Business Channel 2007-01-01&03

Wal-Mart stores are trying to play a computerized matching game with workers and customers. It, it's a new scheduling system that Wal-Mart started testing late last year. A computer calculates when customers are likely to be in a given store and then it schedules workers accordingly. So far it's been used for clerks and customer service people, but Richard, Wal-Mart expects to roll it out to all hourly workers. And Wal-Mart's the biggest private employer in the US, so that's a lot of people this could affect.

That's very interesting, you know, technology. Amazing what we can do with it. Has it resulted though, Darby, in hours being cut?

Well, a Wal-Mart spokesperson says no, hours have not been cut for employees. But this could still have a negative impact on workers. By scheduling workers during peak hours they may essentially² be on call and a work schedule without predictability could make scheduling childcare and other aspects of life more difficult. Wal-Mart, however, counters by saying that workers will get more certainty now, because actually the schedules will come out three weeks in advance with this computer system.

Ah, we'll have to wait and see.Google, also doing yeah, Google, also doing something too, right?

Yeah, Google is up to some interesting stuff. The, er, Google is the, of course, the company known for helping³ people search the web. Well, it's now figuring out new ways for its managers to search for potential hires. Google, of course, is known as an eccentric place to work, and as it expands finding people who are gonna fit in could be difficult. The New York Times says that Google is asking applicants⁴ to fill out an online survey. Google then uses a unique software engine to search the 100,000 applications that it gets each month. The New York Times says Google has doubled its workforce⁵ in each of the last three years, and it could hire 200 people per week in the coming year. So it's er, quite a lot of new employees.

Yeah, and Google known for hiring the best of the best. How did they come up with this system?

Well, it all kind of started by Google asking its current workers to fill out a survey, and then the company used that information to see if it could come up with a profile for who would be a successful worker. The survey is designed to explore things like your attitude, your behavior, your personality and even some biographical details, so they are digging deep.

You gotta be careful when you're looking to Google, I guess. Yeah. Ah, you know, a not necessarily good news, one person losing his job. It might have been written on the Wall, but the CEO at Home Depot⁶.

Yeah, as, as of recently, just a few months ago, he says, he said it wasn't gonna happen, but the news today is that, that Home Depot which is the largest home improvement retailer⁷ is looking to build a brighter further with a different CEO. Robert Nardelli is stepping down, and Vice¹ Chairman Frank Blake will take over. You know, Nardelli had been criticized for his huge pay package at a time when the stock wasn't doing all that well. Critics also say that his management style was inflexible⁸. Home Depot stock today is jumping on the news up almost 4% the last time I checked. Nardelli is not walking away empty-handed though, he is getting a severance⁹ package valued at, brace¹⁰ yourself, 210 million dollars. Richard, I'd wanna know where we can sign up for that kind of thing.

Yeah, you know, I, I bet you he's just gonna get some flak for that one though.

Yeah, I, I'm sure there will be a lot of talk about it, but we'll see, it's a lot of money.


Vocabulary


roll sth. out phrasal v. to introduce a new product or service
The company expects to roll out the new software in September.

flak n. If you get a lot of flak from someone, they criticize you severely¹¹.
The President is getting a lot of flak for that.

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

5 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

6 depot   

n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站

参考例句：

• The depot is only a few blocks from here.公共汽车站离这儿只有几个街区。
• They leased the building as a depot.他们租用这栋大楼作仓库。

7 retailer   

n.零售商(人)

参考例句：

• What are the retailer requirements?零售商会有哪些要求呢？
• The retailer has assembled a team in Shanghai to examine the question.这家零售商在上海组建了一支团队研究这个问题。

8 inflexible   

adj.不可改变的，不受影响的，不屈服的

参考例句：

• Charles was a man of settled habits and inflexible routine.查尔斯是一个恪守习惯、生活规律不容打乱的人。
• The new plastic is completely inflexible.这种新塑料是完全不可弯曲的。

9 severance   

n.离职金；切断

参考例句：

• Those laid off received their regular checks,plus vacation and severance pay.那些被裁的人都收到他们应得的薪金，再加上假期和解职的酬金。Kirchofer was terminated,effective immediately--without severance or warning.科奇弗被解雇了，立刻生效--而且没有辞退费或者警告。

10 brace   

n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备

参考例句：

• My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
• You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。

11 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。