A survey by management consultancy Hudson
has found that one in six senior executives think they could get rid of 20% of
employees without damaging performance or morale. Nearly half reckon firing up
to 5% a year would be a good thing. Even though only 4% actually carry out this
threat, it is still a revealing finding. This is what executives really think of
their 'most valued asset': something to be disposed of against a mechanical
target. In another survey, only 38%, of employees feel senior
managers treat them with respect. Around a quarter of employees rarely or never
look forward to going to work, and almost half are leaving or trying to. 'The
findings suggest many managers aren't doing enough to keep their staff
interested,' said Mike Emmott. The result: underperformance, low productivity
and high staff turnover. The last UK survey for Gallup's
Employee Engagement Index makes similar conclusions. In 2005 just 16% of UK
employees were 'positively engaged'—loyal and committed to the organisation.
Gallup puts the cost to the economy of active disengagement at ￡40 billion, as
employees express their disenchantment by going sick, not trying, leaving, or
threatening strikes. The culprit, says Gallup, is poor management. 'Workers say
they don't know what is expected of them and managers don't care about them as
people.' In a perverted way, then, employers are right when
they say there's something the matter with their workforce. It's just that they
are kidding themselves about where the blame lies. In any case, bottom-slicing
the 'worst' employees is likely to make things worse, not better. Yes, forced
ranking is a way of life at General Electric, and Microsoft does it too, but
there is no evidence that it is linked to their success and in most cases it
usually does more harm than good. Forced ranking rests on the
idea that the performance of the whole is the sum of those of the individual
parts. But the sports pages confirm that teams with the most talented
individuals don't always win. Of course, individual ability makes a difference.
Sometimes companies do have to get rid of people, particularly if they recruit
them incompetently. But forced ranking introduces fear and competition, and
while in (economic) theory these optimise individual performance, in
(management) practice they damage collective performance. This is the authentic
magic of management: getting outstanding performance from 'ordinary' resources
by multiplying individual and organisational talent.
填空题Read the text and underline the phrases in the text which
answer the following questions: According to the
survey almost 50% of managers believe that...
填空题
The results of the survey of employees show that...
填空题
What has cost the economy ￡40 billion?
填空题
The term 'bottom slicing' means...
填空题
The lesson we can learn from sport is that...
填空题
The effect of forced ranking on the workforce is...
填空题
The art of management is to...
单选题Choose the best option to answer the questions in exercise
7.
A. the workforce can be reduced by a bit each year.
B. 5% of the workforce is lazy.
C. 20% of the workforce can be fired.
D. targets are more important than jobs.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】
单选题
A. employees have no confidence in management.
B. employees don't respect their managers.
C. managers have failed to motivate their staff.
D. productivity is not a priority for companies.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】
单选题
A. Strikes and poor industrial relations.
B. People taking sick leave.
C. Management bonuses.
D. Employees not feeling committed to their jobs.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】
单选题
A. getting rid of the least effective employees.
B. cutting costs.
C. making the employees responsible for targets.
D. paying employees less when they underperform.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】
单选题
A. gifted individuals can make all the difference.
B. talented individuals are not always team players.
C. the best teams are not always made up of the best players.
D. talent is very subjective.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】
单选题
A. to make the recruitment process more efficient.
B. to help them work together as a team.
C. to improve their individual performance.
D. to make them afraid that someone else will take their job.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】
单选题
A. create a sense of magic.
B. get the best out of what you've got.
C. look after the most talented in the organisation.