题目内容
（请给出正确答案）
Supermarket managers make the food pleasing so that______ .
A．there will be more buyers
B．buyers will be proud
C．it is good and expensive
D．they can raise prices
简答题官方参考答案
（由简答题聘请的专业题库老师提供的解答）
更多“Supermarket managers make the food pleasing so that______ .A．there will be more buyersB．bu”相关的问题
A．how the supermarket has replaced the old general store
B．how the old-fashioned general store is fast disappearing
C．how supermarket managers run modern supermarkets
D．how supermarket managers deal with problems every morning
Task 1
Directions: After reading the following passage, you will find 5 questions or unfinished statements, numbered 36 through 40. For each question or statement there are 4 choices marked A, B, C, and D. You should make the correct choice.
The old-fashioned general store is fast disappearing. This is, perhaps, a pity, because shopping today seems to lack that personal element which existed when the shopkeeper knew all his regular customers personally. He could, for instance, remember which brand of tea Mrs. Smith usually bought or what sort of washing powder Mrs. Jones preferred. Not only was the shop a center of buying and selling, but a social meeting place.
A prosperous general store might have employed four or five assistants, and so there were very few problems in management as far as the staff were concerned. But now that the supermarket has replaced the general store, the job of the manager has changed completely. The modem supermarket manager has to cope with a staff of as many as a hundred, apart from all the other everyday problems of running a large business. Every morning the manager must, like the commander of an army division, carry out an inspection of his store to make sure that everything is ready for the business of the day. He must see that everything is running smoothly. He will have to give advice and make decisions as problems arise; and he must know how to get his huge staff to work efficiently with their respective responsibilities. No matter what he has to do throughout the day, however, the supermarket manager must be ready for any emergency that may arise. They say in the trade that you are not really an experienced supermarket manager until you have dealt with a flood, a fire, a birth and a death in your store.
The main purpose of the passage is to show ______.
A．how the supermarket has replaced the old general store
B．how the old-fashioned general store is fast disappearing
C．how supermarket managers run modern supermarkets
D．how the role of the shop manager has undergone an overall change
Godel Goodies (Godel) manufactures a variety of own-label sweets for the two largest supermarket chains in Seeland. The business makes several different flavours of the same basic product. The strategy of the business has been to be a cost leader in order to win the supermarkets’ business. The sales of Godel vary up and down from quarter to quarter depending on the state of the general economy and competitive forces. Most of the sweet manufacturers have been in business for decades and so the business is mature with little scope to be innovative in new product development. The supermarkets prefer to sign suppliers to long-term contracts and so it is difficult for new entrants to gain a foothold in this market. The management style. at Godel is very much command-and-control which fits with the strategy and type of business. Indeed, most employees have been at Godel for many years and have expressed their liking for the straightforward nature of their work.
The chief executive officer (CEO) of Godel has asked your firm of accountants to advise him as his finance director (FD) will be absent for several months due to a recently diagnosed illness. As the CEO is preparing for the next board meeting, he has obtained the operating statement and detailed variance analysis from one of the junior accountants (Appendix 1).
The CEO is happy with the operating statement but wants to understand the detailed operational and planning variances, given in Appendix 1, for the board meeting. He needs to know what action should be taken as a result of these specific variances.
The FD had been looking at the budgeting process before she fell ill. The CEO has decided that you should help him by answering some questions on budgeting at Godel.
Currently, the budget at Godel is set at the start of the year and performance is measured against this. The company uses standard costs for each product and attributes overheads using absorption costing based on machine hours. No variations are allowed to the standard costs during the year. The standard costs and all budget assumptions are discussed with the relevant operational manager before being set. However, these managers grumble that the budget process is very time-consuming and that the results are ultimately of limited value from their perspective. Some of them also complain that they must frequently explain that the variances are not their fault. The CEO wants to know your views on whether this way of budgeting is appropriate and whether the managers’ complaints are justified. He is satisfied that there is no dysfunctional behaviour at Godel which may lead to budget slack or excessive spending and that all managers are working in the best interests of the company.
