Portfolio TACN2 PDF
Portfolio TACN2 PDF
Portfolio TACN2 PDF
1. The only adequate summary is the second. The first stress the disadvantages of
hierarchies much more strongly than the text, and disregards the criticisms of matrix
management and decentralization. The third is simply misleading: matrix management
and teams are designed to facilitate communication among functional departments rather
than autonomous divisions.
2. Discussion
1, 4 and 11 would logically satisfy production managers, although 11 should also satisfy
other departments.
Exercise 1
1. f 2. e 3. h 4. d 5. a 6. g 7. b 8. c 9. i 10. j
Exercise 2
16. procurement
Exercise 3
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Market research/ cost centre/ earnings growth/ management hierarchy/ customer needs/ product
portfolio/ core business/ distribution channel/ mission statement/ market share/ shareholder
value/ brand loyalty
Exercise 4
Exercise 5
Exercise 6
III.ESSAY
What are the advantages and disadvantages of the matrix company structure?
The matrix organizational structure is atypical because it brings together employees and
managers from different departments to work toward accomplishing a goal. The matrix structure
is a combination of the functional and divisional structures. The former divides departments
within a company by the functions performed, while the latter divides them by products,
customers or geographical location. Small business owners should understand the benefits and
limitations of the matrix structure before implementing it in their businesses.
One of the advantages of implementing the matrix organizational structure in a business is that it
can lead to an efficient exchange of information. Departments work closely together and
communicate with each other frequently to solve issues. Efficient lines of communication
enhance productivity and allow for quick decision-making. For example, in a matrix structure,
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individuals from the marketing, finance and product departments may confer with one another to
formulate strategies. The specialized information exchange allows managers to respond quickly
to the needs of customers and the organization. Furthermore, the matrix structure encourages a
democratic leadership style. This style incorporates the input of team members before managers
make decisions. The ability to contribute valuable information before decisions are made leads to
employee satisfaction and increased motivation. In a matrix structure, each employee brings his
expertise to the table. Managers are involved in the day-to-day operations, which allow them to
make decisions through the viewpoint of employees.
On the other hand, a disadvantage of the matrix structure is that it can result in internal
complexity. Some employees may become confused as to who their direct supervisor is. For
example, an employee may receive different directions concerning the same thing from
supervisors in different departments. The dual authority and communication problems may cause
division among employees and managers. Miscommunication and ineffective managing can
result in employee dissatisfaction and low morale. Prolonged issues may cause an organization to
experience high employee turnover. Another disadvantage of the matrix organizational structure
is that it is expensive to maintain. A company's overhead cost typically increases because of the
need for double management. The extra salaries an organization must pay can put a strain on its
resources. The sharing of employees may cause unhealthy competition between managers within
a company. The expertise that employees bring to the table makes them valuable, which causes
managers to seek their assistance. The competition for scare resources may cause hostility within
the workplace and hinder production.
To sum up, each company structure reveals its own pros and cons and the matrix ones makes no
exception. The important thing is that businessmen should thoroughly understand these
advantages and also disadvantages for efficient utilization in reality.
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1. ‘Glocalization’ means operating all over the world while taking account of local cultural
habits, beliefs and principles in each country or market.
3. The Italian salesman did not want to earn more (i.e. show himself to be a better salesman) than
his colleagues, or earn as much as his boss. The Singaporean and Indonesian managers did not
approve of a system that might cause salesmen to encourage customers to buy products they
didn’t need.
4. Universalists believe that rules are extremely important, and distrust particularlists because
they break rules to help their friends, while particularlists believe that personal relationships
should take precedence, and distrust universalists because they won’t even help a friend.
2. Vocabulary
6. money or something else given in recognition of good work : pay for performance
II. EXERCISES
Exercise 1
1. Since we have just bought the Parkland guide, we can now find out what Europeans think of
each other.
2. Furious with his employees for turning up late each morning, he decided to have a serious talk
with them.
3. I have two Swiss people staying at my house, neither of whom I consider to be money-
minded, or excessively serious.
4. Although some Europeans consider the Italians to be dishonest, I found them completely
trustworthy when I recently visited Italy.
5. Besides having faults, the British have qualities, such as an excellent sense of humor, for
which they are famous throughout the world.
6. While working for a multinational company in Holland, I learned to admire the Dutch for their
good nature and tolerance.
