剑桥BEC高级真题第三辑TEST3文档格式.doc
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lThereisanexampleatthebeginning,(0).
Example:
0Thiscompanyhasnodirectcompetition.
A B C D E
1Thiscompanyisstillmakingafinancialloss.
2Thiscompanyishavingpartofitsbusinesshandledbyanoutsideagency.
3Thiscompanyhasgrownwithoutundueexpense.
4Thiscompanyistryingtofindoutwhatthemarketresponsewillbetoanewproduct.
5Thiscompanycontinuestolosecustomers.
6Thiscompanyaimstotargetaspecificgroupofconsumers.
7Thiscompanyisfindingitlessexpensivethanbeforetoattractnewcustomers.
8Thiscompanyhasrationaliseditsoutlets.
A
Ourmanagementteamisdedicatedtodeliveringoperationalexcellenceandimprovedprofitability.Inthecomingyear,wewillfocusourmarketingonprofessionalyoungadults,whorepresentthehighvaluesegmentofthemarketandwho—accordingtoindependentresearch
—aremostlikelytoadoptourmoreadvancedmobiledataproducts.Customerretentioniscentraltoourstrategy,andwehavebeensuccessfulinreversingthecustomerlossofrecentyearsbyloyaltyandupgradeschemes.Arestructuringprogramme,resultingfromchanging
marketingconditions,hasseenourworkforcescaleddownto6,100people.
B
Astheonlynetworkoperatorinthecountry,ourmarketingisaimedatexpandingthesizeofthemarket.Inthebusinesssector,wehavetargetedsmallandmedium-sizedbusinessesbyofferingstandardisedservices,andlargecustomersbyofferingtailoredtelecommunicationssolutions.Wehavebeenattheforefrontofintroducingnewtelecommunicationstechnologyandservicesandhaverecentlydistributed150ofourmostadvancedhandsetstocustomerstoassessthelikelydemandforadvanceddataservices.Lastyear,theindustryrecognisedourachievementwhenwewonanationalawardfortechnologicalprogress.
C
Anewmanagementteamhasdrivenourimprovedperformancehere.Itiscommittedtobringingthebusinessintoprofitabilitywithinthreeyearsafterreachingbreak-evenpointinthenextfinancialyear.Wearefocusedondeliveringrisinglevelsofcustomerserviceandanimprovementinthequalityandutilisationofournetwork.Goodprogresshasbeenmadeonallthesefronts.Thecostofacquiringnewsubscribershasbeenreducedandnewtariffshavebeenintroducedtoencouragegreateruseofthephoneinthelateevening.
D
Wehavecontinuedtoexpandournetworkinacost-efficientmannerandhaveconsolidatedourretailsectionbycombiningourfourwholly—ownedretailbusinessesintoasingleoperatingunit.Weexpectthistoenhanceouroperationaleffectivenessandtheconsistencyofourservice.Ourambitionistogivecustomersthebestretailexperiencepossible.Wewere,therefore,delightedearlierthisyearwhenwewonamajorEuropeanawardforcustomerservice.Thiswasparticularlypleasingtousaswehavealwaysgivenhighprioritytocustomersatisfactionandoperationalexcellence.
E
Here,wearefocusedoncontinuouslyrealisingcostefficienciesaswellasimprovingthelevelofcustomersatisfactionandretention.Wehavealreadytakeneffectivemeasurestoreducecustomerlossandtostrengthenourdeliveryofcustomerservice.Thequalityofournetworkhasimprovedsignificantlyoverthepastyearandanincreaseintheutilisationofournetworkisnowapriority.Theoperationofourcustomerservicecentrehasbeenoutsourcedtoacallcentrespecialistandthishasledtoasubstantialincreaseinthelevelof
service.
PARTTW0
Questions9-14
lReadthistexttakenfromanarticleabouttheimportancetocompaniesofnotlosingtheiremployees'
knowledge.
lChoosethebestsentencefromtheoppositepagetofilleachofthegaps.
lForeachgap(9-14),markoneletter(A-H)onyourAnswerSheet.
lDonotuseanylettermorethanonce.
Protectrhgthecorporatememory
Manycompaniesrisklosingexpertisethroughjobcuts.Butbyanalysinghowstaffinteract,theymaybeabletominimisethedamage.
Manystaffhaveknowledgewhichisessentialtotheircompany.Sowhatcanbusinessesdotoavoidlosingthatexpertisewhenstaffleave,andtodis-suadeemployeesfromkeepingtheirknowledgetothemselvesinthefaceofpossiblejobcuts?
First,theyneedtorecognisetheproblem.Adownturnintheeconomyexposesmanycompanies’lackofcommitmenttounderstandingandusingtheirpeople’sknowledge.(0)....H.....Unless,thatis,they’vemadeitaroutineorsufferedbecauseoflosingknowledgeinthepast.
