Unit 15
Promoting corporate
diversity
職場攻略/辦公日常
Workplace English/Communication in Workplace
BRAIN STORM
Share your ideas with your teacher and try to make sentences.
What does “diversity” mean?
VOCABULARY
Repeat these sentences after your teacher.
1. diversity (n.) 多元化
We appreciate diversity at work.
我們感謝工作中的多樣性。
2. albeit (conj.) 即使
The cure for the disease is effective, albeit expensive.
治療這病的藥物雖然昂貴，但極有效。
3. minorities (n.) 少數民族
The minorities said yes!
少數民族說是的！
4. recruit (v.) 招聘
We should recruit foreign workers.
我們應該招收外國工人。
5. aggressive (adj.) 進攻性的
He is aggressive and angry today.
他是當今侵略性和生氣。
6. quota (n.) 配額，指標
You should meet the quota of 7 boxes.
您應該達到7盒的配額。
7. affirmative action (n.) 反歧視行動
This is not all about affirmative action.
這不僅僅與平權行動有關。
8. discriminate (v.) 區別
Can you discriminate good apples from bad ones by their appearance?
您能通過外觀將好蘋果與壞蘋果區分開嗎？
Dialogue
Read the dialogue aloud with your teacher.
Brian and Bill, I’d like to get your input on ways we can promote diversity. We’re going after new, international markets and we need to make efforts to understand those markets better. In addition, we’ve entered a new hiring season, so now is the perfect time to think of ways to diversify our staff.
Brian和Bill，我想聽聽你們對於促進公司多元化的想法。 我們正準備進軍一個新起的國際市場，我們需要努力更瞭解 這些市場。 而且，我們已經進入一輪新的招聘旺季，所以現在是招聘多元的員工的最佳時機。
Jeff, I agree that if we want to be competitive in an emerging market, we need people who will offer a fresh perspective. But to be fair, we do have some, albeit loosely enforced, hiring practices in place to recruit women and minorities. The problem as I see it is that our company’s senior levels of leadership lack minority and female representation.
Jeff，我同意如果我們想在新興市場具有競爭力，我們需要有全新看法的人加入我們。 但說實話，儘管我們是有一些 招聘女性和少數民族的條例，但是我們不總是按規章辦事。 我看到的問題所在是我們公司的領導高層缺少少數民族和女 性代表。
I don’t think there’s much of a problem. Sales are the lifeblood of our company, as you know. Our success depends on hiring people like me: determined, aggressive, and with a winner-takes-all attitude. I don’t think we should rock the boat by hiring people who may be unqualified just to fill some random quota.
我不認為這是什麼問題。 你知道的，銷售業績是我們公司的命脈。 我們的成功取決於招聘像我這樣的人：有決心，有 衝勁，有一種成王敗寇的態度。 我不認為我們應該招些不合格的人來完成什麼亂七八糟的指標，這樣只有攪亂局面。
Bill, I think you misunderstand. Our goal is not to discriminate against anyone, and this is not about affirmative action. But we should recognize that our company has room for improvement in this regard, as Brian mentioned. One staff member recently characterized our company culture as “one-dimensional and stuffy”. If we don’t want to lose qualified people, we need to strengthen our new hiring procedures and revise our promotion policies. And we could give diversity training to existing staff so that we’re all on the same page.
Bill，我覺得你誤會了。 我們的目標是不要歧視任何人，這也不是一項反歧視活動。 但是我們應該認識到我們公司在 這一點上需要改進，就像Brain之前提到的那樣。 我們的員工最近評價我們公司的文化風氣為「單一且刻板的」。 如果我 們不想讓好的人才流失，我們需要重新梳理一下我們的招聘流程，修正我們的晉陞制度。 而且我們可以給現有的員工舉 辦一些多元化的培訓，這樣大家都清楚是什麼情況。
Look at it this way, Bill, by promoting corporate diversity, we are able to draw from a larger pool of talent. After hiring decisions are made, we can have strategies in place to reward individual effort and achievement, regardless of ethnicity or gender.
這樣來看吧，Bill，推廣公司多元化，我們也能從各種人才中擇優。 在決定聘用了之後，我們可以採取不同策略來獎 勵個人的努力和成就，不論種族和性別。
As long as that keeps things on a level playing field, that’s fine by me.
只要我們一切是公平競爭的，我就沒意見。
Good, I’m glad you’re on board with us, Bill. It’s important that our company’s commitment to diversity comes from the top.
好了，我很高興你們同意加入我們，Bill。 我們公司能從上至下開始多元化是很重要的。
Grammar
Attributive nouns(名詞定語)
An attributive noun modifies another noun in the same phrase and is optional. It’s a noun being used as an adjective. For example: ‘hiring season’, ‘hiring practices’, ‘hiring procedures’. ‘Hiring’ in this case is a noun used to modify other nouns. Any noun may be occasionally used attributively, but some nouns have a broad attributive use. These nouns are labeled n, often attrib in the dictionary.
1. Autumn is the busiest hiring season.
2. These are my work clothes.
3. My cousin studies government policy at Georgetown University.
DISCUSSION
Make a conversation with your teacher.
1.What activities do you think, promote corporate diversity?
