为什么指责于事无补 老板却乐此不疲(下)

人们对免责存在明显的担忧。如果这个倒霉网站不断崩溃，而且是同一个人一直出错，该怎么办？毕竟，有时责备是理所应当的。

双语精读

There is an obvious worry about embracing blamelessness. What if the wretched website keeps crashing and the same person is at fault? Sometimes, after all, blame is deserved.

人们对免责存在明显的担忧。如果这个倒霉网站不断崩溃，而且是同一个人一直出错，该怎么办？毕竟，有时责备是理所应当的。

The idea of the "just culture", a framework developed in the 1990s by James Reason, a psychologist, addresses the concern that the incompetent and the malevolent will be let off the hook.

20世纪90年代，心理学家詹姆斯·瑞森提出了“公正文化”的理论，解决了人们对无能和恶意者逃脱惩罚的担忧。

The line that Britain's aviation regulator draws between honest errors and the other sort is a good starting-point.

英国航空监管机构在诚实错误和其他错误之间划出的界限是一个很好的起点。

It promises a culture in which people "are not punished for actions, omissions or decisions taken by them that are commensurate with their experience and training". That narrows room for blame but does not remove it entirely.

它承诺建立一种文化，在这种文化中，人们“不会因为与他们的资历和所受培训相符合的行动、疏忽或决定而受到惩罚”。这缩小了指责的空间，但并没有完全消除它。

There are two bigger problems with trying to move away from the tendency to blame. The first is that it requires a lot of effort. Blame is cheap and fast: "It was Nigel" takes one second to say and has the ring of truth.

要想摆脱指责的倾向有两个更大的问题。首先，这需要付出很大的努力。指责不费力也不费时间：“是奈杰尔的错”只需要一秒钟就能说出来，而且听起来很有道理。

Documenting mistakes and making sure processes change as a result require much more structure. Blameless postmortems have long been part of the culture at Google, for instance, which has templates, reviews and discussion groups for them.

记录错误并确保流程因此发生变化则需要更多的组织安排。例如，免责事后调查长期以来一直是谷歌文化的一部分，谷歌有进行免责事后调查的模板、复核和讨论小组。

The second problem is the boss. People with power are particularly prone to point fingers.

第二个问题是老板。有权力的人特别容易指责他人。

A recent paper by academics at the University of California, San Diego, and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore found that people who are in positions of authority are more likely to assume that others have choices and to blame them for failures.

加州大学圣地亚哥分校和新加坡南洋理工大学的学者最近发表的一篇论文发现，处于权威地位的人更有可能认为其他人有选择余地，并将失败归咎于他们。

In one experiment, for example, people were randomly assigned the roles of supervisor and worker, and shown a transcript of an audio recording that contained errors;

例如，在一项实验中，参与者被随机分配了主管和员工的角色，并给他们一段包含错误的录音记录抄本；

they were also shown an apology from the transcriber, saying that an unstable internet connection had meant they could not complete the task properly.

他们还看到了抄写员的致歉，称不稳定的网络意味着他们无法正常完成任务。

The person in the supervisor role was much more likely to agree that the transcriber was to blame for the errors and to want to withhold payment. Power and punitiveness went together.

主管角色的人更有可能同意抄写员应为错误负责，并希望扣留付款。权力和惩罚性相伴而生。

Blame also seems to be contagious. In a paper from 2009, researchers asked volunteers to read news articles about a political failure and then to write about a failure of their own.

指责似乎也有传染性。在2009年的一篇论文中，研究人员让志愿者阅读有关政治失败的新闻文章，然后写下他们自己的一次失败经历。

Participants who read that the politician blamed special interests for the screw-up were more likely to pin their own failures on others; those who read that the politician accepted responsibility were more likely to shoulder the blame for their shortfall.

那些读到这位政客将失败归咎于特殊利益集团的参与者更有可能将自己的失败归咎于他人；而读到这位政客接受责任的参与者则更有可能为自己的不足承担责任。

Bosses are the most visible people in a firm; when they point fingers, others will, too. If your company has a blame culture, the fault lies there.

