TV电视游戏.docx

Supplementary reading materials for the first semester
Text One
Practice effective goal setting

E
mployees have many goals. They strive to reach quotas, win contests, please others, make it through the workday, or outperform their co-workers. Their goals are sometimes difficult and sometimes easy, sometimes specific and sometimes vague. The nature of employee goals and how they are set are critical. Goal setting is a simple and inexpensive, but very powerful, tool in the leader’s arsenal.

Why are goals so important?

◆Goals let employees know what is expected of them.
◆Goals can relieve boredom. Consider how boring most games would be if you didn’t keep score.
◆When people reach their goals, they like their jobs more and are more satisfied with their performance.
◆Reaching a goal earns recognition from peers, supervisors, and others.
◆Reaching a goal increases self-confidence, pride in achievement, and willingness to accept future challenges.

Here are guidelines for setting effective goals:

Be specific. Specific goals lead to higher performance than vague ones. In fact, “do your best” goals have about the same effect as no goal at all. Imagine a runner circling a track, shouting to her coach “How much farther do I have to go?” A reply from the coach of “Just do your best” won’t help much. Similarly, “directional” goals, such as “do better” or “lose weight” aren’t any more useful. Instead, a specific goal such as “increase productivity by 20 percent within six months” or “lose ten pounds in ten months” is needed.

Set difficult, but reachable, goals. As long as the goal is seen as reasonable, more difficult goals lead to better performance. However, employees must believe the goal is attainable.Iif not, they will reject it. Also, people pursue many goals at the same time. If they believe one is too difficult, they will focus on other, more attainable goals. Interestingly, when people face difficult goals, they analyze their task more thoroughly and are more creative than when given simple goals. They both work harder and work smarter.

Let people participate in setting their goals. This increases understanding and acceptance of goals. An important—and perhaps surprising—fact is that when people participate in setting their own goals, the resulting goals are generally more difficult than if the goals were set for them. These more difficult goals, in turn, are likely to lead to higher performance

Give feedback on progress. Feedback keeps behavior on track. It may also stimulate greater effort. A video game* without a score would soon be abandoned. And, when people learn how they are doing, they tend to set personal improvement goals. The most powerful feedback comes from the job itself, rather than from someone telling you how you’ve done.

A simple rule of thumb* might be “If something doesn’t matter, it doesn't matter whether you do it well.” Goal setting does matter, so you’d better not mess it up*. In addition to the guidelines we’ve suggested, keep these things in mind:

◆ Set goals for everything that is important in the workplace. If you set goals for some things but not for others, those without goals may be ignored.
◆ Avoid the temptation to set just those easy that are easy to set. Sometimes, we really care about X but, because Y is easier to quantify, we set goals for Y instead.

*game played using a home computer, etc in which the player controls images on a TV电视游戏
*a rule of thumb: rough practical method of assessing or measuring something, usu. based on past experience rather than on exact measurement, etc.
*do it incompetently, badly or clumsily; spoil it through lack of skill

I. Comprehension: Determine whether the following statements are true or false.
1． Goals are important because they help to earn recognition and to increase self-confidence.
2． “Directional” goals lead to better effect.
3． The more difficult a goal is, the better and smarter a person will work.
4． It is believed that if people are involved in setting their own goals, they are likely o perform better.
5． “Feedback keeps behavior on track” may mean “Feedback enables us to be informed of our behavior”.
6． It is right to set goals for Y because Y’s quantity is easier to measure, although what we really care is X..

II. Discuss the following questions:
1. Is goal-setting important to your study? Why or why not?
2. How can people ensure the effectiveness of their goal-setting?
3. In terms of your English study, what is your major goals for this term, this academic year and the following three years respectively?

Text Two
Manage your time wisely

T
he average life span of an American today is 77.3 years. Compared to the eternities of time that came before us and will come after us, that 77.3 years seems but a small dust mote in a vast universe. But it is what it is—the only true resource we will ever have is the time we each are allotted on this planet. The only questions, the,~, seem to be (1) “What is my purpose here?” and (2) To what best use can I make of the time I have left?” Every second Counts. Don’t let it steal away.

