Reading and Discussing
Task I. Pronounce the following words:
autocratic;
democratic;
laissez faire;
exactly;
participation;
decision.
Task II. Look at the following picture. Who is the manager in the picture?
Task III. The following is a short description of three different management styles. Check the one you think is being used in the meeting.
____ Autocratic: The manager tells the workers exactly what to do. Workers have little or no participation at any level of decision making.
____ Democratic: The manager asks workers for opinions and ideas to solve problems. The manager often makes the final decisions, although at times, the workers may have decision-making power.
____ Laissez Faire: The manager gives all decision-making power to the workers. The manager has little control or input.
Task IV. What management style are you most familiar with?
Task V. Four people speak about their bosses. Read their stories to compare different types of management.
Janet |
Simon |
I really like my boss. She’s a lovely person, very easy to work for, very fair. She always asks what I think before she changes anything. If there is a problem, we solve it together. She never gets angry. I trust her and she trusts me. It’s a pleasure to work for her.
|
I get on all right with my boss. He doesn’t worry about the details of my work and he gives me a lot of freedom. I like that. It makes me a bit angry when he gives me more work than I can do. I don’t think he understands that parts of my job are very difficult. But on the whole, I don’t think we get on too badly. |
Charlotte |
George |
I like my job, but I can’t stand my boss. He is very difficult to talk to; he doesn’t really listen. He makes all the decisions without asking anybody. And he isn’t really fair. He can make a mistake, and that’s all right, but when I make a mistake, he gets angry. It really makes me angry when he changes his mind about things again and again. I can’t leave my job right now, but I’m really fed up. |
I work part-time in a pub, and my boss is obviously a landlord. He is smashing; he’s got a great sense of humour. He is very easy to get on with and he is very fair. He’s basically taught me the trade, because I was new when I first came and he taught me, you know, everything that I needed to know. And he isn’t unfair when I made mistakes, but was very good to me. |
Task VI. Complete the following sentences:
Janet’s boss is democratic because ______ .
Simon’s boss has a laissez-faire style of management because ______ .
Charlotte’s boss is autocratic because ______ .
George’s boss is democratic because ______ .
Task VII. Compare the four bosses described above. Mark in the chart the qualities that these bosses have.
Janet’s boss |
Simon’s boss |
Charlotte’s boss |
George’s boss |
Quality |
|
|
|
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Fair Competent Democratic Considerate Experienced Trustworthy Autocratic Aggressive Reliable Sociable Easy-going Bossy Laissez-faire |
Task VIII. Speak about the four bosses above in terms of management style.
Task IX. What professional qualities are needed by a manager?
A. Make a list of 10 qualities. Work in pairs.
B. Combine your list with the list from other students and then rank them in order of importance.