(完整版)剑桥商务英语中级考试历年真题荟萃

(完整版)剑桥商务中级考试历年真荟萃(完整版)剑桥商务英语中级考试历年真题荟萃(完整版)剑桥商务英语中级考试历年真题荟萃剑桥商务英语中级考试历年真题荟萃注：这里讲解的题目是人邮版第四辑真题Questions1-7Lookatthestatementsbelowoppositepage.TEST1阅读部分的Partone.andthearticleaboutthedevelopmentoffuturebusinessleadersontheWhichsectionofthearticle(A,B,CorD)doeseachstatement(1-7)referto?Foreachstatement(1-7),markoneletter(A,B,CorD)onyourAnswerSheet.Youwillneedtousesomeoftheselettersmorethanonce.1Managersneedtotakeactiontoconvincehigh-flyersoftheirvaluetothefirm.2Organisationsneedtolookbeyondthehigh-flyerstheyarecurrentlydeveloping.3Thereisaconcernthatfirmsinvestingintrainingforhigh-flyersmaynotgainthebenefitsthemselves.4Managersneedexpertassistancefromwithintheirownfirmsindevelopinghigh-flyers.5Firmscurrentlyidentifyhigh-flyerswithoutthesupportofaguidancestrategy.6Managersarefrequentlytoobusytodealwiththedevelopmentofhigh-flyers.7Firmswhoworkhardontheirreputationasanemployerwillinteresthigh-flyers.TheStarsoftheFutureAExistingmanagementresearchdoesnottellusmuchabouthowtofindanddevelophigh-flyers,thosepeoplewhohavethepotentialtoreachthetopofanorganisation.Asaresult,organisationsarelefttoformulatetheirownsystems.Amoreeffectiveoverallpolicyfordevelopingfutureleadersisneeded,whichiswhytheLondonBusinessSchoolhaslaunchedtheTomorrow'sLeadersResearchGroup(TLRG).Thegroupcontainsrepresentativesfrom20firms,andmeetsregularlytodiscusstheleadershipdevelopmentoftheorganisations'high-flyers.BTLRGrecognisesjusthowsignificantlinemanagersareintheprocessofleadershipdevelopment.Unfortunately,withtoday'sflatorganisations,wheremanagershavefunctionalaswellasmanagerialresponsibilities,peopledevelopmentalltoooftenfallsvictimtoheavyworkloads.Onemanagerintheresearchgroupwasunconvincedbythelogicofsendinghisbestpeopleawayondevelopmentcourses,'onlytoseethempoachedbyanotherdepartmentor,worsestill,anotherfirm'.Thisfearoflosinghigh-flyersrunsdeepintheorganisationsthatmakeuptheresearchgroup.CTLRGarguesthatthetaskofmanagementisnotnecessarilyaboutemployeeretention,butaboutcreating'attractioncentres'.'Wemusthelplinemanagerstorealisethatiftheircompaniesareknownasonesthatdeveloptheirpeople,theywillhaveagreaterappealtohigh-flyers,'saidoneadvisor.Furthermore,selectingpeoplefor,say,aleadershipdevelopmentprogrammeisasignofcommitmentfrommanagementtoanindividual.Loyaltycanthenbemoreeasilydemandedinreturn.DTLRGhasconcludedthatacompany'sHRspecialistsneedtotakeactionandengagewithlinemanagersindividuallyabouttheirroleinthedevelopmentofhigh-flyers.Indeed,inordertobenefitfullyfromtraininghigh-flyersastheseniormanagersofthefuture,firmsmustactuallyaddressthedevelopmentofallmanagerswhowillbesupportingthehigh-flyers.Withoutthis,managerswillnotbeinapositiontogiveappropriateadvice.Andwheneventuallythehigh-flyersdomoveon,newoneswillbeneededtoreplacethem.Thenextchallengewillbetofindanewgenerationofhigh-flyers.第一得搞理解的是这篇文章究竟讲的什么。