-
Unit 1 travel language
The Academie Francasie has for decades
been the watchdog over the French language.
A
few years ago,
French
sensitivity to the influx of English words became
so great that law for the purification of French
was
adopted. The law covers even
technical applications. For example, in theory, it
is now compuslory in France
to refer to
the Boeing 747 as a gros-porteur, leasing as
credit-bail, etc. the list is very long and
detailed and
applies to all facets of
life. Mr. Chirac, the French President, might well
expand on this list and come up with
some
new
French
terms
for
words
such
as
“internet”
or
“byte
stream”
just
to
name
a
couple.
The
mind
boggles at what the
world might face.
Unfortunately (or
perhaps not), the English language is not so
protected. Quite apart from the unforgivable
deviations from the king?s English
prevlent in America, where “honour” is commonly
written as “honor” and
“night”
as
“nite,”
many
well
-tested
has
also
been
give
new
meanings,
making
communication
somewhat
difficult. For
example, the boot of a car has become to be called
a trunk
–
a word reserved in
England for the
main part of a tree.
The bonnet is a hood, good old nappies are
diapers, and a baby?s matinee jacket is a vest.
It?s
obvious
that
the
two countries
ar
e
indeed
separated
by what
once was
a
common
language!
From
an
American point of view, of course, it
could be argued that the British speak English
with a speech deficiency.
Even worse
English, however, is in use. Anyone who travels in
foreign countries and observes it on menus
and posters, in hotels, and indeed in
everyday life can testify that what used to be the
king?s lingo has become
in these places
but a poor relation thereof. Allow me to
elaborate.
The travel writer Perrot
Phillips has taken pains to highlight some of his
experiences, which I feel should
not be
withheld from a wider readership. He refers to a
Dutch bulb catalogue which promised customers “a
speedy execution” and to an East Berlin
cloakroom sign that requested guests to “please
hung yourself here.”
One hopes that
nobody took the advice literally.
To
these I can add some of my own experiences,
encountered in long years of traveling the world.
There
was, for example, the observation
in an Ostend novelty shop that “revolting new
ideas” wer
e being marketed,
and the boast of some Bombay bakers
that “we are No. 1 loafers, best values in whole
town.”
I realized how far
Christinanity had come when I read in
Hong
Kong the following call
by a dentist: The
teeth they are
extracted here by the latest Methodists.
I fear it can not be answered with
certainty whether these actually illustrate a
progressive use of English or
are
simply
reflections
of
local
usages.
I
feel
quite
strongly,
however,
that
the
Haifa
Medical
Association
should have prevented on
e of
its members from claiming on his brass plate that
he is a “Specialist in Women
and Other
Diseases.”
Hotels seem to
revel in their multilingual signs. One supposes
these signs were designed to facilitate the use
of modern services in otherwise sterile
and barely functional establishments.
Nevertheless, the unsuspecting
guests
confronted in a Brussels hotel with the following
instruction for the use of the life (elevator)
might well
prefer to walk: “To move the
life, push button to wishing floor. If the
cabin should enter more persons, each
one
should
push
number
of
wishing
floor.
Driving
is
then
going
alphabetically
by
natural
order.
Button
retaining
pressed
position
shows
received
command
for
visiting
station.”
The
less
sophisticated
notice
in
Istanbul
(“To
call room service, please to open door and call
ROOM SERVICE”) at least does not confront the
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guest with electronics that might not
always work.
In
Turkey
,
the
delight
in
“straight
talk”
expresses
itself
in
the
by
-now-famous
Ankara
brochure
which
advi
ses,
“V
isit our restaurant where you can eat
Middle East foods in an European Ambulance.”
A
note on a
Swiss menu that
“Our wines leave nothing to hope for” was equally
inviting.
Eastern European
courtesies have never left the once grand hotels
of the former Austro-Hungarian empire.
A
notice in the hotel rooms
that “the honoured guests are invited to take
advantage of the chamber maids from
12-
14
o?clock”
might,
however,
result
in
some
unplanned
traffic
jams.
A
recent
Moscow
exhibition?s
announcement
drew at
tention to “a showing of 300
paintings by Russian artists, most of whom were
executed
in the last ten years”
–
hardly a welcoming thought to the
occasional visitor.
A
Bangkok
laundry?s
advertisement
to
the
visiting
public
(“Leaving
your
clothes
here
and
en
joy
yourself”) could also be seen as a
invitation to extracurricular activities in that
Far Eastern capital of fun.
In Rome, a laundry advertised a similar
invitation: Ladies, leave your clothes here and
spend the afternoon
having a good time.
