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Reading practice for TS601
Reading practice for TS601
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lOMoARcPSD|36041561 READING PRACTICE FOR TRS601 1. Reading practice 1
Change in business organisations
A The forces that operate to bring about change in organisations can be thought
of as winds which are many and varied - from small summer breezes that
merely disturb a few papers, to mighty howling gales which cause devastation
to structures and operations, causing consequent reorientation of purpose and
rebuilding. Sometimes, however, the winds die down to give periods of relative
calm, periods of relative organisational stability. Such a period was the
agricultural age, which Goodman (1995) maintains prevailed in Europe and
western societies as a whole until the early 1700s. During this period, wealth
was created in the context of an agriculturally based society influenced mainly
by local markets (both customer and labour) and factors outside people’s
control, such as the weather. During this time, people could fairly well predict
the cycle of activities required to maintain life, even if that life might be at little more than subsistence level.
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B To maintain the meteorological metaphor, stronger winds of change blew to
bring in the Industrial Revolution and the industrial age. Again, according to
Goodman, this lasted for a long time, until around 1945. It was characterised by
a series of inventions and innovations that reduced the number of people needed
to work the land and, in turn, provided the means of production of hitherto
rarely obtainable goods; for organisations, supplying these in ever increasing
numbers became the aim. To a large extent, demand and supply were
predictable, enabling . companies to structure their organisations along what
Burns and Stalker (1966) described as mechanistic lines, that is as systems of
strict hierarchical structures and firm means of control.
C This situation prevailed for some time, with demand still coming mainly from
the domestic market and organisations striving to fill the ‘supply gap’. Thus the
most disturbing environmental influence on organisations of this time was the
demand for products, which outstripped supply. The saying attributed to Henry
Ford that ‘You can have any colour of car so long as it is black’, gives a flavour
of the supply-led state of the market. Apart from any technical difficulties of
producing different colours of car, Ford did not have to worry about customers’
colour preferences: he could sell all that he made. Organisations of this period
can be regarded as ‘task-oriented’, with effort being put into increasing
production through more effective and efficient production processes.
D As time passed, this favourable period for organisations began to decline. In
the neo-industrial age, people became more discriminating in the goods and
services they wished to buy and, as technological advancements brought about
increased productivity, supply overtook demand. Companies began,
increasingly, to look abroad for additional markets.
E At the same time, organisations faced more intensive competition from
abroad for their own products and services. In the West, this development was
accompanied by a shift in focus from manufacturing to service, whether this
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merely added value to manufactured products, or whether it was service in-its
own right. In the neo-industrial age of western countries, the emphasis moved
towards adding value to goods and services - what Goodman calls the value-
oriented time, as contrasted with the task- oriented and products/services- oriented times of the past.
F Today, in the post-industrial age, most people agree that organisational life is
becoming ever more uncertain, as the pace of change quickens and the future
becomes less predictable. Writing in 1999, Nadler and Tushman, two US
academics, said: ‘Poised on the eve of the next century, we are witnessing a
profound transformation in the very nature of our business organisations.
Historic forces have converged to fundamentally reshape the scope, strategies,
and structures of large enterprises.’ At a less general level of analysis, Graeme
Leach, Chief Economist at the British Institute of Directors, claimed in the
Guardian newspaper (2000) that: ‘By 2020, the nine-to-five rat race will be
extinct and present levels of self-employment, commuting and technology use,
as well as age and sex gaps, will have changed beyond recognition.’ According
to the article, Leach anticipates that: ‘In 20 years time, 20-25 percent of the
workforce will be temporary workers and many more will be flexible, ... 25
percent of people will no longer work in a traditional office and ... 50 percent
will work from home in some form.’ Continuing to use the ‘winds of change’
metaphor, the expectation's of damaging gale-force winds bringing the need for
rebuilding that takes the opportunity to incorporate new ideas and ways of doing things.
G Whether all this will happen is arguable. Forecasting the future is always
fraught with difficulties. For instance, Mannermann (1998) sees future studies
as part art and part science and notes: ‘The future is full of surprises,
uncertainty, trends and trend breaks, irrationality and rationality, and it is
changing and escaping from our hands as time goes by. It is also the result of
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actions made by innumerable more or less powerful forces.’ What seems certain
is that the organisational world is changing at a fast rate - even if the direction
of change is not always predictable. Consequently, it is crucial that
organisational managers and decision makers are aware of, and able to analyse
the factors which trigger organisational change. Questions:
1. What period in history is referred to as the agricultural age? A. The early 1700s B. The industrial age C. The post-industrial age D. The neo-industrial age
2. According to the text, what was the main environmental influence on
organisations during the agricultural age? A. Technological advancements B. Demand for products C. Competition from abroad D. Increased productivity
3. Which era is characterized by a shift in focus from manufacturing to service? A. The agricultural age B. The industrial age
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4. What do Nadler and Tushman claim about the nature of business
organisations in the post-industrial age?
A. They are becoming more predictable.
B. They are being fundamentally reshaped.
C. They are becoming more task-oriented.
D. They are facing less competition.
5. According to Graeme Leach, what percentage of the workforce will be temporary workers by 2020? A. 20-25% B. 50% C. 75-80% D. 100%
6. What does the text suggest about forecasting the future?
A. It is always accurate and reliable.
B. It is both an art and a science.
C. It is impossible and should not be attempted.
D. It is influenced by powerful forces.
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7. Why is it crucial for organisational managers and decision makers to be
aware of factors that trigger organisational change?
A. To predict the future accurately.
B. To resist change and maintain stability.
C. To analyze the direction of change.
D. To make informed decisions and adapt to change. 2. Reading practice 2
What is the secret of a long life?
This year, the number of retired pensioners in the UK exceeded the number of
under 18 years old for the first time in history. That's remarkable in its own
right, but the real 'population explosion' has been among the oldest of the old —
the centenarians. In fact, this imbalance is the fastest growing demographic in
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much of the developed world. In the UK, the number of centenarians has
increased by 60 per cent since the early 20th century. And their ranks are set
swell even further, thanks to the ageing baby-boomer generation: by 2030 there
will be about a million worldwide.
These trends raise social, ethical and economic dilemmas. Are medical
advances artificially prolonging life, with hide regard for the quality of that life?
If growing numbers of elderly people become dependent on state or familial
support, society faces skyrocketing costs and commitments. Yet researchers
who study the oldest old have made a surprising discovery that presents a less
pessimistic view of the future than many anticipate.
It is becoming clear that people who break through the 90-plus barrier represent
a physical elite. Far from gaining a longer burden of disability, their extra years
tend to be healthy ones. And supercentenarians, people aged 110 or over, are
even better examples of ageing well. The average supercentenarian had freely
gone about their daily life up until the age of 105 or so, some five to ten years longer even than centenarians.
One of the most comprehensive studies comes from Denmark. In 1998 Kare
Christensen, at the University of Southern Denmark, contacted every single one
of 3600 people born in 1905 who was still alive. Assessing their health over the
subsequent decade, he found that the proportion of people who managed to
remain independent throughout was constantly around one-third of the total.
