ACTIVATING

 

Activating background knowledge 

1. Discuss the following issues with your partner.

1) What are the characteristics of a true leader? 2) Do you think you have the qualities of a good manager / leader? 3) Can leadership be taught or are you born to be a real leader? 4) Do you get stressed at university? What do you do about it? 5) How well do you organize your time? 6) What are your secrets of time management? 

 

2. Read each of these things people said about their business leaders or managers (1–8) and match them with one of the qualities or skills listed in the box (a–h).

 

a. a hands-on approach b. ability to delegate c. attention to detail d. good communication skills

e. good interpersonal skills f. originality g. trouble-shooting skills h. vision

 

1) “Amongst other things, she has this tremendous ability to see how things could be in the future, and how the organisation should develop.” 2) “He’s just great at producing new, unusual ideas, things other people would never have thought of.” 3) “I really like the fact that he gives us all plenty of responsibility. We all feel so empowered.” 4) “I’d say one of his strong points is his ability to get down to the nitty-gritty; nothing is so minor that it escapes his attention.” 5) “One thing I have to say about him is that he has excellent people skills; he can handle even the most awkward member of staff.” 6) “One thing she’s particularly good at is problem-solving. You know, in our line of work we seem to go from crisis to crisis, but she seems to be able to get everything running smoothly again.” 7) “She has a totally practical approach. I mean, she doesn’t just sit in her office theorising. She rolls up her sleeves and gets down to work with the rest of us.” 8) “She’s just excellent at getting her ideas across. To give you just one example...” 

 

3. Add three other qualities or skills to the list and explain why they are necessary for a business leader or a manager.

 

Activating language 

1. Ken Manners is an expert on leadership and management styles. Read an interview with him and match the sentence beginnings (1–9) with the correct endings (a–g). 

– Mr. Manners, can leadership be taught? Or are the only real leaders born leaders?

– Traditionally, the model for leadership in business has been the army. Managers and army officers give orders and their subordinates (the people working below them) carry them out. Managers, like army officers, may be sent on leadership courses to develop their leadership skills, their ability to lead. But they still need a basic flair or talent for leadership.

– What makes a great leader?

– The greatest leaders have charisma, an attractive quality that makes other people admire them and want tо follow them. A leader may be described as a visionary, someone with the power to see clearly how things are going to be in the future. People often say leaders have drive, dynamism and energy.

– How have management styles changed in the last few years?

– Before, leaders were distant and remote, not easy to get to know or communicate with. Today, managers are more open and approachable: you can talk to them easily. There is more management by consensus, where decisions are not imposed from above in a top-down approach, but arrived at by asking employees to contribute in a process of consultation.

– Do you think this trend will continue?

– Yes. There are more women managers now, who are often more able to build consensus than traditional military-style authoritarian male managers.

– Mr. Manners, can you explain what empowerment is?

– Yes, of course. Encouraging employees to use their own initiative, to take decisions on their own without asking managers first, is empowerment. Decision-making becomes more decentralized and less bureaucratic, less dependent on managers and systems. This is often necessary where the number of management levels is reduced. To empower employees, managers need the ability to delegate, to give other people responsibility for work rather than doing it all themselves. Of course, with empowerment and delegation, the problem is keeping control of your operations: a key issue of modern management. 

1) We are looking for a new CEO,someone with strong leadership… 2) Richard has real managerial flair… 3) Ms. Brown was a really approachable manager… 4) In the police, leaders are held responsible… 5) The study concludes that a charismatic visionary leader is absolutely not required for a visionary company… 6) She is an extraordinary leader…7) Thatcher had drive, energy and vision… 8) He was a born leader… When everyone else was discussing… 9) He is a remote leader who is difficult to communicate with… 

a) but many thought it was the wrong vision.

b) and, in fact, can be bad for a company’s long-termprospects.

c) and has won the respect of colleagues and employees.

d) who encouraged her employees to show initiative in decision making.

e) for the actions of their subordinates.

f) as he sticks to a top-down approach in decision making.

g) skills and experience with financial institutions.

h) what to do, he knew exactly what to do.

i) who will bring dynamism and energy to the job. 

