首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Read the article below about a technology company and the questions on the opposite page. Critical Path
Read the article below about a technology company and the questions on the opposite page. Critical Path
admin
2012-01-22
60
问题
Read the article below about a technology company and the questions on the opposite page.
Critical Path
When David Hayden realised his company was heading for trouble, he took drastic measures to get it back on track
David Hayden founded his company, Critical Path, an email provider, in 1997 to take advantage of the boom in email traffic. Critical Path became a public company two years later, and Hayden took the opportunity to step down from his executive position in order to work on personal projects. At the same time, he agreed to stay with the company as Chairman, but the business was put in the hands of new managers by its investors. With sector-leading products and an expanding market, the company seemed to be on the up and up. However, by early 2001, it was in trouble. Shares that had been worth $26 in 1999, when they were first sold, were down to a mere 24 cents. Called in by a panicking board, Hayden found himself back in charge as Executive Chairman, trying desperately to rescue what he could. The 1,100 staff had lost confidence in the company and did not know what was going to happen to them. And, as Hayden discovered, the management team was incompetent. ’Those guys didn’t understand the product or the sector,’ says Hayden. ’The heads of department didn’t communicate and they didn’t lead.’ But what was worse, Critical Path had lost the goodwill of its investors.
Hayden knew that bringing the figures under control would be a vital step in the company’s turnaround. ’You’ve got to sort out the finances. For me, that meant getting back the goodwill of the investors. That was tough, after what had happened. But although they were angry with the company, they didn’t have bad feelings about me. I told them that I knew I could get the company on its feet again.’ He was authorised to make whatever changes were required, and his first act was to find people within the company he could trust and put them in charge.
The next thing Hayden had to tackle was morale. ’Everyone left the office at five on the dot-they couldn’t get away quickly enough. To get the buzz back and win the staff over, I had to prove my own commitment and put in the extra hours with them.’ In return, it was assumed that nobody would ask for overtime pay until the company was on its feet again. Contrary to normal practice, Hayden was reluctant to lay people off, and apart from not replacing people as they reached retirement age, he left the workforce largely unchanged, although he did identify key people throughout the company who were given more responsibility. But, as Hayden insists, before a company reaches such a crisis, there are warning signs that any financial director or accountant should take note of. ’A business that has an unrealistic pricing policy or has to negotiate extended credit with its suppliers is in trouble,’ is his message. ’Or if you often have to apply for your overdraft limit to be raised or have trouble paying tax on time, something needs to be done.’
By 2003, the company was healthy again, with reasonably stable finances and a modest but steady share price of $1.60. ’One thing that helped save us was that our technology worked,’ says Hayden. ’With 20 million email accounts, we never lost a single major client because the product kept on working.’ With ideas for a fresh venture demanding his attention elsewhere, Hayden has moved on. ’It was time to go,’ he says. ’I’m not a turnaround specialist. I prefer start-ups.’
According to Hayden, what could indicate that a business is in trouble?
选项
A、problems keeping accounts up to date
B、suppliers refusing to offer new credit terms
C、a frequent need to increase the amount borrowed
D、difficulties in getting payment from customers on time
答案
C
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/G1oO777K
本试题收录于:
BEC中级阅读题库BEC商务英语分类
0
BEC中级阅读
BEC商务英语
相关试题推荐
•Readthistextfromanarticleaboutjobreferences.•Choosethebestsentencefromtheoppositepagetofilleachofthegap
Readthearticlebelowaboutmonopoly.ChoosethebestwordtofilleachgapfromA,B,CorDontheoppositepage.Foreachq
ReadthetextbelowabouttheevolutionofAmericanbusiness.Inmostofthelines41—52thereisoneextraword.Itiseither
ReadthetextbelowabouttheevolutionofAmericanbusiness.Inmostofthelines41—52thereisoneextraword.Itiseither
Readthefollowingextractfromanarticleaboutbrandstretching(usinganexistingbrandnameonnewtypesofproducts)andthe
ofrisk.Forexample,someshouldberelativelyimmunetotheeffectsofrecession,
•Readtheadvertisementbelowaboutarewardprogram.•Inmostofthelines41-52thereisoneextraword.Itiseithergrammati
•Lookatthestatementsbelowandreadthefiveshortpassagesabouttaxes.•Whichshortpassage(A,B,C,DorE)doeseachs
ThemergerwasexpectedtohelpthecombinedcompanytoThecompanytriestoattractcustomersby
ThemergerwasexpectedtohelpthecombinedcompanytoThefirsttaskwhichthespeakersetsthestudentsisto
随机试题
对于符合K≈情况来说,若α1<<α2时,要提高K值时则主要提高α1的值。()
病毒感染不会引起急性胰腺炎的是
《执业药师注册管理暂行办法》规定,执业药师的执业范围为()
[背景资料]某建筑工程,建筑面积23824m2,地上10层,地下2层(地下水位-2.0m)。主体结构为非预应力现浇混凝土框架剪力墙结构(柱网为9m×9m,局部柱距为6m),梁模板起拱高度分别为20mm、12mm。抗震设防烈度7度。梁、柱受力钢筋为HR.B
贝塔系数的绝对值越大,表明证券承担的系统风险越大。()
有人记忆马克思的生日1818年5月5日时,联想为“马克思一巴掌一巴掌打得资产阶级呜呜地哭”,这是使用了()。
下列属于学习迁移的现代理论有()。
一、注意事项1.申论考试是对应试者阅读理解能力、综合分析能力、提出和解决问题能力和文字表达能力进行考查的考试。2.作答参考时限:阅读资料40分钟,答卷110分钟、3.仔细阅读给定资料,按照后面提出的中论要求依次作答二、给定资料
甲因急于继承其父财产而生杀父之念,一日雨夜乘其父病重之机,欲为其注射毒药。刚拿起注射器,忽听一声惊雷致使注射器掉在地上。他想到杀父是大逆不道,要为天理所报应,便放弃了杀害行为。甲的行为属于()。
Comparedmathematicallytosmokinganddriving,almosteverythingelseseemsrelativelyrisk-free,______almostnothingseemsw
最新回复
(
0
)