Let the Computers Be the Bureaucrats
Oren Harare
I. About the author
Oren Harari
(Oren Harare, more often is spelled as Oren Harari.)
An incredibly popular speaker and author, Dr. Oren Harari's energetic, dynamic presentations
excite and challenge audiences around the world with insight, humor and knowledge. Dr. Oren
Harari brings provocative new perspectives on competitive advantage, organizational change, and
transformational leadership. As a leading management consultant and best-selling author, he
brings more than 20 years of seasoned professional experience to the public speaking forum.
The Financial Times has cited Dr. Harari as one of the "Top 40 Business and Management Minds
in the World," and featured him in the fall 2001 book Business Minds. Harari believes that in the
chaotic competitiveness of today's markets, bold and often-radical management approaches are the
key to top performance. He has also found that long-term financial success depends primarily on
leaders' abilities to capitalize on globalization and technological advance, and to launch dramatic
breakthroughs in innovation, service, teamwork, and speed.
In his seven books, Dr. Harari describes the strategic decisions and leadership behaviors that
propel organizations into successful position of competitive advantage. His 2002 book The
Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell, published by McGraw-Hill, reached the best-seller lists of
The New York Times, Business Week, and The Wall Street Journal. In this book, Oren Harari
outlines 16 elegant principles of leadership, which he has drawn from Powell's career. He then
applies those principles to corporate and government arenas and demonstrates what
transformational leaders do to take their organizations to new heights.
In 2003, Oren Harari wrote the follow-up corporate handbook The Powell Principles, also
published by McGraw-Hill. In 2000, Dr. Harari co-authored a revolutionary book, Beep Beep!
Competing in the Age of the Road Runner, published by Warner Books. The book received rave
reviews by Michael Dell, U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Thomas Donohue, and Fast Company
founding editor, Alan Webber, among others. The book focuses on thriving in a globally
networked, real-time "Road Runner" marketplace.
His latest book, Break From the Pack: How to Compete in a Copycat Economy, will be published
fall of 2006 by Prentice Hall/Wharton Press.
Dr. Oren Harari also penned the 1999 best-seller Leapfrogging the Competition: Five Giant Steps
to Becoming A Market Leader, published by Prima. The first edition was rated by Management
General as one of the ten best business books of 1997. Both editions received accolades from
Colin Powell, Tom Peters, Michael Dell, Bill Marriott, and Target CEO Bob Ulrich, to name a
few.
Harari also co-authored the best-selling book Jumping the Curve: Innovation and Strategic Choice
in an Age of Transition, published by Jossey-Bass, which was rated by the prestigious Library
Journal as one of the top 40 business books in 1994. Said Charles Schwab on the book jacket: "If
I were to recommend that my managers read just one business book this year, Jumping the Curve
would be it."
Harari received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, and currently teaches in the
MBA and executive MBA programs at the University of San Francisco.
More information about Harari please refer to : http://www.harari.com/index.htm
II.
background information
1. Matthew 20 from the Holy Bible
For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the
morning to hire laborers into his vineyard.
And when he had agreed with the laborers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And
they went their way.
Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.
And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them,
Why stand ye here all the day idle?
They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the
vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.
So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and
give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.
And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.
But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise
received every man a penny.
And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,
Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have
borne the burden and heat of the day.
But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me
for a penny?
Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.
Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.
And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them,
Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and
unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death,
And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third
day he shall rise again.
Then came to him the mother of Zebedees children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a
certain thing of him.
And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit,
the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.
But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall
drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are
able.
And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I
am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be
given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.
And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.
But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise
dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.
But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your
minister;
And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a
ransom for many.
And as they departed from Jericho, a great multitude followed him.
And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried
out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.
And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more,
saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.
And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you?
They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened.
So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received
sight, and they followed him.
2. The World Gold Council
The World Gold Council, an association of the world's leading gold producers dedicated to the
promotion of gold.
The World Gold Council is a non-profit association of the world's leading gold producers,
established to promote the use of gold. With headquarters in Geneva, the Council is represented by
a network of offices in the major centres of gold demand around the world and its promotional
activities cover markets representing some three quarters of the world's annual consumption of
gold.
The nature of its work, much of which is in close partnership with the local gold trade and industry,
varies according to the different needs and stages of development of the countries, and of the
forms (jewellery, bars, coins, dentistry, etc.) in which gold is most commonly sold or held.
The Council's programmes and skilled staff help to improve gold products and distribution
systems, and they provide specialist gold information and economics services to large holders of
gold. Its primary focus in recent years has been on facilitating the removal of structural
impediments to the free flow of gold, thereby encouraging its more widespread acquisition and
retention.
The Council conducts both regional and global market research studies and publishes information
on developments in gold demand, or major gold-related issues.
3. Rubbermaid
Rubbermaid, a leading manufacturer of high-quality, innovative products, was acquired in March,
1999 by Newell Manufacturing Company, Inc., a manufacturer of curtain rods, founded in
Ogdensburg, NY., 1902.