It
should
not
surprise
the
traveller
that
nightspots
advertise
their
wares
in
Europe
in
many
and
diverse
language.
The
German
preoccupation
with
Majorca
led
a
Munich
nightclub
to
copy
a
trilingual
Palma
announcement that
dancing was going on in what is indeed a
surpri
sing way. The notice read,
“Baile! Baile!
Baile!”
in
Spanish,
“Tanz!
Tanz!
Tanz!”
in
German,
and
“Balls!
Balls!
Balls!”
in
what
was
meant
to
be
English. We are spared
the upper Bavarian version of the activity.
The
Black
Forest
Germans,
on
the
other
hand,
are
known
to
be
rather
prudish
in
their
outlook,
but
is
it
really
necessary
to
post
a
sign:
“It
is
strictly
forbidden
on
our
Black
Forest
camping
site
that
people
of
different sexes, for
example men and women, live together in one tent
unless they are married with each other
for that purpose.”
I am told that for the otherwise
unsuspecting tourist, the following sign proved a
real crowd puller. Parrot
Phillips
claims it to be true that in an Austrian hotel
room he found the sign: “If service required, give
t
wo
strokes to the maid and
three to the valet.”
There
are undoubtedly more and varied versions of the
use of English, unprotected as our language is
from
the interference of emerging and
ambitious entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, I prefer
seeing English develop as the
lingua
franca
around
the
world
rather
than
being
suffocated
for
the
sake
of
so-called
purity
by
some
ill-advised legislative process.
Unit 2 Lies and T
ruth
What is truth?
–
and the opposite question that goes with it: what
makes a lie? Philosophers, teachers, and
religious
leaders
from
all
cultures
and
periods
of
history
have
offered
many
answers
to
these
questions.
Among Euro-North-
American writers, there is general agreement on
two points. The first is that what we call
a “lie” must be told
inten
tionally
–
that is, if someone tells an untruth
but they believe it to be true, we don?t
consider
them
a
liar.
The
second
point
is
that
practically
everyone
lies,
and
lies
frequently.
But
there
the
agreement ends.
One rather
extreme point of view is that lying is always bad
and that we should try to find ways avoid doing
it. The reason is that lying hurts not
only the listener, but also the liar. Each lie
makes the next one easier to
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tell,
and
the
liar
comes
not
only
to
disrespect
herself,
but to mistrust
others, whom
she
believes
will
lie
as
easily as
she. In a society, where lying is common, trust
becomes impossible, and without trust, cooperation
can not exist. Furthermore, by lying to
people, we remove their power to make important
choices about how
to spend money, what
future career to take, what medical treatment to
take.
Toward the opposite extreme is
the position that although some lies are evil,
many others are not
–
in
fact,
they
are
necessary
to
hold
our
society
together.
We
lie
in
harmless
ways
to
protect
other?s
feelings
and
to
better our
relationship. These are not lies that try to hurt
others. We laugh at the boss?s joke which we have
heard
before
and
which
she
doesn?t
tell
very
well;
we
pretend
interest
in
a
friend?s
story
of
something
uninteresting that
happened to him. If someone asks us a question
that is very personal and is none of their
business, we may lie in response.
Sometimes we lie to protect the reputation or even
the life of another person.
On a larger
scale, government may protect national security by
lying.
Each person seems to have some
point at which they draw the line between an
acceptable lie and a bad lie.
Obviously,
this
point
varies
from
individual
to
individual
and
from culture
to culture.
A
sometimes
painful
part
of
growing
up
is
realizing
that
not
everyone
shares
your
own
individual
definition
of
honesty.
Y
our
parents and
your culture may teach you that liars suffer, but
as you go through life, you find that often they
don?t: in fact, dishonest people often
seem to prosper
more than honest ones.
What are you to do with this
realization?
It
may
make
your
moral
beliefs
look
weak
and
silly
in
comparison,
and
you
may
begin
to
question them. It takes a
great deal of strength and courage to continue
living an honest life in the face of such
reality.
Little
white
lies:
This
is
our
name for
lies
that we
consider
harmless
and socially
acceptable.
They
are
usually
told to protect the liar or the feelings of the
listener. Most of them would be considered social
lies, and
they include
a
pologies and excuses: “I tried to call
you, but your line was busy
.”
“Y
ou?re kidding! Y
ou don?t
look
like
you?ve
gained
a
pound.”
Some
people,
however,
would
consider
it
acceptable
to
lie
to
save
themselves from responsibility
in a business transaction:
“A
fter I got home, I noticed that it
was broken, so
I?m returning it and
would like my money back.”
