剑桥商务英语中级考试历年真题阅读精讲

教育联展网剑桥商务英语中级考试历年真题阅读精进注：这里讲解的题目是人邮版第四辑真题TEST1阅读部分的Partone.Questions1-7Lookatthestatementsbelowandthearticleaboutthedevelopmentoffuturebusinessleadersontheoppositepage.Whichsectionofthearticle(A,B,CorD)doeseachstatement(1-7)referto?Foreachstatement(1-7),markoneletter(A,B,CorD)onyourAnswerSheet.Youwillneedtousesomeoftheselettersmorethanonce.1 Managersneedtotakeactiontoconvincehigh-flyersoftheirvaluetothefirm.2 Organisationsneedtolookbeyondthehigh-flyerstheyarecurrentlydeveloping.3 Thereisaconcernthatfirmsinvestingintrainingforhigh-flyersmaynotgainthebenefitsthemselves.4 Managersneedexpertassistancefromwithintheirownfirmsindevelopinghigh-flyers.5 Firmscurrentlyidentifyhigh-flyerswithoutthesupportofaguidancestrategy.6 Managersarefrequentlytoobusytodealwiththedevelopmentofhigh-flyers.7 Firmswhoworkhardontheirreputationasanemployerwilinteresthigh-flyers.TheStarsoftheFutureAExistingmanagementresearchdoesnottellusmuchabouthowtofindanddevelophigh-flyer,thosepeoplewhohavethepotentialtoreachthetopofanorganisation.Asaresult,organisationsarelefttoformulatetheirownsystems.Amoreeffectiveoverallpolicyfordevelopingfutureleadersisneeded,whichiswhytheLondonBusinessSchoolhaslaunchedtheTomorrowsLeadersResearchGroup(TLRG).Thegroupcontainsrepresentativesfrom20firms,andmeetsregularlytodiscusstheleadershipdevelopmentoftheorganisationshigh-flyers.BTLRGrecognisesjusthowsignificantlinemanagersareintheprocessofleadershipdevelopment.Unfortunately,withtodaysflatorganisations,wheremanagershavefunctionalaswellasmanagerialresponsibilities,peopledevelopmentalltoooftenfallsvictimtoheavyworkloads.Onemanagerintheresearchgroupwasunconvincedbythelogicofsendinghisbestpeopleawayondevelopmentcourses,onlytoseethempoachedbyanotherdepartmentor,worsestill,anotherfirm.Thisfearoflosinghigh-flyersrunsdeepintheorganisationsthatmakeuptheresearchgroup.CTLRGarguesthatthetaskofmanagementisnotnecessarilyaboutemployeeretention,butaboutcreatingattractioncentres.Wemusthelplinemanagerstorealisethatiftheircompaniesareknownasonesthatdeveloptheirpeople,theywillhaveagreaterappealtohigh-flyers,saidoneadvisor.Furthermore,selectingpeoplefor,say,aleadershipdevelopmentprogrammeisasignofcommitmentfrommanagementtoanindividual.Loyaltycanthenbemoreeasilydemandedinreturn.DTLRGhasconcludedthatacompanysHRspecialistsneedtotakeactionandengagewithlinemanagersindividuallyabouttheirroleinthedevelopmentofhigh-flyer.Indeed,inordertobenefitfullyfromtraininghigh-flyersastheseniormanagersofthefuture,firmsmustactuallyaddressthedevelopmentofallmanagerswhowillbesupportingthehigh-flyers.Withoutthis,managerswillnotbeinapositiontogiveappropriateadvice.Andwheneventuallythehigh-flyersdomoveon,newoneswillbeneededtoreplacethem.Thenextchallengewillbetofindanewgenerationofhigh-flyers.首先得搞明白的是这篇文章到底讲的什么。不用看具体内容，有两个地方直接告诉了。