 

2. Look at the article about core competents and say if the following statements are true or false.

 

DEVISING STRATEGIES TO PREVENT THE FLIGHT OF TALENT

 

Is your company today held dependent on corecompetents– talented individuals possessing the skills that make your products and services unique? If so, you’re not alone. In a study by the Corporate Leadership Council, a computer company recognised 100 core competents out of 16,000 employees; a software company had 10 out of 11,000; and a transportation group deemed 20 of its 33,000 employees truly criticalto performance.

Core competents will stay only as long as organisations can offer them something they desire. Bear in mind, though, that this phenomenon concerns a small group of highly skilled people. However, talentdoes not necessarily equate to an impressive title. Core competents need not be senior executives, but could just as easily be people whose intellectualpropertyis crucial to the organisation, or whose particular expertiseis difficult to replicate. No company ever went bankrupt because it suffered from having too much talent. Recent research shows that only seven per cent of all managers strongly agree with the statement “our company has enough talented managers to pursue all or most of its promising opportunities”.

In addition, 75 per cent of executives worldwide now rank humanperformanceahead of productivity and technology in terms of strategic importance. The same study also reveals that 80 per cent of all executives claim that by 2015 attractingand retainingpeople will be the leading success factor in strategy.

From Financial Times

Core competents ...

1) are highly skilled people. 2) are key to the functioning of some organizations. 3) are always senior executives. 4) have knowledge that is easy for other people to acquire. 5) are in plentiful supply. 6) and the way they work is thought to be more important than at least two other factors in a company’s success. 7) will be important for companies to recruit and keep in the future. 

 

3. Complete the sentences with expressions from the article above.

1) Core competents are employees who have been identified as ___ (1) to the success of the company. 2) People who have specialized knowledge or ___ (2) are very valuable to the company. 3) Some say that people are a firm’s most important assets, and therefore ___ (3) is key to its success. 4) For many hi-tech companies, ___ (4) is their most important asset, more important than their physical assets. 5) The problem with ___ (5) is that it can just walk out of the door – we have to find ways of ___ (6) it initially, and then ___ (7) it so that it doesn’t go to competitors. 6) In fact, getting the best out of ___ (8) is the most important skill these days for many managers. 

 

4. An expert in workplace trends says:

“Some activities depend on groups of freelance creatives for each project. For example, in film-making, the creatives, that is, the writers, director, etc., and the talent – the actors – come together for a particular project and then disband. This is a typical example of a virtual organization. The only permanent people in the company are the suits[1], the businesspeople, who bring the teams together for each project. Other industries work in similar ways.

For example, in software development, managers and programmers may come together to contribute to a particular project and then leave to work on others.”

In a film project, are each of the following people “creatives” or “suits”?

1) the film director; 2) the finance director; 3) the actors; 4) the head of the film company; 5) the scriptwriter; 6) the costume designers. 

 

5. Choose words from the box to complete the text about management and managers’ priorities. 

 

focus on   provide   try out   encourage involved   earn   accountable   treat build   take risks   accept

 

Managers have to ___ (1) respect. It is not enough just to have status and a good package, with a position, salary and a nice car. Good managers ___ (2) responsibility and they have to be ___ (3), so if they make a mistake, it’s their mistake.

It’s critical also to ___ (4) employees with opportunities to be autonomous, creative and imaginative. ___ (5) your people to ___ (6). Let them ___ (7) new ideas. ___ (8) everyone with respect. Managers have to concentrate on all the people ___ (9) with the business, from suppliers to customers, and all the employees from the top level to the car park attendant.

The secret is to go back to basics: the real core is to ___ (10) people and ___ (11) relationships with everyone. 

 

6. Match each verb (1–9) with the correct ending (a–i).

 

1. experiment 2. adapt 3. concentrate 4. cut 5. take advantage 6. lead 7. be accountable 8. set 9. sort

a. on customer needs b. down on unnecessary costs c. by example d. out problems e. to changed circumstances f. of opportunities g. up good communication systems h. for mistakes i. with new ideas

 

7. Replace the underlined words in these sentences with verb + preposition from activity six without changing the meaning. 