Occasionally
a
“little
white
lie”
may
have
a
very
profound
effect
on
the
lives
of
the
listeners,
and
may
even backfire. Author
Stephanie Ercsson tells of the
well-
meaning
U.S. Army sergeant who told a
lie about
one of his men who had been
killed in action. The sergeant reported the man as
“missing in action,” not killed,
so
that
the
military
would continue
sending
money
to
the
dead
man?s
family
every
month.
What
he
didn?t
consider was that because of his lie,
the family continued to live in that narrow space
between hope and loss,
always watching
for the mail or jumping when the telephone or the
doorbell rang. They never were able to go
through the normal process of sorrowing
for, and then accepting, the death of their father
and husband. The
wife never remarried.
Which was worse, the lie or the truth? Did the
sergeant have the right to do what he did
to them?
What we really mean
when we call an untruth a “little
white lie” is that we think it was
justifiable. Into
this category fall
many of the lies told within the walls of
government. A
person may lie to
government, or a
government official
may lie to the public, and believe that by doing
so, he becomes a hero.
Clearly,
however,
one person?s “little white
lie” is another person?s “dirty lie.” That brings
us to the second category:
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Dirty lies: There are lies told with
intent to harm the listener or a third party and
to benefit the liar. Into
this category
fall the lies of some dishonest salespersons,
mechanics, repairmen; husbands or wives who are
having an affair with someone else;
teenagers who lie to get out of the house in order
to do things that their
parents would
die
if
they
knew
about
it;
drug
addicts
who
beg
family
members
for
money
to
support their
habit.
Dirty lies my be told to improve one person?s
reputation by destroying another?s, to hurt a
colleague?s
chances of promotion so
that the liar will be advanced.
Lies of
omission: Some people believe that lying covers
not only what you say
, but also what
you choose
not to say. If you?re trying
to sell a car that burns a lot of oil, but the
buyer don?t ask about that particular
feature, is it a lie not to tell them?
In the United States, a favorite place to
w
ithhold the truth is on people?s
income
tax
returns. The
government
considers
this
an
unquestionable
lie,
and
if
caught,
these
people
are
severely
punished.
If
omission can
be
lying,
history
books
are
great
liars.
Until
recently,
most
U.S.
history
textbook
s
painted
Christopher
Columbus
purely
as
a
hero,
the
man
who
“discovered
America,”
and
had
nothing to say about his darker side.
Moreover, most Native American and African-
American contributors to
science,
technology, invention, literature, art, discovery,
and other areas of civilization used to be omitted
form
children?s schoolbooks. Many
people considered this a lie, and today?s history
books usually mention at least
some of
it, though not as much as some people might like.
False
promises:
This category
is
made
up
of
promises
that
the
promiser
knows
are
false, that
he
has
no
intention of keeping even as the world
leave his
lips. While some are fairly
harmless and social, others are
taken
more seriously and can hurt the listener: “I?ll
never do it again, I
promise.”
Advertisers and politic
ians
suffer from terrible stereotypes
because of the false promises of some of their
number: “Lose 50 pounds in
two weeks.”
“Read my lips: No new taxes.” Probably everyone
would agree that if we make a promise but
have no intention of keeping it, we
lie. But what if we really do plan to keep it, and
then something happens to
prevent it?
Consider the
journalist who promises
not to indentify his resources, but then is
pressured by his
newspaper or by the
law. How far should he go to keep his word? If he
breaks his promise, is he dishonest?
Lies to oneself: This is perhaps the
saddest and most pathetic kind of lying. These are
the lies that prevent us
from making
needed changes in ourselves: “I know I
drank/spent/ate too much ye
sterday, but
I can control it
any time I really want
to.” But there is a fine line between normal
dreams and ambitions on the one hand, and
deceiving ourselves on the other, and
we have to be careful where we draw it. It?s
common for young people
to dream of
rising to the top of their company
, of
winning a Nobel Prize, of becoming famous or rich;
but is
that self-deception, or simply
human nature? Were they lying to themselves? More
likely, they really believed
that such
a future was open to them, because t
hey
had seen it happen to others. We shouldn?t be too
hard on
ourselves, but if we have
turned a blind eye to our faults, we should take
an honest look in the mirror.
There
is
no
question
that
the
terms
“lying”
and
“honesty”
have
definitions
that
vary
acro
ss
culture
boundaries. Members
of one culture may stereotype members of another
as “great liars,” “untrustworthy,” or
“afraid
to
face
the
truth.”
