The Clash Of Ages: How Technology Divides Workers – AWL vocabulary
by Joshua Brockman
NPR, June 22, 2009
Listen to the story at-- http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105751918
These words may appear on quizzes and exams. Some words are recycled from previous readings.
1. If you're a boss, what do you do about employees who love to tweet, text and social network
throughout the day? It's a question companies are grappling with as the generation gap
threatens to create a communications divide.
a. network
b. generation
c. create
d. communication
2. While Pro may be worried about how things stand with his love interest, recent studies show
real tensions are rising between Gen Y, or 20-something employees; Gen X, or 30-something
workers; and their older, less tech-savvy, baby boomer bosses.
a. tensions
3. Technology Gap Survey show vastly different attitudes about appropriate technology use
among various generations in the work force. And this is creating a clash of cultures %97
especially during meetings.
a. attitudes
b. appropriate
c. create
4. "Two-thirds of boomers that were surveyed indicated that they felt that use of devices,
technology %97 such as e-mail, social networking, the Internet, etc. %97 contributed to a
decline in office etiquette."
a. survey
b. indicate
c. device
d. contribute
e. decline
5. Walsh says the generational divide is most intense in Fortune 500 companies because senior
management is typically made up of baby boomers.
a. intense
6. But it's also an issue that small companies like Aquas -- with just over 30 employees ranging
in age from 18 to 68 -- have to contend with.
a. issue
7. According to a workplace study on social networking and reputation risk by consulting giant
Deloitte, nearly three-quarters of employees surveyed say they think it's easy to damage a
company's reputation using social media.
a. consult
b. media
8. Companies are cognizant of the far-reaching impact employees can have on their brand
through social networking and other online activities.
a. impact
9. In April, when two Domino's pizza employees posted a video online showing one of them
sticking cheese up his nose and sneezing on food, it sent shock waves through the corporate
world.
a. corporate
10. Sharon Allen, chairman of Deloitte's board, says employers shouldn't put too many rules and
restrictions into place
a. restrictions
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