天山4-24

swordhere

Many managers are influenced by

dangerous myths about pay that lead

to counterproductive decisions about

Line how their companies compensate

(5) employees. One such myth is that

labor rates, the rate per hour paid to

workers, are identical with labor costs,

the money spent on labor in relation to

the productivity of the labor force.

(10) This myth leads to the assumption that

a company can simply lower its labor

costs by cutting wages. But labor

costs and labor rates are not in fact

the same: one company could pay

(15) its workers considerably more than

another and yet have lower labor

costs if that company’s productivity

were higher due to the talent of its

workforce, the efficiency of its work

(20) processes, or other factors. The

confusion of costs with rates persists

partly because labor rates are

a convenient target for managers who

want to make an impact on their com-

(25) pany’s budgets. Because labor rates

are highly visible, managers can easily

24

compare their company’s rates with

those of competitors. Furthermore,

labor rates often appear to be a

(30) company’s most malleable financial

variable: cutting wages appears an

easier way to control costs than such

options as reconfiguring work processes

or altering product design.

(35) The myth that labor rates and labor

costs are equivalent is supported by

business journalists, who frequently

confound the two. For example, prominent

business journals often remark on

(40) the “high” cost of German labor, citing

as evidence the average amount paid

to German workers. The myth is also

perpetuated by the compensationconsulting

industry, which has its own

(45) incentives to keep such myths alive.

First, although some of these consulting

firms have recently broadened

their practices beyond the area of

compensation, their mainstay con-

(50) tinues to be advising companies on

changing their compensation practices.

Suggesting that a company’s

performance can be improved in

some other way than by altering its

(55) pay system may be empirically correct

but contrary to the consultants’

interests. Furthermore, changes

to the compensation system may

appear to be simpler to implement

(60) than changes to other aspects of an

organization, so managers are more

likely to find such advice from consultants

palatable. Finally, to the

extant that changes in compensation

(65) create new problems, the consultants

will continue to have work solving the

problems that result from their advice.

The passage suggests that the “myth” mentioned in line 5 persists partly because

A. managers find it easier to compare their companies’ labor rates with those of

competitors than to compare labor costs

B. managers tend to assume that labor rates affect their companies’ budgets less than

they actually do

C. managers tend to believe that labor rates can have an impact on the efficiency of

their companies’ work processes

D. the average amount paid to workers differs significantly from one country to

another

E. many companies fail to rely on compensation consultants when making decisions

about labor rates

Answer:

答案D，不明白 请NN指教

[此贴子已经被作者于2005-1-19 16:45:51编辑过]

xealot

A is the the option here.

From the lines:

One such myth is that labor rates, the rate per hour paid to workers, are identical with labor costs, the money spent on labor in relation to the productivity of the labor force.

That is to say, the myth is actually the misunderstanding that the rates and the costs are identical;

and:

The confusion of costs with rates persists partly because labor rates are a convenient target for managers who want to make an impact on their company’s budgets.

Here, partly explains the confusion, and thus explains the myth, as A says.

But wierd enough, I believed that I did read the article in GWD, and that I did not read this quiz in GWD. After a further investigation, I just made sure that this quiz is not included in GWD. I guess ETS may have remove it from their bank, given that it's a quite tough one...

swordhere

谢谢 一直没看到回复  不好意思

是的这篇文章在GWD出现过但没这个题，天山有G同学在题上有NOTE 说是这个题是最新版本

Novena

这篇文章里的NOTE都很有趣，呵呵。

NOTE: This question is new in today's edition!

NOTE: There is no period after the answer B. It is one of the rare errors made by ETS.

华籍美人

也只有A对了，但是 easier to compare than to compare labor costs有点奇怪哦，是不是问题写错了？人们认为二者是一致的啊， 怎么会存在这个比较呢？奇怪哦

wangyu73cn

The confusion of costs with rates persists partly because labor rates are a convenient target for managers who want to make an impact on their company’s budgets.
Because labor rates are highly visible, managers can easily compare their company’s rates with those of competitors.

楼上问得很细致啊。

文中确实也没有百分百地说这些managers是否能分别rates和cost。
有可能他们能够区分，只不过为了方便，而故意或无意地找容易的方式来解决了。也可能他们就把两者当作一件事情了，而没有认识到要to compare labor costs。
而A选项，基本确认managers能够分辨两者。所以不能完全从原文中推导出来。

上述情况，可能ETS也没有想到或者想清楚吧。但无论如何，A是这几个之中最好的选项，这一点，ETS肯定是想到了。