TIME ROBBERS & SOLUTIONS
Here are some commonsensical solutions to dealing with time-robbers:

Lack of Awareness. Some of us are so busy driving that we don’t take the time to step back, stop, and see where we’ve been and where we’re going.

Record for two weeks how you spend your time each day. Analyze the data. Identify your time robbers---disruptions, distractions, unplanned meetings, trivial work, etc. Think of time as money invested to accomplish certain goals. Are you making wise investments? For each item on your time log, ask three questions created by Peter Drunker, the famous management guru: “What would happen if this were not done at all?” “Which activities could better be done by someone else?” “What wastes my time without contributing to my effectiveness?”

No Planning. Sometimes, people fail to see the need to plan, arguing that they really don’t have the time to do so.

Planning at the front end can produce a great ROI (Return on Investment), saving lots of time. “Measure twice; cut once.”

Set goals and objectives to be reached within specific time frames. Break out the specific actions that need to be taken to accomplish each objective. Eat the elephant, but only one bite at a time!

Over commitment. If you have too much to do in too little time, the cause is a lack of clarity regarding priorities. You cannot do everything that needs to be done, and you cannot do everything as well as you wish.

Be realistic. Identify all the roles you wish to play well in your life: parent, spouse, friend, leader, coach, etc. For each, describe your objectives. Establish priorities among your roles. If balance between family and work life is really important to you, set your priorities accordingly. Resist the desire for perfection–accept reality and prioritize. Resist guilt—do what you can and let the devil take the rest.

Action Distraction. Rather than think, plot, and scheme, some people would rather act even though action may not be productive.

On Sunday evening, lay out your plan for the coming week, ensuring that each activity listed will help you take steps toward the fulfillment of your objectives within each of your roles.

Multiple Stimuli. Many of us are bombarded with matters that seem to demand our immediate attention—the telephone ringing, the knock at the door, our e-mail. The impulse is to react without thinking —to clean out the queue, to empty the in-basket.

Take a deep breath when confronted with another demand on your time. Decide if the investment will be worthwhile. Critical differences exist between matters of importance and matters that seem urgent but aren’t important at all. Put your telephone on voice-mail during important conversations. Put a “Do Not Disturb” sign on your door for a period everyday. Delete your trivial e-mail.

Sort your mail into A = urgent and important; B = not urgent but important; C = not important but urgent; and D neither important nor urgent. (Foss the C’s and D’s. Work on your A’s and B’s.

Procrastination. Fear of failure or success, fear of the enormity of the task, fear caused by feelings of incompetence, fear of conflict or unpredictable situations, fear of the unknown—all paralyze us from time to time.

Just do it! If you must swallow the frog, you might as well do it right now. The longer you wait, the bigger and slimier it gets. Take on the most onerous of your tasks first. Divide it into doable pieces. Reinforce yourself as you take each step. Check off each completed step. Set tight but realistic time limits to accomplish tasks. Work off your strengths and delegate the rest to others who are competent in those areas where you are weaker.

In the long run, your time is freed to concentrate on the urgent and important mailers that you are best fitted to deal with—strategy, the future, the external environment, the time of your life that remains.

