Employment trends

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1. Rewrite the sentences using the opening expression given.

1 A change in employment law has rarely been greeted with so much enthusiasm.

Rarely has a change in employment law been greeted with so much employmen

2 Employers should never discriminate against job applicants on the grounds of creed, ethnicity or gender.

On no account.................................................................

3 She had just been promoted to head of department when the company was put into administration.

Hardly..........................................................................

4 He had to answer countless abusive phone calls. In addition, he worked alternate weekends.

Not only........................................................................

5 This is the first time they have shown such concern for the safety of their staff.

Never before...................................................................

6 We can only shortlist candidates after we've gone through all the appliqcations.

Only after......................................................................

7 We may not leave the premises without clocking off.

Under no circumstances......................................................

8 Work is more stressful in call centres than anywhere else.

Nowhere.......................................................................

9 He was dismissed immediately after complaining about the working conditions.

No sooner......................................................................

Ю Staff were not allowed to make personal phone calls from the office. They were not allowed to use the Internet either.

Staff were not allowed to make personal phone calls from the office. Neil

2. Complete the text with items from the box below. You will only need six of the eight sentences given. Translate the text into your language.

The puzzle of the lost women Sari Baldauf did it at Nokia, Brenda Barnes at PepsiCo and Penny Hughes at Coca-Cola. ,f.. '

They are the headline-grabbing tip of an iceberg. Women graduates enter many companies and professional firms in nearly equal numbers to men, 'but they drop out as they rise up the ranks. How to hold on to this talent, and increase women's representation in senior jobs, has become a serious concern.

Is discrimination to blame? __² Or are women less ambitious, less willing to play power games and more susceptible to demands outside work?

All of these elements play a part, as several new studies reveal. A recent survey shoves that 58 per cent of highly qualified women in the US have non-linear careers - spending part of them in jobs with reduced hours or responsibility, for example. Nearly four in ten take a complete break from work averaging just over two years.

For companies that lose talented women, the survey contains worrying news. None of those who left jobs in business, banking or finance wanted to return to their former employer.__³

In career terms, stepping off the corporate treadmill is no bad thing for some high-fliers. Ms Barnes rose to the top of PepsiCo North America in her 22-year career there and then spent the best part of seven years with her children, while taking some directorships….. 4

Meanwhile Ms Hughes, who was president of Coca-Cola in Britain and Ireland before taking

time out for her family, now holds! prestigious non-executive directors ships at several global companies.

__⁵ Even highly qualified women can have difficulty finding a job commensurate with their skills, or getting any work at all, after taking a break. The US survey demonstrates unequivocally that these women do not lose interest in their careers, but they do lose out financially.....⁶

This is partly because many choose to return to more flexible work. Those who opt for reduced hours can end up being sidelined. But it does not have to be this way. Jobs involving reduced hours can benefit employee and employer, provided both are committed and can be flexible.

FINANCIAL TIMES

a) None of this means women are necessarily less effective leaders.

b) Those who take a break from business and finance forfeit on average 28 per cent of their earning power.

c) In fact, the overriding factor in their decision to take a career break was not family, as people might assume, but lack of job satisfaction.

d) Is corporate culture at fault by favouring the linear career path traditionally taken by men?

e) Last month, she became chief executive of Sara Lee, the consumer goods company she joined only last year.

f) All three women quit top jobs at the height of their careers to pursue outside interests and responsibilities.

g) Equally, women must learn to manage their careers more effectively. h) But such cases are unusual.

3. Read the passage below about job satisfaction.

• In most of the lines 1-14 there is one extra word which does not fit. Some lines, however, are correct.

• If a line is correct, put a tick on the appropriate line.

• If there is an extra word in the line, write that word in the space provided.

1. According to a recent survey, most employees enjoy their work. Why then do so many

2. become sick of their jobs? The answer, according to the same survey, is that a poor

3. management often erodes in one or all of the three underlying factors that underpin job

4. satisfaction: achievement, fair of treatment and social acceptance among workmates.

