Lesson 2

Task 1. What is your idea of the ideal boss? Look at the adjectives below and choose five of them which best characterize the ideal manger. Explain your choice.

1. tidy;	7. humorous;	13. considerate;
2. smart;	8. high-flyer;	14. family man;
3. critical;	9. supportive;	15. experienced;
4. sociable;	10. diplomatic;	16. independent;
5. generous;	11. far-sighted;	17. authoritative;
6. consistent;	12. easy-going;	18. hard-working.

Task 2. Practice reading the following words.

advantage [əd`vα:ntıG] / [əd`væntıG] area [`eəriə] / [`eriə] category [`kætəgəri] / [`kætəgO:ri] characteristic [ֽkærəktə`rıstık] conceptual [kən`sept∫uəl] constraint [kən`streınt] continual [kən`tınjuəl] to convince [kən`vınts] counterpart [`kauntəpα:t] / [`kauntərpα:rt] decision-making [di`sıჳənֽmeıkıŋ] employee [ım`plOıi:] essential [ı`sent∫əl] to exist [ıg`zıst] experience [ık`spıəriənts] / [ık`spıriənts] foremen [`fO:mən] / [`fO:rmən] hierarchy [`haıərα:ki] / [`haıərα:rki] human [`hju:mən] to implement [`ımplıment] increasingly [ın`kri:sıŋli]

instead [ın`sted] managerial [ֽmænə`Gıəriəl] morale [mə`rα:l] / [mə`ræl] observer [əb`zə:və] / [əb`zə:vər] power [`pauə] / [`pauər] preference [`prefərənts] process [`prəuses] / [`prα:ses] reason [`ri:zən] recruiting [rı`kru:tıŋ] to rely [rı`laı] to retain [ri`teın] senior [`si:niə] / [`si:njər] simultaneously [ֽsıməl`teıniəsli] spiral [spaıərəl] strategic [strə`ti:Gık] to subdivide [ֽsAbdı`vaıd] subject n, adj [`sAbGekt] supervisory [ֽsu:pə`vaızəri] technical [`teknıkəl] uncertainty [An`sə:tənti] variety [və`raıəti] to vary [`veəri] / [`veri] voluntary [`vOləntəri] / [`vα:ləntəri]

Task 3. Read the text.

Levels and Patterns of Management

Some basic characteristics seem to apply to managers in all types of organizations; they include hard work on a variety of activities, preference for active tasks, direct personal relationships. Almost everything a manager does, involves decisions. The reason for making a decision is that a problem exists. In decision-making there is always some uncertainty and risk.

Yet managers within an organization vary greatly in the things they do and the skills they need. The managerial staff usually consists of three levels. These three levels form a management hierarchy, a structure with a top, middle, and bottom:

1. Senior management (also “top management” or “upper management”);

2. Middle management;

3. Low-level management, such as supervisors or team-leaders;

Upper-level managers, or top management, have the most power and responsibility. Experience and continual life-long learning help to develop the conceptual skills to understand the “big picture” that is essential for managers at the top.

Middle managers, or middle management, have somewhat less power and responsibility and implement the broad goals set by top management.

Operating managers, or supervisory management, coordinate the work of those who are not managers. In general, they need technical and human skills and operate under more constraints than do upper-level managers, who require more conceptual skills and usually rely on their lower-level counterparts to carry out the technical details.

Foremen / lead hands have direct supervision over the working force in office, factory, sales field or other workgroup or areas of activity. The responsibilities of the persons belonging to the group of rank and file are even more restricted and more specific than those of the foreman.

Towards the end of the 20^th century, business management came to consist of six separate branches, namely:

• Human resource management;

• Operations management or production management;

• Strategic management;

• Marketing management;

• Financial management;

• Informartion technology management responsible for management information systems.

In the 21^st century observers find it increasingly difficult to subdivide management into functional categories in this way. More and more processes simultaneously involve several categories. Instead, one tends to think in terms of the various processes, tasks, and objects subject to management.

Though management is often described as “the art of getting things done through people” it is a very hard job. Managers must be good planners, organizers, coordinators, communicators, morale builders.

Public, private, and voluntary sectors place different demands on managers, but all must retain the faith of those who select them (if they wish to retain their jobs), retain the faith of those people that fund the organization, and retain the faith of those who work for the organization. If they fail to convince employees of the advantages of staying rather than leaving, they may tip the organization into a downward spiral of hiring, training, firing, and recruiting. Management also has the task of innovating and of improving the functioning of organizations.