Each individual risked becoming more infirm, but the unhealthiest ones passed
away at earlier ages, leaving the strongest behind. In 2005, only 166 of the
people in Christensen's sample were still alive, but one-third of those were still entirely self-sufficient.
Christensen's optimistic findings are echoed in studies all over the world. In the
MC, Carol Brayne at the University of Cambridge studied 958 people aged over
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90, and found that only one-quarter of them were living in accommodation
specifically catering for the needs of older people. Research in China reveals
that centenarians and nonagenarians spend fewer days ill and in bed than
younger elderly groups. Of course, people can live independently without being
entirely healthy, and it is true that most centenarians suffer from some kind of
ailment. These range from osteoarthritis to simple loneliness.
Not all the oldest old survive by delaying illness or disability, though. Many
soldier through it. Jessica Even of Ohio State University examined the medical
histories of over 400 centenarians. She found that those who achieve extreme
longevity tend to fall into three categories. About 40 per cent were 'delayers',
who avoided chronic diseases until after the age of 80. Another 40 per cent were
'survivors', who suffered from chronic diseases before the age of 80 but lived
longer to tell the tale. The final 20 per cent were 'escapers', who reached their
century with no sign of the most common chronic diseases. Intriguingly, one-
third of male centenarians were in this category, compared with only 15 per cent
of women. In fact, the two sexes fare very differently when it comes to
longevity. There are far more female centenarians, but the reasons for this are
unclear. Certainly, women tend to lead healthier lifestyles and experience fewer
serious accidents. They also go to their doctor more. Men are more prone to
risky behaviour and chronic illness, so it must be genetics which allows some
men to reach extreme old age. Evidence of this comes from longevity hotspots.
The Japanese island of Okinawa is the front runner. At 58 centenarians per
100,000 people, it has the world's highest proportion in this age group, with
Sardinia and Iceland not too far behind. All three are relatively isolated island
communities, which leads to less genetic variation amongst inhabitants. In these
places, the result has been a predisposition towards a longer life. Of
course, members of such communities usually share a particular environment,
too, but this alone cannot explain longevity. Gerontologists have emphasised the
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importance of regular exercise, so anyone aiming to reach a century should not
underestimate this. They have also found that the influence on lifespan of social
factors such as wealth fades as we age. By comparing 10,000 pairs of
Scandinavian twins, Christensen found that genes are key, but that they only
start exerting a strong influence on our lifespan after the age of 60. Before then,
those who are both identical and nonidentical have largely independent chances of reaching a given age.
Longevity genes have also been found in abundance in other organisms,
including over 70 in particular worms. Unfortunately, it's a different story in
humans. While many genes have been suggested to affect lifespan, very few
have been consistently verified in multiple populations. Note:
1 .’’Centenarian”: someone who is 100 years or older.
2. ” Baby - boomer“: someone born just after the Second World War, a
time which saw a rapid increase in birth rate.
3. “Nonagenarian”: someone who is between 90 and 99 years old.
4. “Gerontologist”: a medical professional who specialises in aging and
the problems of aged Persons. Questions:
1. What is the fastest growing demographic in much of the developed world? A. Retired pensioners B. People under 18 years old C. Centenarians D. Baby-boomers
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2. According to the text, what do researchers who study the oldest old discover?
A. The oldest old tend to have more disabilities.
B. The oldest old tend to live longer but with poorer health.
C. The oldest old tend to be physically elite and have healthy extra years.
D. The oldest old tend to suffer from chronic diseases at an earlier age.
3. What did Kare Christensen find in his study of people born in 1905?
A. All of them remained independent throughout their lives.
B. Only one-quarter of them were still alive in 2005.
C. One-third of them were still self-sufficient in 2005.
D. The unhealthiest ones lived the longest.
4. What did Carol Brayne find in her study of people aged over 90?
A. Only one-quarter of them lived in accommodation for older people.
B. Most of them spent fewer days ill and in bed than younger elderly groups.
C. Centenarians and nonagenarians had fewer chronic diseases than younger groups.
D. Most of them suffered from osteoarthritis and loneliness.
5. According to the text, why are there far more female centenarians than male centenarians?
A. Women lead healthier lifestyles and go to the doctor more.
B. Men are more prone to risky behavior and chronic illness.
C. Women have a genetic predisposition for longevity.
D. Men have a higher chance of reaching extreme old age.
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6. What do longevity hotspots like Okinawa, Sardinia, and Iceland have in common?
A. They have a high proportion of centenarians.
B. They are relatively isolated island communities.
C. They have a particular environment that promotes longevity.
D. They have a large genetic variation amongst inhabitants.
7. According to the text, when do genes start exerting a strong influence on our lifespan? A. Before the age of 60 B. After the age of 60
C. Throughout our entire lifespan
D. Genes do not influence our lifespan. 3. Reading practice 3 The True Cost of Food A
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For more than forty years the cost of food has been rising. It has now
reached a point where a growing number of people believe that it is far too
high, and that bringing it down will be one of the great challenges of the
twenty first century. That cost, however, is not in immediate cash. In the
West at least, most food is now far cheaper to buy in relative terms than it was in 1960.
The cost is in the collateral damage of the very methods of food production
that have made the food cheaper: in the pollution of water, the enervation of
soil, the destruction of wildlife, the harm to animal welfare and the threat to
human health caused by modern industrial agriculture. B
First mechanisation, then mass use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides,
then monocultures, then battery rearing of livestock, and now genetic
engineering - the onward march of intensive farming has seemed
unstoppable in the last half-century, as the yields of produce have soared.
But the damage it has caused has been colossal. In Britain, for example,
many of our best-loved farmland birds, such as the skylark, the grey
partridge, the lapwing and the corn bunting, have vanished from huge
stretches of countryside, as have even more wild flowers and insects. This is
a direct result of the way we have produced our food in the last four
decades. Thousands of miles of hedgerows, thousands of ponds, have
disappeared from the landscape. The faecal filth of salmon farming has
driven wild salmon from many of the sea lochs and rivers of Scotland.
Natural soil fertility is dropping in many areas because of
continuous industrial fertiliser and pesticide use, while the growth of algae
is increasing in lakes because of the fertiliser run-off. C
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Put it all together and it looks like a battlefield, but consumers rarely make
the connection at the dinner table. That is mainly because the costs of all
this damage are what economists refer to as externalities: they are outside
the main transaction, which is for example producing and selling a field of
wheat, and are borne directly by neither producers nor consumers. To many,
the costs may not even appear to be financial at all, but merely aesthetic - a
terrible shame, but nothing to do with money. And anyway they, as
consumers of food, certainly aren’t paying for it, are they? D
But the costs to society can actually be quantified and, when added up, can
amount to staggering sums. A remarkable exercise in doing this has been
carried out by one of the world’s leading thinkers on the future of
agriculture, Professor Jules Pretty, Director of the Centre for Environment
and Society at the University of Essex. Professor Pretty and his colleagues
calculated the externalities of British agriculture for one particular year.
