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  3. The corporate world is increasingly rejecting imperial chief executives in favour of anonymous managers—prudent and boring men a

The corporate world is increasingly rejecting imperial chief executives in favour of anonymous managers—prudent and boring men a

admin2021-02-21  48
问题    The corporate world is increasingly rejecting imperial chief executives in favour of anonymous managers—prudent and boring men and women who can hardly get themselves noticed at cocktail parties, let alone stop the traffic in Moscow. Some of the world’s most powerful bosses are striking mainly for their mildness: Sam Palmisano at IBM, Tony Hayward at BP, Terry Leahy at Tesco, Vittorio Colao at Vodafone. These men are at the head of a vast army of even more forgettable bosses.
   It is true that there are a few more women and members of ethnic minorities at the top of companies than there used to be. But physical diversity has not translated into cultural diversity or intellectual vitality. Almost without exception, today’s bosses speak lengthily of the same tired old management ideas—about the merits of doing well by doing right, the importance of valuing your workers, the virtues of sustainability and so forth.
   The women who were profiled in a recent article in the Financial Times about the "top 50 women in world business" were every bit as proficient with the old management ideas as their male colleagues. Indra Nooyi, the boss of PepsiCo, proclaimed that she spends her weekends "doing everything that normal people do". Andrea Jung, the boss of Avon, said her biggest inspiration came from "Avon’s six million sales representatives worldwide".
   The fashion for faceless chief executives is part of an understandable reaction against yesterday’s imperial bosses, many of whom were vivid characters but who collectively brought severe criticism and disgrace on the system that let them shine. Some, such as Jeff Stalling of Enron, broke the law and helped inspire a dramatic tightening of government regulation. Others, such as Home Depot’s Bob Nardelli, paid themselves like superstars but delivered miserable results.
   The turbulent business climate is another factor that encourages today’s chief executives to keep their heads down. Their average tenure has declined from ten years in the 1970s to six years today, and boards are becoming ever more likely to fire bosses if they get out of line, particularly in Europe. The financial crisis has also produced a wave of popular fury about over-paid executives and their unaccountable ways. In this sort of climate it is not just the paranoid, but the faceless, who survive.
   Facelessness—or at least humility—is also the height of fashion among management consultants. Corporate headhunters are helping firms find "humble" bosses. Jim Collins, one of America’s most popular professional experts, argues that the best chief executives are not showy visionaries but "humble, self-effacing, diligent and resolute souls". Business journalists have taken to producing glowing profiles of self-effacing and self-denying bosses such as Mike Eskew, the former boss of UPS, who flew coach and shared an administrative assistant with three other people.
   Yet there is surely a danger of taking all this too far. A low profile is no guarantee against corporate failure. In general, the corporate world needs its showy visionaries and raging self-centered bosses rather more than its humble leaders and corporate civil servants. Think of the people who have shaped the modern business landscape, and "faceless" and "humble" are not the first words that come to mind.
   [A] was fired by the board due to poor performance in Home Depot
   [B] dishonored the system that earned him fame and glories by violating the law.
   [C] may agree that being humble is one of the requirements for the best CEOs.
   [D] was criticized for being over-paid for his poor performance in Home Depot.
   [E] applies old management philosophies like valuing employees.
   [F] was one of the low-profile bosses reported in business field.
   [G] is a good example of the best chief executives described in the Financial Times.
Jim Collins
选项
答案C
解析 Jim Collins出现在第六段。该段第三句中，Jim Collins列举了他认为的最好的高管需具备的四个品质：谦卑、低调、勤劳和刚毅。C中的humble是文中的原词复现，the best CEOs对应原文的the best chief executives，故C为本题答案。
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