7. In generalizing about nationalities we often show prejudices, the origins of which are obscure.
8. In trying to pick nationalities for each post, we were obviously unfair to those we omitted
while we were probably generous to some we selected.
Exercise 2
III. ESSAY
What are disadvantages of working in a culturally diverse environment?
As you all know, cultural diversities seem to reveal certain advantages. However, it is also
considered to bring about no fewer challenges for multinational company management. In this
essay, I would like to emphasize three disadvantages that attract great concern from people
working in a culturally diverse environment.
The first one I would mention here is individual decision-making and problem solving. People
from different countries tend to work in various different ways. This is regarded partly due to
their different educational backgrounds, work experiences and culture-based value systems. In
fact, the diverse ways people in a company approach decisional problems could result in severe
troubles threatening the function of an organization. Some of the members may like to take
decisions on their own, while the others may prefer participative approach to solve a decisional
problem. Some may believe in rational decision-making, collecting all possible information and
resource inputs, while others feel like taking a decision with a quick-fix approach, only based on
their own experience and feeling. Such great differences could be a strength for a multinational
company because of a variety of valuable resource inputs to quality decision-making. However,
they are subject to a lot of unpredictable misunderstandings within a workplace when everybody
shows great resistance to change and only want to work in their own way. Hence, a good
manager is supposed to know how to create the integration among his or her staff by respecting
their value systems and their approaches as well as consider all the ways of thinking provided for
an appropriate final decision.
The second problem easily noticed in a culture diversity workplace is communication, both the
language and nonverbal behaviors as well. Everybody can see that when you are working with
people from different countries, it is necessary to pick up a common language for mutual
understanding. However, even when all the staff are speaking a one certain language, troubles
are still arising. It is because of the difference in vocabulary, pronunciation, language style or the
use of slang, idioms… Nonverbal behaviors also form an important part of communication. For
some cultures, the sense of personal space is very different and standing close or touching when
speaking is the norm. Eye contact can also convey a great deal, and for some cultures, too much
eye contact is considered rude or aggressive. Facial expressions such as smiling or furrowing the
eyebrows may be used differently depending on the culture. When communicating in a culturally
diverse environment, be aware of these differences and do not jump to conclusions if someone
reacts in an unexpected way.
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In a nutshell, working in a culturally diverse environment presents lots of challenges that deserve
your consideration. However, with certain understanding on these difficulties, you can easily
overcome and gain the best efficiency in your job.
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UNIT 3: MARKETING
The 2nd summary fails to mention market research and both 1st and 2nd contain errors. They
both neglect the continued importance of selling, and the existence of competitors.
The 1st summary wrongly states that marketers have to change a product, its distribution, the
way it is promoted and its price. In fact they may change one or more of these elements as
neccesary.
2.C
II. EXERCISES
Exercise 1
1. distribution: a 6. packaging: j
Exercise 2
Exercise 3
Exercise 4
Exercise 5
7. consumer tastes
8. withdrawn from the market
III.ESSAY
The heart of your business success lies in its marketing. Most aspects of your business
depend on successful marketing. Without marketing, your business may offer the best products
or services in your industry, but none of your potential customers would know about it. Without
marketing, sales may crash and companies may have to close. My writing will figure out the
question: Why is marketing so important?
For a business to succeed, the product or service it provides must be known to potential
buyers. Unless your business is known in the community and have communication with your
customers readily available, you have to use marketing strategies to create product or service
awareness. Without marketing, your potential customers may never be aware of your business
offerings and your business may not be given the opportunity to progress and succeed. Using
marketing to promote your product, service and company provides your business with a chance
of being discovered by prospective customers.
The success of a company often rests on a solid reputation. Marketing builds brand name
recognition or product recall with a company. When a company reaches the high expectations of
the public, its reputation stands on firmer ground. As your reputation grows, the business
expands and sales increase. The reputation of your company is built through active participation
in community programs, effective communication--externally and externally--and quality
products or services, which are created or supported by marketing efforts.
Marketing also fosters an environment in the marketplace for healthy completion.
