L21:Should People Be Promoted according to Ability?

Flattering the Boss Gets You Everywhere

In the world of work, flattery will get you everywhere.
Employees who flatter their bosses tend to receive better
evaluations and move more easily up the corporate ladder-whether they deserve to or not--said Gerald Ferris, management professor at Texas A and M University.
"Based on what we have found, it looks to be the case that political skills are highly reinforced out there in the work place. It is the politically astute that are more often promoted," Ferris said in an interview.

His conclusions are based on surveys of employees and supervisors takeri as part of his research into political behaviour in the office.
"People tend to believe that flattery is just too transparent to be effective, but we have found that is not necessarily true. We have found a strong correlation between this type of behaviour and good evaluations," Ferris said.
The reasons that flattery works are many, Ferris said, but most apparently have to do either with the boss's ego, or insecurity, or both.

Some supervisors enjoy having their egos boosted by complimentary employees, while others simply need the reinforcement of consent, he said.
"What we have found is that often bosses are new or unsure of themselves and need a lot of social reinforcement for their decisions. They might look at flattery as a sign that they are right, " Ferris said.
The reasons employees flatter bosses vary, too, Ferris said. Ambition - the desire to move up the corporate ladder --is often behind the compiiments, he said.

Also, many workers use flattery to obscure their laziness or incompetence.
"We did find a big gap between some of the people doing this manipulation and those that did not. Many of these people (fla.ttering the boss) were not the high performers. They were doing it to cover up their shortcomings," he said.
But if flatterers are not always top workers, they frequently are what social scientists call "high self-monitors", Ferris said.
"Those are people who are highly attuned to and aware of their surroundings and know what to do to get a favourable response," he said.

Fellow employees are not blind to what their colleagues are doing, Ferr'ss said. But, while they may disapprove, they usually do not tell the boss for fear of appearing jealous, he said.
Flattery works best when the employee is saying something he or she really means, Ferris said. But sincere or not, it should be done in moderation.
"If you overdo it or if you are not sincere and the boss catches on, it can mean trouble, " he said. "You have to be subtle and not take it too far. "
One way employees can avoid appearing too flattering is to occasionally disagree with the boss on minor points, he said. In that way, the employee avoids being viewed as a "yes-man".

II. Read
Read the following passages. Underline the important viewpoints while reading.

1. People Should Be Rewarded according to Ability,
Not according to Age and Experienc

Young men and women today are finding it more and more necessary to protest against what is known as the "Establishment": that is, the people who wield power in our society. Clashes with the authorities are reported almost daily in the press. The tension that exists between old and young could certainly be lessened if some of the most obvious causes were removed. In particular, the Establishment should adopt different attitudes to work and the rewards it brings. Today's young people are ambitious.

Many are equipped with a good education and are understandably impatient to succeed as quickly as possible. They want to be able to have their share of the good things in life while they are still young enough to enjoy them. The Establishment, however, has traditionaly believed that people should be rewarde