Forum newsfeeds
Forum Newsfeeds


Sites for Teachers

Sites for Teachers


Go Back   UsingEnglish.com ESL Forum > Learning English > Ask a Teacher

Notices

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1 (permalink)  
Old 03-Jan-2008, 07:32
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Country: A Wonderland
Posts: 255
Current Location: A Shell House
First Language: International
Member Type: Student or Learner
Thanks: 122
Thanked 8 Times in 8 Posts
Deepurple is on a distinguished road
Default Puzzling of words

I hit upon some sentences which are difficult for me to understand in the Economist's article "Mao and the art of management"
(Staying at the top | Mao and the art of management | Economist.com):

"But focusing on how the best produce the best has its limits. Most managers, after all, do not stitch an industrial triumph from a vast bankrupt junkyard, as Sloan did. They do not delight their customer, crush competitors and create vast wealth. They struggle. They stumble."

I would like to know what the underlined expressions mean. Thank you.
Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
  #2 (permalink)  
Old 03-Jan-2008, 08:03
amigos4's Avatar
VIP Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Country: USA
Posts: 11,837
Current Location: Tucson, Arizona
First Language: North American English
Member Type: Academic
Thanks: 847
Thanked 862 Times in 751 Posts
amigos4 is a splendid one to beholdamigos4 is a splendid one to beholdamigos4 is a splendid one to beholdamigos4 is a splendid one to beholdamigos4 is a splendid one to beholdamigos4 is a splendid one to beholdamigos4 is a splendid one to behold
Default Re: Puzzling of words

Quote:
Originally Posted by Deepurple View Post
I hit upon some sentences which are difficult for me to understand in the Economist's article "Mao and the art of management"
(Staying at the top | Mao and the art of management | Economist.com):

"But focusing on how the best produce the best has its limits. Most managers, after all, do not stitch an industrial triumph from a vast bankrupt junkyard, as Sloan did. They do not delight their customer, crush competitors and create vast wealth. They struggle. They stumble."

I would like to know what the underlined expressions mean. Thank you.
Hi, Deepurple!

Let me try to paraphrase the sentence for you.

'Most managers are not capable of creating successful corporations when they have as few resources as Alfred Sloan had at GM when he took control.'

At the time Sloan became chairman, GM had less than one-fifth of the U.S. auto market share while Ford had more than half. By 1931, GM achieved the almost unimaginable by surpassing Ford once and for all. Through Sloan's three decades of innovation, leadership and guidance, GM became the world's largest industrial corporation.

In essence, Sloan utilized three decades of innovation, leadership and guidance to 'stitch an industrial triumph' within a company that was a 'vast bankrupt junkyard'... a company that had less than a one-fifth share of the US auto market.

Does this help?

Cheers,
Amigos4
Reply With Quote
  #3 (permalink)  
Old 04-Jan-2008, 14:11
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Country: A Wonderland
Posts: 255
Current Location: A Shell House
First Language: International
Member Type: Student or Learner
Thanks: 122
Thanked 8 Times in 8 Posts
Deepurple is on a distinguished road
Default Re: Puzzling of words

Quote:
Originally Posted by amigos4 View Post
Hi, Deepurple!

Let me try to paraphrase the sentence for you.

'Most managers are not capable of creating successful corporations when they have as few resources as Alfred Sloan had at GM when he took control.'

At the time Sloan became chairman, GM had less than one-fifth of the U.S. auto market share while Ford had more than half. By 1931, GM achieved the almost unimaginable by surpassing Ford once and for all. Through Sloan's three decades of innovation, leadership and guidance, GM became the world's largest industrial corporation.

In essence, Sloan utilized three decades of innovation, leadership and guidance to 'stitch an industrial triumph' within a company that was a 'vast bankrupt junkyard'... a company that had less than a one-fifth share of the US auto market.

Does this help?

Cheers,
Amigos4
Thank you for your background knowledge. I've got it now.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Vocabulary huda23 Teaching English 2 04-Aug-2008 21:38
Active and Passive Vocabulary Harry Smith Text Analysis and Statistics 118 15-Jun-2007 03:28
Compound words with and without hyphen zaed_salah Ask a Teacher 1 12-Sep-2006 17:56
Alphabetizing Words ohiomanager Ask a Teacher 1 25-Feb-2006 11:26
Confusing Words or Confused Words Piak General Language Discussions 3 07-Jun-2003 22:10


New To Site? Need Help?

All times are GMT. The time now is 21:01.


vBulletin, Copyright ©2000 - 2008, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.2.0
Copyright © 2002 - 2008 UsingEnglish.com