首页
登录
职称英语
In 1930, W. K. Kellogg made what he thought was a sensible decision, grounde
In 1930, W. K. Kellogg made what he thought was a sensible decision, grounde
游客
2024-01-01
24
管理
问题
In 1930, W. K. Kellogg made what he thought was a sensible decision, grounded in the best economic, social and management theories of the time. Workers at his cereal plant in Battle Greek, Mich, were told to go home two hours earlier every day for good.
The Depression-era move was hailed in Factory and Industrial Management magazine as the "biggest piece of industrial news since Henry Ford announced his five-dollar-a-day policy. " It’s believed that industry and machines would lead to workers’ paradises where all would have less work, more free time, and yet still produce enough to meet their needs.
So what happened? Today, instead of working less, our hours have stayed steady or risen — and today many more women work so that families can afford the trappings of suburbia. In effect, workers chose the path of consumption over leisure.
With unemployment at a nine-year high and many workers worried about losing their jobs — or forced to accept cutbacks in pay and benefits — work is hardly the paradise economists once envisioned.
The modern environment would seem alien to pre-industrial laborers. For centuries, the household — from farms to "cottage" craftsmen — was the unit of production. The whole family was part of the enterprise, be it farming, blacksmithing, or baking. "In pre-industrial society, work and family were practically the same thing," says Gillis.
The Industrial Revolution changed all that. Mills and massive iron smelters required ample labor and constant attendance. For the first time, work and family were split. Instead of selling what they produced, workers sold their time. With more people leaving farms to move to cities and factories, labor became a commodity and placed on the market like any other.
Innovation gave rise to an industrial process based on machinery and mass production.
The theories of Frederick Taylor, a Philadelphia factory foreman, led to work being broken down into component parts, with each step timed to coldly quantify jobs that skilled craftsmen had worked a lifetime to learn. Workers resented Taylor and his stopwatch, complaining that his focus on process stripped their jobs of creativity and pride, making them irritable. Long before anyone knew what "stress" was, Taylor brought it to the workplace — and without sympathy.
The division of work into components that could be measured and easily taught reached its apex in Ford’s River Rouge Plant in Dearborn, Mich. , where the assembly line
came of age
. To maximize the production lines, businesses needed long hours from their workers. But it was no easy to sell.
Labor leaders fought back with their own propaganda. For more than a century, a key struggle for the labor movement was reducing the amount of time workers had to spend on the job.
Between 1830 and 1930, work hours were cut nearly in half, with economist John Maynard Keynes famously predicting in 1930 that by 2030 a 15-hour workweek would be standard. While work had once been a means to serve God, two centuries of choices and industrialization had turned work into an end in itself, stripped of the spiritual meaning that sustained the Puritans who came ready to tame the wilderness.
By the end of the 1970s, companies were reaching out to spiritually drained workers by offering more engagement while withdrawing the promise of a job for life, as the American economy faced a stiff challenge from cheaper workers abroad. By the 1990s, technology made working from home possible for a growing number of people. Seen as a boon at first, telecommuting and the rapidly proliferating "electronic leash" of cell phones made work inescapable, as employees found themselves on call 24/7. Today, almost half of American workers use computers, cell phones, E-mail, and faxes for work during what is supposed to be nonwork time. Home is no longer a refuge but a cozier extension of the office.
When the stock market bubble burst and the economy fell into its recent recession, workers were forced to re-evaluate their priorities. They want a better quality of life; they’re asking for more flextime to spend with their families.
But there’s still the question of fulfillment. A recent study shows that work doesn’t satisfy workers’ deeper needs. "We expect more and more out of our jobs," says Hunnicutt. "We expect to find wonderful people and experience all around us. " [br] What’s the workers’ reaction to Taylor’s innovation?
选项
A、Workers complained they could not create because of the innovation.
B、Workers complained that Taylor carried out his policy without sympathy.
C、Workers complained that Taylor should tell them the " stress" resulted from the innovation.
D、Workers complained that Taylor’s focus on process stripped their jobs of creativity and pride.
答案
D
解析
细节题型见第七段第三句:Workers resented Taylor and his stopwatch,complaining that his focus on process stripped their jobs of creativity and pride,making them irritable.(工人们怨恨泰勒和他的秒表,抱怨他将精力全放在了工作的各个步骤上,却剥夺了他们工作的创造力和自豪感,这一切令工人们异常气愤);因此D为答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3323879.html
相关试题推荐
HowtoSelectTravelCompanionsThereisnomoreimportantdecisionorg
CriticsoftheWrightbrothersthoughtthattheideaofaflyingmachinewastot
Theincome-taxdeadlineapproachesandsometaxpayers’thoughtsturntoit.
Theincome-taxdeadlineapproachesandsometaxpayers’thoughtsturntoit.
Theincome-taxdeadlineapproachesandsometaxpayers’thoughtsturntoit.
Theincome-taxdeadlineapproachesandsometaxpayers’thoughtsturntoit.
In1930,W.K.Kelloggmadewhathethoughtwasasensibledecision,grounde
In1930,W.K.Kelloggmadewhathethoughtwasasensibledecision,grounde
In1930,W.K.Kelloggmadewhathethoughtwasasensibledecision,grounde
In1930,W.K.Kelloggmadewhathethoughtwasasensibledecision,grounde
随机试题
Theyoungmanagerwasso______thathecancelledhisbusinesstriptoNewYork.
Themessage______Mr.Blackwaselectedchairmanofthecommitteearrivedjust
Readthefollowingpassageandfillineachblankwithoneword.Choosethecorr
随着中国旅游业的发展,泥塑已经成为广受欢迎的旅游纪念品,得到世界各地游客的青睐。WiththedevelopmentofChina’stourism
口角正常的位置在() A.位于侧切牙与尖牙之间 B.位于内眦垂直
我可以不同意你的观点,但誓死捍卫你说话的权利()对这句话的正确理解是()A.言
我国1978/79年度小麦产量5384万吨,到了1992/93年度小麦产量101
某日凌晨1时25分左右,某派出所“街面图像监控室”民警在视频监控时发现:一名成年
患者女,3岁,自出生时右上唇唇裂,检查见患儿右侧上唇Ⅲ度唇裂,至鼻底,右侧鼻翼塌
(2015年真题)中国公民孙某任职于一家外资企业,2014年月平均工资为80
最新回复
(
0
)