单选题A manufacturer of sports shoes starts selling consumer electronics. A soft drink lends its name to a range of urban clothing. What's going on? In simpler times, you knew where you were with brands. One brand name meant good-quality sports shoes, another a soft drink. No confusion. Today, however, big companies try to redefine brands as not so much a product, more a way of life, and stretch them into new areas. In the early years of the consumer society, a brand name on a box simply identified what was inside. People were looking for products that would improve their quality of life, and chose brands most likely to achieve that purpose. But as people in industrialized nations became more affluent and fulfilled their basic needs, brands acquired other attributes. The functionality of the product was still important, but people also started using brands to say something about themselves, for example, choosing a brand of cosmetics which would suggest that they were sophisticated jet-setters. Now, we have entered a third age of branding, in which so many companies are making roughly the same product at roughly the same price that functionality rarely succeeds as a point of differentiation. Instead, companies are trying to make their brands stand out by emphasizing their emotional aspects, hoping consumers will identify with the set of values the brand represents. One disadvantage of a product-based brand is that if the product goes out of fashion, the brand goes with it. This is a serious concern for manufacturers of breakfast cereals, who are struggling to counter weak demand for the products that bear their names. So far, their marketing efforts seem to be having little effect. The advantage for emotional brands is that companies can transfer their brand strength into other areas, increasing revenues and reducing their exposure to the lifespan of a single product. The elasticity of brands seems to be related to their position on a spectrum ranging from those rooted in solid, tangible assets to those with highly intangible, emotional qualities. At the one end, you have train companies that tend to associate themselves with infrastructure. And their ability to get you from A to B, and at the other end would be a leisure brand that positions itself on dreams and making people have fun. It is the latter which has the maximum potential for stretch. But even emotional brands have a limit to their elasticity. The merchandise has to be consistent with the brand promise. Just to sell merchandise with your logo on it is a short-term, mistaken idea. From this viewpoint, the decision to move from sports shoes into consumer electronics makes sense. Most items in the range, such as the two-way radio for hikers, are sports-focused, even though the products may be adopted as fashion accessories, and the sports shoe customers will probably snap them up. When the move was made from soft drinks into clothing, however, it left the branding consultants cold. It was a difficult mental leap into clothing from the drink so closely associated with that particular brand name. On the other hand, the emotional attributes that youngsters seem to find appealing in the drink, like its heritage and global appeal, are fashionable at the moment, and in fact response to the clothes with the same name has been overwhelming. Maybe this just shows that an inspired move - and by all accounts a snap decision -sometimes pays off against the odds, leaving the manufacturer laughing all the way to the bank.

单选题How to get to the top Marketing used to be the route to the chief executive's chair，but the world has changed．Now，says Monika Hamori．professor of human resources at Instituto de Empresa in Madrid，it is finance chiefs who are most likely to get the top job，though experience in opera-tions-running parts of the companyis also essential．CFO Magazine found in 2005 that onefifth of chief ex-ecutives in America were former chief financiaI officers，almost double the share of a decade earlier．The importance of quarterly financial reporting，and closer scrutiny since the imposition of the Sarbanesoxley corporategovernance act，have put CFOs in the limelightand given them the chance to shine． Another factor in reaching the top is whether you stay with the company you joined as a youngster．Ms．Hamori's research looked at companies in the SP 500 and the FTSEurofirst 300．She finds that‘lifers’get to the top in 22 years in America and 24 years in Europe：‘Hoppers’who jump between four or more companies，by contrast，take at least 26 years on average to become chief executives．Insiders get promotions that reflect their potential，because their bosses have enough information to be reasonably confident about their ability．When executives switch from one company to another，however，they tend to move less far up the hierarchy，the researchers found． The time taken to reach the top is falling．The average time from first job to chief executive fell from 28 years in 1980 to 24 in 2001．Successful executives are spending less time than they used to in each intermediate joban average of four yearsand they fill five posts on the way up．down from six．One reason for this acceleration is that company hierarchies are flatter than they used to be．Another important shift is the advent of female chief executives． 1n 2001 women accounted for 11%of bosses at leading American companies．ac-cording to the Hamori/Cappelli survey；in the early 1980s there were none． America is usually regarded as the home of raw capitalism．with youthful managers hopping from firm to firm and pushing their way to the top．But the HamorL/Cappelli study and another by Booz Company，a consultancy，show that Europe is a more dynamic and harsher environ-menl than America or Japan for chief executives．For a start，European chief executives are younger，with an average age of 54．compared with over 56 in America．The Hamor/Cappelli study shows that 26%of American bos-ses were lifers，compared with only 18%in Europe． The Europeans also have a harder time once they get to the top.Booz ＆ Company's annual survey of chiefexecutive succession shows that 17.6%of European bosses moved on last year．compared with 15%of Americans and 10%of Japanese．Chief executives．the survey found，last longer in America：the average tenure over the past decade was just over nine years．But in Europe the average tenure over the same period was less than seven years． Moreover．a whopping 37%of changes at the top in Europe were more or less firings，according to Booz，compared with only 27%in America and 12%in Japan．Booz puts this down to the more recent tightening of corporate governance in Europe,Another Booz finding is common to both sides of the Atlantic：looking back over recent years，board disputes and power struggles lie behind a third of chiefexecutive firings．In short，shareholder activism is making its presence felt，putting pressure on bosses to perform．

