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商务英语高级阅读模拟题指导训1
The expression benchmarking has become one of the fashionable words in current management discussion. The term first appeared in the United States in the 1970s but has now gained world wide recognition. But what exactly does it mean and should your company be practicing it?
One straightforward definition of benchmarking comes from Chris Tether managing director of a New Zealand-based consultancy firm specializing in this area. “Benchmarking involves learning about your own practices, learning about the best practices of others, and then making changes for improvement that will enable you to meet or beat the best in the world.” The essential element is not simply imitating what other companies do but being able to adapt the best of other firms’ practices to your own situation.
Instead of aiming to improve only against previous performance and scores, companies can use benchmarking to inject an element of imagination and common sense into their search for progress. It is a process which forces companies to look closely at those activities which they may have been taking for granted and comparing them with the actives of other world-beating companies. Self-criticism is at the heart of the process although in some cases this may upset managers who are reluctant to question long established practices.
The process of identifying best practice in other companies does not just mean looking closely at your competitors. It might also include studying companies which use similar processes to your own, even though they are producing different goods. The point is to look at the process rather than the product. For example, Italian computer company Arita wanted to improve the quality of its technical manuals and handbooks. Instead of looking at manuals produced by other computer companies, Arita turned to a publisher of popular handbooks such as cookery books, railway timetables and car repair manuals. As Arita’s Technical Director Claudio Benclii says, “All of these handbooks are communicating complex information in a simple way - exactly what we are aiming to do. And in many cases they succeed far better than any computer company.”
There is some disagreement between benchmarking specialists as to the best methods to follow when starting a benchmarking exercise in your firm. Everyone agrees that the process must have the full approval of senior management but that it is best carried out by a comparatively small team. Some consultants feel this should be as small as three people but most favor a team of between five and eight at least one of whom should have some prior knowledge of the benchmarking process. In practice this often means bringing in an outside consultant – at least at the beginning. Once the team is assembled there can be anything from three to five formal stages in the process different approaches but whatever the exact technique benchmarking can only work if everyone in the company from top to bottom is committed to change.
15. According to the writer, benchmarking must always involve
A. changing your activities on the basis of new information.
B. Copying exactly what your competitors do.
C. Identifying the best company in your market.
D. Collaborating with other companies in the same field.
16. Some managers may resist benchmarking because
A. it takes their activities for granted.
B. It makes them examine the way they work.
C. It makes others question their efficiency.
D. It gives them a lot of extra work.
17. What sort of companies should you compare yours with?
A. those producing similar goods
B. those communicating most effectively
C. those using similar processes
D. those leading the domestic market
18. Anita found that a publishing company could
A. make more money than a computer firm.
B. Produce technical manuals for them
C. Show them how to improve their own manuals
D. Help them move into new markets
19. Benchmarking specialists agree that in order to succeed there must be
A. a team of no more than three people
B. total support from top managers
C. a fixed timetable for the process
D. an outside consultant it the team
20. What is the writer’s purpose in writing this article?
A. to recommend the process of benchmarking
B. to criticize firms that do not carry out benchmarking
C. to give tactual information about benchmarking
D. to explain why benchmarking does not suit every firm
Useful Words and Expressions:
Benchmarking; world-beating; assemble; be committed to;
Have you ever noticed the following sentences in your reading? If not, read them through and pay attention to the bold parts.
16. Self-criticism is at the heart of the process although in some cases this may upset managers who are reluctant to question long established practices.
17. It might also include studying companies which use similar processes to your own, even though they are producing different goods. The point is to look at the process rather than the product.
18. All of these handbooks are communicating complex information in a simple way - exactly what we are aiming to do. And in many cases they succeed far better than any computer company.”
19. Everyone agrees that the process must have the full approval of senior management but that it is best carried out by a comparatively small team.
Benchmarking can only work if everyone in the company from top to bottom is committed to change.
Additional Reading Material:
Who's best? How good are they? How do we get that good? What is Benchmarking?
Benchmarking is the process of determining who is the very best, who sets the standard, and what that standard is. In baseball, you could argue that seven consecutive World Series Championships made the New York Yankees the benchmark. If we were to benchmark "world conquest", what objective measure would we use to compare Julius Caesar to Adolph Hitler; Gengis Khan to Napoleon? Which of them was the epitome, and why?
We do the same thing in business. Who is the best sales organization? The most responsive customer service department? The leanest manufacturing operation? And how do we quantify that standard?