一个是题目说明的第一句话，另一个是正文的标题。从这两个地方就可以看出全文探讨的是公司未来接班人也就是潜力股的培养问题。A段讲了TLRG这个贯穿全文的研究组织诞生的原因：现行的研究满足不了需要，于是大多数公司只能自己探索发掘接班人的模式；(即第五题的答案)B段讲了直属经理(linemanagers)对于发掘接班人的重要性(真是干什么都要从基层抓起)，以及经理们的一些疑虑；C段讲的是接班人问题对公司的重要性，并且应该让院线经理们明白这种重要性；D段是针对前面列出的问题，提出的解决建议，什么专家协助等等。整篇文章分为四个部分，层层递进，有很强的逻辑性。拿这样的文章来做阅读材料应该是相对容易把握的。题目解析：图中蓝色的线为答案潜伏的地方。7个题干基本是将原文中的句子用另外的词语和句型表述出来，所以题干中的关键词都能在正文里找到与之匹配的，比如第四题题干里的expert对应D段的specialists,第六题的toobusyto对应于B段里的heavyworkloads，第七题的interest对应于C段的appeal。第一题说“经理们必须采取措施使潜力股们相信他们对公司的价值，也就是要让潜力股们对公司忠诚，即C段说的creating“attractioncentres和loyalty。第二题说“组织必须把目光投向正在培养中的潜力股以外的地方，即D段最后两句话所说的寻找新一代的潜力股。第三题和B段的最后一句话完全是一个意思：怕培养潜力股的投入收不回成本。第四题说开发潜力股，经理们需要在公司内部得到专家支持。答案是D段的第一句话：公司的人力资源专家需要采取行动。HRspecialists就是expert。第五题说公司现在没有在指导策略的支持下辨别潜力股。也就是说公司是依靠自己来发掘人才的。答案是A段的第一句：现行的研究满足不了需要，所以公司只能形成自己的一套体系。第六题，经理们太忙了，无暇顾及潜力股的发展。答案是B段的:Unfortunately,withtodaysflatorganisations,wheremanagershavefunctionalaswellasmanagerialresponsibilities,peopledevelopmentalltoooftenfallsvictimtoheavyworkloads.。不幸落在了高工作负荷的人的肩上。高工作负荷，也就是toobusy。第七题，看重作为雇主名声的公司可以吸引潜力股。答案是C段的这么一句：iftheircompaniesareknownasonesthatdeveloptheirpeople,theywillhaveagreaterappealtohigh-flyers,如果公司是以开发员工而著称的话，将会对潜力股产生更大的吸引。以开发员工而著称(knownasonesthatdeveloptheirpeople)，名声很好，也就是看重自己作为雇主的名声。疑似生词：1、linemanagers直属经理，业务经理2、flatorganization扁平化的组织，即企业中的单层管理组织对应的单词hierarchy等级制的公司3、poachvt.(侵入他人地界)偷猎(或捕鱼),水煮，剽窃，挖角eg:Arivalfirmpoachedourbestcomputerprogrammers.我公司的竞争对手把我们最好的计算机程序编制员挖走了。4、runsdeep纯粹是想说一下那句著名的谚语：Stillwaterrunsdeep静水流深。5、fallvictimto成为。的受害者B段中的原话：Peopledevelopmentalltoooftenfallsvictimtoheavyworkloads人员发展成为高负荷工作的受害者，也就是说经理们因为太忙而无暇顾及潜力股的培养，即第六题的答案。6、retention保留，在文中指留住员工。是风险管理中常见的专业名词。这里解析的是第四辑真题TEST1阅读部分的PART4。马上要考试了，争取出解析的速度能快点。当然，不会以牺牲质量为代价。大家有什么疑问，可以提出来，事先甚至单独进行解答。祝大家都能取得好成绩。主要解答蓝色标注的空。Thesecretofsuccessinelectroniccommerceliesinplacinganewemphasisonawell-establishedarea.Thatareaiscustomerservice,whichisnowtheonlypointof(19)betweenabusinessandthebuyingpublic.Thereareanumberoffactorsinareal-worldshopthat(20)peoplesperceptionsofabusiness:these(21)thelocationandtheappearanceofthepremises,thequalityandthepricingofthemerchandiseorservicesandthebehaviourofthestaff.However,ifacompanyistryingtomakeagoodimpressionwithonlinecustomers,mostofthesefactorsdonot(22)apart.Inthe(23)ofthesefactors,thewaycustomersare(24)whentheyhaveareasontocallhasafundamentaleffectonacompanysabilitytoretainthemascustomers.Evenmorethanregulartelephoneorin-personcustomers,webcustomersareimpatient，easilyfrustratedandalwaysconsciousthattheyhaveotherplaceswheretheycan(25)theirbusiness.Preventingthemfromdoingthatmeansmeetingthemontheirow(26)andprovidingthemwithwhattheywant.Thisnecessity,in(27)，meansthatcompaniesthatselloverthenetmustgetback-endfunctionsright.Imposing(28)requirementsoncustomerswillnotwork;abusinessthat(29)oncustomersemailingforassistanceinsteadofusingthephone,forexample,willloserepeatcustom.Ifthephoneisused,itmustbeanswered(30),andthestaffshouldlookforwaysofhelpingeventhemostawkwardcustomers(31),asismoreusual,tryingtofindsome(32)toblamethecustomerforanyproblem.Animportant，finalpointisthatitisvitalthatalladdresses，weblinksandphonenumbersworkproperlyandefficiently.Thisoughtto(33)withoutsaying.Experience，however,showsthatitdoesnot.19、ArelationshipBassociationC.meetingDcontact20、AforceBdetermineCdecideDfix21、AencloseBconsistCincludeDcontain22、AgetBrunCplayDhave23、AabsenceBlackCneedDscarcity24、AcaredBtreatedCdealtDconsidered25、AdeliverBbringCmoveDtake26、ApoliciesBstandardsCtermsDconditions27、AturnBsequenceClineDorder28、AdenseBrigidCdeepDsolid29、AdemandsBinsistsCexpectsDinstructs30、ApunctuallyBpreciselyCpromptlyDpresently31、AapartfromBotherthanCexceptforDratherthan32、AcaseBexcuseCfaultDpurpose33、AdoBmakeCgoDcome我个人认为，完形填空这种题型属于BEC阅读里相对不容易把握的。其他几个部分多参照原文就能找到答案，而完形填空的答案有的时候靠分析是得不出结果的，因为会考到一些固定用法，而且是商务英语里的固定用法。固定用法一时半会是无法积累的。要想做好BEC里的完形填空，一是要掌握一定的解题技巧(比如排除法和猜题)，二是要培养商务英语的感觉。感觉的培养也有两种途径，一个是多读原版商业英语文章，另一个就是把历年BEC真题里的完形填空原文填上空缺的单词反复朗读。这篇名为电子商务成功秘诀的文章主要分析了从事电子商务必须考虑的几个factor。重点考虑的是如何服务客户，不是在线的，而是电话。19题首先考的就是一个固定的商务英语用法。Pointofcontact接触点。商业词典的解释：Personoradepartmentservingasthecoordinatororfocalpointofanactivityorprogram.英文WIKI的解释：Apointofcontact(POC,alsosinglepointofcontactorSPOC)istheidentificationof,andmeansofcommunicationwith,person(s)andorganizations(s)associatedwiththeresource(s).26题，ononesownterms根据某人自己的主张。联系此句上下文，是说电子商务的客户不好伺候，得按照他们的意思来提供他们想要的。所以后面的28题应该选择rigid，僵硬的。意思是不能把一些僵硬的要求强加在客户的身上。27题，inturn相应的；insequence按顺序，依次；inline成一直线；inorder整齐，秩序井然。31题，后面的asismoreusuaI是插入语，在这里完全可以忽略不计，联系整个句子的意思。是说员工应该想办法对付哪怕是最难对付的客户，而不是找借口去指责客户。所以应选ratherthan（而不是）。apartfrom相当于exceptfor，除了外（都）,otherthan相当于except，除以外。32题，理解了上下文，应该选excuse。与fault相关的短语是findfaultwith33题，gowithoutsaying固定用法，不言而喻的意思。人邮第四辑真题TEST1阅读部分PART5。34 0Regularmeetingswithclientsareimportanttoahealthycollaboration.They00maybesetupbytheclient,forexampletoreviewwiththeprogressofcurrentprojects,togivenewinstructionsthatmayhaveleadtoacontractvariationortodiscussanyconcerns.Theclientmeetingwhichcanalsobearrangedbyyouoranothermemberofyourcompanytoattractfromnewbusiness,toaddressaproblemunlessthatneedstobesolvedortogiveanupdateorstatusreportoncurrentbusinessventures.Yourpartisinthesemeetingswilldictatethekindofinformationyouneedandhowyoushouldprepareforthem.Ifyouwillberespondingtoquestionsputbyyourclient,thematerialyoupresentshoulddealinspecificallywiththerequestthatwasmade.Themeetingshouldnotonlymoveofftheagendawithoutthepermissionofthepersonyouaremeeting.35 Ifyouhavepreparedproperly,youshouldbeabletoanticipatebothquestionsandtorespondproperly.Ifyouareputonthespotandaskedfordetailsyoudonothave,respondhonestly-donotspeakaboutmattersasyouarenotfamiliarwith.