[英语]上海大学管理学英语unit9 b

,Unit 9,Text BWord List Phrases and Expressions Exercises,Text BPre-reading ActivitiesRead text B carefully and then divide the class into groups. Choose one of the following topics to discuss in each group. Give a short report about the groups opinion after that.,1. How will a company benefit from a clear strategic vision?2. What is the usual procedure of forming a strategic vision?3. How to effectively highlight the boundaries of a companys business?4. What do you think of entrepreneurship in forming a strategic vision?5. What should management do to successfully communicate the strategic vision?,Developing a Strategic Vision1 Effective strategy making begins with a vision of where the organization needs to head. A clear and entrepreneurially astute strategic vision is a prerequisite to effective strategic leadership. Managers cannot function effectively as either leaders or strategy-makers without a future-oriented concept of the business what customer needs to work toward satisfying, what business activities to pursue, what kind of long-term market,position to build vis-vis competitors, what kind of company to try to create. Charting a companys course begins with senior management looking at the road ahead and addressing the following questions: “Where do we go from here?” “What changes lie ahead in the business landscape?” and “What difference will these changes make to the companys present business?”,The Three Elements of a Strategic Vision2 Managers have three discernible tasks in forming a strategic vision and making it a useful direction-setting tool:1. Coming up with a mission statement that defines what business the company is presently in and conveys the essence of “who we are, what we do, and where we are now.”,2. Using the mission statement as a basis for deciding on a long-term course, making choices about “where we are going,” and charting a strategic path for the company to pursue.3. Communicating the strategic vision in clear, exciting terms that arouse organization wide commitment.,3 Coming up with a mission statement is not as simple as it might seem. Is America Online in the Internet connection business, the online content business, the information business, or the entertainment business? Is Coca-Cola in the soft-drink business (in which case managements strategic attention can be concentrated on outselling and outcompeting Pepsi, 7UP, Dr Pepper, Canada Dry, and Schweppes), or is it in the beverage business (in which case management also needs to think strategically about positioning Coca-Cola products to compete against fruit juices, ready-to-drink teas, bottled water, sports drinks, milk, and coffee)?,Whether to take a soft-drink perspective or a beverage perspective is not a trivial question for Coca-Cola management only partly because Coca-Cola is also the parent of Minute Maid and Hi-C, which make juice products. With a beverage industry vision as opposed to a soft-drink focus, Coca-Cola management can better zero in on, say, how to convince young adults to get their morning caffeine fix by drinking Coca-Cola instead of coffee.,4 One of the roles of a mission statement is to give the organization its own special identity, business emphasis, and path for development one that typically sets it apart from other similarly situated companies. Sometimes companies couch their business mission in terms of making a profit. This is misguided profit is more correctly an objective and a result of what the company does. The desire to make a profit says nothing about the business arena in which profits are to be sought.,The desire to make a profit says nothing about the business arena in which profits are to be sought. Missions based on making a profit do not allow us to distinguish one type of profit-seeking enterprise from another the business of Amazon. com is plainly different from the business of Toyota, even though both endeavor to earn a profit. A company that says its mission is to make a profit begs the question “What will we do to make a profit?” To understand a companys business purpose, we must know managements real answer to that question.,From Mission Statement to Strategic Vision5 The entrepreneurial challenge in developing a strategic vision is to think creatively about how to prepare a company for the future. A mission statement highlighting the boundaries of the companys current business is a logical vantage point from which to look down the road, decide what the enterprises business makeup and customer focus need to be, and chart a strategic path for the company to take.,As a rule, strategic visions should have a time horizon of five years or more unless the industry is very new or market conditions are so volatile and uncertain that it is difficult to see that far down the road with any degree of