They added up the costs of repairing the damage it caused, and came up
with a total figure of £2,343m. This is equivalent to £208 for every hectare
of arable land and permanent pasture, almost as much again as the total
government and EU spend on British farming in that year. And according to
Professor Pretty, it was a conservative estimate. E
The costs included: £120m for removal of pesticides; £16m for removal of
nitrates; £55m for removal of phosphates and soil; £23m for the removal of
the bug Cryptosporidium from drinking water by water companies; £125m
for damage to wildlife habitats, hedgerows and dry stone walls; £1,113m
from emissions of gases likely to contribute to climate change; £106m from
soil erosion and organic carbon losses; £169m from food poisoning; and
£607m from cattle disease. Professor Pretty draws a simple but memorable
conclusion from all this: our food bills are actually threefold. We are paying
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for our supposedly cheaper food in three separate ways: once over
the counter, secondly through our taxes, which provide the enormous
subsidies propping up modern intensive farming, and thirdly to clean up the
mess that modern farming leaves behind. F
So can the true cost of food be brought down? Breaking away from
industrial agriculture as the solution to hunger may be very hard for some
countries, but in Britain, where the immediate need to supply food is less
urgent, and the costs and the damage of intensive farming have been clearly
seen, it may be more feasible. The government needs to create sustainable,
competitive and diverse farming and food sectors, which will contribute to a
thriving and sustainable rural economy, and advance
environmental, economic, health, and animal welfare goals. G
But if industrial agriculture is to be replaced, what is a viable alternative?
Professor Pretty feels that organic farming would be too big a jump in
thinking and in practices for many farmers. Furthermore, the price premium
would put the produce out of reach of many poorer consumers. He is
recommending the immediate introduction of a'Greener Food Standard’,
which would push the market towards more sustainable
environmental practices than the current norm, while not requiring the full
commitment to organic production. Such a standard would comprise agreed
practices for different kinds of farming, covering agrochemical use, soil
health, land management, water and energy use, food safety and animal
health. It could go a long way, he says, to shifting consumers as well as
farmers towards a more sustainable system of agriculture. Questions:
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1. What is the main concern of a growing number of people regarding the cost of food?
A. The immediate cash cost of food is too high.
B. The collateral damage caused by food production.
C. The threat to human health caused by modern agriculture.
D. The harm to animal welfare caused by chemical fertilizers.
2. Which of the following farming practices has not contributed to the
damage caused by intensive farming? A. Mechanization.
B. Mass use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
C. Battery rearing of livestock. D. Organic farming.
3. Why do consumers often fail to make the connection between the cost of
food and the damage caused by intensive farming?
A. They are not aware of the environmental impact.
B. The costs are not financial and are merely aesthetic.
C. The costs are borne by neither producers nor consumers.
D. The costs are quantified and added to the price of food.
4. According to Professor Pretty, what are the three ways in which
consumers pay for cheaper food?
A. Over the counter, through taxes, and to clean up the mess.
B. Through subsidies, over the counter, and through taxes.
C. To clean up the mess, over the counter, and through subsidies.
D. Through taxes, to clean up the mess, and over the counter.
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5. What is Professor Pretty's recommendation to address the damage caused by intensive farming?
A. Replace industrial agriculture with organic farming.
B. Introduce a Greener Food Standard as an alternative.
C. Create sustainable and diverse farming sectors.
D. Advance environmental, economic, health, and animal welfare goals.
6. Why does Professor Pretty believe that organic farming may not be a
viable alternative for many farmers?
A. It requires a jump in thinking and practices.
B. It is too expensive for poorer consumers.
C. It does not contribute to a sustainable rural economy.
D. It cannot meet the immediate need to supply food.
7. What would a Greener Food Standard push the market towards?
A. More sustainable environmental practices.
B. Full commitment to organic production.
C. Lower prices for organic produce.
D. Intensive farming practices. 4. Reading practice 4 The Value of a College Degree
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The escalating cost of higher education is causing many to question the value
of continuing education beyond high school. Many wonder whether the high
cost of tuition, the opportunity cost of choosing college over full-time
employment, and the accumulation of thousands of dollars of debt is, in the
long run, worth the investment.
The risk is especially large for low- income families who have a difficult
time making ends meet without the additional burden of college tuition and fees.
In order to determine whether higher education is worth the investment, it is
useful to examine what is known about the value of higher education and the
rates of return on investment to both the individual and to society.
THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF HIGHER EDUCATION
There is considerable support for the notion that the rate of return on
investment in higher education is high enough to warrant the financial
burden associated with pursuing a college degree. Though the earnings
differential between college and high school graduates varies over time,
college graduates, on average, earn more than high school graduates.
According to the Census Bureau, over an adult's working life, high school
graduates earn an average of $1.2 million; associate’s degree holders earn
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about $1.6 million; and bachelor’s degree holders earn about $2.1 million (Day and Newburger, 2002).
These sizeable differences in lifetime earnings put the costs of college study
in realistic perspective. Most students today—about 80 percent of all
students—enroll either in public four- year colleges or in public two-year
colleges. According to the U.S. Department of Education report. Think
College Early, a full-time student at a public four-year college pays an
average of $8,655 for in-state tuition, room, and board (U.S. Department of
Education, 2002). A fulltime student in a public two-year college pays an
average of $1,359 per year in tuition (U.S. Department of Education, 2002).
These statistics support the contention that, though the cost of higher
education is significant, given the earnings disparity that exists between
those who earn a bachelor's degree and those who do not, the individual rate
of return on investment in higher education is sufficiently high to warrant the cost.
OTHER BENEFITS OF HIGHER EDUCATION
College graduates also enjoy benefits beyond increased income. A1998
report published by the Institute for Higher Education Policy reviews the
individual benefits that college graduates enjoy, including higher levels of
saving, increased personal/professional mobility, improved quality of life
for their offspring, better consumer decision making, and more hobbies and
leisure activities (Institute for Higher Education Policy, 1998). According to
a report published by the Carnegie Foundation, nonmonetary individual
benefits of higher education include the tendency for postsecondary students
to become more open-minded, more cultured, more rational, more
consistent, and less authoritarian; these benefits are also passed along to
succeeding generations (Rowley and Hurtado, 2002). Additionally, college
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attendance has been shown to "decrease prejudice, enhance knowledge of
world affairs and enhance social status" while increasing economic and job
security for those who earn bachelor’s degrees (Ibid.). Research has also
consistently shown a positive correlation between completion of higher
education and good health, not only for oneself, but also for one’s children.
In fact, "parental schooling levels (after controlling for differences in
earnings) are positively correlated with the health status of their children"
and Increased schooling (and higher relative income) are correlated with
lower mortality rates for given age brackets" (Cohn and Geske, 1992).
THE SOCIAL VALUE OF HIGHER EDUCATION
A number of studies have shown a high correlation between higher
education and cultural and family values, and economic growth. According
to Elchanan Cohn and Terry Geske (1992), there is the tendency for more
highly educated women to spend more time with their children; these
women tend to use this time to better prepare their children for the future.
Cohn and Geske (1992) report that "college graduates appear to have a more
optimistic view of their past and future personal progress."
