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A6 When accounting values for assets diverge from their underlying market values, some managements take
uneconomic actions to protect accounting performance measures.
answer: (c) diverge
A7 For example, during the U.S. savings and loan crisis in the 1980s, many institutions sold off assets with
market values above book and continued to hold assets with book values above market.
answer: (a) sold off
A8 In hindsight, users of their financial statements were not well served by the accounting system in place at the
time.
answer: (b) in place
A9 Fair value proponents argue that measuring financial assets as close as possible to their true underlying
economic values removes these perverse incentives.
answer: (b) proponents
A10 Users would also benefit from a clearer picture of the economic health of the enterprise.
answer: (b) health
© 2003 2006 www.english-test.net
134. advanced-83
Business English / Incomplete Sentences / Advanced level # 83 (Answer Keys)
Quality Control at Ford
A1 Writing of Ford's quality control problems, Tom Murphy of Ward's Auto World magazine mentions internal data
suggesting suppliers were more culpable than the auto maker as recalls and warranty claims seemed to be
spinning out of control.
answer: (d) spinning
A2 The Firestone tire debacle got the most attention, but in many respects it was merely a symptom of a much
broader ailment afflicting the No. 2 auto maker.
answer: (a) debacle
A3 A Ford executive contended that suppliers deserved a trip to the woodshed for a number of costly,
boneheaded mistakes.
answer: (d) woodshed
A4 By last fall, however, the tone had softened; instead of berating parts makers, Ford was openly conciliatory.
answer: (a) conciliatory
A5 Caught up in the industry-wide trend toward outsourcing, Ford may have relied too heavily on suppliers for
engineering.
answer: (b) outsourcing
A6 This demonstrates that OEMs run the risk of becoming subservient to the technical capabilities or
liabilities of their suppliers if they merely purchase, rather than engineer.
answer: (d) subservient
A7 To rectify the problem, Ford reclaimed some engineering responsibility.
answer: (c) rectify
A8 The ripple effect of the new philosophy will be felt for years to come by many of the 2,000 production suppliers
Ford taps for parts every day.
answer: (b) ripple
A9 Many suppliers are reserving judgment until the strategy is fully implemented over the next two years, but
most are cautiously optimistic.
answer: (c) optimistic
A10 It is humbling for the company that pioneered mass production of the automobile to admit nearly 100 years
later that it took its eye off the ball, that it sacrificed engineering prowess in what ironically was an attempt to
make itself more efficient.
answer: (b) off the ball
© 2003 2006 www.english-test.net
135. advanced-84
Business English / Incomplete Sentences / Advanced level # 84 (Answer Keys)
Product Development (1)
A1 This white paper by the American Productivity & Quality Center explains that the most successful new product
development teams are multifunctional, with representation from a core group of areas such as finance,
marketing, manufacturing, design, engineering, and research.
answer: (d) multifunctional
A2 An open communication environment enables team members to bounce ideas around the group, receive
feedback more quickly, and facilitate brainstorming sessions.
answer: (c) bounce
A3 Team membership is vital to the success of the group; empowering program managers to select those
individuals they determine to be of the greatest value is a critical step.
answer: (b) empowering
A4 In addition, teams are being given greater authority and held more accountable for the success or failure of
the project.
answer: (b) accountable
A5 The use of various team reward and recognition structures is mixed, with a trend toward more recognition as
opposed to monetary incentives.
answer: (c) incentives
A6 Several best-practice companies have specific companywide awards for work "above and beyond the call of
duty".
answer: (a) above and beyond
A7 In addition, the NPD process needs a "champion", who is tasked with monitoring and adjusting the process as
new experiences, good or bad, present themselves.
answer: (d) tasked
A8 The NPD process can be broken down into four general categories: idea generation, concept development,
product and process design, and production and delivery.
answer: (a) broken down
A9 One organization stores all ideas in a database and revisits them until they are deemed useless.
answer: (a) deemed
A10 Once viable ideas are chosen, they must be further developed, examined, and prioritized before the select few
concepts proceed to full design.
answer: (b) prioritized
© 2003 2006 www.english-test.net
136. advanced-85
Business English / Incomplete Sentences / Advanced level # 85 (Answer Keys)
Product Development (2)
A1 The American Productivity & Quality Center study identified specific sources that tend to be good idea
generators for new product development, including market research, focus groups, third-party/inventor input,
and brainstorming.
answer: (c) generators
A2 The concept development phase requires a more formal review and planning process that ensures the
concepts are technically feasible, will make a sustainable product, and will allow the organization to make a
profit.
answer: (d) sustainable
A3 At this point, an executive review generally approves the product for design and additional resource
allocation.
answer: (c) allocation
A4 The product and process design stage involves turning the concept into a tangible product design and
transforming that design into a working prototype or pilot.
answer: (c) a working
A5 Prototypes or pilots allow the designers to test and verify the ability of the product or service to perform as
originally expected.
answer: (d) verify
A6 At this stage, to change the original product specification, some form of approval is required.
answer: (d) specification
A7 This approval can range from upper management review to individual functional area review to team
consensus.
answer: (b) consensus
A8 Once the final design is finalized and approved, the product is launched into production.
answer: (c) launched
A9 A scale-up period normally is required before full production can begin.
answer: (c) scale
A10 A quality assurance group within each business unit is responsible for verifying that the product and each
manufacturing site meets the required criteria.
answer: (c) criteria
© 2003 2006 www.english-test.net
137. advanced-86
Business English / Incomplete Sentences / Advanced level # 86 (Answer Keys)
Auto Leasing
A1 LeaseGuide.com author Al Hearn explains that automobile leasing is based entirely on the concept that you
pay for the amount by which a vehicle's value depreciates during the time you're driving it.
answer: (a) concept
A2 Depreciation is the difference between a vehicle's original value and its value at lease-end (residual value),
and is the primary factor that determines the cost of leasing.
answer: (c) residual
A3 Generally, European and Japanese automobile makes have lower depreciation than American brands.
answer: (c) makes
A4 Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) is the full price for a vehicle as displayed on its window sticker,
including optional packages and destination charges.
answer: (d) Suggested
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