Newell Rubbermaid was ranked 332 of the Fortune 500, 2006.
For more than 70 years, the Rubbermaid® brand represents innovative, high-quality products that
help simplify life. From its original line of simple, durable housewares, Rubbermaid has
developed a major presence in a wide array of categories ranging from home and garden to
seasonal and commercial products. Recognized as a “Brand of the Century,” Rubbermaid is one of
only 100 companies named as having an impact on the American way of life.
In 1999, Newell Rubbermaid Inc. was created, a global marketer of consumer and commercial
products with 2005 sales of $6.3 billion. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., and has
approximately 30,000 employees worldwide.
Today, Rubbermaid products can be found almost everywhere including mass retail, hardware and
home center stores, warehouse clubs, supermarkets, drug stores, department stores and specialty
stores.
Newell Rubbermaid Inc. is committed to ensuring that the Rubbermaid® brand continues to stand
for durable, innovative products that help simplify the lives of people everyday.
More information: www.rubbermaid.com
4. EDS
EDS is a leading global technology services company delivering business solutions to its clients.
EDS founded the information technology outsourcing industry more than 40 years ago. Today,
EDS delivers a broad portfolio of information technology and business process outsourcing
services to clients in the manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, communications, energy,
transportation, and consumer and retail industries and to governments around the world.
More information: www.eds.com
4. GTE
In March 2000, Bell Atlantic and GTE Corp merged their operations into a new company called
Verizon Communications. command, control and communications, intelligence and global
mobile-cellular roaming agreements in 30 countries;. By April 1998, GTE was providing
long-distance service to 2 million customers nationwide, representing a 100% increase in one year.
The businesses for sale include 5 to 8% of its local phone operations.
5. Fidelity Investments
World's largest independent investment management organisation; leading provider of financial
services; offers investment management, retirement, directly to individuals, institutions, and
through intermediaries.
6. Harry Dent
Futurist and Author of Best-Selling “The Roaring 2000s”
Harry S. Dent, Jr. is the founder and President of the H. S. Foundation whose
mission is “Helping People Understand Change”. Using exciting new research,
developed from years of hands-on business experience, Mr. Dent offers a
refreshingly positive and understandable view of the future.
In his book The Great Boom Ahead, published in 1992, Mr. Dent stood virtually alone in
accurately forecasting the unanticipated “Boom” of the 1990s. Today he continues to educate
audiences about his predictions for the next and possibly last great bull market run into 2005-2009.
Since 1992 he has authored two consecutive best sellers The Roaring 2000s and The Roaring
2000s Investor (Simon and Schuster). In his latest book The Next Great Bubble Boom, Dent offers
a comprehensive forecast for the next two decades and explains how fundamental trends suggest
that we will see another strong economic decade and how anyone can profit. Mr. Dent also
publishes the H. S. Dent Forecast newsletter.
Mr. Dent received his MBA from Harvard Business School, where he was a Baker Scholar and
was elected to the Century Club for leadership excellence. Since 1988 he has been speaking to
executives around the world. He has appeared on “Good Morning America”, PBS, CNBC,
CNN/FN, and has been featured in Barron’s, Investor’s Business Daily, Entrepreneur, Fortune,
Success, US News and World Report, Business Week, The Wall Street Journal, American
Demographics and Omni.
While at Bain & Company he worked as a consultant with several Fortune 100 companies. He has
been CEO of several entrepreneurial growth companies. Mr. Dent is an investment strategist and
Managing Director of H.S. Dent Advisors, which acts as a sub-advisor to The AIM/Dent
Demographic Trends Fund and as a consultant to The Van Kampen Funds Dent Global
Demographics Unit Investment Trust. Mr. Dent also provides tactical allocation advice on mutual
funds to various investment firms.
7. George Gilder
George Gilder, Editor in Chief of Gilder Technology Report, is Chairman of
Gilder Publishing LLC, located in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He is also
a Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute where he directs Discovery's program
on high technology and public policy.
Born in 1939 in New York City, Mr. Gilder attended Exeter Academy and
Harvard University. At Harvard, he studied under Henry Kissinger and helped
found Advance, a journal of political thought, which he edited and helped to re-establish in
Washington, DC after his graduation in 1962. During this period he co-authored (with Bruce
Chapman) The Party That Lost Its Head. He later returned to Harvard as a fellow at the Kennedy
Institute of Politics and editor of the Ripon Forum. In the 1960s Mr. Gilder also served as a
speechwriter for several prominent official and candidates, including Nelson Rockefeller, George
Romney, and Richard Nixon. In the 1970s, as an independent researcher and writer, Mr. Gilder
began an excursion into the causes of poverty, which resulted in his books Men and Marriage
(1972) and Visible Man (1978); and hence, of wealth, which led to his best-selling Wealth and
Poverty (1981).
