In east germany, back before the berlin wall fell, there was one manufacturer of cars (veb sachsenring automobilwerke zwickau). they produced one type of car, the trabant, with a maximum speed of 55 mph (26 horsepower lawnmower type engine). anyone who wished to buy a car put their name on a list and waited for two or three years to be able to purchase a ‘trabbi’. whatever was available when their name came up was what they got--no choice of color, style, or engine size. east germans were living with what type of economy?

Garrett is an executive vice president at samm hardware. he researches a proposal by a larger company, maximum hardware, to combine the two companies. by analyzing past performance, conducting focus groups, and interviewing maximum employees, garrett concludes that maximum has poor profit margins, sells shoddy merchandise, and treats customers poorly. what actions should garrett and samm hardware take? a. turn down the acquisition offer and prepare to resist a hostile takeover. b. attempt a friendly merger and use managerial hubris to improve results at maximum. c. welcome the acquisition and use knowledge transfer to impart sam hardware's management practices. d. do nothing; the two companies cannot combine without samm hardware's explicit consent.