Finally, in the last few months, the FD had been reading business articles and books and had mentioned that there were a number of organisations which were trying to go beyond budgeting. The CEO is concerned that he does not understand what budgeting does for the business and this is why he wants you to explain what are the benefits and problems of budgeting at Godel before considering replacing it.
Required:
(a) Advise the CEO on the implications for performance management at Godel of analysing variances into the planning and operational elements as shown in Appendix 1. (6 marks)
(b) Evaluate the budgeting system at Godel. (11 marks)
(c) Evaluate the proposal to move to a beyond budgeting method of control at Godel, giving a recommendation on whether to proceed. (8 marks)
听力原文： Today's case study concerns a merger between two supermarket chains, and subsequent problems. Before I hand out the' documentation, here's a quick overview.
Five years ago, Kelway Supermarkets merged with 'its low-cost rival Duncan, to form. a company called KD. Although the new business was still far smaller than the chief players in the retail food sector, analysts believed its increased size would allow KD to put pressure on its suppliers to keep their prices down. However, Duncan and Kelway both had strong, rather different images, and doubts were expressed about how well they fitted together
The merger wasn't Successful. The company maintained both chains, while converting some of the low-cost Duncan stores to the Kelway format, which meant these rebranded stores took on Kelway's name, product range and higher prices, The conversion was possible once the supply chains of the two brands had been unified. But this policy seriously underestimated the difference between the customers of the two chains, and the rebranded stores lost customers. However, fears of competition from foreign supermarkets moving into the country failed to materialise.
Another problem resulted from the new structure introduced after the merger With two sets Of senior managers competing for positions, there was a risk of allocating them equally to the two chains, rather than on merit. The negotiations led to a satisfactory outcome, however, which included Kelway's former chief executive becoming responsible for stores, and Duncan's taking charge of systems, supply chain and logistics. Both worked conscientiously for the good of both chains. However, certain problems slipped between the two of them and failed to be resolved.
After two years of poor results, increasing KD 'S debt burden, the company decided to sell off a number of stores, particularly on out-of-town sites, which were too large to fit its new concept. The sale was intended to fund the transformation of both chains into convenience retailers, operating particularly in town centres, on petrol forecourts and within department stores. Unfortunately, though, few companies were interested in purchasing the sites which were for sale.
KD believes its appeal to customers is the fact that it's a discounter, and hopes that the resulting high sales volume will compensate for its thin profit margins. This is a strong feature of its advertising, which even makes direct comparisons with its competitors, and the company has never felt the need to follow other supermarkets in setting up loyalty schemes to encourage repeat custom.
Despite its efforts, though, sales are still falling. Last month the Chairman admitted that this wasn't caused by the general market slowdown, as KD is underperforming most other supermarket chains. While rejecting claims that the company is still suffering from internal stresses, he acknowledged the chief cause by launching a change of philosophy: for the first time the company will find out what purchasers actually want in its supermarkets.
The Chairman also announced several further moves to turn round the company's performance. One is to examine new ways of promoting .the brands, in order to spend the advertising budget as effectively as possible, Secondly, the company will take a close look at all its suppliers, to ensure that they are the best ones to use: And thirdly, the range of goods on offer will be significantly broadened, to attract a wider spectrum of customers.
OK; that briefly is the recent history of KD. Your first task is to identify all the factors which have contributed to the company's troubles since the merger, and assess how it dealt with each of them. Take the merger itself as given. Alter that we'll look at where the company goes from here. So could , you pass round these papers, an
A．reduce its costs.
B．improve its public image.
C．compete with the market leaders.
听力原文：Man: So what exactly is POP？
Woman: Well, POP stands for Point of Purchasing and it refers to the advertising techniques used to sell specific products at the point where customers buy them.
Man: Such as at the supermarket check-out or on the shelves in a shop？
Woman: Yes, that's right, and managers are slowly beginning to realise how successful it can be and are building it into their general plans for promoting product ranges. The surprising thing is it's taking a while to catch on in a big way.
Man: Is that because firms are going to have to spend a lot of money in the early stages？
Woman: That's true, and of course the displays have to be serviced regularly. But we know that most people don't decide what to buy until they are in the shop. And it seems that retail Managers are beginning to see sense at last. Firstly, it's generally accepted that consumers ignore adverts on TV. Secondly, the expansion of cable and satellite TV channels has made it much more difficult to reach all consumers with all effective TV advertising campaign while remaining within budget. Point of purchasing advertising is more selective but cheaper.
