商务英语(BEC)高级考试模拟题(6)
PART ONE
Questions 18
Look at the sentences below and at the fiveextracts from a book about staff appraisals and feedback on the opposite page.
Which new item （A， B， C ，D or E） dose each statement 1 8 refer to？
For each statement 18 ， make one letter（A， B， C ，D or E） on your AnswerSheet .
You will need to use some of these letters more than once.
1 Genuine feedback would release resources to be usedelsewhere.
2 Managers are expected to enable their staff to workeffectively.
3 Experts are unlikely to facilitate a move to genuinefeedback.
4 There are benefits when methods of evaluating performance havebeen negotiated.
5 Appraisals tend to focus on the nature of theface-to-face relationship between employees and their line managers.
6 Theidea that employees are responsible for what they do seems reasonable.
7Despite experts‘ assertion， management structures prevent genuinefeedback
8 An increasing amount of effort is being dedicated to theappraisal process. A
Performance appraisal is on the up and up. It used torepresent the one time of year when getting on with the work was put on holdwhile enormous quantities of management hours were spent in the earnest ritualof rating and ranking performance. Now the practice is even more frequent. Thisof course makes it all the more important how appraisal is conducted. Humanresources professionals claim that managers should strive for objectivity andthus for feedback rather than judgement. But the simple fact of the matter isthat the nature of hierarchy distorts the concept of feedback becauseperformance measure are conceived hierarchically. Unfortunately， all too manyworkers suffer from the injustices that this generates.
B
The notionbehind performance appraisal- that workers should be held accountable for theirperformance-is plausible. However， the evidence suggests that the premise iswrong. Contrary to assumptions appraisal is not an effective means ofperformance improvement- it is judgement imposed rather than feedback， ajudgement imposed by the hierarchy. Useful feedback ， on the other hand， wouldbe information that told both the manager and worker how well the work systemfunctioned， and suggested ways to make it better.
C
Within theproduction system at the car manufacturer Toyota， there is nothing that isrecognizable as performance appraisal. Every operation in the system has anassociated measure. The measure has been worked out between the operators andtheir 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‘sbasic idea is expressed in the axiom “bad news first” . Both managers andworkers are psychologically safe in the knowledge that it is the system- not theworker –that is the primary influence on performance. It is management’sresponsibility to ensure that the workers operate in a system that facilitatestheir performance.
D
In many companies ， performance appraisal springsfrom misguided as assumptions. To judge achievement， managers use date abouteach worker‘s activity， not an evaluation of the process or system’s achievementof 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 isreplaced by feedback in the true sense， organizations will have a lot more timeto devote to their customers and their business. No time will be wasted inappraisal . This requires a fundamental shift in the way we think about theorganization of performance appraisals， which almost certainly will not beforthcoming from the human resources profession.
PART TWO
Questions9–14
Read the text ， which describes the experience of a company that hasmade big changes in its office procedures
Choose the best sentence from theopposite page to fill each of the gaps.
For each gap 9– 14， mark one letter（A-H） on your Answer Sheet.
Do not use any letter more thanonce.
There is an example at the beginning.（0）
Beyondpaperworkht
The Danish electronics manufacturer， Oticon， is a leader in themove towards the paperless office， In their cafeteria a huge glass pipe runsfrom ceiling to floor. When the mail comes in， it is immediately scanned intothe computer， shredded， and thrown down the tube to the general cheers of theemployees. （0） Having all mail and memos available only as computer files to beread on the screen makes it easy to dispense with large physical storage spacesfor people who work at desks （9）
Changing over to the paperless officerequired a rapid increase in computer literacy， but rather than set up acorporate training programme they turned the problem over to employees. Eightmonths before the system was installed ， they offered each employee a powerfulpersonal computer for use at home in exchange for training themselves to use it.（10）
The big change was not the move from paper memos to computer messages.Oticon realised that the more radical transformation is from written to verbalcommunication.（11） that adds up to a large number of face-to-face exchanges， abig improvement over memos and the occasional multi-hour sit-down consultationtypical of the old culture. People do not send each other memos， they talk. Asthe CEO puts it， “ We have jumped through the memo wall and gone right toaction.”
On the eighth of August 1991 ， the company left their oldwood-panelled offices .（12） Since then they have cut in half the “ time tomarket” on new products. The following year， sales and profits grew more thanever before. （13） in fact， despite a downsizing of 15 per cent employeesatisfaction is hitting record highs.
Oticon has created an organizationalpattern that supports great freedom iof action for individuals and terms. Theyhave tied it together with a minimum hierarchy.
The first clear results toshow up were in the greater efficiencies generated by the fact that less timeneeded to be spent on management activities . （14） they also have someinvestment in the success of the project they choose. Oticon has succeeded inbreaking the mould mould and taking a lead in non-bureaucratic organizationaldesign.
Example ：
A This saving was possible because when peoplehave real choice in the nature of their jobs， they commit themselves to beingresponsible for their areas of choice.
B They were headed for a newbuilding and a new era in communication.
C Instead， they have large privateareas on their hard disks for their correspondence.
D In spite of this， thephysical office layout at Oticon is one of its most charming features.
E Over 90 per cent accepted ， and they organized a club to help one anotherlearn.
F To facilitate this， the on-site coffee bars have now become thevenue for about twenty meetings a day， averaging ten minutes and 2.7participants each.
G So， are people happy with the change“
H Onlyabout ten documents a day， items like legal contracts， escape this treatment.
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