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Look at the statements below and the advice of four market analysts about a company’s future strategy on the opposite page.
Which analyst’s advice(A, B, C or D)does each statement(1-7)refer to?
For each statement(1-7), mark one letter(A, B, C or D)on your Answer Sheet.
You will need to use some of these letters more than once.
Example:
0 It would be inadvisable for Dexter to extend its range of products at this time.
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What next for Dexter?
Dexter’s new shaving cream is a hit in the UK. The company’s next challenges
are to branch out into new products and to succeed in America. Four top
analysts give their advice.
A Joe Hutchinson
For Dexter, the hardest part is yet to come. Many British companies fail in the U.S. and Dexter is, unsurprisingly, finding it tough. And what’s the sense in seeking cash for expansion into new product areas while having to support a loss-making American operation? There are more important things to do with the money, for example dealing with the company’s low profitability - a 2% return on sales. It might well be time to look at a few cost headings.
B Dan Valero
Breaking out of the shaving cream market should not be impossible for Dexter, but raising the money to launch the products is the real challenge. Dexter might seek a partner with the promotional skills needed for mass marketing, or focus on product development and franchising. They ought to consider whether they should continue to attack the American market, and, if so, they should seek a local partner. If control is a priority, the European market may be worth a look instead.
C James Sunderland
Dexter’s entrepreneurship, which has helped it get a share of a market previously dominated by two players, will be the key to further growth. The American market is particularly challenging, but a possible strategy is to target distributors to American retailers or a British-based subsidiary of an American parent. Another approach may be to form alliances with like-minded cult fashion or sports outlets and attract a slice of the US market open to trying new products.
D Melanie Laconte
Dexter intends to increase its market share, and one way of doing this is to introduce new products, perhaps aimed at women, into its existing range. However, its managers must be aware that the women’s grooming market is crowded, and that to extend here they must remain loyal to the values of their existing range while still proving attractive to the new sector. They need to take a hard look at how to generate demand; so far it’s worked well through word of mouth but the average American buyer expects a huge advertising campaign.
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Read the article below about professional headhunters.
Choose the best sentence from the opposite page to fill each of the gaps.
For each gap(8-12), mark one letter(A-G)on your Answer Sheet.
Do not use any letter more than once.
There is an example at the beginning(0).
Attracting the headhunters
Professional headhunters are now key players in many kinds of recruitment.
But how do you gain their attention? Matthew Lynn investigates.
In the past, companies would use the services of headhunters to recruit principally at boardroom level. But these days, they are also responsible for filling a much wider range of middle management and specialist posts, and consequently, they have huge influence in the commercial world.
(0)___G___The first is that economic expansion has, in many countries, left the labour market tight. In a number of industries, and in growth sectors such as technology and media, there is now a severe shortage of skilled and talented people.This has forced companies to go out and look for the staff they need and not wait for them to arrive at the door. The second reason is that companies are now critically dependent on the skills and knowledge of their key people. They are very aware that having the right staff may determine their survival in a competitive marketplace.【P1】______.
So, how do you make sure you get noticed by the headhunters? In the days when jobs were mainly advertised in newspapers, you could search the appointment pages and apply for anything that interested you.【P2】______.Unless you are in contact with them, it is unlikely you will even be considered for a post.
Most headhunters will devote time and energy to tracking down talented people in large organisations.【P3】______. So, while it would be nice to think the headhunters will find you, in fact, you often have to find them. ’Executives must be proactive in the search process by building on current skills, being fully prepared for interviews and by keeping CVs up to date,’ says Julia Fernandez, manager of PB Executive Search.
It is also important that you set time aside to talk to headhunters. At some point, you may be contacted by a headhunter to recommend someone in a related field or provide a reference for someone you have dealt with professionally. If you simply deal with the enquiry as quickly as possible, you may be failing to exploit the potential benefit to yourself.【P4】______. Fernandez advises that, ’All contact with headhunters is potentially useful, and you should have one or two headhunters that you know personally and make a point of keeping in touch with.
【P5】______.Make sure that the people around you will always be motivated to say something positive about you if approached.Your potential employers are watching you constantly.’
Example:[*]
A But it is hard for them to establish contact unless these skilled individuals have been brought to their attention.
B They are consequently a lot more willing to turn to headhunters than in the past.
C Moreover, headhunters are all in the business of having as big a network as possible and working it to their advantage.
D In addition, the fact that headhunters are always looking for talent means that great care needs to be taken with the image you project in the workplace.
E Now, it is only junior or unskilled jobs that are filled this way; most of the best jobs are filled by headhunters.
F Not making the most of such an approach would definitely be a mistake.
G There are two reasons for this growing use of headhunters.
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Read the article below about leadership in business and the questions on the opposite page.
For each question(13-18), mark one letter(A, B, C or D)on your Answer Sheet.
THE EFFECTIVE LEADER
From workplace surveys, I have found that most people want to be - and feel they could be - more effective leaders. Certainly they want their leaders to be more effective. But what do we mean by effective leadership in business? It would appear a simple question. Unfortunately, effectiveness is more easily recognisable when it is absent. Leaders who attempt to use business jargon and try out the latest ideas are too often perceived as figures of fun. Whilst people frequently agree on what ineffective leadership is, clearly knowing what not to do is hardly helpful in practice.
