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CAVEAT

Many men have a female style of working. Equally many women have a male approach.

As Ms. Stuart says many of the current management theorems – flatter organisations*, empowerment, managing by consensus* - have a female style to them.

*the end justifies the means: it doesn’t matter what methods you use; success is the only important thing

*lateral thinking: thinking in a creative way, making unusual connections

*flatter organisation: organisations in which there are fewer managers and people have equal status

*managing by consensus: managing by getting everyone to agree

4. According to the text, which of these phrases are typically used by men and which by women?

Example:

‘It’s very simple. The point is …’

Men because ‘the male approach is to go to the heart of the matter’.

1 ‘But we need to take account of …’

2 ‘You look worried. What do you think about the new plan?’ 3 ‘That’s rubbish!’

4 ‘I built the department from nothing.’

5 ‘Thanks for your kind words, but this really was a team effort.’ 6 ‘It was so funny. He looked ridiculous!’

5. Work in groups and discuss the questions. Prepare a poster to present your ideas.

∙What is the style of male and female managers in companies in your country? Are they similar to the ones outlined in the text?

∙Do you think there is a difference in style between men and women or is any difference usually because of personality?

WRITING

Write a composition ‘Female managers are generally better managers than male managers’.

READING 4

1.Douglas Ivester is Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola. Before you read the article about him, discuss what qualities you expect him to have.

2.Now read the article and complete the fact sheet given after the text.

Focus on Douglas Ivester, CEO of Coca-Cola

Ivester, a factory foreman’s son and former accountant, stepped in smoothly to run Coca-Cola as CEO following the death of champion wealth creator Roberto Goizueta. Early in his job as Coke’s chief, Goizueta had recognised Ivester’s drive, commenting that he was the hardest-working man he had ever met. Together the two changed the company’s operations and capital structure to maximize shareholder value.

Both of Ivester’s parents were factory workers from a tiny mill town in Georgia. His parents were children of the depression, he recalls, ‘strong savers, very strong religious values,’ and had very high expectations for their only son. If he got an A, his father would say, ‘They give A pluses, don’t they?’

Doug Ivester is the guy who for nearly two years worked constantly to provide essential support to Roberto Goizueta as he not only turned Coca-Cola around but made it into a powerhouse. If you want to know just how driven Ivester is, know that more than a decade ago he set himself the goal of becoming the CEO and chairman of Coca-Cola. Then he put on paper the dates by which he intended to do that.

By comparison with Goizueta, Ivester is an accountant by training, an introvert by nature. He worked systematically to obtain the breadth needed to be a modem chief executive –getting media coaching and spending three years’ worth of Saturdays, six hours at a time, being tutored in marketing. He is a straight arrow, constantly encouraging his executives to ‘do the right thing’, yet he is fascinated with Las Vegas, which he visits once a year, gambling and people-watching a lot.

He is big on discipline, which to him means: be where you’re supposed to be. Dress the part (he is opposed to casual Fridays). Return phone calls promptly (employees know never to get too far away from their office voice-mail, even on weekends). Still, when directing his troops, he asks them to set ‘aspirations’ (difficult targets).

Hierarchy is out - it slows everything down; he communicates freely with people at all levels. The ‘conventional’ desk job is also out. Ivester prefers that employees think of themselves as knowledge workers - their office is the information they carry around with them, supported by technology that allows them to work anywhere. This really matters when your business is as large as Coke’s, which gets 80% of its profit from overseas.

At Coke, business planning is no longer an annual ritual but a continual discussion – sometimes via voice-mail - among top executives. Technology is not just nice; it’s crucial. Huge volumes of information don’t frighten Ivester; he insists that they are necessary for ‘real-time’ decision-making. With pastgeneration executives, their style was more ‘don’t bring me your problems, bring me your solutions,’ says Tim Haas, Senior Vice President and Head of Latin America. ‘Doug thrives on finding the solutions.’ ‘In a world this complicated and fast-moving, a CEO can’t afford to sit in the executive suite and guess,’ Ivester says. He believes that many of America’s executives ‘are getting terribly isolated.’

From Fortune Magazine

3. Answer these questions about the article.

1 The writer says that ‘Goizueta had recognised Ivester’s drive’ (paragraph 1). What does drive mean? How did Ivester show that he had this quality?

2 ‘They give A pluses, don’t they?’ (paragraph 2). Who is Ivester’s father referring too when he says they?

3 How did lvester prepare for the position he now holds?

4 Explain the meaning of this sentence: ‘Dress the part (he is opposed to casual Fridays)’ (paragraph 5). Do you agree with this policy?

