【每日阅读训练第四期——速度越障15系列】【15-20】经管

attractg

Good evening~ 亲爱的小分队的成员们~  又是周三啦，时间过得好快昂，有木有~~？ 这是明天的作业，总标题依旧隐藏，有标题的地方会标有Chapter X：(Check the title later)

大家Enjoy ~ !


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Time 1:

Chapter 1 (Check the title latter)
 Task-oriented vs social-minded leaders

Studies show that task-oriented leaders (aka micro-managers) tend to categorize workers as either 'productive' or 'non-productive' as a way of putting order to their perceptions of the working environment. In contrast, social-minded (aka transformational) leaders prefer to de-emphasize the differences between workers, preferring to focus on relationships between team members.

Generally speaking, task-oriented managers are also less tolerant of change, give more suggestions, tend to be more critical - and more controlling - than social-minded leaders. Social minded leaders, living on the other end of the spectrum, are considerate of opinions, less defensive to contrary remarks, and value relationships.

Culture
As we've discussed before, leader behavior IS organizational culture. If leader behavior is focused on tasks, then the culture will reflect that task mentality. Task cultures can be perceived as small-focused and negatively fused. On the contrary, socially minded leader behavior correlates to supportive, collaborative, and friendly cultures.

Oddly, although workers enjoy reporting to socially minded leaders, it's the task-minded leaders who often get promoted. One of the reasons could be that task leaders are better at identifying and communicating organizational progress because that's the mental world they live in, one that's all about measuring and comparing. In short, they're good at bragging. But social-minded workers see progress less as the measurement of things and more as an evolutionary progress of group dynamics and relationships between members.

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Time 2:

Artists, Craftsmen, Technocrats

This phenomenon where task-oriented leaders are promoted over social-minded ones is explained well in Patricia Pitcher's book, The Drama of Leadership. Pitcher describes three types of leaders: artists, craftsmen, and technocrats. It's the artists who mix entrepreneurial spirit with great ideas to become company founders; craftsmen, those dutiful servants of artistic purpose, keep the operation growing. Artists and craftsmen are typically transformational leaders.

Technocrats, the task-mongers, are important for measuring and communicating organizational value. They have their right place in the organization, but not at the top. However, as organizations grow, technocrats climb to higher and higher levels to support the good intentions of artists and founders. Technocrats can do things that artists don't know how to do, such as create order and measure profits. However, when artists move out of the way (retire, quit, or die), technocrats take over leadership roles and promote their own because they see little value in the skills of replacement artists and craftsmen.

Social Minded Leaders

Can we assume that socially-minded managers are better leaders? Most likely, yes. Socially minded and more tolerant leaders don't care for underperformers any more than task-leaders do, but because social-minded leaders tend to be better problem solvers, they are better able to assimilate underperforming workers in the team structure, maximizing productive output. As team strength improves, so does underperformer output. Social minded leaders let employees do the work in hassle-free environments. Conversely, task-minded leaders will focus too much negative attention on underperformers at the expense of overworking the productive ones. The results: change resistance, criticism, and central control.

How is it that socially minded leaders are more effective? The literature tends to suggest one of the reasons for their effectiveness is their aversion to placing blame. Finger-pointing, a task-leader trait, is rarely a good practice. Blame puts people on the defensive, fosters fear, and, ultimately, lowers productivity because workers are afraid to try anything new. Instead of figuring out how to fix problems, blame/task bosses spend their efforts finding scapegoats.

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Time 3:

Fixing the Problem

My suggestion is to give task assignment responsibility to foreman and leads (usually in the hourly ranks), not to managers and supervisors. Managers set accountabilities, which differ from tasks in that accountabilities are purpose-focused on production expectations. Yes, work needs to be done, but as soon as managers micro-manage, they've lost the ability to motivate, inspire, and stimulate.
The negative after-shocks of task behavior eliminate team effectiveness, demoralize workers, and lead to fear laden environments. It just makes sense that that work as a result of fear is not fun. Unfortunately, task thinkers still exist in management ranks. Yes, they can add value in certain areas of the work model (accounting, engineering, safety, and quality control come to mind), but not in leadership roles. Task-managers refuse to let people do their jobs.

