精选最地道的商务英语文章，并给出语言点，方便大家学习BEC商务英语，扩展商务知识提高BEC考试阅读能力。
许多企业发展到一定得程度，总会面临一些新的成长挑战，并且在应对的过程中不免走许多弯路。今天我们就来跟随作者Andrew Campbell去了解麦当劳曾经走过的弯路。
The story: By the late-1990s fast-food chainMcDonald’s had enjoyed 40 years of exceptionalperformance. In 1997, for example, the company had registered 10 years of 20 per cent per annumgrowth.
The challenge: That year, Jack Greenberg became the company’s fourth chief executive. His main concern was how to lead the business in less favourable market conditions. McDonald’s was facing concerns about fatty foods and about beef; competition was squeezing margins; and growth from international markets was slowing.
The strategy: Mr Greenberg did what the textbooks suggest. First, he focused on improving the core business, announcing it as his top priority. Then, he also set a second priority: to find a new platform for growth. With this audacious goal in mind, he supported five acquisitions of related restaurant businesses – including Chipotle, a Mexican food restaurant, and 50 per cent of Pret A Manger, the UK sandwich chain – and he set up the Partner Brands Division, to be responsible for these new businesses. Mr Greenberg also opened the door to a number of other, more organic initiativesled by his head of strategy, Mats Lederhausen.
What happened: Mr Greenberg found it difficult to dedicateenough attention to both priorities. The core business continued to deteriorateand in 2001 McDonald’s announced its first quarterly loss and the resignation of Mr Greenberg.
Jim Cantalupo, a retired McDonald’s executive, was asked to return as CEO. His first announcement was that McDonald’s had been trying to do too many things. He shut down many of the organic initiatives and housed all the new businesses into a structure called McDonald’s Ventures.
Mr Cantalupo instructed Mr Lederhausen to identify those businesses that could become significant for McDonald’s without distracting management from its core business and to sell or close the rest. The result was that over the course of the next few years, almost all of them were either sold or closed.
The lessons: First, this story is common. A company forecasts reduced growth in its core business, looks for new sources of revenue, launches initiatives, and makes acquisitions– only to find a few years later, that it is back where it started, having sold or closed its new ventures.
Second, the textbook advice – set a growth ambition, try a portfolio of related ventures and invest heavily in the few successes at the same time as attending to the core – does not always work, in spite of its continuing popularity.
So, what is the alternative? When the core business starts to mature, leaders should be patient rather than energetic. The main risk is that attention is distracted from the core. Therefore, avoid launching a portfolioof initiatives; don’t set targets for growth outside the core; and don’t set up a new business division or venturing unit.
Do scan opportunities, but with a tough screening process and the expectation that none will be suitable. Expect to use spare cash to buy back shares, until a really good opportunity comes along.
Above all, look for people rather than projects – successful new growth outside the core nearly always comes from individuals or teams who happen to have a rare combination of both grassrootsknowledge of a particular area and an understanding of how your company’s strengths can be used to succeed.
What happened next: The company’s leaders have stuck to and revived the core. In fact, as is often the case with a strong core, the hamburger business is growing again, partly because of the fast growth of emerging markets such as China.
McDonald’s is still looking for other opportunities – but in a patient way.
Oral topic:
Which is more important to a company’s success？tradition or reform？
Learning to learn:
文章最后一段点题，写出了德国面临的挑战也存在机遇。这种内涵，作者是通过两层转折成功实现的，学习这种写作手法，为以后高阶写作打好基础。
Language Points:
1. initiative 新计划，新措施 2. acquisition 收购
Exam Focus:
1 Which one is not one of Jack Greenberg’s concerns in 1997 when he became McDonald’s fourth executive?
A Profit was on a drop because of fierce competition
B Fatty foods and beef became less popular among people
C How to improve core business.
D Foreign markets offered less revenue
2 what is the author’s suggestion for a company whose core business starts to mature?
A do what the textbook suggests
B start a portfolio of new initiatives
C look for opportunities in a patient way and build up its strength by hiring
D seek growth through acquisitions
答案：C C
译文参考：
背景：截止上世纪90年代末，快餐连锁店麦当劳(McDonald’s)的非凡表现已经持续了40年。比如说，到1997年，该公司已连续10年维持着20%以上的年增长率。
挑战：那一年，杰克·格林伯格(Jack Greenberg)成为该公司第四任首席执行官。他首要考虑的是如何在市场状况恶化的形势下领导公司继续前进。当时麦当劳面临着以下问题：人们对高脂肪食品和牛肉心存顾虑；激烈的竞争正挤压着利润率；来自国际市场的增长正在放缓。
策略：格林伯格完全依照教科书行事。首先，他着力改善核心业务，宣称这是自己的第一要务。其次，他确定了第二项优先事项，即寻找新的增长平台。怀着这样的雄心，格林伯格支持实施5起收购，将一些相关餐饮企业收入麾下，其中包括一家墨西哥餐厅Chipotle，以及英国三明治连锁店Pret A Manger 50%的股权。同时，他成立了伙伴品牌部门(Partner Brands Division)部门，负责管理这些新业务。格林伯格还同意了主管战略的马茨·利德豪森(Mats Lederhausen)提出的许多更具内生性的举措。
结果：格林伯格发现难以兼顾两个优先事项。核心业务每况愈下，到了2001年，麦当劳首次出现季度亏损，格林伯格本人辞职。
麦当劳请当时已经退休的原高管吉姆·坎塔卢波(Jim Cantalupo)重新出山，出任首席执行官。坎塔卢波上任后马上宣布，麦当劳一直以来手头的事情太多。他叫停了许多内生性措施，并把所有新业务合并在一起，称之为McDonald’s Ventures。
坎塔卢波指示利德豪森，从这些业务中挑选出一些未来可能变得较为重要、但不至于让管理层分心的业务，并将其余业务转手出售或关闭。结果，短短几年内，几乎所有这些业务不是被卖掉，就是关业大吉。
教训：首先，这个案例具有普遍性。一家公司预计其核心业务增长将会放缓，于是着手寻找新的收入来源，推出各项举措，并进行收购——而数年后却只能回到起点，把所有新业务卖掉或关停。
其次，教科书上的建议——制定远大发展蓝图，尝试开展一系列相关业务，在致力于核心业务的同时，遇有好时机就大举投资——尽管一直备受推崇，却并非总是行之有效。
那么又该怎么做呢？当核心业务开始成熟时，领导人应当保持耐心，不可“勇猛直前”。这样做最大的风险是可能分散对核心业务的注意力。所以，这时要避免采取一系列动作；不要制定核心业务以外的增长目标，也不要设立新业务部门或者开拓新业务。
要留心机会，但一定要细加筛查，抱着不会有什么合适的机会的心态。想着有富余资金就回购股票，除非出现真正的良机。
最重要的是，应该物色的是人而非项目——一般来说，能够从非核心业务获得新的增长，往往是因为负责新业务的个人或团队难得地兼具以下两大优点：既切实了解某个特定领域，也明白如何利用公司的有利条件获取成功。
后续：麦当劳的管理层全心投入，终于重振核心业务。部分得益于中国等新兴市场的迅速增长，该公司汉堡业务重新恢复增长。就核心业务极其强大的案例来说，这其实是十分寻常的。
麦当劳依然在寻找其它机会——但很有耐心。
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