But
what
may
lie
behind
these
differences
is
that
one
culture
values
factual
information even
if it
hurts, whi
le another places more value
on sensitivity to other people?s feelings. While
the
members
of
each
culture
believe
that
of
course
their
values
are
the
right
ones,
they
are
unlikely
to
convince members of other cultures to
change over. And that?s “the truth.”
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Unit 3 Generation X
It?s
often said that kids today aren?t what they used
to be. But is this new generation of teenagers and
young
adults,
commonly
referred
to
as
“Generation
X”
or
the
“baby
busters,”
really
so
different
from
previous
generations? What
makes them tick? What impact will they have on us
and our institutions as we move into
the future?
Current
T
rends
Twenty years ago,
employers didn?t worry about finding enough good
people. Just like a box of tissues, there
was always another candidate that would
pop right up. But the 18-year baby boom of
1946-1964, when birth
rates peaked at
25.3 births per 1,000 population, was followed by
the 11-
year “baby bust,” when the rate
fell
to
a
low
of
14.6
births
per
1,000.
This
means
the
smallest
pool
of
entry-level
workers
since
the
1930s.
“Generation
X,”
as
they
were
dubbed
in
a
1991
novel
by
Canadian
writer
Douglas
Coupland,
realize
the
numbers are on their side. They are now
mainly
in their 20s, and they see
themselves as very marketable in
the
workplace. They feel that they can be patient when
choosing a job, and they can look for the best
wages.
This generation has watched more
TV
, and as a result has probably
witnessed more violence and murders,
than
any
generations
in
history.
In
addition,
their
gloomy
view
of
the world
has
been shaped
by
numerous
negative events,
such as the Persian Gulf War, escalating crime,
riots, AIDS, the nuclear threat, and
pollution.
They parents
practiced birth control and abortion and were
highly concerned about “making it”
financi
ally.
About
40%
of
X?ers
are
products
of
divorce,
and
many
were
brought
up
in
single
-parent
homes.
The
emotional upheaval and conflict this
causes helped shape their view of the family and
the world. It seems to
have sent out a
negative message to X?ers ab
out their
value and worth.
Many young believe
that their economic prospects are gloomy. They
believe that they will not do as well
financially as their parents or their
grandparents. They know that the average income
for young people, even
with two or
three college degrees, has declined significantly
over the past generations. Many feel that their
chances of finding the job and salary
they want are bleak.
Couple with the
high divorce rate with the fact that many were
latchkey children and you get a generation
who may have had more time alone than
any in history. They are also the first to spend
considerable time in
day
care.
At
home,
they
were
weaned
on
TV
,
high
tech,
video
games,
and
computers.
They
became
independent
at
a
young
age.
Many
had
to
grow
up
fast,
taking
on
family
responsibilities
or
part-time
jobs
to
help
out.
All
this
has
helped
them
become
very
freedom-minded,
individualistic,and
self-
absorbed.
Many
resent
the
fact
that
their
parents were
not
home
to
spend
more
time
with
them.
An
often
heard
sentiment is that things will be
different when they raise their own families.
The
loyalty
and
commitment
to
the
workplace
that
previous
generations
had
is
gone.
Generation
X?ers
watched their grandparents slave away
only to receive a gold watch and pension upon
retirement. Thirty or
more
years
of
loyalty
sometimes
ended
with
a
security
guard
helping
them
to
clean
out
their
desks
and
escorting them out the
door. Their parents? dedication to the company has
been repaid with downsizing and
layoffs.
Y
o
ung people feel
there is no such thing as job security. They feel
they don?t want to wait around and pay
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their dues when there is no
long-
term commitment from the top. They
can?t believe that their boomer bosses
spend 60 or more hours a week at a job
that they constantly complain about. They strongly
believe there is life
after work.
Generation X?ers take longer to make
job choices. They look upon a job as temporary
instead of as a career,
partly
because
they want
to
keep
their
options
open. They
are
always
looking
to
jump
ship when they can
upgrade their
situation. They will often leave a job at the hint
of a better position.
This generation
seems to do things at a much later age than their
parents. They graduate from college later,
stay at home longer, and marry much
later. Many who leave home come back again,
sometimes more than
once. This is due
in part to the high cost of living and the fact
that many have piled up huge studentloan debts.
In contrast with the baby boomers, who
couldn?t wait to leave home, Generation X?ers save
their money so
they can live better
when they do leave. It may be that some just want
to delay the time when they are on their
own, because they spent so much time
alone as children.