5 Why does Ivester want employees to think of themselves as ‘knowledge workers’?

6 Ivester believes that many American executives ‘are getting terribly isolated.’ What is Ivester doing to avoid becoming cut off from his staff?

4. Find words and phrasesin the article which mean the following:

1 Someone who has greatly increased the company’s profits (paragraph 1). 2 A time of high unemployment and poverty (paragraph 2).

3 A very successful, profitable company (paragraph 3).

4 Very determined to succeed (paragraph 3).

5 Carefully, following a fixed plan (paragraph 4).

6 Organising people into different levels of importance (paragraph 6).

READING

1. Read the article about the Ikea company, the home furnishings retail giant, and its founder. Which of the following statements about Ingvar Kamprad are true?

The bolt that holds the Ikea Empire together

Ingvar Kamprad is no ordinary multi-billionaire. The founder of the Ikea furniture empire travels economy class, drives a 10-year-old Volvo and buys his fruit and vegetables in the afternoon, when prices are often cheaper. Ask him about luxuries in his life and he says: ‘From time to time, I like to buy a nice shirt and cravat and eat Swedish caviar.’

Mr. Kamprad is one of the Europe’s greatest post-war entrepreneurs. What began as a mail-order business in 1943 has grown into an international retailing phenomenon across 31 countries, with 70,000 employees.

Sales have risen every single year. The Ikea catalogue is the world’s biggest annual print run – an incredible 110m copies a year. And Mr. Kamprad has grown extraordinary rich. He is worth $13.4bn (Ј8.7bn) and is the 17th richest person in the world, according to Forbes, the US magazine.

The concept behind Ikea’s amazing success is unbelievably simple: make affordable, well-designed furniture available to the masses. And then there is Mr. Kamprad himself – charismatic, humble, private. It is his ideas and values that are at the core of the Ikea’s philosophy.

Best known for his extremely modest lifestyle, he washes plastic cups to recycle them. He has just left his long-standing Swedish barber because he found one in Switzerland, where he lives, who charges only SFr 14(Ј6) for a cut. ‘That’s a reasonable amount,’ he chuckles.

All Ikea executives are aware of the value of cost-consciousness. They are strongly discouraged from travelling first or business class. ‘There is no better form of leadership than setting a good example. I could never accept that I should travel first class while my colleagues sit in tourist class,’ Mr. Kamprad says.

As he walks around the group’s stores, he expresses the feeling of ‘togetherness’ physically, clasping and hugging his employees. This is very uncharacteristic of Sweden. ‘Call me Ingvar,’ he says to staff. The informality and lack of hierarchy are emphasised by his dress style, with an open-necked shirt preferred to a tie.

A Have you ever thought about your working style? Are you a team worker, a finisher, a supporter or a leader? How do you understand these working styles?

This questionnaire will help you to find out.

1 Read the 30 statements and tick the ones you agree with. You have only ten minutes so do not spend time thinking deeply about each statement. There are no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answers, so be honest!

1 I usually meet up with my colleagues socially.

2 I often find it difficult to advise people on what to do. 3 Workplace crиches are a good idea.

4 I can never remember staff birthdays.

5 I am an extrovert most of the time.

6 My boss is hardly ever interested in my opinion. 7 I am just paid to get results.

8 I often feel that people do their jobs better than me. 9 I wish I was somebody else from time to time.

10 I would only work for an employer who treated men and women equally. 11 I have always recognised my strengths.

12 I frequently work overtime and I don’t mind doing this. 13 I can usually help people with their personal problems. 14 I usually know all the office gossip.

15 I don’t find jokes about minority groups funny.

16 I think that problems at home can sometimes become problems at work. 17 I recognise my faults.

18 I hardly ever take part in gossiping during work hours. 19 I don’t often enjoy doing nothing.

20 When people criticise me, I sometimes get depressed.

21 I usually get on well with my colleagues.

22 I always enjoy meeting new people.

23 I often take work home with me.

24 I daydream a lot.

25 I like working with computers.

26 I always enjoy job interviews.

27 My colleagues usually enjoy my company.

28 Promotion should always be based on length of service in a company. 29 Taking important decisions hardly ever worries me.

30 The job will still be there tomorrow

2 Work out your score. Circle the answers you ticked, then add up how many As, Bs, Cs and Ds you have. Now read the analysis below. Do you agree with it?

Mostly A’s: You are a Team Worker

Your relationship with your colleagues is important to you and many may also

be friends. You are good at working with others to solve problems. You are a good listener. You understand others’ points of view and have a lot of respect for people. You are usually a popular member of the team.

