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  3. As anyone who has tried to lose weight knows, realistic goal-setting generally produces the best results. That’s partially becau

As anyone who has tried to lose weight knows, realistic goal-setting generally produces the best results. That’s partially becau

admin2012-07-21  42
问题     As anyone who has tried to lose weight knows, realistic goal-setting generally produces the best results. That’s partially because it appears people who set realistic goals actually work more efficiently, and exert more effort, to achieve those goals.
What’s far less understood by scientists, however, are the potentially harmful effects of goal-setting.
    Newspapers relay daily accounts of goal-setting prevalent in industries and businesses up and down both Wall Street and Main Street, yet there has been surprisingly little research on how the long-trumpeted practice of setting goals may have contributed to the current economic crisis, and unethical (不道德的) behavior in general.
    "Goals are widely used and promoted as having really beneficial effects. And yet, the same motivation that can push people to exert more effort in a constructive way could also motivate people to be more likely to engage in unethical behaviors," says Maurice Schweitzer, an associate professor at Perm’s Wharton School.
    "It turns out there’s no economic benefit to just having a goal—you just get a psychological benefit." Schweitzer says. "But in many cases, goals have economic rewards that make them more powerful."
    A prime example Schweitzer and his colleagues cite is the 2004 collapse of energy-trading giant Enron, where managers used financial incentives to motivate salesmen to meet specific revenue goals. The problem, Schweitzer says, is the actual trades were not profitable.
    Other studies have shown that saddling employees with unrealistic goals can compel them to lie, cheat or steal. Such was the case in the early 1990s when Sears imposed a sales quota on its auto repair staff. It prompted employees to overcharge for work and to complete unnecessary repairs on a companywide basis.
    Schweitzer concedes his research runs counter to a very large body of literature that commends the many benefits of goal-setting. Advocates of the practice have taken issue with his team’s use of Such evidence as news accounts to support his conclusion that goal-setting is widely over-prescribed.
    In a rebuttal (反驳) paper, Dr. Edwin Locke writes: "Goal-setting is not going away. Organizations cannot thrive without being focused on their desired end results any more than an individual can thrive without goals to provide a sense of purpose."
    But Schweitzer contends the "mounting causal evidence" linking goal-setting and harmful behavior should be studied to help spotlight issues that merit caution and further investigation. "Even a few negative effects could be so large that they outweigh many positive effects," he says.
    "Goal-setting does help coordinate and motivate people. My idea would be to combine that with careful oversight, a strong organizational culture, and make sure the goals that you use are going to be constructive and not significantly harm the organization," Schweitzer says.
What message does the author try to convey about goal-setting?
选项 A、The goals most people set are unrealistic.
B、The goals increase people’s work efficiency.
C、Its negative effects have long been neglected.
D、Its role has been largely underestimated.
答案C
解析 作者观点在前三段就给出了。文章开篇以减肥者的亲身体验引入设定目标的好处，第2段转折指出科学家对设定目标的负面影响知之甚少；第3段中作者更是直接指出“有关目标设定对经济危机和不道德行为影响的研究少之又少”，故可总结作者认为“设定目标的负面影响长期以来一直受到人们的忽视”，即[C]正确。文中虽然提到不切实际的目标会产生不良影响，但并没有说多数人的目标都不切实际，[A]中most属于过度推断；首段中作者已经指出设定切合实际目标(realistic goal)的人通常工作更有效率，[B]中的goals太泛；[D]与文意矛盾，文中作者说的是人们高估了目标的作用，而不是低估。
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