1) We should try out some alternatives. 2) Our department has introduced a new computer system. 3) People have to change how they work to meet changes in technology. 4)  We have to reduce waste. 5) We have to resolve difficulties. 6) Businesses should focus on what customers want. 7) All businesses hope to profit from new markets. 8) Good managers show the way ahead through example. 9) Everyone should take responsibility for their actions. 

 

8. Kate works as a senior manager for a car rental firm. Read what she thinks of employee motivation. 

“I believe that all our employees can find satisfaction in what they do. We give them responsibility, which means that the decisions they take have a direct impact on our success, and encourage them to use their initiative, so they don’t have to ask me about every decision they make.

We hope this gives employees the feeling that they are valued, with management knowing the effort they make. We believe that all this leads to a higher sense of motivation among employees.

When everyone feels motivated, morale is good and there is a general feeling of well-being in the organization.” 

 

9. Kate’s employees are talking about her management style. Replace the underlined phrases with appropriate forms of the expressions from the text above. Pау attention to the grammatical context. The first one has been done for you. 

1) She knows exactly what’s involved in our job. She makes us feel she understands the effort we make. She makes us feel valued. 2) She encourages us to do things, without asking her first. 3) The feeling among employees here is very good. We feel really involved and want to work towards the company’s goals. 4) We have a real sense of the idea that our efforts are important for the success of the company. 5) We have a real sense of liking what we do and feeling good when we achieve specific goals in our work. 

 

10. Robert, a factory manager, has a different opinion of motivation. Read what he says and say if the following statements are true or false. 

“I don’t believe in all this talk about motivation. My subordinates[2], the people workingunder me, are basically lazy and need constant supervision– we have to check what they are doing all the time. Some people think this is authoritarian, but I think it’s the only way of managing. Decisions must be imposed from above without consultation – we don’t discuss decisions with workers, we just tell them what to do.” 

1) Authoritarian managers like listening to the opinions of their employees. 2) If people need constant supervision, you have to watch them all the time. 3) Authoritarian managers like the idea of consultation with their employees. 4) If decisions are imposed from above, employees have no influence over them. 5) Someone’s subordinates are the people working above them. 

 

11. The US management thinker Douglas McGregor distinguished several management theories. Read the following passage to know which theories different managers believe in. 

Robert has conservative views and believes in what is called Theory X, the idea that people dislike work and will do everything they can to avoid it.

Kate is more humanitarian and believes in Theory Y, the more advanced view that, given the right conditions, everyone has the potential to find satisfaction in work.

Others have suggested Theory W (for “whiplash”), the idea that most work since the beginning of human society has been done under systems of slavery. 

 

12. Managers from different companies are talking about their employees. Say whether each manager believes in Theory X or Theory Y. 

1) “You have to keep an eye on employees the whole time. I don’t allow them to work at home.” 2) “It’s important to let people work without constant supervision. They feel they are being treated like children otherwise.” 3) “I encourage employees to use their own initiative. That way you can see the potential future managers among them.” 4) “They must be here by 8.30am and they can’t leave before 5.30 pm. That way I can be sure they are doing the work we are paying them to do.” 5) “We encourage the workers at the plant to make suggestions for improvements in the processes they are involved with.” 6) “All they’re interested in is getting to the weekend, doing as little as possible.” 

 

13. Kate, the car rental manager we met in activity eight, went on a management course. She looked at the work of Frederick Herzberg, who studied what motivated employees, and took some notes. Fill in the gaps in her notes with the words from the box. 

 

feedback       peer relationships       security       achievement personal growth       supervision       recognition       responsibility       working conditions       salary       policy advancement       the work itself

 

There are aspects of work that are not in themselves enough to make employees satisfied, but that can cause dissatisfaction if they are not right. 