5. Such apparently simple needs are not easy to fulfil. Too many managers have a

6. tendency to wreck under the natural enthusiasm of employees for their work. Most

7. people enter in a new organisation and job with enthusiasm, eager to contribute, to feel

8. proud of their work and their organisation. But perversely, many managers then appear

9. to do their best to demotivate employees. In order to enjoy in a sense of achievement,

10. an employee not only needs many meaningful and challenging work and pride in the

11. company, but also recognition for a job they well done. A simple 'thank you' can

12. influence no perceptions that the work is valued. However, only half of employees

13. claim to have sufficient feedback, and then if much of it tends to be negative.

14. Constructive feedback is all too rare, probably because giving effective feedback on an

employee's performance is one of the tasks that managers find most difficult.

Render the text in English

Контакт! Есть контакт!

В последние годы центры обслуживания вызовов (call centre) изменились коренным образом. Будучи задуманными для приема и обработки только телефонных вызовов, сегодня call-центры превратились в настоящие центры обслуживания клиентов, способные обрабатывать самые разные виды независимых мультимедийных транзакций на основе использования самых разных приложений, таких как приложение самообслуживания, получение справок через World Wide Web (WWW), электронная почта, передача видеоизображения и факсимильных сообщений, услуги телефонной связи и др. Такие современные центры обслуживания вызовов, предоставляющие мультимедийные услуги, принято называть контакт-центрами (Contact Center).

Контакт-центр – это интегрированная прикладная среда, на базе которой осуществляется управление всеми видами электронного взаимодействия с клиентами, как по телефону, так и через сеть Интернет, позволяющую организовать единую точку контакта между клиентом и компанией.

Высококвалифицированные сотрудники Call-центров могут быть доступны для взаимодействия с клиентами по телефону и одновременно могут оказывать услуги при помощи электронной почты или Web-инструментов. Использование клиентами Web не требует прямого интерактивного взаимодействия с операторами, что позволяет автоматизировать обслуживание со значительной экономией как временных, так и людских ресурсов. Кроме того, автоматизация оплаты услуг через Интернет позволяет компании создать биллинговую систему для предоставления платных консультаций и справок, а также организовать продажу товаров через Интернет-магазины.

Использование технологии контакт-центра хотя и является важным инструментом функционирования фирмы, но это лишь первое звено построения бизнеса, ориентированного на клиентов. Несмотря на то, что в контакт-центре для ускорения времени обслуживания клиентов уже предусмотрена клиентская база данных, содержащая информацию о телефонных номерах, адресах электронной почты, о VIP-клиентах и т.д., отделы, непосредственно работающие с клиентами, зачастую не обладают такой информацией. Что совсем не упрощает задачу.

Ориентированная на клиентов бизнес-стратегия нужна для решения двух основных задач, связанных с повышением эффективности бизнес-процессов, сосредоточенных во Front-офисе компании.

Во-первых, необходимо понять, что собой представляют клиенты компании, какие услуги соответствующего уровня исполнения они ожидают получить, обратившись к вам, что могут предложить сами.

Во-вторых, выработка индивидуальных стратегий за счет анализа текущей информации по контактам с клиентами и транзакциям позволит значительно увеличить рентабельность работы. Поэтому цель построения бизнеса, ориентированного на клиентов,? строить персональные взаимоотношения с каждым обратившимся в вашу фирму, независимо от того, какую должность занимает сотрудник компании, в каком отделе он работает, где находится офис.

Следует отметить, что наибольшая доля компаний, использующих Call Center, приходится на телекоммуникационную отрасль, банковский и страховой бизнес, ресурсы которых позволяют содержать собственный центр обслуживания вызовов. Мелкие и средние компании, не имеющие возможности построить собственный Call Center, могут арендовать производственные мощности и ресурсы (в том числе и людские) центра другой компании в режиме аутсорсинга.

