Weregret______unabletoagreetothebuyer'srequestasstatedintheL/Cstipulationsforinsurancetobecovereduptotheinlandcity.
TroublewithTeamwork
MaryOwenexaminestheroleandefficiencyofteams
Recruiterssaythatcandidateswhocangiveexamplesofworktheyhavedoneasmembersofasuccessfulteamareinasstrongapositionasthosewhocanpointtosignificantindividualachievement.Indeed,toomuchofthelattermaysuggestthatthepersonconcernedisnota'teamplayer'-oneofthemoreseriousfailingsinthebookofmanagement.
Theimportanceofbeingateamplayerisasideeffectoftheincreasinginteractionacrossdepartmentsandfunctionaldivides.Insteadofpushingreports,paperworkanddecisionsaroundtheorganisation,'teamsprovideadynamicmeetingplacewhereideascanbesharedandexpertisemorecarefullytargetedatimportantbusinessissues,'saysSteveGardner,inhisbookKeyManagementConcepts.Headds,'Globalisationhasaddedafurtherdimensiontoteamwork.Multinationalteamsnowstudypolicydecisionsinthelightoftheirimpactonthelocalmarket.'
Butisteamworkingbeingoverdone?'Somemanagersareonasmanyassevenoreightdifferentteams',saysDrCathyBandy,apsychologistwhorecentlyranaconferenceonthesubject.'Theytakeupsomuchtimethatmanagerscan'tgetonwithcoretasks.'Formingteamsandhavingmeetingshas,shesays,becomeanendinitself,almostregardlessofpurpose.Thereisalsothedangerofanunhealthydesiretokeeptheteamgoingaftertheworkhasbeendone.'Peoplefeeltheneedtobelong,andteammembershipcanprovideakindofpsychologicalsupport.'
Theideabehindteamworkingisthat,whentherightgroupofpeopleisbroughttogether,a'force'developswhichisgreaterthanthesumoftheirindividualtalents.Thisisoftentrueinsport,wheregoodplayerscanreachunexpectedheightsasmembersofaninternationalteam.However,fewbusinesssituationshaveasclearasetofobjectives,orasclearcriteriaofsuccessorfailure,aswinningamatch.
'Inbusiness,everyoneneedstobeclearaboutwhatthechallengeisandwhetherateamistherightwayofapproachingit',saysSteveGardner.'Unfortunately,peoplefocusinsteadonwhothemembersoftheteamshouldbeandwhatrolestheyaretoplay'DrBandyagrees.'Thereisalwaysadangerthatteamscanturnintocommittees,'shesays.'Inalotofsituations,oneortwoindividualswouldbemuchmoreeffective.'
Sowhatmakesasuccessfulteam?Therearesomegeneralqualitiesthathavebeenidentified.SteveGardnerrecommendsthatineveryteamthereshouldbesomeonewhoisgoodatresearchingideasandanotherwhoisgoodatshootingdownimpracticalones.Thereshouldbethosewhocanresolvethetensionsthatnaturallyoccurinateamandotherswhoarefocusedongettingthejobdone.Also,providingaclearandachievabletargetattheoutsetisthebestwayofensuringthattheteamwillmoveontogreaterthings.
13、Whatpointdoesthewritermakeaboutteamworkingatthebeginningofthearticle?
AItisthemostsuccessfulformofmanagement.
BIthaschangedtherecruitmentprocedureincompanies.
CWell-runteamsstillallowindividualstodemonstratetheirtalents.
DBeingateamplayerisnowconsideredanessentialmanagementskill.
14、Accordingtothearticle,teamworkdevelopedwithincompaniesasaresponseto
Amodernofficedesign.
Bchangingworkpractices.
Careductioninadministrativetasks.
Dtheexpansionofinternationalbusiness.
15、Inthethirdparagraph,DrBandysuggeststhat
Amanyemployeesdonotenjoyworkinginteams.
Bsomemanagersarenotveryeffectiveteamleaders.
Csometeamsarecreatedunnecessarily.
Dfewteamsarewellorganised.