Many of X?ers?
parents were busy in the morning
g
etting ready for work and too tired to
have any quality
time with their
children at night. X?er classrooms were often
overcrowded. It was hard for the X?ers to get
noticed, so as adults they have a need
to be noticed. Often, they seek that attention in
the workplace.
Whether
from
watching
TV
or
from
being
spoiled
by
their
guilt-ridden,
seldom-home
parents
or
grandparents, X?ers have come to expect
a whole lot for nothing. They have a strong
propensity for instant
gratification,
wanting it all and wanting it fast. Their favorite
TV programs are soap operas. They would like
their world to be filled with the same
good-looking people, dressed in the latest
fashions, with lots of money
and
prestige, and without having to work too hard.
It is not uncommon for X?er
s
to get out of high school and expect to be paid
well despite minimal skills.
Many
disdain
low-
wage “McJobs” at
fast
-food chains. Y
oung
college graduates look to start at high paying
positions with power and perks. They
have little patience for working their way up.
Y
et, the X?ers feel that
making money
is not as important as
experiencing life. To be a workaholic is to
have no life. Consequently, a paradox
exists between how they view life and what they
think they need from
it.
Future T
rends
The
first
boomers
are
only
10
or
12
years
away
from
retiring
–
and
finally
out
of
the
way
of
the
next
generation. The X?ers will begin to
take over in politics, arts and culture,
education, media, and business. This
should lead to a time of better problem
solving and quicker solutions, as they hate
political maneuvering and
want to get
to solutions in a fast, no-nonsense way.
X?ers don?t like the fact that their
parents spent so many hours working. They promise
to do better with
their children, being
more accessible and
providing a more
stable home life. Since many of them will marry
later when they are more mature, the
divorce rate will finally begin to dip.
When X?ers control the organizations of
tomorrow, they will create a shorter workweek, so
people will
have more ti
me
to spend with their families and leisure
activities. Productivity won?t suffer, as
technology will
enable
people
to
be
more
productive.
In
addition,
the
X?ers?
disdain
for
office
politics
and
desire
to solve
problems faster will improve
productivity. If
organizations do not
manage their human resources better, X?ers
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will leave to find or create a more
humane workplace.
Many Generation X?ers
have a freedom
-minded and
individualistic nature. They like to be
left alone to
solve
problems. They are a perfect
group to
become consultants, as already evidenced by so
many venturing
out on their own.
Organizations will come to rely on the
X?ers? entrepreneurial spirit to foster
innovation. They will create
systems
that
will
allow
“intrapreneurs”
to
create
and
run
s
mall
businesses
within
a
business.
The
organization?s financial support will
allow young people to research and create new
products at unparalleled
rates. Outside
entrepreneurs of this generation will team up with
these “intrapreneurs” to create joint
vent
ures.
Generation X?ers
have started to use their technology skills to
create virtual businesses, and they will be
the driving force behind this
marketplace in the future. They have been quick to
take advantage of the lower
overhead
and quick start-ups that the Internet provides.
Being able to reach millions of people with new
ideas
and products instantly attracts
this generation.
Generation X has
evolved in dramatically different ways than
previous generations. What motivated past
generations is far different from what
motivates this new breed. But the changes will be
for the better in many
ways. Kids may
not be what they used to be, but if we listen,
there is a lot we can learn from them. The future
will be a better place if we do.
Unit 4 Success
A
young man of humble origins came to New
Y
ork from the Midwest to seek his
fortune. He dreamed, in the
American
way
, of becoming a millionaire. He
tired his luck on Wall Street. He was diligent and
shrewd and,
when he had to, devious. He
put together the National Worldwide Universal deal
and he did some things with
an
electronics
acquisition
that
wouldn?t
bear
explaining.
He
succeeded
even
beyond
his
dream:
he
made
twelve
million dollars.
At first
the young man assumed that everything was working
out splendidly. “Isn?t is grand?” he said to his
wife, once it was apparent that he had
made twelve million dollars.
“
No, it isn?t,” his wife
said. “Y
ou?re a
nobody
.”
“
But that?s impossible,” the
young man said. “I?m rich person. We live in an
era that celebrates rich peo
ple.
Rich
people
are
shown
in
the
newspapers
in
the
company
of
movie
stars
and
famous
novelists
and
distinguished dress designers. The
names of the richest corporate raiders are known
to every schoolboy. There
are rich real
estate sharks whose faces appear
on the
covers of glossy magazines.”
“
Y
ours won?t,”
his wife said. “Y
ou?re a
nobody.”
“
But I
have twelve million dollars,” the young man
said.
“
So do a
lot of people,” his wife said. “They?re nobodies,
too.”
