Exercise 6*

Translate the following sentences from Russian into English. Pay attention to the

use of infinitives or –ing forms while translating.

I. Менеджеры должны выполнять четыре основные функции: планирование,

организация, руководство, контроль.

II. Устанавливая цели и определяя стратегию, менеджеры планируют

деятельность компании.

III. Осуществление контроля – ещё одна важная функция менеджера.

IV. Для того, чтобы успешно выполнять эти функции менеджеры должны

обладать особыми характеристиками.

V. Менеджеры из Германии ожидают послушания со стороны своих

подчинённых.

VI. Британские менеджеры побуждают своих служащих к самостоятельной

работе.

VII. Менеджеры могут управлять компаниями, используя различные стили

руководства.

Exercise 7

Discuss the following questions in pairs.

I. Which of the roles performed by managers do you consider the most important? Give your reasons.

II. What personal characteristics of yours could help you to become a successful manager?

III. Are you good at time management? Give some practical tips on how to manage time better.

IV. Which of the national styles mentioned in the text seems most attractive to you?

Text №2 Exercise 1*

Make a list of top manager’s functions, read the text below and compare your list of functions with those mentioned in the text.

Top Managers and Management Theories

Management is essentially a matter of organising people. Managers, especially top managers, have to set objectives for their organisations, and then develop particular strategies that will enable the company to achieve them. This will involve allocating the company's human, capital and physical resources. Strategies can often be subdivided into tactics – the precise methods in which the resources attached to a strategy are employed.

Managers analyse the activities of the organisation and the relations among them. They divide the work into distinct activities and then into individual jobs. They select people to manage these activities and perform the jobs. And they often need to make the people responsible for performing individual jobs form effective teams.

The founders of a business usually establish a «mission statement» - a declaration about what the business is and what it will be in the future. The business's central values and objectives will follow from this. But because the business environment is always changing, companies will occasionally have to modify or change their objectives. It is part of top management's role to balance today's objectives and needs against those of the future, and to take responsibility for innovation.

Efficient managers are good at communication and motivation. They need to communicate the organisation's objectives to the people responsible for attaining them. They motivate their staff to work well, to be productive, and to contribute something to the organisation. They make decisions about pay and promotion.

Managers are also responsible for measuring the performance of their staff, and ensuring that the objectives and performance targets set for the whole organisation and for individual employees are reached. Furthermore, they have to train and develop their staff, so that their performance continues to improve.

Top managers also have to manage a business's social responsibilities and its impact on the environment. They should establish and maintain good relations with customers, major suppliers, bankers, government agencies, and so on.

Successful performance of these tasks requires many different qualities and skills, such as being flexible, creative, knowledgeable, having good communication and leadership skills and many others.

Educated managers should be aware of modern management theory, e. g., Just-In-Time, Team-working, Total Quality Management (TQM), Learning organisations.

The Team-working theory states that by encouraging employees to work in very fluid teams, responsibility is shared. Employees and managers at all levels develop a better self-identity and work becomes more interesting and productive.

The TQM approach focuses on measuring the quality of service in all aspects. The idea is to develop systems that are more efficient and more economical, but which are also more able to meet the needs of customers.

Companies following the Learning organisations theory have developed internal training programmes to help with staff development. This is an important investment in the workforce. It not only makes people better at their job, but it also makes them happier. It may also help companies to keep their best managers and staff.