Match the following words with their explanations. Distraught frighten sb
distraught frighten sb
underpin ability to invent
unnerve lacking interesting ideas
uninspiring unable to think clearly because of worry
highlight lay foundation
reward unable to speak
boast stress the importance of the idea
inconsistent speak about your achievements seeking admiration
mute unacceptable because of different approach
creativity acknowledge sb’s success by giving a prize
Work out the meaning of the following expressions.
to be up to sth
to walk a tightrope
to take comfort in
in the short term……in the long term
to set sb up
to win the spurs
to live up to sth
3. Explain the author’s idea.
a. ‘….We forget this at our pupils’ peril’.
b. ‘….this is their doing’.
Answer the following questions.
a. What were the reasons for young woman being distraught?
b. Why was the tutor adamant?
c. What tightrope must every teacher walk?
d. Can we take comfort in thinking this is an American problem?
e. What was the attitude to effort in the older schools and universities?
f. Why is this view no longer tenable?
g. What problems can arise if we start to praise even those efforts that do not result in achievement?
h. Why do teachers tend to praise effort rather than achievement?
i. What according to the author can a possible solution to the problem be?
j. What are the twin advantages of this solution?
k. Why isn’t there an easy answer?
For discussion
- Can we take comfort in the idea that this problem of no concern for our country?
- To what extent do you agree with the author’s viewpoint that teachers tend to be sympathetic with hard-working students, putting the importance of effort prior to real achievement?
- Can we really hold such teachers responsible for their students’ future disappointments in life? Probably the teacher who was adamant turned out to be more worried with his student’s future than the one giving higher grades out of sympathy?
- Do you support the author’s idea of introducing separate grades for effort and achievement?
■ 4.7 D. Work-force Study Finds Loyalty Is Weak, Divisions of Race and Gender are Deep
By Sue Shellenbarger
NEW YORK—A broad new survey of American workers depicts a work force that has little loyalty to employers and is deeply divided by race and gender.
The study, the most comprehensive look so far at employees' lives, also reflects broader-than-expected conflict between work and family life. It suggests that workers place high value on flexible scheduling, attention to personal needs and management recognition for work well done—and that they are willing to make tradeoffs, including changing jobs, to get them.
The privately funded National Study of the Changing Workforce by the Families and Work Institute, the first installment of a planned quadrennial survey of U.S. workers' attitudes about their work and personal lives, dwarfs similar efforts since a 1977 federally funded Quality of Employment Survey. The institute, a nonprofit New York research and consulting concern, held hour-long telephone interviews with a nationally representative sample of 2,958 wage and salaried workers on issues ranging from relationships with their bosses to household chores.
LESS LOYAL TO EMPLOYERS
The results paint a picture of American workers less loyal to employers than in the past. That isn't surprising: 42 % of those surveyed had been through downsizing, 28% had seen management cutbacks at their companies, and nearly 20% said they fear being fired.
The study was financed by 15 companies and foundations:Salt River Project, a Phoenix utility;Sears, Roebuck & Co.'s Allstate Insurance unit;American Express Co.;American Telephone & Telegraph Co.; Commonwealth Fund;Dupont Co.; General Mills Foundation; International Business Machines Corp.; John-son &Johnson; Levi Strauss & Co.;Merck & Co.,Mobil Corp.;Motorola Inc.; the Rockefeller Foundation; andXerox Corp.
The study challenges the notion that younger workers are better equipped to cope with a more diverse workplace. Instead, employees under 25 show no greater preference than older employees for working with people of other races, ages or ethnic groups. Just over half of surveyed workers of all ages said they prefer working with people of the same race, sex, gender and education.
Employees who had greater experience living or working with people of other races, ethnic groups and ages showed a stronger preference for diversity in the workplace. But few employees have such experience. The study shows that even workers under 25 had little contact in the neighborhoods where they grew up with people of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
"The workplace is the main social arena" for racial and ethnic interaction, the study says. "Perhaps even more than school, it is the front line in our nation's efforts" to assimilate diverse workers, "and it's unlikely we will succeed unless employers assume strong leadership."
The study also reflects widespread perceptions of racial and sexual discrimination in the workplace. Asked to rate their own chances for advancement against those of members of other racial and ethnic groups, employees of all kinds agreed that minority workers' chances were poorer than those of non-minority workers. (White men and white women rated minorities' chances of advancement higher than minority workers did.) Minority men and women and white women also rated white men's chances of advancement higher than white men did themselves.
