INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED SECRETARIES

AND ADMINISTRATORS IN ZIMBABWE

I C S A
INTERNATIONAL

EXAMINATION QUESTION PAPER

DATE:

NOVEMBER 2015

PART:

FINAL QUALIFYING EXAMINATION

SUBJECT:

INTEGRATIVE CASE STUDY

TIME:

3 HOURS

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES
This paper is divided into Two sections: the pre-seen and the unseen materials. The unseen
material is part of this examination question paper.

Candidates should answer ALL questions.

Mark Allocation
Each question carries 25 marks.

Total

100 marks

The examination script is the property of ICSAZ and is not to be removed from the examination venue.

CASE STUDY: PRECISION VOLUME MARKETING LIMITED.

UNSEEN MATERIAL
The Zimboland farmers were responsive to the initiative by Precision Volume Marketing Limited. All the
departments of the company were well integrated and functioned as designed and expected. The action
plans prepared in line with the Chief Executives summary at the closure of the 2009 management
conference appeared to have ignored the following aspects:
A) Creation of a Systems Network
(i) There was limited access by farmers due to lack of infrastructure as fibre optics had not been rolled
out;
(ii) Rural electrification had not reached the targeted farming areas;
(iii) Satellite systems were in their infancy and
(iv) Solar systems were still rudimentary in most farming areas.
B) Training of farmers
(i) The company had limited resources for workshops but could influence the donor community under
the poverty reduction strategy; and
(ii) Government policy on community development was not clear as it was affected by continuous red
tape.
C) Harvesting of raw material product
(i) Due to the existence of different physical geographical regions product harvesting times were
favourable as these were well distinguished;
(ii) Due to the lucrative market, the farmers were over producing, a situation that created bottle necks
at the factory; and
(iii) When there was viral or other disease outbreaks, the factory had to run under low capacity, a
position that created shortages on the market.
D) Creation of a Research network
(i)
The company was forced to introduce a research network as corporate social responsibility
and backing up its early warning systems;
Data collection was essential for planning and daily handling of raw material product that
(ii)
could easily succumb to over exposure to heat, moisture and cold spells;
(iii)
Use of telephone lines was encouraged as a temporary measure for limited internet access
and transmission of data; and
(iv)
Training of farmers in providing data suitable for computer processing and the establishment
of research assistants network became necessary to ensure a formidable data base was in
place for quick decision making and planning.

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E) Diversity of Product that the Company handled

(i)
(ii)
(iii)

Fruits Apples, pears, bananas, grapes, oranges, peaches, plums, avocados etc.
Vegetables lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, spinach, cabbage, runner beans, sugar beans,
onions etc.
Flowers roses, king proteas, tulips, iris lilac, orchids daisies, etc.

The company implemented various strategies in 2010 and 2011. By the beginning of 2012 the
position was reached:

No. of Farmers
150
75
50

Region

Table 1: REGISTRATION
Fruits

Highveld
Middleveld
Lowveld

Vegetables

Flowers

100
40
50

25
10
5

50
40
10

following

Table 2: CONNECTED TO INTERNET

Total to
Date of
Farmers
Registered
150
75
50

Year
Connectivity
By
Region
Highveld
Middleveld
Lowveld

2010
50
25
15

% of
registered
on total
18.2
9.1
5.5

Year

2011
120
30
25

%
Cumulatively
Registered
43.6
10.9
9.1

Table 3: FRUIT SEGMENT OVERALL YIELD IN TONS PER YEAR

Region
2010
Yield %
2011
Highveld
4000
69.0
7000
Middleveld
1000
17.2
1300
Lowveld
800
13.8
1000

Table 4: FRUIT SEGMENT YIELD BY TYPE IN TONS PER YEAR

2010
Fruit
Highveld Middleveld
Lowveld
Avocado
500
300
200
Apples
1 500
0
0
Pears
300
0
0
Peaches
600
180
100
Plums
200
0
0
Bananas
600
100
0
Grapes
150
20
0
Oranges
150
400
500
Total
4 000
1 000
800

% not
registered
on total
2011
36.4

Yield %
75.3
14. 0
10.7

Total
1 000
1 500
300
880
200
700
170
1 050
5 800

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Table 5: FRUIT SEGMENT YIELD BY TYPE IN TONS PER YEAR

2011
Fruit
Avocado
Apples
Pears
Peaches
Plums
Bananas
Grapes
Oranges
Total

Highveld
875
2 325
525
955
350
1 050
460
460
7 000

Middleveld
330
0
0
234
0
130
26
580
1 300

Lowveld
250
0
0
125
0
0
0
625
1 000

Total
1 455
2 325
525
1 314
350
1 180
486
1 665
9 300

End of Case Study

This Case Study is based on a fictitious company whose

management team and board members are not real persons

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(COMPULSORY: ANSWER ALL FIVE QUESTIONS)

QUESTION 1
You were the company secretary of Precision Volume Marketing Company Limited
present at the companys conference organized by Alex Tsiga. Using the information
contained in the case study, formulate the companys strategic plan showing:
a) The Vision, mission statement, and core values.
b) The objectives and strategies.

(10 marks)
(15 marks)
[Total: 25 marks]

QUESTION 2
The company viewed connectivity as key to their success in securing a formidable team
of raw material suppliers. Suggest reasons to support this view by giving an exhaustive
analysis of the data in tables 1 to 5.
[Total: 25 marks]
QUESTION 3
The company had a burning desire to link up with both its suppliers and stakeholders
in general.
a) What technical constraints made its environment not conducive to meeting its
targets?
b) Evaluate why the company needed to be connected, particularly in view of the
cyclical nature of its business.
c) How does cultural diversity become an issue in the projected growth?
d) Determine how the leadership style employed by the Chief Executive
in the given Case Study would remove what he terms marketing myopia.

(5 marks)
(10 marks)
(5 marks)
(5 marks)
[Total: 25 marks]

QUESTION 4
In the light of the action plans crafted for the business:
a) Comment on the benefits and the likely barriers to E-Business that Precision
Volume Marketing will encounter.
b) Discuss the benefits that the budgetary process will bring to Precision Volume
Marketing. Comment on three (3) Human aspects achieved by adopting a
participatory budgetary system.
c) In general, every telecommunications network conceptually consists of three parts
or planes, give these three elements.
d) Why was it necessary for Chitsiga to motivate his staff?

(8 marks)

(7 marks)
(6 marks)
(4 marks)
[Total: 25 marks]

End of Examination Question Paper

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