Marketing efforts get the word out on pricing of products and services, which not only reaches
the intended consumers, but also reaches other companies competing for the consumers’
business. As opposed to companies that have a monopoly on products and services that can
charge almost any price, marketing helps keep pricing competitive for a business to try to win
over consumers before its competition does. Without competition, well known companies would
continue to sell while lesser known companies or new companies would stand little chance of
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ever becoming successful. Marketing facilitates the healthy competition that allows small
businesses and new businesses to be successful enter and grow in the marketplace.
Marketing plays a very essential role in the success of a company. It educates people on
the latest market trends, helps boost a company’s sales and profit, and develops company
reputation. But marketers must be creative and wise enough to promote their products with the
proper marketing tactics. Although marketing is important, if it is not conducted and researched
well, the company might just be wasting on expenses and time on a failed marketing approach.
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UNIT 4: PRICING
2. Understanding details
Statements True False
1. There are three basic factors potentially involved in all pricing decisions V
9. Prices generally take into account both direct and indirect costs. V
10. In theory, a product’s price should equal its marginal cost and the V
company’s breakeven point.
Exercise 2
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Exercise 3
1. A basic price before discounts and special offers are made? List price
2. Aggressive competition between rival? Price war
3. A price at which retailers buy goods? Wholesale price
4. A price recorded in a company’s accounts? Historical price
5. The government’s measure of inflation? Price index
6. The price at which a producer makes no profit? Cost price
7. The relationship between a product’s price and the quantity bought?
Price elasticity
8. A price-limit imposed by government? Price control + Price freeze
9. Arrangements between competitors not to lower prices? Price fixing/
maintenance
10. The price of options? Exercise/ Strike price
Exercise 4
1.overheads 8. market
2. substitute 9. shares
3. components 10. plant
4. target 11. monopolist
5. sensitivity 12.competitive
6.market 13. market leaders
7. segment 14. volume
III. ESSAY
Product pricing is an important element of a marketing strategy. The concept of “everyday low
pricing” means that your company consistently tries to be the provider with the lowest price in
the marketplace for a good or service, based on surveys of competitors’ pricing. Having the
lowest price can be advantageous to your marketing effort, but the strategy also has several
disadvantages.
Firstly, in the years prior to the prevalent use of the Internet in e-commerce, being the everyday
low-price leader meant being the price leader in your geographic region. The Internet now offers
consumers the ability to check your pricing against hundreds or thousands of online retailers.
Your company stands to lose credibility among consumers if your everyday low prices are not
comparable to pricing found on the Internet
Secondly, the promise of everyday low pricing can work against you when it comes to discounts
and pricing specials. Because your company strives to provide the lowest prices at all times, you
may not have sufficient profit margin to offer occasional promotional discounts. Pricing
discounts are marketing vehicles that can be used to improve sales, according to website
NetMBA. When you have conditioned customers to expect everyday low prices from your
company, offering price discounts can seem contradictory; it may cause customers to question
whether or not you actually have the lowest price.
Finally, competition-based pricing is a model that relies on the pricing habits of your
competition. It does not take into account product cost, your profit margin or product demand. In
some cases, you may be forced to sell product at a loss to remain competitive. Always being the
lowest-priced supplier sometimes creates the perception that your product quality is lower than
that of the competition, according to Karl Heil, writing on the Reference for Business website.
Some consumers might assume that counterfeit or reconditioned products are the means by
which you maintain your low prices.
To sum up, the strategy of everyday low pricing sometimes seems to be counterproductive.
Consequently, it is noted that businessmen should clearly understand the pros and cons of this
pricing method in order to gain more and more success.
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UNIT5: ARBITRATION
II. EXERCISES
Exercise 1
1. dispute resolution: settling disagreement
2. a money- spinner: something that makes profit for everyone
3. have recourse to the courts: make use of legal system
4. home-team advantage: benifit from being local or on home ground
5. local bias: unfair treatment
6. financial crisis: serious money problems
7. delaying tactics: ways of making things take a long time
8. speed things up: accerlerate
9. interfere: meddle or get involved with
10. overturn decisions: reverse something already decided
11. take steps: institute action
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Exercise 2
1. he was a distinguished lawyer who was an expert arbitratorB
2. the process took far longer than the parties had expected arbitration
3. this was due to the delaying tactics employed by one of the companies involved.
4. the question is how are we going to settle this dilemma?
