Information will be the greatest opportunity for business leaders in the coming years — and perhaps our biggest headache. Since

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问题    Information will be the greatest opportunity for business leaders in the coming years — and perhaps our biggest headache. Since the dawn of the Internet, all of us in business have been swept up by the Niagara of information that fills our daily life. Real-life updates from the Hang Seng index; photos shared around the world seconds after they’ve been taken; customized maps and directions delivered to you even as you drive. It is all breathtaking.
   But for the leaders in business, the information surge has triggered its own unintended consequences, especially for those over 40. Today new employees arrive on their first day with an alarming amount of know-it-all. They have already read about you, and the online critiques of your plans, strategies and management style. The bloggers and the twitters — all receiving steady streams of in-house gossip — analyze, assess and ridicule every business moment. In this environment, traditional management is impossible. The hierarchical, layered structures in which company information is carefully managed and then selectively passed down the line have crumbled. The online era has made command-and-control management as another dial-up Internet.
   Although decision-making has always been the task of a leader, it has become harder. The online world has guaranteed that every remark about your business and every change you implement will trigger a viral frenzy of second-guessing. Borrowing from the black bag of politics, your competitors will also be spreading their version of "opposition research", feeding the blogosphere with critiques of your leadership.
   So the greatest task for leadership in business is the ability to cut through the information clutter and make clear decisions without apology. More than at any time, employees need unequivocal direction. Leaders should not only grow a thicker skin, but also understand how important they can be to their own team by interpreting both the news and the disinformation. When some CEOs spoke to an audience, they were often required to talk about their reaction to some recent press story or the latest legislative debate. These are wonderful opportunities for leadership. Employees, investors, customers and business partners are heartened by those who can sift through the flood of opinion and clearly communicate what matters — and what doesn’t — to the enterprise.
   Of course, communication cannot be a one-way street. The central role of information in business life has made two other much neglected leadership tasks more urgent.
   The first is listening. Listening to your employees at every level is one of the best paths to new insights. Precisely because the Internet has made information so plentiful, your own team is likely to be full of ideas that should be tapped into.
   The second obligation that information creates for executives is to identify and mentor thought leaders. It is pressing to find those employees who have the ability to digest and interpret information for others.
   The flood of information is only going to rise. Leadership will increasingly mean leveraging that information, clarifying it, and using it to advance your strategy, engage customers and motivate employees. Business stakeholders are interested not only in your products and services, but also in your ideas.
What does the expression "the Niagara of information" underlined in Paragraph 1 refer to?

选项 A、Rising information.
B、The region of Niagara.
C、Information flooding.
D、The information about Niagara.

答案C

解析    近义表述。第一段开篇即表明互联网时代的信息是一把双刃剑,然后就是本句“all of us in business have been swept up by the Niagara of information”,从短语“sweep up(横扫)”可以判断, “Niagara of information”是一种隐喻,或者夸张,因为尼亚加拉大瀑布是世界第一大跨国瀑布,在信息大爆炸的今天,信息如洪流一般倾泻而来,因此选项C正确。这一点也可以通过第八段第一句话来印证。【知识拓展】近义表述类似近义词(或短语)替换,需要找寻二者的语义相似处。本题的Niagara of information里有一点背景知识,不知道尼亚加拉大瀑布的读者或许会遇到问题,不过基于常识判断,信息大爆炸时代的信息轰炸是可预测的。此外,选项C的flooding与瀑布的隐喻有相似的本体——喻体的映射路径,有助于选择判断。
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