一般短文改错常出现的错误有短语搭配、语法，还有根据上下文含义选出不合适的词。所以想做好改错，要有一定的语言基础，还得从整体上把握整篇文章。34题，如果这里有have，那么后面的lead应用分词形式led(mayhavedone)，而且考虑这里的时态，并不是已经完成，而是表示可能导致的结果。所以去掉have。35 题，这里的which必须去掉，如果不去的话，这个句子就缺少谓语动词。36 题，attract是及物动词，后面不需要from。37题，根据前后文的意思，unless是多余的。38题，yourpart.这个句子里有两个谓语动词，必须去掉it。39题是对的，不知会不会有人认为这里的how可以去掉。从语法上说how去留都行，但是从后面的意思看，每个人必须根据自己的角色来做准备工作，所以how必须保留。41题，dealwith是固定短语，in是多余的。42题，从整个句子的意思和语法上看，only都是多余的。43题，如果both要保留，and后面的内容就必须与questions并列，可这里and后面的内容是与前面的toanticipate并列，所以both去掉。45题，后面的youarenotfamiliarwith是修饰matters的，as在这里很多余。人邮第四辑真题TEST2READINGRART1LookatthestatementsbelowandtheadvicetobusinessesontheoppositepageaboutusingothercompaniestoruntheirITservices.1、theneedtoteachskillstoemployeesworkingontheoutsourcedprocess2、rememberingtheinitialreasonforsettinguptheoutsourcedproject3、theneedtodrawupagreementsthatsetouthowintegrationistobeachieved4、addressingtheissueofstaffwhoworkontheoutsourcedprocessbeingatadistantsite5、theimportanceofmakingsomeoneresponsiblefortheintegrationprocess6、staffontheoutsourcedprojectfamiliarisingthemselveswithvariousdetailsofthebusiness7、problemsbeingassociatedwithanalternativetooutsourcingWhenabusinessdecidestooutsourceitsITservices,itneedstoconsiderthequestionofintegration.Fourexpertsgivetheirviews.A. GianlucaTramcere,SilicaSystemsAnoutsourcedITserviceisneverafullyindependententity.Itistiedtothehomecompanyspreviousandcontinuingsystemsofworking.Butdespitetheaddedresponsibilityofmanagingnewwaysofworking,manybusinessesignoretheintegrationprocess.Theyfailtoestablishcontractsthatdefinethewaysinwhichthetwocompanieswillworkalongsideoneanother,andfocussolelyonthetechnologicalaspectsofservicedelivery.B. KevinRayner,DomolaBusinessesneedtobuildintegrationcompetencycentresdedicatedtomanagingtheintegrationeffort.Itiscriticaltohaveanindividualinchargetocheckthattheexternalandinternalbusinessoperationsworktogether.Althoughcompaniesoftenthinkofoutsourcingasawayofgettingridofpeopleandassets,theyneedtorememberthat,atthesametime,outsourcinginvolvesgainingpeople.Becausethereisanewoperationbeingcarriedoutinadifferentwayoutsideofthehomebusiness,thiscreatesatrainingelement.C. ClaytonLocke,DigitalSolutionsCommunicationisthekeytosuccess,andoutsourcingtootherregionsorcountriescanleadtoarangeofproblems.Foranysuchinitiative,itisnecessarytocreateateamwherethereisgood,opencommunicationandaclearunderstandingofobjectivesandincentives.Bringingpeopletothehomelocationfromtheoutsourcedcentreisnecessary,sinceitcanaidunderstandingofthecomplexitiesoftheexistingsystem.Tointegrateefficiently,outsourcingpersonnelhavetotalktothehomecompanysexecutivesanduserstounderstandtheirexperience.D. KimNoon,JGTechOnewaytoavoidthedifficultiesofintegrationistocreateajoint-venturecompanywiththeoutsourcer.Thus,acompanycanswapitsassetsforashareoftheprofits.Yetjointventuresbringpotentialtroubles,andcompaniesshouldbecarefulnottolosesightoftheoriginalrationaleforoutsourcing:togaincostefficienciesandqualityofserviceinanareathatforsomereasoncouldnotbecarriedoutentirelyin-house.Thecomplexitiesandcostsofajoint-ventureinitiativeshouldnotbeunderestimated.