商务英语高级阅读模拟题指导训练2
Marketing and Stress
Marketing is one of the most stressful white-collar jobs and marketing executives are not far below teacher, air traffic controllers and doctors on the list of high-stress occupations. In a recent study, 67% of people in marketing and advertising reported that excessively high stress was a regular part of their working lives; 46% said they often felt crushed by chronic stress, while 34% were suffering so much stress they were seriously thinking of leaving their jobs. __H__.
The real cause for concern is the condition of chronic stress. __9__. This is the name for a condition in which the individual has become so mentally and physically exhausted that he or she is no longer able to function effectively.
In marketing, you find people who are deeply dedicated to their jobs and to being successful. __10__. One reason is the intensely competitive nature of marketing – striving to stay ahead in a market where you are consistently up against competitors who are striving to stay ahead of you. __11__. This loss of performance is compounded by the fact that marketers have to risk vast sums of money on campaigns or product launches which may or may not prove successful.
The amount of stress in a job is related to the amount of control an employee feels he or she has. __12__. But stress is also related to the importance we attach to a successful outcome. If someone genuinely does not care if they succeed or fail, their stress remains low. However, the more passionately we care about success, the greater the stress when anything threatens it. Research has shown that the most stressful organizations to work in are those which combine highly competitive culture, demands for total dedication and a low-to-zero tolerance of failure. __13__. When asked, most marketers said that this description perfectly describe the cultures found in most marketing department.
The final ingredient in the mixture is the combination of bad managers and over-demanding clients. __14__. Some senior mangers see such pressures as a way of getting things done. But surely it would be far better to reduce or eliminate the sources of stress than to have to deal with the consequences.
A Despite this commitment, it is very hard for them to remain in control of events, and this threatens their goals and creates insecurity.
B Such companies are quick to blame marketers when things go wrong.
C This results in a huge number of uncertainties and worries about that competition, which in turn leads to inefficient working.
D It is caused by unending pressure to perform at a high level, which can eventually result in Burn Out Stress Syndrome – BOSS.
E Almost every marketer has dealt with both of them and is make anxious and exhausted by the experience.
F Therefore these problems can be seen to increase in proportion to the number of stressful situations.
G Uncertainty about job prospects makes matters worse and is another challenge to this sense of security.
H Figures such as these suggest that stress is a serious problem.
重要词汇和表达：
Excessively; crushed; chronic; strive; compound; passionately; ingredient;
小资料：
What Factors Seem To Essentially Contribute To Burnout Stress?
1. Expectation of greater workload and longer hours
2. Loss of individual autonomy, over scheduling, predictable income, loss of trust and respect of your professional role
3. Pressure to take on more risks as your business system demands compliance and to decrease costs but increase “quality”
4. Inability to balance personal and professional life
5. Decreased company or peer socialization and collegiality
6. Lack of positive and timely feedback from management or the owners of the company
7. Difficulty in saying “No” (at work, home, church, volunteer activities, or in the community)
8. Unrealistic expectations from customers or employees
What Can You Do About Burnout Stress
Try implementing a burnout avoidance program within your company. The components of the program include monitoring employees who look like candidates for early flameouts. You know the ones, burning the candle at both ends and trying to conquer and master all in an unrealistic time frame. Traditionally the workplace has rewarded that type of employee behavior by pats on the backs, promotions or other forms of recognition. The message is subtle but clear: We like that kind of attitude and action. But will it feel so good when the employee flames out?
As a manager or employer, do you encourage or even insist that employees take time off to vacate and recreate? Do you monitor your own actions to determine if you are setting an example that others will follow?
We can also learn a lesson about burnout from Mother Nature. She demonstrates the importance of balance. Even she recognizes that plants, trees and animals can’t constantly grow and expand. They need an opportunity to rest and to replenish diminished resources. She provides this balance through the seasons of the year to accommodate the needs of nature.
Burnout is costly, and it is preventable. It takes a personal commitment by the employees, the management and by the company to take proactive steps to prevent or address early signs of burnout. It will take your commitment as a manager and as a person to detect and address those situations that lead up to this stress related syndrome.
商务英语高级阅读模拟题指导训练3
Exercise One
Bill Cockburn, fresh from reforming the British Post Office, is the new Chief Executive of W.H. Smith, one of the country’s largest stationers. Last week, while issuing a profits warning along with the interim results, he admitted what everyone has always known, that the 200 year old W. H. Smith is unbearably smug. “There is,” said Cockburn, “a culture of complacency and a culture of explaining why we haven’t done what we said we would do.” If he gets this way, all that is about to go. “We should welcome reform as an opportunity, not a threat. I can’t understand people who are content with mediocrity and accept second best when they have the potential to be terrific.”
