Thinking for a Living: How to Get
Better Performance and Results from
Knowledge Workers. By Thomas H.Davenport
Harvard Business School Press
The Economist, 2005
Notes
1. knowledge worker –высококвалифицированный и образованный рабочий; рабочий, владеющий обширными знаниями
2. to perform specific tasks –выполнять те или иные виды работ
3. to measure labour productivity –оценивать производительность труда
4. to leave these valuable assets…to their own devices –предоставить самим рабочим искать пути совершенствования такого ценного достояния компании, как производительность
5. the sort of jobs…no longer enjoy such a premium –те виды работ уже не имеют первостепенной важности
6. blobbed “recommendations” –не очень четкие или ясные “рекомендации”
Vocabulary
To be employed in service industries – быть занятым в сфере услуг
to manipulate knowledge and information –умело обращаться с информацией и знаниями
to create wealth – создавать материальные ценности, национальное богатство
an economic issue – экономическая проблема; to address a pressing issue – заняться решением насущной проблемы
expertise– специальные знания, компетенция, эрудиция (в какой-либо области)
to make the process more productive – повысить эффективность процесса
to gather and disseminate information – собирать и распространять информацию
Useful phrases to memorize
a pressing issue –насущная проблема; проблема, требующая скорейшего решения
to seek ways to improve something – искать путей совершенствования чего-либо
Exercises
- Find Russian equivalents to the following phrases:
to enjoy such a premium; they are paid for their brain rather than their brawn; these people are the creators of wealth; little has happened in the interveneing time; e-mail is a better medium; the best technologies that gather and disseminate information; toaddress the pressing issue.
- Fill in the blanks with the underlined words from Exercise 1 and translate them intoRussian:
1. I realized what a hard time Mother must have had because she didn’t _____ a robust health.
2. Product is one way of measuring a country’s_____.
3. There is a negotiating process going on with unions over introducing new _____.
4. For those involved in politics, the press was to become a _____ for furthering political debate and education.
5. Mr Aquino hopes _____ some of the social and economic problems.
6. He felt that this _____piece of bad luck might affect his whole life.
7. They find it difficult to enjoy their _____.
8. The _____does not create the almost Utopian working conditions.
9. I foresee _____ difficulty in solving the matter.
10. There are several possible methods _____ business issues.
11. The whole thing is being blown up out of all proportions by the Western _____.
12. The shareholders _____an additional layer of protection.
13. In other words, creation of _____ must precede its distribution.
14. Kurdish regions will _____ increased autonomy.
15. Radio used to be collective evening news and entertainment _____.
16. They see the future as involving _____radical change.
17. Environmental issues must be _____ by all levels of management.
18. They need _____ two other kinds of questions.
19. These areas _____low-cost production.
20. He has _____ need of such display.
She is a Woman, Offer Her Less
A game sheds light on the pay gap
In the rarefied world of economic theory, wages are ultimately determined by the workers’ productivity. In the real world, of course, discrepancies are common – a notable one being the gap between men’s and women’s pay.
In an intriguing study in Economic Inquiry, Sara J.Solnick of the University of Vermont describes an experiment that may throw light on the reasons for this gender gap’s persistence. The experiment involves the so-called ultimatum game, in which one player is given some cash, say $10, which he must then offer to share with another player. The size of the one-time offer is decided by the first player. If the second player accepts, the money is divided. If he or she balks at the size of the offer and refuses, neither gets a dime.
Past studies using the game indicate that offers tend to be close to 50-50 – perhaps because players are motivated by considerations of fairness. Solnick’s twist was to add the element of gender. Using a mixed group of men and women students, she designed the experiment so that neither the players making offers nor those receiving them could see the other player. In half the games, however, each player was given the other player’s first name, which was obviously male or female.
The results were revealing. When the player’s sex was known, men and especially women made lower offers to women. And on the receiving end, both men and women insisted on a higher amount when they knew the offer came from a woman.
Applied to salary negotiations in the real world, the implications are clear. The results suggest that despite significant increases in women’s relative wages in recent decades, both sexes may still feel that women will accept lower pay than men and that women are more malleable in a bargaining situation.
Vocabulary
to shed light on –пролить свет на
to rarefy –создавать вакуум; rarefied –зд. оторванный от реального мира, находящийся в вакууме
to balk at smth – быть разочарованным чем-либо
a dime =10 cents
twist – зд. неожиданный, необычный (элемент игры)
revealing– говорящий сам за себя
the implications =the consequences
malleable –уступчивый
bargaining –выторговывание условий
Assignment
Retell the article using the vocabulary.