ACCA P3历年试题大全（2002年-2008年）

ACCA P3历年试题大全（2002年-2008年）

包含（2002年-2008年）ACCA P3历年考试真题及答案，文件列表如下：
Dec-2002.PDF、Dec-2003.PDF、Dec-2004.PDF、Dec-2005.PDF、Dec-2006.PDF、Dec-2007.PDF、Dec-2008.PDF；
June-2003.PDF、June-2004.PDF、June-2005.PDF、June-2006.PDF、June-2007.PDF、June-2008.PDF；

Business Analysis
Wednesday 11 June 2008

Time allowed
Reading and planning: 15 minutes
Writing: 3 hours
This paper is divided into two sections:
Section A – This ONE question is compulsory and MUST be attempted
Section B – TWO questions ONLY to be attempted

Section A – This ONE question is compulsory and MUST be attempted
The following information should be used when answering question 1.
1 Introduction
AutoFone was established almost twenty years ago at the beginning of the mobile telephone boom. It was formed by
a dynamic Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who still remains a major shareholder of the company.
AutoFone brought two new concepts to the market. Firstly, it established retail shops where customers could go and
handle the products and discuss mobile phone options with trained sales people. Before AutoFone, all mobile
telephones were sold through the customer directly contacting the telephone network provider (like conventional home
land line services) and were generally aimed at business rather than leisure users. Secondly, AutoFone sold products
and services from all the four major network providers licensed by the government to provide telecommunications
services in the country. Previously, customers could only choose products and services from within one network
provider’s range. AutoFone allowed customers to choose products and services across the range of the four providers
and reflected this in the company’s motto ‘ethical advice: the customer’s choice’.
In 1990, AutoFone signed a thirty-year supply contract with each provider. Although, in retrospect, these deals were
on commercially favourable terms for AutoFone, the network providers were happy to agree these deals because none
of them believed that mobile telephones could be successfully sold through retail shops. However, speaking in 2003,
the managing director of one of the networks suggested ‘that AutoFone had got away with incredible profit margins’
when they signed the deals in 1990. The four network providers themselves had re-signed twenty-five year licence
deals with the government in 1995. Under the terms of these deals, licences will be restricted to the four current
providers until their renewal date of 2020.
Retail shops Division
AutoFone currently has 415 shops around the country. To reduce costs most shops are on the edge of (but not in)
the main shopping area of the town they serve. It is usual for AutoFone to sign a fifty-year shop lease in return for
low initial annual rental and a rent-free period at the start of the lease while the company fits out the shop to reflect
AutoFone’s corporate image. In 1997, AutoFone floated on the country’s stock market to assist the funding of further
shops and so continue its organic growth. The national coverage of its shops, the publicity generated by its CEO and
a successful television advertising campaign culminated, in 2005, with it being rated by consumers as one of the top
20 brands in the country.
The CEO of AutoFone established the retail shops along, in his words, ‘entrepreneurial lines’. He regards each shop
as an independent business, having to achieve a profit target but without being closely monitored within these targets.
He believes that the company is ‘about providing opportunity to its employees, providing them with autonomy and
responsibility to achieve their goals. It is not about monitoring them every hour of the day, stifling creativity and
enthusiasm.’ To support this approach, sales staff are given a relatively low basic salary with a substantial element of
profit-related pay linked to the profit targets of the shop. Commission is also paid to sales staff who successfully sell
mobile phone insurance to the customer. Each shop is relatively small, usually employing three or four people.
In recent years the CEO has been increasingly involved in television, sports promotion and charity work. At AutoFone
he has established a strategic planning committee of senior headquarters managers to develop and implement the
company’s business strategy. This committee includes the two longest serving board directors. The strategy still
continues to have at its heart the central business idea of giving independent and impartial advice to customers so
that they can choose the best equipment and network for their needs.
Marketplace trends
Since AutoFone’s arrival into the market, two significant trends have emerged:
(i) The licensed network providers have opened their own retail stores, usually in city centres. AutoFone has reacted
to the opening of these shops by stressing AutoFone’s independence and impartiality. Only at AutoFone can
impartial advice be received on all four competing networks and their supporting services. The CEO now refers
to this as ‘our central business idea’ and, as well as being core to their strategy, it is heavily emphasised in all
their promotional material.