题目内容
George Kamp is the kind of tough English northerner who runs things his own way. Contrary to what is normal in big corporations today, his company has no remuneration committee, it is short on part-time directors and it has no qualms about employing family members. Mr. Kamp is chairman and chief executive of the engineering firm William Kamp, which has been a family business since the middle of the last century. Until a week ago none of this would have made the headlines. But a rival engineering company has changed this with its ￡58 million hostile takeover bid, putting Kamp’s management style in the spotlight. Kamp is a fighter: "All my career, I’ve battled. I’ve had to battle with customers and suppliers and management." This will certainly not be his first fight. In 1980, when borrowing money was costing more than 20 per cent, his father was in favour of closing the business. George was not; he forced his father off the board of directors and saved the company. He says, "A difference of views arose. I said the company could either be run by me, or by him, but I couldn’t stay there and implement his policy. There was a board meeting and he was persuaded to withdraw." He says his toughest battle was not taking on his father, but forcing his 160-strong workforce to accept automation at the factory in 1982. "I was really in a difficult position then. The management were against me, the men were against me. The change meant they would have to work a lot harder. I got them all together, and I just said, "We’ve got to make this work-it’s all our livelihoods at stake. "I was determined to make this business work to save the British steel foundry industry." He won that battle, too. Rationalizations, cost-cutting, and a string of 14 acquisitions followed, and the loss-making family business became a recognized leader in the steel castings industry. Kamp makes running William Kamp sound like a military operation, and there is something in his clipped language which is irresistibly reminiscent of the army. His management style is unashamedly autocratic. "I have a very loyal team, and, yes, they have to work hard but they like it," he says. But unusually for a publicly quoted company, his loyal staff include his wife, Ellen, a lawyer who works as a consultant for the company. "I’m not frightened of having to justify this," he says. The shareholders are getting a good deal out of his wife, he reckons, as the company would probably have to pay double for the same services from any other consultant. Kamp robustly defends his own pay and the generous terms of his contract. He reckons he is worth it. "There is a ￡5 million ’key man’ insurance policy on me, and some of our banking arrangements are dependent on me staying with the company. So the outside world reckons I’m fairly important-that isn’t just my opinion." He describes himself as being like the captain of a ship, and he has a firm belief in experience rather than management theory. "You’ve got to learn your management skills by practical experience; otherwise you confuse delegating with passing the buck and you don’t know when people are talking rubbish. I have the strength to fight off this takeover bid. For me it’s war. I am autocratic, because that’s how you win. When you cut out all the emotion, it’s down to money. William Kamp is worth much more than this most inferior rival company has suggested. And I know I will be able to convince the shareholders of this.\ How does Kamp say he feels about having his wife working for the company
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Packaging and labeling are both very important to a product, as most physical products have to be packaged and labeled. Both are thought to be an element of product strategy and many marketers even have called pachaing a fifth P. The main concern in designing packages for products, especially for new (21) is true (22) industrial goods and appliances whose sales are made from display models. From the (23) of marketing, packaging is of vital importance in sales promotion. Sales are (24) by packages that are visible, informative, emotionally appealing, and workable. Good packaging helps sell because (25) with high visibility are easier to find when they are displayed on store shelves. Design with good and useful information may help (26) customers and make them more (27) to decide to buy the goods. The (28) factor in packaging refers to the image that consumers form after viewing a product. (29) in packaging means that the container not only protects the product but is also easy to open and re-close, is readily stored, and has utility for secondary uses once the product is used up. For example, in China, some goods are packaged in a special container-a real cup, which can be used as a cup after the goods within are used up. The label may be a simple tag attached to the product or an elaborate designed (30) that is part of the package. The label normally carries information about the brand name, manufacturer’s name and address, price, specifications, and so on.
George Kamp is the kind of tough English northerner who runs things his own way. Contrary to what is normal in big corporations today, his company has no remuneration committee, it is short on part-time directors and it has no qualms about employing family members. Mr. Kamp is chairman and chief executive of the engineering firm William Kamp, which has been a family business since the middle of the last century. Until a week ago none of this would have made the headlines. But a rival engineering company has changed this with its ￡58 million hostile takeover bid, putting Kamp’s management style in the spotlight. Kamp is a fighter: "All my career, I’ve battled. I’ve had to battle with customers and suppliers and management." This will certainly not be his first fight. In 1980, when borrowing money was costing more than 20 per cent, his father was in favour of closing the business. George was not; he forced his father off the board of directors and saved the company. He says, "A difference of views arose. I said the company could either be run by me, or by him, but I couldn’t stay there and implement his policy. There was a board meeting and he was persuaded to withdraw." He says his toughest battle was not taking on his father, but forcing his 160-strong workforce to accept automation at the factory in 1982. "I was really in a difficult position then. The management were against me, the men were against me. The change meant they would have to work a lot harder. I got them all together, and I just said, "We’ve got to make this work-it’s all our livelihoods at stake. "I was determined to make this business work to save the British steel foundry industry." He won that battle, too. Rationalizations, cost-cutting, and a string of 14 acquisitions followed, and the loss-making family business became a recognized leader in the steel castings industry. Kamp makes running William Kamp sound like a military operation, and there is something in his clipped language which is irresistibly reminiscent of the army. His management style is unashamedly autocratic. "I have a very loyal team, and, yes, they have to work hard but they like it," he says. But unusually for a publicly quoted company, his loyal staff include his wife, Ellen, a lawyer who works as a consultant for the company. "I’m not frightened of having to justify this," he says. The shareholders are getting a good deal out of his wife, he reckons, as the company would probably have to pay double for the same services from any other consultant. Kamp robustly defends his own pay and the generous terms of his contract. He reckons he is worth it. "There is a ￡5 million ’key man’ insurance policy on me, and some of our banking arrangements are dependent on me staying with the company. So the outside world reckons I’m fairly important-that isn’t just my opinion." He describes himself as being like the captain of a ship, and he has a firm belief in experience rather than management theory. "You’ve got to learn your management skills by practical experience; otherwise you confuse delegating with passing the buck and you don’t know when people are talking rubbish. I have the strength to fight off this takeover bid. For me it’s war. I am autocratic, because that’s how you win. When you cut out all the emotion, it’s down to money. William Kamp is worth much more than this most inferior rival company has suggested. And I know I will be able to convince the shareholders of this.\ Why is Kamp’s company in the news
Section ADirections: This section is to test your ability to understand short dialogues. There are 5 recorded dialogues in it. After each dialogue, there is a recorded question. Both the dialogues and questions will be spoken only once. When you hear a question, you should decide on the correct answer from the 4 choices marked A), B), C), D) given in your test paper. Then you should mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the center.
Section ADirections: This section is to test your ability to understand short dialogues. There are 5 recorded dialogues in it. After each dialogue, there is a recorded question. Both the dialogues and questions will be spoken only once. When you hear a question, you should decide on the correct answer from the 4 choices marked A), B), C), D) given in your test paper. Then you should mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the center.
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