不用看详细内容，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商讨的是企业将来接班人——也就是潜力股——的培育问题。A段讲了TLRG这个贯穿全文的研究组织出生的原由：现行的研究满足不了需要，于是大多数企业只好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）关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；段讲的是接班人问题对企业的重要性，并且应当让院线经理们理解这类重要性；段是针对前方列出的问题，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资料应当是相对简单掌握的。题目：图中蓝色的线为答案暗藏的地方。7个题干基本是将中的句子用其余的词语和句型表述出来，所以题干中的重点词都能在正文里找到与之般配的，比方第四题题干里的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“经理们一定采纳措施使潜力股们相信他们对企业的价值”，也就是要让潜力股们对企业忠诚，即C段说的creating“attractioncentres和loyalty”。第二题说“组织一定把目光投向正在培育中的潜力股之外的地方”，即D段最后两句话所说的找寻新一代的潜力股。第三题和B段的最后一句话完好部是一个意思：怕培育潜力股的投入收不回成本。第四题说开发潜力股，经理们需要在企业内部获取专家支持。答案是D段的第一句话：企业的人力资源专家需要采纳行动。HRspecialists就是expert。第五题说企业此刻没有在指导策略的支持下鉴识潜力股。也就是说企业是依靠自己来发掘人材的。答案是A段的第一句：现行的研究满足不了需要，所以企业只好形成自己的一套系统。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,withtoday'sflatorganisations,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，侧重作为雇主名誉的企业可以吸引潜力股。答案是C段的这么一句：iftheircompaniesareknownasonesthatdeveloptheirpeople,theywillhaveagreaterappealtohigh-flyers。假如企业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），名誉很好，也就是侧重自己作为雇主的名誉。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等级制的企业3、poachvt.(侵入他人地界)偷猎(或打鱼),水煮，抄袭，挖角eg:Arivalfirmpoachedourbestcomputerprogrammers.我企业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有名的谚语：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育，即第六题的答案。6、retention保留，在文中指留住员工。是风险管理中常有的专业名词。这里分析的是第四辑真题TEST1阅读部分的PART4。立刻要考试了，争拿出分析的速度能快点。自然，不会以牺牲质量为代价。大家有什么疑问，可以提出来，早先甚至单独进行解答。祝大家都能获得好成绩。主要解答蓝色注明的空。Thesecretofsuccessinelectroniccommerceliesinplacinganewemphasisonawell-establishedarea.Thatareaiscustomerservice,whichisnowtheonlypointof(19)betweenabusinessandthebuyingpublic.Thereareanumberoffactorsinareal-worldshopthat(20)people'sperceptionsofabusiness:these(21)thelocationandtheappearanceofthepremises，thequalityandthepricingofthemerchandiseorservicesbehaviourofthestaff.However,ifacompanyistryingtomakeagoodimpressionwithonlinecustomers，mostofthesefactorsdonot(22)apart.Inthe(23)ofthesefactors,thewaycustomersare(24)whentheyhaveareasontocallhasafundamentaleffectonacompany'sabilitytoretainthemascustomers.Evenmorethanregulartelephoneorin-personcustomers,webcustomersareimpatient，easilyfrustratedandalwaysconsciousthattheyhaveotherthemfromdoingthatmeansmeetingthemontheirown(26)andprovidingthemwithwhattheywant.’andtThisnecessity,in(27)，meansthatcompaniesthatselloverthenetmustgetback-endfunctionsright.Imposing(28)requirementsoncustomerswillnotwork;abusinessthat(29)oncustomersemailingforassistanceinsteadofusingthephone,forexample,willloserepeatcustom.Ifthephoneisused,itmustbeanswered(30),andthestaffshouldlookforwaysofhelpingeventhemostawkwardcustomers(31),asismoreusual,tryingtofindsome(32)toblamethecustomerforanyproblem.Animportant，finalpointisthatitisvitalthatalladdresses，weblinksandphonenumbersworkproperlyand，however,showsthatitdoesnot.19、ArelationshipBassociationC.meetingDcontact20、AforceBdetermineCdecideDfix21、AencloseBconsistCincludeDcontain22、AgetBrunCplayDhave23、AabsenceBlackCneedDscarcity24、AcaredBtreatedCdealtDconsidered25、AdeliverBbringCmoveDtake26、ApoliciesBstandardsCtermsDconditions27、AturnBsequenceClineDorder28、AdenseBrigidCdeepDsolid29、AdemandsBinsistsCexpectsDinstructs30、ApunctuallyBpreciselyCpromptlyDpresently31、AapartfromBotherthanCexceptforDratherthan32、AcaseBexcuseCfaultDpurpose33、AdoBmakeCgoDcome我个人认为，完形填空这类题型属于BEC阅读里相对不简单掌握的。其余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，并且是商务英语里的固定用法。固定用法一时半会是无法累积的。要想做好BEC里的完形填空，一是要掌握必定的解题技巧（比方消除法和猜题），二是要培育商务英语的感觉。感觉的培育也有两种门路，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频频朗读。这篇名为《电子商务成功诀要》的文章主要分析了从事电子商务一定考虑的几个factor。重点考虑的是如何服务客户，不是在线的，而是电话。19题第一考的就是一个固定的商务英语用法。Pointofcontact,接触点。商业词典的解说：Personoradepartmentservingasthecoordinatororfocalpointofanactivityorprogram.英文WIKI的解说：Apointofcontact(POC,alsosinglepointofcontactorSPOC)istheidentificationof,andmeansofcommunicationwith,person(s)andorganizations(s)associatedwiththeresource(s).26题，onone'sownterms,依据某人自己的主张。联系此句上下文，是说电子商务的客户不好服侍，得依据他们的意思来供应他们想要的。所此后边的28题应当选择rigid，僵直的。意思是不可以把一些僵直的要求强加在客户的身上。27题，inturn相应的；insequence按序次，挨次；inline成向来线；inorder整齐，次序井然。31题，后边的asismoreusual是插入语，在这里完好可以忽视不计，联系整个句子的意思。是说员工应当想方法应付哪怕是最难应付的客户，而不是找借口去斥责客户。所以应选ratherthan（而不是）。apartfrom相当于exceptfor，除了外（都）,otherthan相当于except，除之外。32题，理解了上下文，应当选excuse。与fault相关的短语是findfaultwith33题，gowithoutsaying固定用法，不问可知的意思。人邮第四辑真题TEST1阅读部分PART5。0Regularmeetingswithclientsareimportanttoahealthycollaboration.They00maybesetupbytheclient,forexampletoreviewwiththeprogressofcurrent34projects,togivenewinstructionsthatmayhaveleadtoacontractvariation35ortodiscussanyconcerns.Theclientmeetingwhichcanalsobearranged36byyouoranothermemberofyourcompanytoattractfromnewbusiness,to37addressaproblemunlessthatneedstobesolvedortogiveanupdateorstatus38reportoncurrentbusinessventures.Yourpartisinthesemeetingswilldictate39thekindofinformationyouneedandhowyoushouldprepareforthem.Ifyou40willberespondingtoquestionsputbyyourclient,thematerialyoupresent41shoulddealinspecificallywiththerequestthatwasmade.Themeetingshouldnot42onlymoveofftheagendawithoutthepermissionofthepersonyouaremeeting.43Ifyouhavepreparedproperly,youshouldbeabletoanticipatebothquestionsand44torespondproperly.Ifyouareputonthespotandaskedfordetailsyoudonot45have,respondhonestly-donotspeakaboutmattersasyouarenotfamiliarwith.一般短文改错常出现的错误有短语搭配、语法，还有依据上下文含义选出不适合的词。所以想做好改错，要有必定的语言基础，还得从整体上掌握整篇文章。34题，假如这里有have，那么后边的lead应用分词形式led（mayhavedone），并且考虑这里的时态，其实不是已经完成，而是表示可能以致的结果。所以去掉have。35题，这里的which一定去掉，假如不去的话，这个句子就缺乏谓语动词。36题，attract是及物动词，后边不需要from。37题，依据前后文的意思，unless是剩余的。38题，“yourpart...这个”句子里有两个谓语动词，一定去掉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，但是从后边的意思看，每一个人一定依据自己的角色来做准备工作，所以how一定保留。