Тексты A‑G

Seeing the big picture

As an employee starting a career in a specific company, in a non- decision- making position, we are often given a set of instructions for our daily tasks. These are the things that need to be done (by us) in order for the organisation to run well. It could be creating clippings of real estate advertisements from the newspaper. It might be processing a payment by following a detailed set of instructions. It could be very tedious stuff that might lead you to start to think: "Why am I doing this?"

I completely understand that sometimes there just isn't enough time or resources to explain everything to everyone in the team. But here is why I think understanding the big picture is great for everyone in the organisation.

First and foremost, not understanding the significance of what you are doing kills motivation. When you are stuck repeatedly doing the same things, for weeks and months... no matter how good of an employee you are, you will get bored. Especially if you don't understand the contributions that you are making as you work. When you lose motivation, then the quality of your work will automatically decrease. This is bad not just for you, but for the entire company as well - because now you are inefficient.

On the other hand, if you understand the reasoning behind your tasks why it has to be done, you will feel that you are important to your organisation - that you belong, and that what you do matters. Most of the time, the quality of your work improves if you are motivated.

For example, every day I have to input the page numbers for the ads in our school paper. It's tedious work. At first, I didn't know why I was doing it, and I was getting frustrated with having to do it every day. After a while, however, I realised that this was important because it was the only way for us to make sure that the ads were there, and that we can always use the page number that we've inputted to track an advertisement from weeks or months ago, when needed (e.g. when a client requests to see a screenshot of the ad as proof.) After realising this, I started to take this daily task more seriously. Well, I didn't become super passionate about it either, but I see the importance.

I feel like entrusting this knowledge to interns, admin- level employees, the newbies in a club, or other similar positions, is beneficial for both the organisation and the individual. By doing this, you are educating them about the bigger things going on at work, and also reminding them that their efforts matter. You are encouraging them to become problem solvers, and to look at things the way you would look at things.

I've seen a lot of people complain every day saying things like, "I don't understand why they can't just do it properly! It's not that hard!" If that's the case, maybe take a step back. You might know how to do it perfectly because you know the big picture. Maybe, they don't know how to do the tasks properly because they're only seeing a small part of the picture, and that's not enough.

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Julie

Julie always thumbed a ride back to college, but never told her parents. She knew they wouldn't 30 --1) assume2) approve3) achieve4) adopt. Her father would drive her to the station on the first day of term, when she would hang 31 --1) across2) aside3) apart4) around on the platform until she was certain he was on his way back home. She would then walk the couple of miles to the freeway, stand near the edge of a road and hold out her hand with the thumb raised as a signal for a vehicle to stop and take her to the city. There were two good reasons why Julie 32 --1) preferred2) enjoyed3) pleased4) admired to thumb a ride back to Hartford rather than take a bus or train. Twelve round trips a year meant she could save over a hundred dollars, which was important. Her parents could 33 --1) rarely2) hardly3) really4) nearly afford any extra expenses. In any case Dad and Ma had already made quite enough sacrifices to ensure she could 34 --1) enrol2) enlist3) attend4) register college, without causing them any further expense.

35 --1) Although2) Conversely3) Therefore4) However, Julie's second reason for preferring to thumb rides was that when she graduated she wanted to be a writer, and during the past three years she'd met some fascinating people on the short journey from home to college, who were often willing to share their experiences with a stranger they were unlikely to meet again. Julie had golden rules about who she wouldn't 36 --1) agree2) allow3) accept4) admit a ride from. Truck drivers were top of the list. In fact, she avoided most drivers under the age of sixty, especially those behind the wheel of a sports car.

30. 1) assume 2) approve 3) achieve 4) adopt 31. 1) across 2) aside 3) apart 4) around 32. 1) preferred 2) enjoyed 3) pleased 4) admired 33. 1) rarely 2) hardly 3) really 4) nearly 34. 1) enrol 2) enlist 3) attend 4) register 35. 1) Although 2) Conversely 3) Therefore 4) However 36. 1) agree 2) allow 3) accept 4) admit