Question

As anyone who has tried to lose weight knows, realistic goal-setting generally produces the best results. That’s partly because most people who set realistic goals actually work more efficiently, and put more effort, to achieve those goals.

What’s far less understood by scientists, however, are the potentially harmful effects of goal-setting. Newspapers convey daily accounts of goal-setting widespread in industries and businesses up and down both Wall Street and Main Street, yet there has been surprisingly little research on how the long-advocated practice of setting goals may have contributed to the current economic crisis, and immoral behavior in general.

“Goals are widely used and promoted as having really beneficial effects. And yet, the same motivation that can push people to put more effort in a constructive way could also motivate people to be more likely to engage in immoral behaviors,” says Maurice Schweitzer, an associate professor at Penn’s Wharton School. His paper, titled “Goals Gone Wild: The Systematic Side Effects of Over-Praised Goal Setting,” appears in the February issue of the Academy of Management Perspectives.

“It turns out there’s no financial benefit to just having a goal---you just get a psychological benefit” Schweitzer says. “But in many cases, goals have financial rewards that make them more powerful.”

A major example Schweitzer and his colleagues give is the 2004 breakdown of energy-trading giant Enron( 德國(guó)安然公司), where managers used financial rewards to motivate salesmen to meet specific goals. The problem, Schweitzer says, is that the actual trades were not profitable. 

Other studies have shown that burdening employees with unrealistic goals can force them to lie, cheat or steal. Such was the case in the early 1990s when Sears（西爾斯公司）placed a sales quota (銷售限額) on its auto repair staff. It inspired employees to overcharge for work and to complete unnecessary repairs on a companywide basis.

Schweitzer admits his research runs counter to a very large body of literature that praises the many benefits of goal-setting. Advocates of the practice have argued with his team’s use of such evidence as news accounts to support his conclusion that goal-setting is widely over-praised.

In a rebuttal (反駁) paper, Dr. Edwin Locke writes: “Goal-setting is not going away. Organizations cannot grow without being focused on their desired end results any more than an individual can grow without goals to provide a sense of purpose.”

But Schweitzer argues the “evidence” linking goal-setting and harmful behavior should be studied to help draw attention to issues that deserve attention and further investigation. “Even a few negative effects could be so large that they outweigh many positive effects,” he says.

The debate is likely to get heated on in future papers, and the practice of setting goals no doubt will continue. For now, though, the lesson seems to be to put more thought into setting goals.

“Goal-setting does help motivate people. My idea would be to combine that with careful management, a strong organizational culture, and make sure the goals that you use are going to be constructive and not significantly harmful to the organization,” Schweitzer says.

1.What does Maurice Schweitzer want to show by mentioning the example of Enron?

A．Setting realistic goals can turn a failing business into success.

B．Businesses are likely to succeed without realistic goals.

C．Companies are certain to meet specific goals with financial rewards.

D．Goals with financial rewards have strong motivational power.

2.How did Sears’ goal-setting affect its employees?

A．They had to work more hours to increase their sales.

B．They competed with one another to attract more customers.

C．They turned to immoral practice to reach their goals.

D．They improved their customer service on a companywide basis.

3.The underlined words “runs counter to” (Paragraph 7) can be replaced by ________.

A．a(chǎn)grees with        B．goes against        C．fits in with         D．a(chǎn)pplies to

4.What is Edwin Locke’s argument against Schweitzer?

A．The practice of setting goals only helps people to develop.

B．Goal-setting is of no use motivating people to accomplish their tasks.

C．The positive effects of goal-setting outweigh its negative effects.

D．Studying goal-setting can contribute to successful business practices.

5.According to the passage, the author tries to convey ___________.

A．the goals that most people set are unrealistic.

B．a(chǎn)ll people can improve their work quality by setting goals.

C．setting goals can provide people with a sense of purpose.

D．people should not ignore the negative effects of goal-setting.

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1. D

2. C

3. B

4.D

5.D

【解析】

試題分析：本文講述了不同的人對(duì)于設(shè)立目標(biāo)對(duì)人生的影響持有不同的觀點(diǎn)，有人認(rèn)為這樣做很好，有很好的作用。也有人持有反對(duì)的觀點(diǎn)。

1.D 推理題。根據(jù)文章第四段“It turns out there’s no financial benefit to just having a goal---you just get a psychological benefit” Schweitzer says. “But in many cases, goals have financial rewards that make them more powerful.”說明帶有經(jīng)濟(jì)獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)的目標(biāo)會(huì)有很好的驅(qū)動(dòng)作用。故D正確。

2.C 細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)第6段1,2行Other studies have shown that burdening employees with unrealistic goals can force them to lie, cheat or steal.說明為了實(shí)現(xiàn)目標(biāo)有些人采用了說謊，欺騙，盜竊等不好的手段，故C正確。

3.B 推理題。根據(jù)Schweitzer admits his research runs counter to a very large body of literature that praises the many benefits of goal-setting.說明他認(rèn)為他的研究和很多人的看法可能是不一樣的，故B項(xiàng)正確。

4.D 推理題。根據(jù)文章第7段Advocates of the practice have argued with his team’s use of such evidence as news accounts to support his conclusion that goal-setting is widely over-praised.In a rebuttal (反駁) paper, Dr. Edwin Locke writes: “Goal-setting is not going away.說明他們爭(zhēng)論的焦點(diǎn)就是D項(xiàng)內(nèi)容設(shè)立目標(biāo)是否能夠有利于成功的商業(yè)行為。

5.D 推理題。根據(jù)文章最后一段說明我們不能忽視goal-setting的負(fù)面作用。故D正確。

考點(diǎn)：考查社會(huì)現(xiàn)象類短文閱讀

點(diǎn)評(píng)：本文講述了不同的人對(duì)于設(shè)立目標(biāo)對(duì)人生的影響持有不同的觀點(diǎn)。要求考生讀懂文章中的每個(gè)句子的意思還要推理它們之間的關(guān)系，結(jié)合自己的生活常識(shí)和經(jīng)驗(yàn)，再通過邏輯推理和判斷，理解文章的言外之意，從而揭示文章的深層涵義。任何一篇文章都有其特定的寫作目的，讀者應(yīng)當(dāng)知道如何去做或按照某種方式傳遞思考問題。推理判斷題的答案不可能在文章中直接找到，因此推理時(shí)我們務(wù)必要忠于原文，在文章中尋找并確定可推論的依據(jù)，即：已知部分－推論的前提，從中推測(cè)出未知部分－推理的結(jié)論，切忌妄加評(píng)論，把自己的觀點(diǎn)當(dāng)成作者的觀點(diǎn)。