BEC中级真题第三辑阅理解读.docx

1、BEC中级真题第三辑阅理解读1 It would be advisable for Flacks to consult customers before developing a new product. 2 Producing goods for specialist markets might increase Flacks profits. 3 Flacks may need to change the function of one of its facilities. 4 Flacks should utilise its current expertise to enter a d

2、ifferent market. 5 Flacks may need to consider closing its current production facility. 6 Flacks should develop the connections it has established with leading retailers. 7 Expanding the product range would not be a problem for the workforce. Flacks is a UK-based company that produces fashion access

3、ories for women. How can it continue to grow its business? A Susan Falmer Faced with a shrinking market, cheap imports and competitive pricing, Flacks will have to work hard to increase its margins. They need to move into a more promising market, one where demand is growing and where the company can

4、 exploit existing skills and contacts. They could think about brand extension - this would not be a giant leap and the sales force would take it in its stride. Also, they wouldnt need to re-equip their factory and could use non-UK sourcing if facilities here are in short supply. B Mesut Guzel They h

5、ave the fundamentals of a survival strategy in a market where outsourced manufacture and brand differentiation hold the key to success. I think they should initially locate some of their production in another country, where manufacturing quality tends to be better and it is easier to meet changing c

6、ustomer demands. But they should also regularly monitor production in Britain and think about outsourcing all this work abroad at some point if they need it done faster. The company should continue to work on innovative products, and thorough market research will help to ensure any new ideas are wel

7、l received. C Gary Wilmot In order to beat their rivals in a highly competitive market, Flacks should ensure their products are attractive and build on their relationships with the big stores rather than trying to go it alone and market directly. They should also consider refocusing production by us

8、ing their UK factory for high-specification products. They could eventually build more production overseas in a cycle of continuous development. D Michal Kaminski The demand for fashion accessories is relatively flat and the company should consider exploiting niche markets to improve its margins. Bu

9、t even within these, Flacks must distinguish its goods from those of its rivals in terms of quality, performance and design. Innovative sales, marketing and PR are vital to exploit these niche products. One competitive advantage that Flacks does have is production times. Many retail chains now have

10、two-tier supply chains and Flacks could focus on top-up orders. They might also investigate other sales channels such as mail order. Evaluating the performance of the board Few employees escape the annual or twice-yearly performance review. (0) .G.The answer is not a great number. And the smaller th

11、e company, the fewer checks there are on how well the directors are doing. Some of the largest companies formally assess the performance of their board, but very few new or growing companies have managed to get round to establishing any such procedure. Many business experts believe, however, that it

12、 is important for all companies to review the performance of the board. (8) .Another reason is that the board itself needs information on how well it is doing, just as much as other employees do. For the chief executive, appraisal of some sort is absolutely essential for his or her own sake and for

13、the good of the company. Indeed, many of those who have reached this level remark on how lonely the job of chief executive is and how few opportunities they get to discuss issues relating to it. There is some evidence to show that once smaller companies put a board appraisal process in place, they f

14、ind this process relatively easy to operate. (9) .Their counterparts in larger organisations, however, are often afraid that appraisals could be a challenge to their status. So, how should companies assess their board? (10) .At a very basic level,this could simply mean getting all the directors to w

15、rite down what they have achieved and how they can improve on it. At the other end of the scale is the full 360-degree appraisal. Here, each director is appraised in a systematic manner by a combination of the chairman and fellow directors. In the largest companies there are many methods for assessi

16、ng the board. A number of such companies have self-assessment schemes. The chairman may meet each board member individually to ask how things are going, in a fairly informal way. The whole board might also meet to talk about its progress in open session. (11).These might ask for peoples opinions on

17、the boards main tasks or on how well the committees are working. Research indicates there has been some improvement in the way the appraisal of board members is conducted. (12) .The chairman will have been involved directly or indirectly in the appraisal of all members of the board. Whose job is it,

18、 then, to appraise the chairman? A It is often the case that the directors of such companies are even happy to receive criticism, as this can prevent them from making basic mistakes. B The rest of the workforce sees it as unfair if the directors are the only members of the company to escape appraisa

19、l. C These are encouraging as they put a limit on the power of the chairman to assess fellow directors. D Alternatively, questionnaires might be distributed to directors, forming the basis for futurediscussion. E One issue remains, however, when all the others have been dealt with. F It is generally

20、 agreed that it is the chairmans responsibility to ensure the regular appraisal of each member of the board. G However, one wonders how many companies have in place a formal appraisal process for their board of directors. BRITISH COMPANIES CROSS THE ATLANTIC Next month a large group of British busin

21、ess people are going to America on a venture which may generate export earnings for their companies shareholders in years to come. A long list of sponsors will support the initiative, which will involve a 3-million media campaign and a fortnight of events and exhibitions. The ultimate goal is to per

22、suade more Americans that British companies have something to interest them. While there have been plenty of trade initiatives in the past, the difference this time round is that considerable thinking and planning have gone into trying to work out just what it is that Americans look for in British p

23、roducts. Instead of exclusively promoting the major corporations, this time there is more emphasis on supporting the smaller, more unusual, niche businesses. Fresh in the memories of all those concerned is the knowledge that America has been the end of many a large and apparently successful business

24、. For Carringtons, a retail group much respected by European customers and investors, America turned out to be a commercial disaster and the belief that they could even show some of the great American stores a retailing trick or two was hopelessly over-optimistic. Polly Brown, another very British b

25、rand that rode high for years on good profits and huge city confidence, also found that conquering America, in commercial and retailing terms, was not as easy as it had imagined. When it positioned itself in the US as a niche, luxury brand, selling shirts that were priced at $40 in the UK for $125 i

26、n the States, the strategy seemed to work. But once its management decided it should take on the middle market, this success rapidly drained away. It was a disastrous mistake and the high cost of the failed American expansion plans played a large role in its declining fortunes in the mid-nineties. S

27、arah Scott, managing director of Smythson, the upmarket stationer, has had to think long and hard about what it takes to succeed in America and she takes it very seriously indeed. Many British firms are quite patronising about the US, she says. They think that were so much more sophisticated than th

28、e Americans. They obviously havent noticed Ralph Lauren, an American who has been much more skilled at tapping into an idealised Englishness than any English company. Also, many companies dont bother to study the market properly and think that because somethings successful in the UK, its bound to be

29、 successful over there. You have to look at what you can bring them that they havent already got. On the whole, American companies are brilliant at the mass, middle market and people whove tried to take them on at this level have found it very difficult. This time round it is just possible that chan

30、ging tastes are running in Britains favour. The enthusiasm for massive, centralised retail chains has decreased. People want things with some sort of individuality; they are fed up with the banal, middle-of-the-road taste that America does so well. They are now looking for the small, the precious, t

31、he real thing, and this is precisely what many of the companies participating in the initiative do best. 13 The main reason that the British business people are going to America is to A encourage American consumers to buy their products. B analyse how American companies attract media coverage. C loo

32、k for financial backing from American investors and banks. D investigate how British and American companies could form partnerships. 14 In the writers opinion, the proposed venture will be different to previous ones because A fewer British business leaders will be making the trip. B less well-known companies will be better represented. C the larger companie