Public benefits of attending college include increased tax revenues, greater
workplace productivity, increased consumption, increased workforce
flexibility, and decreased reliance on government financial support (Institute
for Higher Education Policy, 1998).... CONCLUSION
While it is clear that investment in a college degree, especially for those
students in the lowest income brackets, is a financial burden, the long-term
benefits to individuals as well as to society at large, appear to far outweigh the costs. Questions:
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1. According to the text, what are some factors that cause people to question
the value of higher education? A. The high cost of tuition
B. The opportunity cost of choosing college over full-time employment C. The accumulation of debt D. All of the above
2. What is the average lifetime earnings of high school graduates, according to the Census Bureau? A. $1.2 million B. $1.6 million C. $2.1 million D. $2.5 million
3. How much does a full-time student at a public four-year college pay, on
average, for tuition, room, and board? A. $8,655 B. $10,000 C. $12,000 D. $15,000
4. Besides increased income, what are some other benefits that college
graduates enjoy, according to the text? A. Higher levels of saving
B. Increased personal/professional mobility
C. Improved quality of life for their offspring D. All of the above
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5. What positive correlation does the text mention between higher education and good health?
A. Higher education leads to better access to healthcare.
B. Higher education leads to a healthier lifestyle.
C. Children of parents with higher education have better health. D. All of the above
6. According to the text, what are some public benefits of attending college? A. Increased tax revenues
B. Greater workplace productivity C. Increased consumption D. All of the above 5. Reading practice 5
IMPLEMENTING THE CYCLE OF SUCCESS: A CASE STUDY
Within Australia, Australian Hotels Inc (AHI) operates nine hotels and employs
over 2000 permanent full-time staff, 300 permanent part-time employees and
100 casual staff. One of its latest ventures, the Sydney Airport hotel (SAH),
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opened in March 1995. The hotel is the closest to Sydney Airport and is
designed to provide the best available accommodation, food and beverage and
meeting facilities in Sydney's southern suburbs. Similar to many international
hotel chains, however, AHI has experienced difficulties in Australia in
providing long-term profits for hotel owners, as a result of the country's high
labour-cost structure. In order to develop an economically viable hotel
organisation model, AHI decided to implement some new policies and practices at SAH.
The first of the initiatives was an organisational structure with only three levels
of management - compared to the traditional seven. Partly as a result of this
change, there are 25 per cent fewer management positions, enabling a
significant saving. This change also has other implications. Communication,
both up and down the organisation, has greatly improved. Decision-making has
been forced down in many cases to front-line employees. As a result, guest
requests are usually met without reference to a supervisor, improving both
customer and employee satisfaction.
The hotel also recognised that it would need a different approach to selecting
employees who would fit in with its new policies. In its advertisements, the
hotel stated a preference for people with some 'service' experience in order to
minimise traditional work practices being introduced into the hotel. Over 7000
applicants filled in application forms for the 120 jobs initially offered at SAH.
The balance of the positions at the hotel (30 management and 40 shift leader
positions) were predominantly filled by transfers from other AHI properties.
A series of tests and interviews were conducted with potential employees,
which eventually left 280 applicants competing for the 120 advertised positions.
After the final interview, potential recruits were divided into three categories.
Category A was for applicants exhibiting strong leadership qualities, Category
C was for applicants perceived to be followers, and Category B was for
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applicants with both leader and follower qualities. Department heads and shift
leaders then composed prospective teams using a combination of people from
all three categories. Once suitable teams were formed, offers of employment were made to team members.
Another major initiative by SAH was to adopt a totally multi-skilled workforce.
Although there may be some limitations with highly technical jobs such as
cooking or maintenance, wherever possible, employees at SAH are able to work
in a wide variety of positions. A multi-skilled workforce provides far greater
management flexibility during peak and quiet times to transfer employees to
needed positions. For example, when office staff are away on holidays during
quiet periods of the year, employees in either food or beverage or housekeeping departments can temporarily.
The most crucial way, however, of improving the labour cost structure at SAH
was to find better, more productive ways of providing customer service. SAH
management concluded this would first require a process of 'benchmarking'.
The prime objective of the benchmarking process was to compare a range of
service delivery processes across a range of criteria using teams made up of
employees from different departments within the hotel which interacted with
each other. This process resulted in performance measures that greatly enhanced
SAH's ability to improve productivity and quality.
The front office team discovered through this project that a high proportion of
AHI Club member reservations were incomplete. As a result, the service
provided to these guests was below the standard promised to them as part of
their membership agreement. Reducing the number of incomplete reservations
greatly improved guest perceptions of service.
In addition, a program modelled on an earlier project called 'Take Charge' was
implemented. Essentially, Take Charge provides an effective feedback loop
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horn both customers and employees. Customer comments, both positive and
negative, are recorded by staff. These are collated regularly to identify
opportunities for improvement. Just as importantly, employees are requested to
note down their own suggestions for improvement. (AHI has set an expectation
that employees will submit at least three suggestions for every one they receive from a customer.)
Employee feedback is reviewed daily and suggestions are implemented within
48 hours, if possible, or a valid reason is given for non-implementation. If
suggestions require analysis or data collection, the Take Charge team has 30
days in which to address the issue and come up with recommendations.
Although quantitative evidence of AHI's initiatives at SAH are limited at
present, anecdotal evidence clearly suggests that these practices are working.
Indeed AHI is progressively rolling out these initiatives in other hotels in
Australia, whilst numerous overseas visitors have come to see how the program works.
This article has been adapted and condensed fem the article by R Carter (19%),
'Implementing the cycle of success: A case study of the Sheraten Pacific
Division', Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 34(3): 111-23. Names and
other details have been changed and report findings may have been given a
different emphasis from the original. W eare grateful to Asia Pacific Journal of
Human Resources for allowing us to use, file material in this way. Questions:
1. What prompted Australian Hotels Inc (AHI) to implement new policies and
practices at the Sydney Airport hotel (SAH)?
A. The need for a more economically viable hotel organization model.
B. The desire to provide the best available accommodation in Sydney.
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C. The difficulties in providing long-term profits for hotel owners.
D. The high labor-cost structure in Australia.
2. How did reducing the number of management positions at SAH affect the organization?
A. It improved communication and decision-making.
B. It increased the number of guest requests handled by supervisors.
C. It led to a decrease in employee satisfaction.
D. It resulted in fewer applicants for job positions.
3. What was the hotel's preference when selecting employees for SAH?
A. People with leadership qualities.
B. People with traditional work practices.
C. People with service experience.
D. People with technical skills.
4. Why did SAH adopt a multi-skilled workforce?
A. To provide greater management flexibility.
B. To increase employee satisfaction. C. To reduce labor costs.
D. To improve customer service.
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5. What was the purpose of the benchmarking process at SAH?
A. To enhance SAH's ability to improve productivity and quality.
B. To identify opportunities for improvement in customer service.
C. To compare service delivery processes across different departments.
D. To interact with employees from different departments.
6. What did the front office team discover through the benchmarking process?
A. AHI Club member reservations were incomplete.
B. SAH had a high employee turnover rate.
C. SAH's service was below the promised standard.
D. The need for more employees in food and beverage departments.
7. What is the main objective of the "Take Charge" program?
A. To improve customer feedback.
B. To encourage employees to submit suggestions for improvement.
C. To provide a feedback loop between customers and employees.
D. To implement employee suggestions within 48 hours. 6. Reading practice 6 Wheel of Fortune
Downloaded by Nga T??ng (ngahuong55@gmail.com) lOMoARcPSD|36041561 Emma Duncan discusses the potential effects on the
entertainment industry of the digital revolution
A Since moving pictures were invented a century ago, a new way of
distributing entertainment to consumers has emerged about once every
generation. Each such innovation has changed the industry irreversibly; each
has been accompanied by a period of fear mixed with exhilaration. The
arrival of digital technology, which translates music, pictures and text into
the zeros and ones of computer language, marks one of those periods.