这篇文章讲的是外购(outsourcing),分别有四位专家就这个问题给出了自己的看法。A段的专家强调建立合同的重要性，B段专家认为要派专人负责，C段专家讲外派人员和本公司之间要有一个互动，D段专家讲如果与外包商(outsourcer)组成联合企业的话可能带来的一系列问题。如果对文章有个大概、基本的了解，很多题目不用细看就可以得出结论。第一题的答案稍微有些隐晦，在B段的最后一句。Becausethereisanewoperationbeingcarriedoutinadifferentwayoutsideofthehomebusiness,thiscreatesatrainingelement.因为新的操作是在本公司以夕卜的地方以一种新的方式被执行，所以产生了培训成分。这里的training对应第一题的teachskillstoemployees第二题的答案在D段中间：companiesshouldbecarefulnottolosesightoftheoriginalrationaleforoutsourcing.这里的rationale是基本原理、根本原因的意思。第三题的答案在A段，非常明显的establishcontracts第四段的答案是C段的最后一句话，outsourcingpersonnelhavetotalktothehomecompanysexecutivesanduserstounderstandtheirexperiences.这里的talkto对应address，向.谈话。第四题的意思是说明在远址工作的外购人员的事情，也就是C段最后一句说的外购人员向公司汇报他们的经历。第五段的答案在B段，相当明显:Itiscriticaltohaveanindividualinchargetocheckthattheexternalandinternalbusinessoperationsworktogether。需要派专人负责integration第六题说外派人员要熟悉自身工作的不同细节，对应C段的createateamwherethereisaclearunderstandingofobjectivesandincentives.打造一个对目标和动机都有清晰理解的团队。第七题稍微绕一点。题目里的analternativetooutsourcing指的是D段里的createajoint-venturecompanywiththeoutsourcer，建立一个联合企业。D段里的专家一直在强调联合企业的麻烦和复杂性(jointventuresbringpotentialtroubles)，所以是正确答案。人邮第四辑真题TEST2READINGPART2Readthearticlebelowaboutthechangingroleofhumanresourcesdepartment.ThebestpersonforthejobEmployeescanmakeabusinesssucceedorfail,sothepeoplewhochoosethemhaveavitalroletoplay.Employeesareacompanysnewideas,itspublicfaceanditsmainasset.Hiringtherightpeopleisthereforeasignificantfactorinacompanyssuccess.(0)GIfthehumanresourcesdepartmentmakesmistakeswithhiring,keepinganddismissingstaff,abusinesscandisappearovernight.Manycompaniesnowrealisethatrecruitingthebestrecruitersisthekeytosuccess.SarahChoi,HeadofHRatEncopic,believesthatthinkingcommerciallyisakeyqualityinHR.EverydecisionanHRmanagermakesneedstoberelevanttoadvancingthebusiness.(8).CThatsnolongerthecase.HRmanagershavetothinkmorestrategicallythesedays.Theycontinuallyneedtothinkabouttheimpactoftheirdecisionsonthebottomline.(9)F.Forexample,achiefexecutivewillexpecttheHRdepartmenttoadviseoneverythingfromtheheadcounttowhethertoproceedwithanacquisition.WhydopeoplegointoHRinthefirstplace?Choihasareadyanswer.Ithinkmostpeopleintheprofessionareattractedbyalong-termgoal.(10)DNothinghappensinthecompanywhichisntaffectedbyordoesntimpactonitsemployees,sotheHRdepartmentisacrucialpartofanybusiness.Notalloperationalmanagersagree.AninformalsurveyofattitudestoHRdepartmentsthatwascarriedoutlastyearbyaleadingbusinessjournalreceivedcommentssuchasWhatdotheyactuallycontribute?