Evolution

How we relate to each other is a component of an evolutionary change model. Leadership styles that made sense yesterday may be ineffective today because the workforce is different. Task leadership was expected of managers in post WWII businesses. The workforce was mostly male and infused with millions of ex-military. But the workforce today expects to work in environments of collaboration, support, encouragement, friendliness, and fun. Work shouldn't have to be a drag. I don't see any reason why accomplishing things can't be enjoyable. Train employees well, and then let them do their jobs.

What "the good men do separate is small compared with what they may do collectively" – Ben Franklin.

(247 words)

Time 4:

Chapter 2: (Check the title later)
Scooters Rule as E-Commerce Grows in China

   [attachimg=519,329]115399[/attachimg]co
oters Rule as E-
David Li possesses a can-do work ethic and a willingness to zip around Beijing's harrowing traffic on an electric scooter. That makes him highly valuable to a multibillion-dollar Chinese electronic-commerce industry struggling with how to deliver goods to demanding customers.

In 2011 Mr. Li left behind a wife, infant son and a job teaching middle-school math in the eastern city of Handan to became a courier for Chinese Internet retailer Beijing Jingdong Century Trading Co., which runs the 360buy.com shopping site.

Delivery companies say couriers who work the most profitable office buildings in large cities─where order flow is high and delivery is quick and easy─can earn more than $950 a month, well above the $200 to $650 brought in by factory workers.

'It's hard, but I'm ambitious,' Mr. Li says of the separation from his family. Early last year, after only five months on the job, he was promoted to manager of a distribution center that has 20 deliverymen.

E-commerce has exploded here in recent years as increasingly affluent consumers have learned to love online deals. China's total online sales are expected to eclipse those of the U.S. in coming years, rising to $356.1 billion in 2016 from $169.4 billion last year, according to Forrester Research. U.S. online retail sales are forecast to reach $327 billion from $226 billion over the same period.

That leaves Internet retailers and logistics companies attempting to build from scratch a complex distribution system to send goods purchased online to the distant corners of China.

Jack Ma, the founder of e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., has said 'terrible' logistics are slowing the growth of Internet retailing in China. Alibaba, which runs the Taobao and Tmall shopping sites, plans to join with banks, delivery companies and industry players to invest 100 billion yuan, or roughly $15 billion, to strengthen China's logistics industry over the next decade, a person familiar with the matter said.

Recent incidents underscore the challenge the industry faces.

China last year stripped 116 delivery companies of their permits following customer complaints, with postal authorities citing lost mail, 'barbaric sorting' and other offenses. A parcel containing wind-resistant matches started a fire in October on a China Southern Airlines Co. 600029.SH -3.18% plane after it landed. State media reported that two other forbidden goods shipped by separate delivery companies also were found on the airliner. And in November, authorities seized empty artillery shells that a delivery company was attempting to ship on a civil aircraft, according to the Hefei Airport police and official media.

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Time 5:

China ranked 26th in the World Bank ranking of logistics infrastructure last year, five notches below South Korea and just above Turkey. Singapore led the list, and the U.S. was No. 9.

Logistics experts say China lacks warehouses with the sophistication to service its large flow of goods and say many Chinese cities are loath to sell land to delivery or e-commerce companies for warehouses since such operations don't generate as much tax revenue as, say, shopping malls or office buildings.

At a warehouse run by delivery firm Zhongtong Express on the eastern outskirts of Beijing, workers recently handled packages by hand─sometimes tossing them in piles. Employees were bundled against the cold as freezing gusts blew through open loading docks and doors. Manager Yu Meina says fast growth has outstripped the capacity of the facility. The company plans to move to a bigger location soon, she says.

