2019湖南永州农信社行测题库练习题04

  英语阅读

     Over the past decade, American companies have tried hard to find ways to discourage senior from feathering their own nests at the expense of their shareholders. The three most popular reforms have been recruiting more outside directors in order to make boards more independent, linking bosses'pay to various performance measures, and giving bosses share options, so that they have the same long-term interests as their shareholders.

　　These reforms have been widely adopted by American's larger companies, and surveys suggest that many more companies are thinking of following their lead. But have they done any good? Three papers presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management in Boston this week suggest not. As is usually the case with boardroom tinkering, the consequences have differed from those intended.

　　Start with those independent boards. On the face of it, dismissing the boss's friends from the board and replacing them with outsiders looks a perfect way to make senior managers more accountable. But that is not the conclusion of a study by Professor James Westphal. Instead, he found that bosses with a boardroom full of outsides spend much of their time building alliances, doing personal favors and generally pleasing the outsiders.

　　All too often, these seductions succeed. Mr.Westphal found that, to a remarkable degree, "independent" boards pursue strategies that are likely to favor senior managers rather than shareholders. Such companies diversify their business, increase the pay of executives and weaken the link between pay and performance.

　　To assess the impact of performance related pay, Mr.Westphal asked the bosses of 103 companies with sales of over $1 billion what measurements were used to determine their pay. The measurements varied widely, ranging from sales to earnings per share. But the researcher's big discovery was that bosses attend to measures that affect their own incomes and ignore or play down other factors that affect a company's overall success.

　　In short, bosses are quick to turn every imaginable system of corporate government to their advantage-which is probably why they are the people who are put in charge of things. Here is a paradox for the management theorists: any boss who cannot beat a system designed to keep him under control is probably not worth having.

1、What is the purpose of the large companies in recruiting outsiders and putting them on the board of directors?

A. To diversify the business of the corporation.

B. To enhance the cooperation between the senior managers and the board directors.

C. To introduce effective reforms in business management.

D. To protect the interests of the shareholders.

 

2、What does Professor James Westphal's study suggest?

A. Boardroom reforms have failed to achieve the desired result.

B. Outside board directors tend to be more independent.

C. With a boardroom full of outsiders, senior managers work more conscientiously.

D. Cooperation between senior managers and board directors suffered from the reforms.

3、The word "seduction"(Line 1,Para.4. probably means "------- "？

A. efforts to conquer

B. attempts to win over

C. endeavors to increase profits

D. exertions to understand

4、Which of the following statements is true?

A. Corporate executives in general are worth the high pay they receive.

B. The income of corporate executives is proportional to the growth of corporate profits.

C. Corporate executives tend to take advantage of their position to enrich themselves.

D. The performance of corporate executives affects their own interests more than those of the shareholders.

5、How does the author feel about the efforts to control senior executives?

A. Doubtful B. Optimistic C. Positive D. Approving.

 

1.【答案】D。解析：D 细节理解题解题依据为本文第一段第一、二句"Over the past decade, American companies have tried hard to find ways to discourage senior from feathering their own nests at the expense of their shareholders. The three most popular reforms have been recruiting more outside directors in order to make boards more independent."此句大意为:在过去的十年里,美国公司力图寻求方法以阻止资深管理者以牺牲股东利益为代价损公肥私的行为。为此采取了最流行的三种改革措施，如招录外来董事以使董事会更加独立。由此我们可推知招录外来董事的目的是为了保护股东的利益。其中to feather their own nests意为"构筑自己的窝"；at the expense of their shareholders意为"以股东的利益为代价"。

2.【答案】A。解析：A 细节推论题文章第二段最后一句"the consequences have differed from those intended"表明改革的结果是事与愿违，这是一个总的结论。第三、四、五段是具体说明，主要是引用了Westphal的调查结果。因此，本题答案应当是A。

3.【答案】B。解析：B 词义判断题文章第三段最后讲外来董事会的老板们会花很多时间建立联盟,施惠于个人以讨好外来董事,第四段开始接着说这些手段通常是成功的,由此我们可以推知老板的这些手段是为了争取外来董事而结成联盟, 进而可推知B正确。

4.【答案】C。解析：C 细节判断题本题可用排除法。选项A(公司高层应拿高薪)文章未提及; 选项B(公司高层的收入与公司增长的利润成比例)也未提及; 选项D(公司高层的表现比那些股东更会影响其自身利益)文章同样未提及; 选项C(公司高层倾向于利用其地位肥己)与文章第五段最后一句所述之意相符。

5.【答案】A。解析：A 观点态度题纵观全文,作者所述三项改革举措并未收到预期的效果,反而适得其反,事与愿违,由此我们可判断作者对其最终的结果显然持怀疑态度，故正确答案为A,B选项(乐观的)、C选项(肯定的)和D选项(赞成的)均排除。