Mr. Gilder pioneered the formulation of supply-side economics when he served as Chairman of
the Lehrman Institute's Economic Roundtable, as Program Director for the Manhattan Institute,
and as a frequent contributor to A.B. Laffer's economic reports and the editorial page of The Wall
Street Journal,. In the 1980s he also consulted leaders of America's high technology businesses.
According to a study of presidential speeches, Mr. Gilder was President Reagan's most frequently
quoted living author. In 1986, President Reagan gave George Gilder the White House Award for
Entrepreneurial Excellence.
In 1986 Gilder was made a Fellow of the International Engineering Consortium. The investigation
into wealth creation led Mr. Gilder into deeper examination of the lives of present-day
entrepreneurs, culminating in many articles and a book, The Spirit of Enterprise (1986). The book
was revised and republished in 1992. That many of the most interesting current entrepreneurs
were to be found in high technology fields also led Mr. Gilder, over several years, to examine this
subject in depth. In his best-selling work, Microcosm (1989), he explored the quantum roots of the
new electronic technologies. A subsequent book, Life After Television, was a prophecy of the
future of computers and telecommunications and a prelude to his book on the future of
telecommunications, Telecosm (2000).
Mr. Gilder's latest book The Silicon Eye (2005) travels the rocky road of the entrepreneur on the
promising path of disruption, and celebrates some of smartest—and most colorful—technology
minds of our time. In this fascinating narrative of personality and technology, Gilder shares his
insider knowledge of Silicon Valley and illustrates how the unpredictable mix of genius, drive, and
luck that can turn a startup into a Fortune 500 company.
Gilder Publishing produces the Gilder Technology Report and the annual Gilder/Forbes Telecosm
Conference, both of which offer elite analysis of ascending and disruptive technologies affecting
management and investment decisions of investors, executives, engineers and entrepreneurs.
Mr. Gilder is a contributing editor of Forbes magazine and a frequent writer for The Economist,
The American Spectator, the Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, and other
publications. He lives in Tyringham, Massachusetts, in the Berkshire Mountains, where he is an
active churchman, sometime runner, and with his wife Nini, parent of four children.
More information:
ttp://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/index.php?command=view&isFellow=true&id=10Gilder
6. Jeremy Rifkin
Jeremy Rifkin, president of the Foundation on Economic Trends,
is the author of seventeen books on the impact of scientific and
technological changes on the economy, the workforce, society,
and the environment. His books have been translated into more
than thirty languages and are used in hundreds of universities,
corporations and government agencies around the world.
In his newest international bestseller, The European Dream:
How Europe's Vision of the Future is Quietly Eclipsing the
American Dream, Mr. Rifkin argues that while the great
American Dream is fading, a powerful new European Dream is
beginning to capture the attention and imagination of the world.
The nascent European Dream, says Rifkin is, in many respects, the mirror opposite of the
American Dream, but far better suited to meet the challenges of a globalizing society in the 21st
century. Rifkin draws on more than twenty years of personal experience working in Europe, where
he has advised heads of state and political parties, consulted with Europe's leading companies, and
helped spur grass-roots, environmental and social justice campaigns.
In his 2002 international bestseller, The Hydrogen Economy, Rifkin takes us on an eye-opening
journey into the next great commercial era in history. He envisions the dawn of a new economy
powered by hydrogen that will fundamentally change the nature of our market, political and social
institutions, just as coal and steam power did at the beginning of the industrial age. The 2004
revised edition of his 1995 international best-seller, The End of Work, is widely credited with
helping shape the current global debate on technology displacement, corporate downsizing and the
future of jobs. Mr. Rifkin's 2000 international bestseller, The Age of Access, explores the vast
changes occurring in the capitalist system as it makes the transition from geographic markets to
e-commerce networks and from industrial to cultural production. His 1998 international bestseller,
The Biotech Century, addresses the many critical issues accompanying the new era of genetic
commerce and is the most widely read book in the world on the biotech revolution.
Mr. Rifkin holds a degree in economics from the Wharton School of the University of
Pennsylvania, and a degree in international affairs from the Fletcher School of Law and
Diplomacy at Tufts University. Rifkin speaks frequently before government, business, labor and
civic forums. He has lectured at more than 500 universities in some 25 countries in the past 30
years. Since 1994, Mr. Rifkin has been a fellow at the Wharton School's Executive Education
Program, where he lectures to CEOs and senior corporate management from around the world on
new trends in science and technology and their impacts on the global economy, society and the
environment. Mr. Rifkin's monthly column on global issues appears in many of the world's leading
newspapers and magazines, including The Guardian in the U.K., Die Süddeutsche Zeitung in
Germany, Le Soir and Knack in Belgium, L'Espresso in Italy, El País in Spain, Informatíon in
Denmark, Hospodárské Noviny in the Czech Republic, Wort in Luxembourg, Eesti Päevaleht in
Estonia, Trud in Bulgaria, Clarín in Argentina, and Al-Ittihad in the U.A.E.