单选题The Role of Contracts Each of us enters into many contracts every day without giving the matter any thought. On the way to work, you stop at a newsstand and buy a newspaper and a pack of gum. You also go into a dinner and buy a cup of coffee and a doughnut. Afterwards, you stop at a discount ticket counter and purchase two tickets to a Broadway show. Finally, you arrive at the subway station and buy a token. In each of these examples, a contract was made. In each case, there was a valid (21) and acceptance, consideration, mutual assent, and legality. No documents were (22) and no contract (23) took place, yet (24) contracts were formed giving each party certain rights and imposing on each some responsibilities as well. Most contracts are (25) completed without a problem and without the interested parties giving the matter much thought. Problems arise when parties to a contract (26) to live up to their agreements or misunderstand what it is they agreed to do. The law of contracts is called upon to (27). the dispute between the parities in accordance with established rules of law that determine each party's rights and (28) under a valid contract. Parties can avoid many misunderstandings and disagreements between contracting parties, as well as (29) time-consuming litigation, if they have a basic (30) of the law of contracts.

单选题A complaint Is a GiftAustralians call the British "whinging Pores" because they grumble so much. But a new study suggests that Brits should whinge more, not less.A team led by Chris Voss of the London Business School found that service quality in Britain is typically worse than in America. One mason is that British customers take less about bad service than hard-to-please Americans do.The failure to grouse is pervasive. Hunter Hansen, an American who runs the Marriott hotel in London's Grosvenor Square, notes that a British would (21) a fuss only about a significant problem and even then, would do so in a roundabout way. Americans are (22) of even small mistakes.The result, Mr. Voss finds, is that Brits suffer. But so do companies in Britain's service industries: they do not (23) so much unsolicited feedback, and thus lose a chance to (24) service quality. Indeed, they may spend more than they need to do on service-quality improvements, because they do not get direct help from customers.Management gurus know more about how companies (25) to complaints than about why the British are phlegmatic. In America, well-run companies have "service recovery" (26) Staff at the Marriott group are drilled in the LEARN routine -- Listen, Empathise, Apologise, React, Notify- with the final step (27) that the complaint is fad back into the system. Ritz-Carlton hotel chains, another with a good reputation (28) complaints from customers, trains its staff not to say a mere "sorry" but "please accept my apology" and gives them a budget to reimburse (29) guests.When Brits tidally (30) their courage to grouse, they get results.

