Part I
Professor: OK, as we've talked about, a key aspect of running a successful business is knowing, um, getting a good sense of what the customer actually wants, and how they perceive your product. So with that in mind, I want to describe a very simple method of researching customer preference and it's becoming increasingly common. It's called MBWA, which stands for Managing by Wandering Around.
Now, MBWA, that's not the most technical sounding name you have ever heard, but it describes the process pretty accurately. Here's how it works.
MBWA，这应该不是你们听过的最有技术性的名称，但是它能非常准确地描述该过程。
1. perceive|pəˈsi:v|
verb. to understand or think of sb/sth in a particular way 将…理解为；将…视为；认为
E.g.: She did not perceive herself as disabled.
她没有把自己看成残疾人。
2. preference|ˈprefrəns|
noun. if you have a preference for something, you would like to have or do that thing rather than something else 喜好；偏好；偏爱
E.g.: Parents can express a preference for the school their child attends.
父母可以表达对自己孩子所上学校的偏好。
3. wander|ˈwɒndə(r)|
verb. if you wander in a place, you walk around there in a casual way, often without intending to go in any particular direction 漫步;闲逛;游荡
E.g.: When he got bored he wandered around the fair.
他烦了就去集市上逛逛。
Part II
Basically, um, the idea is that business owners or business managers just go out and actually talk to their customers and, uh, learn more about how well the business is serving their needs, and try to see what the customer experiences, ‘cause that's a great way to discover for yourself how your product is perceived, what its strengths and weaknesses are. You know, how you can improve it, that sort of thing.
You know Daltons? They make soup and canned vegetables and such. Well, the head of the company had Daltons' top executives walk around supermarkets, um, asking shoppers what they thought of Daltons' soups. And he used that data to make changes to the company's products. I mean, when Daltons, of all companies, embraces something as radical as MBWA, it really shows you how popular the theory has become. Yes, Lisa?
我的意思是，居然连Daltons这样的公司都接受了MBWA这样全新的东西，这确实说明了该理论已经变得有多么流行。
1. serve |sɜ:rv|
verb. to be useful to sb in achieving or satisfying sth 对…有用；能满足…的需要
E.g.: Most of their economic policies serve the interests of big business.
他们的经济政策多半符合大企业的利益。
2. canned|kænd|
adj. preserved in a can 罐装的；听装的
E.g.: They tend to buy cheap processed foods like canned chicken and macaroni.
他们往往会买便宜的加工食品，像鸡肉罐头和通心粉之类的。
3. have|hæv|
verb. to tell or arrange for sb to do sth for you 要（或安排）（某人）做（某事）
E.g.: He had the bouncers throw them out of the club.
他叫保安人员把他们轰出了俱乐部。
4. of all
used before a noun to say that sth is very surprising （用于名词前，表示某事着实令人吃惊）竟然，偏偏
E.g.: I'm surprised that you of all people should say that.
所有人当中你竟然那么说，真让我吃惊！
5. embrace|ɪmˈbreɪs|
verb. to accept an idea, a proposal, a set of beliefs, etc., especially when it is done with enthusiasm 欣然接受，乐意采纳（思想、建议等）；信奉（宗教、信仰等）
E.g.: He embraces the new information age.
他迎接新的信息时代的到来。
6. radical|ˈrædɪkl|
adj. new, different and likely to have a great effect 全新的；不同凡响的
E.g.: a radical solution to the problem
解决问题的全新的方法
Part III
Student A: But isn't it dangerous to base decisions from information from a small sample of people? Isn't large-scale market research safer, getting data on a lot of people?
Professor: That's a good question. And, uh, well, I don't want to pretend that MBWA is some sort of, uh, replacement for other methods of customer research. Now market research data definitely can give you a good idea of the big picture, but MBWA is really useful, it kind of filling in the blanks, you know, getting a good on the ground sense of how your products are used and how people need to respond to them.
And, yes, the numbers of opinions you get is small, so you do need to be careful. But, good business managers will tell you that the biggest fear they have and one of the most frequent problems they come across is, well, becoming out of touch with what their customers really want and need. You know, surveys and market research, stuff like that, they can only tell you so much about what the customers actually want in their day to day lives. Managing by wandering around, on the other hand, well, that gets you in there and gives you a good sense of what customers' need. So, when using combination, then, MBWA and market research, well, they are powerful tools.
你知道，关于客户在日常生活中真正想要的东西，那些调查和市场研究之类的东西，它们只能告诉你那么多。
1. large-scale
adj. involving many people or things, especially over a wide area 大规模的；大批的；大范围的
E.g.: the large-scale employment of women
对妇女大批的雇用
2. the big picture
everything that relates to or is involved in a situation or issue 整体情况；大局
E.g.: We need to look at the big picture before we can work out specific details.
在制定具体细节之前，我们需要先看大局。
3. fill in the blanks
a phrase used when one does not supply all the necessary information, instead relying on the listener to infer the missing details 没有提供所有必要的信息，而是靠听众来推断缺失的细节
E.g.: A: "What happened last night between Katie and Rob? I saw them leave the bar together." B: "What do you think happened? She went home with him—fill in the blanks!"