41题，dealwith是固定短语，in是剩余的。42题，从整个句子的意思和语法上看，only都是剩余的。43题，假如both要保留，and后边的内容就一定与questions并列，可这里and后边的内容是与前方的toanticipate并列，所以both去掉。45题，后边的youarenotfamiliarwith是修饰matters的，as在这里很剩余。人邮第四辑真题TEST2READINGRART1LookatthestatementsbelowandtheadvicetobusinessesontheoppositepageaboutusingothercompaniestoruntheirITservices.1、theneedtoteachskillstoemployeesworkingontheoutsourcedprocess2、rememberingtheinitialreasonforsettinguptheoutsourcedproject3、theneedtodrawupagreementsthatsetouthowintegrationistobeachieved4、addressingtheissueofstaffwhoworkontheoutsourcedprocessbeingatadistantsite5、theimportanceofmakingsomeoneresponsiblefortheintegrationprocess6、staffontheoutsourcedprojectfamiliarisingthemselveswithvariousdetailsofthebusiness7、problemsbeingassociatedwithanalternativetooutsourcingWhenabusinessdecidestooutsourceitsITservices,itneedstoconsiderthequestionofintegration.Fourexpertsgivetheirviews.A.GianlucaTramcere,SilicaSystemsAnoutsourcedITserviceisneverafullyindependententity.Itistiedtothehomecompany'spreviousandcontinuingsystemsofworking.Butdespitetheaddedresponsibilityofmanagingnewwaysofworking,manybusinessesignoretheintegrationprocess.Theyfailtoestablishcontractsthatdefinethewaysinwhichthetwocompanieswillworkalongsideoneanother,andfocussolelyonthetechnologicalaspectsofservicedelivery.B.KevinRayner,DomolaBusinessesneedtobuildintegrationcompetencycentresdedicatedtomanagingtheintegrationeffort.Itiscriticaltohaveanindividualinchargetocheckthattheexternalandinternalbusinessoperationsworktogether.Althoughcompaniesoftenthinkofoutsourcingasawayofgettingridofpeopleandassets,theyneedtorememberthat,atthesametime,outsourcinginvolvesgainingpeople.Becausethereisanewoperationbeingcarriedoutinadifferentwayoutsideofthehomebusiness,thiscreatesatrainingelement.C.ClaytonLocke,DigitalSolutionsCommunicationisthekeytosuccess,andoutsourcingtootherregionsorcountriescanleadtoarangeofproblems.Foranysuchinitiative,itisnecessarytocreateateamwherethereisgood,opencommunicationandaclearunderstandingofobjectivesandincentives.Bringingpeopletothehomelocationfromtheoutsourcedcentreisnecessary,sinceitcanaidunderstandingofthecomplexitiesoftheexistingsystem.Tointegrateefficiently,outsourcingpersonnelhavetotalktothehomecompany'sexecutivesanduserstounderstandtheirexperiences.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段的专家重申建立合同的重要性，B段专家认为要派专人负责，C段专家讲外派人员和本企业之间要有一个互动，D段专家讲假如与外包商（outsourcer）构成联合企业的话可能带来的一系列问题。假如对文章有个大概、基本的认识，很多题目不用细看就可以得出结论。第一题的答案略微有些隐晦，在B段的最后一句。“Becausethereisanewoperationbeingcarriedoutinadifferentwayoutsideofthehomebusiness,thiscreatesatrainingelement.因为新的操”作是在本企业之外的地方以一种新的方式被履行，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是基根源理、根根源因的意思。第三题的答案在A段，特别明显的“establishcontracts。”第四段的答案是C段的最后一句话，outsourcingpersonnelhavetotalktothehomecompany'sexecutivesanduserstounderstandtheirexperiences.这里的talkto对应address，向....发言。