老板是公司中最醒目的人；当他们指责他人时，其他人也会效仿。如果你的公司有指责文化，那么问题就出在这里。

词汇预习

• particularly [高考]

  美[pərˈtɪkjələrli] | 英[pəˈtɪkjələli]

  adv. 特别；尤其；详细地

• psychologist [高考]

  美[saɪˈkɑːlədʒɪst] | 英[saɪˈkɒlədʒɪst]

  n.心理学研究者，心理学家

• payment [高考]

  美[ˈpeɪmənt] | 英[ˈpeɪmənt]

  n. 支付；支付的款项；报偿；报应

• entirely [高考]

  美[ɪnˈtaɪərli] | 英[ɪnˈtaɪəli]

  adv. 完全地；全部地

• visible [高考]

  美[ˈvɪzəbl] | 英[ˈvɪzəbl]

  adj. 看得见的；可见的；显而易见的 n. 物质世界；看得见的事物；直观教具

• unstable [高考]

  美[ʌnˈsteɪbl] | 英[ʌnˈsteɪbl]

  adj. 不稳定的；易变的

• audio [高考]

  美[ˈɔːdioʊ] | 英[ˈɔːdiəʊ]

  adj. 声音的；成音频率的 n. 音频；音响设备

• contagious [高考]

  美[kənˈteɪdʒəs] | 英[kənˈteɪdʒəs]

  adj. 传染性的；感染性的

• obvious [高考]

  美[ˈɑːbviəs] | 英[ˈɒbviəs]

  adj.明显的;显著的;平淡无奇的;自明

• assume [高考]

  美[əˈsuːm] | 英[əˈsjuːm]

  vt. 假定；设想；承担；(想当然的)认为；假装

• political [高考]

  美[pəˈlɪtɪkl] | 英[pəˈlɪtɪkl]

  adj. 政治的；政治上的；政党的；人事的；争权夺利的

• fault [高考]

  美[fɔːlt] | 英[fɔːlt]

  n. 缺点；故障；过错；[地]断层 v. 找 ... 错误

• tendency [高考]

  美[ˈtendənsi] | 英[ˈtendənsi]

  n. 趋势；倾向；秉性

• pin [高考]

  美[pɪn] | 英[pɪn]

  n. 大头针，别针，针；栓；琐碎物 vt. 钉住；压住；将...用针别住 abbr.个人识别码,[印]邮编

• hook [高考]

  美[hʊk] | 英[hʊk]

  n. 钩；钩状物；勾拳 v. 钩住；弯成(钩状)；当妓女

• politician [高考]

  美[ˌpɑːləˈtɪʃn] | 英[ˌpɒləˈtɪʃn]

  n. 政治家；政客

• framework [高考]

  美[ˈfreɪmwɜːrk] | 英[ˈfreɪmwɜːk]

  n. 框架；体系；结构

• second to [高考]

  美 | 英

  仅次于 ... 的

• recording [高考]

  美[rɪˈkɔːrdɪŋ] | 英[rɪˈkɔːdɪŋ]

  n. 录音

• aviation [四级]

  美[ˌeɪviˈeɪʃn] | 英[ˌeɪviˈeɪʃn]

  n. 航空；飞机制造业

• screw [四级]

  美[skruː] | 英[skruː]

  vt. 旋，拧；压榨；强迫 n. 螺旋；螺丝钉；吝啬鬼 vi. 转动，拧

• randomly [四级]

  美['rændəmlɪ] | 英['rændəmlɪ]

  adv. 任意地；随便地；胡乱地

• supervisor [四级]

  美[ˈsuːpərvaɪzər] | 英[ˈsuːpəvaɪzə(r)]

  n. 监督人；主管人；管理人；督学；检查员；导师

• regulator [四级]

  美[ˈreɡjuleɪtər] | 英[ˈreɡjuleɪtə(r)]

  n. 调整者；调整器；监管机构

• let off [四级]

  美['letɔf] | 英['letɔf]