Rifkin has been influential in shaping public policy in the United States and around the world. He
has testified before numerous congressional committees and has had consistent success in
litigation to ensure responsible government policies on a variety of environmental, scientific and
technology related issues. He has been a frequent guest on numerous television programs,
including CNN's Crossfire, Face the Nation, The Lehrer News Hour, 20/20, Larry King Live,
Today, and Good Morning America. The National Journal named Rifkin as one of 150 people in
the U.S. that have the most influence in shaping federal government policy.
Mr. Rifkin is the founder and president of The Foundation on Economic Trends (www.foet.org) in
Washington, DC. The Foundation examines the economic, environmental, social and cultural
impacts of new technologies introduced into the global economy.
More information: http://www.foet.org/JeremyRifkin.htm
III.
Pre-reading exercise
A. Warming up questions
1. We are now living in an age of knowledge and information. Can you cite some examples
in your own life to show how important knowledge and information is?
2. Describe a typical day of a student, a factory worker, a teacher, a clerk and a business
exexutive. How much do they rely on computer and computer network? How different
their life would be if there was no information technology?
3. If you were running a company, what would you consider the most important for your
company to get ahead your competitors?
4. List some jobs that existed in history but has disappeared now. Why did these jobs die?
Are there any jobs dying today? Are there any new jobs appearing? What are they?
B. Study the sentences given and try to match the underlined words and expressions with
the appropriate explanations.
1. Several of our research discoveries have been adapted for commercial use, and one
particular breakthrough in linear hydraulics is now being used by every oil company in
the country. ( )
2. The army plans to phase out the equipment as it becomes obsolete. ( )
3. During the violent earthquake, many of the walls came tumbling down. ( )
4. With the instructions given by the doctor through the phone, the journalist tried
mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on the drowned girl. ( )
5. He was so angry and shouted to his boss: “You’re never willing to change your old rules!
You old bureaucrat!” ( )
6. In data security, the transmission of data to unauthorized users by processes with
legitimate access to data. A compiler, for example, could leak a proprietary program
whilst it is being compiled. ( )
7. All the three avenues converge at a central square. ( )
8. The dead hand of bureaucracy is slowing our progress. ( )
9. It is said that tangible assets are losing its primary importance in this information age.
( )
10. She's high up in the management hierarchy. ( )
A.
A technique used to resuscitate a person who has stopped breathing, in which the rescuer
presses his or her mouth against the mouth of the victim and, allowing for passive
exhalation, forces air into the lungs at intervals of several seconds.
Management or administration marked by diffusion of authority among numerous
offices and adherence to inflexible rules of operation
An official who is rigidly devoted to the details of administrative procedure
Categorization of a group of people according to ability or status
To come together from different directions; meet
Exclusively owned
(of especially business assets) having physical substance and intrinsic monetary value
A major achievement or success that permits further progress, as in technology.
Outmoded in design, style, or construction
To collapse
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
J.
IV.
Structure of the text
Parts
Main ideas
Part One
para.1-8
The world’s economy is now
moving
from
a
production-based one to an
information-based one with
Sections
Para 1
Detailed discussions
In the coming millennium, your
current job is sure to disappear.
What you can do is to start to
reinvent it before you lose your job.
speed,
flexibility
and
imagination
gaining
importance
Part Two
para.9-11
Computers are able to do all
the routine work people are
doing now
Para 2-4
Our economic system is changing
from a production-based one to an
information-based
one,
and
accordingly, speed, flexibility and
imagination are becoming more
important for the success of
business
Para 5-8
Examples of successful businesses:
Microsoft, Rubbermaid and EDS
and they lead the trend in the new
economy
Para 9-11
The old way of management is
harmful.
Para 12
The bureaucracy should be the
computer’s work.
Para 13-14
Computers are adequate for many
jobs done by people now.
Part
Three
para.
15-16
People should be freed to do
imaginative and creative
work
Para 15
We should free the people
Para 16
Some companies
benefit from it
Part Four
para.
17-21
In future work, information
will be accessible to anyone;
there will be no hierarchical
orders
Para 17-19
Sand, glass and air---information
technology break down the walls of
secrecy
Para 20-21
Information becomes vital to the
success of a business
Jobs in general will not
decline, for new jobs are
emerging as the old ones
perish
Para 22
There’s no
bureaucracy
Para 23
Some social thinkers fear that jobs
will disappear
Para 24
Bureaucratic jobs will disappear but
new creative jobs will emerge
Part Five
22-24para.
place
has
for
already
human
V.
Understanding the text
1. Let the Computers Be the Bureaucrats
Let the computers do the routine and repetitive work..
Bureaucrat: An official who is rigidly devoted to the details of administrative procedure. Here it
refers to people who do the routine work which requires no creation or imagination.
2. All the 11th hour; mouth-to-mouth resuscitation of restructuring and "empowerment"
won't save it.:
Any last-minute effort of changing the structure or supplying the resources to your job won't make
your job survive.
