2. 外语
  3. • Look at the statements below and at the five extracts from an article about the relationship between strategic alliances and o

• Look at the statements below and at the five extracts from an article about the relationship between strategic alliances and o

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问题 • Look at the statements below and at the five extracts from an article about the relationship between strategic alliances and organizational learning.
• Which article (A, B, C, D or E) does each statement 1—8 refer to?
• For each statement 1—8, mark one letter (A, B, C, D or E) on your Answer Sheet.
• You will need to use some of these letters more than once.

A
   All too often, many firms proceed into an alliance relationship without sufficiently planning and/or negotiating the key parameters of the relationship. Defining the legal framework of the alliance is only the beginning of the kind of comprehensive planning that is needed to ensure a workable relationship. Successful alliance planning goes beyond the partners’ initial agreement on the choice of alliance vehicle (e. g. cross-licensing, technology development pact, joint venture, equity sharing).
B  
   Successful alliance planning not only includes the usual details of plant location, cost sharing, market share gains and other economic criteria, but also the approaches that facilitate creating new knowledge and other technological synergies. Senior management needs to communicate the alliance’s shared goals with all key middle managers and technical staff to discuss ways to develop a win-win relationship. Senior management also needs to convey the message that close cooperation could unintentionally expose and leak the firm’s core competencies in ways that could ultimately damage the firm’s long-term competitiveness. These same managers and technical staff need to know at the planning stage which technologies, competencies or proprietary processes should be protected from excessive demands from the partner.
C
   Managers often herald the consummation of an alliance agreement as the final outcome of intensive negotiations between the partners. For many types of strategic alliances (e. g. technology development pacts, joint ventures, consortia), however, the legal negotiations represent only the beginning of a long series of ongoing, continuous negotiations that actually take place once alliance operations commence. The finer details of the alliance’s framework entail continuous negotiations with the partner. Even after both parties agree to the broad (and immediate) goals and objectives of the relationship, smooth accommodation of managers and practices from different partners is directly related to how well managers can negotiate the uncertainties and the complexities of day-to-day activities that cannot be pre-specified in a legal document.
D
   Smooth implementation to facilitate learning requires all levels of management to work on developing "alliance protocols" that enable careful knowledge creation and sharing among the partners. In their simplest form, alliance protocols represent the communication channels by which the alliance’s managers and technical staffs share technologies, skills and managerial acumen. Jointly developing and agreeing to these protocols early on is important to maintaining a balanced relationship, whereby neither partner feels that their contributions or opportunities to learn from the other are neglected or undervalued. Protocols are instrumental in setting up the mental "parameters" that limit what partners can ask from one another in terms of what constitute proprietary vs.  non-proprietary technologies or processes. Protocols provide an "invisible fence" that defines the boundaries between cooperation and competition.
E
   Strategic alliances can help firms transform their core businesses and activities by helping management secure access to new technologies, insights and skills that other firms may possess. Alliances enable firms to jointly develop new products and processes, the costs of which are often beyond the financial and human resources of any firm. Strategic alliances can also help firms divest themselves of non-core business units or activities that are costly to retain. In non-core businesses, alliances can help reduce the cost of industry exit and corporate restructuring.
The extent to which an activity or business is considered core or non-core will play a significant role in how senior management will seek to use alliances in fostering learning.
选项
答案E
解析
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