  放（炮、烟火等）； 免罚； 宽恕

• prone [六级]

  美[proʊn] | 英[prəʊn]

  adj. 易于 ... 的；有 ... 倾向的；俯卧的

• wretched [六级]

  美[ˈretʃɪd] | 英[ˈretʃɪd]

  adj. 可怜的；不幸的；悲惨的；质量差的；恶劣的；卑鄙的

• withhold [专四]

  美[wɪðˈhoʊld] | 英[wɪðˈhəʊld]

  v. 抑制；阻挡；扣留；保留

• incompetent [专四]

  美[ɪnˈkɑːmpɪtənt] | 英[ɪnˈkɒmpɪtənt]

  adj. 无能力的；不称职的；不能胜任的 n. 没有能力的人

• trying [专八]

  美[ˈtraɪɪŋ] | 英[ˈtraɪɪŋ]

  adj. 难受的；令人厌烦的

• commensurate [专八]

  美[kəˈmenʃərət] | 英[kəˈmenʃərət]

  adj. 相称的；成比例的；适当的

• malevolent [雅思]

  美[məˈlevələnt] | 英[məˈlevələnt]

  adj. 有恶意的；恶毒的

重点讲解

There is an obvious worry about embracing blamelessness. What if the wretched website keeps crashing and the same person is at fault? Sometimes, after all, blame is deserved.

人们对免责存在明显的担忧。如果这个倒霉网站不断崩溃，而且是同一个人一直出错，该怎么办？毕竟，有时责备是理所应当的。

embrace   v. & n.

1. 作动词

（1）抱，拥抱

【例】She embraced her son warmly.

她热情地拥抱儿子。

（2）欣然接受，乐意采纳

【例】We hope these regions will embrace democratic reforms.

我们希望这些地区会乐意接受民主改革。

（3）包括，涉及

【例】This course embraces several different aspects of psychology.

这门课程涉及心理学的几个不同方面。

2. 作名词：拥抱；欣然接受

【例】They held each other in a tender embrace.

他们温柔地拥抱在一起。

The idea of the “just culture”, a framework developed in the 1990s by James Reason, a psychologist, addresses the concern that the incompetent and the malevolent will be let off the hook.

20世纪90年代，心理学家詹姆斯·瑞森提出了“公正文化”的理论，解决了人们对无能和恶意者逃脱惩罚的担忧。

just   a. & ad.

1.作形容词

（1）公正的，正当的

【例】The law must be seen to be just.

法律须被视为公正。

（2）合适的，恰当的

【例】I think she got her just deserts.

我认为她罪有应得。

2. 作副词

（1）正好，恰好

【例】This jacket is just my size.

这件夹克正合我的尺码。

（2）仅仅，只是

【例】I just want to help.

我只想帮忙。

（3）刚才，方才

【例】I've just heard the news.

我刚听到这个消息。

address   v. & n.

1. 作动词

（1）处理，解决

【例】The policy fails to address the needs of the poor.

该政策未能解决穷人的需求。

（2）演说，演讲

【例】to address a meeting/conference召开会议

2. 作名词

（1）地址，住址

【例】Is that your home address?

那是你的住址吗？

（2）演说，演讲

【例】an address to the European Parliament 致欧洲议会的演讲

off the hook  （使）摆脱困境，逃避惩罚

【例】I lied to get him off the hook.

为了让他摆脱麻烦我撒了谎。

【拓展】hook   n. & v.

1. 作名词

（1）钩，鱼钩

【例】The key was hanging from a hook.

钥匙挂在钩子上。

（2）吸引人的事物，诱饵

【例】The images are used as a hook to get children interested in science.

这些图像用以吸引孩子们对科学产生兴趣。

The line that Britain’s aviation regulator draws between honest errors and the other sort is a good starting-point.

英国航空监管机构在诚实错误和其他错误之间划出的界限是一个很好的起点。

have the ring of （话语或论点）看来有某种特性

【例】His explanation has the ring of truth.