Retaining workers is a challenge. 'There's not enough graduates here, and they're hard to attract,' Ms. Yu says. Many of the jobs are complicated, involving coordination of the ebb and flow of packages into northern China, she says, but 'not many educated people want to do this sort of work.'

Companies are ramping up spending to compensate. Jingdong Century, where Mr. Li was promoted recently from courier, has been expanding its delivery system since 2009. It employs about 10,000 couriers and 5,000 warehouse employees but doesn't disclose its spending. Chief Executive Liu Qiangdong has complained of China's 'terrible logistics management.'

Much of the industry expansion comes at the end of the line, with the scooters, motorcycles and motorized carts that clog the roads of major Chinese cities daily.

Xu Rongliang, a 30-year-old from the costal city of Hangzhou, made a little more than $160 a month when he came to Beijing in 2009 to ride an electric scooter as a courier.

He since has switched companies four times, eventually becoming a customer-service representative for a distribution center outside of Beijing and substantially increasing his pay. 'I've invested energy and time, and I've been rewarded,' he says. 'That's a very happy situation.'

More than 100 of his friends from the eastern province of Zhejiang─where many of China's largest delivery companies sprouted to be near Alibaba─now work as couriers in Beijing. While many have been promoted, some still face the rain and the snow on China's roads. 'Most people think the job is harsh,' he says. 'It's true, it is.'

(405 words)


[Obstacle]

Chapter 3 Check the title later)
Can China Escape the Middle-Income Trap

 [attachimg=470,161]115400[/attachimg]?

One of the great questions facing China is whether or not its economy can continue to produce the rapid gains in welfare for its giant population that the country has witnessed over the past 30 years. The answer is critical to the political and social stability in the nation. There is already quite a bit of grumbling among the working class that they aren’t enjoying the benefits of China’s economic ascent as much as they should be. The gap between rich and poor is worsening — according to one private study, it could be significantly wider than previous estimates. Growth has already drifted downward, in comparison with China’s recent history. In 2012, GDP increased at the slowest rate in more than a decade. If China encounters a prolonged period of slower growth, it could prove catastrophic.

The topic of growth and people’s welfare is at the center of this year’s National People’s Congress, taking place right now in Beijing. Wen Jiabao, in his final major speech as Premier before handing over the reins of government to a new crop of leaders, stressed the need to boost the incomes and spending power of the nation’s masses to put the country’s growth on a more sustainable path. “To expand individual consumption, we should enhance people’s ability to consume, keep their consumption expectations stable, boost their desire to consume, improve their consumption environment and make economic growth more consumption-driven,” Wen said.

That’s all very nice. But we’ve heard it many times before. And in the end, a slowdown in China could well be inevitable. Making the transition from an investment-led to a consumption-led economy, as Wen preaches, will likely result in slower overall growth, at least while the shift is taking place. Demographics are working against China’s future performance as well. As a result of China’s controversial one-child policy, the population is aging quicker than it otherwise would have, which will drag on growth in coming years.

And then there is the possibility China could tumble into the “middle-income trap.” The problem in a nutshell is that countries can get stuck at a level of development in which its populace has been generally lifted out of poverty but hasn’t been elevated to the income levels of more advanced economies. That happens because it is easier to jump from a very poor country to a middle-income nation than it is to advance from that middle-income status to the ranks of the truly developed.
Why is that? When a country is really destitute, it can generate GDP growth and raise incomes simply by tossing its poor population and other resources into a modern economic system. Low wages attract investment in labor-intensive industries like apparel and electronics, which create lots of jobs, many of them requiring limited skills. That can quickly alleviate poverty and pump up growth. But such a strategy only takes a nation so far. As costs rise and these basic industries become less competitive, countries need to start developing their own intellectual property and improving the skills of the workforce to compete in high-technology industries. Middle-income countries literally get stuck in the middle — costs are too high to compete with lower-income economies, but they don’t possess the know-how and technology to compete with the truly advanced nations.

