Fill in mustn’t or have to.
“Welcome on behalf of Newton Industries. I’d like to explain a few of the factory rules. Mr. Newton has said we _____ wear overalls at all times. There is a possibility of working overtime but you _____ decide whether you want to work extra hours. Mr. Newton insists that we _____ have fifteen-minute breaks every three or four hours but we _____ choose when we would like those breaks. There is a problem with parking. The city insists we _____ use the public garage. They believe parking on the grass is too damaging to public property and I _____ say I agree. Finally, as far as health insurance is concerned, you _____ register as soon as possible. Are there any questions?”
D. Make up sentences using the following sentence patterns:
Pattern 1. Shall I be the first to begin?
Pattern 2. I can do it if you like.
Pattern 3. I could make a report if you want.
Discussing the Key Points
A. Discuss the following questions:
Is it good to believe in the jack-of-all-trades method of running a business? Why?
Should you hire people with an eye toward the future? Why?
Would you encourage your employees to be honest with you about their satisfaction at work? Why?
Should you practice what you preach? Is it easy? Why?
Will you hire people who do things better than you do? Why?
B. In your opinion, what a prudent employer would do:
1) hire a person on
a) freelance
b) contractual basis
c) as a full-time or part-time employee
2) make the money back if he offers a salary
a) slightly higher than the going rate
b) slightly lower than the going rate
3) factor
a) the cost and value of company benefits into the workers salary
b) benefits package on a long-term basis
c) benefits package on a short-term basis
4) give freelances and independent contractors
a) company benefits
b) higher hourly pay than that of the people on staff
C. Work in groups of 3 or 4.
Set goals and deadlines.
Discuss all expectations and deadlines for projects, decision-making authority, and ways and lines of communication (who to consult with problems, who to report to).
Encourage employee independence and creative problem-solving abilities.
Pinpoint the problem, and work out a solution.
Remind that cost control is an important issue.
D. Motivate your employees to do their best:
Set standards for your employees and yourself. Communicate these standards through words and make it clear that you expect the best from everyone.
Set the tone for open communication. Be honest and straightforward with people about your own mistakes. Encourage people to come to you with theirs.
Recognize good ideas and don’t penalize or ridicule employees for bad ones.
Give both public and private praise for a job well done.
Point out to your employees what it is they are doing right and what could be improved.
E. Make up standard form to use for all performance reviews.
List the person’s different job responsibilities and rate performance of each task on a one to five scale. Along with job-specific duties, include behaviours that may contribute to the wellbeing of the group as a whole and that apply to all members such as attendance, working well with the team, attentiveness to company goals (including profitability), general creativity, and initiative.
Give a blank performance review form to fill out.
Give a copy of your written evaluation.
Use specific examples in both praise and criticism of a person’s performance. In other words, don’t say, “You’re irresponsible,” but instead say, “When you missed, you delayed the whole project.
Deliver negative criticism in a frank but positive way. Never criticize a behaviour without reiterating the way you would have preferred things to be handled, stress and re-stress what you’d like to see happen.
Let the person reply. Cut long-winded explanations short politely, and, say “Let’s not focus on what went wrong; let’s talk about how we’re going to work together to make it right. What are your ideas?”
Set specific goals.
Focus on what needs to be done.
F. Discuss the following situations and answer the questions that follow.
I run a small studio with three other designers besides myself. Two of the other designers are great, but the third is a real terror. She is nasty, argumentative and bulling, but everyone agrees that her designers are terrific. Is there any way to make life more pleasant around our studio?
One of our junior designers is a classic underachiever. Every once in a while, he comes up with some great work in a burst of glory, but most of the time he does mediocre designs. How can I get him to shine more often?