I we they 星期一英语课材料

Iwethey星期一英语课材料Iwethey星期一英语课材料PAGEIwethey星期一英语课材料I,we,they1Amedium-sizedSwedishhigh-technologycorporationwasapproachedbyacompatriot,abusinessmanwithgoodcontactsinSaudiArabia.Thecompanysentoneoftheirengineers–letmecallhimJohannesson–toRiyadh,wherehewasintroducedtoasmallSaudiengineeringfirm,runbytwobrothersintheirmid-thirties,bothwithBritishuniversitydegrees.JohannessonwastoassistinadevelopmentprojectonbehalfoftheSaudigovernment.However,aftersixvisitsoveraperiodoftwoyears,nothingseemedtohappen.Johannesson'smeetingswiththeSaudibrotherswerealwaysheldinthepresenceoftheSwedishbusinessmanwhohadestablishedthefirstcontact.ThisannoyedJohannessonandhissuperiors,becausetheywerenotatallsurethatthisbusinessmandidnothavecontactswiththeircompetitorsaswell–buttheSaudiswantedtheintermediarytobethere.Discussionsoftendweltonissueshavinglittletodowiththebusiness–likeShakespeare,ofwhombothbrotherswerefans.2JustwhenJohannesson'ssuperiorsstartedtodoubtthewisdomofthecorporation'sinvestmentintheseexpensivetrips,atelexarrivedfromRiyadhinvitinghimbackforanurgentvisit.Acontractworthseveralmillionsofdollarswasreadytobesigned.Fromonedaytothenext,theSaudis'attitudechanged:Thepresenceofthebusinessman-intermediarywasnolongernecessary,andforthefirsttimeJohannessonsawtheSaudissmile,andevenmakejokes.3Sofar,sogood;butthestorygoeson.TheremarkableordercontributedtoJohannessonbeingpromotedtoamanagementpositioninadifferentdivision.Thus,hewasnolongerinchargeoftheSaudiaccount.Asuccessorwasnominated,anotherengineerwithconsiderableinternationalexperience,whomJohannessonpersonallyintroducedtotheSaudibrothers.AfewweekslateratelexarrivedfromRiyadhinwhichtheSaudisthreatenedtocancelthecontractoveradetailinthedeliveryconditions.Johannesson'shelpwasasked.WhenhecametoRiyadhitappearedthattheconflictwasoveraminorissueandcouldeasilyberesolved–butonly,theSaudisfelt,withJohannessonasthecorporation'srepresentative.SothecorporationtwisteditsstructuretoallowJohannessontohandletheSaudiaccountalthoughhismainresponsibilitieswerenowinacompletelydifferentfield.4TheSwedesandtheSaudisinthistruestoryhavedifferentconceptsoftheroleofpersonalrelationshipsinbusiness.FortheSwedes,businessisdonewithacompany;fortheSaudis,withapersonwhomonehaslearnedtoknowandtrust.Aslongasonedoesnotknowanotherpersonwellenoughitisconvenienttohavepresentanintermediaryorgo-between,someonewhoknowsandistrustedbybothparties.Attherootofthedifferencebetweentheseculturesisafundamentalissueinhumansocieties:theroleoftheindividualversustheroleofthegroup.5Thevastmajorityofpeopleinourworldliveinsocietiesinwhichtheinterestofthegroupprevailsovertheinterestoftheindividual.Iwillcallthesesocietiescollectivist,usingawordwhichtosomereadersmayhavepoliticalconnotations,butitisnotmeanthereinanypoliticalsense.Itdoesnotrefertothepowerofthestateovertheindividualbuttothepowerofthegroup.Thefirstgroupinourlivesisalwaysthefamilyintowhichweareborn.Familystructures,however,differbetweensocieties.Inmostcollectivistsocietiesthe"family"withinwhichthechildgrowsupconsistsofanumberofpeoplelivingcloselytogether;notjusttheparentsandotherchildren,but,forexample,grandparents,uncles,aunts,servants,orotherhousemates.Thisisknowninculturalanthropologyastheextendedfamily.Whenchildrengrowuptheylearntothinkofthemselvesaspartofa"we"group,arelationshipwhichisnotvoluntarybutgivenbynature.The"we"groupisdistinctfromotherpeopleinsocietywhobelongto"they"groups,ofwhichtherearemany.The"we"group(orin-group)isthemajorsourceofone'sidentity,andtheonlysecureprotectiononehasagainstthehardshipsoflife.Thereforeoneoweslifelongloyaltytoone'sin-group,andbreakingthisloyaltyisoneoftheworstthingsapersoncando.Betweenthepersonandthein-groupadependencerelationshipdevelopswhichisbothpracticalandpsychological.6Aminorityofpeopleinourworldliveinsocietiesinwhichtheinterestsoftheindividualprevailovertheinterestsofthegroup,societieswhichIwillcallindividualist.Inthese,mostchildrenarebornintofamiliesconsistingoftwoparentsand,possibly,otherchildren;insomesocietiesthereisanincreasingshareofone-parentfamilies.Otherrelativesliveelsewhereandarerarelyseen.Thistypeisthenuclearfamily(fromtheLatin“nucleus”meaningcore).Childrenfromsuchfamilies,astheygrowup,soonlearntothinkofthemselvesas"I".This"I",theirpersonalidentity,isdistinctfromotherpeople's"I"s,andtheseothersarenotclassifiedaccordingtotheirgroupmembershipbuttoindividualcharacteristics.Playmates,forexample,arechosenonthebasisofpersonalpreferences.Thepurposeofeducationistoenablethechildtostandonitsownfeet.Thechildisexpectedtoleavetheparentalhomeassoonasthishasbeenachieved.Notinfrequently,children,afterhavinglefthome,reducerelationshipswiththeirparentstoaminimumorbreakthemoffaltogether.Neitherpracticallynorpsychologicallyisthehealthypersoninthistypeofsocietysupposedtobedependentonagroup.