MUHAMMAD YAZID BIN ADNAN (2022810316)

CONFIDENTIAL 2 LG/DEC 2022/ELC231 (SET 2)

PART A: READING COMPREHENSION (25 MARKS)

Read the passage below and answer all the questions that follow.

Adapt to survive, build a resilient tomorrow

I For the past couple of years, we have witnessed how COVID-19 has impacted
various industries and businesses across the world today. During the
pandemic, many companies are forced to review their paradigm of business
operations, as consumers adapt to their new lifestyles. Work-from-home and
digital connectivity have become the new norm of businesses due to the 5
restrictions of travelling. Meanwhile, consumers were seen to respond to the
pandemic by cutting back on unrestricted expenditures, focusing on what they
saw as essentials only thus proving the importance of business flexibility. With
that, it is compulsory for companies to relook at the products they were selling,
streamline their sales channels and restructure basic business processes. In 10
today’s challenging times, being able to adapt accordingly as well as aligning
business strategies and plans to changing realities, is the key to survival and
continued thriving. Thus, businesses have found themselves having to quickly
rethink how they operate and adjust their strategies in a bid to survive.

II The pandemic revealed that some consumers’ trends could advance quickly. 15
The consumers’ demands revolve around concerns regarding personal safety
and health naturally skyrocketed with the onset of COVID-19, with demands
for health and wellness products such as Vitamin C and multivitamins
increasing in various parts of the world. According to Mintel, a local
supermarket chain in Singapore called NTUC FairPrice saw a demand for 20
health supplements rising by three to five times, while Indonesians are
reportedly stocking up on jamu, a traditional medicine made from natural
ingredients, following the outbreak of COVID-19. A report by Fortune Business
Insights also highlighted that the impact of the pandemic is expected to cause
huge spikes in the annual growth rate of the global hand sanitiser market from 25
5.06 percent to 45.71 percent in the year of 2021. These occurrences reflect
the consumers’ leaning demand towards health and hygiene products that they
now deem essential. Thus, companies which quickly respond to this change

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would be at an advantage as they are able to focus on the solutions that oblige
the changing buyers’ requests and needs. In Indonesia, for example, Wipro 30
Consumer Care understood how demands for the products will change quite
early on when COVID-19 first started. Therefore, the company which initially
relied on fragrances and cosmetics has moved on to production of new anti-
bacterial and anti-germ products, including hand sanitisers, hand wash and
disinfectants. 35

III Next, global restrictions due to COVID-19 have caused inevitable change in
consumers’ demands leading to distracted supply chains. Across the world, the
uncontrolled purchases at supermarkets and local shops have led to certain
product shortages. To solve this, companies reexamine their supply chains by
looking at source diversification by not depending on just one country to get 40
some products. This way will ensure the continuity of the needed items in the
market and avoid huge hikes in prices as seen on hand sanitizers and face
masks in 2019. Other than the government initiative to control the base price
for these products, the companies must ensure that the supplies are enough
to meet the demands. Sticking to what previously worked before COVID-19 45
can be futile to a lot of businesses, especially after witnessing how these supply
chains were greatly impacted by the pandemic.

IV Another aspect that companies need to concentrate on is in terms of strategies

for product channelling, as there is a surge of e-commerce all over the world.
The trend surfaced when countries implemented restricted movement orders 50
that inhibited outings beyond a certain distance to buy basic necessities.
Hence, the consumers saw this platform as the only way of getting goods
without stepping out of their homes. Initially, many consumers were not familiar
with the interface of the e-commerce platform, causing barriers for them to fully
utilise it. However, with time, more households are found to be able to use this 55
platform to purchase goods as they are now more convinced that it is
commercially safe and convenient to do so. Hence, understanding the
changing channel preferences of the consumers and adapting in-market
business strategies accordingly can help to ensure that the business will not
eventually lose out in an increasingly competitive landscape. 60
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V Other than adapting to changes in consumers' demands, the speed at which

employees can adapt to the changes and take on new necessary roles can be
influential on the success of a business. With work-from-home becoming the
norm, employees must be able to work in different environments as well as
learning to collaborate and communicate effectively with colleagues using 65
various platforms. This massive shift in working models indicates that
businesses need to look into ways they can help their employees be better at
adapting to changes. In doing so, companies can look at investing in new tools
and technology to train employees on how to control and effectively use them.
Businesses can also upskill employees based on their capabilities in areas 70
outside of their current job scope as this will help them to be well-versed in
different parts of the businesses. That way, it will be easier for the businesses
to conduct any necessary restructuring of the workforce should another
circumstance like COVID-19 hit again.

