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  3. Read the following article about creative teams and management and the questions on the opposite page. For each question(13-18),

Read the following article about creative teams and management and the questions on the opposite page. For each question(13-18),

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问题 Read the following article about creative teams and management and the questions on the opposite page.
For each question(13-18), mark one letter(A, B, C or D)on your Answer Sheet.
                    Creative Teams and Management
When Colgate launched its then revolutionary Colgate Gum Protection toothpaste in 1990, company executives were confident they had a hit on their hands. The toothpaste incorporated a groundbreaking antibacterial technology they thought was the biggest innovation since fluoride. But in the months after the toothpaste’s six-country rollout, the product’s market share reached a meager 1%)— one-fifth of the company’s projections.
What went wrong? A new round of market research found that the original launch strategy muted the "breakthrough" message; the ads positioned the new toothpaste as a line extension instead of a revolutionary advance, and the public just didn’t buy the product’s broad claims. Up to this point, Colgate’s president, Bill Shanahan, had attended only quarterly review meetings; now he rolled up his sleeves to rescue the product, establishing a worldwide marketing team and meeting regularly with global business vice president Kathleen Thornhill and CEO Reuben Mark to follow the team’s progress.
Shanahan and others at the very top sifted through the research and took part in the advertising development meetings, working elbow to elbow with the marketing team renamed Colgate Total, and promoted with a retooled ad campaign that stressed the toothpaste’s 12-hour protection, the product was a hit in most of the 103 counties outside the United States.
Shanahan continued to lavish personal attention on the product, putting Colgate Total under the direct supervision of Jack Haber, the worldwide director of consumer oral care products, and committing $ 35 million and a team of 200 employees to the project. With that kind of senior-level backing, Harber pulled out the stops, spending $20 million to promote Colgate Total to U. S. dentists alone. Within two months of its domestic launch in 1997, the product captured 10. 5% of the U. S. toothpaste market and within six months muscled perennial champ, Procter & Gamble’s Crest, out of first place. Colgate Total has remained number one ever since.
What transforms a good product idea like Colgate Total into a blockbuster? We spent ten years studying more than 700 new product development teams and interviewed over 400 project leaders, team members, senior executives, and CEOs intimately involved in product development and launch. Of the hundreds of teams we studied, just 7% of them — 49 in all — created products that scored a perfect ten on our measure of blockbuster success. To achieve that score, products had to reach or exceed company goals, customer expectations, profit and sales targets, garner company and industry awards, and attract national attention.
Products don’t become blockbusters without the intense , personal involvement of senior management usually a CEO or division head. In every case studied, top management played an intimate, active, often daily role. This approach has been out of favor for decades, creative teams, as the thinking goes, should be empowered by management and then left alone. Too much attention stifles innovation. To that we say " Baloney". Our work shows that, in the best case, management involvement should start on day one. Ideally, senior managers work closely with product team to establish must-have features and then help clear a path for the team. Top managers control resources, rules and cut through red tape. And, crucially, senior managers serve as cheerleaders and visionaries, broadcasting a message of organizational commitment that attracts buy-in at all levels of the company.
According to the writer, the approach that has not been popular for a long time is
选项 A、the management should show their consistent concern about innovation.
B、teams should subject to the power of the management.
C、top management needn’t take part in the research and marketing activities.
D、team members have the absolute right to do what they want to do.
答案C
解析 从文中第六段：“This approach has beenout of favor for decades，creative teams，as thethinking goes， should be empowered bymanagement and then left alone．”可知，这种方式在近十年不再受欢迎，创作团队由管理层授权，独立运作，可推测出高层不参与研发和市场推广活动已经很长时间不流行了。选项C符合题意。
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