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
56
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.’
Which of the following situations did Hayden face at Critical Path in 2001?
选项
A、The employees were worried about job security.
B、The investors were calling for changes to the company structure.
C、The management was misleading the staff about the company’s position.
D、The board of directors did not realise the scale of the company’s problems.
答案
A
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/T1oO777K
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
•Lookatthestatementsbelowandatthefiveextractsontheoppositepagefromanarticleabouthowemployeesaremotivated.
Readthearticlebelowabouttheemployeeturnoverinacompany—employees’threedifferentkindsofwaysofmovingintheircomp
•Readthetextbelowabouthowtoorderproducts.•Inmostofthelines41—52thereisoneextraword.Itiseithergrammaticall
•Readthetextbelowabouthowtoorderproducts.•Inmostofthelines41—52thereisoneextraword.Itiseithergrammaticall
LookatthestatementsbelowandatthefiveextractsfromanarticleaboutSwindlinginInternationalTrade.Whicharticle(A,B
•Lookatthestatementsbelowandreadthefiveshortpassagesabouttaxes.•Whichshortpassage(A,B,C,DorE)doeseachs
ThemergerwasexpectedtohelpthecombinedcompanytoThemanagementstructurefollowingthemergerledto
HowmanyjobsarelikelytobelostatVieVitale?Jobcutsarenotexpectedin______.
随机试题
一个快钟每小时比标准时间快3分钟,一个慢钟每小时比标准时间慢2分钟。如果将两个钟同时调到标准时间,结果在24小时内,快钟显示11点整时,慢钟显示9点半。则此时的标准时间是()。
男性,39岁,反复发作性头痛、心悸、出汗3年,再发1小时急诊入院。检查发现面色苍白,血压200/130mmHg,心率136次/分。为对患者进行初筛诊断,以下哪种检查最先考虑
患者,男,66岁。心功能不全患者,24小时尿量为290ml。其排尿状况属于
下列发盘有效的是()。
()不属于产业政策中的间接干预手段。
下列关于集团企业资金集中管理模式的表述中,错误的有()。
一排9个座位坐了3个三口之家,若每家人坐在一起,则不同的坐法种数为()。
食品安全的实现,必须有政府的有效管理。只有政府各部门之间的相互协调配合,才能确保政府进行有效的管理。但是,如果没有健全的监督制约机制,是不可能实现政府各部门之间协调配合的。由此可以推出:()。
Writeanessayof160~200wordsbasedonthefollowingdrawing.Inyouressayyoushould1)describethedrawingbriefly,2)exp
Familyisolderthanthehumanspecies-workisyounger,friendshipisaboutasoldasweare.Itisfriendshipthatmarksusas
最新回复
(
0
)