VI Therefore, in order for businesses to survive, they must be able to adapt to the 75
current trends amid the pandemic. Today, we see businesses starting to
emerge from the initial effects of the pandemic, and those that have managed
to come through are those that have adapted well to changing tides. A lesson
learnt is that while it is essential to monitor the situation and find ways to cut
losses, it is equally important to stay agile and be adaptable to capture new 80
opportunities that might not have presented themselves before the pandemic.

Adapted from:
https://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnists/2020/11/643600/adapt-survive-
build-resilient-tomorrow

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QUESTION 1

State whether the following statements are TRUE (T) or FALSE (F).

a) a) Many businesses could operate as usual despite the pandemic. F

b) One of the main issues related to the pandemic is that buying trends
of personal safety and supplements among consumers have T
accelerated.
c) As businesses have to tolerate the outpouring of online purchases,
companies are also advised to re-evaluate their supply chains. T
d) In order to maintain their operations, companies should be able to get
used to the current trends and situations. T
(4 marks)

QUESTION 2

What do the following words mean as used in the passage?

a) restrictions (line 6) : regulation

____________________________________

b) Revealed (line 15) : disclose

____________________________________

c) Aspect (line 48) : particular

____________________________________

d) Massive (line 66) : immense

____________________________________

(4 marks)

QUESTION 3

All the followings are TRUE about the effects of COVID-19 on businesses, except:
(Circle two (2) answers)

i. Consumers began to focus on the essentials and reduce unrestricted purchases.

ii. COVID-19 caused a major increase in demands for health and wellness products.

iii. Consumers can rely on e-commerce platforms as one of few options available to
acquire their basic necessities.

iv. Due to shifting of working models, employees are to find their own ways in adapting
to the changes in businesses.
(2 marks)

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QUESTION 4

List two (2) effects of the pandemic towards the operations of companies.
paradigm shift in business operations
i) ____________________________________________________________________
ii) changes in consumer demands and supply chain disruptions
____________________________________________________________________
(2 marks)

QUESTION 5

How did COVID-19 affect the advancement of consumers’ trends?

COVID-19 accelerated consumers trends towards health and hygiene products leading to
_______________________________________________________________________
increased demand
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
(2 marks)

QUESTION 6

Explain what the author means by the following statement.

“Across the world, the uncontrolled purchases at supermarkets and local shops have led to
certain product shortages” (lines 37-39).
there are shortages of some products all over the world because people buy too much at
________________________________________________________________________
grocery stores and small shops.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
(2 marks)

QUESTION 7

Based on the passage, provide ways to ensure that your business will survive in an
increasingly competitive landscape.
Based on the passage, ways to ensure that your business will survive are adapt to charging
________________________________________________________________________
consumer demands and enable employees to adapt and upskill
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
(2 marks)

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QUESTION 8

Why do businesses need to upskill their employees?

Businesses need to upskill their employees to make their employees adapt to remote work
________________________________________________________________________
and to restart the workforce
________________________________________________________________________
(2 marks)

QUESTION 9

What can you infer from the following statement?

“Today, we see businesses starting to emerge from the initial effects of the pandemic and
those that have managed to come through are those that have adapted well to changing
tides.” (lines 76-78).
the conclusion is that businesses that are managed according to changing currents can run
________________________________________________________________________
well, this is because following current changes is important.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
(2 marks)

QUESTION 10

Based on your understanding of the passage, do you agree that e-commerce will have a

bright future in the purchasing trends? Provide two (2) reasons to justify your answer.

Yes, it is because nowadays most buyers are young people who are familiar with the era of globalization
________________________________________________________________________
that requires them to buy online. Moreover, using e-commerce is easier than buying normaly
________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

(3 marks)

END OF QUESTION PAPER

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