From bankers to factory staff, employees in the west face the bleak prospect of losing their jobs as a global recession starts to bite. For colleagues in the East the pain is more likely to come through a pay cut.

Human resource experts say cultural differences explain why Asian firms try harder to keep jobs in difficult times, which will stop unemployment and may help keep Asian economies afloat at a time of slowing exports.

The East Asian attitude may also make it easier for firms to recover quickly from the economic downturn since they will not need to rehire or train new staff, leaving some experts predicting Western shift to Eastern flexibility.

“In the Confucian attitude, the right thing to do is to share the burden. There is the sense of collective responsibility whereas in the west, it’s more about the individual survival,” said Michael Benotlel, associate professor of organizational behavior at Singapore Management University.

Steven Pang, Asian Regional director for Aquent, a headhunting firm, said in many East Asian companies there was an responsibility “ to take care of the members of the family and go through the pain together” even if that meant causing losses.

Us firms from General Motors to Goldman Sachs plan to lay off workers by the thousands. But at the Asian units of Western multinationals, jobs cuts will probably be less severe.

Japan’s jobless rate was 4 percent in September, up from 3.8 percent in January, while Hong Kong’s was flat at 3.4 percent. But US unemployment is expected to have jumped to 6.3 percent last month from below 5 percent in January.

Experts say that while there are noticeable differences in labor practices in East

and West, the gap will narrow as more firms become more multinational and competition forces firms to adopt the best practices of rivals from abroad.

According to the passage, what does “to share the burden” mean?

( less than 6 words)

____________________________________________________________________

Why would firms in the west lay off workers when facing a bleak prospect?

( no more than 5 words)

____________________________________________________________________

Why is it easier for the East Asian firms to recover quickly from the economic downturn? (no more than 12 words)

____________________________________________________________________

What’s the passage talking about? (no more than 15 words)

   ____________________________________________________________________

From bankers to factory staff, employees in the west face the bleak prospect (暗淡的前景) of losing their jobs as a global recession (衰退) starts to bite. For colleagues in the East the pain is more likely to come through a pay cut.
Human resource experts say cultural differences explain why Asian firms try harder to keep jobs in difficult times, which will stop unemployment and may help keep Asian economies afloat at a time of slowing exports.
The East Asian attitude may also make it easier for firms to recover quickly from the economic downturn since they will not need to rehire or train new staff, leaving some experts predicting Western shift to Eastern flexibility.
“In the Confucian (儒家的) attitude, the right thing to do is to share the burden. There is the sense of collective responsibility whereas (然而) in the West, it’s more about the individual survival,” said Michael Benotlel, associated professor of organizational behavior at Singapore Management University.
Steven Pang, Asian Regional Director for Aquent, a headhunting firm, said in many East Asian companies there was a responsibility “ to take care of the members of the family and go through the pain together” even if that meant causing losses.
US firms from General Motors to Goldman Sachs plan to lay off workers by the thousand. But at the Asian units of Western multinationals, job cuts will probably be less severe.
Japan’s jobless rate was 4 percent in September, up from 3.8 percent in January, while Hong Kong’s was flat at 3.4 percent. But US unemployment is expected to have jumped to 6.3 percent last month from below 5 percent in January.
Experts say that while there are noticeable differences in labor practices in East and West, the gap will narrow as more firms become more multinational and competition forces firms to adopt the best practices of rivals (对手) from abroad.
(Note: Answer the questions or complete the statements in NO MORE THAN TEN WORDS.)
【小题1】What caused the different practices of Asian and Western firms facing the global recession?
【小题2】Why is it easier for the East Asian firms to recover quickly from the economic downturn?
【小题3】Firms in the west would lay off workers when facing a bleak prospect because of ______.
【小题4】______ will make the differences in East and West less noticeable.

From bankers to factory staff, employees in the west face the bleak prospect (暗淡的前景) of losing their jobs as a global recession (衰退) starts to bite. For colleagues in the East the pain is more likely to come through a pay cut.

Human resource experts say cultural differences explain why Asian firms try harder to keep jobs in difficult times, which will stop unemployment and may help keep Asian economies afloat at a time of slowing exports.

The East Asian attitude may also make it easier for firms to recover quickly from the economic downturn since they will not need to rehire or train new staff, leaving some experts predicting Western shift to Eastern flexibility.

“In the Confucian (儒家的) attitude, the right thing to do is to share the burden. There is the sense of collective responsibility whereas (然而) in the West, it’s more about the individual survival,” said Michael Benotlel, associated professor of organizational behavior at Singapore Management University.

Steven Pang, Asian Regional Director for Aquent, a headhunting firm, said in many East Asian companies there was a responsibility “ to take care of the members of the family and go through the pain together” even if that meant causing losses.