Mostly B’s: You are a Finisher

You are always very task-centred and committed to getting the job done. You identify strongly with your organization and often hide your true feelings. Sometimes your colleagues find you a little difficult to get to know.

Mostly C’s: You are a Supporter

You usually think of others in a more positive light than yourself. You occasionally lack confidence and depend too much on other people. However, as you put others’ needs before your own, you are often highly valued in an organisation.

Mostly D’s: You are a Leader

You are usually confident and clear about what you want and how to get it. You show a lot of respect for others. Good listening skills come naturally to you as you frequently like to understand others’ opinions before making a decision.

B When you apply for a job, what factors would be important for you? Write down your ideas and compare them with your partner.

READING 1

1. Read the text and continue your list of job priorities.

Dream job

A good job means different things to different people. Some people would just like to do nothing and get paid. Others feel that the more they work the happier they are. There are a lot of people who prefer to be told what to do. Some of us enjoy being solo and taking all the responsibilities for the work we do. There are also those who enjoy the feeling of being part of the team or belonging to an organization or a group of people. We enjoy doing what we know how to do and what we feel professionally competent to do. Lots of people are also very sensitive

to the status of their job, which is the value which is attributed by the society to this or that profession at a given moment of time.

The pay is recognized to be a very important factor in job satisfaction. The salary is way to reach basic needs, many people also view it as a symbol of the value of their work by the society and the company. Health-insurance, free training or family vacations can be a substantial part of what an employee gets from his company. But material incentives are not always number one. There are people who would prefer status, the reputation of the company they work for, or moral satisfaction over the pay.

Promotion opportunities may be high on the priority list for many people.

There are certain jobs in which you reach your target very fast. You can raise your position after you improve your professional skills. Often individuals who are promoted on the basis of seniority do not experience as much satisfaction as those who are promoted on the basis of job performance.

Most of people view supervision or management as an important part of their job satisfaction. In Russia with its highly personalized touch in human relations it is extremely important to have a boss who communicates with the worker on a personal as well as an official level.

The nature of the work group or people you work with is another important factor or job satisfaction. The work group may vary in age, social status and educational background. Working together with diversified groups may either bring satisfaction or disappointment and anxiety.

Working conditions may also have an effect on our job satisfaction. If the working conditions are good and we work in attractive, clean surroundings, we find it easier to carry out our job. On the other hand, if the working conditions are poor we find it more difficult to get things done. Many of us do not give working conditions a great deal of thought unless they are extremely bad. Not all the companies provide their employees with recreation facilities or even a place to have lunch. In Russia where office space is always a problem we often suffer from being crowded and having no personal space.

All these factors are very important. Just as you don't marry the first man or woman you met, you don’t have to stick to the job that makes you unhappy, making everybody about you unhappy too. You can always make a change!

2.Choose your top five and rank them in order of priority. Explain your choice.

3.Divide all these criteria into groups.

Working conditions

VOCABULARY THROUGH THE CONTEXT

My work is so rewarding

‘I work in advertising. I love my work, which is really rewarding and stimulating

(satisfying, fascinating, exciting). Originality and creativity are very important in this industry, of course.

No two days are the same (repetitive, routine) in my job: I could be contacting film companies for new advertising campaigns one day and giving client presentations the next. I like the client contact and I am very much hands-on – being involved with the productive work of the agency rather than managing it.

When I joined the agency, I hit it off with my colleagues immediately and I still get on well with them. There is a very good rapport between us.’

I like the team work

‘I’m an aircraft engineer. I work on the research and development of new aircraft. I like putting ideas into practice. I like working on my own, but it’s also great being part of a team. I like the team work and the sense of achievement when we do something new. And of course, the planes we produce are very beautiful.

Is there anything I don’t like? I dislike days when I’m chained to desk. I don’t like admin and paperwork – sometimes I feel I’m snowed under with it. I think it is so dull, boring and unstimulating. And in a large organization like ours, there can be a lot of red tape and bureaucracy-rigid procedures that can slow thing down.’

I want to make a contribution

‘I’m a secondary school teacher. It’s a low-paid job but I want to help people and make a contribution to society. That’s what gives me motivation. My job gives me a lot of satisfaction. The work can be stretching, taking me to the limits of my skills and knowledge. Sometimes it’s tiring and tough. But it’s great to kids developing and learning. Of course, they can be difficult and demanding, but sometimes we get recognition from parents that we are doing a good job! But I don’t like unnecessary interference – I don’t like people breathing down my neck.’