11th hour: the last possible moment, only just in time. This phrase originates from the Bible,
Matthew 20.
3. It's doomed because the economy of the emerging millennium has no room for it.
It is definitely going to disappear because there is no place for it in the economy of the coming
century.
4. ...you can hold off the inevitable until you retire --- a rather forlorn wish.
the inevitable (the day your job becomes obsolete) could be put off to the day you retire --- but it
is unlikely to happen.
hold off: delay or put off
e.g. Could you hold off (making) your decisions until next week?
He makes every excuse to hold off getting married/the wedding.
a forlorn wish: (idiom ) plan or undertaking that is almost certain not to succeed
e.g. Going to their rescue in a rowing boat is a bit of a forlorn wish.
For him, a young man without formal education background, to find a good job during the
recession is kind of a forlorn wish.
5. ... by preparing to obsolete your current work before it obsoletes you.:
by getting away from your present job, restructuring and preparing for it a newly emerging job
before your current job becomes out of date. Here obsolete is used as a verb, meaning "make out
of date/put to rest, or end."
obsolete a.: no longer used; out of date
e.g. Many obsolete words can be found in this old text.
The horse-drawn plough is now obsolete in most European countries.
6. ... what this drumroll is all about
what I want to say with this dramatic introduction (Rolling of drums is used to get an audience's
attention.).
Drumroll n.: sound make by beating drums
7. Bear with me.: Tolerate me patiently.
Bear with: tolerate someone/sth patiently
e.g. We must bear with her during this difficult period.
8. We are moving from a production-based industrial economy to an information-based
network economy.
We are making a change from an industrial economy which is based on production to a network
economy which is based on information.
9. We are moving from an economy where intangibles like speed, flexibility and imagination
are more important predictors of business success than tangibles like mass, size and physical
assets.
We are making a change towards an economy where business success depends more on intangible
things such as speed, adaptability and creativity than on tangible things such as large quantity,
scale and physical property.
10. ... hitherto sacred principles like volume, economies of scale, experience curves, mass
production and mass marketing are becoming less and less useful if we're interested in
competitive edge.
those economic principles, such as large quantity, economies of scale, experience curves, mass
production and mass marketing, which used to be considered the best are becoming less useful in
the competitive market.
hitherto adv.: until now
competitive edge: an advantage in a competition
11. Rapid collaborative application of intelligence is where it's at.
The competitive edge lies in the ability to quickly apply new knowledge and information from
various sources collaboratively. “It” refers to the competitive edge.
12. Some companies get it.
Some companies understand that competitive edge lies in collaborative application of intelligence.
“Get it” is an idiom meaning understand.
13. In 1990, Microsoft achieved a 38 percent quarterly sales boost by adding $90 million to
its top line; in 1995, that same 38 percent standard required Microsoft to generate $800
million in new business.
In 1990, by adding $90 million to its revenue, Microsoft's sales increased by 38 percent quarterly;
in 1995, Microsoft must have made $800 million in business to reach that same 38 percent
standard.
boost n.: increase; encouragement
give boost: give encouragement
e.g. to give sb's confidence a boost
achieve a boost: see rapid increase
e.g. This year the economy in Shanghai has achieved a 9.9 percent boost.
top line: 公司常用的财务报表中，不论资产负债还是损益表，其第一行 (top line) 都是
revenue (收入)， top line growth 指盈收增长。
14. break even: balance income and expenditure; make neither a loss nor a profit
15. Without heaps of speed and imagination, it's dead.
Microsoft cannot survive without plenty of speed and creativity.
16. Launch one new interesting product
start to manufacture a new interesting product
17. To say that EDS is successful because of its sheer size in manpower is to again miss the
point.
It is wrong to say that EDS's success is due to its sheer size in manpower.
Miss the point: fail to grasp or understand the most important
e.g. To say that the failure of the Chinese football team is caused by the poor ability of the foreign
coach is to miss the point.
He made a long speech but most of the audience missed the point.
18. EDS is successful despite its size.
Although EDS is a huge company, it has managed to achieve success. Here “despite” implies that
its size is a disadvantage rather than an advantage for EDS.
19. break down into: divide or be divided into parts
e.g. Expenditure on the project breaks down as follows: wages $10 m, raw materials $5m.
After bankruptcy the big company was broken down into several small ones and sold
separately.
20. EDS recognizes that the key to business success lies not in high-volume mass services, but
in the capacity to create customized value-adding product-service mixes for smaller and
smaller segments --- ultimately reaching market units of one: me and you and every other
individual who responds to personalization
EDS realizes that business is dependent on the ability of producing customer-oriented
value-adding product-service mixes for smaller group responding to individual clients' needs and
working with clients on creative business solutions rather than mass services.
21. Everyone else by and large executes.
All the other employees only carry out the orders or put the ideas to work.
by and large: in general, on the whole
e.g. By and large, this company is pretty good to me.
