QUESTION FIVE Luwingu plc, a company established some three decades ago in the Northern Province of Zambia as a local enterprise, has now evolved into a big business with an international presence in Central Africa. Luwingu plc is in passenger transportation business. She started with some taxis thirty years ago and later on added the 'bus' segment. The taxis' business segment has performed exceptionally well mainly due to effective branding, its name being associated with lower fares but quality service. The bus segment has not done so well. This segment has frequently been criticized by the public for providing services which do not run on time. Comparative financial information relating to the 'taxi' segment and the 'bus' segment for the last two years are given below: 2019 2018 K'000 K'000 570,000 410,000 678.000 423,000 Turnover Taxis' segment Buses' segment Before tax profit Taxis' segment Buses' segment 60,000 80,000 32,000 30,000 2018 2019 Continued Capital Employed Taxis segment Buses segment Other performance indicators 750,000 530,000 790,000 640,000 Taxis Buses Year 2018 2019 2018 2019 Number of customers carried 300,000 350,000 Passenger kilometer travelled 750,000,000 25,000,000 2,250,000 2,150,000 80,000,000 75,000,000 1 to 5 1 to 100 1 to 120 Ratio of staff to passengers: Ordinary 1 to 3 Business 1 to 4 Number of road routes operated 40 1 to 5 1 to 20 1 to 25 44 25 25 In. Note: The taxi segment sells seats as ordinary or business to its passengers. The 'buses segment' alike sells ordinary and business seats to its passengers. The difference in price of the ordinary and business seats for both the taxis and buses segments reflect the level of comfort and service. + An independent market consultant's, consumer research results, predict a increase in the number of taxi passengers by 5% in the next two years and increase for bus passengers in the nex 5 / 8 ars in the markets in which Luwin operating in Required: 1. Assess the performance of both the taxi' and 'bus' segments using the comparative financial and other performance indicators above. Offer suggestions based on this analysis on the ways in which the two segments can individually contribute to the growth of the company, Luwingu plc, as a whole. 2. Explain the term 'benchmarking' and briefly discuss the process and potential benefits that can be obtained as a result of undertaking a successful programme of benchmarking