6. Find a suitable answer from List 2 for each of the sentences in List 1.

1	2
So the company is available to buy?	Yes, provided (that) it’s top quality.
Do the employees want to stay at Highland Wool?	Yes, provided (that) they are skilled operators.
So you need a lot of wool?	Yes, providing (that) you buy it from the Wool Board.
Do you want to keep our present personnel?	Yes, providing (that) we get a good price for it.
Will we be able to buy wool?	Yes, providing (that) they can retain their position for life.

Brief for negotiating

You are Jonathan Snodgrass.

The staff at Highland Wool have heard rumours about the proposed takeover by Cecil Parkes Ltd. For the first time in the 150-year history of the company there has been a dispute between the workers and the management. Donald Macgregor, the Managing Director, has promised that if the takeover takes place, none of the workers will lose their jobs.

As representative for Highland Wool Ltd., you have to negotiate on the following points:

1. You are quite happy to sell the mill, as Donald Macgregor, who is 65, wants to retire, and has no son or daughter to take over the running of the mill.

2. You want the auditor’s estimated value of £200.000.000 for the firm.

3. You want a guarantee that no workers will lose their jobs.

4. You want a guarantee that the system of production, the machinery, the hours of work and the management will not be changed to any “modern” methods. All the people at Highland Wool want life to go on quietly as before.

5. In order to ensure point 4, you suggest that Donald Macgregor retains a controlling interest of 51℅ of the company for the next 5 years. After that, Cecil Parkes can buy the remaining shares.

You will have to negotiate on all these points. First, get together with all the other Highland Wool representatives and decide how far you are prepared to compromise on all these issues, and decide what your upper and lower limits are. Then meet David Barkworth and try to make a deal.

Unit 3. Pay and benefits

People who work sitting down get paid more than people who work standing up.

Ogden Nash (1902–1971)

1. Start up

1. What do you find satisfying and frustrating about your work or studies?

2. Who or what inspires you to work?

3. Which of the following would motivate you to work harder? Choose five words and rank them in order of priority. Explain your priorities.

bonus more responsibility working for a successful company bigger salary threat of redundancy a better working environment commission hard-working boss promotion opportunities praise good colleagues perks or fringe benefits

2. Information to study Pay and Benefits

The price of labour is really one of the most important issues in business. In theory, wages ought to change so that the supply and demand in the labour market are always in equilibrium. In practice, wages are often sticky, especially in a downward direction: when demand for labour falls, wages do not fall. In this situation, the fall in demand results in higher involuntary unemployment. Trade unions may use collective bargaining to keep wages above the market-clearing rate. Furthermore, many governments impose a minimum wage that employers must pay.

Firms may choose to pay above the equilibrium wage to increase the productivity of workers. Such so-called efficiency wages may make workers less likely to join another firm, so cutting the employer’s hiring and training costs. They may encourage workers to do a better job. They may also attract a higher quality of worker than wages at the market-clearing rate; better workers may have a higher reservation wage (the lowest wage for which they are willing to work) than the market-clearing equilibrium.

In recent years, employers have tried to reduce wage stickiness by increasing the proportion of pay that is linked to the performance of their firm. Thus if falling demand reduces the employer’s profit the pay of its employees falls automatically, so it does not have to lay off as many workers as it otherwise would. Performance-related wages can also reduce agency costs by giving hired hands a stronger incentive to do a good job.

What kinds of pay do people get?

People get paid a salary every month or wages every week. Every person who works must be paid the minimum wage: the lowest amount allowed by law. Sales people can get a basic salary plus commission: a percentage on everything they sell. If they sell more than a particular amount in a year, they also get extra money – a bonus, which is nice. There are some good fringe benefits with this job: they get a company car, the employers make payments for the pension, the money to get after the retirement of employees. All that makes a good benefits package. Very often they also get nice perks, for example free meals or tips from generous clients. Compensation and remuneration are formal words used to talk about pay and benefits, especially those of senior managers. Compensation package and remuneration package are used especially in the US to talk about all the pay and benefits that employees receive. For a senior executive, this may include share options (BrE) or stock options (AmE): the right to buy the company's shares at low prices. There may be performance-related bonuses if the manager reaches particular objectives for the company.

Compensation is also used to talk about money and other benefits that a senior manager (or any employee) receives if they are forced to leave the organization, perhaps after a boardroom row. This money is in the form of a compensation payment, or severance payment called a “golden parachute”. If the manager also receives benefits, the payment and the benefits form a severance package.

In Britain, executives with very high pay and good benefits may be referred to as fat cats, implying that they do not deserve this level of remuneration.