformercolleagues,but

fortunes.theworkitselfismore

satisfyingthanhecould

everhaveimagined.

Thenextfewmonths

undernewownership

wereextremely

demandingandMiroslav

foundlittletobe

9

Example:

ABCDEFG

0[=)1=11=11=11=1c=]■■

ALikingwhattheysaw,theyputinabid,infierce

competitionwithatleastfiveotherfinancial

institution.

BDespitethis,andalthoughheisoneofthe

relativelyfewtohaveprospered,hefeelsthathis

positionisfarfromsecure.

CGradually,though,asthenewstructuretookshape,

thebankbegantofeellikeamoderncompanywithan

exitingfuture.

DYoungemployeesweregivenresponsible

positions,includingMiroslav,whowasputincharge

ofadepartment

EThebankhas,ineffect,becomeafinancial

supermarket,wherecustomerscanpurchasethe

servicestheyneed'offtheshelf.

10

FTheydecidethatitwastherightmomenttoexploit

thisareaofweakness.

GWithaclientbaserestrictedtonational

corporations,forwhomitfinancedoverseastrade,the

P-STBputitssuccessdowntoreliabilityand

conservatism.

ii

PARTTHREE

Question13-18

Readthearticlebelowaboutcareersinchildren's

bookpublishingandthequestionsontheopposite

page.

Foreachquestion13-18,markoneletter(A,B,CorD)

onyourAnswerSheetfortheansweryouchoose.

LeadingfromtheTop

CatherineBauerlooksatcareerdevelopmentin

children'sbookpublishing

Togetonintheworldofchildren'sbookpublishing

oneneedstobe'bright,niceandnotambitious'.

Thosearethewordsofa37-year-oldmanagerwhois

thinkingaboutleavingtheindustry.Managersin

otherindustrieswould,bythatage,bestriving

12

towardsgreaterleadershipchallengesandrewards,

whileHumanResourcesdepartmentswouldbe

doingalltheycouldtopreventhungrycompetitors

fromgettingholdofexperiencedandtalented

employees.Maintainingsuccessfulcorporationsand

happyshareholderis,afterall,dependentonusing

thetalentsandexperienceofone'sstaff,noton

beingnice.

Careerprogressioninthechildren'ssectorof

publishingseemstobedeterminedalmostbyluck

ratherthanapropercareerstructureofassessment

ofemployees,competencies,SarahCarter,for

example,startedhercareerasanassistantinthe

customerservicedepartmentatWilliamDavis

Publishing.Sheonlybecameawareofavacancyin

publicrelationsbecauseherdepartmentwasonthe

samefloorasthepublicityoffice.1hadalreadybeen

promotedtomanagerinmydepartment,butrealized

thatanycareerdevelopmenttherewouldbelimited.I

decidedtomovesidewaysinPR,whichwasalso

whereIfeltmyskillweremoresuited.Iwasluckya

13

positioncameupwithinthecompany/

Acrossthepublishinghouses,stafftrainingor

developmentisgenerallydependentontheapproach

takenbyyourimmediateboss.VirginiaCouttts,

editorialdirectoratProdigyPublications,says,'This

isfine,ifyouhappentohaveonewhoiseffective.

WhenIstartedatProdigyIworkedforRoger

Gibbons.Iwasinchildren'sfiction,buthealsogave

mesomeworkonpicturebooksandnon-fiction,and

thatmeantIgainedexperienceinarangeofareas.

Healsomadesurethatnewpeopledidn'tcomein,

trainandthenmoveon.Anditwasn'taquestionof

beinghereforthethreeyearsorsobeforeyougot

promoted/

Noteveryonehasasimilarexperiencewiththeir

manager,butthisisnotsurprisingwhenone

considersthatfewmanagershavethemselveshad

anystructuredtraining.MarkHarlock,marketing

manageratTRpublishers,says,'Myjobchangein

managementwascompletelyunsupported-my

requestsfortrainingtookmonths,andbythetime

14

theywereapprovedtheneedhadpassed.Yes,you

learnonthejob,buthowmuchmoreconstructivefor

allinvolvedifithappensinastructuredway.Surely

thiswouldspeedupthelearningcurve?'

However,therearechangesintheair.AtLittleFeet

Publications,BarbaraFosterhasbeenoverhauling

thecompany'strainingandcareerstructuresothat

allemployeehaveregularappraisals.'Weareahead

ofourcompetitorshereatLittleFeet,butevenweare

onlybeginningtoscratchthesurface.Sofarthere's

beenlittleoppositiontotheappraisals,butthere's

stillloadstodoandtheresultswillnotbecomeclear

forafewyearsyet.'

Perhapstheindustryshouldconsideritselfluckyto

havesomanydedicatedmanagerswhohave,

throughacombinationofchanceanddetermination,

successfullydevelopedtheircareersinpublishing.

Clearlyitnowneedstoreviewwhatisbeingdoneto

develop,trainandrewardthenextgenerationof

bosses.Aboveall,theindustryhastofindmore

peoplewithentrepreneurialspiritandpushtheminto

15

demandingrolesratherthanmakethemservetheir

timeatajuniorleave,Butsuchchangescanonly

comefromtheverytop.

