剑桥BEC中级真题第四辑TEST1

剑桥BEC中级真题第四辑TEST1

剑桥BEC真题集中级第四辑Test

READING1hour

PARTONE

Questions1-7

•Lookatthestatementsbelowandthearticleaboutthedevelopmentoffuture

businessleadersontheoppositepage.

•Whichsectionofthearticle(A,B,CorD)doeseachstatement(1-7)referto?

•Foreachstatement(1-7),markoneletter(A,B,CorD)onyourAnswerSheet.

•Youwillneedtousesomeoftheselettersmorethanonce.

Example:

0Aneworganisationhasbeenformedtoassist

firmsindeVehigh-flyerls.

-8^

1Managersneedtotakeactiontoconvincehigh-flyersoftheirvaluetothefirm.

2Organisationsneedtolookbeyondthehigh-flyerstheyarecurrently

developing.

3Thereisaconcernthatfirmsinvestingintrainingforhigh-flyersmaynot

gainthebenefitsthemselves.

4Managersneedexpertassistancefromwithintheirownfirms

indevelopinghigh-flyers.

5Firmscurrentlyidentifyhigh-flyerswithoutthesupportofaguidancestrategy.

6Managersarefrequentlytoobusytodealwiththedevelopmentofhigh-flyers.

7Firmswhoworkhardontheirreputationasanemployerwillinterest

high-flyers.

TheStarsoftheFuture

AExistingmanagementresearchdoesnottellusmuchabouthowtofind

anddevelophigh-flyers,thosepeoplewhohavethepotentialtoreachthe

topofanorganisation.Asaresult,organisationsarelefttoformulatetheir

ownsystems.Amoreeffectiveoverallpolicyfordevelopingfutureleadersis

needed,whichiswhytheLondonBusinessSchoolhas

launchedtheTomorrow'sLeadersResearchGroup(TLRG).The

groupcontainsrepresentativesfrom20firms,andmeetsregularlyto

discusstheleadershipdevelopmentoftheorganizations

high-flyers.

TLRGrecognisesjusthowsignificantlinemanagersarein

theprocessofBleadershipdevelopment.Unfortunately,withtoday's

flatorganisations,wheremanagershavefunctionalaswellas

managerialresponsibilities,peopledevelopmentalltoooftenfallsvictimto

heavyworkloads.Onemanagerintheresearchgroupwasunconvincedbythe

logicofsendinghisbestpeopleawayondevelopmentcourses,5onlytoseethem

poachedbyanotherdepartmentor,worse

still,anotherfirm*.Thisfearoflosinghigh-flyersrunsdeepinthe

organisationsthatmakeuptheresearchgroup.

TLRGarguesthatthetaskofmanagementisnotnecessarilyabout

employeeCretention,butaboutcreating1attractioncentres5,'Wemusthelp

linemanagerstorealisethatiftheircompaniesareknownasonesthatdevelop

theirpeople,they

willhaveagreaterappealtohigh-flyers,9saidone

advisor.Furthermore,selectingpeoplefor,say,aleadershipdevelopment

programmeisasignofcommitmentfrommanagementtoanindividual.

Loyaltycanthenbemoreeasilydemandedinreturn.

DTLRGhasconcludedthatacompany'sHRspecialistsneedtotakeaction

andengagewithlinemanagersindividuallyabouttheirroleinthe

developmentofhigh-flyers.Indeed,inordertobenefitfullyfromtraining

high-flyersastheseniormanagersofthefuture,firmsmustactuallyaddress

thedevelopmentofallmanagerswhowillbesupportingthehigh-flyers.

Withoutthis,managerswillnotbeinapositiontogiveappropriateadvice.

Andwheneventuallythehigh-flyersdomoveon,newoneswillbeneededto

replacethem.Thenextchallengewillbe

tofindanewgenerationof

high-flyers.

PARTTWO

Questions8-12

,Readthearticlebelowaboutpossiblereasonsforacquiringacompany.

