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  3. The Management of Change Today, change is a permanent characteristic of business activity. In some cases it is expected and

The Management of Change Today, change is a permanent characteristic of business activity. In some cases it is expected and

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问题                      The Management of Change
    Today, change is a permanent characteristic of business activity. In some cases it is expected and planned for. In others it is not. Some changes may be impossible to forecast and therefore pose the greatest danger. The effect will be heightened when the factors driving change fall beyond the control of the business. New consumer tastes, the rise of competitors, new legislation and economic fluctuations are all examples of this.
    People bring about change,  but they are also the most important barrier to its success. Individuals may resist change to protect pay, for example. It often takes time for workers to adapt. and if payment is based on output, they may, to begin with, earn less. They may also, since change can endanger a person’s authority,  regard change as a threat to their status. In addition, the wish to maintain group membership can be strong, and workers may resist change because they are worried about what others may think if they do not.
    There are two key ways in which managers can help individuals overcome their natural resistance to change. The first is to involve those affected at every stage of the process so they understand why a new approach is necessary and have an interest in its success. To achieve this, when a decision is to be made, a proposal should pass between all employees who have an interest in the outcome. They are then asked to comment on the idea: in this way agreement about the best way forward gradually emerges and a final plan can be developed.
    Of course, this is much less useful if rapid change is needed in response to a crisis. An alternative is to keep all those people affected by a change informed of what is happening at each stage of the process. Make sure everyone is aware of the options available. Many of the difficulties caused by a new situation are the result of fear of the unknown, but by informing those involved, some of the uncertainty can be removed.
    When change is actually introduced, the process must be controlled. The final outcome of the programme should be the situation that was identified as ’where we want to be’ in the initial planning phase. Targets should be set for each stage to ensure that progress is focused and does not slow down. It is essential that each target is measurable and that people recognise what is involved. If the outcome of each stage is well defined, action can be taken if the process shows any sign of moving out of control.
    One individual experienced at managing change is Martin Chambers, CEO of a North American computer firm. He says,  "The secret is to build an organisation that isn’t afraid to make changes while it’s still on top, when it’s not a matter of survival, " He also encourages his management team to learn  from competitors. "It’s important to understand how the market works, to know what products are available, and to always be thinking ahead." His approach signals that failure to constantly adapt to market conditions is why companies fall from positions of market dominance.  
What is said in the first paragraph about business responses to change?
选项 A、External changes are the biggest threat to a company.
B、Certain companies are better at predicting change than others.
C、Periods of economic instability result in the greatest degree of change.
D、Change can produce more efficient management throughout a company.
答案A
解析 题目意为：“第一段中有关公司对变革的反应是怎样说的?”文中第一段首先指出，变革是现在公司活动中一个常见的特点。有些变革是可以预料到的，而且是做了计划的(如销售额的迅速增长)，但有些则不能。如果能够为变革做准备，就能够有效地管理变革。继而指出“…some changes may be impossible to forecast and therefore pose the greatest danger. The effect will be heightened when the factors driving change fall beyond the control of the bushiness.”即：……有些变革无法预测，从而带来最大的威胁。当造成变革的因素超出了公司的控制范围，就会更加危险。A项意为外部变化是对公司最大的威胁，与文中意思相符。文中的factors driving change fall beyond the control of the business对应选项中的External changes;文中的the greatest danger对应选项中的the biggest threat。而B、C、D项在文中均找不出对应文字。
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