Human resource management
It is nearly a century since the car manufacturer Henry Ford said, 'You can destroy my factories and offices, but give me my people and I will build the business right back up again.'(0) .....G..... But a few business theorists are beginning to argue that managing people well can add more to the bottom line than anything else.
Mike Manzotti, a leading American author in this area, has strong views about the growing importance of human resources in today's business world. (8) .............. A company with high staff commitment, for example, has an asset that its rivals find hard to copy.
Research in Britain would appear to support this notion. A recent business school survey into the performance of eight multinationals found that people management could be the most decisive factor in a company's performance. Another study indicated the same thing in medium-sized manufacturing firms. (9) .............. After all, how can an organisation evaluate the commitment of its staff?
For this reason, the researcher George Hessenberg argues that a scientific approach is needed. He feels that when HR professionals suggest changing an organisation's compensation structure or being more selective in recruiting, they are asking for things that require resources. (10)............
Some new approaches are emerging that attempt to do just that, including the scheme devised by consultants Couze Jordan. The scheme, which covers communication, recruitment, and use of resources, predicts that significant improvements in these areas achieve an increase in shareholder value of up to 30 per cent.
Another programme, launched by James Lester, an independent human resources expert, approaches the problem from a perspective that is designed to appeal to a wide range of managers. (11), he argues, involve appropriate decisions being made about the allocation of resources within a particular budget.
Lester's expertise enables him to carry out an organisational audit for his clients to identify which areas of HR are in most need of improvement. This is because there is no point in businesses spending large amounts without knowing if the investment is worthwhile. (12) ............. Lester's advice, however, is for companies to think twice before hiring people, since it is vital they assess whether they are getting value for money.
A But thefindingsare inconclusive because of the difficulty of collecting reliable evidence.
B He argues that the role of a skilled, motivated and flexible workforce has become more significant as traditional sources of competitive advantage diminish.
C For example, a commonmistakeis to spend a fortune onrecruitmentto cover up for deficiencies in training.
D However, most leading experts in the field believe that there is sufficient evidence to support this model of workplace dynamics.
E Hecomparesthe positive use of human resources to effective fund management, as this is something that senior executives can relate to.
F He believes, however, that the only way they willgain approvalfor these potentially expensive initiatives is to have some data that demonstrates positivefinancial benefits.
G In the light of this statement, it is odd that people management has taken so many years to move up the agenda.
《Human resource management》，人力資源管理。顧名思義，文章講的是人對於企業的重要性，以亨利•福特的名言開頭，列舉了一系列專家對人力資源管理的看法。
第八題，這一段是列舉了一個作家對人力資源重要性的看法。空格前面說這個人認為人力資源在當今的商業世界有著越來越重要的作用。空格後面是舉例說明有著高度員工認同感的公司是競爭對手很難超越的。所以第八空還是講的人力資源的重要。所以選B：傳統的競爭優勢已經減弱，有技術的、有動力的、有彈性的員工的作用變得越來越重要。
第九題，前面是列舉幾個調查結果來支撐上一段的觀點：人力資源很重要。後面一個after all，問到怎麼才能評估員工對公司的忠誠度呢?從after all可以看出第九空有點轉折。人力資源雖然重要，但是員工對公司的忠誠度是無法衡量的。第九空應該選B：收集可信證據的困難，使得調查結果的不確定性。這裡的findings就是對應的前面的survey和study，but是個關鍵的詞。
第十題，這一空要和下一段聯絡起來選答案。這一空的前面說，當HR專家建議改變公司的補償結構或者是在招人時更有選擇性一些，他們是在要求需要資源的事情。(意思是需要成本的，不是那麼簡單容易的)，接著下面一段就說為了達成這些要求，一些新的方法湧現出來。新的方案預測這些地方的改進能夠給股東帶來30%的'增加收益。前面一個成本，後面一個收益，說白了，就是錢，這才是最根本的東西。專家雖然給出了建議，但是這些建議必須能保證帶來利益，才會得到支援。所以選F，financial benefits是關鍵詞。
第十一題，後面的both很關鍵，說兩者都涉及到合適的決定。那麼第十一空應該是兩件事情在做對比，找出了共性。選E：將人力資源的積極用處和有效的基金管理做對比。Compare是關鍵詞。
第十二題，最後一段講的就是人力資源的回報問題。投入的資源必須得有收穫才行。12空前面說投入巨大但不知投資是否值得，這樣是沒有意義的。空格後面則是根據這個問題給出的意見：招人需謹慎。可見12空還是和招人的投入有關。並且是負面的，所以才有了後面的advice。選C：一個常見的錯誤是將錢花費在招人上來彌補培訓的不足。一個mistake，一個recruitment，都是訊號。