(11)AAsChoipointsout,salarieshaveneverbeenhigherand,inaddition,HRmanagersoftenreceivesubstantialannualbonuses.Despitethefinancialrewards,HRmanagersoftenfeelundervalued,andthisisamajorreasonformanyleavingtheirjobs.(12).EHowever,alackoftraininganddevelopmentisamoresignificantfactor.Thesedays,goodprofessionaldevelopmentopportunitiesareconsideredanessentialpartofanattractivepackage,Choiexplains.AButrisinglevelsofremunerationdemonstratethattheprofessionsgrowingimportanceiswidelyrecognised.BAtonetime,aprofessionalqualificationwasrequiredinordertoprogresstothetopofHR.COtherdepartmentsandseniorexecutivesusedtoseeHRmanagersashavingapurelyadministrativerole.DSinceitsoneofthefewareaswhereyoucanseethewholeoperation,itcanleadtoaninfluentialroleontheboard.EBeingseenassomeonewhojustticksoffotherpeoplesleaveandsickdaysdoesnothelpbuildasenseofloyalty.FTheythereforeneedtobecompetentinmanyaspectsofacompanysoperations.GOntheotherhand,recruitingthewrongstaffcanleadtodisaster.这篇文章的标题有些misleading,Thebestpeopleforthejob，还以为是招人的标准。其实这篇文章是关于Humanresource的，所以还是要适当关注文章前的说明：thearticlebelowaboutthechangingroleofhumanresourcesdepartments.第八题，空格后面的Thatsnolongerthecase是很重要的提示。由于空格前面一直在强调commercial和business，所以在空缺的地方应该是和另一个方面相关的内容。选项C的administrativerole正好满足这个要求。前后文意思搭配在一起完全吻合。第九题，后面的forexample的很关键，是对前面的补充说明。Forexample,achiefexecutivewillexpecttheHRdepartmenttoadviseoneverythingfromtheheadcounttowhethertoproceedwithanacquisition.总裁希望人力资源经理对一切事情提出建议，从人数统计到是否进行收购。这种要求就需要人力资源经理具备很多才能。所以F的句子填在这里最合适。第十题，答案稍微不那么明显，不过D句中的aninfluentialrole可以和第十题的空格后的acrucialpart相对应，算是答案信号。要从整体上把握第三段，这里认为HRmanager的影响是全局的、长期的，所以D句的seethewholeoperation符合情况。第一题，理解前后文的意思，前面说过去的operationalmanagers不那么认可HRmanager的作用，后面指出HRmanagers挣得多，所以中间是转折的意思。A句的But是个信号，“上涨的薪酬水平意味着这个职位逐渐增加的重要性得到了广泛的认可。”意思和前后都吻合，所以是正确答案。第十二题，空格前说HRmanagers觉得自己的作用被低估了，所以leaving。空格后一个However，所以空格处应该还是和leaving有关的，为什么离职。E句的意思是被视作仅仅对别人的离开和生病的日子划勾的人是没法帮助建立忠诚感的。”填入此处正好。人邮第四辑真题TEST2READINGPART3CriticalPathWhenDavidHaydenrealisedhiscompanywasheadingfortrouble,hetookdrasticmeasurestogetitbackontrackDavidHaydenfoundedhiscompany,CriticalPath,anemailprovider,in1997totakeadvantageoftheboominemailtraffic.CriticalPathbecameapubliccompanytwoyearslater,andHaydentooktheopportunitytostepdownfromhisexecutivepositioninordertoworkonpersonalprojects.Atthesametime,heagreedtostaywiththecompanyasChairman,butthebusinesswasputinthehandsofnewmanagersbyitsinvestors.Withsector-leadingproductsandanexpandingmarket,thecompanyseemedtobeontheupandup.However,byearly2001,itwasintrouble.Sharesthathadbeenworth$26in1999,whentheywerefirstsold,weredowntoamere24cents.Calledinbyapanickingboard,HaydenfoundhimselfbackinchargeasExecutiveChairman,tryingdesperatelytorescuewhathecould.The1,100staffhadlostconfidenceinthecompanyanddidnotknowwhatwasgoingtohappentothem.And,asHaydendiscovered,themanagementteamwasincompetent.Thoseguysdidntunderstandtheproductorthesector,