The economy this year by and large has seen some improvement.
execute v.: put (sth) into effect; carry out
e.g. execute a plan; execute a piece of work; execute someone's orders
Or: kill as a legal punishment
e.g. The murderer was executed after he was convicted of having killed 10 children.
22. bureaucracy kills: In a bureaucratic system in which people only do routine work passively,
they lose all their imagination and initiative.
Bureaucracy: Management or administration marked by diffusion of authority among numerous
offices and adherence to inflexible rules of operation:
官僚主义：一种以在众多机构中拥有权威地位，并且固守着不变规则办事为特点的处理或管
理：
e.g. “knew something about bureaucracy and those nameless, faceless forces that can crush the
life's blood from the individual”(Rollene W. Saal)
“了解一些关于官僚主义和那些无名的、无特征的，并能够将生命的原动力从个体中挤
压出来的力量的情况”(罗里尼 W.萨尔)
23. Specifically: to be specific; to make it concrete
e.g. Water is composed of two elements, specifically, oxygen and hydrogen.
24. fit into: match well with
e.g. This card fits nicely into that envelope.
25. If computers are thus the ultimate bureaucrats, why use people for that sort of work at
all?
If computers can be the greatest bureaucrats / can do the routine work the best, why do we
continue to employ human beings to do that kind of work?
the ultimate bureaucrats: the most regulated, structured and least flexible workers
26. Even if you're smart enough to outsource such work, the question can still be aimed at
the supplier.
Even if you are able to reassign bureaucratic work, the question can still be asked to those
organizations who use people for bureaucratic jobs.
outsource v.: delegate out to others （将... ）外包给...
27. valid a.: well grounded in logic or truth or having legal force
e.g. Although no one likes to hear it, it is still a valid objection.
28. If, indeed competitive advantage results from the intangibles, then what organization can
afford to carry the overhead of bureaucratic jobs?:
If competitive advantage does depend on the intangible factors such as speed, flexibility and
imagination, then what corporation can financially meet the expenditure of bureaucratic jobs?
“Overheads” refers to regular expenses involved in running a business, such as rent, light, heat
and salaries. 企业一般管理费用
29.Even now, companies as diverse as GTE, Motorola and Fidelity investments are finding
that giving front-line people the technology, the training and the authority to make decisions
without the need for further handoffs dramatically reduces cycle time and improves quality.
Even at present, various companies such as GTE, Motorola and Fidelity Investments are finding
that it greatly improves work efficiency to give the front-line employees the technology, the
training and the power to make decisions without the need for handing or passing on work to other
people.
handoff n.: handing or passing on work to other people
30. Bureaucratic conduit-jobs, those that are based on pass-offs and reviews of passed-off
work, are rapidly disappearing.
Redundant routine work which is based on passing on work to others who reconsider such work,
is quickly disappearing.
bureaucratic conduit-jobs: redundant routine work
31. Hence, organizations will no longer be able to subsidize processes and jobs that glorify
hierarchical control but turn off the spigot on knowledge-flow.
Therefore organizations will not be able to support hierarchical management systems in which
information is the privilege of a few authorities and not available to everyone. “Subsidize” implies
that these jobs don't bring revenue to the organization and cost more than they produce.
turn off the spigot on knowledge-flow: block the free flow of knowledge
32. These technologies converge to shrink the planet, eliminate time and distance from
communication, and make us more powerful than any king or queen in history.
These technologies combine to make our planet smaller, removing time and distance from
communication. Thus, we are more powerful than any king or queen in history.
converge v.: move toward the same point
e.g. Our previously opposed views are beginning to converge.
Enthusiasts from around the world converge on Le Mans for the annual car race.
33. ... flinging intelligence to the far reaches of the globe
making information available in every part of the world, even the most remote areas
fling to: throw (sth) in a certain direction
e.g. He flung the paper away in disgust.
He was flung into prison.
34.You're talking about accessibility of anything, where walls of secrecy and hoarding and
egostatus come tumbling down.
You are talking about having access to anything; all the barriers to the free flow of information are
disappearing. Walls of secret means practices which prevent the free flow of information.
hoard v.: hide
e.g. He is hoarding some secret paper.
tumble down: fall down in ruin; collapse
e.g. The old barn we bought to convert into flats was practically tumbling down.
With the invasion of imperialists the once glorious empire slowly tumbled down.
35. There's no place for human bureaucracy in this scenario.
In the future, there is no room for human bureaucratic work.
scenario n.: imagined setting of future events
e.g. a possible scenario for war
36. The sheer volume of information and knowledge available to any individual (and any
competitor) will mean that talent, resourcefulness, energy and ingenuity will necessarily
become an all-hands, collaborative affair, the responsibility of everyone on board.
There will be such a huge amount of information and technology in the future that only with the
participation and cooperation of all the people in the company can smart solutions and ingenious
breakthroughs come about.
32. be set on a firm course: know without doubt the direction to go in or follow a path that will
lead to...
e.g. The revolution set the country on the road to democracy.
We are set on a firm course to success.
