Unit 3. Staffing The Business of Management – Program 13 Test on the video film

A. Previewing tasks.

Task I. Before watching the film, make sure you know the following words and word combinations:

staffing / recruiting / hiring personnel department a job posting expansion performance appraisal work background tools

peers, volunteers cost-effective unfair to handle to utilize to involve to convince to make up for smth

to be aware of smth to be put on a bulletin board to perceive a need to fill out a requisition to assign the responsibility to be promoted / transferred to be terminated / fired to resign, to retire

Task II. Mind the following proper nouns:

The Reader's Digest Pleasantville, New York the Urban League

Dewitt and Lyla Wallace New York State Unemployment Service

B. While watching.

Task III. Give all the synonyms to the word “vacancy” that are mentioned in the film.

Task IV. Basing on the following key words and expressions, make a short oral presentation of the company “Reader's Digest”:

be located be founded circulation edition staffing needs

personnel department the magazine “Families” the role of a manager work culture the motto of the Digest

Task V. Complete the spidergram with the main steps of the recruitment process. One step is given here.

C. Follow-up activities.

Task VI. Comment on the necessity of “a close working relationship between the hiring manager and the personnel department”.

Task VII. Write a short paragraph (7-10 sentences) proving the idea that people are the most valuable resource of any company.

Unit 4. Decision-making The Business of Management – Program 8 Test on the video film

A. Previewing task.

Task I. Before watching the film, make sure you know the following words and word combinations:

bottleneck budget bureaucracy expenditures hunch maintenance paycheque priority uncertainty variable critical, complete, accurate information delegation of authority disastrous mistakes hidden constraint

life span of a product / business numerical probability predisposed approach strengths and limitations viable option coherent flexible in-house peculiar proactive regardless trivial to be aware of smth to be in response to smth

to be reluctant to smth to accomplish the work to circumscribe to diversify to eliminate to evaluate to implement to involve to deal with a continuous stream of decisions to determine the probability of smth to explore alternatives to keep in mind to seek out a solution

B. While watching.

Task II. Classify the given expressions into three groups according to the types of decisions:

trivial	common	specific

what personnel to hire, what I should eat, what the goals and priorities are, if it is necessary to buy a car, what production procedures should be observed, if I should pay in cash, who is doing a good or a poor job, how to purchase and promote the products, how to accomplish the stated goals, what I should do this weekend, what should be done about the appraisal of the job, what should be done about the entire operation of the company

Task III. State the aspects and factors used in decision-making:

1. environment 6. traditions of the organization

2. salary 7. expectations of top managers

3. conditions of making decisions 8. personal life

4. organization’s culture 9. constraints

5. working conditions 10. personnel performance

Task IV. Match the given words with their definitions:

1. The environment of certainty	a) The manager can determine the probability of success for each alternative
2. The environment of risk	b) The manager cannot determine the probability of success because there are too many variables involved
3. The environment of uncertainty	c) The manager is sure about the results of his / her decisions

Task V. It is known that managerial decisions are made with a variety of constraints. What are they?

Task VI. Rearrange the steps of a decision-making process in the correct order:

1. Analyze the probable outcome of each alternative.

2. Collect and analyze information.

3. Decide on the best solution.

4. Evaluate the results.

5. Define the problem.

6. Develop alternatives.

7. Implement the decision.

Task VII. Translate the following sentences into Russian:

1. While performing their everyday functions managers deal with the continuous stream of decisions.

2. Decision-making is always in response to some specific need that presents itself.

3. To decide is not just say “Yes” or “No”, but to react to something that should be done.

4. Usually the decisions are made in the environment of risk, certainty and uncertainty.

5. A young innovative company may look for managers who are able to make quick intuitive decisions and not to be reluctant to trying new approaches to problems or situations.

6. Managers seek out for best available solutions under the existing constraints.

7. Some managers base their decisions on intuition or hunches.

8. To be effective decision-makers, managers must be able to make choices about which approach to use in terms of the situation and their own personal management style.

9. The rational decision-making model is a step-by-step process that begins with defining a problem.

10. The rational model is based on hard facts and logic.

C. Follow-up activities.

Task VIII. Having watched the film, name the three approaches that a manager can use when making a decision. State the difference among them.

Task IX. Express your own opinion on what is necessary to be an effective manager in terms of decision-making.