MRKConsultingLtdhasbeenoperatingintheglobalmarketsince1988.WehavesuccessfullyplacedhundredsofIT&BankingprofessionalsinleadingcompaniesintheFinance,BankingandITindustries.

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.

Investingthousandsofpoundsintherecruitmentandtrainingofeachnewgraduaterecruitmaybejustthebeginning.Choosingthewrongcandidatemayleaveanorganisationpayingforyearstocome.

Fewcompanieswillhaveescapedallofthefollowingfailures:peoplewhopanicatthefirstsightofstress;thosewithlongimpressivequalificationswhoseemincapableoflearning;hypochondriacswhoseabsenteerecordbecomesastonishing;andtheunstablepersonlaterdiscoveredtobeathieforworse.

Lessdramatic,butjustasmuchaproblem,isthepersonwhosimplydoesnotcomeuptoexpectations,whodoesnotquitedeliver;whoneverbecomesahigh-flierorevenasteadyperformer;theemployeewithafinefuturebehindthem.

Thefirstpointtobearinmindattherecruitmentstageisthatpeopledon’tchange.Intelligencelevelsdeclinemodestly,butchangelittleovertheirworkinglife.Thesameistrueofabilities,suchaslearninglanguagesandhandlingnumbers.

Mostpeopleliketothinkthatpersonalitycanchange,particularlythemorenegativefeaturessuchasanxiety,lowesteem,impulsivenessoralackofemotionalwarmth.Butdatacollectedover50yearsgivesaclearmessage:stillstableafteralltheseyears.Extrovertsbecomeslightlylessextroverted;theacutelyshyappearalittlelessso,butthefundamentalsremainmuchthesame.Personalcrisescanaffectthewaywecopewiththings:wemighttakeupordropdrink,drugs,religionorrelaxationtechniques,whichcanbehaveprettydramaticeffects.Skillscanbeimproved,andnewonesintroduced,butatratherdifferentrates.Peoplecanbegroomedforajob.Justaspoliticiansarecarefullyrepackagedthroughdress,hairstyleandspeechspecialists,sopeoplecanbesentontrainingcourses,diplomasorexperimentalweekends.Butthereisacosttoallthiswhichmaybemorethanthepriceofthecourse.Bettertoselectforwhatyouactuallyseeratherthanattempttochangeit.

()1.Thepurposeofthispassageistogivemanagerstheadvicethat.

A.Employersshouldselectcandidatesfortheirpotential.

B.Employersshouldselectcandidatesforwhattheyareratherthanfortheirpotential.

C.Employersshouldselectthenewlygraduatedandsendthemontrainingcourses,diplomasorexperimentalweekends.

D.Employersshouldselectexperiencedcandidatestoavoidspendingthousandsofpoundsintraining.

()2.Accordingtothepassage,whichofthefollowingstatementsistrue?.

A.Absolutely,Peopledon’tchangeduringtheirworkinglives.

B.Generally,peoplechangetoalargeextentduringtheirworkinglives.

C.Fundamentally,peoplestaythesameduringtheirworkinglives.

D.Normally,peopledon’tchangeatallduringtheirworkinglives.

()3.Whatdoesafinefuturebehindthem(line3ofparagraph3)means?.

A.Somepeoplewillcertainlyhaveapromisingfuturethoughtheyarenotverycompetentintheirpresentwork.

B.Somepeopledon’thaveanypotentialfortheirworkthoughtheyareemployed.

C.Somepeoplecanhaveabrightfuturethoughtheycan’tdotheirworkwell.

D.Somepeoplehavepotentialwhentheyareemployed,butneverrealizethatpotential.

()4.Accordingtothepassage,people’sbasicabilitieslikelanguagelearningandnumeracy.

A.changelittleovertheirworkinglife.

B.neverchangeovertheirworkinglife.

C.changefundamentallyovertheirworkinglife.

D.changeprofoundlyovertheirworkinglife.

()5.Theworddeliver(line2ofparagraph3)means.

A.totakegoodstotheplacesorpeopletheyareaddressedto

B.togiveaspeech

C.todowhatyoupromisedtodo

D.tohelpawomantogivebirthtoababy.