These are hygienic factors:

___ (1) – the way you are managed;

___ (2) – the overall purpose and goals of the organization;

___ (3) – the place where you work, hours worked, etc.;

___ (4) – the money you are paid;

___ (5) – how you relate to and work with others at the same level in the organization;

___ (6) – level of confidence about the future of your job.

 

Other aspects of work can give positive satisfaction. These are the motivator factors:

___ (7) – the feeling that you have been successful in reaching your goals;

___ (8) – the feeling that your employers understand and what you do by giving positive ___ (9);

___ (10) – the nature and interest of the job;

___ (11) – when you are in charge of something and its success or failure;

___ (12) – how far you will be promoted in the organization, how far you will go up the career ladder;

___ (13) – how you develop personally in your work, and your opportunities to do this.

 

14. Read the text about what a manager’s job involves and fill in the gaps with the words from the box.

 

 

From time to time it is necessary to check the performance of staff, both ______ (1) and collectively. A manager will need to appraise performance so that he can see how best it might be. There is always likely to be a gap between what could be ______ (2) and what is actually attained and the manager’s aim should be to ensure that this ______ (3) is minimized. It should be borne in mind that the business organization is normally hierarchical – like a family tree – and the manager’s performance is itself subject to surveillance by superiors.

The appraisal often takes place as a ______ (4) to the annual salary reviews. Where there is a pay ______ (5) the question might simply be, “Has this person worked well enough to ______ (6) the next increment?” Or where there is a possible ______ (7) the question would be, “Has this person done enough to ______ (8) promotion?” In these instances the ______ (9) of appraisal is to provide a yes or no response. However, there may be a need to choose between ______ (10) for promotion. This can be a problem for a manager because, where he has a number of ______ (11) on his team, he risks demotivating a number of them when he chooses someone else.

Various factors such as work rate and ______ (12) of work will need to be brought into account. In some jobs these are easy to ______ (13). A salesperson who has sold 100 000 worth of goods in a month has obviously done ______ (14) better than a ______ (15) who has only sold half as much. For other jobs the ______ (16) is much more difficult if not impossible. For example, how does one assess the performance of a hotel ______ (17) or a chef? The manager should also reckon with ______ (18) and punctuality. If someone stays away from work it is not only a______ (19) of whether or not they should be paid for their absence. It is ______ (20) to a goalkeeper in a football match deciding not to turn out for the second half. Of course when a person is seriously______ (21) they go to work, but there are sometimes very ______ (22) reasons offered for absence. Lateness also needs to be ______ (23) continuing the football analogy; it is like the centre back who turns up to the match fifteen minutes late with his side already three goals down. It is not ______ (24) to compare a business with a football team, firstly, because ______ (25) clubs are businesses anyway, and secondly, because we are talking about ______ (26) and team effort in both cases. 

 

15. Match the management expressions with their definitions. 

1) Direct management of staff. 2) How a company tries to control its brands and brand image. 3) Level between senior management and junior management. 4) Managing systems in a company so that each department works effectively and produces products of the required standard. 5) Process of dealing with difficult situations. 6) Process of assessing and measuring possible dangers and evolving strategies to deal with them. 7) The skill of administering your time so as to work effectively. 8) Appointing people to jobs and dealing with their complaints, problems, etc.

 

a) risk management b) personnel management c) middle management d) line management

e) quality management f) brand management g) crisis management h) time management

 

16. Do you sometimes get stressed at university or at work? Read what Patricia says about her work and rearrange the sentences with the expressions from the text.

 

WHEN STIMULATION TURNS TOSTRESS

 

“My name’s Patricia and I am a university lecturer. I chose this profession because I wanted to do something rewarding: something that gave me satisfaction. Ten years ago, when I started in this job, I had lots to do, but I enjoyed it: preparing and giving lectures, discussing students’ work with them and marking it. I felt stretched: I had the feeling that work could sometimes be difficult, but that it was stimulating, it interested me and made me feel good. It was certainly challenging: difficult, but in an interesting and enjoyable way.

In the last few years there has been more and more administrative work, with no time for reading or research. I felt pressure building up. I began to feel overwhelmed by work: I felt as if I wasn’t able to do it. I was under stress; very worried about my work. I became ill, and I'm sure this was caused by stress: it was stress-induced.

Luckily, I was able to deal with the stresses and strains (pressures) of my job by starting to work part-time. I was luckier than one of my colleagues, who became so stressed out because of overwork that he had a nervous breakdown; he was so worried about work that he couldn't sleep or work, and had to give up. He’s completely burned out, so stressed and tired by his work that he will never be able to work again. Burnout is an increasingly common problem among my colleagues.” 

