剑桥BEC高级真题第四辑TEST4Word文档下载推荐.docx

剑桥BEC高级真题第四辑TEST4Word文档下载推荐.docx

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•Foreachstatement（1-8）,markoneletter（A,B,C,DorE）onyourAnswerSheet.

•Youwillneedtousesomeoftheselettersmorethanonce.

•Thereisanexampleatthebeginning（0）.

Example：

0Certainotherfirmsarecompetingwiththiscompanyforthefirsttime.

1Someofthiscompany'

soutletswereaffectedbycompetitionfromitsownnew

outlets.

2Thiscompanyexpectsthenumberofcompaniesinitssectortobereduced.

3Notallofthiscompany'

scompetitorsareincreasingtheirturnover.

4Thiscompanyhashadtoallowforcoveringalossmadeonaparticularcontract.

5Thiscompanyhaspaidoffthemoneyitowed.

6Itislikelythatthiscompanywillmakemoremoneyonreducedsalesrevenue.

7Someofthiscompany'

soutletswillberequiredtochangetheirname.

8Thiscompanyhasdecidedagainstgoingaheadwithaplan.

A

COLEMAN’S

Aswaswidelyreported,wecloselyexaminedthepossibilityofmergingwithafood-distributionbusinessduringtheyear.However,whilstthestrategicrationaleforcombinationwassound,itbecameclearthatitwouldnotbeinourshareholders’bestintereststoproceedwiththedeal,withitsriskofincreasingdebt.Instead,weintendtoconcentrateonourcoreactivity.Nevertheless,themarketwithinwhichweoperateitfiercelycompetitive,andtheadventofnewentrantsiscreatingmarketconditionsinwhichcontinuedearningsgrowthwillbecomeincreasinglychallenging.

B

SHERIFF

Thisisamomentousperiodforthepharmaceuticalindustry.Againstthebackgroundofscientificandeconomicchange,weareseeinginevitablefurtherconsolidationofwhatremainsoneofthemostfragmentedofthegreatglobalindustries.Sheriffwillnotshrinkfromparticipatinginthisprocessifcircumstancesnecessitatesuchactionintheinterestsoffuturesuccess.However,today,theoverwhelmingpreoccupationofyourBoard,executivemanagementandstaffiswithmejobathand,whichistogrowmebusinessanddeliverthepromiseswehavemadeintermsoftuming

aroundourlossesofrecentyears.

C

BVL

Profitbeforetaxationwas£

20m,incomparisonwiththe£

32machievedinthepreviousyear.Thisdisappointingresultincludesaprovisionof£

26mononeproject,duetocostsexceedingtheguaranteedmaximumpricequotedtotheclient.OneresultisthattheConstructionDivisionhasbeensettargetstoincreasethelevelofpartneringandfeework.Tumover,alreadystagnant,maydecline,butprofitsareexpectedtorecover.Inaddition,improvementswillbemadetothecontrolprocessesrelatingtotendering,andtothequalityofprojectmanagement.

D

MARTIN’S

Martin’shasdevelopedadistinctiveretailformatbasedonconvenientlocationsfortheshopper.Lastyear’smergerofMartin’sandHoylehasprovideduswiththeopportunitytobuildonourleadershipinthisneighbourhoodretailmarket.BuildingawarenessoftheMartirfsbrandcontinues,anditsvisibilityandfamiliaritywillgrowasweconvertHoylestoresintoMa.rtin’soperations.lnlinewithourvision,weaimtosetthepaceindevelopingnewshoppingservicesandchannelssuchashomeandofficeshopping.

E

TAYLOR’S

Despiteadownturninconsumerconfidenceduringtheperiod,wecontinuedtoexperiencepositivelike-for-likesalesgrowthforthefinancialyear,unlikemanyothersinourpeergroup.Encroachrnentbyournewopeningson38ofourestablishedrestaurantshada3%negativeeffectonlike-for-likesales,butthispercentageiscertaintobereduced.Sincetheyear-end,ourlike-for-likesalestrendcontinuestobepositive.Wehavechangedanetdebtpositionof£

ll.2mthistimelastyeartonetcashof£

1.7mthisyear.

Questions9-14

•Readthistextaboutbusinessschools.

•Choosethebestsentencefromtheoppositepagetofilleachofthegaps.

•Foreachgap（9-14）,markoneletter（A-H）onyourAnswerSheet.

•Donotuseanylettermorethanonce.

BUSINESSSCHOOLSHAVETHEEDGE

Businessschoolsarefacingincreasingcompetitionfromotherprovidersofmanagementtrainingsuchasconsultancies.Thekeytotheirfuturesuccessasmanager-trainersliesinthequalitybothoftheirresearchandoftheirpartnershipwiththebusinessworld.