I. Comprehension: Choose the right answer for each of the following items.
1. “Time robbers” in the text means
A. time that robs B. time that has been used illegally
C. people who steal your time D. things or behavior that waste your time
2. “Driving” in “ Some of us are busy driving (in the 3rd paragraph)” means
A. working very hard, especially too hard B. operating a vehicle and directing its course
C. going somewhere in a car D. moving rapidly or violently
3. While planning, we should make sure that
A. the plan can save lots of time.
B. the plan can produce a great Return On Investment
C. we really have the time to make the plan.
D. the goals are attainable and we should also divide each objective into concrete steps.
4. The solution to Multiple Stimuli is to
A. clean out the queue.
B. empty the inbasket.
C. react without thinking.
D. work only on important matters.
5. Choose the one which is Not true: People procrastinate because they
A. . are afraid that they are not competent B. are afraid of the immense size of the task
C. are paralyzed from time to time. D. are afraid of the unpredictability of the situations
6.“Delegate” in the last but one paragraph means
A. Person chosen or elected by others to express their views as a representative
B. Choose or send somebody as a representative
C. entrust (duties, right, etc.) to somebody in a lower position.
D. Choose somebody to carry out (duties, rights, etc.)
II. Discuss the following questions:
1.Can you name some of your time-robbers?
2.Do you think planning for your study is necessary? Why or why not?
3.What shall we do if we are overcommitted?
4.Do you sometimes procrastinate? What are some of your solutions to procrastination?
5.As a student, should you manage your time wisely? If yes, how?

**********************************
Each person’s life is but a breath.
Psalm 39, The Holy Bible
Text Three
Practice self-motivation
He is most powerful who has power over himself.
----Seneca

A
s a leader, you must be able to motivate yourself and also to teach others this critical skill. Self-motivation is the process of motivating oneself. Instead of relying on others to reward and punish, to direct, to set goals, and to provide feedback, we must learn to use these tools to manage our own behavior.

Self-motivation is particularly needed when employees are relatively isolated, such as with telecommuting. It may also be useful when supervision is lacking or when employees must be self-directing, as with enriched jobs and self-managed work teams.
Self-motivation works. Early evidence came from clinical settings, where these techniques have been very successful in programs dealing with weight loss, smoking cessation, and phobia reduction. In academic settings, they have led to improved study habits and enhanced academic performance. In organizational settings, they have reduced absenteeism, increased satisfaction with work, enhanced commitment to the organization, and improved task performance.

Here are concrete steps to take to change or maintain behaviors:

◆ Pinpoint the specific behavior you want to change or maintain. One way to do this is through self-observation. You may decide, for instance, that you are working on jobs that you should delegate to others, or that you spend too much time chatting with people who walk into your office.
◆ Set specific goals for behavioral change.
◆Keep track of the frequency, duration, and any other dimensions of interest—such as the time and place the behavior occurs. Use diaries, graphs, or timing devices as needed. Sometimes, self-monitoring itself is sufficient to change the behavior. For instance, if you really identify how much time you spend watching television, you may simply watch less.
◆Modify cues. Sometimes the behavior we want to change is preceded by other events that serve as cues or signals for the behavior. By altering or controlling the cues you may be able to change the behavior. For example, you may find that you can’t get your work done because you’re constantly answering the phone. A solution might be to activate your voice mail or have an assistant hold calls. Or, you may increase desired behaviors by as simple a prompt as a to-do list.
◆Modify consequences. This can involve self-reward and/or self-punishment. You might, for example, reward yourself for quitting smoking by spending the savings on purchases of musical recordings. Or, you may decide that you’ll skip a concert if you don’t meet your goal.
◆Reorder behavior. We often do relatively enjoyable tasks in order to put off others we don’t care for. As a result, the things we put off may never get done, or may get done poorly. To prevent this, make pleasant behaviors depend on completion of the noxious task. For instance, if you enjoy reading your mail but find writing reports to be unpleasant, put off reading the mail until you have finished the project reports.
◆Write a contract with yourself. In the contract, specify the behavior you will change, the length of the contract, how you will monitor progress, the rewards and/or punishments you will use, and so on. Write the contract clearly and post it in a conspicuous spot. Have others witness the contract, sign it, and agree to help monitor your behaviors.
◆Rehearse. Physically or mentally practice activities before you actually perform them. Rehearsal may suggest that you should rethink your goals.
◆Check your progress on a regular basis. If you’re not doing as well as you’d like, take corrective action, such as changing, or rewards, or making sure that you are rewarding yourself promptly.
◆Plan strategies to maintain a successful change. If not, you may fall back into your old habi