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  3. It is not, by any means, the world’s oldest company. There are Japanese hotels dating back to the 8th century, German breweries

It is not, by any means, the world’s oldest company. There are Japanese hotels dating back to the 8th century, German breweries

admin2014-12-26  38
问题     It is not, by any means, the world’s oldest company. There are Japanese hotels dating back to the 8th century, German breweries that hail from the 11th and an Italian bank with roots in the 15th. What is unusual about IBM, which celebrates its 100th birthday next week, is that it has been so successful for so long in the fast-moving field of technology. How has it done it?
    IBM’ s secret is that it is built around an idea that transcends any particular product or technology. Its strategy is to package technology for use by businesses. At first this meant making punch-card tabulators(卡片穿孔机), but IBM moved on to magnetic-tape systems, PCs, and most recently services and consulting. Building a company around an idea, rather than a specific technology, makes it easier to adapt when industry "platform shifts" occur.
    True, IBM’ s longevity is also due, in part, to dumb luck. It almost collapsed early on because its bosses were hesitant to abandon punch cards. And it had a near-death experience in 1993 before Lou Gerstner realized that the best way to package technology for use by businesses was to focus on services. An elegant organising idea is no use if a company cannot come up with good products or services, or if it has clueless bosses. But on the basis of this simple formula—that a company should focus on an idea, rather than a technology—with which today’s young tech giants can live for 100 years?
    The most obvious example is Apple(founded in 1976). Like IBM, it had a near-death experience in the 1990s, and it is dangerously dependent on its founder, Steve Jobs. But it has a powerful organising idea: take the latest technology, package it in a simple, elegant form and sell it at a high price. Apple has done this with personal computers, music players, smartphones and tablet computers. Apple has already shifted from PCs to mobile devices.
    The animating idea of Amazon(founded in 1994)is to make it easy for people to buy stuff. It began by doing this for books, but has since applied the same idea to other products: music, groceries, even computing power and storage.
    Consider, by contrast, three product-based firms. Dell(founded in 1984)made its name building PCs more efficiently than anyone else and selling them direct to consumers. That model does not neatly transfer to other products. Microsoft(1975)is hugely dependent on Windows, which is its answer to everything. But software for a PC may not be the best choice to run inside a phone or a car. All these firms are linked to specific products, not deeper philosophies, and are having trouble navigating technological shifts.
Why IBM has been so successful for so long in the fast-moving field of technology?
选项 A、It’s advanced products.
B、It is built around an idea.
C、Making it easy for people to buy stuff.
D、Contracts from the government.
答案B
解析 细节题。本题考查IBM得以百年不衰的原因。可以定位到第二段中的IBM’s secret is that it is built around an idea that transcends any particular product ortechnology．Its strategy is to package technology for use by businesses．由此可见它成功这么久的原因是它是以某个理念为发展基础的，因此，正确答案是B。
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