Next,anyattempttostopknowledgewalkingoutofthedoormustbehandledsensitively.(9)........Employeeswouldbeextremelycynicalandseeitasanattempttoextracttheiruniqueknowledge,whichtheybelievegivesthemjobsecurity.
Strongincentivesareneededtocoaxpeopleintodivulgingtheirexpertisewhenbeingdismissed.(10)........Atfirstsight,thismightseemexcessive,butthedisadvantagesshouldbeweighedagainstthebenetits.
Ofcourse,notallknowledgecanbecapturedbytheorganisationandtumedintoaprocess.(11)........To{indoutwhothese‘knowledgehotspots’are,companiesneedtoquestiontheirstaffandanalysetheirsocialnetworks.Companiesshouldn’taskemployeeswhattheyknow,butwhotheywouldaskiftheywantedtoknowaboutdifferentsubjects.(12)........And,moreimportantly,theprocessrevealstheotherswhoalwaysknowsomebodywhoknows.
Thelattercanbehighonthelistforredundancybecausemanagersareunsurewhattheydo,orbecausetheyappeartobeweakperformers.(13)........Peoplelikethisareoftennotambitiousbuttheycanholdacompanytogether.Themostvaluableknowledgeisoftennotpossessedbythepeoplewhoseemtobestarperformers.
Ifthoseatthecentreofknowledgenetworkscometobeseenasthemostvaluablepeople,thosewhokeeptheirknowledgetothemselveswilllookvulnerablewhendownsizingisdeemednecessary.(14)........Insuchcompanies,theincentivetoshareknowledgeshouldbeevengreaterwhenjobsareunderthreat.
Forsomecompanies,itmaybetoolatetosalvageimportantknowledge.Buildingaculturewhereknowledgeisunderstood,valuedandsharedcantakealongtime.Now
maybethetimetoprepareforthenextdownturn.
A B C D E F G H
AOrganisationsthatrewardpeopleforsharingknowledgewillknowwhofallsintoeachofthesetwoopposingcategories.
BThisapproachenablesthemtoidentifythosewithalimitednumberofnetworkrelationships.
CLaunchingaknowledge-sharinginitiativeatatimewhenpeopleareexpectingredundancieswouldnotbeagoodidea.
DThisprovidesevidenceoftheriskthatsuchapolicywillmeetresistance.
EBecauseofthedifficultyofachievingthis,itisfarbetternottolosethevaluablesourcesofknowledgeatall.
FButa'
knowledgemapping'
exercisemightrevealthattheyplayacriticalroleasmentorstotherestoftheteam.
GThepricemaybeanincreaseintheir
redundancypackage,provisionofcareercounselling,oranagreementtohirethembackasconsultants.
HWhencompaniesfeelthey’reinacrisis,itisoneofthethingsthatgoesbythe
board.
PARTTHREEQuestions15-20
lReadthefollowingarticleabout'
Go-Fast'
acost-savingprogrammeintroducedbythecarmanufacturerGeneralMotors,andthequestionsontheoppositepage.
lForeachquestion(15-20),markoneletter(A,B,CorD)onyourAnswerSheet.
Somewheretoday,agroupofstafffromGeneralMotorswillmeetaspartofthe‘Go-Fast’programme,andhammeroutanewinitiativetocutcostsandbureaucracy.Theymayfocusonlyonwiper-blades,orstaffappraisal,orshowroomdesign.Butbythisaftemoon,thereshouldbeanoutlinesavingsplan,whichwill,whenimplemented,bemeasuredcarefullyforsignsofsuccess.TheaimistotransformGMfromalumberingleviathanintothecorporateequivalentofasportscar.Theintentionisnotjusttobebig—GMisoneofthebiggestcarmanufacturersintheworld—buttobefast,particularlyinitsresponsivenesstothemarket.Thesuccessoftheprogrammeisreflectedinthelargenumberofsuggestionsbeingintroduced—farmorethanintheolddays,wheneverychangehadtocomefromsenior,managersfocusingonthe‘bigpicture’.
TheprogressmadehastransformedinvestorperceptionsofGM.BeforetheGo-Fastprogramrnewasintroduced,theconventionalwisdomwasthatGM’smarketsharewasinpermanentlfreefallanditsorganisationincapableofdoinganythingaboutit.Now,thedeclinehasbeenturnedaround,andtheseniormanagers’changeofapproachhasledtothecompanybeingenergisedwithawinningspiritthathasunlockedlong-dormantcapabilities.Thatittookafirmofconsultantstohelpdevisetheprogrammeisperhapsasadreflectionofthedangerofcorporatethinkingbecominginflexible.
Theshareholders’supportofGM’sstrategytobecomemoreoutward-lookingandinnovativeissomethingofaluxury,thoughinthelongrunsuccesswouldconvinceeventhemostscepticalshareholders.ThestrategyincludesbearingdownoncostsandextractingmaximumsynergiesfromGM’snumerousalliancepartners,suchasitstoolingsuppliers,andexchangi