| Q23 to Q26: 
       Why firms adhere to or deviate 
        from their strategic plans is poorly 
        understood.  However, theory and 
 Line       limited research suggest that the 
   (5)      process through which such plans 
 emerge may play a part.  In particular, 
 top management decision-sharing— 
 consensus-oriented, team-based 
 decision-making—may increase the 
 (10)      likelihood that firms will adhere to their 
 plans, because those involved in the 
 decision-making may be more com- 
 mitted to the chosen course of action, 
 thereby increasing the likelihood that 
 (15)      organizations will subsequently adhere 
 to their plans. 
       However, the relationship between 
 top management decision-sharing and 
 adherence to plans may be affected 
 (20)      by a firm’s strategic mission (its fun- 
        damental approach to increasing 
        sales revenue and market share, and 
 generating cash flow and short-term 
 profits).  At one end of the strategic 
 (25)      mission continuum, “build” strategies 
 are pursued when a firm desires to 
 increase its market share and is willing 
 to sacrifice short-term profits to do so. 
 At the other end, “harvest” strategies 
 (30)      are used when a firm is willing to 
 sacrifice marked share for short-term 
 profitability and cash-flow maximiza- 
        tion.  Research and theory suggest 
 that top management decision-sharing 
 (35)    may have a more positive relationship 
 with adherence to plans among firms 
 with harvest strategies than among 
 firms with build strategies.  In a study 
       of strategic practices in several large 
 (40)     firms, managers in harvest strategy 
 scenarios were more able to adhere 
 to their business plans.  As one of the 
 managers in the study explained it, 
 this is partly because “[t]ypically all a 
 (45)      manager has to do [when implementing 
 a harvest strategy] is that which was 
 done last year.”  Additionally, man- 
 agers under harvest strategies may 
 have fewer strategic options than do 
 (50)      those under build strategies; it may 
 therefore be easier to reach agree- 
 ment on a particular course of action 
 through decision-sharing, which will 
 in turn tend to promote adherence 
 (55)      to plans.  Conversely, in a “build” 
 strategy scenario, individual leader- 
 ship, rather than decision-sharing, 
 may promote adherence to plans. 
 Build strategies—which typically 
 (60)      require leaders with strong perso- 
 nal visions for a firm’s future, rather 
 than the negotiated compromise 
 of the team-based decision—may 
 be most closely adhered to when 
 (65)      implemented in the context of a clear 
 strategic vision of an individual leader, 
 rather than through the practice of 
 decision-sharing. 
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 Q23: 
 Which of the following best describes the function of the first sentence (lines 17-24) of the second paragraph of the passage? 
                
 
 To answer a question posed in the first sentence of the passage about why firms adopt particular strategic missions
 To refute an argument made in the first paragraph about how top management decision-making affects whether firms will adhere to their strategic plans
 To provide evidence supporting a theory introduced in the first paragraph about what makes firms adhere to or deviate from their strategic plants
 To qualify an assertion made in the preceding sentence (lines 6-16) about how top management decision-making affects the likelihood that firms will adhere to their strategic plans
 To explain a distinction relied on in the second paragraph (lines 17-68) regarding two different kinds of strategic missions
 
 答案是E,请问  distinction是指two different kinds of strategic missions 的distinction吗?如果是的话17-24里根本没解释区别呀?区别是后面解释的呀。 
 还有B 为什么不对呀? 
 Q25: 
 The primary purpose of the passage is to 
                
 
 identify some of the obstacles that make it difficult for firms to adhere to their strategic business plans
 compare two different theories concerning why firms adhere to or deviate from their strategic plans
 evaluate the utility of top management decision-sharing as a method of implementing the strategic mission of a business
 discuss the respective advantages and disadvantages of build and harvest strategies among several large firms
 examine some of the factors that may affect whether or not firms adhere to their strategic plans
 
 E 中examine 是什么意思?还有B怎么不对呀? 
   
 [此贴子已经被作者于2005-7-21 14:13:21编辑过] |