History isn’t encouraging. Very few developing economies have managed to graduate into the high-income club in the past 50 years. Japan, Israel, South Korea and Singapore are among that select group. Most middle-income countries get trapped, at least for a while. A 2012 study from the Asian Development Bank figured that in 2010, 35 out of the 52 middle-income countries the author studied around the world were trapped. A January study by economists Barry Eichengreen of the University of California, Berkeley, Kwanho Shin at Korea University in Seoul and Donghyun Park at the Asian Development Bank in Manila determined that growth can slow down quite precipitously in countries that experience the trap.

Even more, the study showed that countries are vulnerable to the trap at more than one point in their development. “A number of countries appear to have experienced two slowdowns,” the report reads, one in the $10,000–$11,000 income per-person range (measured at 2005 purchasing-power-parity dollars) and another at $15,000–$16,000. With China’s 2010 GDP per capita at $7,129 (using the same data series as the report), a slowdown could be just a few years away.
The authors go on to say:

We conclude that high growth in middle-income countries may decelerate in steps rather than at a single point in time. This implies that a larger group of countries is at risk of a growth slowdown and that middle-income countries may find themselves slowing down at lower income levels than implied by our earlier estimates.

Not everybody is so convinced such a trap exists. The Economist recently labeled the idea “claptrap,” explaining that “the theory and evidence behind it are surprisingly thin.” There are a host of analytical problems in defining and explaining the trap, from deciding what levels of income are “middle” and “high,” to figuring out what sort of slowdowns constitute being trapped. Whether you believe the phenomenon is widespread or not, however, there are clearly examples of nations that experienced high rates of growth only to stall once they reached middle-income status. I’ve detailed the sad case of Malaysia in the past.

There are reasons to worry about China too. China is hitting that stage where rising wages are making the country less competitive in the labor-intensive industries (apparel, electronics, shoes) that had once propelled its growth. These industries have not been decamping en masse for cheaper locales — some factories have moved internally, to cheaper parts of China — but, history tells us that it is only a matter of time before these plants shutter and move to where costs are lower. Unable to compete on costs, Chinese companies are forced to move “up the value chain,” into more advanced products and industries that command higher prices for their products. That means Chinese firms have to learn to innovate, improve product quality and build brands. It also requires they enhance their productivity and management expertise. There are many indications that China is heading in that direction. Look at the global success of Chinese companies like telecom equipment maker Huawei or PC giant Lenovo.

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剩余：

However, Eichengreen, Park and Shin, in their study, suggest that elements of the China growth story make it vulnerable to the middle-income trap. One indicator is that countries with especially high rates of growth when poorer are more likely to slow down at the middle-income level. China has been the fastest-growing major developing economy in the world for some time, so it clearly falls into this category. Another sign that a country might get stuck in the trap is a high level of investment relative to GDP — an indication that an “investment-led” growth model eventually runs out of steam. Check off China here too. With investment equivalent to nearly half national GDP, economists have worried about China’s dependence on high investment rates for many years. A third indicator is an overly cheap currency, which discourages companies that depend on low costs to improve their operations. Here, too, China likely qualifies. The controlled yuan has been a point of controversy for many a year. Here’s what the report says:

The new analysis again confirms that slowdowns are more likely in economies with high old age dependency ratios, high investment rates that may translate into low future returns on capital, and undervalued real exchange rates that provide a disincentive to move up the technology ladder. These patterns will presumably remind readers of current conditions and recent policies in China.
Does that mean China is destined for the trap? Not so fast! There are other signs that China has some advantages that may help the country escape the trap — mainly, a healthy share of high-technology products in its exports, and a population with better education than other middle-income countries. Here’s more from Eichengreen, Park and Shin:

China has slightly higher average years of schooling at the secondary level than the median for our slowdown cases (3.17 years in China versus 2.72 years in our slowdown cases). It has a higher share of high-tech goods in exports (27.5 per cent in China versus 24.1 in our slowdown cases). In this sense China appears to be doing slightly better than average in moving up the technology ladder in order to avoid the middle-income trap.