1) and stimulating. I felt pleasantly stretched. But then the pressure became too much and I felt overworked…

2) and under a lot of stress: I found travelling very tiring. I was overwhelmed by my work. I started getting bad headaches, and I’m sure they were stress-induced…

3) challenging to change professions in this way, but now I feel the stress again! I must do something to avoid burning out…

4) Hi, my name’s Piet. I’m an engineer, or I was. I worked for a Dutch multinational for 10 years. I was based here in Holland, but my work involved a lot of travelling, visiting factories. At first I liked my job: it was very rewarding…

5) So, when I was 35, I made a change. I started a little wine shop in Amsterdam, working on my own. Now, after five years, I have six employees. At first it was… 

 

17. What do you do about the stress you get at university or work? What is “downshifting”? To know more about it read the passage below. 

“Many people want to get away from the rat raceor  the treadmill,the feeling that work is too competitive, and are looking for lifestyles that are less stressful or completely unstressful,a more relaxed ways of living, perhaps in the country. Some people work from home to be near their family and have a better quality of life,such as more quality timewith their children: not just preparing meals for them and taking them to school, etc.

Choosing to live and work in a less stressful way is downshiftingor rebalancing,and people who do this are downshifters.” 

 

18. Correct the mistakes in italics with the correct forms of expressions from the previous activity.

 

SHIFT DOWN A GEAR TO FIND A SWEETER (1) LIFETYPE

 

Your work has taken over your life, you are suffering from stress and sick of running to stay in the same place. Solution? Exchange cash for (2) qualitative time.

If you feel bored, frustrated and trapped in your job, you are a likely candidate for not just a job change but a “downshift”. This trend from the US, where it is practised by ten per cent of the working population, has arrived in Britain.

A better word for downshifting would be (3) reequilibrating,suggests Judy Jones, co-author of “Getting a Life: The Downshifter’s Guide to Happier, Simpler Living”, a recent guide to a simpler life. “Trading part of your income for more time is about redefining yourself and your idea of success,” she maintains.

But how do you achieve one aspect of the (4) downshift’s dream – financial independence? First, try living on less money. Ms. Jones suggests you don’t use money to keep the (5) footmill turning. In her case, she found a third of her income was her “(6) mouse race membership fee”, spent on work-related activities like eating fast foods, taking holidays to get away from it all and having massages to relieve stress.

Downshifting doesn’t necessarily mean changing your job, but taking steps to stop your work taking over your life. It can involve flexible working, job sharing, school term-time working, or cutting down to fewer days at work. All of these things can lead to a better (7) quantity of live. 

19. Helen Speed runs seminars on how to manage time. Read what she says and give Richard, a magazine journalist, a piece of advice based on Helen’s ideas. The first one has been done for you.

“Everyone complains that they never have enough time. Lots of employees do my time management courses, to learn how to organize their time. Here are some ideas:

- Use a diary (BrE) or calendar (AmE) to plan your day and week. Personal organizers (small pocket-size computers) are good for this.

- Plan your day in advance. Make a realistic plan (not just a list) of the things you have to do, in order of importance: prioritize them. Work on things that have the highest priority first.

- Avoid interruptions and distractions, which stop you doing what you have planned.

- Do jobs to a realistic level of quality in the time available, and to a level that is really necessary. Don’t aim for perfectionism when there is no need for it. Try to balance time, cost and quality.” 

1) Richard started the day by making a list of all the things he had to do. – You should make a realistic plan and prioritise the things you have to do, not just make a list. 2)He started an article, but after five minutes a colleague asked him for help. Richard helped him for half an hour and then they chatted about last night’s television. 3) He started on his article again, but he heard police cars outside and went to the window to look.4) He wanted to make the article look good, so he spent a lot of time adjusting the spacing of the lines, changing the text, etc. even though an editor would do this later. 5) At 6 pm he realised he hadn’t started on the other article he had to write, but he went home. On the train, he realized he had arranged to have lunch with an important contact, but had forgotten. 6) Richard decided he needed some training to help him change his behaviour. 

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