5. when the goods arrived in poor condition, a dispute arose over whose fault this was, and
who should bear the cost
6. the best way is not to go to court, which is public and costly, but to arbitrate and
agreement
7. I believe you are wrong on that point- we disagee on the interpretation
8. there is always an answer if you try hard to find it : every difficulty has a resolution
9. you cannot assume he will agree to those terms : you must check with him first.
Exercise 3
1. everyone promises to obey the treaty- all major countries are signatories to it.
2. in the civil case, the plaintiff brought an action against the defendent
3. the price was negotiated between the buyer and the seller of the house, in a private sale.
4. the bank agree that the borrower should pay 12% on the loan, so the lender made a fair
profit!
5. manufacturers sell their goods to wholesalers and in turn, retailers buy from them.
6. the ralationship between a lawyer and client is bound by confidentiality.
7. the beer can be produced under license but the licensee must fufill all the requirements
imposed by the licensor.
8. some clothes comanies sell their products on a franchise basis: each country has a main
frienchiser, with numerous people working as franchisees.
9. a letter was sent to the manager complaining about working condditions. All the member
wrote their names. The letter read: ‘ we, undersigned, strongly protest about condition at
work.’
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10. many projects require the cooperation of various partners. If they all agree to work
together, they become parties to the agreement.
Exercise 4
1. ajudication 6.decision- maker/ expert
2. arbitrator 7. expensive
3. arbitration 8. duration
4. dispute
5. hearing
II. ESSAY
As a businessman what would you choose: arbitration or litigation for dispute resolution?
Why?
Arbitration is a procedure for the resolution of disputes on a private basis through the
appointment of an arbitrator, an independent, neutral third person who hears and considers the
merits of the dispute and then renders the final decision. Recently, arbitration seems to be
proving their popularity all over the world. Therefore, as a businessman, I would like to choose
arbitration due to its numerous advantages.
First, the parties to the dispute usually agree on the arbitrator, so the arbitrator will be someone
that both sides have confidence will be impartial and fair.
Second, the dispute will normally be resolved much sooner, as a date for the arbitration can
usually be obtained a lot faster than a court date. In Virginia, a trial date is normally about twelve
months from the date the lawsuit is filed.
Third, arbitration is usually a lot less expensive. Partly that is because the fee paid the arbitrator
is a lot less than the expense of paying expert witnesses to come and testify at trial. There are
also lower costs in preparing for the arbitration than there are in for preparing for a trial. Partly
this is due to the fact that the rules of evidence are often more relaxed than in a trial, so that
documents can be submitted in lieu of having a witness come to trial and testify. For instance, if
a claimant has several doctors who are out-of-state, the cost of bringing them to trial or going
out-of-state to take their depositions may be prohibitive for trial, but in arbitration you can
usually use just their records and reports.
Fourth, unlike a trial, arbitration is essentially a private procedure, so that if the parties desire
privacy then the dispute and the resolution can be kept confidential. Fifth, if arbitration is
binding, there are very limited opportunities for either side to appeal, so the arbitration will be
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the end of the dispute. That gives finality to the arbitration award that is not often present with a
trial decision.
In a nutshell, arbitration has proved to be the wise choice for businessmen for the resolution of
economic disputes.
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5. comparative advantage
Exercise 3
1. trade
2. software
3. container ships
4. fares
Exercise 4
1. a suggestion for improving trade in the future: G
2. the effects of the introduction electronic delivery: F
3. the similar cost involved in transporting a product from abroad or from a local suppliers:
H
4. the weakening relationship between the value goods and the cost of their delivery: D
Decide if these statements are true (T) of false (F) or not given (NG)
1. T 4.T
2. NG 5.F
3. NG
III.ESSAY
How does international trade benefit an economy
If you walk into a supermarket and are able to buy South American bananas, Brazilian
coffee and a bottle of South African wine, you are experiencing the effects of international trade.
International trade among different countries is not a new a concept and its rise is essential for
the growth of globalization. Apparently, international trade has brought great benefits to an
economy involved.
Second, international trade helps in the optimum use of natural resources and avoid
wastages of resources.If a country does not takes up imports and exports then its resources
remain unexplorted. Thus it helps to eliminate the wastage of resources. Efficient allocation and
better utilization of resources since countries tend to produce goods in which they have a
comparative advantage. When countries produce through comparative advantage, wasteful
duplication of resources is prevented. It helps save the environment from harmful gases being
leaked into the atmosphere and also provides countries with a better marketing power.