Business ethics

Read the first part of the article quickly. How would you summarise the writer's opinion? What do you think the word waffle means in the headline?

BUSINESS LIFE: Corporate responsibility without the waffle

By Alison Maitland

Passion, commitment, engagement, trust: it sounds like the start of a beautiful friendship. But when chief executives rely on these words to persuade a sceptical world of their company's responsible approach to society, they risk being a turn-off.

Almost every corporate responsibility report today kicks off with a message from the CEO or chairman. It presents an ideal opportunity to explain in concrete terms what being 'responsible' means for your business. It is a chance to show shareholders and other stakeholders that you understand the social or environmental risks facing your industry and that you are tackling them at board level.

These are issues that big investors will want to know even more about in the coming year - how companies are handling potential threats to long-term shareholder value, such as climate change, the explosion in obesity or human-rights lawsuits. New regulations, such as the forthcoming operating and financial review in the UK, will reinforce the need for a broad approach to risk management.

Yet some chief executives' messages are curiously cut off from these developments. Indeed, it can be hard to work out precisely what risks a company faces among the warm, fuzzy generalisations that still populate the language of corporate social responsibility.

Take the following from A word with Franck Riboud', chairman and chief executive of Danone, best known for dairy products such as yoghurt. 'Danone Way is a response to a real need - which is to preserve and pass on a culture based on our dual commitment to business success and social progress,' he says.

Or this from the foreword to Toshiba's latest corporate social responsibility report by Tadashi Okamura, president and CEO: 'For almost 130 years, Toshiba has been a force for social progress... Along the way, we have earned the trust of society, and it is this trust that is our true reason for being. It is our motivation and our inspiration.'

John Elkington, co-director of SustainAbility, an international consultancy that tracks trends in non-financial reporting, says few forewords feel as if they have been written by the CEO as opposed to the public relations department. 'You rarely get a sense from the foreword about whether the CEO or chairman has read the report, or what they have found interesting and surprising.'

Look at the article again. Find the words and expressions which have a similar meaning to the following.

1 provoking a negative reaction (paragraph l)

2 people or organisations directly or indirectly affected by the activities of a company (paragraph 2)

3 trying to deal with difficult problems (paragraph 2)

4 problems taken to a court, by an individual or an organisation, for a legal decision (paragraph 3)

5 unconnected with (paragraph 4)

6 understand something by thinking about it (paragraph 4)

7 not clear, difficult to understand (paragraph 4)

8 promise to do something or behave in a certain way (paragraph 5)

9 short introduction (to a book or report) (paragraph 6)

10 records or studies the development of something over time (paragraph 7)

Read the second part of the article below. Identify the four points the author believes CEOs should address and examples of good company practice.

To be effective, what should your introduction n cover? First, specific examples of the challenges the company faces and how you are tackling them.

Arun Sarin, chief executive of Vodafone, talks about potential abuse of human rights and labour standards in the group's vast £23bn supply chain and how it is starting to manage these risks through a code of ethical purchasing.

But his opening lines risk leaving readers disoriented. 'We already have a clear compass,' he states. 'One of our four values is "passion for the world around us" and one of our six strategic goals is to "be a responsible business".' He leaves us guessing what the other values and goals are.

The second thing is evidence of transparency. Bob Eckert, chairman and CEO of Mattel, refers to the global manufacturing principles that the toy manufacturer put in place in 1997. 'We've welcomed independent, third-party auditing of our adherence to these principles and we've posted the results for public viewing on our corporate website (www.mattel.com),' he writes.

Third, a recognition of the importance of governance. In his letter, Mr Eckert says that corporate responsibility at Mattel will 14 from now on be overseen by the board's nominations and corporate governance committee, which is renamed the governance and social responsibility committee.