Man: I believe that Samsung, for example, have invested heavily in POP to boost sales of its computer monitors？
Woman: That's right. They wanted to convince consumers to purchase individual components when buying a computer system rather than what it describes as 'inappropriate' packages. They say they have gone for POP because it wasn't just awareness-raising they were after. They wanted to influence even those customers who had decided on something else by demonstrating Samsung's products in store.
Man: So are companies actually employing POP agencies？
Woman: Some are but many, like Ford, are asking their planners to look into the research that has been done in the area to find out things like how long it take to launch a new brand, how many people visit an advertising fixture in a shop and so on.
Man: But companies are still reluctant to allocate large budgets to POP because it's almost impossible to assess the results of specific campaigns？
Woman: Yes, but there are success stories. The Cheltenham and Gloucester Building Society decided to move into a retail environment and sell their pensions more aggressively. They looked seriously at where they sited displays and did some research to find out where the best places in the branch were. They placed their leaflets in well-designed dispensers in the walk ways between the doors and the counters rather than on the walls.
Man: So you think more companies can be persuaded down the POP route？
Woman: I think retailers will always want to set a number of conditions on POP campaigns. They'll want the campaign to fit in with their store's style. and they won't want the products detracting too much from their own brands. They'll also want to manage the area themselves or ensure that the agency keeps the displays in good condition.
Man: So is the future for POP agencies looking good？
Woman: In the short term it's reasonable. The pressure on retail space brought about by retailers' own-label products is an obstacle and POP needs to develop a more exciting image by using interactive ideas such as smell, visual effects and sound.
？You will hear two people discussing Point of Purchasing(POP)projects.
？For each question 23-30 mark one letter (A, B or C)for the correct answer.
？After you have listened once, replay each recording.
What do POP projects aim to do？
A．encourage managers to plan their advertising
B．in crease sales of particular products
C．increase the amount spent on advertising
Recently, however, P＆G broke with this long-standing tradition. Ariel, a P＆G laundry detergent, was born overseas, and is a familiar sight on store shelves in Europe and Latin America. Now bilingual packages of Ariel Ultra. a super-concentrated cleaner. are appearing on supermarket shelves in Los Angeles.
Ariel's appearance in the United States reflects demographic changes making Hispanics the nation's fastest-growing ethnic group. Ariel is a hit with this population. In fact, many Mexican immigrants living in Southern California have been "importing" Ariel from Tijuana, Mexico. "Hispanics knew this product and wanted it," says P＆G spokeswoman Marie Salvado. "We realized that we couldn't convince them to buy (our) other laundry detergents." P＆G hopes that non-Hispanic consumers will give Ariel a try too. Ariel's already strong presence in Europe may provide a springboard for the company to expand into other markets as well. Recently P＆G bought Rakona. Czechoslovakia's top detergent maker. Ariel, currently a top seller in Germany, is likely to be one of the first new brands to appear in Czech supermarkets. And Ariel is not the only foreign idea that the company hopes to transplant back to its home territory. Cinch, an all-purpose spray cleaner similar to popular European products, is currently being test-marketed in California and Arizona. Traditionally Americans have used separate cleaners for different types of surfaces, but market research shows that American preferences are becoming more like those in other countries.
Insiders note that this new reverse flow of innovation reflects more sweeping changes at Procter ＆ Gamble. The firm has hired many new Japanese, German. and Mexican managers who view P＆G's business not as a one-way flow of American ideas, but a two-way exchange with other markets. Says Bonita Austin of the investment firm Wertheim-Schroeder, "When you met with P＆G's top managers years ago, you wouldn't have seen a single foreign face." Today, "they could even be in the majority."
As Procter ＆ Gamble has found, the United States is no longer an isolated market. Americans are more open than ever before to buying foreign-made products and to selling U. S. -made products overseas.
According to the passage, which of the following is true？
A．The brands of Pampers, Crest, Ariel, and Cinch reflect the one-way flow tradition of Procter ＆ Gamble.