“
I could
buy our way onto the committees of
imp
ortant charity balls,” the young man
said. “Then we?d be
mentioned in the
columns.”
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21:07:00
“
Don?t kid
yourself,” his wife said. “The important
committees are already filled with people who are
really
rich. People like us would end
up working on something like a dinner dance to
benefit the American Psoriasis
Foundation.”
“
But I own a
co-
op apartment on Fifth
A
venue that?s worth two million
dollars,” the young man said.
“
Two-million-dollar
co-
ops are a dime a dozen,” his wife
said, “so to speak.”
“
I have a stretch
l
imousine,” the young man said. “It?s
twenty
-
one and half feet
long.”
“
Nobody
famous has ever ridden it,” his wife said. “Henry
Kissinger and Calvin
Klein have never
heard of
you. Y
ou?re a
nobody.”
The young man was
silent for a while. “Are you
disappointed
with me?” he
finally said to his wife.
“
Of course
I?m
disappointed
in
you,”
she said,
“When
you
asked
me
to
marry
you,
you said
you
would
surely amount to something. How
was I to know that you?d turn out to be a
nobody?”
For
a
moment
the
young man
looked
defeated. Then
he squared
his
shoulders
and
cleared
his
throat.
“I?ll
make
them
pay
attention,”
he said,
“I?ll
buy
a
professional
football
team
and
argue
a
lot
with
the coach
in
public. Celebrities will join me to
watch big games from the owner?s box.”
“
Y
ou can?t buy a
professional football team for twelve million
dollars” his wife said. “Professional football
teams cost big bucks.”
“
Then I?ll buy a magazine
and appoint myself chief columnist,” the young man
said. “A
tiny but exceedingly
flattering picture of me will run next
to my column every week. The owners of
professional football teams
will invite
me to watch big games from the owner?s
box.”
“
Y
ou might be
able to buy one of those weekly-shopper throwaways
for twelve million dollars, but not a real
mag
azine,” his wife said,
“Y
ou can?t buy a real magazine for
chicken feed.”
“
Is that what you call what
we have?” the young man asked. “Is twelve million
dollars chicken feed?”
“
It?s not a big bucks,” his
wife said. “What can I tell you?”
“
But
that?s
not fair,”
the
young
man
said.
“I?m
a
young
man
of
humble
origins who
made
twelve
million
dollars. I succeeded even beyond my
dream.”
“
Some of
those things you did with the electronics
acquisition probably weren?t fair either,” his
wife said.
“Fair isn?t being measured
these days. What they measure is
money.”
“
Then
I?ll get more money,” the young man said. “I?m
going to go back to Wall Street and make fifty
million
dollars.”
But
before
the
young
man
could
make
fifty
million
dollars
a
man
from
the
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
came
and
arrested
him
for
having
committed
insider-trading
violations
in
the
electronics
acquisition.
The
young
man was
taken
away
from
his
office
in
handcuffs.
A
picture
on the front
page
of
the
afternoon
paper
showed
him
leaving
his
arraignment,
trying to
hide
his
face
behind
an
$$850
Italian
overcoat.
A
long
article
in
the
morning
paper
used
him
as
an
example
of
a
new
breed
of
Wall
Street
traders who
were
the
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21:07:00
victims of their own greed,
probably because of their humble origins. His
friends and associates avoided him.
Only his wife stuck by him. She tired
to see the bright side. “For someone with twelve
million dollars,” she
said to the young
man, “you?re getting to be pretty well
known.”
Unit 5 Women, Men &
Money
Aha, Money. It?s
probab
ly the only thing that
complicates life between the sexes as much as sex.
And when a
woman
makes
more
of
it
than
her
man,
life
really
gets
complicated.
Even
the
most
liberated
man
can
feel
threatened by a woman who earns more
than he does. And even the most well-adjusted
couples say they have
to work extra
hard to keep their relationships happy if the
woman has the higher salary.
A
surprisingly large
percentage of women bring home their family?s big
paycheck. They?re not just single
moms.
Elizabeth Dole, Katie
Couric, and Queen
Elizabeth outearn their spouses. Statistics
complied by the
Department of Labor
show that, in all, 29% of working wives
–
10.2 million women
–
make more than their
husbands, a figure that has grown
nearly by 35% since 1988. Among upper-income
women, the numbers are
much higher.
A
recent Catalyst survey of 460 female
executives at FORTUNE 1,000 companies found that
three-quarters of the married women
outearned their spouses. Why is this happening
when women on average,
pull down only
66
% of their male counterparts? wages?