saysHayden.Theheadsofdepartmentdidntcommunicateandtheydidntlead.Butwhatwasworse,CriticalPathhadlostthegoodwillofitsinvestors.Haydenknewthatbringingthefiguresundercontrolwouldbeavitalstepinthecompanysturnaround.Youvegottosortoutthefinances.Forme,thatmeantgettingbackthegoodwilloftheinvestors.Thatwastough,afterwhathadhappened.Butalthoughtheywereangrywiththecompany,theydidnthavebadfeelingsaboutme.ItoldthemthatIknewIcouldgetthecompanyonitsfeetagain.Hewasauthorisedtomakewhateverchangeswererequire,andhisfirstactwastofindpeoplewithinthecompanyhecouldtrustandputthemincharge.ThenextthingHaydenhadtotacklewasmorale.Everyonelefttheofficeatfiveonthedot-theycouldntgetawayquicklyenough.Togetthebuzzbackandwinthestaffover,Ihadtoprovemyowncommitmentandputintheextrahourswiththem.Inreturn,itwasassumedthatnobodywouldaskforovertimepayuntilthecompanywasonitsfeetagain.Contrarytonormalpractice,Haydenwasreluctanttolaypeopleoff,andapartfromnotreplacingpeopleastheyreachedretirementage,helefttheworkforcelargelyunchanged,althoughhedididentifykeypeoplethroughoutthecompanywhoweregivenmoreresponsibility.But,asHaydeninsists,beforeacompanyreachessuchacrisis,therearewarningsignsthatanyfinancialdirectororaccountantshouldtakenoteof.Abusinessthathasanunrealisticpricingpolicyorhastonegotiateextendedcreditwithitssuppliersisintrouble,ishismessage.Orifyouoftenhavetoapplyforyouroverdraftlimittoberaisedorhavetroublepayingtaxontime,somethingneedstobedone.By2003,thecompanywashealthyagain,withreasonablystablefinancesandamodestbutsteadysharepriceof$1.60.Onethingthathelpedsaveuswasthatourtechnologyworked,saysHayden.With20millionemailaccounts,weneverlostasinglemajorclientbecausetheproductkeptonworking.Withideasforafreshventuredemandinghisattentionelsewhere,Haydenhasmovedon.Itwastimetogo,hesays.Imnotaturnaroundspecialist.Ipreferstart-ups.13 WhateventcoincidedwithCriticalPathbecomingapubliccompany?AHaydenbecametheExecutiveDirectorofCriticalPath.BInvestorshiredareplacementteamtorunCriticalPath.CCriticalPathlaunchedasuccessfulnewproductonthemarket.DCriticalPathwasfloatedontheStockExchangeat24centspershare.14 WhichofthefollowingsituationsdidHaydenfaceatCriticalPathin2001?ATheemployeeswereworriedaboutjobsecurity.BTheinvestorswerecallingforchangestothecompanystructure.CThemanagementwasmisleadingthestaffaboutthecompanysposition.DTheboardofdirectorsdidnotrealisethescaleofthecompanysproblems.15 OnereasonHaydenwasabletoturnCriticalPatharoundwasthatAhemanagedtofindnewinvestors.Bthefinancialsituationwasnotasbadashehadthought.Chehadbuiltupagoodrelationshipwiththemanagementteam.Dhewasgiventhesupportthatheneeded.16 WhatwasHaydenspolicyregardingthestaffofCriticalPath?AHepaidovertimetoeverybodywhoworkedoutsideofficehours.BHereducedtheworkforcebyoperatinganearlyretirementscheme.CHegavekeystafftheopportunitytohelphimset