ECONOMICS REPORT - Hewlett-Packard Ousts 'Most Powerful Woma

ECONOMICS REPORT - Hewlett-Packard Ousts¹ 'Most Powerful Woman in Business'
By Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Friday, February 18, 2005

I'm Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Economics Report.

 
AP Photo
Women lead eight of the five hundred largest American companies. The number fell last week when the directors of Hewlett-Packard asked Carly Fiorina to resign. A day later, the Sara Lee Corporation named Brenda Barnes as its chief executive officer.

Carly Fiorina was the first chief executive chosen from outside Hewlett-Packard. She was brought in to make changes at the technology company. Fortune magazine named her "the most powerful woman in business."

Soon after she arrived at H-P, Miz Fiorina stated that "there is no glass ceiling." A lot of people thought she meant that women and minorities face no barriers to rising in companies. A research group, Catalyst², found that women held sixteen percent of top jobs at the largest American companies in two thousand two. Miz Fiorina said her point was that people who see possibilities do better over time than those who see limitations.

Many chief executives keep their jobs just three or four years. Miz Fiorina stayed almost six. Business advisers³ Booz Allen Hamilton found the world average to be around eight years.

Some people say Carly Fiorina received the same treatment that a man would have received. Critics said she kept too much power to herself. They said her actions harmed financial performance. H-P stock now sells for less than half its price when she arrived.

Miz Fiorina entered into the culture of a company started in a one-car garage in California in nineteen thirty-nine. In two thousand one she announced a deal to combine Hewlett-Packard with Compaq Computer.

Some shareholders⁴ resisted. Walter Hewlett, the son of one of the two men who started H-P, opposed the deal in court. But shareholders approved it in March of two thousand two.

Results have been mixed. Since the merger⁵ with Compaq, H-P has increased its share of the world computer market to almost sixteen percent. But Dell has grown faster. That company now holds almost twenty percent of the highly competitive market.

Still, H-P remains⁶ the leading maker⁷ of computer printers in the world. And it is now the eleventh largest company in the United States.

The ouster of Carly Fiorina means the largest one led by a woman will be Sara Lee. Sara Lee, best known for food products, is one hundred fourth on the Fortune Five Hundred list of top American companies.

This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by Mario Ritter. I'm Gwen Outen.

1 ousts   

驱逐( oust的第三人称单数 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

2 catalyst   

n.催化剂，造成变化的人或事

参考例句：

• A catalyst is a substance which speeds up a chemical reaction.催化剂是一种能加速化学反应的物质。
• The workers'demand for better conditions was a catalyst for social change.工人们要求改善工作条件促进了社会变革。

3 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

4 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

5 merger   

n.企业合并，并吞

参考例句：

• Acceptance of the offer is the first step to a merger.对这项提议的赞同是合并的第一步。
• Shareholders will be voting on the merger of the companies.股东们将投票表决公司合并问题。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。