A：“昨晚Katie和Rob之间发生了什么？我看到他们一起离开了酒吧。”B：“你觉得发生了什么？她跟他一起回家了——自己体会！”
4. on the ground
in the place where sth is happening and among the people who are in the situation, especially a war 当场；在现场；
E.g.: There's a lot of support for the policy on the ground.
这一政策得到现场相关人员的普遍支持。
5. come across
to meet or find sb/sth by chance （偶然）遇见，碰见，发现
E.g.: She came across some old photographs in a drawer.
她在抽屉里偶然发现了一些旧照片。
6. get in there
used to encouragesomeone to do something toward some goal 采取积极行动（以实现目标）
E.g.: Now go on, get in there and try your best.
加油！尽力而为！
Part IV
Oh, here's another example for you. Uh, seniorexecutives for a clothing manufacture, it was, um, Elkin, Elkin jeans, you know? They went and worked in the store for a few days, selling Elkin's clothes. Now that gave them a very different idea about their product. They saw how people responded to it. They could go up to customers in the store and asked them questions about it. Uh, yes, Mike?
Student B: Well, I would think that a lot of customers would be bothered by, you know, if I'm shopping, I don't know if I want some business representative coming up to me and asking me questions. It's like when I get phone calls at home from market researchers. I just hang up on them.
Professor: Well, it's certainly true that, well, no one likes getting calls at home from market researchers or people like that. But I'll tell you something. Most customers have the exact opposite reaction when it comes to MBWA. Now, don't ask me why because I really have no idea. But the fact is, that customers tend to respond really well to MBWA, which is the key reason for its success.
大多数客户对MBWA的反应完全相反。
1. senior|ˈsi:niə(r)|
adj. high in rank or status; higher in rank or status than others 级别（或地位）高的
E.g.: I have ten years' experience at senior management level.
我有十年的高层管理经验。
2. executive|ɪgˈzekjətɪv|
noun. a person who has an important job as a manager of a company or an organization （公司或机构的）经理，主管领导，管理人员
E.g.: a chief/senior/top executive in a computer firm
一家计算机公司的总裁 / 资深主管 / 高层主管
3. hang up on sb
to end a telephone call by suddenly and unexpectedly putting the telephone down 突然挂断某人的电话
E.g.: Don't hang up on me─we must talk!
别挂断电话，我们一定得谈谈！
Part V
In fact, the techniques of MBWA work so well. They've actually been extended to all kinds of different contexts like politics, for instance. Uh, a few years back, the mayor of Baltimore, uh, I think his name was Shaffer, or something like that. Anyway, he decided that the best way to serve the people of the city, of his city, was to actually get out there in it and experience the things that they experienced.
So, he'd ride around the city and, well, you know, in all parts of it, and he'd see all the potholes. He'd see how the trash was sometimes, uh, not picked up off the side of the street. And then he'd go back to his office and he'd write these memos, now, they were memos to his staff about the problems he'd seen and how they needed to be fixed. You know, that sort of thing.
But, the thing is, he got all these information just by going around and seeing the different Baltimore neighborhoods and talking to the people in them. Now, he called this smart politics; we'd call it MBWA, or just playing good customer service.
他觉得想要为这座城市的人民服务，想要为他的城市服务，最好的方式就是真正走出去，去人民中间体验人民所经历的事情。
1. extend |ɪkˈstend|
verb. to make a business, an idea, an influence, etc. cover more areas or operate in more places 扩大…的范围（或影响）
E.g.: The company plans to extend its operations into Europe.
公司打算将业务扩展到欧洲。
2. context |ˈkɒntekst|
noun. the situation in which sth happens and that helps you to understand it （事情发生的）背景，环境，来龙去脉
E.g.: We are doing this work in the context of reforms in the economic, social and cultural spheres.
我们是在对经济、社会、文化诸领域进行改革的背景下从事这项工作的。
3. mayor 市长, governor 省长, minister 部长, prime minister 首相, president 总统, chairman 主席
4. pothole |ˈpɑ:thoʊl|
noun. a large rough hole in the surface of a road that is formed by traffic and bad weather （路面的）坑洼
5. memo|ˈmeməʊ|
noun. an official note from one person to another in the same organization 备忘录
E.g.: I want this memo to go to all departmental managers.
这份备忘录要送交各部门的经理。
6. the thing is
used to introduce an important fact, reason or explanation 事实是；主要原因是
E.g.: I'm sorry my assignment isn't finished. The thing is, I've had a lot of other work this week.
对不起，我的任务没完成。主要原因是我这星期有许多其他工作要做。
7. neighborhood |ˈneɪbəhʊd|
noun. a district or an area of a town; the people who live there 街区；城区；（统称）某街区（或城区）的居民
E.g.: He shouted so loudly that the whole neighbourhood could hear him.
他叫得那么大声，整条街的人都能听到。