There are several reasons: Women are better
educated
than they used to be, more of
them are working full-time, and equal-opportunity
laws have broken down many
workplace
barriers that held them back.
Despite
the
growing
numbers,
couples
attempting
to
adjust
to shift
in
economic
power
often
find
it
too
touchy to talk about
honestly. Jo Ann Ghio is director of information
services for Arbor Software in Sunnyvale,
California. As she rose in her company,
her husband seemed p
roud and
supportive, especially in public. “But
inside it bothered him,” she says now.
the couple grew apart, but never discussed the
root of their problems. “I
was
afraid
to
talk
about
it,”
says
Ghio.
“I
didn?t
want
to
say
things
that were
embarrassing
to
him.”
Now
divorced, Ghio is finally able to talk
about her story
. That?s how she
discovered she is surrounded by women
secretly straining to achieve the
balance she lost. “We are a silent sisterhood,”
she says. Men don?t talk about
it
when
their wives
ear
n
more
because
they?re
afraid
other
men
will
sneer
at
them,
and women
don?t
talk
about
it because they don?t want to embarrass their men,
or themselves. “If we?re successful, society
thinks
we ought to be connected with
somebody just as successful,” says Ghio. “If we?re
not, something?s not quite
right.”
A
psychiatric administrator
from Philadelphia says that when she brought home
her first big paycheck,
her
salesman
husband
took
it
to
ensure
that
he
maintained
control
of
the
family
finances.
As
her
career
flourished, he began
insulting her. “He had to play down my job,” she
says. “He would tell me I was stupid or
lazy.” Then he started hitting her
–
something he had done
early in their relationship but that she thought
had
been solved with counseling. He
wa
nted to keep me in my place,” she
says. The woman moved out and filed
for
divorce.
Violence
is
comparatively
rare
in
affluent
households,
but
studies
show
that
whenever
man
earn
significantly less than their wives,
they are more likely to react violently.
Ron Levant, a Boston psychologist
and
co-author
of
Masculinity
Reconstructed
,
says
he?s
counseling
a
growing
number
of
men
in
all
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Created:2008-6-11 21:07:00
socioeconomic classes who are having
trouble coping with their wives? success. “There
is a lot of emotional
and physical
abuse
,” he says. Others retaliate in
subtler ways –
drinking more or having
an affair. Even Levant,
who
says
he
wouldn?t
mind
if
his wife
outearned
him,
admits
he?d
have
trouble
making
sacrifice, such
as
moving, to further her career. “It
would be hard,” he says. “I?d have to get into
therapy.”
Financially
successful single
women
lament
that
it
can
be
a
romantic
disaster
to
reveal
their
salaries
to
prospective
mates.
But
men can?t
always
be
blamed
for
the
problems
in
these
relationships.
Anne
Gingras,
co-owner of a $$32
million computer consulting business in Orinda,
California, knows she scared men away by
saying she expected them to be
comfortable with her success. “I dress in designer
clothes,” she says. “I drive a
Jaguar,
and I would compare his car with mine.
I couldn?t date a man who drove a Geo.”
It took a while, but
she thinks her
selection technique is effective: She?s happy with
her boyfriend of eight years, who earns less
than a quarter of her income. “He?s got
other qualities,” she says. Plus he drives
an Acura.
Judith
Wallerstein,
a
psychologist
and
co-author
of
The
Good
Marriage
,
says
her
research
shows
that
relationships in which one partners
derives most of his or her self-esteem from a
career or income are likely to
have
trouble
adapting
to
a
shift
in
economic
power.
Aside
from
choosing
the
right
mate
in
the
first
place,
Wallerstein offers women more practical
help for making the role reversal work. It sounds
a lot like the advice
a therapist would
give a man in a traditional relationship, the
difference being that women have to practice it
over and over
–
far more than most men would do.
First,
says
Wallerstein,
a
high-
earning
woman
must
be
supersensitive
to
man?s
feelings.
If
her
career
requires a sacrifice from him, “she?s
got to say, ?I adore you;
how can we make up for it??” Second,
she needs
to acknowledge his support in
private and in public, reassuring him that she
couldn?t have succeeded without
him.
Finally, she should never throw her money around
during an argument; disputes must be solved based
on
what?s fair and
realistic.
Women who
carefully follow this advice
–
and fall in love with a
secure man
–
won?t necessarily find bliss,
but at least they have a chance. When
Jim Campbell and Elizabeth Mackey married in 1978,
says Campbell,
“We figured we?d get our
MBAs and do yuppie
-
type
things.” Their plans changed after son Alex was
born in
1981. Mackey was rising rapidly
on Wall Street and loved her work. Campbell, less
enamored of his, quit and
took a sales
job he could do from home while caring for Alex.