他的解释似乎是真的。

It promises a culture in which people “are not punished for actions, omissions or decisions taken by them that are commensurate with their experience and training”. That narrows room for blame but does not remove it entirely.

它承诺建立一种文化，在这种文化中，人们“不会因为与他们的资历和所受培训相符合的行动、疏忽或决定而受到惩罚”。这缩小了指责的空间，但并没有完全消除它。

have the ring of （话语或论点）看来有某种特性

【例】His explanation has the ring of truth.

他的解释似乎是真的。

There are two bigger problems with trying to move away from the tendency to blame. The first is that it requires a lot of effort. Blame is cheap and fast: “It was Nigel” takes one second to say and has the ring of truth.

要想摆脱指责的倾向有两个更大的问题。首先，这需要付出很大的努力。指责不费力也不费时间：“是奈杰尔的错”只需要一秒钟就能说出来，而且听起来很有道理。

have the ring of （话语或论点）看来有某种特性

【例】His explanation has the ring of truth.

他的解释似乎是真的。

Documenting mistakes and making sure processes change as a result require much more structure. Blameless postmortems have long been part of the culture at Google, for instance, which has templates, reviews and discussion groups for them.

记录错误并确保流程因此发生变化则需要更多的组织安排。例如，免责事后调查长期以来一直是谷歌文化的一部分，谷歌有进行免责事后调查的模板、复核和讨论小组。

structure   n. & v.

1. 作名词

（1）结构，构造

【例】the structure of the building

这座建筑物的结构

【例】changes in the economic structure of society

社会经济结构的变化

（2）组织，安排

【例】In terms of structure the novel has several flaws.

就组织结构而言，这部小说有几处瑕疵。

2. 作动词：组织，安排

【例】She had structured her arguments very carefully.

她的论据组织得很周密。

The second problem is the boss. People with power are particularly prone to point fingers.

第二个问题是老板。有权力的人特别容易指责他人。

assume   v.

1. 假定；假设

【例】It is reasonable to assume (that) the economy will continue to improve.

认为经济将继续好转是有道理的。

2. 承担（责任）；就（职）

【例】The court assumed responsibility for the girl's welfare.

法庭承担了保障这个女孩福利的责任。

3. 呈现（样子）；显露（特征）

【例】These relationships assume great importance in times of crisis.

在危急时刻，这些关系显得尤为重要。

4. 假装

【例】He assumed an air of concern.

他装出关心的样子。

A recent paper by academics at the University of California, San Diego, and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore found that people who are in positions of authority are more likely to assume that others have choices and to blame them for failures.

加州大学圣地亚哥分校和新加坡南洋理工大学的学者最近发表的一篇论文发现，处于权威地位的人更有可能认为其他人有选择余地，并将失败归咎于他们。

assume   v.

1. 假定；假设

【例】It is reasonable to assume (that) the economy will continue to improve.

认为经济将继续好转是有道理的。

2. 承担（责任）；就（职）

【例】The court assumed responsibility for the girl's welfare.

法庭承担了保障这个女孩福利的责任。

3. 呈现（样子）；显露（特征）

【例】These relationships assume great importance in times of crisis.

在危急时刻，这些关系显得尤为重要。

4. 假装

【例】He assumed an air of concern.

他装出关心的样子。

In**** one experiment****,**** for example,**** people**** were**** randomly**** assigned**** the roles of**** supervisor**** and worker****,**** and shown a transcript**** of**** an**** audio recording that**** contained errors****;****

例如，在一项实验中，参与者被随机分配了主管和员工的角色，并给他们一段包含错误的录音记录抄本；

they**** were**** also**** shown an**** apology from**** the transcriber,**** saying**** that**** an**** unstable**** internet**** connection**** had meant they**** could not complete**** the task**** properly****.****

他们还看到了抄写员的致歉，称不稳定的网络意味着他们无法正常完成任务。

The person**** in**** the supervisor**** role**** was much**** more**** likely**** to**** agree that**** the transcriber was to**** blame for the errors**** and to**** want**** to**** withhold**** payment.**** Power and punitiveness**** went**** together****.****

