Business : Int: Organisation - The Speaking Cats

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"Modern organisations have to build on making conflict constructive"
Peter Drucker ( 1909 -2005 ) US management consultant

Discuss these questions.

1 Would you like to work in the building in the photo above? Why? / Why not?
2 Which people in your organisation have their own office? Do they have their own office because of:
a) seniority; b) a need for confidentiality; c) the type of work they do?

How important are the following in showing a person's status in an organisation? Give each one a score from 1 (not im portant) to 5 (very important).

• a reserved parking space • an office with a view
• a uniform • a personal business card
• a company car • your name on your office door
• the latest company mobile phone • an assistant
• taking holidays when you like • the size of your desk
• more than one seat in your office • flying business class
• a company credit card • fixed working hours

Vocabulary

Companystructure

Match the words and phrases (1-8) to their definitions (a-h).

1 subsidiary a) an of Ace where people answer questions and make sales over the phone
2 factory/plant b) a building from which goods or supplies are sent to factories, shops or customers
3 call centre c) a place through which products are sold
4 service centre d) a place where faulty products are mended
5 headquarters e) a company which is at least half-owned by another company
6 distribution centre f) the main office or building of a company
7 warehouse g) a building for storing goods in large quantities
8 outlet h) a large building or group of buildings where goods are made (using machinery)

C

What do the following departments do?
In R&D, people research and develop new prodvct.

1 R&D 5 Production 9 Logistics
2 Customer Services 6 Finance 10 Public Relations
3 Human Resources 7 Administration 11 IT
4 Sales and Marketing 8 Legal

Match these activities (a-k) to the correct department in Exercise C (1-11).Can you add any other activities to any of the departments?

a) deal with complaints
b) draw up contracts
c) carry out research
d) train staff
e) fun advertising
f) issue press releases
g) operate assembly lines systems
h) prepare budgets/ accounts
i) keep records
j) transport goods and campaigns
k) install and maintain equipment

D

Listen to three people talking about their work_ Which department do they work in? Choose from the departments in Exercise C

Which of words can describe
a) good qualities of an organisation

bureaucratic

decentralised

impersonal

caring

democratic

market·driven

centralised

dynamic

professional

conservative

hierarchical

progressive

b) bad qualities of an organisation?

bureaucratic

decentralised

impersonal

caring

democratic

market·driven

centralised

dynamic

professional

conservative

hierarchical

progressive

READING

A successful organisation

Read paragraph 1 of the article and choose the best definition for perks

a) happiness and confidence in the workplace

b) something your employer gives you in addition to your pay

c) high·quality food and drink

B

Read the article. Look at these key phrases that summarise paragraphs 1-3. Then suugest similar phrases for paragraphs 4-7.

1 Philosophy behind the perks
2 Competitions and celebratory funds
3 Celebrating special events / friendly place to work

C- Decide if the statements are true or false .

1 Google promotes the idea of staff getting together.

True

False

2 Every month, managers get money to build teamwork or reward staff.

True

False

3 Ninety per cent of Google Italy workers thought it was a friendly place to work.

True

False

4 The furniture in Google offices is different to that in most offices.

True

False

5 The work is challenging, and you need a university degree to work there.

True

False

6 Employees know what their objectives are and have the freedom to achieve them.

True

False

7 Employees have the opportunity to listen to well-known or important authors.

True

False

D

Match these nouns from the article (1-5) to their meanings (a-e).

1 accomplishments (p 2) a) important new plans to achieve an aim
2 initiatives (p3) b) success in doing something
3 autonomy (p 6) c) giving people the power to do something
4 empowerment (p6) d) teaching staff
5 faculty (p7) e) independence/freedom to make your own decisions

Discussion

Discuss these questions.

1 Would you like to work in a company like Google? Why? / Why not?
2 Would Google's philosophy work in your organisation? Why? / Why not?
3 Which of the perks or ideas mentioned in the article appeals to you the most?

LANGUAGE REVIEW

Nouncombinations

We can combine two or more nouns in several ways.
1 's possessive: the company's logo
2 one noun used as an adjective: labour costs
3 phrases with of: director of operations
4 compound nouns forming one word: workforce

Match these examples from the article to the categories above. ( 1,2,3,4)
a) Internet company
b) culture of autonomy
c) Google's objective
d) teamwork

2-

Compound nouns are sometimes formed with a number to make expressions of measurement. Change these phrases to make compound nouns.

