1、综合商务英语课程建设项目高级课程阅读补充材料汇编Text 1BUILDING RELATIONSHIPSBoth employers and employees have expectations about what is reasonable behavior in a work context. There is a certain level of trust between people, and even if the newspapers are full of stories of breakdowns in this trust, we think of them as ex
2、ceptions to established norms in social relationships.Business-to-business relationshipsSome say that first impressions count. Others think that someones character can only be judged after a lot of contact in business contexts and socially. This is why deciding on a supplier or distributor takes var
3、ying lengths of time in different cultures. To emphasize the importance of relationships like these, companies may refer to each other as partners.A new trend is for companies to set up e-marketplace on the Internet where they work together on procurement (purchasing) of materials and parts. Supplie
4、rs can make bids in competition with each other.When firms work together on a particular project, they may enter into a strategic alliance. This may take the form of a joint venture between two or three companies, or a consortium between several organizations. An alliance may be the prelude to a mer
5、ger between companies. Journalists often use the language of betrothal and marriage in situations like this.Companies may overcome legal and other barriers in order to merge, but, as in marriage, there is no guarantee that the relationship will work. The cultures of the two companies may be so incom
6、patible that the promised increase in profitability and shareholder value does not materialize.Relationship networksStakeholder theory holds that society is made up of a web of relationships, and that each member of this arrangement has its stake of interest and of responsibilities. In a company, th
7、e interested parties are its owners (shareholders), managers, employees, supplier, distributors and customers who may or may not be end-users of its products or services. A large companys activities have an effect the places where it operates (think especially of company towns dominated by one compa
8、ny) and on society as a whole.Some companies publish an independent social audit that goes beyond the traditional annual report and attempts to give a bigger picture of the companys place in society, the benefits it brings, the effects of its activities on people and the environment. Some say that s
9、ocial audits give a false sense of social responsibility. Optimists reply that pressure from stakeholders such as shareholders and customers can bring positive changes in the way companies work, and benefits to society as a whole. Companies are increasingly sensitive to accusations of causing pollut
10、ion, tolerating racism or using sweatshop labor.Text 2RiskAll business is built on risk. Operating in politically unstable countries is one of the most extreme examples of this. The dangers may range from kidnapping of managers through to confiscation of assets by government. Company managers may ha
11、ve to face fraud and corruption. But the fact that companies want to work there at all shows that they think the returns could be very high. As always, there is a trade-off between risk and return: investing in very challenging conditions is graphic, if extreme, illustration of this trade-off.Compan
12、ies do not have to go to unstable countries to be harmed by criminal activity. Industrial espionage has existed for as long as there have been industries to spy on, but this can now be carried out at a distance by gaining access to company computer networks. IT security specialists may try to protec
13、t their companys systems with firewalls (technical safeguards against such snooping by hackers) and against computer viruses.So far, we have looked at some of the more extreme examples of risk, but even business-as-usual is inherently risk. For example, by putting money into a new venture, investors
14、 are taking serious financial risks. More businesses fail (some put the figure as high as nine out of ten), and as the first shakeout of Internet start-ups showed, this can happen increasingly quickly after they are founded. Venture capitalists who put money into such businesses spread their risk so
15、 that the payback from one or two successful ventures will hopefully more than compensate for the money lost in the failures. There is also the risk that even apparently well-established companies that are seemingly in touch with their customers can easily start to go wrong: we can all think of exam
16、ples in soft drinks, clothing, cars and retailing, to name a few. Here, the risk of losing sight of the magic ingredients that make for success. Some companies are able to reinvent themselves, in some cases several times over. Others dont understand what they need to do to survive and thrive again,
17、or if they do understand, are unable to transform themselves in the necessary ways. The things about the company that were formerly strengths can now become sources of weakness and obstacles to change. The financial markets see this, and the company shares fall in value. Investors are increasingly q
18、uick to demand changes in top management if there are not immediate improvements. In some cases, companies that were the leaders in their industry can even go bankrupt: in airlines, think of PanAm.And then there is the risk of management complacency. Take a tyre company. A few weeks of shoddy operat
19、ions and enough faulty tyres are produced to put the whole future of the company at risk through product liability claims following accidents caused by blow-outs. Product recalls are the worst possible publicity imaginable for companies, and in the worst cases, their image is so damaged that they ne
20、ver recover. This is a case study in reputational risk: the trust that customers put in a company can be thrown away overnight. Another example of a company that destroyed the trust of its clients is the well-known Internet service provider that announced free access at all times, and then immediate
21、ly withdraw the offer. One commentator described this as brand suicide.Text 3The risk of loss of brand value and reputationBefore you readWhat effect can strikes and industrial action have on the reputation of a company? If a company has a well-know brand, what are the risks to its brand value?Readi
22、ngRead this article by Richard Gillis from the FT.com site and do the exercises that follow.One strike and youre downCompanies forget that staff have the power to wreck the brand. This warning comes from Martin Langford, a corporate reputation specialist. But brand owners that probably dont 引们引乙矢。纽J
23、j纽”那盯！lneed reminding of this include British Airways, Royal Mail and Jaguar, because of the high profile which staff industrial action, or threats of industrial action, has assumed at all three.Management at large organizations do not embark on widespread and risky company restructurings unless the
24、y believe their businesses are in straitened financial circumstances. And the potential long-term damage to company branding that can be done if staff and managers clash publicly over plans will almost always take a back seat to other priorities, such as getting the business back into profit.Neverth
25、eless, brands are a key part of the intangible assets that are playing an increasingly important role on company balance sheets. This means that it can be a serious issue for any business if its brands emerge as tainted in the long term by strikes and other industrial conflicts. If this is the risk,
26、 how can corporations or other branded organizations reduce this danger?Langford estimates that about a third of his clients problems with respect to this risk are caused by the behavior of their staff; with industrial action and disaffected workers being the most common examples.John Williamson, bo
27、ard director of brand consultants Wolff Olins, says: Poor industrial relations do not come about in isolation. They reflect on the business as a whole and the way in which it is being managed. If the management thinks the brand is something done by the marketing communications department, this makes
28、 for very poor brand strategy.The danger here for service companies is that the impression of the brand given to the customer is often dictated by the behavior of staff at the bottom of the organization hierarchy. And, in the maelstrom of media activity that goes with major industrial action, the se
29、nior management can develop the habit of briefing journalists before their own staff. This has a direct impact on the quality of the service.Brands represent the value of the organizations relationship with its customer. Its the one thing a competitor cannot copy, says Brenda Banks of insurers Aon,
30、Who works with clients on the issue of brand risk. Companies are not able to insure against declines in brand value, but often compound the problem by not managing the risk to their most valuable asset. Reputation risk only comes home to roost when things go wrong.From the Financial Times1. Choose t
31、he heading that best summarizes each paragraph of the article.a) It is important to tell the staff first.b) Brands are unique - and an important part of a companys reputation.c) Effective brand strategy means effective industrial relations.d) Brands are also reflected in the company accounts.e) Gett
32、ing the company back on its feet usually has to take priority.f) Employees who are dissatisfied with their management are often the biggest problem.g) Brand owners such as British Airways, Royal Mail and Jaguar know how their employees have the power to wreck their brand.2. True or false (paragraphs
33、 1 and 2)?a) Brand owners dont need reminding that their staff have the power to wreck their brand.b) British Airways, Royal Mail and Jaguar have all had a lot of bad publicity in the media concerning staff industrial action or threats of industrial action.c) The management of large organizations on
34、ly carry out difficult company restructurings if the business is losing a lot of money.d) Settling disagreements between staff and managers will almost always have priority over other business concerns.3. Before looking at paragraphs 3 and 4 again, match the two halves of the expressions below.a) in
35、tangible organizationsb) balance brandsc) tainted assetsd) branded actione) industrial sheetsWhich one of them means:1) things that employees of companies or institutions do as a protest?2) part of the value of a company but without any physical form?3) companies or institutions that have a particul
36、ar identity and character with the public?4) statements of what a company owns, how much money a company owes and the amount of money it has at a particular point in time?5) things that identify a company or product with the public, associated here with poor industrial relations and the resulting un
37、reliability? 4. Now use the two-word expressions from Exercises 3 to complete these sentences.a) Companies will suffer fromin the long term if they have a lot of strikes and industrial action.b) Even threats of.can affect the value of a companys brand.c) It is important for .to manage the risks to t
38、heir most valuable asset.d) Successful, and unsuccessful, brand management is reflected in a companys .e) The value of a companys brand is one of its most important .5. Find words or expressions in paragraph 5 that mean:a) bad management of the way staff and managers work togetherb) are not somethin
39、g that happens without relation to other people or thingsc) give an insight intor勺d) results ine) long-term planning6. Before looking at paragraph 6 again, choose the correct forms of the verbs from the box to complete the sentences below.brief have developdictate give goa) The danger is that the im
40、pression of the brand .to the customer is often .by the behavior of staff at the bottom of the organization hierarchy.b) There is a maelstrom of media activity that.with major industrial action.c) Senior management can.the habit of .journalists before their own staff.d) This .a direct impact on the
41、quality of the service.7. Answer these questions according to the information in paragraph 7.a) What, according to Brenda Banks, is at risk for companies with a well-known brand?b) Why does she believe it is important for companies to manage the risk to their brand?Text 4An internet with Chinese cha
42、racteristics (from Economist)Online business in China is growing even faster than the offline sort. Local tastes and needs, as well as the state, are endowing it with distinctive featuresWHEN Huang Bing graduated from university in 2005, he promised himself he would make his first 1m yuan (about $15
43、5,000) within three years. It took him a bit longer, but no matter: if his business, a collection of online cosmetics stores, maintains its current trajectory, he will soon count his first billion. In a few years he expects annual revenues to reach 10 billion yuan.Mr Huangs company, United Cosmetics
44、 International, is only one of thousands on Taobao Mall, a huge online shopping centre. He spotted a demand from women in Chinas hinterland for branded cosmeticsand advice on how to use them. “A lot of women in rural areas dont have access to quality products,” he explains, guiding visitors through
45、the firms headquarters in the outskirts of Hangzhou, two hours drive south-west of Shanghai. On several floors, at desk after desk, “beauty consultants” busily type answers for customers.As goes United Cosmetics, so goes the Chinese internet. It is growing by leaps and bounds (see chart 1), as ever
46、more people log on from phones, homes or offices, or in huge internet cafs (pictured). The China Internet Network Information Centre reckons that the online population, already the worlds biggest, has risen by 6% to 485m this year. And almost two-thirds of people are not yet online.Just as striking,
47、 as the countrys internet grows larger it also grows more distinctly Chinese. “The beauty of the internet is that it easily adapts to local conditions,” says Paul Zwillenberg of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The Chinese internet is the best example of the argument that, far from creating uniformity, the global network is shaped by local forces.Consumers, firms, economy and stateThose forces can be divided into four: the demands of Chinese consumers; the attitudes of Chinese entrepreneurs; Chinas offline economic development; and the role of the state. S