Huge amounts of research have been done on this very wide subject. When you look at leadership in different ways, you see different things. While descriptions of leadership are all different, they are all true - and this is where disagreement arises. However, leadership is specific to a given context. The effectiveness of your actions is assessed in relation to the context and to the conditions under which you took them.
For a magazine article I wrote recently, I interviewed one publishing executive, author of several well-known publications, about what effective leadership is. It was significant that, at first, he did not mention his own company. He talked at length about what was happening in the industry - the mergers, take-overs and global nature of the business. Before he was able to describe his own objectives for the new publishing organisation he was setting up, he had to see a clear fit between these proposals and the larger situation outside. Obvious? Of course. But I have lost count of the number of leaders I have coached who believed that their ideas were valid, whatever the situation.
At this point, I should also mention another example, that of a finance director whose plan of action was not well received. The company he had joined had grown steadily for twenty years, serving clients who were in the main distrustful of any product that was too revolutionary. The finance director saw potential challenges from competitors and wanted his organisation to move with the times. Unfortunately, most staff below him were unwilling to change. I concluded that although there were certainly some personal skills he could improve upon, what he most needed to do was to communicate effectively with his subordinates, so that they all felt at ease with his different approach.
Some effective leaders believe they can control uncertainty because they know what the organisation should be doing and how to do it. Within the organisation itself, expertise is usually greatly valued, and executives are expected, as they rise within the system, to know more than those beneath them and, therefore, to manage the operation. A good example of this would be a firm of accountants I visited. Their business was built on selling reliable expertise to the client, who naturally wants uncertainty to be something only other companies have to face. Within this firm, giving the right answer was greatly valued, and mistakes were clearly to be avoided.
I am particularly interested in what aims leaders have and what their role should be in helping the organisation achieve its strategic aims. Some leaders are highly ineffective when the aim doesn’t fit with the need, such as the manufacturing manager who was encouraged by her bosses to make revolutionary changes. She did, and was very successful. However, when she moved to a different part of the business, she carried on her programme of change. Unfortunately, this part of the business had already suffered badly from two mismanaged attempts at change. My point is that what her people needed at that moment was a steady hand, not further changes - she should have recognised that. The outcome was that within six months staff were calling for her resignation.
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Read the article below about goods returned by customers to mail order companies.
Choose the best word or phrase to fill each gap from A, B, C or D on the opposite page.
For each question(19-33), mark one letter(A, B, C or D)on your Answer Sheet.
There is an example at the beginning(0).
Unwanted Goods
Increased sales is always good news for mail order companies. But more sales also(0)___ A___more items are returned. Most companies have a full returns policy, but as Meg Powell, Managing Director of mail order company Go First, explains, this usually【C1】______a lot of extra work. ’If an item comes back, we have to【C2】______with refunds, apology mailings and stock control. This is a complex process and each returned item undergoes close【C3】______for defects. If goods are in a fit【C4】______ for stock, they need repacking and putting back in the warehouse. If not, we’ll look at why. Anything【C5】______ to the quality of returned goods is【C6】______information. In some instances we can identify a fault in production and do something about it.’
Estimates of the number of returns for the sector【C7】______ In the 【C8】______of Go First, which delivers 100 million packages a year, 26 million come back. Reducing this number is an important【C9】______for the company. One way it aims to do this is by making the initial order-taking process as accurate as possible, and by closely【C10】______ the packing of goods. 【C11】______ the reasons for returns also helps. Go First telephones a 【C12】______of people returning goods to establish their reasons for doing so.
Clearly, a customer-focused returns process is essential for fostering trust in the company. ’It is standard【C13】______in this business,’ says Meg Powell. ’It attracts customers, gives them a greater【C14】______of security and encourages them to buy. We realise that making the return of goods a smooth, fast process can only【C15】______customer satisfaction.’
Example:
A means B leads C proposes D gives
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Read the book review below.
In most of the lines(34-45), there is one extra word. It is either grammatically incorrect or does not fit in with the meaning of the text. Some lines, however, are correct.
If a line is correct, write CORRECT on your Answer Sheet.
If there is an extra word in the line, write the extra word in CAPITAL LETTERS on your Answer Sheet.
The exercise begins with two examples(0 and 00).
Examples:[*]
Advertising for the Small Business by Nick Daws
0 Good communication with existing and potential customers is at the heart of
00 successful business. That is one reason why advertising should, and does, play on such
【M1】an important role in so many organisations itself. However, for the small business, unfamiliar
【M2】with or inexperienced at using advertising, the investment can seem uncertain. Unlike
【M3】to their counterparts in larger companies, with sizeable marketing departments and
【M4】professional advertising agencies, no managers in smaller firms often find themselves
【M5】facing a range of decisions about which campaign objectives and strategy, creative
【M6】content, budgets and media choice. The list goes on. That is why I was pleased about to read
【M7】Nick Daws’ guide to the world of marketing communications. I use this phrase rather than
【M8】advertising because the book goes beyond of the weekly display advertisements in the local
【M9】paper. It also covers sales promotion, direct mail, point-of-sale and PR, all whose components of
【M10】the marketing mix that can be easily overlooked, but which are in fact resulting highly effective.
【M11】It also provides clear and comprehensive advice on the development of strategy, thus ensuring
【M12】that careful readers will succeed avoid the costly mistake of rushed or ill-considered decisions.
