Self-assessment grid

Tick (✓) “Yes” or “No” answers in appropriate columns and lines to self-assess your knowledge and skills.	Yes	No
I know:
topical vocabulary related to a manager’s job;
the difference between management job titles;
tense forms of the verb to be;
past participle forms of regular and irregular verbs;
2-3-syllable word-stress patterns;
the functions and skills of a manager.
I can:
find international words in the text;
form different parts of speech;
find synonyms/antonyms;
correctly pronounce the –ed element in past participles of regular verbs;
translate from Russian into English small texts which include topical vocabulary;
speak on different issues related to the topic “The manager’s job”;
properly understand and evaluate job advertisements in the area of management.
Total number of positive/negative answers:

Module 2

Pre-reading issues

1. Have you ever worked for any organization? If your answer is ‘Yes’, how long?

2. Are you currently working for any company?

3. What is the difference between working for a company and working independently (freelancing)?

4. Name some well-known companies/organizations in Russia and abroad.

5. What makes a good organization?

Organization theory

Organizations are connected with people as their interests and abilities are inseparable. Organizations exist to complete work that is inefficient or impossible for individuals to complete alone. Organizations require that individuals work together in pursuit of a common goal. Understanding organizations requires understanding people and how and why they work.

Organizations must offer goods or services relevant in the market place to stay in business. Likewise, people need to be relevant in the market place.

As organizations respond to new demands in the market place, they need workers who will help them to meet those demands. Dramatic changes in technology, communication, information management, and transportation systems have caused businesses to change.

Organizations need workers who possess the skills and competencies needed to lead, develop, and grow organizations in rapidly changing environments. Workers must find ways to keep themselves valuable and able to contribute to organizational success.

Organizations work best when they are free of problems. To accomplish work in the quickest and most efficient ways, all work should be organized and performed in the same, invariable way. Exceptions to the specified work processes create jams in the system and slow down the productive capabilities of the organization.

Organizations are subject to the same laws of behavior as human objects. Organizations are, by their nature, resistant to change and require “unbalancing” forces to steer them in new directions.

Managers are organizational decision makers. It is critical that managers understand the strengths and weaknesses of their companies and the opportunities and threats that exist in their business environments before making important decisions. A solution that seemed clear-cut on paper might have disastrous consequences in practice.

When workers see that managers are genuinely concerned about their well-being and that they are respected and appreciated by management, they usually return those feelings to the managers. Teamwork, cooperation, open communication, trust, and mutual respect can all emerge from effective management practices.