1 a plan which lasts for 10 years a 10 -year plan

2 a hotel with five stars
3 a budget worth three million dollars
4 a presentation that lasts 20 minutes
5 a contract worth 200,000 dollars
6 an industrial empire which is 150 years old

Listening

Analysing company organisation

listen to Richard Rawlinson, Vice-President of the management consultants Booz & Co. Which four areas does Booz & Co look at when analysing a company's organisation?

listen to the second part of the interview and answer the questions.

1 What do you need to answer on the website orgdna.com?
2 What are your answers compared to?
3 What can the comparison recognise?
4 How does Booz & Co analyse a company in more depth?

listen to the third part and answer the questions.

1 How was the American company organised?
2 What did Manufacturing and Marketing do?
3 What was the company not very good at?
4 How did the consultants want to change the organisation?

listen to the third part again and complete the gaps.

We did a lot of looking at how the business where products were where they were how competitors were . And we also had to spend a lot of time thinking about whether we needed or whether every single business unit would report back to the , er , in the US.

Would you prefer to work for a company where the headquarters make the major decisions or for one in which regional offices are given considerable decision-making powers?

SKILLS

Socialising: introductions and networking

listen to the three conversations. Choose the correct description for each one.

1-

2-

3-

a) G reeting someone and talking about the weather
b) Introducing another person
c) Introducing yourself and giving information about your company
d) Greeting someone and talking about the past / changes

Conversation 1 : Conversation 2 : Conversation 3 :

listen to the first conversation again and answer the questions.

1 Which of these expressions do you hear?

a) Nice to see you again. b) Fine. thanks. c) Excellent! d) How about you? e) I changed my job last year. f) I'm in banking now.

2 Who is Head of Marketing?
3 Who now works in Anance?

D

listen to the second conversation again and complete this extract.

Bob Well, we're basically an business. We supply companies and organisations with various services including IT, , travel and even cleaning services.
Karin I see. And is it a new company?
Bob No, we're well established. The company was in the mid-1980s, and we've been growing rapidly ever since. It's organised into four . We have over 7,000 ; we've got our in London and v in New York, Cape Town and Sydney - so we're pretty big.

E

listen to the third conversation again and answer the questions.

1 What expression does Frank use to introduce Nathalie?
2 Why could Nathalie be helpful to Christoph in his work?
3 What interest do they share?

Work in groups of four. You are all attending the same conference.

Student A & Student B:

Student C :

Student D :

Study Case

InStep's relocation

A US- based shoe manufacturer must decide whether to relocate the head office of its European subsidiary, InStep, from Paris to a small industrial town 1 20 kilometres away.

Background

Three years ago, InStep moved its factory to Beauchamp, a small, industrial town in northern France. The plant is modern with new equipment. A large warehouse and distribution centre were built near the factory. InStep is now considering moving staff from the Paris office to a purpose-built, six-storey building in the same town. Beauchamp has a population of 25,000, with a high proportion of young people. The relocation, if it goes ahead, will create employment opportunities for local inhabitants .

1- How do you think staff will react to the proposed relocation?
2- What reasons might some staff have for opposing the relocation?

A 'getting to know you' meeting

The Vice-President of the parent company has come to Paris to discuss the proposed relocation with two senior managers from the Paris subsidiary and an independent relocation consultant. This group will discuss the relocation and make a recommendation to the Board of Directors on whether to go ahead with the relocation or not.

Task 1

Work in groups of four. Take one of these roles.

Student A: Vice· President, parent company
Student B: Senior Ma nager, Paris subsidiary
Student C: Senior Manager, Paris subsidiary
Student D: Management Consultant Can independent adviser)

As you do not know each other well, you all meet for social reasons in the Paris subsidiary's boardroom. The purpose of the meeting is to get to know each other better. Use your knowledge of social English to create a warm, friendly atmosphere.

A communication from the Vice-President, parent company

Read the message from the Vice· President. Discuss the questions.

How do you think staff will react to this message?
Do you think the benefits described by the Vice· President will persuade staff to accept the relocation? Why? / Why not?

Four members of staff are discussing the proposed relocation. Listen and note down the worries some staff have about moving away from Paris.

Task 2

You are members of the Management Committee. Work in groups.

1 Read your role cards and prepare for the meeting.
2 Hold the meeting. Consider the advantages and disadvantages of relocating to Beauchamp.
3 Argue in favour of or against the relocation.
4 Decide whether or not to recommend relocation to InStep's Board of Directors. If necessary, vote. The Vice-President has the deciding vote if you cannot reach agreement.

Take one of these roles.

Student A: Vice· President, parent company:

Student B: Manager A :

Student C: Manager B:

Student D: Independent Management Consultant: