ACCA考试P1-P3模拟题及解析9

　　以下是高顿网校小编为学员整理的：ACCA P1-P3模拟题及解析。
 

　　Moor Farm is a large estate in the rural district of Cornaille. The estate covers a large area of forest, upland and farmland. It also includes two villages, and although many of the properties in these villages have been sold off to private homeowners, the estate still owns properties which it rents out. The estate also has a large mansion house set inside a landscape garden designed in the 19th century by James Kent. The garden, although now overgrown and neglected, is the only surviving example of his work in the district. The estate was left as a gift to a charitable trust

　　ten years ago. The trust is based at the estate. A condition of the gift to the trust was that the upland and forest should be freely accessible to visitors.

　　The estate has a manager, four full-time staff and 45 volunteers. These volunteers undertake most of the work on the estate, including the continuing excavation of Kent’s original garden design. They are happy, well-motivated and fully support the current manager who is due to retire in the very near future. Three of the volunteers have become acknowledged experts on land management, through their work on the estate. Government grants for initiatives such as tree planting, protected pasture land and rural employment have been received by the estate in the past.

　　However,a recent change in government means that this funding is unlikely to continue. This will also affect funding for the maintenance of the mansion. It was built almost 80 years ago when the climate of the area was much colder and drier. Recent warm wet winters have caused the fabric of the building to decay and increased the cost of maintaining it.

　　The estate has appointed a new manager who is due to take over the estate when the current manager retires.

　　She s working alongside the current manager so that she understands her responsibilities and how the estate works. As a one-off project, she has commissioned a stakeholder survey which has requested information on the visitor experience to help with a planned re-design of the estate’s website. The website is generally thought to be well structured and presented, but it receives fewer visitors than might reasonably be expected. It provides mainly static information about the estate and forthcoming events but currently users cannot interact with the site in anyway.

　　Here are some extracts from the survey:

　　‘I live in one of the villages and I am angry about visitors crowding around the village attractions – the tearooms, the craft shops, the souvenir stalls. We feel that we are prisoners in our own village and the traffic is terrible.’

　　Homeowner,from a village on the estate

　　‘We had a good day, but the weather was awful. If we had known it was going to rain all day, then we probably would have postponed the visit until a fine day. It spoilt a family day out.’ Visitor with small family ‘We were very disappointed, on arrival, to find that the family fun day was fully booked.’ Visitor who had travelled 100 kms with two small children to visit a special event

　　‘We all love it here, but we didn’t know you had a website!! We almost had to type in the complete website address before we found it! I am sure more people would come if they could only find the website!’ Visitor aged mid-20s

　　‘As usual, we had a great time here and took great photos. It would have been nice to be able to share our pleasure with other people. We would recommend it to anyone who loves the outdoors.’ Visitor – family with teenage children ‘We met the volunteers who were excavating the buildings in the landscape garden. They were so helpful and knowledgeable. They turned something that looked like a series of small walls into something so much more tangible.’

　　Visitor – elderly couple‘I was disappointed that I was not allowed into the farmland with my dog. As a human being, I have the right to roam.

　　It is a basic human right.’ Visitor – elderly female dog-walker‘We are regular visitors and we really want to know what is going on! There are many of us who would like to reallybe involved with the estate and help it thrive. We need more than just occasional questionnaires.’ Visitor – hiking group

　　‘We came out for a nice walk and ended up dodging cyclists. Next time we will go somewhere where they are not welcome.’ Visitor – hiking group

　　‘As a farmer, I am appalled with the reckless attitude of some dog walkers. Last week, I lost two sheep, ravaged by dogs that should not have been off their leads.’ Farmer – estate tenant

　　‘I’m a volunteer and I love it here. We are a happy, social group of people. I hope the new manager is not going to change things.’ Volunteer.
 

　　Required:

　　(a) Evaluate the strategic position of the estate with specific reference to the expectations of stakeholders, to the external environmental factors beyond the control of the estate and to the strategic capabilities of the estate itself. (15 marks)

　　(b) Discuss how the website could be further developed to address some of the issues highlighted in the survey.(10 marks)(25 marks)
　　Answer:

　　(a) Many issues will need to be considered in the formulation of a strategy for the estate. However, in the context of the scenario,special attention will have to be paid to the expectations of stakeholders, to external environmental factors beyond the control of the estate and to the strategic capabilities of the estate itself. These are now considered in turn.

　　Expectations of stakeholders

　　Any proposed strategy will have to take into account the expectations of many stakeholders, some of which have conflicting objectives. From an internal perspective, the strategy has to take into account the objectives of volunteers who make up 90% of the workforce. Any strategy that alienates volunteers may leave the charity unable to maintain the estate or meet its basic operational obligations. Volunteers have different objectives to a paid workforce and these needs have to be understood.

　　Replacing volunteers is not as straightforward as replacing a paid workforce, where scarce labour can be attracted through improved pay and conditions.

　　Most organisations have relatively straightforward relationships with their customers. Providing a service or product to one customer rarely conflicts with offering a service or product to another. Where it does conflict, for example in providing audit and consultancy services, a supplier can usually elect not to supply the customer, who then looks elsewhere for a similar service. In the case of Moor Farm, potential customers do conflict. There are documented examples of cyclists clashing with walkers and dog walkers with farmers. Access to the land is free (a stipulation of the charitable bequest) and so it is difficult to exclude potential customers. Consequently, a strategy has to be developed that is sensitive to the conflicting needs of customers, within the constraints of the charitable bequest.

　　Finally, the Moor Farm estate also surrounds two villages where private homeowners are angry about the increasing number of visitors to certain parts of the estate. Attractions have been created, causing traffic problems. As well as having a moral responsibility to these homeowners, the estate also depends, to some extent, on rental income from some of the houses in these villages. Again, residents need to be considered in the definition of the estate’s strategy.

　　External environmental issues

　　The estate needs to continually scan the external environment to identify issues that might affect its situation. Strategy may have to be developed to either exploit or reflect these external changes, most of which are outside the control of the estate.

　　At best, it can only lobby those responsible for creating these influences.

　　In the scenario, mention is made of a changed political landscape where government funding is to be reduced on initiatives such as tree planting, protected pasture land and rural employment. This will affect the income of the estate. Changes in weather patterns are also causing problems for the mansion that is situated in the estate. Built originally to resist cold dry weather typical of the time, it has proved susceptible to the warmer, wetter winters now experienced in this part of the country.

　　This is causing long-term maintenance issues as the fabric of the mansion deteriorates.

　　Finally, the population of the country is increasingly vocal about the ‘rights’ of individuals. The survey suggests that individuals believe that they have a ‘right to roam’ on private land, even when this violates the ‘rights’ of others, such as farmers and other land users. The estate has to take into account this social trend and potential stakeholder conflicts in its planned strategy.

　　Strategic capability

　　Finally, the strategy has to take into account the internal resources and competencies of the estate. The estate has significant tangible resources, such as land and property. It also has a unique resource, the only landscape garden developed by James Kent in the district. This is a unique resource which the strategy should aim to exploit. There are also other internal capabilities that should be recognised. A happy, motivated volunteer workforce must be properly utilised by any strategic change, not alienated. Amongst these are volunteers with exceptional skills in land management which could be used to exploit other opportunities on similar estates in the country. Leadership style also needs to be considered. The previous manager was

　　well-liked and successful. Any sudden change in style may cause disruption and a fall in morale. The new leader has to be sensitive to her predecessor’s leadership style, whilst building on the success of the previous leader by improving the visitor experience.

　　The estate has valuable and, in some cases, unique resources, which it needs to exploit with a varied set of stakeholders who sometimes come into conflict with each other. A stakeholder analysis, leading to appropriate stakeholder management policies, seems key here, and may provide some insights into how the website might be improved (part (b) of this question).

　　One of these stakeholders, the government, needs to be particularly monitored, as their policies threaten the funding of the trust.
 

　　(b) There is little point in having a well-designed website if it is difficult to find. The role of search engines is significant here.

　　Moor Farm needs to be near the top of the search engine listings for search terms that are directly relevant. The estate needs to discuss what these terms might be. ‘Moor Farm’ is an obvious one, but searches such as ‘walking in rural Cornaille’ may bring in visitors who are not aware of the estate’s existence. There is conflicting advice on how to structure a website to achieve a high position in a search engine listing. One fool-proof way is to buy sponsored links which are shown as such at the top of the displayed page. Some commercial organisations are dubious about the value of such links, but they seem completely appropriate in the context of a charitable estate.

　　Although the website is well regarded and well presented, it does not appear to have weather feeds that would avoid people coming on days when the weather was so poor that it might be dangerous, or, as in the quote, when it might spoil a family’s enjoyment. The website may have a weather forecast, a feed on current conditions, and perhaps webcams showing the actual weather at a number of agreed locations. Of course, these feeds and webcams will also show good weather conditions as well, perhaps enticing people to the estate who were prevaricating about their visit.

　　The website currently shows information about events, but it does not allow customers to book these events. The interactivity of the site has to be improved, allowing customers to book and pay in advance, so that they can be sure that they will be able to attend the event and avoid the disappointment of the family who travelled 100 km only to find the event fully booked.

　　Such a facility also has advantages for the estate. For example, it has some feel about the popularity of the event before it is run, so that the scale of the event can be altered to reflect the likely demand. Furthermore, payment is received in advance, thus improving cash flow.

　　Feedback from satisfied customers can be an important factor in attracting new customers. At present the site does not appear to allow visitors to post comments, photographs and recommendations. This means that an effective marketing tool,unsolicited recommendations, do not appear on the site. Comment has also been made about the enthusiasm and knowledge of the volunteers. This could be harnessed on the site by asking volunteers to write blogs, explaining what they are doing and

　　what is going on. This could be linked through to Twitter and other social networking sites.

　　Finally, there is obviously a group of regular visitors to Moor Farm who wish to become more involved. As the quotation suggests ‘we really want to know what is going on!’. The website can be used to develop a community that supports and promotes the estate. This could be achieved by asking users to register with their email address. They will then receive newsletters, special offers and information about forthcoming events. Special events can be offered to this community and

　　part of the website can be set aside for members of this community. Not only will this provide the estate with valuable resource, it will also allow them to build up a marketing profile of likely visitors and, through surveys and questionnaires,continue to understand what different types of visitor want from the estate.
 

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