VI.
Exercises and further discussions
A. Fill in each of the blanks in the following sentences with one appropriate word given in
the list below. Change the word form where necessary. Remember that there are some extra
items.
Restructure
absurd
Specific
1.
innovative
doom
boost
symptom
imagine availability
converge
obsolete
forlorn
specific
availability
imagine
The challenge for educators is to __________ the curriculum to make maximum use of the
new technologies so that students can learn better and prepare themselves for the
information-rich world they now confront.
2. Although they tried many times, their luck did not ever turn for the better, and in the end they
had to admit that the experiment was __________ to failure.
3. Going to their rescue in a rowing-boat is a bit of a __________ hope.
4. We are trying to stimulate the business by __________ last year’s designs.
5. We have no intention of lying down under these __________ allegations.
6. The cash is expected to __________ research and development (R&D) at JRDC and TCT, a
leading Chinese handset maker.
7. In that situation, a wage freeze, whether voluntary or imposed by the Government, deals with
a __________ of inflation rather than with inflation itself.
8. I refer _________ to permanent residents, in contradistinction to temporary visitors.
9. Her talk gripped and stimulated the __________ of the whole class.
10. Approval of the plan presupposes that the money will be made __________.
B. Oral discussion
1. After learning the text, what do you think is the most important point the author wanted to
convey to the readers. Do you agree with him? Why or why not?
2. The author maintains that speed,, flexibility and imagination are important in business. Are they
equally important in your study now? Explain your opinion.
3. Some say we are relying on the computer so much that we are at a loss as to what tod and how
to do things without a computer. Is it an exaggeration? Give examples to support your argument.
C. Read the following article written by Oren Harari and translate the underlined
paragraphs into Chinese.
GETTING EVERYBODY ON BOARD
by Oren Harari
(July,2004)
Often, when working with clients on strategic issues, after we finally shape some bold new
initiatives that are likely to create real value, I get a variation of the following question: this is
great, but how do we get everybody on board?
The question is a valid one, because it recognizes that for any strategic initiative to succeed,
everyone in an organization must be involved, enthused and committed. Yet for many managers,
the very idea of mobilizing employees to strive for bold goals seems to be a strange and alien
challenge.
For this reason, I hereby offer four courses of action that will guarantee that your people will get
on board; not simply show up for work. But be forewarned, you have to embrace all four paths;
you can pick and choose. Secondly, be forewarned that these four paths aren’t easy ones which I
suppose is why good leaders aren’t as plentiful as investors would like. So whether you are a CEO,
a division general manager, or a department head, get ready, here they are:
1. Get curious.
During his military career, Colin Powell made an interesting observation: you are a good leader
when people follow only out of curiosity. People follow when they believe that the leader is
heading in a direction that’s unchartered, interesting, daring, audacious, or unorthodox.
Conventional objectives like improving efficiency and boosting earnings are worthwhile and
desirable, but on their own they rarely arouse passion. Remember-people don’t need to be inspired
to come to work, but they do need to be inspired to get on board.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer puts it another way: what makes morale good or bad is the sense of
the future. Are we working on something important? Are we changing the world? Is that an
opportunity to benefit financially? Those are the kinds of things that make a difference to people.?
So examine your value proposition, your basic approach to your business, your products, and your
relations with stakeholders. If you are dealing with these issues in a conventional,
same-old-same-old, or me-too manner, you are unlikely to raise peoples’ passion. The first step in
getting people on board is to raise their curiosity.
2. Open the windows.
The great management sage Peter Drucker was once asked how he was able to foresee so many
important business trends. His response: “look out the window.” Too often, only a select few in a
group or organization gain regular access to critical external information like new competitive
trends, shifts in consumer desires, swings in capital markets, significant demographic changes, and
the challenges and opportunities emerging from globalization and technological advance. But it’s
precisely that accessibility that generates the urgency to change and the direction to march for
those select few who are in the know.
But for everyone else, whose windows to the outside environment are closed and behind blinds, its
business as usual. Since they are not exposed to the same data that generates angst or enthusiasm
among leaders, they don’t see any particular need to get on board when those same leaders call for
a new way of doing things. Why fix it if it ain’t broke? It’s a logical question when you don’s see
any data to suggest otherwise. Frequently, even relevant internal data like costs and expenses are
tucked away from people. Is it any wonder they don’t see any urgency to change?
So if you want people to get on board, help them open their windows and urge them to look at the
world outside. Expose them to the same eye-opening information you have, and discuss it openly.
If they don’t have the skills to analyze and interpret the data, then provide them with coaching and
education. You don’t need to have a Ph.D to intelligently appraise a competitive analysis or a
market research study. Remember: people get on board when they look outward and see for
themselves the reasons for change.