Another recent report from economist Yiping Huang at Barclays backed up the case that China will dodge the trap.Here’s a tidbit of Huang’s reasoning:

We believe that China should be able to reach high-income status over the next decade or so by narrowing its technological gap with advanced economies … Science and technology have taken off much earlier in China relative to the experience of other emerging Asia economies. Moreover, the diffusion of existing technology should remain a powerful economic driver for some time to come.

I’m not so convinced. Many of the more advanced products that China manufactures are, in fact, not very Chinese at all. Gadgets like iPads may register as Chinese exports, but they are really just assembled in the country, with the technology, designs and key components being developed elsewhere. In the end, very little value is actually added in China. Nor have some state-led initiatives to improve Chinese technology been all that successful. Look at the chaos in the targeted green-energy sector, like solar panels and wind turbines.

For me, the way to escape the middle-income trap is to successfully change a nation’s growth model. Look at the case of South Korea, for instance. It used a similar growth model to China in its earlier years — export-led, investment-led and government-directed. Over the years that model has (for the most part) morphed (helped along by the upheaval of the 1997 financial crisis). Government controls have receded. Banks have become stronger and allocate resources more efficiently. Companies, deprived of bottomless and effectively government-backed finance, were forced to become more innovative and profitable. Changes in the financial and corporate sectors unleashed entrepreneurship. The result: South Korea jumped out of the trap into the ranks of the developed world.

Can China do the same thing? Yiping Huang claims that China’s growth model is undergoing rapid change.

China is breaking away from its old growth model. Long-awaited structural improvements, including a narrowing of the current account surplus, a growing contribution of consumption to GDP and declining inequality, are already under way, but may be underappreciated by investors.
In my view, though, the old model in China is clinging on. Investment levels remain elevated, with some of it driven by higher levels of debt. The government still effectively directs lending through state banks. Private firms are under pressure from state-owned enterprises. Reforms are going to have to go much deeper. Will incoming President Xi Jinping and his new leadership team take such steps? If not, they may find themselves trapped.

(779 words)

cheungby

谢谢attractg，占楼，这是我加入阅读小分队的第一个系列，感谢各位组长

Time1——1'43''
Time2——2'10''
Time3——1'43''
Time4——2'21''
Time5——2'38''
Obstacle:6'50''
rest——4'25''

cleotina

2'01\
task-oritented leaders VS social minded leaders
2'30
social-minded leaders tend to lead a team with higher efficiency, and they will be in higher position in orgnizations.
2'40
it is better to be a social-minded leader
3'16
the development and the problems about the logistic issue in China
4'50
It is a harsh job and need polish its management.
7'13
with many of the middle-income countries drapped, China also faces the simalier problem, because it higher cost level compared with lower income, and because it higher human rescource cost as a country improved by labor-intensive industries.

having6

1-1'43"
The author shows us two kinds of leaders--task-oriented leaders and social-minded leaders. Although workers enjoy reporting to socially minded leaders, task-minded leaders often get promoted.
2-2'55"
The reason why task-oriented leaders are promoted over social-minded ones is that as technocrats, task-oriented ones can do things that artists don't know how to do. However, social-minded leaders are better leaders, because they are more effective.
3-2'01"
The author suggests that managers set accountabilities and play a role of motivating, inspire and stimulate. Nowadays, leaders should focus on what the staff may do collectively rather than what the good men do seperate.
4-3'20"
E-commerce has exploded in China in recent years. Terrible logistics are slowing the growth of Internet retailing in China.
5-3'08"
Lacking warehouses and educated people, the development of logistics in China is restrained.
obstacle-7'07"
Making the transition from an investment-led to a consumption-led economy will likely result China in slower overall growth. China is experiencing middle-income trap. Chinese firms have to learn to innovate, improve productivity and management expertise to fulfill higher development.

448406078

1-227-1'37''
Social-minded leader pay more attention to membership and donnot defferentiate workers.
Task-oriented leader classify workers and more promoted

2-335-2'10''
A book about three kinds of leaders. To let social minded leaders more effective, it might be better to let them more blameful.