单选题 ·Read the article below about a company. ·Choose the correct word to fill each gap from A, B, C or D. ·For each question (21-20), mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet. Miele, the German domestic appliance manufacturer, has been in the UK{{U}} (21) {{/U}}thirty years. The company started{{U}} (22) {{/U}}a small office in central London, a staff of five and a turnover{{U}} (23) {{/U}}the first 16 months of ￡53,000. Today it has a modern headquarters at Abingdon, near Oxford, employs about 200 people and has a turnover of￡18 million. The British company,{{U}} (24) {{/U}}the other overseas subsidiaries, is a sales operation. Aangdon is an ideal town{{U}} (25) {{/U}}the UK headquarters. It is very central as a distribution point and only five miles north{{U}} (26) {{/U}}the "inland port" of Milton. The Miele group employs 13,500 people worldwide.{{U}} (27) {{/U}}it is still a family concern. "There is regular contact{{U}} (28) {{/U}}headquarters in Gutersloh, Germany," says Herr Wedekind, chief executive of the British subsidiary. The group sells{{U}} (29) {{/U}}products to up-market customers in shops like Harrods and advertises in publications like The Sunday Times magazine. "We sell our products to people{{U}} (30) {{/U}}want quality, want the best, good after-sale service and trouble-free appliances," says Herr Wedekind.

单选题From this passage, we learn that ______.

单选题 ·You will hear five different people who have all been interviewed for jobs with a large international company which is going to build a new factory. ·For each extract there are two tasks. For Task One, decide which job the speaker was interviewed for from the list A-H. For Task Two, decide which feeling that each person expresses about changing jobs from the list A-H. ·After you have listened once, replay the recording. Task One-Job ·For questions 13-17, match the extracts with the people, listed A-H. ·For each extract, decide which job each speaker was interviewed for. ·Write one letter (A-H) next to the number of the extract. A marketing manager B computer programmer C secretary D personnel management assistant E engineering manager F maintenance supervisor G finance director H quality control manager

单选题 ·You will hear five different business people talking about how they started their businesses and how they are running their businesses now. ·For each extract there are two tasks. For Task One, choose the type of business from the list A-H. For Task Two, choose the source of funding for the business from the list A-H. ·After you have listened once, replay the recording. {{B}}Task One-Types of Businesses{{/B}} ·For Questions 13-17, match the extracts with the types of businesses described, listed A-H. ·For each extract, choose the business described. ·Write one letter (A-H) next to the number of the extract. A an import agency B a private college C a business bookstore D a business school E a real estate agency F a building material dealer G a translation agency H a supermarket