B This may sound familiar, because the digital revolution, and the explosion
of choice that would go with it, has been heralded for some time. In 1992,
John Malone, chief executive of TCI, an American cable giant, welcomed
the '500-channel universe'. Digital television was about to deliver everything
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except pizzas to people's living rooms. When the entertainment companies
tried out the technology, it worked fine - but not at a price that people were prepared to pay.
C Those 500 channels eventually arrived but via the Internet and the PC
rather than through television. The digital revolution was starting to affect
the entertainment business in unexpected ways. Eventually it will change
every aspect of it, from the way cartoons are made to the way films are
screened to the way people buy music. That much is clear. What nobody is
sure of is how it will affect the economics of the business.
D New technologies always contain within them both threats and
opportunities. They have the potential both to make the companies in the
business a great deal richer, and to sweep them away. Old companies always
fear new technology. Hollywood was hostile to television, television terrified
by the VCR. Go back far enough, points out Hal Varian, an economist at the
University of California at Berkeley, and you find publishers complaining
that 'circulating libraries' would cannibalise their sales. Yet whenever a new
technology has come in, it has made more money for existing entertainment
companies. The proliferation of the means of distribution results,
gratifyingly, in the proliferation of dollars, pounds, pesetas and the rest to pay for it.
E All the same, there is something in the old companies' fears. New
technologies may not threaten their lives, but they usually change their role.
Once television became widespread, film and radio stopped being the staple
form of entertainment. Cable television has undermined the power of the
broadcasters. And as power has shifted the movie studios, the radio
companies and the television broadcasters have been swallowed up. These
days, the grand old names of entertainment have more resonance than power.
Paramount is part of Viacom, a cable company; Universal, part of Seagram,
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a drinks-and-entertainment company; MGM, once the roaring lion of
Hollywood, has been reduced to a whisper because it is not part of one of the
giants. And RCA, once the most important broadcasting company in the
world, is now a recording label belonging to Bertelsmann, a large German entertainment company.
F Part of the reason why incumbents got pushed aside was that they did not
see what was coming. But they also faced a tighter regulatory environment
than the present one. In America, laws preventing television broadcasters
from owning programme companies were repealed earlier this decade,
allowing the creation of vertically integrated businesses. Greater freedom,
combined with a sense of history, prompted the smarter companies in the
entertainment business to re-invent themselves. They saw what happened to
those of their predecessors who were stuck with one form of distribution.
So, these days, the powers in the entertainment business are no longer
movie studios, or television broadcasters, or publishers; all those businesses
have become part of bigger businesses still, companies that can both create
content and distribute it in a range of different ways.
G Out of all this, seven huge entertainment companies have emerged - Time
Warner, Walt Disney, Bertelsmann, Viacom, News Corp, Seagram and
Sony. They cover pretty well every bit of the entertainment business except
pornography. Three are American, one is Australian, one Canadian, one
German and one Japanese. 'What you are seeing', says Christopher Dixon,
managing director of media research at PaineWebber, a stockbroker, 'is the
creation of a global oligopoly.
It happened to the oil and automotive businesses earlier this century; now it
is happening to the entertainment business.' It remains to be seen whether the
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latest technology will weaken those great companies, or make them stronger than ever. Questions:
1. According to the text, what is the digital revolution in the
entertainment industry characterized by?
A. The invention of new ways to distribute entertainment.
B. The fear mixed with exhilaration among industry professionals.
C. The translation of music, pictures, and text into computer language.
D. The explosion of choice and the arrival of digital technology.
2. How did the entertainment companies initially respond to the digital revolution?
A. They embraced the technology and its potential benefits.
B. They tested the technology but found it too expensive.
C. They were hesitant to invest in digital television.
D. They were unprepared for the changes brought by the revolution.
3. How did the digital revolution affect the entertainment business?
A. It changed the way cartoons and films are made.
B. It resulted in the proliferation of distribution channels.
C. It disrupted the economics of the industry.
D. It increased the profitability of existing companies.
4. What is the historical trend when new technologies enter the entertainment industry?
A. New technologies threaten the existence of old companies.
B. Existing entertainment companies become more profitable.
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C. The means of distribution become more diversified.
D. Publishers complain about the impact on their sales.
5. What happened to the power dynamics in the entertainment business as new technologies emerged?
A. Movie studios and broadcasters gained more power.
B. Radio and film became the dominant forms of entertainment.
C. The giants in the industry acquired smaller companies.
D. Old companies lost their influence and were acquired by larger entities.
6. What prompted smarter companies in the entertainment business to reinvent themselves?
A. The repeal of laws preventing ownership of program companies.
B. Greater freedom and a sense of history.
C. The creation of vertically integrated businesses.
D. The failure of predecessors stuck with one form of distribution.
7. How many major entertainment companies have emerged from the
digital revolution, according to the text? A. Five B. Six C. Seven D. Eight 7. Reading practice 7 Bamboo
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Bamboo is a common woody plant. It grows tall and thin. It looks almost
like a tree! It grows about twenty five metres tall. It is about fifteen
centimetres wide. Bamboo looks like it is made of many small pieces.
Thick lines divide it into small segments. And the inside of bamboo is
empty. But it is hard and very strong.
Many people think bamboo is a tree. But it is not - it is a kind of grass. It
grows mainly in East and South East Asia. It also grows in Latin
America, India and parts of Africa and Australia. Bamboo grows
extremely fast and spreads very quickly. There are 1500 different kinds of
bamboo. People all over the world use it. And people are planting more
of it. Some people call bamboo ‘the crop of the future.’ They have many good reasons to plant bamboo.
There are over 1,000 uses for bamboo! People in the past used bamboo
for many things. They made musical instruments and weapons with
bamboo. Artists used it for paintbrushes and paper. Fishermen used it to
make equipment for catching fish. Some people even made boats from bamboo!
In China and India, doctors use bamboo in traditional medicine. Bamboo
is also very useful for cooking. People put food inside the empty bamboo
plant. This is a good container for cooking soup, rice or tea. But people
also eat bamboo as a healthy food. People eat the soft part, or shoot, of
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the bamboo in many ways. Most Asian countries have special foods made from bamboo shoots.
Bamboo has been used in traditional buildings. But builders also use it
today! The village of Noh Bo is just one example.
There are many modern uses for bamboo. In 1879 Thomas Edison created
the first light bulb. He made it with treated bamboo!
People also use bamboo to make cloth. Beauty products sometimes
contain bamboo. It is even in some water filters, to clean water! People
have even designed vehicles and airplanes out of bamboo. In Ghana,
people even make two wheeled bicycles from bamboo. In the Philippines,
people make electricity from bamboo! Buildings, bicycles, light bulbs
and even electricity: bamboo is an amazing plant.