Novo Nordisk, the Danish drugs group, links good governance directly to the way companies face up to society's changing expectations. 'It is continuous hard wоrk,' write Lars Rebien Sorensen, president and CEO, and Mads Ovlisen, 15 chairman. Last year they strengthened their risk-management system, continued their work on board self-evaluation and developed a new share-based incentive programme for executives.

Fourth, credibility. In Gap's first social responsibility report this year, Paul Pressler, president and CEO, begins by telling readers that, when he decided to join the company in 2002, his teenage daughter asked him: 'Doesn't Gap use sweatshops?' Much of the rest of his message is about what the company is doing to improve conditions in the garment industry and how difficult this is. It is both personal and believable.

It is high time for plain speaking across the board. The foreword to next year's corporate responsibility report will mark you out either as a leader who has contemplated the risks ahead or as a CEO who has jumped on to the bandwagon without really knowing why.

FINANCIAL TIMES

Discuss the following questions.

1 Governments in the US and the EU are considering legislation to stop food companies advertising junk food to children. How far should the food industry be held responsible for people's health problems?

2 If you were the CEO of one of the companies mentioned in the article, what would you see as the risks ahead for your company, and what would be its social responsibility?

Look at these extracts from various CSR reports. Match the correct expression (a-h) with the multiword verbs in italics.

a) gradually stopped using e) can be included in or classified as

b) done, as expected or promised f) ensure we do what we've promised

c) do the same thing g) formally established

d) avoid doing anything about h) explain in a clear way

1 We think it is vital that we set out what we expect of our suppliers.

2 The company's policy is not to shy away from difficult issues.

3 We hope this initiative will motivate others in the industry to follow suit.

4 The company is taking action in this area and has already phased out a number of suspect chemicals.

5 This will enable our stakeholders to hold us to account.

6 Our strategy falls into three categories.

7 Their work is carried out in accordance with safety standards.

8 The Social Responsibility team was set up in 2003.

A. Complete the definitions with items from the box.

~~underhand~~ fraudulent accountability incorruptible integrity law-abiding mission statement unscrupulous whistleblower

1 Underhand methods or actions are secretive and dishonest.

2............is the fact of being responsible for one's actions, and ready to explain them if required.

3............methods or actions intend to deceive people, often in order to gain money illegally.

4............is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.

5 A............is someone who informs the public that the company they work for has engaged in illegal practices.

6 A............person respects the law.

7 An organisation or company's............is meant to communicate its aims to the public.

8 Someone who is............cannot be persuaded to act dishonestly.

9 Someone who is............has no moral principles and would do anything to get what they want.

B. Complete the sentences with an item from exercise A.

1 Little by little, in a series of clever, .Ufld&cb.4fld. moves, he took control of the whole organisation.

2 The CEO is a man of absolute............who would never compromise his principles.

3 People who make............insurance claims are liable to prosecution.

4 Nobody would even think of trying to bribe them. They are absolutely

5 'To serve the most vulnerable' is the............of the International Red Cross.

C. Write the opposite of the adjectives.

1 scrupulous unscrupulous

2 legal............

3 reputable............

4 honest............

5 principled............

6 responsible............

7 ethical............

8 controversial............

9 accountable............

10 partial............

D. Complete the word(s) in each sentence by writing in the missing vowels. Each word is a compound or derivative of the word law .

1 She filed a l_ws_it against her former employer.

2 It seems a l_g_t_m_t_ expectation to know where your bank invests your money.

3 Although the money had been collected _ll_g_ll_, the committee l_g_l_s_d the funds and used them to pay off debts.

4 It turned out that the chemical had been l_wf_ll_ produced in a European country.

5 In Britain, a barrister is a l_wy_r who can argue cases in the higher courts of law.

6 Some people argue that nothing can l_g_t_m_s_ the use of children in advertising.

E. Complete each gap with a word formed from the word in capitals.

The sacking of Boeing's chief executive over an office affair has raised many questions, not least whether it heralds a new era of corporate policing of executives' personal morals.