单选题" Harmonization" is a process of increasing the compatibility of accounting practices by setting limits on how much they vary．Harmonized standards are free of logical conflicts，and should improve the comparability of financial information from different countries． Efforts to harmonize accounting standards began even before the creation of the International Accounting Standards Committee(IASC)in 1973．International accounting harmonization now is one of the most important issues facing securities regulators，stock exchanges，and those who prepare or use financial statements． Harmonization and standardization are sometimes used interchangeably．But there is still a difference between them．Standardization normally means the imposition of a rigid and narrow set of rules，and may even apply a single standard or rule to a11 situations． Besides，standardization does not accommodate national differences and，therefore，is more difficult to implement internationally．Whereas harmonization is much more flexible and open．It does not take a one-size-fits-all approach，but accommodates national differences and has made a great of progress internationally in recent years．However，within accounting!these two words have almost become technical terms，and one cannot depend on the normal difference in their meanings．" Harmonization" is a word that tends to be associated with the transnational legislation originating from the European Union while" standardization" is a word that is often associated with the International Accounting Standard Committee． The reasons that make national accounting standards desirable also apply internationally．Generally speaking，the reasons for harmonization are as follows： (1)It is important and necessary for investors and financial analysts to understand the financial statements of foreign companies whose shares they might wish to buy．They hope to make it quite sure that statements from different countries are reliable and comparable，or at least to be clear about the nature and magnitude of the differences．Besides，they also need confidence in the soundness of the auditing． (2)The advantages of harmonization are very important for MNEs．because the great effort of financial accountants to prepare and consolidate financial statements would be much simplified if statements from all over the globe were prepared according to the same standards．Besides，it would be much easier to prepare comparable internal information for the appraisal of the performance of subsidiaries in different countries．What's more，many aspects of investment appraisal，performance evaluation，and other decision-making uses of management accounting information would benefit from harmonization．Above all，the cOSt of capital should be reduced by reducing the risk for investors if accounting can be made more comparable and reliable． (3)International accountancy firms can benefit from harmonization．They are in favour of harmonization because it is good for their lots of clients． (4)Governments in developing countries might find it easier to comprehend and control the operations of MNEs if financial reporting were harmonized． The most fundamental of obstacles to harmonization is the size of the present differences between the accounting practices of different countries．In previous Section 8.5some main differences concerned with international accounting are discussed．Besides，there are several significant differences within the equity class，let alone between that class and the other．These differences go to the root of the reasons for the preparation of accounting information．Further，the differences between shareholder/fair view presentation and creditor/tax/conservative presentation is an obstacle that is very hard to be overcome without major changes in attitudes and laws． There is another obstacle：in some countries there are no strong professional accountancy bodies．This means any body such as IASC，which seeks to operate through the private sector。will not be effective in all countries．Besides，a worldwide enforcement agency is also lacking there．Another problem is nationalism．Some countries are not willing to accept compromises that involve changing their accounting practices towards those of other countries．Still another difficulty is the effect of " economic consequences" on accounting standards．To the extent that economic consequences of standards vary by country and to the extent that they are taken into account by those who set standards，this could be a force for deharmonization． The International Accounting Standards Board(IASB)，formerly the International Accounting Standards Committee(IASC)，is an independent private sector standards-setting body founded in 1973 by professional accounting organizations in nine countries and restructured in 2001．Before the restructuring，the IASC issued 41 International Accounting Standards(IAS)and a Framework for the Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements． The International Accounting Standards Board has been working for the last 30 years to develop a comprehensive set of high-quality accounting standards that can be used to bring uniformity in financial reporting around the world．These standards are already officially accepted in many countries，and are used by an increasing number of major global corporations．The European Commission has proposed that by 2005，all EU companies listed on a regulated market should be required to prepare consolidated accounts in accordance with IAS．Furthermore，other international organizations such as the Basle Committee，the G7，the World Bank，the World Trade Organization，and the International Monetary Fund have expressed support for international accounting harmonization．and for the work of the IASB．

单选题Which of the following is an employee involvement program that encourages employees to make decisions and conduct tasks as if they were the firm"s owners?

单选题During the 1960s and 1970s, in order to create a competitive advantage, the car industry turned to

单选题Needs that are satisfied with food, clothing and shelter are ailed ______ needs.

单选题· For each question 15-20, mark one letter (A, B, C or D) on your Answer Sheet, for the answer you choose. As a manager in the service industry sector, I've looked at hundreds of CVs in my time. They are not necessarily the bland documents some bosses might think they are! They are full of little pointers towards individuals' personalities and suitability for the job. The first thing I always look at is an applicant's employment record. I check for continuity and stability. If somebody has a long list of previous jobs, all of varying length, alarm bells start ringing. Rather than an irregular route from job to job, what I hope to see is stable career progression. What does their career path look like - is it all steps forward, or are there a lot of sideways moves? And I am always pleased to find a family person with children, because in my experience they tend to be responsible and reliable.I never rely on CVs alone. We get applicants to fill in one of our own application forms. We ask why they've applied, what their aspirations and personal goals are, and also about their interests and hobbies and any clubs they belong to. That gives you a useful insight into their personality and lifestyle. The application form also enables us to test how much people have actually been progressing in their careers, because we ask for details of the salaries they have received for each job.It's always worth looking at CVs and designing application forms with great care. Taking on employees might be rewarding, but it is also a big investment for any business. Mistakes in choosing staff can cost companies dear, so it makes sense to spend time ensuring you get the right person.In the service sector, one of the aims of companies is to maintain and improve customer service, and this is achieved partly through low staff turnover. You need to take on people who understand that, and will want to stay. That's why, when you've taken staff on, the next thing is getting the best out of them.My management style comes from the days when I took over my first business, an ailing road haulage firm which I was certain I could turn into a profitable company. The first thing is to treat others as you'd like to be treated yourself. As soon as 1 took over the business, 1 talked to everybody individually, and looked for ways to make sure their particular skills benefited the company.I didn't have much experience then of managing people, but above all 1 always tried to be fair and honest with everyone. As a result, I think the staff knew that and accepted my decisions, even if they didn't agree with them all. Also, bosses must be able to communicate. You also need to create team spirit, and build on the strength of the team. I explained my plans for the company to all the staff, and let them know what I needed from them. The lorry drivers responded brilliantly, and were the key to turning the business round. They understood that we had to develop a professional reputation, and from then on the days of poor quality deliveries were over.Lastly, I am a great believer in profit-sharing. It takes a team to make a company work, so profits should be shared by all. Job satisfaction is important, but it doesn't pay the rent. Shared profit and bonuses help to strengthen team spirit by giving everyone a common goal that they work towards together.

