研究生英语综合教程 上 readingmore 1-10单元 原文

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The only way to get people to like working hard is to motivate them.Today, people must understand why they're working hard. Every individual in an organization is motivated by something different

-Rick Pitino

WHY DO WE WORK?

Gregory S. Gallopoulos 1. Lawyers practice a difficult and demanding profession. They expect to be well compensated. In thinking about what that means, it can help to consider the basic question, "Why do we work?’’Samuel Johnson supplied an obvious answer when he famously observed. "No man but a blockhead ever wrote. except for money." But I am not being paid to write this article. and instead of labeling myself a blockhead. let me refer to the insight of eminent psychologist Theodor Reik: "Work and love - these are the basics. Without them there is neurosis."

2. Why do we work? For money, but also for sanity. We expect and need to be compensated in nonmonetary ways. Noneconomic compensation matters to top-flight lawyers- otherwise. they would have long ago fled to investment banks". Law firms that want to recruit and retain the best (and the sanest) must compensate not only in dollars but also in psychic gratification. Accordingly, managers of elite firms need to think consciously about what lawyers are looking for beyond money. Here are some key noneconomic elements of compensation.

3. Professional identity

Many lawyers define themselves with reference to the privileges and attributes of their profession. When firms recognize professional prerogatives, they provide an important form of compensation.

4. For example. lawyers pride themselves on belonging to a learned profession. By providing opportunities for continued intellectual grow~h , law firms can simultaneously provide a form of compensation and reinforce a core value of the profession. This isn't hard to do. Organize and host seminars with Ieading scholars. support scholarship in-house with resources such as research assistance and create venues for lawyers to engage in serious discourse.

5. Another core professional value is autonomy. A law firm pays psychic compensation when it understands and accepts that in matters of professional judgment. lawyers are their own masters. In this regard. firms should encourage a diversity of approaches, letting each lawyer develop his or her own style of practice. Empowering lawyers in this way inculcates a heightened sense of personal responsibility. which in turn reinforces the drive for individual excellence.

6. Equally important to professional autonomy is that firms need to take care not to impinge on a lawyer's exercise of considered professional judgment, even when that means refusing a client. Lawyers are not the servants of their clients. In appropriate circumstances. telling the client "No" is

an act of the highest professionalism. A lawyer is well-paid with the confidence that the firm will stand behind him or her in such circumstances.

7. Lastly. professional status encompasses adherence to ethical standards. Most lawyers find self-worth in setting an example-both within the profession and within the larger society-as ethical actors. When management affirms the special respect due to lawyers who act with the utmost integrity and civility in all of their professional dealings, it provides yet another form of compensation.

8. Personal pride

Few of us make it through the rigors of a legal education without having a deeply internalized sense of excellence for its own sake. ' Lawyers compensate themselves with the powerful self-affirmation of a job well done.

9. As a matter of both compensation and reputation, an elite firm cannot afford to impede the drive to excellence. even when it's not cost effective in the short term. This means. for example, that firm management should applaud the writing and rewriting of a brief to the highest standard even when a cynical perspective would suggest that the extra effort will have no practical effect. 10. Always celebrate superlative work product even when it seems unlikely to make a difference in the outcome. Instead of kowtowing to client demands for super work at a cut-rate price, deliver excellence and expect to be paid for it.

11. Idealism

Think back to law school. Who remembers talking into the night about how to obtain the highest profits per equity partner' ?

12. More memorable discussions covered things such as the advancement of civil rights, the provision of legal services to the poor, the development of a more equitable system of taxation. the promulgation of international norms guaranteeing basic human dignity. Lawyers thirst for justice, and slaking that thirst is an important element of compensation. Almost by definition, an elite law firm supports pro bono and public service efforts. thereby accomplishing the intertwined goal of compensating its professionals and discharging its institutional obligations' to society.

13. Recognition

Psychic compensation includes recognition. both formal and informal. Rendering such compensation depends on management's making just a little extra effort to acknowledge achievement. Celebrate important accomplishments and mark important milestones. On occasion. elaborate dinners or parties are called for. but often casual events will serve the purpose. Institute formal award programs. Stage ceremonies of public recognition. Never neglect to mark even relatively minor accomplishments with a congratulatory e-mail or phone call.

14. Institutional pride

Finally, a law firm can compensate its lawyers by giving them cause to be proud to be a part of the

firm. Law firms. as institutions, can outlive, outperform and out contribute any individual. We join firms in order to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. When firm management commits itself to buil …… 此处隐藏：42706字，全部文档内容请下载后查看。喜欢就下载吧 ……