2017届北京市高考英语一轮复习综合练习：4 （含解析）_高考复习指南

2017届北京市高考英语一轮复习综合练习：4 （含解析）

　　At least I know I am not alone in these problems. James Womack and Daniel Jones in the Harvard Business Review ask: “Why does consumption—which should be easy and satisfying—require so much time and energy?”

　　The answer to all these problems, they say, is lean consumption（精益消费）. Their idea is an extension of lean production, as first practiced by Toyota. Workers who saw faults occurring could stop the assembly line (生产线)to ensure they were corrected and this solves the faults permanently. They argue that the same principles can be applied to solve consumers’ problems today.

　　How would it work? Take help lines, for example. At present, they try to solve problems after they have occurred. They do not do it very well, either. Help line workers are rewarded for their “efficiency”, in other words how many callers they deal with – which is why they are so eager to move on to the next one. Help lines should do more that help people with problems, the writers say. The help line staff should use the calls to identify common problems, which can then be solved – equal to the stopping of the Toyota line.

　　“This same concept can be applied to the process of consumption, ”the writers say. “For example, why can’t a single provider solve a customer’s problems by evaluating his specific needs and then determining the best equipment, software and services? The provider could then obtain, fix, take care of, upgrade and replace the required articles for a standard fee.”