3. Open the doors.
Managers who work behind closed doors virtually insure that they will have problems in getting
others on board. Closed doors and the metaphor “closed door management’ do not enhance
communication, collaboration or esprit de corps. On the contrary, they generate anxiety,
uncertainty, insecurity, powerlessness, ignorance and skepticism among the very people whose
cooperation is desired. At the same time, closed door management deludes leaders into thinking
they are in the loop with their people and can simply create collaboration and support by fiat.
If you want people jumping on board, the solution is simple: open the doors. Keep your planning
and decision-making processes as transparent and inclusive as possible even when the subject
matter is unpleasant. Tap into the brains, talents and spirits of the people whose commitment you
will need to forge forward. As a leader, yes, set the tone, set the basic direction, set the basic value
proposition, and involve others in business analysis, strategic thinking and operational
problem-solving thereafter. If this sounds too alien, perhaps you need to rethink the kinds of
people you are hiring and promoting, and the kinds of tools and training you are providing them.
Make it a point to challenge any vestiges of closed door cultures: hierarchical power trips, turfism,
information hoarding, and the like.
Especially in a digital economy, where decentralized technology and the Internet allow immediate,
unfiltered access to any data and any individual anywhere, closed door management creates
barriers and friction that are completely counterproductive. To ride the wave of modern
technology, and to rouse others to feel confident and desirous of forging forward, open the doors.
4. Start driving.
In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins uses a bus as an excellent metaphor of a new strategic and
cultural direction. Imagine a leader telling people that they must decide whether they want to get
on the bus (embrace the new strategy/culture) or not.
Let me take Collins’s metaphor a little further. At some point, once leaders have clearly articulated
the new mission and have gone through steps 1, 2, and 3 above, they have the right to expect
people to take personal responsibility for making a big decision: Are they going to get on board
the bus or not? The leader’s job is to be inclusive (everyone’s invited on board), helpful (everyone
will get tools, education and time to get over the learning curve), and reassuring (it will be scary, it
will be exciting, and we will all go through it together). But at a certain point, it’s time for the
leader to get behind the wheel and start driving away.
Once the journey begins, the leader has to insure that the people on the bus are more satisfied than
those who have chosen to stay behind. Those who are on board must get the most attractive
educational opportunities, job and project assignments, career advancement opportunities, and pay
increases. If the leader doesn’t differentiate properly between those who have chosen to board and
those who haven’t, he or she will wind up insuring that the ones on bus become the most
dissatisfied and cynical.
By unapologetically reinforcing the critical mass of people on the bus, leaders bolster team spirit
and team focus. They also send an unmistakable message to those who chose to stay behind: One,
this bus is bound for glory, and two, you can still board if you want. But at a certain point, the bus
stops are few and far between, and we might want to consider that you’ll be happier in another
organization.
So don’t procrastinate; start driving the bus, and tell everyone to get off their seat and help you
weave through the inevitable bumps, potholes and thunderstorms. It’ll be an exhilarating journey
to a profitable destination, and if you follow the four rules I’ve outlined, you won’t need to ask
“How do I get everyone on board?” ever again.
D. Writing practice
Study Oren Harari’s articles carefully and you may find he is good at using subtitles and questions
to catch people’s attention and citing appropriate quotations and good examples to support his
argument. Write a short passage about Computer and English Study, employing the same method
in your composition.
Key:
Warming up exercies:
B. 1-H; 2-I; 3-J; 4-A; 5-C; 6-F; 7-E; 8-B; 9-G; 10-D
Exercises and further discussions:
A. 1. restructure 2 doomed 3 forlorn 4 obsoleting 5 obsurd
6. boost 7 symptom 8 specifically 9 imagination 10 available.
C. So if you want people to get on board, help them open their windows and urge them to look at
the world outside. Expose them to the same eye-opening information you have, and discuss it
openly. If they don’t have the skills to analyze and interpret the data, then provide them with
coaching and education. You don’t need to have a Ph.D to intelligently appraise a competitive
analysis or a market research study. Remember： people get on board when they look outward and
see for themselves the reasons for change.
如果你想让人们积极参与，你得帮他们打开窗子并敦促他们向外看。让他们向你一样打开眼
界，并和他们公开讨论这些信息。如果他们还没有分析解释这些数据的能力，就为他们提供
教育培训。进行明智的竞争优势分析和市场调查分析无须博士学位。记住：当人们向外看并
发现了需要改变的理由，他们自然会积极参与的。
Once the journey begins, the leader has to insure that the people on the bus are more satisfied than
those who have chosen to stay behind. Those who are on board must get the most attractive
educational opportunities, job and project assignments, career advancement opportunities, and pay
increases. If the leader doesn’t differentiate properly between those who have chosen to board and
those who haven’t, he or she will wind up insuring that the ones on bus become the most
dissatisfied and cynical.
一旦行程开始，领队必须保证车上的人比自甘落后的人更加心满意足。积极参与的人必须得
到最具吸引力的教育机会，工作和项目，升迁机会和加薪幅度。如果领队不能区别对待积极
参与者和放弃参与者，他们会得出如此结论：上车的人是最心怀不满和愤世嫉俗的。