Question

Time management has become one of the key issues of the second half of the twentieth century. Managers, grappling with work pressures and deadlines, have come to recognize that time is a precious commodity to be ‘saved’, ‘gained’, and not ‘wasted’ or ‘lost’. But if time is a commodity, how then can we best describe, measure and manage it? To describe and manage it, imagine a line that goes back to the beginnings of creation and continues into the mists of the future. And on that line are a number of significant marks − these separate the past from the present from the future. And within each time zone − past, present and future − we can differentiate periods of time from points of time. For example, the 1980s gave us a period of rapid economic growth; Black Monday was a point of sudden financial catastrophe. How can this brief analysis help the international manager? Firstly, there is the link between past, present and future. In other words, historical performance should be a guide to the future, and the present ought to represent last year’s forecast. So change − that which normally differentiates any two periods on our continuum − can be seen as a gradual evolution rather than a dramatic revolution. Secondly, the use of a time-planning system, on which key points and periods are plotted, enables managers to organize their activities so that bottlenecks can be avoided and deadlines can be met. So stress, where the jobs to be done exceed the available time, can be reduced to an acceptable and productive level. 1a Tick the right choice: Time management was one of the major issues 1 a) in the beginning of the twentieth century b) in the latter part of the twentieth century c) in the twentieth century 1b Give two reasons why mangers are giving so much importance to time management? 2 1c Explain the difference between period of time and point of time giving your own examples. 4 1d Do you think time management can reduce stress? Discuss. You may give your own views. 3 1e Pick out words/phrases from the passage which have the following meanings. 10 i coming to grips with something (Para 1) ii latest time by which an activity must be completed. (Para 1) iii article which can be bought and sold (Para 1) iv make a division between two things (Para 2) v time when the world was created (Para 2) vi unclear period of time (Para 2) vii terrible event. (Para 2) viii short (Para 3) ix slow and steady (Para 3) x blockages (Para 4)

Answer 1

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