These are just a few of the many ways people use bamboo. But bamboo is
useful for a much more important reason. It is useful while it grows!
Growing bamboo helps the environment in many ways. Bamboo provides
oxygen, which improves air quality. It also reduces harmful carbon
dioxide in the air. It does this more quickly than trees. Bamboo also
provides shade and shelter from the sun.
In many places, hardwood trees are cut down for fuel or for building.
This causes problems for the earth, animals, plants and air. To keep a
good environment, people must replace the trees. But it takes a very long
time for most trees to reach their full size. Many hardwood trees take 50 years to grow!
Bamboo is ready to use in only three years. Bamboo is the fastest
growing woody plant in the world. It can grow about 60 centimeters in
only one day. The bamboo plant grows to its full size in just three or four
months. Some kinds of bamboo then become dry and hard. In three years,
it is strong enough to harvest and use. And bamboo grows again when it
is cut down. People can harvest it year after year.
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Some people are sure that bamboo is ‘the crop of the future’. For
example, Nicaragua has many hardwood forests. But people are cutting
down three percent of the forests every year. One organization, Eco-
planet Bamboo, is trying to replace these trees with bamboo.
Eco-Planet Bamboo planted a large bamboo farm. Through this farm,
Eco-Planet Bamboo hopes to improve the environment. They also hope to
improve life for local people. Bamboo is helping to reduce poverty in Nicaragua.
In Nicaragua, bamboo is providing jobs. Around the world, it is
improving the environment and the economy. It is easy to see why people
call bamboo the ‘crop of the future.’ Questions:
1. What is the main characteristic of bamboo? A. It grows tall and thin.
B. It is made of many small pieces.
C. It has thick lines dividing it into segments. D. It is hard and very strong.
2. Which statement about bamboo is true? A. It is a type of tree.
B. It grows mainly in Europe and North America. C. It spreads slowly.
D. There are 1500 different kinds of bamboo.
3. What are some traditional uses of bamboo?
A. Making musical instruments and weapons.
B. Using it as a paintbrush and paper.
Downloaded by Nga T??ng (ngahuong55@gmail.com) lOMoARcPSD|36041561 C. Using it for cooking. D. All of the above.
4. What is one modern use of bamboo mentioned in the text? A. Making light bulbs. B. Making cloth. C. Generating electricity. D. All of the above.
5. How does growing bamboo help the environment?
A. It provides shade and shelter from the sun.
B. It reduces harmful carbon dioxide in the air.
C. It grows faster than most trees. D. All of the above.
6. Why is bamboo considered the "crop of the future"?
A. It provides jobs and reduces poverty.
B. It is easy to grow and harvest.
C. It improves the environment and the economy. D. All of the above. 8. Reading practice 8
Out of Africa: Saharan Solar Energy
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Vivienne Wait reports on how the Sahara Desert could offer a truly green
solution to Europe’s energy problems A
For years, the Sahara has been regarded by many Europeans as a terra
incognita* of little economic value or importance. But this idea may soon
change completely. Politicians and scientists on both sides of the Mediterranean
are beginning to focus on the Sahara’s potential to provide power for Europe in
the future. They believe the desert’s true value comes from the fact that it is dry
and empty. Some areas of the Sahara reach 45 degrees centigrade on many
afternoons. It is, in other words, a gigantic natural storehouse of solar energy. B
A few years ago, scientists began to calculate just how much energy the Sahara
holds. They were astonished at the answer. In theory, a 90,600 square kilometre
chunk of the Sahara - smaller than Portugal and a little over 1% of its total area
- could yield the same amount of electricity as all the world’s power plants
combined. A smaller square of 15,500 square kilometres - about the size of
Connecticut - could provide electricity for Europe’s 500 million people.
'I admit I was sceptical until 1 did the calculations myself,’ says Michael
Pawlyn, director of Exploration Architecture, one of three British environmental
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companies comprising the Sahara Forest Project, which is testing solar plants in
Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Pawlyn calls the Sahara’s potential ’staggering’. C
At the moment, no one is proposing the creation of a solar power station the size
of a small country. But a relatively well-developed technology exists, which
proponents say could turn the Sahara’s heat and sunlight into a major source of
electricity - Concentrating Solar Power [CSP], Unlike solar panels, which
convert sunlight directly into electricity, CSP utilises mirrors which focus light
on water pipes or boilers to produce very hot steam to operate the turbines of
generators. Small CSP plants have produced power in California’s Mojave
Desert since the 1980s. The Sahara Forest Project proposes building CSP plants
in areas below sea level (the Sahara has several such depressions) so that sea
water can flow into them. This water would then be purified and used for
powering turbines and washing dust off the mirrors. Waste water would then
supply irrigation to areas around the stations, creating lush oases - hence the
’forest’ in the group’s name. D
But producing Significant quantities of electricity means building huge arrays of
mirrors and pipes across hundreds of miles of remote desert, which is
expensive. Gerry Wolff, an engineer who heads DESERTEC, an international
consortium of solar-power scientists, says they have estimated it will cost about
$59 billion to begin transmitting power from the Sahara by 2020. E
Building plants is just part of the challenge. One of the drawbacks to CSP
technology is that it works at maximum efficiency only in sunny, hot climates -
and deserts tend to be distant from population centres. To supply Europe with
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20% of its electricity needs, more than 19,300 kilometres of cables would need
to be laid under the Mediterranean, says Gunnar Asplund, head of HVDC
research at ABB Power Technologies in Ludvika, Sweden. Indeed, to use
renewable sources of power, including solar, wind and tidal, Europe will need
to build completely new electrical grids. That’s because existing infrastructures,
built largely for the coal- fired plants that supply 80% of Europe’s power, would
not be suitable for carrying the amount of electricity generated by the Sahara.
Germany’s government-run Aerospace Centre, which researches energy,
estimates that replacing those lines could raise the cost of building solar plants
in the Sahara and sending significant amounts of power to Europe to about $485
billion over the next 40 years. Generous government subsidies will be needed.
‘Of course it costs a lot of money,’ says Asplund. ‘It’s a lot cheaper to burn coal
than to make solar power in the Sahara.’ F
Meanwhile, some companies are getting started. Seville engineering company
Abengoa is building one solar- thermal plant in Algeria and another in
Morocco, while a third is being built in Egypt by a Spanish-Japanese joint
venture. The next step will be to get cables in place. Although the European
Parliament has passed a law that aids investors who help the continent reach its
goal of getting 20% of itg power from renewable energy by 2020, it could take
years to create the necessary infrastructure. G
Nicholas Dunlop, secretary-general of the London-based NGO e-Parliament,
thinks companies should begin transmitting small amounts of solar power as
soon as the North African plants begin operating, by linking a few cable lines
under the Med. 'I call it the Lego method,’ he says. ‘Build it piece by piece.’ If
It can be shown that power from the Sahara can be produced profitably, he says,
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companies and governments will soon jump in. If they do, perhaps airplane
passengers flying across the Sahara will one day count the mirrors and patches
of green instead of staring at sand.
adapted from Time Magazine Questions:
1. According to the text, how has the Sahara been regarded by many Europeans in the past?
A. As a source of renewable energy
B. As a place of economic value C. As a terra incognita
D. As a potential power supplier for Europe
2. What is the main reason the Sahara is considered a potential source of power for Europe? A. Its dry and empty nature B. Its vast size C. Its proximity to Europe D. Its natural resources
3. According to the calculations mentioned in the text, how much electricity
could a 90,600 square kilometer chunk of the Sahara yield?