US firms from General Motors to Goldman Sachs plan to lay off workers by the thousand. But at the Asian units of Western multinationals, job cuts will probably be less severe.

Japan’s jobless rate was 4 percent in September, up from 3.8 percent in January, while Hong Kong’s was flat at 3.4 percent. But US unemployment is expected to have jumped to 6.3 percent last month from below 5 percent in January.

Experts say that while there are noticeable differences in labor practices in East and West, the gap will narrow as more firms become more multinational and competition forces firms to adopt the best practices of rivals (对手) from abroad.

(Note: Answer the questions or complete the statements in NO MORE THAN TEN WORDS.)

1.What caused the different practices of Asian and Western firms facing the global recession?

2.Why is it easier for the East Asian firms to recover quickly from the economic downturn?

3.Firms in the west would lay off workers when facing a bleak prospect because of ______.

4.______ will make the differences in East and West less noticeable.

From bankers to factory staff, employees in the west face the bleak prospect of losing their jobs as a global recession starts to bite. For colleagues in the East the pain is more likely to come through a pay cut.

Human resource experts say cultural differences explain why Asian firms try harder to keep jobs in difficult times, which will stop unemployment and may help keep Asian economies afloat at a time of slowing exports.

The East Asian attitude may also make it easier for firms to recover quickly from the economic downturn since they will not need to rehire or train new staff, leaving some experts predicting Western shift to Eastern flexibility.

“In the Confucian attitude, the right thing to do is to share the burden. There is the sense of collective responsibility whereas in the west, it’s more about the individual survival,” said Michael Benotlel, associate professor of organizational behavior at Singapore Management University.

Steven Pang, Asian Regional director for Aquent, a headhunting firm, said in many East Asian companies there was an responsibility “ to take care of the members of the family and go through the pain together” even if that meant causing losses.

Us firms from General Motors to Goldman Sachs plan to lay off workers by the thousands. But at the Asian units of Western multinationals, jobs cuts will probably be less severe.

Japan’s jobless rate was 4 percent in September, up from 3.8 percent in January, while Hong Kong’s was flat at 3.4 percent. But US unemployment is expected to have jumped to 6.3 percent last month from below 5 percent in January.

Experts say that while there are noticeable differences in labor practices in East

and West, the gap will narrow as more firms become more multinational and competition forces firms to adopt the best practices of rivals from abroad.

1.According to the passage, what does “to share the burden” mean?

( less than 6 words)

____________________________________________________________________

2. Why would firms in the west lay off workers when facing a bleak prospect?

( no more than 5 words)

____________________________________________________________________

3.Why is it easier for the East Asian firms to recover quickly from the economic downturn? (no more than 12 words)

____________________________________________________________________

4.What’s the passage talking about? (no more than 15 words)

   ____________________________________________________________________

From bankers to factory staff, employees in the West face the bleak prospect of losing their jobs as a global recession starts to bite. For colleagues in the East, the pain is more likely to come through a pay cut.
       Human resource experts say cultural differences explain why Asian firms try harder to preserve jobs in difficult times, which will stem unemployment and may help keep Asian economies afloat at a time of slowing exports.
　　The East Asian attitude may also make it easier for firms to recover quickly from the economic downturn since they will not need to rehire or train new staff, leaving some experts predicting a Western shift to Eastern flexibility.
　　"In the Confucian mindset, the right thing to do is to share the burden. There's that sense of collective responsibility whereas in the West, it's more about individual survival," said Michael Benoliel, associate professor of organizational behavior at Singapore Management University (SMU).
　　Steven Pang, Asia regional director for Aquent, a headhunting firm, said in many East Asian companies there was an obligation "to take care of members of the family and go through the pain together" even if that meant incurring losses.
　　In contrast, Western counterparts often felt compelled to make dramatic statements to show investors they were serious about cost-cutting, Pang said.
　　US firms from General Motors to Goldman Sachs plan to lay off workers by the thousands, but at the Asian units of Western multinationals, job cuts will probably be less severe.
　　Japan's jobless rate was 4 percent in September, up from 3.8 percent in January, while Hong Kong's was flat at 3.4 percent. But US unemployment is expected to have jumped to 6.3 percent last month from below 5 percent in January.
　　Experts say that while there are noticeable differences in labor practices in East and West, the gap will narrow as more firms become more multinational and competition forces firms to adopt the best practices of rivals from abroad.

81.   What caused the different practices of Asian and Western firms facing the global recession?

82.   Why is it easier for the East Asian firms to recover quickly from the economic downturn?

83.   Firms in the west would lay off workers when facing a bleak prospect because of_________.

84.   _______will make the differences in East and West less noticeable.