SectionB

Directions:Therearetenblanksinthefollowingletter.YouarerequiredtochoosethebestonefromthegivenfourchoicesmarkedA,B,C,andD.Thenwritedownthecorrectanswerinthebrackets.Thissectiontotals10points,onepointforeachblank.

DearMr.Bush

Thankyouforyour1ofJanuary5forourBeautyBrandBlouses.

Wearenowexporting2ofvariousbrands,amongwhichBeautyBrandisthemostfamous.Theyareingreat3abroadandourstocksarerunning4quickly.Theyarepopularnotonlyfortheirnoveldesign,butalsoforthereasonableprices.Weareconfidentthatonceyouhavetriedourblouses,youwillplacerepeatorderswithus5largequantities.

Asyourequested,wearenow6asfollows:

Price:US$600perdozenCIFNewYork

TermsofPayment:BysightL/Ctobeopenedthroughabanktobe7bytheSellers.

Shipment:InMarch2007.

Pleasenotethatwedonotallowanycommission8ourblouses,butadiscountof5%maybe9ifthequantityismorethan1,000dozen.

Theaboveofferismadewithout10andissubjecttoourfinalconfirmation.

Wehopethatyouwillplaceanorderwithusatanearlydate.

Sincerelyyours

()1.A.requestB.enquiryC.acquisitionD.requirement

()2.A.blousesB.womanblousesC.womanshirtsD.ladyshirts

()3.A.needB.wantC.requireD.demand

()4.A.upB.offC.downD.away

()5.A.atB.forC.inD.with

()6.A.orderingB.offeringC.placingD.advising

()7.A.agreedB.approvedC.acceptableD.covered

()8.A.onB.inC.ofD.at

()9.A.providedB.suppliedC.furnishedD.granted

()10.A.promiseB.dutyC.engagementD.onus

Afriendofminewasfondofdrawinghorse.Hedrewthehorsesverywell,buthealwaysbeganthetail.NowitistheWesternruletobeginattheheadofthehorse,thatiswhyIwassurprised.Itstruckmethatitcouldnotreallymakeanydifferencewhethertheartistbeginsattheheadorthetailorthebelly(肚子)orthefootofthehorse,ifhereallyknowshisbusiness.Andmostgreatartistswhoreallyknowtheirbusinessdonotfollowotherpeople’srule.Theymaketheirownrules.Everyoneofthemdoeshisworkinawaypeculiar(奇特的)tohimself;andthepeculiaritymeansonlythathefindsitmoreeasytoworkinthatway.

Nowtheverysamethingistruetoliterature(文学).Andthequestion,"HowshallIbegin?"onlymeansthatyouwanttobeginattheheadinsteadofbeginningatthetailorsomewhereelse.Thatis,youarenotyetexperienced(有经验的)enoughtotrusttoyourownpowers.Whenyoubecomemoreexperiencedyouwill

neveraskthequestion,andIthinkthatyouwilloftenbeginatthetail--thatistosay,youwillwritetheendofthestorybeforeyouhaveeventhoughtofthebeginning.

1.Afriendofthewriter’sdrewthehorses____.

A.verywell

B.inthewayofwesternrule

C.inthewayofhisownrule

D.alloftheabove

2.Thewriterwassurprisedbecause____.

A.theartistbegantodrawattheheadofthehorse

B.theartistbegantodrawatthetailofthehorse

C.theartistmadehisownrule

D.theartistdidnotfollowotherpeople’srule

3.Youarenotyetexperiencedbecause____.

A.youdon’tknowwheretobegin

B.youwanttobeginattheheadinsteadofbeginningatthetail

C.youalwaysaskedquestion

D.youdonottrusttoyourownpowers

4.Whenyoubecomemoreexperiencedyouwill____.

A.neveraskquestion

B.oftenbeginatthetail

C.shouldwritetheendofthestory

D.shouldthinkofthebeginning

5.Thetopicofthepassageis______.

A.Howtodrawahorse

B.Howtowriteastory

C.Howtomakeyourownrules

D.Trusttoyourownpowers