W.H. Smith chairman Jeremy Hardie led the search to find Corkburn. ‘I had uniformly favorable reports from everyone who had worked with him as someone who gets things done and can also bring out the best in his staff. ’Cockburn may have little experience of retailing in its purest sense but he is an excellent choice to lead Smith out of the cozy world of tradition and bureaucracy.
He rose to power at the Post Office while it was recovering from the 1971 strike and subsequent loss of image. He did much to improve overall performance, cutting out unprofitable services and shaking up an old-fashioned management. He is well aware of the parallels between the two businesses. ‘The old, mature operation of W.H. Smith has a culture and working practices that go back a long time. Managing change in a young business like one of our subsidiaries is easier than managing it in Smith’s 549-store empire with all its tradition and resistance to new ideas. Because they have been there for such a long time, there is an exaggerated sense of prominence’
Corkburn is famously short of sentiment when it comes to management. ‘It is a very polite environment here.’ he says with a mischievous smile, ‘I want it to be more challenging, so people can disagree with each other but are united by driving the business forward. I hope I am breaking down the barriers.’ The shares have already responded to such daring talk by jumping considerably in value since Corkburn took over the running of the company.
What does Cockburn say about himself and his career? Was he ambitious from the start? ‘People would assume I was ambitious because of the speed at which I progressed through the Post Office organization. But I did not have a view I would end up anywhere in particular. I took each job as it came and I had tremendous bosses who encouraged me. I learned from them how to take pressure and to work fast and hard. In the jobs I have aimed to create success because it’s good for stakeholders-customers, employees and now, in the private sector, shareholders.’
His management style is a mixture of enthusiasm and toughness. ‘I believe you get the best out of people by motivating them, supporting them and setting challenging objectives. It seems to me the only way to work is to be open and honest and speak your mind, ’he says. Twenty-eight days into the job, he has done the easy part. He has traveled around the Smith group, identified the problems and presented his first financial results. Now he has just to transform the company culture to one of one of striving for excellence. ‘I’m very optimistic, of course,’ he says. ‘The basics are great.’ He seems like the light man for the job.
15. What is Corkburn?’s attitude towards W.H. Smith?
A He disagrees with people who are frightened of change there.
B He warns it will be difficult to explain results to customers.
C He threatens to make some people leave.
D He accepts that not everyone can be first rate.
16. Jeremy Hardie thinks Cockburn possesses the ability to
A get on well with other people.
B make profitable business deals.
C motivate other people he works with.
D choose the right people to work with.
17. What difficulty does Cockburn have to deal with at W.H. Smith?
A the image the public has of the company
B the comparison people make with his previous job
C the competition from modern, new subsidiaries
D the old, established customs in existence
18. As a result of his influence, Cockburn says he would like to see
A an increase in share prices.
B a better educated workforce.
C a more demanding atmosphere.
D a less structured organization.
19. Corkburn attributes his successful career to
A the support his bosses give him.
B his own personal ambition.
C the help he has received from clients.
D his ability to do any job given.
20. What does Corkburn say is the most important factor in successful management?
A always thinking positively
B not demanding too much from your staff
C setting an example to your staff
D saying exactly what you think
Useful Words and Expressions:
Interim; smug; complacency; be content with; prominence; sentiment; challenging; end up; tremendous;
Have you ever noticed the following sentences in your reading? If not, read them through and pay attention to the bold parts.
15. “There is,” said Cockburn, “a culture of complacency…
We should welcome reform as an opportunity, not a threat. I can’t understand people who are content with mediocrity and accept second best when they have the potential to be terrific.”
16. I had uniformly favorable reports from everyone who had worked with him as someone who gets things done and can also bring out the best in his staff.
17. Managing change in a young business like one of our subsidiaries is easier than managing it in Smith’s 549-store empire with all its tradition and resistance to new ideas.
18. It is a very polite environment here.’ he says with a mischievous smile, ‘I want it to be more challenging, so people can disagree with each other…
19. I took each job as it came and I had tremendous bosses who encouraged me. I learned from them how to take pressure and to work fast and hard.
20. It seems to me the only way to work is to be open and honest and speak your mind…
