Text 3 classification of workers

The U. S. Department of Labor studied all occupations in the country and established the broad category Administrative Support Occupations. In this category there are 55 different positions, most of them office positions. The general category is described in this manner:

Workers in this group prepare and keep records; operate office machines; arrange schedules and make reservations; collect, distribute, or account for money, material, mail, or messages; or perform similar administrative duties.

Office positions require large numbers of employees particularly workers classified as bookkeepers, secretaries, and typists.

Task VI. Read the following text and get ready to name

QUALITIES NECESSARY FOR OFFICE WORK:

TEXT 4

After considering the special requirements for the major job clusters in modern offices, you may be asking what general qualities all office workers must possess. This is an important question. There are some critical qualities that are necessary for success and happiness in office positions. The most commonly identified qualities are:

• be a team worker;

• have a sincere interest in the organization’s goals;

• work in a systematic fashion;

• learn from observation and from written instructions;

• be punctual and complete jobs on schedule;

• be flexible in meeting changes in responsibilities and way of work;

• have skill to evaluate your own work.

Business activity is social in the sense that people must cooperate with each other in completing assignments. Several of the general qualifications required reflect the continuous interaction among office employees. Office workers must understand human relations and be interested in maintaining pleasant, respectful relations with co-workers.

Task VII.

A. Make up sentences with the words from the table to speak about OFFICE PERSONNEL JOB REQUIREMENTS:

An executive A secretary	has to must ____________ doesn’t have to needn’t	do overtime. work long hours. travel a lot. make decisions. meet deadlines. fulfil a wide range of tasks. prepare reports.
		go to conferences. make the minutes of the meeting. draft letters and documents. key/keyboard documents. dictate letters. send faxes. e-mail letters. open the post/mail. make telephone calls. answer the telephone. show initiative. do paperwork. do the filing. file papers. sit behind the computer. operate office machines. make photocopies. develop skills in mastering office equipment. accept responsibility. keep up-to-date. keep track of expenditures. receive/take messages. account for mail and messages. meet and talk with visitors. negotiate transactions/deals. perform administrative duties. make reservations/bookings. make appointments with clients. show good judgement. have organizational ability. follow instructions. understand the professional vocabulary. have good keyboarding skills. be competent in work. be interested in the success of the company. be loyal to the company. encourage subordinates to better performance

B. Make a list of things you have to do.

Find out what your partner has to do. (See the example.)

• I have to work carefully but fast because I’m very busy.

I … get up early to be at work on time. (to have to)

• She has to speak foreign languages well because her job takes her all over the world.

She … be good at speaking English as she works in a multinational company. (to have to)

Task VIII. Read the following statements carefully and comment on each of them saying if you agree or disagree with it:

1. There are few job opportunities for persons who are studying office procedures.

2. Much of office activity involves communication of some kind.

3. Oral communication doesn’t require good speaking and listening skills.

4. To be successful on the job an office worker needs interpersonal skills.

5. One of the benefits of working in an office is that you have an opportunity to be with and enjoy people.

6. High-level reading skills allow workers to be more productive in office positions.

7. There are no techniques for improving reading skills.

8. Learning to deal successfully with co-workers under stressful conditions is not important.

9. To enjoy good human relations on the job a person needs a positive, professional attitude.

10. Individuals don’t like to be recognized for a job well done.

11. From time to time office employees are given old equipment to make their work easier.

12. Office workers must read and understand the instruction manual in order to use the equipment properly.

13. Every office has deadlines for work.

14. Being loyal means you do your part to achieve company goals and to build a positive, professional image of your company.

15. As a loyal worker, you will speak negatively about your company to customers.

Task IX. Complete the following sentences translating the words in brackets from Russian into English:

1. Modern organizations require competent (персонал).

2. (Обработка данных) refers to the collecting, manipulating, and distributing information in the form of figures.

3. The final result of a data processing operation is called (продукт), which usually takes the form of a printed document.

4. Data processing skills (могут быть применены) to many areas of business.

5. Departments in modern organizations often require employees who can work with numbers (уверенно).

6. The basic skills necessary for jobs in data processing include ability and willingness to check the (точность) of computing.

7. Employees in the stockroom who keep records of items in stock and items released (имеют дело c числами/цифрами) most of the workday.

8. Employees (отвечают на телефонные звонки) and respond to questions, or they accept orders on a full-time basis.

9. An office assistant in the advertising department (следит за) expenditures related to trade shows. This person (уделяет) only a few hours a week to working with numbers.

10. One aspect of information management is the distribution/transmission of information to persons (в компании и за ее пределами).

11. Frequently, successful employees are encouraged (стремиться к дополнительному обучению) within the company or outside.

____________________

Prompts: accuracy, devotes, output, answer telephones, personnel, keeps track of, confidently, to seek additional training, deal with numbers, can be applied, data processing, inside and outside the company.