Could snooping on workplace liaisons become part of the job of the ethics officer, whose role is to …… (SURE) that a company's code of conduct is understood and followed by every member of staff?

'The dynamics of taking on a police function would fundamentally change the.............² (EFFECT) of the ethics officer,' says Ms Gretchen Winter, who chairs the US-based Ethics Officer Association. ‘I think.............³ (EMPLOY) might be less willing to come forward. The role of a neutral party to whom they can come for.............4 (GUIDE) might be compromised.'

The ethics officer's job has been thrown into sharp relief by the Boeing affair, in which the chief executive was ousted for behaviour that the company decided had reflected poorly' on his.............⁵(JUDGE).

Ms Winter says the case has provoked hot debate about where the line should be drawn. 'Some ethics officers are using the Boeing case to talk about the.............⁶ (INVESTIGATE) process, their relationship with boards, who the decision-makers are and how you handle issues of judgement versus violations of your code -or are they one and the same?' she says.

'What it does is illustrate the type of situation that ethics officers are called on to deal with every day - what kind of investigative process do you use, how do you determine appropriate.............⁷ (DISCIPLINE) action if you find a.............⁸(VIOLATE), and who should be disciplined?'

The ethics officer draws up standards, provides a safe conduit for whistleblowers, investigates allegations and presents findings to a 'decision-maker' - typically the manager of the individual being investigated, she says.

Ms Winter points out that there are CEOs who have had.............⁹ (RELATE) at work and have remained in office. 'It's not the ethics officer's role to determine whether that behaviour is.............¹⁰ (ACCEPT) or not,' she insists. 'That responsibility belongs to whoever employs the individual.'

The case comes at a time when............." (PRESS) is mounting on companies to take ethics more seriously - and on the professionals charged with ensuring.............¹²(COMPLY).

Why, given the rapid.............¹³ (GROW) in the number of ethics officers, are ethical lapses still so frequent in companies? It is partly that the ethics profession is young, and also that it is far harder to change behaviour than simply to write and publish a code of conduct, Ms Winter replies.

F. Replace the words in italics with a multiword verb from the box.

carry out falls into follow suit phase out set out sett up shy away from.

1 The Corporate Responsibility Committee was formally established two years ago…. set up….

2 The CEO explained in a clear, organised way the reasons for her resignation in a letter to the board of directors.........................

3 Our company will gradually stop using all vehicles which do not conform to environmental regulations..

4 Bentix has recently appointed an ethics officer, and we expect many other companies to do the same thing.........................

5 To the company's credit we must say that when its new product was alleged to be unsafe, it did not avoid and was not afraid of investigating those claims.........................

6 Most pharmaceutical companies claim that they do not do tests on animals.

7 Unethical behaviour at work can be classified into three groups.

G Match the sentence halves.

1 Most corporate responsibility reports today

2 Hollow words such as 'passion' or 'commitment' can easily

3 Some chief executives' messages seem curiously

4 Fuzzy language often makes it hard for the reader to

5 Good governance often seems linked to the way a company tries to

6 A corporate responsibility report is a great opportunity for chief executives to

7 Only specific examples of good governance and evidence of transparency will

a) cut off from recent developments in approaches to risk management.

b) face up to society's changing expectations.

c) get their ideas and principles across to shareholders and other stakeholders.

d) kick off with a message from the CEO or chairman.

e) mark them out as credible and responsible leaders.

f) turn off the reader of such reports.

g) work out precisely what the message means.

H Match the multiword verbs in bold in exercise G with the correct meaning.

1 make sb feel bored........................

2 communicate........................

3 to prevent sb / sth from having contact with........................

4 start........................

5 manage to understand........................

6 accept and try to deal with........................

7 identify........................

I. Complete the second sentence in each pair so that it has approximately the same meaning as the first sentence. Use between two and five words, including the word given.