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企业报告他们的经历。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“外派人员要熟习自己工作的不一样细节”，对应C段的“createateamwherethereisaclearunderstandingofobjectivesandincentives.打造一”个对目标和动机都有清楚理解的团队。第七题略微绕一点。题目里的“analternativetooutsourcing指的”是D段里的“createajoint-venturecompanywiththeoutsourcer，建”立一个联合企业。D段里的专家向来在重申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TEST2READINGPART2Readthearticlebelowaboutthechangingroleofhumanresourcesdepartments.ThebestpersonforthejobEmployeescanmakeabusinesssucceedorfail,sothepeoplewhochoosethemhaveavitalroletoplay.Employeesareacompany'snewideas,itspublicfaceanditsmainasset.Hiringtherightpeopleisthereforeasignificantfactorinacompany'ssuccess.(0)GIfthehumanresourcesdepartmentmakesmistakeswithhiring,keepinganddismissingstaff,abusinesscandisappearovernight.Manycompaniesnowrealisethatrecruitingthebestrecruitersisthekeytosuccess.SarahChoi,HeadofHRatEncopic,believesthatthinkingcommerciallyisakeyqualityinHR.EverydecisionanHRmanagermakesneedstoberelevanttoadvancingthebusiness.(8)...C.....That'snolongerthecase.HRmanagershavetothinkmorestrategicallythesedays.Theycontinuallyneedtothinkabouttheimpactoftheirdecisionsonthebottomline.(9).....F...Forexample,achiefexecutivewillexpecttheHRdepartmenttoadviseoneverythingfromtheheadcounttowhethertoproceedwithanacquisition.WhydopeoplegointoHRinthefirstplace?Choihasareadyanswer.Ithinkmostpeopleintheprofessionareattractedbyalong-termgoal.(10)....D......Nothinghappensinthecompanywhichisn'taffectedbyordoesn'timpactonitsemployees,sotheHRdepartmentisacrucialpartofanybusiness.Notalloperationalmanagersagree.AninformalsurveyofattitudestoHRdepartmentsthatwascarriedoutlastyearbyaleadingbusinessjournalreceivedcommentssuchas"Whatdotheyactuallycontribute?"(11).....A.....AsChoipointsout,salarieshaveneverbeenhigherand,inaddition,HRmanagersoftenreceivesubstantialannualbonuses.Despitethefinancialrewards,HRmanagersoftenfeelundervalued,andthisisamajorreasonformanyleavingtheirjobs.(12)...E......However,alackoftraininganddevelopmentisamoresignificantfactor.Thesedays,goodprofessionaldevelopmentopportunitiesareconsideredanessentialpartofanattractivepackage,Choiexplains.AButrisinglevelsofremunerationdemonstratethattheprofession'sgrowingimportanceiswidelyrecognised.BAtonetime,aprofessionalqualificationwasrequiredinordertoprogresstothetopofHR.COtherdepartmentsandseniorexecutivesusedtoseeHRmanagersashavingapurelyadministrativerole.DSinceit'soneofthefewareaswhereyoucanseethewholeoperation,itcanleadtoaninfluentialroleontheboard.EBeingseenassomeonewhojustticksoffotherpeople'sleaveandsickdaysdoesnothelpbuildasenseofloyalty.FTheythereforeneedtobecompetentinmanyaspectsofacompany'soperations.GOntheotherhand,recruitingthewrongstaffcanleadtodisaster.这篇文章的标题有些misleading，“Thebestpeopleforthejob，还”认为是招人的。