And third, it ensures more production to meet the demand of the people of different
countries. By increased production, it becomes possible to increase income and the standard of
living of its people. It also increase the standard of living by increasing more employment
opportunities. More employment could be generated as the market for the countries’ goods
widens through trade. International trade helps generate more employment through the
establishment of newer industries to cater to the demands of various countries. This will help
countries bring down their unemployment rates.
To sum up, international trading has become very important for every country of the
world - be it big or small, developing nation or developed nation. Each country should take
advantage of it to become more wealthy and developed.
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UNIT7: BANKING
I. READING COMPREHENSION TASKS
Exercise 1
1. central bank
2. commercial bank
3. universial banks
4. merchant banks
5. investment banks
6. building society
7. supranational banks
Exercise 2
1. deposit 6. salary 11. standing order 16. depositors
Exercise 3
Exercise 4
1. from/ to 5.in
2. by/for 6.among/ of
3. within 7. against
4. to/to
III. ESSAY
Banks have these days functioned as an internal part of our modern life. Over a long period of
developing, our human society has witnessed a number of striking innovations and the banking
system has proved to be one of man’s great achievements. In the essay, I would like to focus on
some typical advantages that banks have specially facilitated our business life.
Firstly, what draws most of my attention about banks’ role is a place for money storage. Thanks
to various inventions, human nowadays are capable of making more and more money. In fact,
many people seem to earn more than they need for normal spending. Consequently, there has
emerged a demand for saving and also for investing. In the advent of the banking system, people
no longer have to look for a specially secret and safe for storing their unused money, sometimes
known as gold treasures as in some legendary stories. Numerous banks functioning in the
country are ideal solutions for people who are wondering how to store and invest their savings.
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Being thoroughly organized and tightly secured, commercial banks not only can be a storage but
also help people make more profit on their unused money through many banking activities.
Secondly, banks can be considered to be a beneficial tool of payment. There is no doubt that the
advent of the international banking system has helped a lot in the over- the- border business. In a
world of globalization as ours, international trade seems to be a definition of great popularity
over every corner of the society. So imagine without the modern and well-operating banking
system you have to go for thousands of miles in order to pay the money for any goods you want.
In some cases, the cost of transportation may even outweigh the actual price of the products.
Clearly, the existence of banks can save a lot of unnecessary costs for international business. For
a product of thousands miles away, all you have to do is making a call for ordering and then
paying through your account in the commercial bank.
In a nutshell, it is undeniable about a variety of benefits that banks have brought to our modern
society. Undoubtedly, even serving as a money storage or a tool of payment, our banks are
presently making our life much more comfortable and easier. Consequently, government should
take more consideration into the improvement of our national banking system for the purpose of
long run developing.
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I. READING 1
Payment menthod:
1. open account
2. bills for collection
3. documentary credit
4. advance payment
2. Understand details
Mark these statements T or F according to the information in the text. Find the part of the
text that gives the correct information.
Open account: 1. T 2. F 3. T
3. Information search
1. open account: f,d,c
2. documentary credit: a,j
3. bills for collection: b,c, d, f
4. advance payment: f
4. Key terms
1. undertaking
2. consignment
3. intermediary
4. maturity
6.Complete the sentence
1. forward
2. dispatch
3. forward
4. accept/ release
5. dishonour
6. remit
II. READING 2
1. 4 – 1 – 3 – 2
2. 7 – 10 – 9 – 8 – 6 - 5
III. ESSAY
The risks of trading internationally
Any business transaction involves a degree of risk. The risks in international trade differ
from those in domestic trade, and it is important to treat international trade with an extra measure
of care and proper risk management. My writing will point out some major types of risks faced
when trading internationally.
The first one I want to mention here is poor quality risk. Exported goods can be rejected
by an importer on the basis of poor quality. It is always recommended to properly check the
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goods prior to export. Be aware that buyers and importers sometimes raise quality issues to
pressure exporters into negotiating lower prices. It is suggested that an independent party inspect
your shipment prior to its delivery if you are working on a first-time import transaction. Such an
inspection protects both the importer and the exporter. An inspection is normally done at the
request of the importer, and the costs for the inspection are borne by the importer or may be
negotiated to be included in the contract price.
