Discussing the Key Points

A. Discuss the following statements. Express your ideas and say why you think so.

1. The success or failure of any business organizations depend on the quality of their management.

2. Managers select people to manage and perform the jobs.

3. Managers develop people – both their subordinates and themselves.

4. Managers must try to get their message across as effectively as possible.

5. When people in business fail to hear and understand each other, the result can be costly.

B. Answer the following questions:

1. What are the different functions that managers have to perform?

2. What is the managers’ responsibility?

3. Why do managers need to improve their personal communication skills?

4. What do managers have to communicate?

5. Why do managers need to listen attentively?

C. Study the dictionary definitions of ‘management’ below and 1) underline the similarities and circle the differences; 2) search dictionaries for synonyms for the word ‘manage’. Report them to the class.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English:

1) the act of managing, esp. a business or money

2) skill in dealing with (usu.) a person

3) the people who are in charge of a firm, industry, etc.,

considered as one body

Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary:

1) the act or art of managing: the conducting or supervising

of something

2) judicious use of means to accomplish an end

3) capacity for managing: executive skill

4) the collective body of those who manage or direct an

enterprise

D. Interview your friends and family on what their idea of management is. Report back to the class of your finding.

E. In groups of 3 or 4 discuss the idea of management and report your point of view.

F. Discuss the following questions:

1. Who do you manage and how?

2. Who manages you and why?

3. What are the things that must be managed, and if mismanaged, inevitably create ripples in your life? Tick the ones you think apply and complete the list with your own ideas.

Time

Studies

Money

Career

Energy

Human relationships

4. In what ways do you reckon management comes into business? Just reflect: degree of risk, investment, transportation.

7. Comment on the following statement and do the task that follows.

“You really do make your own luck as a manager”

Task. In groups of 3 or 4

1) discuss the following basic principles of becoming a lucky manager:

1. People are not born lucky but create and improve their own good luck as they go through life. Does it refer to communication too?

2. They expect good luck to come their way and go through life in the certainty that the future will be positive.

3. They are good at spotting (and creating) all kinds of opportunities and make the most of chances they get. They aren’t afraid of new experiences.

4. They follow their intuition and listen to their gut feelings before making a decision.

5. They have the ability to cope with bad luck – they imagine how things might have been worse and kind a way to make things better.

2) Do these principles apply to you? Speak about your own experience.

H. Discuss the ideas expressed in the following questions:

1. In what type(s) of work are you interested?

2. What are your career objectives?

3. What is your minimum/maximum starting gross salary expectation per month?

4. What do you expect your employer to do for you?

5. Do you want to be a success? Why?

6. Is it worth making sacrifices to become successful? Why?

7. Do you agree that becoming a millionaire would be a surprisingly haphazard affair? Why?

8. Do you think there is any correlation (little, no, much) between how well children do at school and the salary and job satisfaction they achieve as adults? Why?

9. Do you believe that a range of courses and self-help manuals can help you forge your way to the top? Why?

10. Does the following advice sound embarrassing to you: “Look in the mirror every morning and say to yourself: “You are rare, unique and different. You were designed for accomplishment, engineered for success.” Why?