B．In spite of market changes, Procter ＆ Gamble still sticks to its long-standing tradition of one-way flow innovation.
C．Procter ＆ Gamble has to change its one-way flow tradition because of the increased number of its foreign managers.
D．Today one may meet more foreign faces in Procter ＆ Gamble than years ago.
MAKING THE MOST OF TRENDS Experts from Harvard Business School give advice to managers Most managers can identify the major trends of the day. But in the course of conducting research in a number of industries and working directly with companies, we have discovered that managers often fail to recognize the less obvious but profound ways these trends are influencing consumers' aspirations, attitudes, and behaviors. This is especially true of trends that managers view as peripheral to their core markets. Many ignore trends in their innovation strategies or adopt a wait-and-see approach and let competitors take the lead. At a minimum, such responses mean missed profit opportunities. At the extreme, they can jeopardize a company by ceding to rivals the opportunity to transform the industry. The purpose of this article is twofold: to spur managers to think more expansively about how tends could engender new value propositions in their core markets, and to provide some high-level advice on how to make market research and product development personnel more adept at analyzing and exploiting trends. One strategy, known as ‘infuse and augment’, is to design a product or service that retains most of the attributes and functions of existing products in the category but adds others that address the needs and desires unleashed by a major trend. A case in point is the Poppy range of handbags,which the firm Coach created in response to the economic downturn of 2008. The Coach brand had been a symbol of opulence and luxury for nearly 70 years, and the most obvious reaction to the downturn would have been to lower prices. However, that would have risked cheapening the brand’s image. Instead, they initiated a consumer-research project which revealed that customers were eager to lift themselves and the country out of tough times. Using these insights, Coach launched the lower-priced Poppy handbags, which were in vibrant colors, and looked more youthful and playful than conventional Coach products. Creating the sub-brand allowed Coach to avert an across-the-board price cut. In contrast to the many companies that responded to the recession by cutting prices, Coach saw the new consumer mindset as an opportunity for innovation and renewal. A further example of this strategy was supermarket Tesco's response to consumers' growing concerns about the environment. With that in mind, Tesco, one of the world's top five retailer introduced its Greener Living program, which demonstrates the company’s commitment to protecting the environment by involving consumers in ways that produce tangible results. For example, Tesco customers can accumulate points for such activities as reusing bags, recycling cans and printer cartridges, and buying home-insulution materials. Like points earned on regular purchases, these green points can be redeemed for cash. Tesco has not abandoned its traditional retail offerings but augmented its business with these innovations, thereby infusing its value proposition with a green streak A more radical strategy is ‘combine and transcend’. This entails combining aspects of the product's existing value proposition with attributes addressing changes arising from a trend, to create a novel experience-one that may land the company in an entirely new market space. At first glance, spending resources to incorporate elements of a seemingly irrelevant trend into one’s core offerings sounds like it's hardly worthwhile. But consider Nike’s move to integrate the digital revolution into its reputation for high-performance athletic footwear. In 2006. they teamed up with technology company Apple to launch Nike+, a digital sports kit comprising a sensor that attaches to the running shoe and a wireless receiver that connects to the user’s iPod. By combining Nike’s original value proposition for amateur athletes with one for digital consumers, the Nike+ sports kit and web interface moved the company from a focus on athletic apparel to a new plane of engagement with its customers. A third approach, known as ‘counteract and reaffirm’, involves developing products or services that stress the values traditionally associated with the category in ways that allow consumers oppose — or at least temporarily escape from—the aspects of trends they view as undesirable. A product that accomplished this is the ME2, a video game created by Canada’s iToys. By affirming the toy category's association with physical play, the ME2 counteracted some of the widely perceived negative impacts of digital gaming devices. Like other handheld games,the device featured a host of exciting interactive games, a full-color LCD screen, and advanced3D graphics. What set it apart was that it incorporated the traditional physical component of children's play: it contained a pedometer, which tracked and awarded points for physical activity (walking, running, biking, skateboarding, climbing stairs). The child could use the points to enhance various virtual skills needed for the video game. The ME2, introduced in mid-2008, catered to kids’ huge desire to play video games while countering the negatives, such as associations with lack of exercise and obesity. Once you have gained perspective on how trend-related changes in consumer opinions and behaviors impact on your category, you can determine which of our three innovation strategies to pursue. When your category’s basic value proposition continues to be meaningful for consumers influenced by the trend, the infuse-and-augment strategy will allow you to reinvigorate the category. If analysis reveals an increasing disparity between your category and consumers' new focus, your innovations need to transcend the category to integrate the two worlds. Finally,if aspects of the category clash with undesired outcomes of a trend, such as associations with unhealthy lifestyles, there is an opportunity to counteract those changes by reaffirming the core values of your category. Trends -technological, economic, environmental, social, or political-that affect how people perceive the world around them and shape what they expect from products and services present firms with unique opportunities for growth. 6 In the paragraph, the writer says that most managers ___________.