confidence. However, choosing a companys path is a daunting task that requires reasoned answers to the following questions:1. What changes are occurring in the market arenas where we operate, and What implications do these changes have for the direction in which we need to move?,2. What new or different customer needs should we be moving to satisfy?3. What new or different buyer segments should we be concentrating on?4. What new geographic or product markets should we be pursuing?5. What should the companys business makeup look like in five years?6. What kind of company should we be trying to become?,7 A well-chosen strategic vision prepares a company for the future. Forming a strategic vision is an exercise in astute entrepreneurship, not a time for pipedreams or fantasies about the companys future. Theres no substitute for good entrepreneurship in addressing the above six questions and making choices about which forks in the road to take. Charting a promising strategic course forces managers to think both creatively and realistically about changing market, competitive, technological, economic, regulatory, and societal conditions and about the companys resources and capabilities.,Sometimes, the best clues about where to head come from alertness to users problems and complaints and listening intently when a customer says, “If only” Such information, if used creatively, points to valuable customer-market-technology opportunities. Moving early and quickly to pursue emerging opportunities can result in competitive advantage.,The Crucial Role of Entrepreneurship in Forming a Strategic Vision6 Forming a strategic vision is thus not merely a wordsmithing exercise designed to create a catchy company slogan; rather it is an exercise in thinking carefully about where a company needs to head to be successful. It involves selecting the market arenas in which to participate, putting the company on a strategic path, and making a commitment to follow that path.,8 Many successful organizations need to change direction not in order to survive but in order to maintain their success. Sometimes theres an order of magnitude change in a companys environment that dramatically alter its prospects and mandates radical revision of its strategic course. Intels chairman Andrew Grove calls such occasions strategic inflection points Illustration Capsule 8 relates Intels two encounters with strategic inflection points and the resulting alteration in its strategic vision.,As the Intel example forcefully demonstrates, when a company reaches a strategic inflection point, management has some tough decisions to make about the companys course. Often, it is a question of what to do to sustain company success, not just how to avoid possible disaster. Responding to the winds of change in timely fashion lessens a companys chances of becoming trapped in a stagnant or declining business or letting attractive new growth opportunities slip away because of inaction.,Communicating the Strategic Vision9 Communicating the strategic vision down the line to lower-level managers and employees is almost as important as setting the organizations long-term direction. People need to believe that the companys management knows where its trying to take the company and what changes lie ahead both externally and internally. Ideally, executives should present their vision for the company in language that reaches out and grabs people, that creates a vivid image in their heads, and that provokes emotion and excitement. Expressing the strategic vision in,engaging language has enormous motivational value “building a cathedral,” for example, is more inspiring than “laying stones.” Thus, strategic visions convey a larger sense of purpose so that employees see themselves as “building a cathedral” rather than “laying stones.”,10 Most organization members will rise to the challenge of pursuing a worthy organizational purpose and trying to be the worlds best at something competitively significant and beneficial to customers. Presenting the vision as an endeavor that will please customers and perhaps benefit society is far more motivating than stressing the payoff for shareholders it goes without saying that the company intends to profit shareholders.,When management paints an inspiring picture of the companys strategic vision, it can arouse a committed effort within the context of an organization. The simple, clear mission statement of the International Red Cross is a good example: “to serve the most vulnerable.” Bland language, platitudes, and dull motherhood-and-apple-pie-style verbiage must be scrupulously avoided they can be a turn-off rather than a turn-on.,Word List1. vision /5vIVEn/ n. 远愿景；远见；视野 entrepreneurially /7ntrEprE5n:5rIElI/ adv. 企业家地，创业者地3. prerequisite /5pri:5rekwIzIt/ n. 先决条件4. vis-vis /vi:zB:5vi:/ prep. 和.面对面, 同.相比5. landscape /5lAndskeIp/ n. 前景6. arena /E5ri:nE/ n. 竞技场, 舞台7. discernible /dI5s:nEbl/ adj. 看得清的；可辨别的8. outsell /at5sel/ vt. 卖得比.多,9. caffeine /5kAfi:n/ n. 咖啡因10. situated /5sItjeItId/ adj. 被置于.境遇的；处于.状态的11. couch /katF/ vt. 表达12. misguided /5mIs5aIdId/ adj. 被误导的; 误入歧途的13. endeavor /In5devE/ n. 努力, 尽力14. volatile /5vlEtaIl/ adj. 易变的, 短暂的15. daunting /5dC:ntIN/ adj. 使人畏缩的16. wordsmith /5w:dsmIW/ n. 擅长文字创作的人，语言艺术家，文字专家,17. catchy /5kAtFI/ adj. 引人注目的; 动人的, 有兴味的18. regulatory /5rejulEtErI/ adj. 规章的; 受规章限制的19. intently /In5tentlI/ adv. 专心地20. magnitude /5mAnItju:d/ n. 巨大, 重大21. mandate /5mAndeIt/ vt. 批准, 颁布22. sustain /sEs5teIn/ vt. 支撑, 维持23. stagnant /5stAnEnt/ adj. 停滞的；不景气的24. engaging /In5eIdVIN/ adj. 动人的, 有魅力的25. cathedral /kE5Wi:drEl/ n. 大教堂,26. committed /kE5mItId/ adj. 效忠的；坚定的27. vulnerable /5vQlnErEbl/ adj. 易受攻击的, 易受伤的28. bland /blAnd/ adj. 乏味的, 冷漠的29. platitude /5plAtItju:d/ n. 陈词滥调30. verbiage /5v:bIIdV/ n. 空话31. scrupulous /5skru:pjlEslI/ adj. 完全地; 纯粹地,Phrases and Expressions1. come up with 提出, 拿出2. compete against 与.竞争, 与.对抗3. zero in on (使)瞄准.; (使)对准.4. set apart 使分离, 使分开5. say nothing about 更不用说6. prepare. for 使.有准备7. look down 俯视，向下看8. if only 若是.那该多好啊; 只要.就好,9. point to 指向, 针对10. be in fashion 合乎时尚, 流行的11. become trapped in 被陷入.中12. slip away 逃脱；滑走13. reach out 伸向前; 伸出14. rise to 振奋精神以迎接; 起 而应付15. be beneficial to 有益于16. it goes without saying 不用说,Exercises of Text BPart OneAnswer the following questions according to what you have learned from Text B. 1.How significant is a strategic vision to an organization?2.What do you think of the first element of a strategic vision?,3.Please discuss the roles of a mission statement.4. Is developing a strategic vision a challenging task?5.Please give your understanding of a well-chosen strategic vision.6.Is changing directions commonplace for most organizations?,Part TwoFill in the following blanks with the words given below. Change the forms where necessary.,trivial regulatory sustain astute chart daunting misguide provoke scrupulous endeavor catchy mandate highlight vision magnitude,1. The history of New York development shows how haphazard such controls can be if there is no such clear _.2. The Presidents wife is often politically _, ambitious and very influential in White House policy decisions.3. Each team was responsible for making its own decisions and _ its own course.,vision,astute,charting,4. The issue of where the peace talks will be held may seem _, but to the participants it is very important.5. Excuses vary from difficulties in obtaining payment to the _ prospect of completing export documentation.6. His parents still clung to the _ belief that his common sense would keep him out of serious trouble.,trivial,daunting,misguided,7. The management control process should _ to measure whether predetermined goals are being achieved.8. The Associations first project was to publish a 35-cent brochure _ nine historic sites.9. It would be no use using an unusual and _ approach with a very conservative firm.,endeavor,highlighting,catchy,10. Of course, these media do operate under constraints, based on _ guidelines for balanced and accurate content.11. The oil spillage in the Gulf was of such _ that its effects will last for decades.12. The program needs _ government involvement to survive.,regulatory,magnitude,sustained,13.The topic being debated was whether a doctor is _ to stop life-sustaining treatment at the patients request.14.The ambassadors offensive remarks _ widespread criticism.15.The investigation was carried out with _ fairness.,mandated,provoked,scrupulous,vision 2. astute 3. charting 4. trivial 5. daunting 6. misguided 7. endeavor 8. highlighting9. catchy 10. regulatory11. magnitude 12. sustained13. mandated 14.provoked 15. scrupulous,Part Three Go over Text B again and then summarize it with your own words based on the following hints or key words and phrases. come up with zero in on in terms of as a rule rise to it goes without saying be beneficial to,The End,1. Effective strategy making begins with a vision of where the organization needs to head. A clear and entrepreneurially astute strategic vision is a prerequisite to effective strategic leadership.,2. The first element coming up with a mission statement is not as simple as it might seem. In real situation, its somewhat hard to define “who we are, what we do, and where we are now.”,3. One of the important roles of a mission statement is to give the organization its own special identity, business emphasis, and path for development.,4. Yes. The entrepreneurial challenge in developing a strategic vision is to think creatively about how to prepare a company for the future.,5. Basically, a well-chosen strategic vision prepares a company for the future. Forming a strategic vision is an exercise in astute entrepreneurship, n