focus on business english

МИНИСТЕРСТВО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ И НАУКИ ФЕДЕРАЛЬНОЕ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОЕ БЮДЖЕТНОЕ

ОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНОЕ УЧРЕЖДЕНИЕ ВЫСШЕГО ПРОФЕССИОНАЛЬНОГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ

«ВОРОНЕЖСКИЙ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЙ УНИВЕРСИТЕТ»

FOCUS ON

BUSINESS ENGLISH

Part 1

Учебно-методическое пособие для вузов

Составители: А.В. Варушкина, Е.С. Селезнева

Издательско-полиграфический центр Воронежского государственного университета

2012

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Утверждено научно-методическим советом факультета романо-германской филологии 20 марта 2012 г., протокол № 3

Рецензент канд. филол. наук, доцент Н.М. Шишкина

Учебно-методическое пособие подготовлено на кафедре английского языка гуманитарных факультетов факультета РГФ Воронежского государственного университета.

Рекомендуется для студентов 1–2 курсов очного и заочного отделений экономического факультета Воронежского государственного университета.

Для направлений: 080100 – Экономика, 080200 – Менеджмент, 080400 – Управление персоналом

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ПОЯСНИТЕЛЬНАЯ ЗАПИСКА

Учебно-методическое пособие «FOCUS ON BUSINESS ENGLISH» подготовлено на кафедре английского языка гуманитарных факультетов факультета РГФ Воронежского государственного университета.

Предназначено для студентов 1-2 курсов очного и заочного отделений экономического факультета для направлений: Экономика (080100), Менеджмент (080200), Управление персоналом (080400).

Пособие знакомит с образцами оригинальных текстов, освещающих возможности занятости, проблемы качества, маркетинговые изменения, и обеспечивает включение студентов экономического факультета в ситуации профессионально-значимого общения.

Целью данного методического пособия является овладение иноязычной коммуникативной компетенцией на уровне, достаточном для профессионального общения.

В процессе работы с данным учебно-методическим пособием решаются следующие задачи:

-развитие умений ознакомительного и поискового чтения с целью получения информации по одной из актуальных проблем экономики;

-развитие умений обсуждать предложенные современные проблемы в различных формах парного и группового взаимодействия;

-развитие умений формулировать тезисы устного высказывания и записывать их.

Пособие состоит из четырех разделов (units), каждый из которых включает аутентичный текст и блок упражнений, направленных на чтение, понимание, извлечение информации из текста, лексические упражнения и упражнения на обсуждение, а также задания, развивающих навыки аудирования. Все это способствует развитию коммуникативных умений студентов.

Работа с каждым разделом требует 5-7 академических часов.

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UNIT 1

EMPLOYMENT

START UP

1.In your opinion, which factors below are important for getting a job?

2.Choose the five most important. Can you add anything to the list?

Appearance Intelligence References Blood group

Contacts and connections Family background Qualification Personality

Astrological sign Sex

Hobbies Marital status Age

Sickness record Experience

3.Discuss these statements.

1.It is best to work for as few companies as possible.

2.Everybody should retire at 70.

3.At work appearance is more important than performance. 4.People change a lot during their working lives.

5.You should keep your private life totally separate from your work.

VOCABULARY

The recruitment process

1.Complete the text using the following words or word combinations: employer, psychometric test, curriculum vitae (CV), probationary period, in-

terview, application form, covering letter, job, vacancy, reasoning skills

These days many applicants submit their ………. speculatively to companies they would like to work for. In other words, they do not apply for an advertised………. but hope the …….. will be interested enough to keep their CV on file and contact them when they have a……… When replying to an advertisement, candidates fill in a / an …….. and write a / an ………. The employer will

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then invite the best candidates to attend a / an ……. Sometimes candidates will take a / an ……… before the interview to assess their mental ability and ………

These days it is normal for successful candidates to have to work a / an ……. in a company. This is usually three or six months, after that they are offered a permanent post.

2. Match the verbs (1 to 6 ) to the nouns (a to f) to make word partner-

3. Work in pairs. Decide on a possible order for the events above from the employer’s point of view.

LISTENING

1.1Сheck your answers listening to a consultant talking about the recruitment process.

1.2Listen to the interview with Dr Simon who works for the international executive search consultants Heidrick and Struggles. Fill in the gaps.

Methods for identifying candidates :

•………..(1) in newspapers or ……….(2)

•Asking for ………..(3) from the organization

•Own original ……….(4):

-From our ……….(5)

-From talking to …….. ……….(6)

-From beginning to…….(7) the business ………(8)

These methods will cross-……….(9).

READING

1. Discuss these questions before you read the article.

1.The article is about high performers. What does this phrase mean? What sort of people are they?

2.What do you think motivates high performing people to stay with the same company?

