History is more or less nonsense, declared Henry Ford in 1916. However, the company that bears his name is not so dismissive of

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问题     History is more or less nonsense, declared Henry Ford in 1916. However, the company that bears his name is not so dismissive of the past. Ford’s website has a prominent heritage section captioned "Automotive history begins here." And Ford is not alone in seeking to capitalise on its history. Bruce Weindruch, founder of The History Factory, a "heritage management" firm that helps companies to document and exploit their past, says that his firm is growing by 30%~40% annually.
    Some companies are more creative in their use of history than others. HSBC’s History Wall, a striking art installation at the bank’s London headquarters, is made up of 3743 images drawn from the bank’s archives and arranged in chronological order. Wells Fargo, a bank founded in 1852, plays heavily on its role in the development of the American West. It runs nine free museums that tell the story of its expansion and has a fleet of 21 reproduction stagecoaches that appear in some 900 parades and community events every year.
    The benefits of knowing your corporate history can be very practical. Disney constantly mines its archive of old films. Carmakers have overhauled old designs for the modern era: Volkswagen’s New Beetle and the new Fiat 500 are obvious examples. Stacey Schiesl, director of the Harley-Davidson museum, says designers use the company’s collection of historic bikes as inspiration for new products.
    But the bigger payoff tends to be less tangible—that of forging stronger bonds with customers and employees. Age can by itself confer a sense of trustworthiness: brewers and bankers boast deep roots. Jim Gilmore, co-author of "Authenticity", argues that history is also vital in giving companies a genuine sense of personality. Ritz-Carlton’s use of cobalt-blue glasses in its hotel dining rooms can be traced back to Boston in the 1920s, for example, where window glass that had been imported from Europe and turned blue in the New England air was a symbol of wealth. Rather than commissioning dusty biographies to mark anniversaries, Mr. Gilmore reckons that firms should trawl the archives for symbolic stories of this kind.
    Yet, companies still cannot avoid difficult episodes in their pasts. Transparency is a must. Union Carbide, a chemicals firm, has a link to information on the deadly Bhopal gas leak in India on its home page, for example. Far more truthfully, Coca-Cola does not shy away from the failed introduction of New Coke in 1985. "It’s like kids looking at the dirty words in a dictionary," says Mr. Weindruch. "people will notice if the awkward bits are missing. "
According to Mr. Gilmore, to have a real sense of personality, it is crucial for companies to________.

选项 A、create a strong bond between consumers and employees
B、show a sense of trustworthiness
C、draw on the experience from the past
D、get someone to write biographies

答案C

解析 本题是细节题。根据题干关键词Mr. Gilmore和a real sense of personality定位至第四段第三句。该句提到“《真实》一书的合著者之一吉姆.吉尔摩认为,历史对赋予公司真正意义上的个性化至关重要(history is also vitalin giving companies a genuine sense of personality)”,并且下文所举的丽嘉酒店的例子也体现了利用历史的重大作用,故答案选 C项“借鉴过去的经验”,the experience from the past同义替换history。A项源自第四段第一句,是利用历史的回报,而非公司追求个性化的途径,该项属于答非所问,故排除;第四段第二句提到年龄本身就能传达给人一种可信赖感,而非公司要这么做,B项也属于答非所问,故排除;根据第四段末句可知,Mr. Gilmore反对委托别人写公司变迁史,因此D项属于正反混淆,故排除。
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