|
76 |
11) guidance |
k) to weigh up |
12) initiative |
l) to respond |
13) to keep a record |
m) to take notes of |
14) to be on the defensive |
n) special abilities to do something well |
15) high fliers |
o) a sense of trust and confidence |
16) personality traits |
p) to conduct |
17) punctuality |
q) leadership |
2.Complete the following sentences with the correct form of the words in italics. Translate them.
rely
1.He is a very ____ worker.
2.I am ____ informed that he’ll be promoted soon.
3.Her main quality is her ____ .
4.My assistant is someone who can be ____ on . criticize
1.The report has been received very ____ by top management.
2.The Personnel Director is an outspoken ____ of our reorganization.
3.I thought her ____ were unfair and not based on fact.
skill
1.The Chairman was ____ at avoiding answering awkward questions.
2.The ____ workers in the Production Department are well paid.
3.To be a good manager, you need many ____ .
4.The ____ workers in our company are the lowest paid because they need training for their jobs.
employ
1.Most ____ in an organization can benefit from training.
2.____is almost 8 % in my country - that’s far too high.
3.The ____ are entitled to various social security payments.
4.He’s fairy old and hasn’t had a job for years. I’d say he’s virtually ____ .
sure
1.Performance appraisals help to ____ that promising staff are not overlooked for promotion.
2.At my interview, my boss ____ me that I had a bright future in the company.
3.____ you agree she’s one of the high fliers in the department.
able
1.This young trainee has considerable ____ .
2.Due to our ____ to get certain supplies, we lost the order.
3.Because of a production hold-up, we are ____ to provide the product.
4.In my work, I am ____ assisted by my secretary.
decision
1.Being a currency dealer in a bank, she has to make quick decisions and be very
____ at all times.
2.Because we were ____ , we wasted time and lost the contract.
3.I am still ____ whether to leave my present job but I must make up my mind soon.
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3. Addition and contrast
Look at the list of words and phrases which express addition and contrast. Consider how they are used and then do the exercise below.
addition – besides; as well as; as well; in addition; not only… but also; both … and; moreover; furthermore; also; too.
contrast – despite; in spite of; however; although; on the other hand; while; yet; whereas.
There are some notes below prepared by the Marketing Director of a large company. They concern two members of the Market Research Department, Barbara and Graham. Both these employees have been in the Market Research Department since they joined the company. They have both just applied for the vacant position of Head of Market Research. After reading the table translate the sentences into English completing them with the information in the table.
Barbara age – 30
status – single
years of service in company – 3
educational qualifications – master’s degree in marketing; diploma in communications
previous work experience – 2 years in transport department of oil company special skills and abilities – communicates effectively with staff; articulate; logical mind; sound powers of analysis; fluent French and Italian
personal qualities – hard-working; efficient; mobile – will work anywhere in the country; lively, out-going personality; popular with most colleagues
negative points – sometimes works too fast and misses important facts; can be too frank and outspoken; one or two colleagues can’t stand her; smokes too much; lives on her nerves
interests – modern jazz dancing; collecting paintings
health – had serious illness while at university – studies interrupted for one year.
Graham age – 36
status – married, with 3 children years of service in company - 8
educational qualifications – 3 A levels, 6 O levels (no further education) previous work experience – 2 years as a waiter in Hamburg; 5 years in banking; 3 years in market research firm
special skills and abilities – writes superb reports; exceptional mathematical ability; highly intelligent
personal qualities – respected because of his knowledge of the job; quiet; reserved; always calm in a crisis
negative points – considered unsociable by some; speaks rather slowly and hesitantly; no foreign languages; not mobile – wife has important job in local hospital
interests – says he is too busy to have outside interests health – excellent
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1.И Барбаре и Грэхэму более 30 лет.
2.Несмотря на то что Барбара очень исполнительна, иногда она ____
3.Барбара незамужем. Грэхэм, с другой стороны, _____
4.Хотя Барбара пользуется популярностью у большинства коллег ____
5.Кроме французского языка, Барбара ____
6.В то время как Барбара могла бы работать в любом регионе страны, ____
7.У Грэхэма нет специального образования, в то время как ____
8.Грэхэм отлично справляется с написанием отчётов. Более того, ____
9.Несмотря на умение Барбары общаться с людьми, некоторые люди считают ____
10.Барбара свободно говорит на двух языках, в то время как ____
4.Analyzing personality types and identifying strengths and weaknesses. There are four functions that we all perform: thinking, intuiting, feeling and sensing. There is one dominant function in each of us. Speak about yourself.
Thinker enjoys tackling problems by using logical analysis; is sceptical of projects unless backed up with sound, rational arguments; is a methodical worker; is strong on analysis but weak on implementing solutions.
Sensor is good at getting things done; is often impatient with the planning stage; feels at home with routine work; has a lot of common sense and is practical; works hard and is usually well organized; is energetic and single-minded.
Intuitor enjoys playing with the ideas and theories; is good at seeing the ‘overview’, but misses the detail; is creative and has a strong imaginative sense; often gets hunches about things that turn out to be correct.
