Networking Reading Answers: IELTS Reading Practice Test

Networking Reading Reading Passage
 

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To be certain, the idea of networking has been given a gloss of modernity that isn't entirely warranted. It's widely acknowledged in the business community as an indispensable resource for today's global entrepreneurs. The idea is widely celebrated, not just in the corporate sector.

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There are two types of people in the world: the ones who keep their information and connections to themselves and those who are willing to share both. An insecure person is not a good networker since they have difficulty connecting with others, whether they be strangers or friends. The prototypical networker has enough confidence in themselves to introduce people they know, even friends, to each other. A businessperson or academic might make a connection with someone who could prove useful down the line, but at the moment, it might help them to meet another associate.

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A very self-assured person needs to bring these people together and allow a connection to grow without his being involved. For those who don't regularly participate in online social networks, this kind of change can feel like an unbearable intrusion of others' freedom. The sad part is that the person who made the first contact would stand to gain the most if he knew the full story. How come?

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Because all else being equal, people tend to socialise within preexisting networks, and any given individual has the potential to be dragged into ever-expanding spheres of new contacts. It's been stated that as long as you have eight friends, you're connected to everyone on Earth. As more people share their knowledge, the potential of any endeavour becomes obvious.

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While it's true that expanding one's professional and personal networks can lead to great success, it can also bring up unexpected challenges. To put it another way, it broadens one's horizons. While this isn't always a bad thing, it does increase the pressure on the networker to expand his sphere of influence constantly. It may seem like the easiest solution to just cut ties with old acquaintances, but this would be a mortal sin for our networker because it would be counter to their stated goal of expanding their professional network. The reaction of acquaintances and friends is an additional issue. When people spread themselves too thin, they have less time for the people who were once close to them. It's not uncommon for this to lead to jealousy and conflict among coworkers and even between leaders and subordinates in the office. If you work for an insecure manager, their jealousy and envy could backfire and cause them to try to impede or even block your professional advancement.

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To solve this problem, one must allow one's superiors to participate in the glory and offer them some solace. This kind of management is sometimes referred to as "bottom-up" leadership. In today's business environment, cooperation between companies and enterprises is essential to success. As the pace of globalisation quickens, businesses need to be able to operate across more than just national borders. Despite how much pushback this trend receives, it appears to be here to stay for the time being. Speciality businesses can't thrive without connections and cooperation. For the computer industry to succeed, businesses must collaborate to ensure that their products are compatible with a wide range of available computers. In today's interconnected world, no organisation can succeed without collaborating with others. It used to be easier for businesses to strike off on their own, but times have changed.

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The same holds true in the academic world, where knowledge and understanding have traditionally been guarded with extreme caution. Recently, there has been a widespread trend of universities and colleges opening their doors to the outside world, which has had significant positive effects on business and academia. The stereotypical academic is someone who operates in an air of rarified sophistication, living in glorious isolation as a captive of their own intellect. This individual doesn't have a natural place in today's networked world. It's true, though, that even the most closed-off societies evolve. With increasing frequency, academics are leaving their isolated ivory towers to form partnerships with the business and government sectors, producing surprising results in places like Silicon Valley in the United States and the area around Cambridge, England, which is home to one of the densest concentrations of high-tech companies in Europe.

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Call them what you will—networkers, wheeler-dealers, movers, and shakers—they are the ones who keep the world turning. Between 35,000 and 40,000 B.CHomo sapiens emerged as the dominant species, bringing with them the ability to conceptualise thought abstraction and culture, which are intrinsically linked to planning for survival and productivity in humans, and thus causing widespread upheaval in the Neanderthals' already unstable world. The weak will gain power, so the saying goes. But will they?

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