実践ビジネス英語ディクテーション (aired 3/27,28)

こんにちは。実践ビジネス英語Talk the Talkコーナーのディクテーションです。番組の3月後半のテーマは、‘Executive Challenges’（経営幹部にとってのチャレンジ）でした。現代のCEOが夜眠れなくなる原因や、退職をめぐる経済事情の変化などが話題になりました。アメリカでは（経済的な理由で）数百万人が退職できなくなるという話も出ていました…。
”Talk the Talk”では、Heatherさんのストレスの原因や、退職後に備えるお金の管理法などについて語られます。

Executive Challenges
（S: 杉田敏先生　H: Heather Howardさん）

S: In our current vignette, the H&B staffers talk about sources of stress for modern CEO’s―things like striking a balance between short-term results and long-term direction and presenting the image of a good corporate citizen.

H: Yes, this is a subject that seems right up your alley, Mr. Sugita. What keeps you up at night, to borrow from the title of the article Pat McMillan was reading?

S: Like Paul Pearson, I would list three things: people, people and people.
And what about you, Heather? What causes you stress in your work?

H: I’m embarrassed to answer that question right after you, given the slight difference in our respective ranks.
But I, too, have to agree with Paul Pearson; getting and keeping good staff is certainly hard, so is getting by with the bad ones when you have to.
I used to work with a man, for example, who proudly announced that he was the best writer he knew.
When that statement got around the office, the immediate and universal response was , “Doesn’t know a lot of writers, does he?”
This man had an incredibly inflated view of his own abilities and nothing could burst that bubble. Those are the hardest staff to deal with, definitely―the ones who won’t take direction.
They listen but then just keep doing things their own way, which just creates more work for others and irritates them into the bargain.

S: I see. Any other causes of stress?

H: Well, there’s the ever-widening generation gap, but that’s usually a source of humor rather than stress.
I had to laugh once when a twenty-something in my office didn’t know what an LP was.
You know, those old big records we used to play; we put a little needle down and it started the music.
“Pardon me, while I hitch up my buggy for trip to market,” I thought.

S: Well, the vignette also touches on how things have changed regarding retirement.
Paul Pearson says many Americans have next to nothing in the bank and millions of people won’t ever be able to retire.

H: Yes. I was shocked when I looked up the actual figure. According to the National Institute on Retirement Security, the average retirement account balance for all working-age households is only 3,000 dollars.
That is indeed “next to nothing.”
My husband and I follow the “pay yourself first” principle. Every month a set amount of money is put aside for retirement.
What we spend each month is worked out after that money is withdrawn and gone.
I’m pretty sure I’ll get nothing or next to nothing from social security, having lived and worked in Japan ever since graduation.
(Our) fingers crossed on public pension payments here, but no one knows what the future will bring.
So we are saving as much as we can on our own.

最後までお読みくださり、ありがとうございました♪