3-247-1'29''
Give leadershiper down leaders. Task- oriented leader often bring seriously atomesphere.

4-420-1'54''
Delivering in China. On-line shopping such as Jindong and Taobao makes deliving a booming industry in China.

5-405-2'00''
China's logistic ranks in the world. Problems: warehouse, packing, maintaining workers, spending... Most of the expense from the end.

1051-6'54''
Chinese government plan to promote consumption by raising income. It has been tried and failed. It's easy from poor to middle- class, but difficult form middle to up-class. Chinese industry shift indicators...

wangziann

谢谢attractg！！！话说经管类的文章是我最喜欢的！！发现今天读的好慢哦~~

1-2:04-227
Task-oriented leader care about the productivity of workers.But social-minded leaders prefer to focus on relationships.
Although socially mind leaders focus on big picture compared to the task-driven leader, the latter is more easier to be promoted.

2-2:52-335
An example: technocrats can easy to replace the artists and craftsmen who leave the company suddenly.
It explained well why task-oriented leaders are promoted over social-minded ones.

The social-minded leaders are better leaders because they gather the whole team to improve productivity including underperformancer.
They can be more effective because of less blame.

3-2:09-247
It is suggestted to give task assignment to leads who can motivate and inspire the team members.
The evolution of the leadership is to collective the team rather than to separate.

4-2:23-420(昨天在有道里读过了）
The logistics situation in china is terrible especially after the e-commerce boom these years.

5-2:07-405
There is a lot of problem for logistics in china: the lack of labor, insufficient warehouse and the poor management.
Some of the couriers in beijing who come from zhejiang province get good reward from the harsh work.

obstacle-6:38-1051
China is facing a series problems as a middle-income nation, both the economic,political and social aspect.
1 the people's welfare growth is low
2 the gap between rich and poor is worsening
3 the one child policy
China is likely to be stuck on the way from middle-income country to a developed one.
Labor intensive company should innovate to improve product quality and build brands such as Huawei.

blairwashere

1 01.37.1
how leader behavior affect others in organization.  
2 02.41.0
three types of manager is explained in this para Artists, Craftsmen, Technocrats. the technocrats is the most practice one, the leader with technocrats personality can do thing that other can't. and the social type leader is the best.
3 01.25.4
task manager or micro-manage lost pasion motivation or other factors but still in rank. modern job need them, evolution of manager make them more efficiency.
4 02.34.7
china e-business development including taobao 360 jingdong. and the delivery industry in china facing the transformation.
5 02.31.0
china the jingdong have thousands of employees that working for warehouse and delivery industrial and the number is growing.

obstacle
08.38.0the article is not about new idea.China economic development have been through festest period. once the development slow down the problems behind the economy will getting out. And other problem is china is getting in to the meddle class like korea japan used to be and all these countries can avoid the economy collapse.

spencerX

谢谢分享~~今天的文章都好棒，尤其是第一篇速度和最后的越障，思路特别清晰，有gamc的范儿~~

0:01:29
0:02:13
0:01:28
0:02:37
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0:06:40
0:04:09

Apolloemma

Summary ： The differece between task oriented leaders and social minded leaders and this kind of difference result in two totally different orgznizational culture.
Summary: There are three types of leaders: artists, craftmen and technocrats. Social Minded leaders are more good at placing blame, which is more feasible measure to fix problems and improve productivity of one organization.
Summary: One way of fixing the problem is to give task assignment responsibility to foreman and leaders. Timing is changed. Nowadays, workers expects to work in an enviroment of collaboration, support, and friendly.
4: Electric logistic industry are growing qickly and fast in china. Meanwhile, there are some problems existed in this industry.
5: There are no huge intestment in logistics infrastructure. These expension of E-commense logistic just just happense at the end of the industry.

铁板神猴

赏心悦目~ 又见middle-income trap，business经典话题~