1 The public often ask companies not to hide their stance on environmental issues. reveal. Companies are. .often requested to reveal. their stance on environmental issues.

2 CEOs may sound very enthusiastic in their reports, but you should always insist on hard evidence. how. No....................................CEOs may sound in their reports, you should always insist on hard evidence.

3 If we do not set up a corporate responsibility team, shareholders may lose confidence in our approach. unless. Shareholders may lose confidence in our approach....................................a corporate responsibility team.

4 Our company's safety record is substantially better than our competitors'. nearly. Our competitors' safety record is....................................ours.

5 We made a bad mistake when we said our suppliers were responsible for the delay in production. blame. It was wrong of us....................................the delay in production.

6 Our organisation has made every effort to get rid of age and gender discrimination. stamp. Our organisation has made every effort.................................... age and gender discrimination.

7 If the CEO had not admitted wrongdoing at the last minute, our manager would have come under suspicion. admitting. But....................................wrongdoing at the last minute, our manager would have come under suspicion.

8 One of the directors pointed out to the board a number of inconsistencies in the report. drew. One of the directors....................................a number of inconsistencies in the report.

9 My boss was too impatient to read the report to the end. that. My boss was....................................not read the report to the end.

10. I think it would be a good idea if we listened more to what anti-globalisation movements have to say. suggest. I....................................listen more to what anti-globalisation movements have to say.

11. We are really excited about the conference. forward. We.............................the conference.

Business ethics

Listen to the second part of the interview with Miguel Moran and compare your answers in Exercise С with his views. Use the following letters to record Miguel's views.

T = True F = False NS = Not stated

1 Multinationals don't employ child labour any more.

2 Companies that employ children before the age of 14 should also pay for their education.

3 Banning child labour in some countries may create extreme poverty.

4 The Western world shouldn't force its codes of conduct on other countries.

5 Ultimately, social responsibility is up to the state and not business people.

6 Very few international companies have unethical practices.

Listen to the second part of the interview again and complete these extracts with exactly five words for each gap.

1 What do they do?.........................................and they just get them to do simple tasks.

2 The bottom line is that these children......................................... who are living not only in poverty, but often in extreme poverty.

3 Companies must be responsible ethically and socially, but it's........................................Western companies that child labour exists.

4 I think it's a mix. But our Western markets are.................................and higher and higher wages.

5 But I think it is very positive that we are at this point where many companies are........................... they are acting ethically or not.

6 New governments in Europe are........................................done in the past.

7 Let's be honest. There are an awful lot of well-known companies that..................................ethical but are producing unethically.

8 At the end of the day, it all comes down to................................

Complete these views on CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) with a suitable expression from the box.

the bottom line If I had to the time has come for Let’s be two sides of the same coin pay lip service to face it

1............define CSR, I would say: the pursuit of profit is not enough; that companies need principles and that stakeholders want to see those principles in action.

2............honest, a decade ago few companies with social and environmental programme were unwilling to speak out for fear of being called hypocrites.

3 Let's............, ethics and responsibility are.............

4 I don't think companies can just............CSR and ignore what's happening around them without contributing to society.

5 I think........companies to adopt and embrace CSR because............is they know it's more likely to create wealth and shareholder value.

Look at the tips for managing meetings and writing up action points.

Listen to an extract from a problem-solving meeting discussing procedures for employing staff. What was on the agenda? Do you think the meeting was managed well and effective? Why (not)?

Tips for effective meetings and action points: PARTAKE

PARTicipants: choosing the right ones is the key to the success of any meeting. Make sure all participants can contribute and choose good decision-makers and problem-solvers. Try to keep the number of participants to a maximum of 12.

A genda: check all meeting aims have been addressed; will you need a future meeting?

K ey points and actions: summarise the who/what/when. Minutes should be short and concise and issued within 24 hours.

E nd by allocating ten minutes to review how you performed as a team: what were the positive/negative points, e.g. time-wasting, misunderstandings or conflicts?