閱讀暖身2014年對高科技產業來說, 有哪些新的展望呢? 閱讀本文讓你一探2014年新科技如何改變人們的生活。
進入本文前,請先想想以下詞彙的英文怎麼說:
A. 規則手冊
B. 精明的
C. 挖掘
閱讀暖身
惠普和IBM:兩條道路,一個未來
(世界公民College電子報本週文章)
Toxic communication sinks a relationship
閱讀暖身:
面對另一半的嘮叨、不斷追問,因無從回答而陷入一場責罵或爭吵;與其消極地以「健忘」或「敷衍」等方式抵抗喋喋不休及疲勞轟炸,不如學習如何正向溝通。
進入本文前,請先想想以下單字:
(A) 努力克服
(B) 導致,引發
(C) 充分地,顯著地
Journal of Family Psychology indicates in 2011 that couples who became unhappy five years into their marriage had a roughly 20% increase in negative communication patterns consistent with nagging-is an issue every couple will (A) grapple with at some point.
Journal of Family Psychology曾在2011發表結婚五年後變得不幸福的夫妻,約有20%是因嘮叨這樣的負面溝通所引起,所以嘮叨為每對夫妻遲早都要努力應對的問題。
While the word “nagging” can (B) provoke chuckles and eye-rolling, the dynamic can potentially be as dangerous to a marriage as adultery or bad finances. Experts say it is exactly the type of toxic communication that can eventually sink a relationship.
儘管「嘮叨」二個字讓人發笑或不屑,但對婚姻而言,它潛在的摧毀能力就跟出軌或經濟拮据一樣危險。專家說,就是這種有殺傷力的溝通方式終將毀掉夫妻關係。
There is evidence that women's and men's brains process language differently. Listening to, understanding and producing speech may be easier for women because they have more nerve cells in the left half of the brain, which is used to process language.
女性和男性的大腦對語言的處理方式是不同的。女性更容易傾聽和理解談話,也更善於陳述事情,因為女性的大腦左半球擁有更多處理語言的神經細胞。
more>>
J.P.Morgan's $2 Billion Trading Error
閱讀暖身:
由於衍生性金融商品投資失誤,美國最大銀行摩根大通今年5月10日宣布,這項錯誤可能帶來20億美元的鉅額虧損,隔天11日股價更暴跌9.3%,單日市值就流失約140億美元,信用評等隨即遭調降,也再次引發美國政界對加強金融管制的討論。
進入本文前,請先想想以下單字:
(A) 異常交易
(B) 瑣碎
(C) 修正
J.P.Morgan, widely considered the best run of all the large banks in America, if not the world, on May 10th provided the kind of news that has become all too common in the financial industry: a $2 billion charge for (A) errant trades. The markets responded within seconds of the opening on May 11th, sending Morgan’s share price down over 9%, and its value by $14 billion. Late on May 11th, Standard & Poor’s announced it was downgrading the outlook for the company, and Fitch knocked down its ratings.
摩根大通,被公認為全美經營最佳的世界級大型銀行,5月10日因異常交易而爆發虧損 20億美元的熱門新聞,雖這在金融業為司空見慣的事,但美股在消息傳出的第二天即產生激烈反應,摩根大通股價開盤驟跌逾9%,市值蒸發至140億美元。11日稍晚,標普宣布下調該公司投資前景,惠譽也調降其評等。
But while none of these moves were (B) trivial, they were hardly calamitous. The share price decline was sharp but finite. Morgan’s rating remains among the strongest in the industry. Its capital ratios are robust. And even after the loss, it is still expected to earn more than $4 billion in the current quarter, and produce record earnings for the year.
這些改變並非無關緊要,卻也不是什麼大災難。摩根大通股價巨跌,但跌幅有限,它的評級在同業間還是不可較量的,資本適足率也相當強勁,就算經歷了20億美元的鉅額虧損,摩根大通今年第2季盈利仍有希望超過40億美元,毛利率也可望創新高。


Global Battle for the Best Talent
閱讀暖身
全球企業前進新興市場,並積極尋求有能力快速適應不同文化及豐富實務經驗的領導人才,以幫助拓展這類未開發市場。中國企業則力爭上游,積極加入全球市場,並使經營團隊更加全球化,國際人才的快速流動已成全球趨勢。
進入本文前,請想想以下單字:
(A) 駐外人員
(B) 落伍的
(C) 未開發市場
U.S. and European multinational corporations are raising their bets on booming emerging markets. The trick is finding the right executives to play their hands.
歐美跨國企業正加碼投資於活躍的新興市場,而最關鍵之處在於找出最適合的管理人才讓他們大展拳腳。
In rapidly growing countries such as Brazil, China and India, tapping (A)expatriates is becoming (B)obsolete. Instead, global businesses are looking for leaders who have the ability to move easily between different cultures and have deep local roots as well as international operational experience.
