单选题
·Read the article about managing a small business and the questions below.
·For each question 13—18,mark one letter (A, B, C or D)on your Answer Sheet, for the answer you choose.
{{B}}The Hardships of Operating A Small Business{{/B}}
'The organisational weaknesses that entrepreneurs have to cope with every day would cause the managers of a mature company to panic,' Bill Wilson wrote recently in Times. This seems to suggest that the leaders of entrepreneurial or small businesses must be unlike other managers, or the problems faced by such leaders must be the subject of a specialised body of wisdom, or possibly both, Unfortunately, neither is true. Not much worth reading about managing the entrepreneurial or small business has been written, and the leaders of such businesses are made of flesh and blood, like the rest of us.
Furthermore, little has been done to address the aspects of entrepreneurial or small businesses that are so difficult to deal with and so different from the challenges faced by management in big business. In part this is because those involved in gathering expertise about business and in selling advice to businesses have historically been more interested in the needs of big business. In part, in the UK at least, it is also because small businesses have always preferred to adapt to changing circumstances.
The organisational problems of entrepreneurial or small businesses are thus forced upon the individuals who lead them. Even more so than for bigger businesses, the old saying is true—that people, particularly those who make the important decisions, are a business's most important asset. The research that does exist shows that neither money nor the ability to access more of it is the major factor determining growth. The main reason an entrepreneurial business stops growing is the lack of management and leadership resource available to the business when it matters. Give an entrepreneur an experienced, skilled team and he or she will find the funds every time. Getting the team, though, is the difficult bit.
Part of the problem for entrepreneurs is the speed of change that affects their businesses. They have to cope with continuous change yet have always been suspicious about the latest 'management solution'. They regard the many offerings from business schools as out of date even before they leave the planning board and have little faith in the recommendations of consultants when they arrive in the hands of young, inexperienced graduates. But such impatience with 'management solutions' does not mean that problems can be left to solve themselves. However, the leaders of growing businesses are still left with the problem of who to turn to for advice.
The answer is horribly simple: leaders of small businesses can ask each other. The collective knowledge of a group of leaders can prove enormously helpful in solving the specific problems of individuals. One leader's problems have certainly been solved already by someone else. These is an organisation called ZERO which enables those responsible for small businesses to meet. Its members, all of whom are chief executives, go through a demanding selection process, and then join a small group of other chief executives. They come from a range of business sectors and each offers a different corporate history. Each group is led by a 'moderator', an independently selected businessman or woman who has been specially trained to head the group. Each member takes it in turn to host a meeting at his or her business premises and, most important of all, group discussions are kept strictly confidential. This spurs a free sharing of problems and increases the possibility of solutions being unveiled.
单选题 According to the second paragraph, what has led to a lack of support for entrepreneurs?
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】之所以缺乏对企业的支持,“because those involved in gathering expertise about business and inselling advice to businesses have historically been more interested in the needs of big business.”那些收集商业技能和出售建议的人向往对大公司的需要更感兴趣。
单选题 What does the writer say about entrepreneurs in the first paragraph?
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】作者在同第一段批驳了大家认为的企业家与其他经理人不同的误区。认为企业家也是有血有肉,和其他人一样(made of flesh and blood, like the rest of us)。
单选题 What does the writer say is an additional problem for entrepreneurs in the fourth paragraph?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】企业家的另一个问题跟不上变化。他们在不得不处理不断的变化的同时却对最新的管理方法持怀疑态度,他们认为商学院的建议太落后,对来自刚走出校门的咨询师的建议又没有信心。
单选题 What does the writer say about the expansion of small businesses?
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】作者说现有的研究表明资金和能力都不是企业发展的决定性因素,企业停止发展的主要是缺乏领导和管理人才。
单选题 The writer says that ZERO groups are likely to succeed because ______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】该组织中的所有小组讨论都是保密的,这就鼓励大家畅所欲言,使问题被解决的可能性大大增加。
单选题 What does the writer say the members of the ZERO organisation provide?
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】该组织由来自各企业部门首席执行官组成,他们提供的都有一手的工作经历、实践经验。