Inthemostgeneralsense,beingagoodmanagerisamatterofbeingmarginallybetterthananddifferentfromyourcompetitors.（0）....H....Thesearetheelementswhichmakethedifferencebetweenasuccessfulandalesssuccessfulmanager.Thismarginaledgemaybebasedontalent,flairornaturalleadership.（9）............Andthisiswherebusinessschoolscomeintotheirown.Theeducationofmanagersshouldincludeon-the-jobtraining,workshops.conferencesandtrainingcourses.（10）............Traditionally,businessschoolshavethreemajordifferentiatingcharacteristics.First,theyofferacompletepackagerangingfrombasictoverysophisticatedtraining.Next,theyenablemanagerstobenetitfromtheresearchtheycarryout.（11）............

Incontrasttootherprovidersofmanagementeducation,businessschoolsoftenofferacompleteportfolioofeducationalprogrammes.MBAprogrammesexistalongsidegeneralmanagementprogrammes,aswellasspecialisedprogrammesforexperiencedmanagers.Forthebusinessschool,thishastheadvantagethatteacherscanusetheinformationtheygetfromoneprogrammetocross-fertilisewiththeirteachingonanother.（12）...........Thisintumofferssubstantialadvantagestothecompaniesconcerned.Itmeansthatmanagersandexecutivesatdifferentlevelsoftheorganisationcanbeconfrontedwiththesameconcepts,expressedinthesamelanguage.Inthisway,aclosepartnershipwithabusinessschoolenablesacompanytocreatesomecoherencebetweentheeducationandthedevelopmentofitsdifferentmanagementlevels.Peopleinthecompanywillcommunicatemoreeffectivelybecausetheyusethesameterminology.（13）............Inshort,thankstocontactwiththebusinessschool,morepeoplewithinthesamecompanywillbeembracingsimilarideas.

Obviously,thevalueoftheseconceptstothecompanyincreasesiftheyarestate-of-the-artconcepts.（14）............Onlythencanthecompanygenuinelyimproveitsmanagementpracticeandcompetitiveperformance.Workingwithabusinessschoolisformanycompaniesaprivilegedmethodofaccessingthelatestmanagementthinking,beforeitispublishedintrade

joumalsorpopularbooks.

Example:

0ABCDEFGH

ADifferentdepartmentswillbeableto

discussinternalissueswithaconsiderableamountofmutualunderstanding.

BYetgoodmanagementisalsoessentialtothecompetitiveperformanceofcompanies.

CAndnolessimportant,theyareabletopreserveanindependentoutlooktowardstheworldofbusiness.

DHowever,acquiredknowledgeofmanagementcanalsoprovidethisdecisiveadvantage.

EFortheminfacttobeso,abusiness

school'

sleachingmustbesupportedbyfirst-classresearch.

FThusinsightsgainedfromtopexecutivesmightimpactpositivelyonwhattheycoverinagraduateprogramme.

GBusinessschoolshaveaspecialroletofulfilinthedeliveryofthisportfolio.

HHeorsheneedstobealittlefaster,abletospotopportunitiesearlierandreactmorequickly.

PARTTHREE

Question15-20

•Readthefollowingextractfromanarticleaboutbrandstretching（usinganexistingbrandnameonnewtypesofproducts）andthequestionsontheoppositepage.

•Foreachquestion（15-20）,markoneletter（A,B,CorD）onyourAnswerSheet.

Amanufacturerofsportsshoesstartssellingconsumerelectronics.Asoftdrinklendsitsnametoarangeofurbanclothing.What’sgoingon?

Insimplertimes,youknewwhereyouwerewithbrands.Onebrandnamemeantgood-qualitysportsshoes,anotherasoftdrink.Noconfusion.Today,however,bigcompaniestrytoredefinebrandsasnotsornuchaproduct,moreawayoflife,andstretchthemintonewareas.Intheearlyyearsoftheconsumersociety,abrandnameonaboxsimplyidentifiedwhatwasinside.Peoplewerelookingforproductsthatwouldimprovetheirqualityoflife,andchosebrandsmostlikelytoachievethatpurpose.Butaspeopleinindustrialisednationsbecamemoreaffluentandfulfilledtheirbasicneeds,brandsacquiredotherattributes.Thefunctionalityoftheproductwasstillimportant,butpeoplealsostartedusingbrandstosaysomethingaboutthemselves,forexample,choosingabrandofcosmeticswhichwouldsuggestthattheyweresophisticatedjet-setters.Now,wehaveenteredathirdageofbranding,inwhichsomanycompaniesaremakingroughlythesameproductatroughlythesamepricethatfunctionalityrarelysucceedsasapointofdifferentiation.Instead,companiesaretryingtomaketheirbrandsstandoutbyemphasisingtheiremotionalaspects,hopingconsumerswillidentifywiththesetofvaluesthebrandrepresents.

Onedisadvantageofaproduct-basedbrandisthatiftheproductgoesoutoffashion,thebrandgoeswithit.Thisisaseriousconcernformanufacturersofbreakfastcereals,whoarestrugglingtocounterweakdemandfortheproductsthatbeartheirnames.Sofar,theirmarketingeffortsseemtobehavinglittleeffect.Theadvantageforemotionalbrandsisthatcompaniescantransfertheirbrandstrengthintootherareas,increasingrevenuesandreducingtheirexposuretothelifespanofasingleproduct.

Theelasticityofbrandsseemstoberelatedtotheirpositiononaspectrum