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Motivating High-Calibre Staff

By Michael Douglas

An organization’s capacity to identify, attract and retain high-quality, highperforming people who can develop winning strategies has become decisive in ensuring competitive advantage.

High performers are easier to define than to find. They are people with apparently limitless energy and enthusiasm, qualities that shine through even on their bad days. They are full of ideas and get things done quickly and effectively. They inspire others not just by pep talks but also through the sheer force of their example. Such people can push their organisations to greater and greater heights.

The problem is that people of this quality are very attractive to rival companies and are likely to be headhunted. The financial impact of such people leaving is great and includes the costs of expensive training and lost productivity and inspiration.

However, not high performers are stolen, some are lost. High performers generally leave because organisations do not know how to keep them. Too many employers are blind or indifferent to the agenda of would be high performers, especially those who are young.

Organisations should consider how such people are likely to regard important motivating factors. Money remains an important motivator but organisations should not imagine that it is the only one that matters. In practice, high performer stand to take for granted that they will get a good financial package. They seek motivation from their sources. Empowerment is a particularly important motivating force for new talent. A high performer will seek to feel that he or she ‘owns’ a project in a creative sense. Wise employers offer this opportunity. The challenge of the job is another essential motivator for high performers. Such people easily become demotivated if they sense that their organization has little or no sense of where it is going. A platform for self-development should be provided. High performers are very keen to develop their skills and their curriculum vitae. Offering time for regeneration is another crucial way for organisations to retain high performers. Work needs to be varied and time should be available for creative thinking and mastering new skills. The provision of a coach or mentor signals that the organization has a commitment to fast-tracking an individual’s development.

Individuals do well in an environment where they can depend on good administrative support. They will not want to feel that the success they are winning for the organisation is lost because of the inefficiency of others or by weaknesses in support areas.

Above all, high performers – especially if they young – want to feel that the organisation they work for regards them as special. If they find that it is not inter-

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ested in them as people but only as high-performing commodities, it is hardly be surprising if their loyalty be minimal. On the other hand, if an organisaton does invest in its people, it is much more likely to win loyalty from them and to create a community of talent and high performance that will worry competitors.

From the Financial Times

COMPREHENTION

1. Answer the questions.

1. How can high performers be defined?

2.What qualities of high performers are mentioned in the article? 3.What are the problems of losing high performers?

4.What motivates high performing people to staywith their companies? 5. Why do high performers lose motivation?

2. Are the following sentences true or false? Correct the false ones.

1.High performers are really easy to find.

2.High performing people leave their companies mainly because they easily get demotivated.

3.Money is the most important motivator for high performers.

4.Young high performers want their organisations to regard them as special.

3.Use the words or phrases from the article to answer the questions below: pep talk, headhunting, financial package, fast-tracking, CV, mentor

Which word or phrase:

1.is British English for the American English resume? ……..

2.refers to stealing employees from companies? ………

3.do you often find in job advertisements referring to money and benefits?

4.refers to an older, more experienced person who helps you? ………

5.usually leads to quick promotion? ……….

2. Choose the best word from the brackets to fill the gap.

1.We need to…… four new people for our office in Manchester (join / re-

cruit).

2.We are using the recruitment ……to find them for us (agency / headhun-

ter).

4.So far, over 60 people have applied for the (works / posts).

5.We are going to look at all the letters of……. over the weekend ( application / situation).

6. On Monday we will draw up a……of 10-11 people (shortlist / reference).

7.Then we invite them all to come for an (interview / appointment).

8.We hope to……. the successful candidates by the end of the month (apply

/appoint).

3.Look at each sentence. Would you find it in a Situations Vacant section of a newspaper (NS), in a covering letter (CL), in an applicant’s CV (CV)? Tick the right box.

What are the advantages and the disadvantages of :

1.headhunting?

2.having a mentor system?

3.fast-tracking certain employeers?

4.frequent pep talks?

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UNIT 2

QUALITY

START UP

What are some of the quality problems that can occur when you buy a new car?

VOCABULARY

1.Number these events in order in which they most probably happened. a) As safety was in question, we immediately recalled the product.

b) Our engineers then carried out rigorous tests. c) They corrected a fault.

d) They discovered a fault.

e) We completely redesigned the product.

f) We launched our new product six months ago.

g) We soon received many complaints about its reliability and safety. h) We were able to relaunch it just after two months.

2.Choose three items which can complete the sentences below.

1.Regorous monitoring means that our standards of service are always extremely high.

2. We have decided to take a legal action against CBT Electronics for breach

of.

3.For spare parts, please contact our.

4.Unfortunately, our DVD is no longer under.

5.We can consistently offer top quality products through continuous

6.Many business people agree that a good is just as important as a product

itself.