•Choosethebestsentencefromtheoppositepagetofilleachofthegaps.

•Foreachgap(8-12),markoneletter(A-G)onyourAnswerSheet.

•Donotuseanylettermorethanonce.

•Thereisanexampleatthebeginning(0).

ACQUISITION

Whenshouldacompanyconsideracquisitionasawayforward?

Therearemanycircumstancesinwhichexampleisassetstripping,wherethe

acompanymaywishtotakeovermainmotivefortheacquisitionis

anotherorganisationthroughanshort-termgainbybuyingup

acquisition.undervaluedassetsandsellingthemon

Theneedtokeepupwithachangingbitbybit.

environmentoftendominatesthinking

aboutacquisitions.One

compellingreasontodevelopby

acquisitionisthespeedwithwhichit

a'l°wsthecompanytoenternew

productormarketareas.(0)

GThisisparticularlytrueof

e-commerce.

Thestrengthofcompetitorsmay

influenceacompanytochoose

acquisitionasawayforward.In

marketsthatarestaticandwhere

marketsharesofcompaniesare

reasonablysteady,,itcanbedifficult

foracompanytobreakintothe

market,sinceitspresencemaycreate

excesscapacity.(8)

Thesameargumentsalsoapply"when

anestablishedsupplierinan

industryacquiresa

competitor.Thismayeitherbetogain

thecompetitor'smarketshareor,in

somecases,toshutdownitscapacityin

ordertorestoreasituation

wheresupplyanddemandaremore

balanced.Theremaybe

financialmotivesforacquisition.

Ifthesharevalueofa

companyishigh,themotivemaybeto

spotandacquireafirmwithalow

sharevalue.(9)Anextreme

Theremayalsoberesource

considerations.Theremaybealackof

resourcesorskillstocompete

successfully,sotheymustbeacquired.

(10)Itmayalsobe

thatithasknowledgeofa

particulartypeof

productionsystem,businessprocess

or

marketneed.Inaninternational

context,acquisitionisoftenameansof

gainingmarketknowledge.

Sometimestherearereasonsofcost

efficiencywhichmakeacquisitionlook

attractive.Acostefficiencycouldarise

fromthefactthatanestablished

companymayalreadybevery

experiencedandhaveachieved

efficiencieswhichanothercompany

wouldfinddifficulttoachievequickly

byinternalmeans.(11)

Inconsumergoods

industries,cost

efficiencyisusuallythereasonforan

acquisition.Acquisitioncanalso

bedrivenbytheexpectationsofkey

shareholders.Share-holdersusually

expecttoseecontinuinggrowth,and

acquisitionmaybeaquickwayto

deliverthisgrowth.Butthereare

considerabledangersmatan

acquisitioncanlowershareprice

ratherthanincreaseit.

(12)Thisismorelikely

whenthedecisiontoacquireis

speculativeasopposedtostrategic.

Therearesomeshareholderswho

favouracquisitionsimplytobring

ashort-termboosttosharevalue.

Example:0ABcDEFG

AThenecessarydevelopmentandorganisationallearningwouldbetooslow.

BInthesameway,anorganisationcanincreasemanufacturingopportunities.

CIndeed,thisisoneofthemajorreasonsforthemorespeculativeacquisitions

thattakeplace.

DItmaybethattheparentcompanymaynothavesufficientunderstandingof

theacquiredbusiness,andthiscouldremovevalue.

FForexample,acompanymaybetakenoverforitsresearchand

developmentexpertise.

GIf,however,thecompanyentersbyacquisition,theriskofreactionfrom

industryrivalsisreduced.

FInsomecases,amarketischangingsofastthatacquisitionbecomesthe

onlywayofsuccessfullybreakingintoit.

PARTTHREE

Questions13-18

•Readthearticlebelowaboutchangingattitudestocreativityintheworkplace,

andthequestionsontheoppositepage.

•Foreachquestion(13-18),markoneletter(A,B,CorD)onyourAnswerSheet.

CREATIVITYINTHEWORKPLACE

——th-ymust

Nowadays,manyUKcompaniestakemuchoftheblameforcreating

arestrivingtobemorecreative,thesituation.Untilrecently

Butaccordingtoarecentsurveyofsuccessive”

seniormanagers,thelackofacan-do

mentalityamongstemployeesand

anaversiontoriskishindering

Britishbusiness.Manythinkthere

istoomuchfocusondelivering

resultsquickly,whichleavesinsufficient

timetothinkcreatively.Somecomplain

thatalackofcoherentvisionon

creativitypreventstheir

organisationfrombeingmore

innovative.

Yetwhileseniormanagers

mayregretthelackofcreativity.

managementscience,

'promotingcreativitymeans

reevaluatingmostofwhatwe

knowaboutmanagement.Itmeans

organisationsmustbepreparedto

investinideaswithoutbeingsureof

thereturnonthatInvestment.5

KatrinaMurrayagrees

withthisview.

6Businessesareexpertatthe

measured

approach,whichinvolvesanalysis

andriskavoidance.Butthereisanother

approach,whichinvolves

intuitionand

notalwayslookingatthebottomline.

Whatishardisestablishingaworking

environmentinwhich

boththese

approachescanfunction

simultaneously.5

Nevertheless,therearesome

generationsofmanagementignoredpleasingindicatorsofprogressinthisof

innovativeideasfromemployees.seniormanagersinterviewedin

Indeed,newwaysofthinkingthesurveysaytheirorganisationshave

wereoftenregardedasanunwantedadoptedanumberofstrategiesto

distraction,andoriginalthinkersencourageindividualstochanneltheir

receivedlittlesupport.Despitethefactcreativity.Amongthesearegivingopen

thatmanyorganisationsarenowtakingandhonestfeedback,allowing

stepstore-orientthebusinesscultureemployeesthefreedomtomeasuretheir

topromotecreativity,itisnotperformanceagainstmoreflexiblegoals,

surprising,giventhisbackground,thatandhighertolerationlevelsoffailure.

acreativeenvironmentishardtoSeniormanagersalsorecognisethatthe

establish.wayanorganisationisledandmanaged

Anotherrelatedissueisiscriticaltobuildingacreative

raisedbyenvironmentandthattheythemselves

KatrinaMurray,apartnerinahaveanimportantroletoplay.

managementconsultancy:While

manyButtherearesome

seniormanagersstillcomplainaboutexpertswhobelieveanevenmore

thelackofsupportforcreativityinfundamentalchange

theirorganizations,theyalsofailtoisneeded.TomRobertson,aprofessor

appreciatethecontributionthattheyofcreativeeducation,believesthatthe

themselvescanmake.Insomelackofcreativityincompaniesisa

companies,thereisaperceptionthatproblem

onlymanagersatboardlevelcanthatoriginatedinschoolsand

influencethecompanyculture.5Murrayuniversities.Thesolution,hesays,lies

feelsthatsuchorganisationsareinmoreenlightenededucational

unlikelytochange.Forher,policies.

6

'creativeTherearealreadysignsofthis,but

organisationsaremadeupofcreativityisstillconcentratedin

individualswhobelievetheycancertain

dictatetheirownsectors,suchas

future.Companiesneedtobeabletopharmaceuticals,

advertisingandthemedia.These

theseindividualsandgentlyencouragesectorshavealwaysvalued

themtoleadtheway.5creativitygbuttherealchallenge

willbetoshiftsomeof

Itisalsonecessaryforsenior5

managerstore-examinetheirrole.thesesectorspracticesintomore

AccordingtoAlexSadowski,antraditionalmanufacturingandservice

5

Americanprofessorofarea.Manythecompanies.

13Manyseniormanagersfeelthatorganisationshavedifficultiesinnovating

becauseof

Aapoorlevelofskillsamongemployees.

Banemphasisonrapidachievement.

Canincreasedriskassociatedwithchange.

Daninsistenceonastandardcompanyphilosophy.

14Accordingtothewriter,manyorganisationstodayare

Afindingiteasiertointroduceacreativeapproach.

Bhavingproblemsunderstandinginnovationasa

concept.Cactivelydevelopingtheconditionsforacreative

approach.Dresistinginnovativestaffsuggestions.

15Inthethirdparagraph,KatrinaMurrayexpressestheviewthat

Atopmanagementmustdictatethepaceofchange.

Bsomeemployeeslackacommitmenttochange.

Cmostorganisationsareincapableofbringingabouteffectivechange.

Dsomeseniormanagersunderestimatetheroletheycan

playinachievingchange.

16AlexSadowskiandKatrinaMurrayagreethattobe

trulyinnovative,organisationsmust

Ainvestintherightmanagers.

Bplacelessemphasisonfinancialconsiderations.

Chaveadoublefocustotheirpolicies.

Dadoptanapproachwithclearlydefinedstages.

17Accordingtothesurvey,whichofthefollowingstrategieshasbeen

introducedtoencouragecreativity?

Agreateracceptanceoferror

Bflnancialrewardsforhigherlevelsofcreativity

Ctheintroductionofspecificperformancetargets

Dthepromotionofcreativeindividualstoseniorposts

18TomRobertsonbelievesthat,inthefuture,itwillbedifficulttoachieve

Aaneducationalsystemthatencouragescreativity.

Bacombinationofpracticesthatpromotecreativity.

Cthespreadofcreativitytoarangeofbusinesses.

Dagreaterrespectforcreativityinpharmaceuticalcompanies.

PARTFOUR

Questions19-33

•Readthearticlebelowaboutdoingbusinessonline.

•ChoosethebestwordorphrasetofilleachgapfromA,B,CorDonthe

oppositepage.

•Foreachquestion(19-33),markoneletter(A,B,CorD)onyourAnswerSheet.

•Thereisanexampleatthebeginning(0).

TheSecretofSuccessforOnlineBusinesses

Thesecretofsuccessinelectroniccommerce(0)Binplacinga

newemphasisonawell-establishedarea.Thatareaiscustomerservice,which

isnowtheonly^ointof(19)betweenabusinessandthebuying

public.

Thereareanumberoffactorsinareal-worldshopthat(20)

people'sperceptionsofabusiness:these(21)thelocationandthe

appearanceofthepremises,thequalityandthepricingofthe

merchandiseorservices,andthebehaviourofthestaff.

However,ifacompanyistiyingtomakeagoodimpressionwithonline

customers,mostofthesefactorsdonot(22)apart.Inthe(23)

ofthesefactors,thewaycustomersare(24)when

theyhaveareasontocallhasafundamentaleffectonacompany's

abilitytoretainthemascustomers.Evenmorethanregulartelephoneor

in一personcustomers,webcustomersareimpatient,easilyfrustratedandalways

consciousthattheyhaveotherplaceswheretheycan(25)theirbusiness.

Preventingthemfromdoingthatmeansmeetingthemontheirown(26)

andprovidingthemwithwhattheywant.

1Thisnecessity,in(27),meansthatcompaniesthatsellover

thenetmustgetback-endfunctionsright.Imposing(28)

requirementsoncustomerswillnotwork;abusinessthat(29)

oncustomersemailingforassistanceinsteadofusingthephone,forexample,will

loserepeatcustom.

Ifthephoneisused,itmustbeanswered(30),andthestaff

shouldlookforwaysofhelpingeventhemostawkwardcustomers

(31),asismoreusual,tryingto{indsome(32)

toblamethecustomerforanyproblem.

Animportant,finalpointisthatitisvitalthatalladdresses,weblinksandphone

numbersworkproperlyandefficiently.Thisoughtto(33)

withoutsaying.Experience,however,showsthatitdoesnot.

Example:

AstaysBliesCexistsDstems

0ABCD

19ArelationshipBassociationCmeetingDcontact

20AforceBdetermineCdecideDfix

21AencloseBconsistCincludeDcontain

22AgetBrunCplayDhave

23AabsenceBlackCneedDscarcity

24AcaredBtreatedCdealtDconsidered

25AdeliverBbringCmoveDtake

26ApoliciesBstandardsCtermsDconditions

27AturnBsequenceClineDorder

28AdenseBrigidCdeepDsolid

29AdemandsBinsistsCexpectsDinstructs

30ApunctuallyBpreciselyCpromptlyDpresently

31AapartfromBotherthanCexceptforDratherthan

32AcaseBexcuseCfaultDpurpose

33AdoBmakecgoDcome

PARTFIVE

Questions34-45

•Readtheadvicebelowaboutmeetingswithclients.

•Inmostofthelines(34-45),thereisoneextraword.Iteitheris

grammaticallyincorrect

ordoesnotfitii1nwiththemeaningofthetext.Somelines,however,arecorrect.

•Ifalineiscorrect,writeCORRECTonyourAnswerSheet.

•Ifthereisanextrawordintheline,writetheextrawordinCAPITAL

LETTERS

on

yourAnswerSheet.

•Theexercisebeginswithtwoexamples(0and0).

ClientMeetings

0Regularmeetingswithclientsareimportanttoahealthycollaboration.They

0maybesetupbytheclient,forexampletoreviewwiththeprogressofcurrent

34projects,togivenewinstructionsthatmayhaveleadtoacontractvariation

35ortodiscussanyconcerns,Theclientmeetingwhichcanalsobearranged

36byyouoranothermemberofyourcompanytoattractfromnewbusiness,to

37addressaproblemunlessthatneedstobesolvedortogiveanupdateorstatus

38reportoncurrentbusinessventures.Yourpartisinthesemeetingswilldictate

39thekindofinformationyouneedandhowyoushouldprepareforthem.Ifyou

40willberespondingtoquestionsputbyyourclient,thematerialyoupresent

41shoulddealinspecificallywiththerequestthatwasmade.Themeetingshould

not

42onlymoveofftheagendawithoutthepermissionofthepersonyouaremeeting.

43Ifyouhavepreparedproperly,youshouldbeabletoanticipatebothquestions

and

44torespondproperly.Ifyouareputonthespotandaskedfordetailsyoudonot

45have,respondhonestly——donotspeakaboutmattersasyouarenotfamiliar~~

with.

WRITING45minutes

PARTONE

•Youareorganisingameetingtodiscusspossiblecutstoyourdepartments

budget.

•Writeanemailtoallstaffinyourdepartment:

•givingthemthedateofthemeeting

•explainingwhysomecutshavetObemade

•sayingwhyitisimportantforallstafftOattend.

•Write40-50words.

Allstaff

Subject:Budgetcuts-meeting

PARTTWO

•TheretailcompanyyouworkforisconsideringinstallingaTVsysteminits

storetogivecustomersinformationonproductsandserviceswhiletheyshop.

Youhaveseenanadvertisementforacompanywhichprovidesthistypeof

system.

•Lookattheinformationbelow,onwhichyouhavealreadymadesome

handwrittennotes.

•Then,usingallyourhandwrittennotes,writealettertoChris

Taylorat

TVInfoSystems.

•Write120-140words.

oneHowcanin-store

TVsystems

month-saywhyimproveyour

company'ssales?

Mostbuying

decisionsare

Askmadewhilea

forcustomerisinthestore.

Youcanusein—stOre

moreTVstoprovide

customerswith

detailsinformationofyour

productsandservices.

ofthis

•complete

TVsystems

•any

numberof

screens

tr

ai

ni

ng

se

Systemrv

ice

mustpr

ov

bereadyid

ined

u

g

e

Givedetailsofourretail

company

o

S

y

e

LISTENING40minutes(including

10minutes,transfertime)

PARTONE

Questions1-12

,Youwillhearthreetelephoneconversationsormessages.

,Writeoneortwowordsoranumberinthenumberedspacesonthenotesor

formsbelow.

,Afteryouhavelistenedonce,replayeachrecording.

ConversationOne

(Questions1-4)

•Lookatthenotebelow.

•Youwillhearamanphoningacustomeraboutanorder.

MESSAGE

To:BobCole

From:AlexParkeratPiltonEngineering

•Thedeliverydateforournew..LDmachineshabeendelayed.

•Heaskedifweneededtoapp1heX2)inthecontract

onthisoccasion.

•Heisnowofferingfree(3).

•Onethingnotclearinthecontract-whoisresponsiblefor

O)____________________________________________________________

duringtransit?

ConversationTwo

(Questions1-4)

•Lookatthenotesbelow.

•YouwillhearamanleavingamessageforacolleagueaboutanothercOmpany',

pressconference.

NOTESONWEBSTER'SPRESSCONFERENCE

Websterintendsto:

•increasenumberof(5)in

nextfewyears.

•createpositionof(6)under

MarketingDirector.

•centralise-the-systenrfoL(分

~9introduce(8).

ConversationThree

(Questions9-12)

•Lookatthenotesbelow.

•Youwillhearamantelephoningacolleagueaboutabuildinghehasseen.

ENTERPRISEBUSINESSCOLLEGE

Notesabout15lemmingtonRoad

Goodpoints

•Notnecessaryto..(9)_____________________________________________

it.

•Lower(10)________________________________________________________

thanmanyotherbuildingsforrent.

•It，sinthesuburbs,so..the..£ll).______________________________tax

islower.

But…

•FurtherfromHQ.

Inthe(12)

itmaynotbespaciousenough.

PARTTWO

Questions13-22

SectionOne

(Questions13-17)

•Youwillhearfiveshortrecordings.Fivespeakersaretalkingaboutthe

useoftechnologyinrecruitment.

•Foreachrecording,decidewhatrecommendationthespeakermakes

concerningtechnologyinrecruitment.

•Writeoneletter(A—H)nexttothenumberoftherecording.

Donotuseanylettermorethanonce.

Afteryouhavelistenedonce,replaytherecordings.

13_______________AAdvertisepostswithinthe

companyaswellasoutside.

14_______________BIncludedetailedinformationaboutvacancies.

CMakesureyourwebsiteiskeptuptodate.

15DAllocatesuitablestafftomaintainthewebsite.

ERe-designyournon-web-basedrecruitment

16_______________advertising.

FUsearangeoftechnologiesfor

contactwith

17applicants.

GAskpotentialapplicantsthemost

importantquestionsfirst.

HMaximisetheopportunitiesofferedby

the

internet.

SectionTwo

(Questions18-22)

•Youwillhearanotherfiverecordings.Fivespeakersaretalkingabouthowto

dealwithcomplaintsaboutgoods.

•Foreachrecording,decidewhatactionthespeakerisrecommending.

•Writeoneletter(A-H)nexttothenumberoftherecording.

•Donotuseanylettermorethanonce.

•Afteryouhavelistenedonce,replaytherecordings.

18_______________

Ainitiatinganinvestigation

19_______________Bgivingmoneyback

Cprovidinganidenticalreplacement

20_______________Dofferinganupgrade

Earrangingfreeservicing

21________________Forganisingfreetraining

Gextendingthewarranty

17Hofferingacreditnote

PARTThree

Questions23-30

•YouwillhearJohnSergeant,aretailanalyst,beinginterviewedaboutachain

ofclothingstorescalledSangra.

•Foreachquestion(23一30),markoneletter(A,BorC)forthecorrectanswer.

•Afteryouhavelistenedonce,replayt