A. The same as all the world's power plants combined
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B. Enough for Europe's 500 million people
C. Less than all the world's power plants combined
D. The same as all the power plants in Portugal
4. Which technology does the Sahara Forest Project propose for converting the
Sahara's heat and sunlight into electricity? A. Solar panels
B. Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) C. Wind turbines D. Tidal generators
5. What is one of the drawbacks to CSP technology mentioned in the text?
A. It is expensive to build CSP plants in the Sahara.
B. CSP technology only works in sunny, hot climates.
C. Existing infrastructures are suitable for carrying electricity generated by CSP.
D. CSP plants require vast amounts of water.
6. According to the text, what is the estimated cost of transmitting power from the Sahara by 2020? A. $59 billion B. $485 billion C. $485 million
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7. What is one reason why existing electrical grids in Europe would not be
suitable for carrying the amount of electricity generated by the Sahara?
A. They were built for coal-fired plants. B. They are not large enough. C. They are outdated.
D. They are too expensive to maintain. 9. Reading practice 9 The Earth and Space Foundation
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The community that focuses its efforts on the exploration of space has largely
been different from the community focused on the study and protection of the
Earth's environment, despite the fact that both fields of interest involve what
might be referred to as "scientific exploration'. The reason for this dichotomous
existence is chiefly historical. The exploration of the Earth has been occurring
over many centuries, and the institutions created to do it are often very different
from those founded in the second part of the 20th century to explore space. This
separation is also caused by the fact that space exploration has attracted experts
from mainly non-biological disciplines - primarily engineers and physicists - but
the study of Earth and its environment is a domain heavily populated by biologists.
The separation between the two communities is often reflected in attitudes. In
the environmental community, it is not uncommon for space exploration to be
regarded as a waste of money, distracting governments from solving major
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environmental problems here at home. In the space exploration community, it is
not uncommon for environmentalists to be regarded as introspective people who
divert attention from the more expansive visions of the exploration of space -
the ‘new frontier’. These perceptions can also be negative in consequence
because the full potential of both communities can be realised better when they
work together to solve problems. For example, those involved in space
exploration can provide the satellites to monitor the Earth’s fragile
environments, and environmentalists can provide information on the survival of life in extreme environments.
In the sense that Earth and space exploration both stem from the same human
drive to understand our environment and our place within it, there is no reason
for the split to exist. A more accurate view of Earth and space exploration is to
see them as a continuum of exploration with many interconnected and mutually
beneficial links. The Earth and Space Foundation, a registered charity, was
established for the purposes of fostering such links through field research and by direct practical action.
Projects that have been supported by the Foundation include environmental
projects using technologies resulting from space exploration: satellite
communications, GPS, remote sensing, advanced materials and power sources.
For example, in places where people are faced with destruction of the forests on
which their livelihood depends, rather than rejecting economic progress and
trying to save the forests on their intrinsic merit, another approach is to enhance
the value of the forests - although these schemes must be carefully assessed to
be successful. In the past, the Foundation provided a grant to a group of
expeditions that used remote sensing to plan eco-tourism routes in the forests of
Guatemala, thus providing capital to the local communities through the tourist
trade. This novel approach is now making the protection of the forests a sensible economic decision.
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The Foundation funds expeditions making astronomical observations from
remote, difficult-to-access Earth locations, archaeological field projects
studying the development of early civilisations that made significant
contributions to astronomy and space sciences, and field expeditions studying
the way in which views of the astronomical environment shaped the nature of
past civilisations. A part of Syria - ‘the Fertile Crescent’ - was the birthplace of
astronomy, accountancy, animal domestication and many other fundamental
developments of human civilisation. The Foundation helped fund a large
archaeology project by the Society for Syrian Archaeology at the University of
California, Los Angeles, in collaboration with the Syrian government that used
GPS and satellite imagery to locate mounds, or ’tels’, containing artefacts and
remnants of early civilisations. These collections are being used to build a better
picture of the nature of the civilisations that gave birth to astronomy.
Field research also applies the Earth’s environmental and biological resources to
the human exploration and settlement of space. This may include the use of
remote environments on Earth, as well as physiological and psychological
studies in harsh environments. In one research project, the Foundation provided
a grant to an international caving expedition to study the psychology of
explorers subjected to long-term isolation in caves in Mexico. The psychometric
tests on the cavers were used to enhance US astronaut selection criteria by the NASA Johnson Space Center.
Space-like environments on Earth help us understand how to operate in the
space environment or help us characterise extraterrestrial environments for
future scientific research. In the Arctic, a 24-kilometrewide impact crater
formed by an asteroid or comet 23 million years ago has become home tc a
Mars- analogue programme. The Foundation helped fund the NASA Haughton-
Mars Project to use this crater to test communications and exploration
technologies in preparation for the human exploration of Mars. The crater,
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which sits in high Arctic permafrost, provides an excellent replica of the
physical processes occurring on Mars, a permafrosted, impact-altered planet.
Geologists and biologists can work at the site to help understand how impact
craters shape the geological characteristics and possibly biological potential of Mars.
In addition to its fieldwork and scientific activities. the Foundation has award
programmes. These include a series of awards for the future human exploration
of Mars, a location with a diverse set of exploration challenges. The awards will
honour a number of ‘firsts’ on Mars that include landing on the surface,
undertaking an overland expedition to the Martian South Pole, undertaking an
overland expedition to the Martian North Pole, climbing Olympus Mons, the
highest mountain in the solar system, and descending to the bottom of Valles
Marineris, the deepest canyon on Mars. The Foundation will offer awards for
expeditions further out in the solar system once these Mars awards have been
claimed. Together, they demonstrate that the programme really has no boundary
in what it could eventually support, and they provide longevity for the objectives of the Foundation. Questions:
1. According to the text, why has the community focused on space exploration
been different from the community focused on the study and protection of the Earth's environment?
A. The institutions created for space exploration were founded in the 20th century.
B. Space exploration attracts experts from non-biological disciplines.
C. The environmental community regards space exploration as a waste of money.
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D. The study of Earth and its environment is heavily populated by biologists.
2. What is the consequence of the separation between the space exploration and environmental communities?
A. The full potential of both communities cannot be realized.
B. Environmentalists divert attention from the exploration of space.
C. Space exploration receives less government funding.
D. The survival of life in extreme environments cannot be studied.
3. What does the Earth and Space Foundation aim to do?
A. Foster links between the space exploration and environmental communities.
B. Support projects that use technologies resulting from space exploration.
C. Fund expeditions making astronomical observations.
D. Promote eco-tourism in forests.
4. How does the Foundation contribute to the protection of forests?
A. By assessing the success of schemes to enhance the value of forests.
B. By providing grants for archaeological field projects in forests.
C. By funding expeditions that use remote sensing to plan eco-tourism routes.
D. By making the protection of forests an economic decision.
5. How does field research apply the Earth's resources to the human exploration and settlement of space?
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A. By studying the psychology of explorers subjected to isolation in caves.
