商務(wù)英語(BEC)高級考試歷年真題(9)
1 Genuine feedback would release resources to be used elsewhere.
2 Managers are expected to enable their staff to work effectively.
3 Experts are unlikely to facilitate a move to genuine feedback.
4 There are benefits when methods of evaluating performance have been negotiated.
5 Appraisals tend to focus on the nature of the face-to-face relationship between employees and their line managers.
6 The idea that employees are responsible for what they do seems reasonable.
7 Despite experts’ assertion, management structures prevent genuine feedback
8 An increasing amount of effort is being dedicated to the appraisal process.
A
Performance appraisal is on the up and up. It used to represent the one time of year when getting on with the work was put on hold while enormous quantities of management hours were spent in the earnest ritual of rating and ranking performance. Now the practice is even more frequent. This of course makes it all the more important how appraisal is conducted. Human resources professionals claim that managers should strive for objectivity and thus for feedback rather than judgement. But the simple fact of the matter is that the nature of hierarchy distorts the concept of feedback because performance measure are conceived hierarchically. Unfortunately, all too many workers suffer from the injustices that this generates.
B
The notion behind performance appraisal- that workers should be held accountable for their performance-is plausible. However, the evidence suggests that the premise is wrong. Contrary to assumptions appraisal is not an effective means of performance improvement- it is judgement imposed rather than feedback, a judgement imposed by the hierarchy. Useful feedback , on the other hand, would be information that told both the manager and worker how well the work system functioned, and suggested ways to make it better.
C
Within the production system at the car manufacturer Toyota, there is nothing that is recognizable as performance appraisal. Every operation in the system has an associated measure. The measure has been worked out between the operators and their manager. In every case, the measure is related to the purpose of the work. That measure is the basis of feedback to the manager and worker alike. Toyota’s basic idea is expressed in the axiom “bad news first” . Both managers and workers are psychologically safe in the knowledge that it is the system- not the worker –that is the primary influence on performance. It is management’s responsibility to ensure that the workers operate in a system that facilitates their performance.
D
In many companies , performance appraisal springs from misguided as assumptions. To judge achievement, managers use date about each worker’s activity, not an evaluation of the process or system’s achievement of purpose. The result is that performance appraisal involves managers’ judgement overruling their staff’s, ignoring the true influences on performance. Thus the appraisal experience becomes a question of pleasing the boss, particularly in meetings, which is psychologically unsafe and socially driven, determining who is “in” and who is “ out”.
E
When judgement is replaced by feedback in the true sense, organizations will have a lot more time to devote to their customers and their business. No time will be wasted in appraisal . This requires a fundamental shift in the way we think about the organization of performance appraisals, which almost certainly will not be forthcoming from the human resources profession.
關(guān)于員工評估和反饋的文章。一個組織內(nèi)部的上下級溝通真的太重要了。
第一題，說真正的反饋可以釋放用在別處的資源。意思上真正的反饋可以讓人騰出精力。答案是E段的第一句：When judgement is replaced by feedback in the true sense, organizations will have a lot more time to devote to their customers and their business。這題的意思還算比較明顯，feedback in the true sense，就是genuine feedback，devote to their customers and the business,就是把資源釋放在別的地方。
第二題，說經(jīng)理們是被期望著使員工工作得更有效率。答案是C段的最后一句：It is management’s responsibility to ensure that the workers operate in a system that facilitates their performance.經(jīng)理們的責任，也就是managers are expected to，有利于他們的表現(xiàn)，就是enable their staff to work effectively。
第三題,說專家不大可能有利于真正反饋的進程。答案是E段的最后一句：which almost certainly will not be forthcoming from the human resources profession。人力資源專家，就是experts。需要理解下這里的forthcoming的含義：willing to divulge information. (人)愿意透露消息的。專家們不愿意透露消息，也就是不能指望專家來facilitate。
第四題，說商討評估表現(xiàn)的方法是有利的。答案是在C段，有點分散。前面說The measure has been worked out between the operators and their manager。這個措施是在操作者和經(jīng)理們之間擬定的。between the operators and managers，也就是評估表現(xiàn)的方法是被商討了的。后面介紹的情況都是這個measure有多么的好：is the basis of feedback。綜合起來，就是選項說的，商討是有好處的。
第五題，說評估傾向聚焦于員工和他們直屬經(jīng)理們之間面對面關(guān)系的性質(zhì)。這個選項可能會弄的人一頭霧水，首先得弄明白這里的面對面關(guān)系指的是什么。員工和直屬經(jīng)理的關(guān)系，就是上下級的關(guān)系，過分看重這個關(guān)系，那么在評估過程中就會有顧慮，誰還敢揭自己上司的短?所以這個句子的意思是說評估過程中有顧忌，無人敢說真話。答案是D段的這么一句：Thus the appraisal experience becomes a question of pleasing the boss。評估過程成了討好自己的老板，說的就是這個意思。
P.S：這是我個人對這道題的理解，大家有異議，可以提。
第六題，說員工對他們所作負責的想法聽起來很合理。答案是B段的第一句：The notion behind performance appraisal- that workers should be held accountable for their performance-is plausible。這里的accountable就是負有責任。Plausible是貌似真實的，也就是seems reasonable。
第七題，說雖然有專家們的主張，管理層的結(jié)構(gòu)阻止了真正的反饋。答案是A段的這么一句：the simple fact of the matter is that the nature of hierarchy distorts the concept of feedback。管理層的機構(gòu)，就是這句里提到的the nature of hierarchy，等級制的性質(zhì)。這個單詞在BEC閱讀里常出現(xiàn)。distort，扭曲，就是選項里的prevent。
第八題，說在評估過程中投入了更多的努力。答案是A段的這么一句，有點隱晦：Now the practice is even more frequent. This of course makes it all the more important how appraisal is conducted.這個句子是緊跟上文的，the practice指的就是appraisal。評估的更頻繁，評估是怎么進行的顯得更加重要。認為更加重要了(makes it all the more important)，就會投入更多努力了。綜合起來，這些的意思就是評估過程投入了更多的努力。不太容易看出來。