Another risk is transportation risk. With the movement of goods from one continent to
another, or even within the same continent, goods can face many hazards. There is the risk of
theft, damage, and possibly of the goods not arriving at all. It is common for many importers to
conduct a test order; this has advantages for both parties. The documentation, shipping, and
quality inspection can all be conducted simultaneously. Subsequent orders shipped with the same
standards are difficult to reduce, and all parties involved experience greater comfort as the larger
orders proceed.
And the last one is credit risk. Credit risk is associated with the customers' solvency but
also the firm's business cycle. To assess this type of risk, the firm needs to take into
consideration the amount of credit outstanding - both overseas and domestic - in the trading
accounts, the impact of a customer's financial pitfall of the firm, the maximum amount of credit
which should not be exceeded, and most importantly how to finance the offered credit period.
Having sufficient cash to allow offering credit terms in export sales is a substantial part of the
firm's business circle.
Beyond doubt, doing business in a foreign country entails major business risks. The key
is to assess these risks properly in order to eliminate the failure factor in the firm's global
operations, but also to be prepared to anticipate the cost of such a failure.
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Exercise 1:
1. Own/owe
2. Depreciation/written off/amortization
3. Receivable/payable
4. Inventory
5. Accrued
6. Leverage
Exercise 2:
• variable costs
• direct costs
• fixed costs
• indirect costs
• operating costs
• capital expenditure
• marginal costs
Exercise 3:
Exercise 4:
1. T 2. F
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3. T 7. T
4. T 8. F
5. F 9. T
6. F 10. F
II. ESSAY
The balance sheet statement is one of the most important of all financial documents, and it is
important for every business owner or would be business owner to understand just what goes
into this important document.
A good balance sheet statement will help potential lenders to determine the creditworthiness of a
new client, and help potential partners to make the decision on whether or not to invest.
Firstly, the Balance Sheet Statement Is the Face Of Your Business To The World.Having a solid
business plan and a good balance sheet statement to work from is even more important with a
brand new startup business.While the established business will most likely already have a credit
rating of its own, it is often much more difficult to determine just how successful, or how credit
worthy, the brand new startup business will be.That is why the balance sheet statement is such an
important document, and it is the face of the new business to the world.
Secondly, balance sheet statement would be the one that potential lenders and investors want to
view so as to have a general perspective about how the company is operating. As the business
moves forward later on, the importance of the balance sheet statement will become even greater.
The balance sheet statement will help potential lenders and potential investors to look at the
business as it goes forward.The statement will help to detail the history of the business, including
the profit and loss, the seasonality of earnings, and other factors that are unique to the business.
However, creating a balance sheet statement is not always as easy as it sounds of course. While
those who already have business experience may have little trouble coming up with such a
statement, those without a business background may need some help to get started.After you
know just what such a statement consists of, it will be much easier to create your own going
forward.Those who have never created a business plan, an income statement or a balance sheet
statement before may need to seek the help of a business mentor or other experienced business
person
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d.
• The way the two companies are John Kelly – UK head of KPMG’s Merger and
combined? Acquisition Integration
e.
• To ensure their survival in a global John Thorp – head of finance and accounting at
market place? European Business School in London
f. The writer is so surprised at the money spent on merger because of evidence so strongly
against mergers succeeding.
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g. The belief that Daimler Benz would sell more Mercedes in the UK motivated it to merge
with Chrysler.
h. The direct consequences of the culture clash were many of the US executives quit their
jobs, overconfident financial target were not met a steady decline in the share price,
job cutting, numerous of a takeover bid.
i. The individual personalities are less justifiable than other reasons in mergers.
j. Because the BP Amoco merger is between companies with similar businesses that can
produce ongoing cost efficiencies rather than one-off saving.
Exercise 2
Because he wants to emphasize the close relationship between two company which
are merged.
2. Take a word from box A and combine it with a word from box B to form collocations.
Exercise 3
+ Business need to survive, develop the scale and get access to an increased number of markets
these days.
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+ Companies are worried that if they do not get together for mutual protection, they would either
be taken over or lose customers to powerful rivals.
+ A less justifiable reason is management egos and the endless desire of advisers to earn fees.