13Thewritersaysthatincomparisontopublishing,

othercompanies

Aaremoreconcernedwithpleasingtheir

shareholders.

Baremorefocusedonachievingtheirgoals.

Cplacegreaterimportanceonkeepingtheirbest

managers.

Dworkharderoninterpersonalrelationships.

16

14SarahCarterchangedherjobwithWilliamDavis

Publishingbecause

AthePublicRelationsdepartmentmadeitclearthey

wantedher.

Bshesawmorelong-termpotentialinpublicrelations.

Cshedidnotwanttorelocatetoantherfloor.

Ditrepresentedapromotionforher.

15VirginiaCouttssaysthatwhenshefirststartedat

ProdigyPublications

Asheintendedtomoveonquickly.

Bshehadawiderangeofskills.

Cshehadtodotoomanydifferentjobs

Dshehadagoodlinemanager.

17

16WhatdoesMarkHarlocksayaboutformaltraining?

AItisfasterthanlearningonthejob.

BItshouldbebasedonthetrainee'sspecificneeds.

CItismoreoftenapprovedformanagersthanother

employees.

DItenablesbetterworkingrelationshipstobebuilt

17Inusingthewords'scratchthesurface^line24),

BarbaraFostermeansthatheractions

Ahavestartedsomethingthatwilltakealotofworkto

complete.

Bhaverevealedbigproblemsthatshecouldnothave

foreseen.

Cmayturnouttobeunpopularwithsomeemployees.

Dmaycausedisputeswithotherpublishers.

18

18Inthefinalparagraph,thewriterrecommendsthat

thepublishingindustryshould

Aencouragemanagerstodelegateminormatters

moreoften.

Bputpressureondirectorstochangethewaythey

work.

Clookforpeoplewithbusinessflairandgoodideas.

Dspendmoretimetrainingexistingmanagers.

PARTFOUR

Question19-33

19

ReadtheadvicebelowabouttheUKretailsector.

ChoosethebestwordorphrasetofilleachgapfromA.

B.CorDontheoppositepage.

Foreachquestion19-33markoneletter(A..B.CorD)

onyourAnswersheet.

Thereisanexampleatthebeginning.

TheRetailSector

TheretailsectorisoneoftheUK'sbiggest

employmentareas,accountingforoneinnineofthe

(0)...BItisalsooneofthefastestgrowing-more

thanafifthofjobs(19)lastyearwereinretail.

Suchrapid(20)inthetightestlabourmarketfor

morethanagenerationshouldbe(21)upwages,

butitisnot.Whilethenational(22)wagegoesup

byabout5%ayear,inretailitgoesupby3.5%.

20

Theconsequencesoflowwagesandfarfrombrilliant

conditionsisrapidstaffturnover.Abouthalfthestaff

employedinretailleaveeveryyear.This(23)is

wayaboveeventhosesectorssuchasnursing,which

aresaidtobeinarecruitment(24)Partofthe

problemisthattheemployersthemselvesareunder

considerablefinancial(25)Retailissufferinga

long-termslideindependentofthe(26)andfalls

oftheeconomy.Oneofthereasonsforthisis

consumerexpectations.Withthegrowthof

e-commerce,customerslookforbiggerandbetter

bargainsandinsiston(27)formoney.

21

Therearesomeplusesforemployees,however,low

wagesandhighturnovermakeretailayouthfulsector.

Realmanagerial(28)canbeattainedbythe

mid-20s,soschool-leaversorrecentgraduatesneed

onlywaitashorttimebeforegainingpromotion.And

despitetheproblem,theretailsectordoes,on

occasion,(29)someofthemoreprogressive

career(30)programmes.Thesupermarketchain

Robertson,forexample,hasacommunityservice

schemethattrainsstaffinteam-building'through

workonneighborhoodprojects.Andclothesretailer

P&Rhasanimpressive(31)whenitcomesto

employingolderpeople.Itpursuesa(32),of

employingmaturepeoplewithlong(33)ofthe

products,asitbelievestheyprovidebettercustomer

service.

Example;

AcompanyBworkforceC

persDorganization

22

19AmadeBformedC

createdDappointed

20AexpansionBincreaseC

additionDextension

21AgettingBpushingC

turningDgiving

22AnormalBmediumC

averageDcommon

23AfigureBsumC

dataDcalculation

24AemergencyBdisasterC

troubleDcrisis

25AweightBforceC

powerDpressure

23

26AclimbsBrisesC

increasesDadvances

27AadvantageBbenefitC

worthDvalue

28AcareBresponsibilityC

dutyDreliability

29AcauseBpresentC

produceDbring

30AdevelopmentBoutcomeC

continuationDprogress

31AreportBdistinctionC

creditDrecord

32ApolicyBcodeC

procedureDtheory

33AknowledgeBcontactC

historyDexperience

24

PARTFIVE

Questions34-45

Re