跨國企業派遣駐外人員管理像巴西、中國及印度等經濟快速成長地區的作法已逐漸落伍。取而代之是,徵求有能力快速適應不同文化,既有深厚的地緣性,又有國際實務經驗的人才。

文/Jessie湯(世界公民文化中心)
"Treat everyone you meet as though they are the most important person you'll meet that day." -- Roger Dawson
羅傑道森(Roger Dawson),有全美首席談判家之稱(America's Premier Business Negotiator)。他最富傳奇色彩的談判是讓伊拉克總統海珊釋放人質。1991年的一個夜晚,道森接到一通電話,打電話的人說兄弟被海珊扣為人質:「不管花多少錢都可以,只要贖回兄弟」。道森說:「一分贖金都不必」。
緊接著,道森在伊拉克鄰近的約旦採訪海珊。海珊在電視上滔滔不絕演講兩小時,隨後釋放人質。人們問道森,怎麼辦到的,他說過程很複雜,簡單地說:在談判的過程中要掌握一切可用資訊,快速做出回應。
羅傑道森是美國前總統柯林頓的首席談判顧問,在八年顧問生涯中,他歷經美國總統大選、以巴和談、巴爾幹衝突、柯林頓性醜聞、美國總統彈劾案等重大事件。儘管道森處理的多半是詭譎的國際談判或企業的商業談判,但他認為,人人都該學習談判,談判無處不在。家庭生活、人際交往、生意往來等等各個層面基本上都存在談判空間。就算是「不談判」也是「談判」的一種方法。如果有人賣一斤三百元的蘋果給你,而你掉頭就走不和他談判,你認為會是什麼結果?如果你看電視時,先生手拿遙控器問你:我可以轉台嗎?而你選擇不回答,你認為會是什麼結果?
1992年,道森獲選進入美國演說家協會名人堂(United States Association Hall of Fame speech),這個協會進入門檻高,連柯林頓曾經兩度申請失敗。道森的演講以分鐘計價,每一場價碼約80萬美金。儘管擁有諸多頭銜,道森說自己人生最得意的時刻不是身處「能左右世界政治格局」的總統團隊,也不是坐享企業家的名利雙收;而是幫助美國上萬家企業培養了銷售主管和商務談判高手。
身為一流的談判高手,道森可不把在談判桌上取得己方最大優惠條件當成談判目標。他倡議的談判理念,是創造「雙贏」(win-win)的局勢。
也許有人會對追求「雙贏」的想法嗤之以鼻:Let’s face it. We live in a dog-eat-dog world. When you’re sitting down in a negotiation, if the other side is buying, they want the lowest price and you want the highest price; if they’re selling, they want the highest price and you want the lowest. They want to take money out of your pocket and put it right into theirs. How on earth can we both win?
事實上,「雙贏」的意思絶非像切西瓜一樣,兩邊各得百分之五十,而是在理解兩方各自在乎的東西是什麼,各取所需,共同創造出雙贏的「感覺」,使兩方從談判桌上起身離去時,都分別覺得自己是個贏家。
Winning is a perception, and by constantly servicing the perception that the other person is winning, you can convince him that he has won without having to make any concessions.
People are not out for the same thing! 我們經常假設別人和我們要的是同一樣東西,直覺認為對我們很重要的東西,對方一定也會認為重要,其實則不然。
◎羅傑道森聰明談判者的五大要領
Basic Principles Make You a Smarter Negotiator
以下這些句子可是談判最常用的,多唸幾次,牢記了就能在談判中脫口而出:
The Prosperity and Decline in 126 Years- Avon
閱讀暖身:
擁有126年悠久歷史的美國老牌化妝品直銷商雅芳,因涉嫌違反海外行賄,遭到美國司法部提起長達3年的調查期,最新公布財報數字不佳,評級機構也不看好雅芳經營前景,雅芳首位華裔女性執行長鍾彬嫻2011年交出執行長職務,並找來嬌生前任副總Sherilyn McCoy進行業務重整,而近期法國香水廠商 Coty 展現收購的企圖心,成為McCoy上任後的第一個挑戰。
進入本文前,請想想以下單字:
(A) 傳喚
(B) 改造
(C) 受挫
The CEO and chairman of Avon Products, Andrea Jung was fielding questions during the company's third-quarter earnings call from a pack of frustrated analysts -- and they weren't holding back. The company had surprised the Street, missing analysts' estimates, and reporting that it would no longer hit its revenue-growth and operating-margin targets for 2011.
在眾多分析師提出第3季獲利預警的期間,時任雅芳董事長暨執行長巧妙地回答了各個問題,卻無法停止分析師們對雅芳的悲觀猜測。這間公司震撼了整個華爾街,其財報無法達到預期,並且無力達成2011年獲利成長及毛利率目標。
A day before the October 2011 call, the Securities and Exchange Commission had (A) subpoenaed Avon for information related to whether the company had improperly shared information with analysts -- on top of an SEC inquiry into allegations of bribery by employees in China and elsewhere. On the call Citigroup's Wendy Nicholson said, "It strikes me that you guys are so totally screwed up in so many ways, the change has to be radical."
就在2011年10月法說會的前一天,美國證監會傳喚雅芳,到案說明其不當提供分析師資訊之因;除此之外雅芳也遭證監會提起調查有關行賄中國及其他國家高層的各項事證。就在法說會上,花旗集團 Wendy Nicholson表示:「這件事讓我明白,你們已搞砸很多事情,公司的改變必須徹頭徹尾進行。」
Avon is indeed undergoing a radical (B)makeover: In early April the company announced it was replacing Jung as CEO with Sherilyn McCoy, a Johnson & Johnson vice chairman. McCoy, 53, inherits a 126-year-old company in disarray.