Feeler enjoys human company; assesses people on their personal values, not technical skills; is warm and sympathetic; is perceptive about people’s moods, feelings and reactions; may overlook blatant (evident) facts in favour of ‘gut feelings’.
Listening
You are going to hear a group of four managers who work together and talk about themselves and each other. Classify each manager according to one of Carl Jung’s types.
Role play
Northern Oil Products LTD (NOP) recently carried out a survey of their managers’ attitude to their jobs. Questionnaires were sent to 500 middle and senior managers, and completed anonymously. The responses to some of the questions are summarized in the following table.
Study the table and do the role play which follows.
Number of respondents: 500 |
yes/ |
no/ |
don’t know/ |
Feel that they are satisfied with their jobs. |
250 |
210 |
40 |
Feel that their salary reflects |
380 |
75 |
45 |
the responsibility of their position. |
|
|
|
79 |
|
|
|
Feel that they could do a better job |
180 |
255 |
65 |
in another position within the company. |
|
|
|
Feel that their abilities and skills have |
248 |
223 |
29 |
not been fully used by the company. |
|
|
|
Feel that they have been overlooked for |
334 |
155 |
11 |
promotion. |
|
|
|
Feel that the working conditions in |
405 |
85 |
10 |
the company are satisfied. |
|
|
|
Feel that the company offers sufficient |
178 |
280 |
42 |
opportunities for staff development. |
|
|
|
Feel that they would be able take a job |
23 |
463 |
14 |
with another company if they had the opportunity. |
|
|
|
Feel that the company shows a caring |
52 |
300 |
148 |
attitude to its managers. |
|
|
|
Feels that their job offers variety and challenge. |
272 |
202 |
26 |
Instructions Work in groups of two or three. First, make comments about the survey’s results, as in the examples below. Use the expressions given in the table. When you have finished making comments about the survey, discuss the following questions.
Communication skills – Talking about statistics |
|
|
very few of, almost none of, hardly any of; quite a few of, |
a large number of, a lot |
|
of, almost a quarter of, |
slightly less than a third of, just fewer than half of, a little |
|
under three quarters of, |
about / roughly / approximately 35 % of, just more than half |
|
of, well over 50 % of, |
at least half of, the vast majority of, |
nearly all of, virtually |
all of. |
|
|
e.g. Half the managers are satisfied with their job.
Just over 60 % think that they’ve been overlooked for promotion.
The majority of the managers are satisfied with the company’s working conditions.
Questions:
1.What conclusions can you draw about the company and its management from the results of the survey?
2.What proposals would you make if you were Director of Personnel to improve the attitudes of NOP’s managers towards their jobs?
Company’s performance
Describing trends in graphs and charts
up / noun/ |
an increase; a rise; an improvement; a growth; |
|
/ verb / |
to increase; to rise; to improve; to grow; to go up; to take off; |
|
|
to shoot up; to peak; to reach a peak; |
|
down /noun / |
a fall; a drop; a decline; |
|
/ verb / |
to fall; to drop; to decline; to go down; to fall off; to reach a low peak; |
|
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no change to remain stable; to level off; to stay at the same level; key phrases to rise from 1 million pounds to 3 million pounds;
to fall from 5 million pounds to 4 million pounds; to increase by 50 %
to drop by 10 %
Notes on prepositions
We use ‘to fall by’ (with a verb) and ‘a fall of’ ( with a noun)
For example: Exports fell by 6%.
Exports fell steadily, in November they stood at $400 million, a fall of 6 % on the day.
We use ‘ to rise to' ( with a verb) and ‘a rise to’ ( with a noun)
For example: It continued to rise in the early afternoon to 3412.
Useful phrases
(with nouns) a rapid / sharp / dramatic / substantial (increase) a slow / gradual / steady (decline)
a small / slight (drop)
(with verbs) to (increase) rapidly / sharply / dramatically / substantially / slowly etc.
to double / triple / quadruple
1. Listen to a description of a graph below and complete the text. Draw the graph.
In 1987 the export figures ____ 400 m Finnish markkaa.
There was a ____ between 1987 and 1989 when figures ____ over 800m.
This was followed by a ____ between 1989 and 1990 when Finnish paper exports to Japan ____ to 400m.
There was a ____ between 1990 and 1991 when exports hit the 450 m mark but they
____ again to 400 m in 1992.
Between 1992 and 1995 there was a ____ and exports of paper to Japan ____ of 1,300 m in 1995, before ____ again to under 1,000 m in 1997.
2.Listen to descriptions of other Finnish exports to Japan, draw the graphs, complete them and describe.
1.Finland’s wood exports to Japan.
2.Finland’s machinery exports to Japan.
3.Finland’s chemical exports to Japan.
Case study The new Assessment Center: React to the Personnel Director’s report, express your views on the problem of personnel appraisal.
General Plastics PLc is a subsidiary of Northern Oil Products (NOP). Some years ago, the company was in financial difficulties, but things changed when Gerald Harper became Chairman. He introduced a tough, non-nonsense style of management. Some people, such as union officials, didn’t like it, but it paid off. The company is now profitable again.