单选题Specialization and International Trade The high (21) of specialization in our society increases the standard of living of all by making more goods and services available. But specialization necessarily implies trade and can not occur without it. This (22) from the fact that people usually want to have a "(23) diet. " The specialized producer uses only a small part-maybe none-of his own product for his personal (24) and he exchanges his surplus for the goods and services of other specialized producers. The exchange of goods and services among residents of the same country is usually called (25) trade. Countries cannot live alone any more effectively than individuals can. Thus, each country tends to specialize in the production of those commodities which it can produce relatively more (26) than other countries, exchanging its surplus for the (27) of other countries, of goods and services which they produce relatively more cheaply, or which the first country cannot produce at all. This process brings (28) an international division of labor which makes it possible to make more goods and services available to all countries. (29) the inter national division of labor and specialization increases the standard of living in all countries in the same way that the division of labor and specialization within a single, (30) economy increases the standard of living of all of its residents.

单选题From the fifth paragraph, in the case of cost advantages, what does FDI imply?

单选题In business, if not politics, the world has quietened down a bit: the number of spectacular bankruptcies, indictments, scandals, and implosions is not as high as it was in 2001 and 2002. Although executives still have to face a global slowdown, the uncertain effects of the war in Iraq, and the still fresh confusion over SARS, they might now be excused a deep breath and a look at aspects of their businesses that may have been neglected in the scramble to stay on top of new accounting laws and restated earnings.One area to start catching up on is knowledge. This is tree both personally, as executives work out whether or not they are staying on top of internal or external developments, but also at the level of companies. A survey of knowledge management, "Knowledge Unplugged", published in 2001 by McKinsey, found that the best-performing companies were far more likely than the worst-performing ones to use creative techniques for acquiring, processing and distributing knowledge — everything from emphasizing teamwork in product development to holding "idea contests" and laying to avoid boring daily routines.But creating an atmosphere in which knowledge can be shared can be almost as challenging as obtaining it in the first place. This is the potential prisoner's dilemma of knowledge: the more valued it becomes, the less incentive employees have to share it with one another, at the risk of losing the competitive advantage of what they know — or, worse, seeing another profit at their expense. This proves to be even more true at the company level. While firms might mm to external partners m enhance their knowledge base, the sharing will be incomplete without mutual trust.Since "knowledge" is such a vague term, it helps to have specific goals in mind when looking to gain more of it. Are you looking for information about your company, or industry in particular? Despite the general slowdown in executive education, there are still a number of courses devoted specifically to helping managers in given industries — technology, for example, or health care. Are you more concerned with acquiring more knowledge, or putting it to better use? Do you need to move quickly, or is this a subject that needs to be explored in greater depth?And bear in mind that styles of learning vary. Some people will profit most from informal networking; some enjoy learning in a classroom; others will be able to take advantage of the company intranet. Be flexible in the pursuit of knowledge; it is better to set performance targets, concentrate on meeting them, and allow individuals and their teams to explore their own solutions. Sometimes the best way to generate knowledge is simply a bit of brainstorming.The edition of Executive Education Outlook looks at the options available to executives in gaining knowledge, and enhancing what they already have. It includes a look at the state of distance learning- neither the revolution the hype claimed it would be in the late 1990s, nor completely dismissable — as a possible conduit of knowledge, the best place to go for new programmes in knowledge management, and a consideration of the demand for the best sources of knowledge: business-school academics. Concentrating on knowledge now may be the best way to be prepared for the next challenges facing the business world.