2018年BEC剑桥商务英语中级试题（14）

　　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)..............Both, 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 the findings are 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 common mistake is to spend a fortune on recruitment to 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 He compares the 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 will gain approval for these potentially expensive initiatives is to have some data that demonstrates positive financial 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》，人力资源管理。顾名思义，文章讲的是人对于企业的重要性，以亨利?福特的名言开头，列举了一系列专家对人力资源管理的看法。

　　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after all，问到怎么才能评估员工对公司的忠诚度呢?从after all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，financial benefits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。