A、fail to spot the key consumer trends of the moment
B、make the mistake of focusing only on the principal consumer trends
C、misinterpret market research data relating to current consumer trends
D、are unaware of the significant impact that trends have on consumers' lives
听力原文：A: So what exactly is POP？
B: Well, POP stands for Point of Purchasing and it refers to the advertising techniques used to sell specific products at the point where customers buy them.
A: Such as at the supermarket check-out or on the shelves in a shop？
B: Yes, that's right, and managers are slowly beginning to realize how successful it can be and are building it into their general plans for promoting product ranges. The surprising thing is it's taking a while to catch on in a big way.
A: Is that because firms are going to have to spend a lot of money in the early stages？
B: That's true, and of course the displays have to be serviced regularly. But we know that most people don't decide what to buy until they are in the shop. And it seems that retail managers are beginning to see sense at last. Firstly, it's generally accepted that consumers ignore adverts on TV. Secondly, the expansion of cable and satellite TV channels has made it much more difficult to reach all consumers with an effective TV advertising campaign while remaining within budget. Point of Purchasing advertising is more selective but cheaper.
A: I believe that Samsung, for example, has invested heavily in POP to boost sales of its computer monitors？
B: That's right. They wanted to convince consumers to purchase individual components when buying a computer system rather than what it describes as 'inappropriate' packages. They say they have gone for POP because it wasn't just awareness-raising they were after. They wanted to influence even those customers who had decided on something else by demonstrating Samsung's products in store.
A: So are companies actually employing POP agencies？
B: Some are but many, like Ford, are asking their planners to look into the research that has been done in the area to find out things like how long it takes to launch a new brand, how many people visit an advertising fixture in a shop and so on.
A: But companies are still reluctant to allocate large budgets to POP because it's almost impossible to assess the results of specific campaigns？
B: Yes, but there are success stories. The Cheltenham and Gloucester Building Society decided to move into a retail environment and sell their pensions more aggressively. They looked seriously at where they sited displays and did some research to find out where the best places in the branch were. They placed their leaflets in well-designed dispensers in the walkways between the doors and the counters rather than on the walls.
A: So You think more companies can be persuaded down the POP route？
B: I think retailers will always want to set a number of conditions on POP campaigns. They'll want the campaign to fit in with their store's style. and they won't want the products detracting too much from their own brands. They'll also want to manage the area themselves or ensure that the agency keeps the displays in good condition.
A: So is the future for POP agencies looking good？
B: In the short term it's reasonable. The pressure on retail space brought about by retailers' own-label products is an obstacle and POP needs to develop a more exciting image by using interactive ideas such as smell, visual effects and sound, Hopefully this will mean that consumers stay longer to consider their purchase.
？You will hear two people discussing Point of Purchasing (POP) projects.
？For each question 23-30 mark one letter (A, B or C) for the correct answer.
？After you have listened once, replay the recording.
The Cheltenham and Gloucester Building Society improved their sales of pensions by ______.
A．offering well-designed leaflets and brochures
B．focusing advertising in specific physical areas
C．making better use of Wall space for posters
警告：系统检测到您的账号存在安全风险
为了保护您的账号安全，请在“简答题”公众号进行验证，点击“官网服务”-“账号验证”后输入验证码“”完成验证，验证成功后方可继续查看答案！
