2009.12月英语四级真题听力篇章对话1-3

Passage 3

It’s logical to suppose that things like good labor relations, good working conditions, good wages and benefits and job security motivate workers, but one expert, Fredrick Herzberg argued that such conditions do not motivate workers. They are merely satisfiers. Motivators, in contrast, include things such as having a challenging and interesting job, recognition and responsibility. However, even with the development of computers and robotics, there’re always plenty of boring, repetitive and mechanical jobs and lots of unskilled people who have to do them. So how do mangers motivate people in such jobs? One solution is to give them some responsibilities, not as individuals, but as a part of a team. For example, some supermarkets can buy office stuff to people who fill the shelves, and the people who work at the check out into a team, and let them decide what product lines to stock, how to display them and so on. Many people now talk about the importance of a company’s shared values or culture with which all the staff can identify, for example, being the best hotel chain, or making the best, the most user-friendly or the most reliable products in a particular field. Such values are more likely to motivate workers than financial targets which automatically only concern a few people. Unfortunately, there’s only a limited number of such goals to go around and by definition, not all the competing companies in that industry can seriously plan to be the best.

Questions 32 to 35 are based on the passage you have just heard.

Q32: What can actually motivate workers according to Fredrick Herzberg?

Q33: What does the speaker say about jobs in the computer era?

Q34: What do some supermarkets do to motivate their employees?

Q35: Why does the speaker say financial targets are less likely to motivate workers?