II. Speaking Exercises:

Exercise 1. Describe business document; letter of application; business writing; contract; memo using the suggested words and expressions as in example:

business document a piece of paper; to have; official information; on it. example: A business document is a piece of paper that has official information on it.

letter of application formal; written; request; such as; job; place at university; permission; to do smt.

business writing to have official information; to be written; or; to be printed.

contract official agreement; between; two people; to state; what each will do.

memo (s) short; official note; another person; the same company; organization.

Exercise 2. Ask questions to the given answers:

1) Question: ___________________________________________?

Answer: When you write a business document, you must assume that your audience has limited time.

2) Question: ___________________________________________?

Answer: When stating your opinion, use I; when presenting company policy, use we.

3) Question: ___________________________________________?

Answer: Many people believe that application letters and cover letters are essentially the same.

THE WRITING MODULE

III. Writing Exercises:

Exercise 1. Complete the sentences with the suggested words:

between; and; from; often; for.

Business writing varies ___ the conversational style ___ found in email messages to the more formal, legalistic style found in contracts. A style ___ these two extremes is appropriate ___ the majority of memos, emails ___ letters.

Exercise 2. Fill in the table with words and expressions from the text:

	types of writing	impression from writing	types of correspondence
Example: a style is appropriate for	-	-	memos, emails and letters.
your writing be
your finished piece of information should

Exercise 3. Compose a story on one of the topics (up to 100 words):

“Distinction of business writing”

“How to write a business letter”

“Difference between application letters and cover letters”

9. Lesson 8

THE READING MODULE

Read the text: The Psychology of Business (Part І)

On the different aspects of consumer and employee needs that are included within the psychology of business. The modern world is dominated by global businesses and corporate houses and any large scale enterprise requires a systematic understanding of employee and consumer demands, both material and non-material. The performance of business organizations depends on the performance of employees and the needs and expectations of the consumers, and so the ‘human’ factor is central to the success of any business. In recent years, say from the last part of the 20th century, there have been several changes in our understanding of human nature as it relates to work and performance in organizations and the primary focus in now on communication, leadership skills, and employee satisfaction. All these factors are important in enhancing the overall performance of any business organization. The psychology of business is thus primarily the psychology of employees and the psychology of consumers and it’s the organization that is responsible for maintaining the balance between consumer demands and employee demands.

The Psychology of Employees - First let us talk about the psychology of employees. Any business house is operated by a number of employees and some of them are part of the higher management and are also considered as partners of business. The major elements that should be part of understanding the psychology of employees would be. 1. Communication – Employee communication and understanding of business goals is an integral part of success and it is the duty of the management of an organization to maintain direct and clear communication procedures through video conferences or seminars and presentations that would clearly state the mission and vision of the company. The communication between management and the other employees is thus a key aspect of employee or personnel psychology. 2. Leadership – Any human resource manager or career counselor would focus first on developing leadership skills and leadership is an integral part of business because our inner leadership skills help us to break the mould and do something different and pioneering. Leadership skills in employees are important as team leaders in an organization are required to motivate other employees to attain certain company objectives. Leadership is thus closely related to motivation as a highly motivated individual will also be more likely to show leadership skills 3. Satisfaction – Employee satisfaction is an important aspect of business and we hear of several companies declaring large pay packages and incentives to retain the best talent. Job satisfaction, material satisfaction in terms of salary and bonuses, and social satisfaction with regard to the work ambience are essential aspects of business and all businesses will have to pay specific attention to employee social, financial and emotional satisfaction. Fulfilling the needs of employees should be the primary focus of companies and this could be in accordance with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in which it has been suggested that financial security, personal safety would be very important to humans followed by emotional need for social contact and connection and then we have esteem needs for social status and reputation. Employee psychology is thus based on these three major factors or elements of business and all businesses should pay considerable attention to employee communication, leadership and motivation and employee satisfaction as essential aspects of psychology of business that can in turn enhance performance.