Perceptions of discrimination take a heavy toll on job performance, the study suggests. More than one-fifth of minority workers reported that they had been discriminated against by their current employers. Those beliefs correlated with a higher tendency to feel "burned out," a reduced willingness to take initiative on the job and a greater likelihood of planning to change jobs, the study showed.
And despite a 20-year flood of women into the work force, women managers surveyed were more than twice as likely as men to rate their career-advancement opportunities as "poor" or "fair," with 39% choosing those labels, compared with 16% of men. In contrast, 84% of men rated their promotion chances "good" or "excellent," compared with 60% of women.
Women who said they saw little opportunity for career advancement also tended to be less loyal, less committed and less satisfied on the job, the survey showed.
EXPLODES GENDER STEREOTYPES
The study explodes some popular stereotypes about gender roles, however. Most workers surveyed didn't see much difference in the way men and women manage, for instance—though women managers were viewed as a little more sympathetic to family or personal problems. On other criteria, including keeping workers informed, offering recognition and support and being fair, men and women managers were rated the same.
"Despite myths to the contrary, there is no difference, as judged by workers, between men and women supervisors," says Chip U'Ren, associate general manager of Salt River Project, one of the sponsors of the study. The finding should help companies "find ways to ... break through the glass ceiling," he says.
The survey also disputes the notion that an emerging generation of 20-something males will help out their employed partners by doing more chores at home. Men under 25 aren't any more likely to help with cooking, cleaning, shopping or bill-paying than their older counterparts, the study shows. The only area in which younger men surpassed older men was in doing repairs around the house.
Not unexpectedly, surveyed employees expressed greater commitment to their jobs than to their employers. While 57% strongly agreed with the statement, "I always try to do my job well, no matter what it takes," only 28% strongly agreed that they were "willing to work harder than I have to help my [employer] succeed."
WORK ENVIRONMENT
But employees also said they placed high value on the quality of their work environment, suggesting that efforts to improve communication, reduce work-family conflict and create a more supportive environment might rekindle flagging loyalty. Surveyed employees who had changed jobs in the past five years, for instance, said they rated such workplace characteristics as open communications, management quality and impact on family life even higher than pay in choosing an employer.
Employees also assigned great importance to benefits they thought would help them achieve a better balance between job and personal life. About one-quarter of employees without flexible scheduling or the right to work at home said they would change jobs to gain those opportunities; 47% of those who lacked the right to time off to care for sick family members said they would take a cut in pay or benefits to get it.
Such nontraditional benefits also correlate with greater feelings of loyalty and commitment to helping the employer succeed, the study shows—though traditional benefits, such as health insurance, don't have the same impact.
JOB-FAMILY CONFLICTS
The survey reflects surprisingly broad conflict between workers' job and family responsibilities. Nearly half of those surveyed have responsibility for caring for dependents, whether elderly or disabled relatives or young children. And 87% reported having at least some day-to-day family responsibilities at home, suggesting that work-family policies such as flexible scheduling and dependent-care help "shouldn't be viewed as special assistance for a small group of workers, but as general assistance for virtually all employees," the study says.
The results "make you catch your breath," says Faith Wohl, director of human resource initiatives for DuPont, another sponsor of the study. The results suggest work-family programs should be broadened and integrated with quality-improvement efforts, she says. "Ultimately, what makes your company family-friendly is to be worker-friendly," she says.
When work and family clash, a worker's family is more than three times more likely to suffer than his or her job performance, the study shows. When problems erupt at work, employees reported that they were far more likely to give up time with their families, leave housework undone or experience bad moods than to refuse overtime or business travel, cut their output or quarrel with their bosses.
Two-thirds of surveyed employees with children said they lack adequate time with them. "Especially for workers with children, the picture is of individuals in gridlock," says Dana Friedman, co-president of the institute. "People feel strongly about doing a good job at work. They also yearn to spend more time with their families but arrive home exhausted."
Sue Shellenbarger, "Work Force Study Finds Loyalty Is Weak, Divisions of Race and Gender Are Deep," Wall Street Journal, September 3, 1993
Vocabulary
dwarf– (v) (usually passive) to be so big that other things are made to seem very small ( The cathedral is dwarfed by surrounding skyscrapers.); dwarf (n)
chore – a job that you have to do regularly, which is monotonous and boring
perception – the way you regard sth and your beliefs about what it is like; perceptible(adj) – noticeable though very small
toll – money you pay for using the road; a number of people killed or injured in an accident: death toll; take its toll on – to have a very bad effect on sth over a long period of time
erupt - start suddenly: a volcano erupts; erupt into a laughter/ shouting; eruption (n)
yearn – to have a strong desire for sth, especially sth that is difficult or impossible to get: yearn for sth/ to do sth; yearning (n)