Mackey has since moved to another position as
head
of
CD-ROM
acquisitions
for
Simon
&
Schuster.
Campbell
and
a
friend
opened
a
trophy
shop
in
Briarcliff
Manor,
New
Y
ork.
His
wife?s
earnings
have
allowed
them
to
buy
a
nice
house
and
send
Alex
to
private
school.
Campbell,
proud
of
his
relationship
with
his
son,
says
life
has
turned
out
better
than
he
expected: “I?m
happy.”
Mackey, who travels
frequently, is both grateful for
–
and a little jealous of
–
her husband?s
close ties to Alex.
She says the
biggest problem caused by their disparity in
income is disputes over household chores. While
the
couple long ago hired out tasks
like cleaning and
laundry, they are now
debating whether they can afford to
hire someone to do the bigger jobs,
like painting t
he house. “My weekends
are my downtime,” says Mackey.
“And
I
loathe
having
to
ask
Jim,
after
he?s
already worked
half
of
Saturday,
to
come
home
and
do
more
work.”
Nancy
and
Frank
Dickey
resolved
that
debate
years
ago.
Lower
your
standards,
hire
somebody,
and
be
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done with it. Nancy, an associate
professor of medicine at Texas A&M and chair of
the board of the American
Medical
Association,
earns
more
money
than
Frank,
but
he
may
have
more
prestige:
He?s
a
high
school
football coach in the country?s most
footb
all-crazed state. Nancy says she
sometimes feels guilty that because
of
her job and their family (they have three
children), Frank didn?t pursue openings that would
have required a
move.
Any
regrets over jobs he?s passed up are more than
balanced by the advantages he says he?s gotten
from
Nancy?s career.
He
has
a
terrific
team
physician, for
example,
and
her
prosperity
has
given
him
a
freedom
most coaches
envy
–
to
bench
the
unathletic
sons
of
school
board
members.
Frank
acknowledges
that
he
sometimes feels
isolated in the world of Texas macho.
Men ask him: “How can you let her gallivant all
over?”
But he says Nancy has mastered
the art of making the Dickeys seem like a
traditional couple.
For now it may be
easier for everyone to keep up appearances. But
all signs indicate that this trend has
legs,
that
the
changing
economy
will
bring
more
–
and
better-educated
–
women
into
the
work
force.
Inevitably, more of them will outearn
their husbands. Eventually, both sexes may be able
to take comfort in
the numbers.
Unit 6
The Soul
of a Business
“We operate
in the business world primarily as ?calculating
minds,? and as such we remain isolated from one
another as human beings. It?s only when
we share something of our spirits or our hearts
that we relate to one
anothe
r,” says Tom Chappell
of Tom?s of Maine.
Having
just
completed
his
Master?s
of
Theology
at
Harvard
Divinity
School,
now
more
than
ever Tom
hopes to set an example of ethnical
business standards.
“It can
be,” says Tom, “because it is
spirit
-to-spirit that
we?re
talking about. The consumer also has hopes
and aspirations
–
that who they?re dealing with is going
to treat them fairly, and with respect. If the
consumer
and the company share the same
values, then when you connect on that ?values
dimension?
–
you recognize
you have something in
common.”
Kate?s family, who
was in the silk industry in Manchester, New
Hampshire, was instrumental in building
the town, the school, and libraries
with profits from their mills. “Her heritage helps
us share our success with
our communities.” She is now pursuing
her art more intentionally, playing a seconding
role in the company.
“But we also have
a young professional management tem.”
Ask
Tom what
he?s
enjoyed
the
most
in
building
the
company
over
the
past
two
decades,
and
he
also
reveals some why he has
succeeded, and special insights he offers in his
new book. “More than creating it,” he
says, “is what your intention is every
moment. Y
our vision is on creating this
outcome that?s in your mind
–
this personal
care product tha
t?s made with natural
ingredients, that does the same job as others, but
without
all the other
ingredients.”
“Beyond
excellence
and
efficacy,
we
can
share
a
little
about
our
peculiarities
as
a
group
of
people,
communicating
that
we
come
from
Maine,
that
we
like
nature,
and
that
we
respect
one
another.
We
can
differentiate our product by values.
That connects with the value system of our
potential consumers. At first I
was
embarrassed
about
putting
our
peculiarities
into
our
product,
but
I?ve
found
you
shou
ld
be
passionate
about putting the
peculiar features of your company into your
product.”
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