其实这篇文章是关于Humanresource的，所以还是要适合关注文章前的说明：thearticlebelowaboutthechangingroleofhumanresourcesdepartments.第八题，空格后边的“That'snolongerthecase”是很重要的提示。因为空格前方向来在重申business，所以在空缺的地方应当是和另一个方面相关的内容。选项C的administrativerolecommercial正好满足这个要求。和前后文意思搭配在一起完好吻合。第九题，后边的forexample的很重点，是对前方的增补说明。“Forexample,achiefexecutivewillexpecttheHRdepartmenttoadviseoneverythingfromtheheadcounttowhethertoproceedwithanacquisition.总裁希望人”力资源经理对全部事情提出建议，从人数统计到能否进行收买。这类要求就需要人力资源经理具备很多才能。所以F的句子填在这里最适合。第十题，答案略微不那么明显，但是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。要从整体上掌握第三段，这里认为HRmanager的影响是全局的、长远的，所以D句的“seethewholeoperation符”合状况。第十一题，理解前后文的意思，前方说过去的operationalmanagers不那么认同HRmanager的作用，后边指出HRmanagers挣得多，所以中间是转折的意思。A句的But是个信号，“上升的薪酬水平意味着这个职位逐渐增添的重要性获取了广泛的认同。”意思和前后都吻合，所以是正确答案。第十二题，空格前说HRmanagers感觉自己的作用被低估了，所以leaving。空格后一个However，所以空格处应当还是和leaving相关的，为何离职。E句的意思是“被视作不过对他人的走开和生病的日子划勾的人是无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.Thoseguysdidn'tunderstandtheproductorthesector,'saysHayden.Theheadsofdepartmentdidn'tcommunicateandtheydidn'tlead.'Butwhatwasworse,CriticalPathhadlostthegoodwillofitsinvestors.Haydenknewthatbringingthefiguresundercontrolwouldbeavitalstepinthecompany'sturnaround.'You'vegottosortoutthefinances.Forme,thatmeantgettingbackthegoodwilloftheinvestors.Thatwastough,afterwhathadhappened.Butalthoughtheywereangrywiththecompany,theydidn'thavebadfeelingsaboutme.ItoldthemthatIknewIcouldgetthecompanyonitsfeetagain.'Hewasauthorisedtomakewhateverchangeswererequired,andhisfirstactwastofindpeoplewithinthecompanyhecouldtrustandputthemincharge.ThenextthingHaydenhadtotacklewasmorale.'Everyonelefttheofficeatfiveonthedot-theycouldn'tgetawayquicklyenough.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.'I'mnotaturnaroundspecialist.Ipreferstart-ups.'13WhateventcoincidedwithCriticalPathbecomingapubliccompany?AHaydenbecametheExecutiveDirectorofCriticalPath.BInvestorshiredareplacementteamtorunCriticalPath.CCriticalPathlaunchedasuccessfulnewproductonthemarket.DCriticalPathwasfloatedontheStockExchangeat24centspershare.14WhichofthefollowingsituationsdidHaydenfaceatCriticalPathin2001?ATheemployeeswereworriedaboutjobsecurity.BTheinvestorswerecallingforchangestothecompanystructure.CThemanagementwasmisleadingthestaffaboutthecompany'sposition.DTheboardofdirectorsdidnotrealisethescaleofthecompany'sproblems.15OnereasonHaydenwasabletoturnCriticalPatharoundwasthatAhemanagedtofindnewinvestors.Bthefinancialsituationwasnotasbadashehadthought.Chehadbuiltupagoodrelationshipwiththemanagementteam.Dhewasgiventhesupportthatheneeded.16WhatwasHayden'spolicyregardingthestaffofCriticalPath?AHepaidovertimetoeverybodywhoworkedoutsideofficehours.BHereducedtheworkforcebyoperatinganearlyretirementscheme.CHegavekeystafftheopportunitytohelphimsetgoalsforthecompany.DHerestoredmotivationbyshowingwillingnesstoworkalongsidestaff.17AccordingtoHayden,whatcouldindicatethatabusinessisintrouble?Aproblemskeepingaccountsu