2. Problems with mergers:
+ The cultural barriers makes the communication becomes less effective. The clash led to many
of the executives quitting after cashing in millions of share options, a steady decline in the share
price, job cutting and numerous of a takeover bid.
+ Over-optimism by management was a major reason why merged companies failed to perform
well.
3. Type of mergers:
_ Horizontal: Two companies making the same product combined.
_ Vertical: A company either acquires or merges with another company in an immediately-
related stage of production and distribution.
_ Diversification: A company acquires another company in an entirely different sphere.
Exercise 4
What problems can occur with mergers:
+ Damage of company’s image, goodwill and share value
+ Unmanageable and inefficient structures (such as large conglomerates): The merged company
may too large to manage
+ Drainage of Human Capital
+ Differences in opinion or management style may cause partners to fail to see eye-to-eye
+ Culture: Differences in corporate culture from one organization to the next also can pose
problems for businesses looking to combine efforts and resources.
If the risks are so great, why do companies merge:
Firstly, the key principle behind merger is to create a shareholder value over and above
that of the sum of the two individual company’s shareholder value. Two companies together are
more valuable than two separate companies. In detail, each type of merger can bring different
advantages for companies:
• Horizontal Mergers:
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+ Reduce competition: By merging, one natural competitor was eliminated in the process
+ Increase market share
+ Acquire additional plant and equipment
+ Achieve synergy and economies of scale: Merger are able to reduces total costs for the newly
formed corporation by implementing a combined effort such as using one set of marketing
efforts to the same target market
• Vertical Mergers:
Exercise 5
Here are some linking words and expressions that can be used to describe cause and effect:
So
to bring about
to lead to CAUSE EFFECT
to result in
to cause
to mean
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as a result of
because
to result from
EFFECT
to arise from
CAUSE
to be due to
Answer:
to be caused by
On 28 January 2005, Procter and Gamble announced that it was going to buy Gillette for
$57 billion that led to a nearly 13% rise for Gillette on Wall Street, while there was a 2.1% drop
for P&G.
P&G predicted cost savings of between $14 billion and $16 billion from economies of
scale and restructuring of the two companies so the combined companies’ sales would be over
$60 billion a year.
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved the acquisition on 10 April 2005, as
long as the companies divest some overlapping product lines to result in restoring competition
in the market.
In July 2005, shareholders of both companies and the European Union approved the
proposed merger; as a result of P&G’s agreement to sell its line of battery-operated
toothbrushes.
P&G exchanged its common stock for Gillette stock on 1 October 2005, that cause
Gillette shareholders got an 18% premium on the closing share prices of 27 January 2005.
The Gillette Company ceased to exist and its stocks were no longer traded, meaning that
the purchase was finalized.
P&G became the world’s biggest household goods maker, which caused 6,000 people,
4% of the combined workforce of 140,000, to lose their jobs because of overlaps in management
and business support functions. However, it also resulted in a 27% increase in sales and a 29%
in net earnings for P&G.
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II. ESSAY
It all comes from the ignorance. While the parties to a merger or acquisition cannot
exchange commercially sensitive information prior to being under common ownership, there is
enough crucially important and legally permissible preparation work to keep an integration team
busy for several months before day one. Most chief executives don’t know this and they waste
the time that could be put to good use while they await clearance from the regulatory authorities.
Good preparation means the integration can kick off on day one. Speed matters.
Besides, failures also result from no common vision. In the absence of a clear statement
of what the merged company will stand for, how the organization will operate, what it will feel
like, and what will be different compared to how things are today, there is no point of the
convergence on the horizon and the organizations will never blend.
Weak leadership is also a reason. Integrating two organisations is like sailing through a
storm: you need a strong captain, someone whom everyone can trust to bring the ship to its
destination, someone who projects energy, enthusiasm, clarity, and who communicates that
energy to everyone. If senior managers do not walk the talk, if their behaviours and ways of
working do not match the vision and values the company aspires to, all credibility is lost and the
merger’s mission is reduced to meaningless
In short, perhaps the measure of why shareholders and directors of companies are still
pursuing mergers and acquisitions despite a global trend of a significant failure rate, can be
attributed to the motivation for businesses to combine forces and resources so as to ensure
sustainability. Notwithstanding the many failures, the economic downturn has perhaps
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highlighted the need to diversify resources into foreign and emerging markets; thereby
potentially enabling higher levels of growth.