Unit 4. What is an Organization?

Study the vocabulary.

authority – полномочия, власть

chain of command – уровни подчинения

co-worker – сотрудник

employee – работник

employer – работодатель

hierarchy – иерархия

job descriptions – должностные инструкции

organization – организация

position – должность

power – власть

relationships – взаимоотношения, отношения между людьми

staff – штат сотрудников, персонал

subordinate – подчинённый

superior – начальник

to communicate – общаться, обмениваться информацией

to establish – устанавливать

to make decisions – принимать решения

to occupy – занимать (должность)

Organizations are people – people playing roles. The roles differ in many ways, people occupy different positions. A superior, for example, has greater power and authority than subordinates. Superiors usually make important decisions. People with the greatest authority are at the top of the hierarchy. A hierarchy is composed of relationships between people. The hierarchy also establishes chain of command. Job descriptions usually mention these relationships. People working for an organization are called staff. To communicate successfully with co-workers (other employees) and your employers, it is important to understand the relationships within the organization.

Exercise 1. Match the words with their definitions.

1. superior

2. position

3. subordinate

4. hierarchy

5. job description

6. authorities

7. to establish

8. staff

1. to start a company, organization, system, etc that is intended to exist or continue for a long time;

2. a person who works above you in the organization;

3. people working for an organization or a company;

4. statement of employment duties and responsibilities;

5. the people who have power to make decisions;

6. a person who works below you in an organization;

7. a system of levels within organizations.

Exercise 2. Put the words into the correct order to make a sentence.

1. Or, play, in, different, people, roles, company, an, organization, a.

2. Superiors, have, than, less, subordinates, power.

3. Within, is, it, subordination, understand, any, necessary, to, organization.

4. Relationships, is, hierarchy, between, composed, people.

5. Who, those, power, the, people, the, hierarchy, have, are, top, at, greatest, of, the.

Exercise 3. Answer the questions on the text.

1. What is a hierarchy?

2. Who makes decisions in an organization or a company?

3. Why is it important to understand relationships between people in an organization?

Exercise 4. Use a dictionary and choose the synonym to the underlined word in each sentence.

1.The staff of our office is roughly 120 people.

1. unfortunately;

2. ideally;

3. approximately;

4. usually.

2.Jerry Baker is a co-worker of James Green.

1. a secretary;

2. a rival;

3. a student;

4. a colleague.

3.When one is unfamiliar with the office rules it is easy to make a blunder.

1. a commitment;

2. a mistake;

3. an enemy;

4. an advisor.

4.The executive director holds the highest ranking position in the hierarchy of the agency.

1. agency;

2. position;

3. office;

4. organization.

5.The chief financial officer is second in the chain of command.

1. authority;

2. management style;

3. income;

4. communication skills.

Exercise 5. Fill in the gaps with the words given above and translate the sentences.

subordinate insubordination

1. He treats his boss and his ________ with equal respect.

2. He showed so much resentment that his supervisor wanted him fired for ________.

Exercise 6. Work in pairs. Act out a dialogue according to the following situation. Use as much new vocabulary as you can.

Situation. A senior manager is giving a piece of advice to a young colleague. What do you think is important to remember for young people in their first job?