新发展研究生英语一Unit2.text Book 1

Unit 2

Economic Society

The consumer isn’t a moron: she is your wife. You insult her

intelligence if you assume that a mere slogan and a few

vapid adjectives will persuade her to by anything..

消费者不是傻瓜, 她是你的妻子. 如果你认为仅凭一句

口号, 几个乏味的形容词就能使她掏腰包买任何东西的

话, 那么你就亵渎了她的智。

----David Ogilvy, American advertisement manager

There is no resting place for an enterprise in a competitive

economy.

在竞争的经济中, 没有企业休息的地方。

---Alfred P. Sloan, American businessman

Pre-reading Activities

Fill in the blanks with words you hear.

Decide how the business will operate. You should describe how the business will be managed, and the _____ (1) and organization structure that will be in place. There are three further parts that go together to make a ______________ (2) business plan:

A __________ (3) plan: it includes location, method of selling, _____________ (4), pricing and so on. You must be aware of consumer _______ (5) to make sure that your business does not become outdated or irrelevant.

An operation plan: it describes the day-to-day running of business, You should include supply sources, cost and quantities of material, _____________(6),equipment and methods of _________ (7) the service or products offered.

A financial plan, which is a master budget for the operation and includes cash flow forecast, balance _________ (8), profit and lost statement, _____________ (9) of finance and sales forecast and target.

The financial aspects of the plan are the most important and you should develop or ________ (10) financial skill to make sure this part of your plan is accurate and realistic, Don’t forget set-up costs and the money needed to see you through and initial period of low cash flow

when calculating your first year’s budget.

Good Things Come to Those Who Actively Wait

Donald Sull is a professor of management Practice in Strategic and International Management and Faculty Director of Executive Education at London business School where he designed, directs and teaches an intensive week-long “ boot-camp” to help senior executives thrive in turbulent markets.

1In Highly volatile markets, a company’s success or failure is often attributed to luck.

Turbulent markets throw out opportunities whose timing, nature and magnitude managers can neither predict nor control. The same holds true for threats. In such a competitive casino, you place your bets and hope for the best. It is better to be lucky than good.

2 For the past six years I have studied more than 20 pairs of comparable companies in

unpredictable industries such as telecommunications, airlines and enterprise software in countries such as China and Brazil. By pairing similar companies, I showed how they responded differently to the some unforeseen threats and opportunities.

3 I found the more successful companies were luckier, in the sense that time and again they

responded more effectively to unexpected shifts in regulation, technology, competition, macroeconomics or other volatile factors. Such luck is too important to leave to chance. The most successful companies exemplified “active waiting”, an approach to strategy in highly unpredictable markets that consists of anticipating and preparing for opportunities and threats that executives can neither fully predict nor control.

4 A chief executive is sometimes likened to a ship’s captain, peering into the distant horizon

and setting a course. In many markets that future is foggy and finding a clear view nearly impossible. In the telecommunications industry, for example, shifting regulations, continuous technological change, entry by non-traditional rivals such as Skype and shifts in consumer preferences throw out a steady stream of unforeseen opportunities and threats. Demands for cars in China, for example, arose from the confluence of increased disposable income, government investment in infrastructure,rising middle-class aspirations, easy credit and the demise of employer-provided housing near the workplace

5 But all opportunities are not equal. In volatile markets, companies face countless small and

mid-sized opportunities and the periodic golden opportunity--- a chance to create value disproportionate to resources invested in a short period of time. Typical golden opportunities include acquisition of NatWest; explosive demand in an emerging market such as China or India; or pioneering a new product or service such as the iPod.