题目内容:
Text2Well,nogainwithoutpain,theysay.Butwhataboutpainwithoutgain?EverywhereyougoinAmerica,youheartalesofcorporaterevival.Whatishardertoestablishiswhethertheproductivityrevolutionthatbusinessmenassumetheyarepresidingoverisforreal.
Theofficialstatisticsaremildlydiscouraging.Theyshowthat,ifyoulumpmanufacturingandservicestogether,productivityhasgrownonaverageby1.2%since1987.Thatissomewhatfasterthantheaverageduringthepreviousdecade.Andsince1991,productivityhasincreasedbyabout2%ayear,whichismorethantwicethe1978-1987average.Thetroubleisthatpartoftherecentaccelerationisduetotheusualreboundthatoccursatthispointinabusinesscycle,andsoisnotconclusiveevidenceofarevivalintheunderlyingtrend.Thereis,asRobertRubin,thetreasurysecretary,says,a“disjunction”betweenthemassofbusinessanecdotethatpointstoaleapinproductivityandthepicturereflectedbythestatistics.
Someofthiscanbeeasilyexplained.Newwaysoforganizingtheworkplace—allthatre-engineeringanddownsizing—areonlyonecontributiontotheoverallproductivityofaneconomy,whichisdrivenbymanyotherfactorssuchasjointinvestmentinequipmentandmachinery,newtechnology,andinvestmentineducationandtraining.Moreover,mostofthechangesthatcompaniesmakeareintendedtokeepthemprofitable,andthisneednotalwaysmeanincreasingproductivity:switchingtonewmarketsorimprovingqualitycanmatterjustasmuch.
Twootherexplanationsaremorespeculative.First,someofthebusinessrestructuringofrecentyearsmayhavebeenineptlydone.Second,evenifitwaswelldone,itmayhavespreadmuchlesswidelythanpeoplesuppose.
LeonardSchlesinger,aHarvardacademicandformerchiefexecutiveofAuBongPain,arapidlygrowingchainofbakerycafes,saysthatmuch“re-engineering”hasbeencrude.Inmanycases,hebelieves,thelossofrevenuehasbeengreaterthanthereductionsincost.Hiscolleague,MichaelBeer,saysthatfartoomanycompanieshaveappliedre-engineeringinamechanisticfashion,choppingoutcostswithoutgivingsufficientthoughttolongtermprofitability.BBDO’sAlRosenshineisblunter.Hedismissesalotoftheworkofre-engineeringconsultantsasmererubbish—“theworstsortofambulancecashing.”
Accordingtotheauthor,theAmericaneconomicsituationis________.
[A]notasgoodasitseems
[B]atitsturningpoint
[C]muchbetterthanitseems(A)
[D]neartocompleterecovery
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