First, advanced machinery should be brought in to reduce both faulty goods and manpower.
Second, cheaper courier service provider should be found for the Admin Department. By this, I mean
Finally, the use of corporate intranet is another good idea.
There?re many other approaches to reducing costs and every company should make relevant guidelines to keep costs low on a regular basis. ü 实践操作
Every business should keep their costs at a low level to ensure more profits. Different departments can identify possible solutions to reduce costs. First, advanced machinery should be brought in to reduce both faulty goods and manpower in the Production Department. Second, a cheaper courier service provider should be found for the Admin Department. By this, I mean with company expansion, courier service is on the rise. A cheaper provider can mean a substantial saving. Finally, the use of corporate intranet is another good idea. Companies used to invite teachers to carry out in-house training programmes. Since the advancement of IT, companies should make full use of their intranet and facilitate staff?s learning. There?re many other approaches to reducing costs and every company should make relevant guidelines to keep costs low on a regular basis.
BusinessPassageReading Business Passage Reading
Tech-sector marriages tend not to have happy endings gMergers The New York Times
Having trouble naming a big merger among technology firms that ended well? There are not many. With the ousting of Carly Fiorina from Hewlett-Packard Development, her much-derided acquisition of Compaq Computer Corp in 2002 was officially added to the long list of disasters. Remember when AT&T swallowed the venerable National Cash Register Corp in a US$7.4 billion hostile takeover in 1991? Or Compaq?s US$9.6 billion acquisition of Digital Equipment Corp in 1998? Or how about American Online?s US$4 billion acquisition of Netscape Communications Corp in 1998? All failures.
More than half of mergers and acquisitions in all industries fail to live up to expectations but when it comes to big mergers in the technology industry, it seems the success rate is worse.
“There have been few mergers that have succeeded in maturing technology sectors,” said Pip Coburn, an analyst with UBS Warburg. “Large companies have established cultures and merging them in a fast-moving business like information technology is hard.”
The problem facing big technology deals such as HP and Compaq was that they often combined two struggling businesses rather than thriving ones, said Krishna Palepu, a director of research at the Harvard Business School.
Mr Palepu said that a significant amount of the value in information technology companies laid in
the people who worked for the acquired firm, many of whom quickly left after a merger
Despite the history of less than successful deals, technology firms continue to press ahead with big mergers. In December last year, Symantec Corp, the maker of the Norton line of computer security software, agreed to buy Veritas Software Corp, a producer of data storage programs, for about US$13.5 billion. Shareholders have derided the deal and its value has fallen more than 30 per cent, to US$10.6 billion, based on Symantec?s closing price on Wednesday.
In December, Oracle Corp concluded a deal to buy PeopleSoft for US$10.3 billion. Oracle?s stock, which rose US$1.35 to close at US$14.63 when the deal was unveiled, has since fallen to US$13.17.
Of course not all technology deals turn sour. While the biggest seem to disappoint, smaller ones have been quite successful.
A.M. Sacconaghi, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co, said that IBM Corp?s purchase of Tivoli Systems in 1996 for US$783 million “was a very good acquisition”.
Mr Coburn said some smaller transactions had been runaway hits, citing dozens of small deals in the mid-1990s that laid the foundation for Cisco Systems? dominance in the electronic-switching market, such as its acquisition of Kalpana, a privately held company, in a stock swap valued a US$ 204 million.
“The deals that work well involve large companies buying research and develop,” he said.
oust verb [transitive] to force someone out of a position of power, especially so that you can take their place
oust somebody from something
The Communists were finally ousted from power.
deride verb [transitive] formal
to make remarks or jokes that show you think someone or something is silly or useless ?synonym mock
You shouldn't deride their efforts. deride somebody as something
The party was derided as totally lacking in ideas.
venerable adjective
1 [usually before noun] formal a venerable person or thing is respected because of their great age, experience etc - often used humorously venerable financial institutions the venerable guitarist Pat Martino a venerable tradition
mature verb
1 [intransitive] to become fully grown or developed As the fish matures, its colours and patternings change. mature into
She has matured into a fine writer.
2 [intransitive] to become sensible and start to behave sensibly and reasonably, like an adult
He has matured a lot since he left home. He wants to prove just how much he has matured both as a player and as a man.
3 [intransitive] if a financial arrangement such as a bond or an insurance policy matures, it becomes ready to be paid
4 [intransitive and transitive] if cheese, wine etc matures, or if it is matured, it develops a good strong taste over a period of time
Few beers brewed in Britain are matured in the bottle. The olives are pulped, then left to mature for three years.
press on phrasal verb also press ahead
to continue doing something, especially working, in a determined way We'll talk about your suggestion later - now let's just press on. press on with
Shall we press ahead with the minutes of the last meeting?
thriving adjective
a thriving company, business etc is very successful a thriving tourist industry
unveil verb [transitive]
1 to show or tell people about a new product or plan for the first time The club has unveiled plans to build a new stadium.
2 to remove the cover from something, especially as part of a formal ceremony The statue was unveiled by the Queen. ?unveiling noun [countable]
sour adj.
informal if a relationship or plan turns or goes sour, it becomes less enjoyable, pleasant, or satisfactory
As time went by, their marriage turned sour.
The meeting ended on a sour note with neither side able to reach agreement.
runaway adjective [only before noun]
1 a runaway vehicle or animal is out of control a runaway horse
2 happening very easily or quickly, and not able to be controlled 轻易取胜的，决定性的，失控的，飞涨的，
The film was a runaway success. runaway inflation a runaway victory
3 a runaway person has left the place where they are supposed to be
Homework Homework 1.
u Your company has employed an outside consultant to organize an exhibition of your products, to be held next month. His work is unsatisfactory, and your boss has now decided that you should take over full responsibility instead. Your boss has asked you to write to the consultant to explain why he has been replaced. u Write the letter to the consultant:
? giving two reasons why he has been replaced ? telling him he will be paid for this work
? asking him to brief you on the current situation. u Write 200-250 words. 2.
l The two pie charts below show a) the three main types of shop which sell your company's products, and b) the proportion of your sales that each type of shop handle in 1994 and 1995.
l Using the information from the charts, write a short report which describes the situation in 1994 and compares it with the situation in 1995.
l Write about 120-140 words.
Channels of Distribution for 1994 and 1995
a) 1994 b) 1995