ItisnearlyacenturysincethecarmanufacturerHenryFordsaid,'Youcandestroymyfactoriesandoffices,butgivememypeopleandIwillbuildthebusinessrightbackupagain.'(0).....G.....Butafewbusinesstheoristsarebeginningtoarguethatmanagingpeoplewellcanaddmoretothebottomlinethananythingelse.
MikeManzotti,aleadingAmericanauthorinthisarea,hasstrongviewsaboutthegrowingimportanceofhumanresourcesintoday'sbusinessworld.(8)..............Acompanywithhighstaffcommitment,forexample,hasanassetthatitsrivalsfindhardtocopy.
ResearchinBritainwouldappeartosupportthisnotion.Arecentbusinessschoolsurveyintotheperformanceofeightmultinationalsfoundthatpeoplemanagementcouldbethemostdecisivefactorinacompany'sperformance.Anotherstudyindicatedthesamethinginmedium-sizedmanufacturingfirms.(9)..............Afterall,howcananorganisationevaluatethecommitmentofitsstaff
Forthisreason,theresearcherGeorgeHessenbergarguesthatascientificapproachisneeded.HefeelsthatwhenHRprofessionalssuggestchanginganorganisation'scompensationstructureorbeingmoreselectiveinrecruiting,theyareaskingforthingsthatrequireresources.(10)............
Somenewapproachesareemergingthatattempttodojustthat,includingtheschemedevisedbyconsultantsCouzeJordan.Thescheme,whichcoverscommunication,recruitment,anduseofresources,predictsthatsignificantimprovementsintheseareasachieveanincreaseinshareholdervalueofupto30percent.
Anotherprogramme,launchedbyJamesLester,anindependenthumanresourcesexpert,approachestheproblemfromaperspectivethatisdesignedtoappealtoawiderangeofmanagers.(11)..............Both,heargues,involveappropriatedecisionsbeingmadeabouttheallocationofresourceswithinaparticularbudget.
Lester'sexpertiseenableshimtocarryoutanorganisationalauditforhisclientstoidentifywhichareasofHRareinmostneedofimprovement.Thisisbecausethereisnopointinbusinessesspendinglargeamountswithoutknowingiftheinvestmentisworthwhile.(12).............Lester'sadvice,however,isforcompaniestothinktwicebeforehiringpeople,sinceitisvitaltheyassesswhethertheyaregettingvalueformoney.
AButthefindingsareinconclusivebecauseofthedifficultyofcollectingreliableevidence.
BHearguesthattheroleofaskilled,motivatedandflexibleworkforcehasbecomemoresignificantastraditionalsourcesofcompetitiveadvantagediminish.
CForexample,acommonmistakeistospendafortuneonrecruitmenttocoverupfordeficienciesintraining.
DHowever,mostleadingexpertsinthefieldbelievethatthereissufficientevidencetosupportthismodelofworkplacedynamics.
EHecomparesthepositiveuseofhumanresourcestoeffectivefundmanagement,asthisissomethingthatseniorexecutivescanrelateto.
FHebelieves,however,thattheonlywaytheywillgainapprovalforthesepotentiallyexpensiveinitiativesistohavesomedatathatdemonstratespositivefinancialbenefits.
GInthelightofthisstatement,itisoddthatpeoplemanagementhastakensomanyyearstomoveuptheagenda.
第八题，这一段是列举了一个作家对人力资源重要性的看法。空格前面说这个人认为人力资源在当今的商业世界有着越来越重要的作用。空格后面是举例说明有着高度员工认同感的公司是竞争对手很难超越的。所以第八空还是讲的人力资源的重要。所以选B：传统的竞争优势已经减弱，有技术的、有动力的、有弹性的员工的作用变得越来越重要。
第九题，前面是列举几个调查结果来支撑上一段的观点：人力资源很重要。后面一个afterall，问到怎么才能评估员工对公司的忠诚度呢从afterall可以看出第九空有点转折。人力资源虽然重要，但是员工对公司的忠诚度是无法衡量的。第九空应该选B：收集可信证据的困难，使得调查结果的不确定性。这里的findings就是对应的前面的survey和study，but是个关键的词。
第十题，这一空要和下一段联系起来选答案。这一空的前面说，当HR专家建议改变公司的补偿结构或者是在招人时更有选择性一些，他们是在要求需要资源的事情。(意思是需要成本的，不是那么简单容易的)，接着下面一段就说为了达成这些要求，一些新的方法涌现出来。新的方案预测这些地方的改进能够给股东带来30%的增加收益。前面一个成本，后面一个收益，说白了，就是钱，这才是最根本的东西。专家虽然给出了建议，但是这些建议必须能保证带来利益，才会得到支持。所以选F，financialbenefits是关键词。
第十一题，后面的both很关键，说两者都涉及到合适的决定。那么第十一空应该是两件事情在做对比，找出了共性。选E：将人力资源的积极用处和有效的基金管理做对比。Compare是关键词。
第十二题，最后一段讲的就是人力资源的回报问题。投入的资源必须得有收获才行。12空前面说投入巨大但不知投资是否值得，这样是没有意义的。空格后面则是根据这个问题给出的意见：招人需谨慎。可见12空还是和招人的投入有关。并且是负面的，所以才有了后面的advice。选C：一个常见的错误是将钱花费在招人上来弥补培训的不足。一个mistake，一个recruitment，都是信号。