16、Accordingtothewriter,teamworkismoreeffectiveinthefieldofsportbecausetheplayers
Aknowwhattheywanttoachieve.
Baremorecompetitivebynature.
Chavemoreindividualtalent.
Dcanbedrivenbynationalpride.
17、SteveGardnerandDrBandyagreethatwhenabusinessteamiscreatedpeopledonotpayenoughattentionto
Athestructureoftheteam.
Balternativestotheteam.
Cselectingtheteammembers.
Ddirectingtheteam'sactivities.
18、WhatisSteveGardner'sadviceonoperatingasuccessfulteam?
AMaintainaflexibleapproachtomembership.
BAllowpersonalitiestodevelopwithintheteam.
CSelectpeoplewhofitnaturallyintocertainroles.
DMakeeveryefforttoavoidconflictbetweenmembers.
Asianeconomieswillcontinuetoexpandrapidlyinthenexttwoyearsonthebackofforeigninvestments,exportsanddomesticdemand,butwillnotbefreeofworries,accordingtoarecentsecuritiescompanyeconomicreport.Massiveinfrastructurespending,thebenefitsofpastinvestmentsandderegulationandgrowingregionaltradewillpushalongregionalgrowth.
ThereporttippedChina’sgrossdomesticproducttogrowby9.5percentin1996and10.5percentin1997,andHongKong’stogrowby4.3and5.0percent.Singapore’srealGDPwasforecasttogrowby7.6and7.4percent,Malaysia’sby8.6and8.1percent,Thailand’sby8.8and8.4percent,Indonesia’sby7.3and7.1percentandPhilippines’by5.6and5.8percent.
“However,allisnotrosy,”cautionedthereport,whichlistedoverheatingastheregion’sbiggestchallengeintheshorttermandskilled-laborshortagesinthelongrun.
Itcitedstrainsfromrapidgrowththathadbeguntostretchcurrentaccountdeficitsandspurinflationinsomeregionaleconomies,whichcouldpreventtheircentralbanksfromloweringinterestrates.
“Thisimpliesthateconomicvulnerabilitytounexpectedshockswillremainhigh,”thereportsaid,forecastingafurthertighteningofmonetarypolicyincountriessuchasthePhilippinesandMalaysia,andnosignificanteasinginThailand,IndonesiaandChina.
CrosbySecuritiesalsocitedmassivenewinvestmentprogramsgeneratedbydemandsoninfrastructuresuchaspower,telecommunicationsandtransportwhichhadfuelledover-heating.
ItsaidAsiawouldalsofaceabiggerchallengefromnewlyderegulatingeconomiesinEasternEuropewhichofferedlowercostsandbetter-educatedworkerstoforeigninvestors.
Asia’smainforeigninvestorsshould,however,continuetoexpandtheirpresenceintheregion,thesecuritieshousesaid,notingnewtrendsofintra-Asianinvestment.
Singaporeisshiftingitslowervalue-addeddiscdriveandelectronicsindustrytoMalaysia,whichinturnismovingsomeofitsgarment-makingandconsumerelectronicsmanufacturingtoIndonesiaandThailand.Thailand,MalaysiaandSingaporeareincreasinglyinvestinginVietNam,MyanmarandLaos.
“Asiawillbenefitfromthistrendinseveralways,”thereportsaid.
()1Asiaeconomywillcontinuetogrowbecauseof_____________.
A.foreigninvestmentB.demandsinAsiancountries.
C.exportD.alloftheabove
()2Inthenext2years,thehighesteconomicgrowthwillappearin____________.
A.SingaporeB.Thailand
C.HongKongD.China
()3Yearslater,theprobleminAsianeconomymaybe_________________.
A.toolittleinvestmentB.toomuchinvestment
C.notenoughqualifiedlaborsD.monetaryinstability
()4Accordingtothisreport,economicchangesinEastEuropeare___________.
A.harmfulB.challenging
C.helpfulD.useless
()5ThereportisabouttheprospectofAsianeconomy.
A.optimisticB.pessimistic
C.moreoptimisticthanpessimisticD.morepessimisticthanoptimistic