主管角色的人更有可能同意抄写员应为错误负责，并希望扣留付款。权力和惩罚性相伴而生。

Blame also**** seems to**** be**** contagious****.**** In**** a paper from**** 2009****,**** researchers asked volunteers**** to**** read**** news**** articles**** about a political failure and then**** to**** write about a failure of**** their own.****

指责似乎也有传染性。在2009年的一篇论文中，研究人员让志愿者阅读有关政治失败的新闻文章，然后写下他们自己的一次失败经历。

Participants who read that the politician blamed special interests for the screw-up were more likely to pin their own failures on others; those who read that the politician accepted responsibility were more likely to shoulder the blame for their shortfall.

那些读到这位政客将失败归咎于特殊利益集团的参与者更有可能将自己的失败归咎于他人；而读到这位政客接受责任的参与者则更有可能为自己的不足承担责任。

pin sth. on sth.

1. 归咎，怪罪

【例】Don’t try to pin the blame on me!

别想把责任往我身上推！

2. 寄希望于某物/某人

【例】Chris is pinning his hopes on getting into Yale.

克里斯寄希望于考进耶鲁大学。

shoulder   n. & v.

1. 作名词

（1）肩，肩膀

【例】a tall man with broad shoulders 一个高个子，肩膀宽大的人

（2） 山肩，路肩

【例】The village lay just around the shoulder of the hill.

村子恰好坐落在山肩处。

2. 作动词

（1）承担，担负

【例】He was unwilling to shoulder this responsibility alone.

他不愿意独自担负这个责任。

（2）（用肩膀）挤，闯

【例】She shouldered past a woman with a screaming baby.

她从一个怀抱啼哭婴儿的女人身边挤了过去。

（3）背，挑，扛

【例】She shouldered her bag and set off home.

她扛起包朝家走去。

Bosses are the most visible people in a firm; when they point fingers, others will, too. If your company has a blame culture, the fault lies there.

老板是公司中最醒目的人；当他们指责他人时，其他人也会效仿。如果你的公司有指责文化，那么问题就出在这里。

pin sth. on sth.

1. 归咎，怪罪

【例】Don’t try to pin the blame on me!

别想把责任往我身上推！

2. 寄希望于某物/某人

【例】Chris is pinning his hopes on getting into Yale.

克里斯寄希望于考进耶鲁大学。

shoulder   n. & v.

1. 作名词

（1）肩，肩膀

【例】a tall man with broad shoulders 一个高个子，肩膀宽大的人

（2） 山肩，路肩

【例】The village lay just around the shoulder of the hill.

村子恰好坐落在山肩处。

2. 作动词

（1）承担，担负

【例】He was unwilling to shoulder this responsibility alone.

他不愿意独自担负这个责任。

（2）（用肩膀）挤，闯

【例】She shouldered past a woman with a screaming baby.

她从一个怀抱啼哭婴儿的女人身边挤了过去。

（3）背，挑，扛

【例】She shouldered her bag and set off home.

她扛起包朝家走去。

课后练习

• What can be learned about Britain’s aviation regulator?

  A. It has caused worry about allowing people to make errors.

  B. It does not punish those who make unintentional errors.

  C. It shows tolerance to those who are honest about their errors.

  D. It promises not to punish people when they receive training.

• One of the reasons that people tend to blame each other is that ____.

  A. it is hard for people to trust their colleagues

  B. people are stricter to others than to themselves

  C. it is complicated to analyze and learn from mistakes

  D. people try to make themselves look better than others

• The experiment with the transcriber shows that ____.

  A. supervisors have a higher standard of work than subordinates

  B. making excuses increases the likelihood of being blamed

  C. supervisors tend to blame the workers whom they don’t know

  D. bosses have less tolerance for people’s errors than workers do

• The experiment about the news article shows that ____.

  A. people imitate others’ way of handling errors

  B. people have distorted views about their own failures

  C. people think highly of those who readily take the blame

  D. people may be wrongly accused by their bosses