B. By testing communication and exploration technologies in an impact crater.
C. By characterizing extraterrestrial environments for future scientific research.
D. By awarding expeditions for the future human exploration of Mars.
6. What is the purpose of the awards offered by the Foundation?
A. To recognize achievements in the study and protection of the Earth's environment.
B. To encourage exploration challenges on Mars.
C. To support expeditions further out in the solar system.
D. To provide longevity for the objectives of the Foundation. 10.Reading practice test 10
The new way to be a fifth-grader
I peer over his shoulder at his laptop screen to see the math problem the
fifth-grader is pondering. It's a trigonometry problem. Carpenter, a
serious-feced ten-year-old, pauses for a second, fidgets, then clicks on ”0
degrees." The computer tells him that he's correct. "It took a while for me
to work it out," he admits sheepishly. The software then generates another
problem, followed by another, until eventually he's done ten in a row.
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Last November, his teacher, Kami Thordarson, began using Khan
Academy in her class. It is an educational website on which students can
watch some 2,400 videos. The videos are anything but sophisticated. At
seven to 14 minutes long, they consist of a voiceover by the site's
founder, Salman Khan, chattily describing a mathematical concept or
explaining how to solve a problem, while his hand-scribbled formulas
and diagrams appear on-screen. As a student, you can review a video as
many times as you want, scrolling back several times over puzzling parts
and fast-forwarding through the boring bits you already know. Once
you've mastered a video, you can move on to the next one.
Initially, Thordarson thought Khan Academy would merely be a helpful
supplement to her normal instruction. But it quickly became far more
than that. She is now on her way to "flipping" the way her class works.
This involves replacing some of her lectures with Khan's videos, which
students can watch at home. Then in class, they focus on working on the
problem areas together. The idea is to invert the normal rhythms of
school, so that lectures are viewed in the children's own time and
homework is done at school. It sounds weird, Thordarson admits, but this
reversal makes sense when you think about it. It is when they are doing
homework that students are really grappling with a subject and are most
likely to want someone to talk to. And Khan Academy provides teachers
with a dashboard application that lets them see the instant a student gets stuck.
For years, teachers like Thordarson have complained about the
frustrations of teaching to the "middle" of the class. They stand at the
whiteboard trying to get 25 or more students to learn at the same pace.
Advanced students get bored and tune out, lagging ones get lost and tune
out, and pretty soon half the class is not paying attention. Since the rise of
personal computers in the 1980s, educators have hoped that technology
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could save the day by offering lessons tailored to each child. Schools
have spent millions of dollars on sophisticated classroom technology, but
the effort has been in vain. The one-to-one instruction it requires is, after
all, prohibitively expensive. What country can afford such a luxury?
Khan never intended to overhaul the school curricula and he doesn't have
a consistent, comprehensive plan for doing so. Nevertheless, some of his
fans believe that he has stumbled onto the solution to education's middle-
of-the-class mediocrity. Most notable among them is Bill Gates, whose
foundation has invested $1.5 million in Khan's site. Students have pointed
out that Khan is particularly good at explaining all the hidden, small steps
in math problems—steps that teachers often gloss over. He has an
uncanny ability to inhabit the mind of someone who doesn't already understand something.
However, not all educators are enamoured with Khan and his site. Gary
Stager, a longtime educational consultant and advocate of laptops in
classrooms,, thinks Khan Academy is not innovative at all. The videos
and software modules, he contends, are just a high-tech version of the
outdated teaching techniques—lecturing and drilling. Schools have
become "joyless test-prep factories," he says, and Khan Academy caters to this dismal trend.
As Sylvia Martinez, president of an organization focusing on technology
in the classroom, puts it, "The things they're doing are really just rote."
Flipping the classroom isn't an entirely new idea, Martinez says, and she
doubts that it would work for the majority of pupils: "I'm sorry, but if
they can't understand the lecture in a classroom, they're not going to grasp
it better when it's done through a video at home."
Another limitation of Khan's site is that the drilling software can only
handle questions where the answers are unambiguously right or wrong,
like math or chemistry; Khan has relatively few videos on messier, grey-
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area subjects like history. Khan and Gates admit there is no easy way to
automate the teaching of writing—even though it is just as critical as math.
Even if Khan is truly liberating students to advance at their own pace, it is
not clear that schools will be able to cope. The very concept of grade
levels implies groups of students moving along together at an even pace.
So what happens when, using Khan Academy, you wind up with a ten-
year- old who has already mastered high-school physics? Khan's
programmer, Ben Kamens, has heard from teachers who have seen Khan
Academy presentations and loved the idea but wondered whether they
could modify it "to stop students from becoming this advanced."
Khan's success has injected him into the heated wars over school reform.
Reformers today, by and large, believe student success should be
carefully tested, with teachers and principals receiving better pay if their
students advance more quickly. In essence, Khan doesn't want to change
the way institutions teach; he wants to change how people learn, whether
they're in a private school or a public school—or for that matter, whether
they're a student or an adult trying to self-educate in Ohio, Brazil, Russia,
or India. One member of Khan's staff is spearheading a drive to translate
the videos into ten major languages. It's classic start-up logic: do
something novel, do it with speed, and the people who love it will find you.
11.Adapted from Wired Magazine Questions:
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1. What is the purpose of using Khan Academy in Kami Thordarson's class?
A. To replace all of her lectures
B. To provide additional instruction for struggling students
C. To supplement her normal instruction
D. To make homework easier for students
2. According to the text, why do teachers like Thordarson complain about
teaching to the "middle" of the class?
A. Advanced students get bored, and lagging ones get lost.
B. It is difficult to get all students to pay attention.
C. It is hard to find the right pace for all students.
D. Students often struggle with the material.
3. What does the text suggest about the effectiveness of technology in tailoring lessons to each child?
A. It has been successful in solving the middle-of-the-class mediocrity problem.
B. It is prohibitively expensive for schools to implement.
C. It has not lived up to the expectations of educators.
D. It has been widely adopted by schools.
4. According to the text, what is one advantage of Khan Academy's videos?
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A. They are shorter than traditional lectures.
B. They include hand-scribbled formulas and diagrams.
C. They cater to the joyless test-prep trend in schools.
D. They are better for teaching writing than math.
5. What limitation does the text mention about Khan Academy's drilling software?
A. It can only handle unambiguously right or wrong answers.
B. It is not available for subjects like history.
C. It cannot be modified to suit advanced students.
D. It does not work well for chemistry problems.
6. What does the text imply about the concept of grade levels in schools?
A. It is essential for students to advance at an even pace.
B. It should be abandoned in favor of individualized learning.
C. It is a hindrance to students who want to advance quickly.
D. It is no longer relevant in modern education.
7. According to the text, what does Khan want to change? A. How institutions teach B. How people learn
C. The way schools are structured
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D. The education system in general
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