Another kind of leader (by Gloria Borger, us News & World Report)

Will Bush's CEO-style management work in Washing­ton?

"Well, if he [George W. Bush] is chairman of the board, he's also the chief executive officer, without question... He's a great boss. He gives you an objective and then turns you loose on it, holds you accountable for your perfor­mance. I think it'll make him a very effective executive".— Vice President Dick Cheney, on CBS's Face the Nation.

It's a management style that the new president himself hap­pily describes. "Accountability" is a favourite word; so is "dele­gate", as in "I understand how to". His staff speaks of a lead­er who focuses on the big stuff, leaving the details to others. He manages his time well, they say, and the contrast with the ex-president could not be more stark: If Bill Clinton belonged to the Bluto school of chaos management, George W. Bush is the first president with an M.B.A. from Harvard. As such, he promises the country he will be a "good executive".

Which is all well and good. Order is a good thing when it comes to running a complex bureaucracy. Management skills, says presidential scholar Charles O. Jones, also come in handy during transitioning and budgeting. No panicky presidential all-nighters and midnight pizza deliveries as this White House read­ies its first budget blueprint. The era of ad-hoc government is over; the era of managerialism has begun.

But is the president-as-CEO the best way to go? No, at least according to some skeptical chief executives. First, the obvious: Corporate managers and national leaders are vastly different entities. Presidencies are about the generation of ideas, not the management of institutions. "A lot of CEOs come to Washington and think they can function in some of the same ways, with the same command and control", says one CEO with government experience. "They learn they can't. So will Bush".

Pink slips. Think of it this way: Presidents have less author­itarian power than your average CEO. If Colin Powell misbe­haves, for instance, what's Bush going to do? Fire him? If his attorney general drives him crazy, will he fire him, too? Alas, cabinet members often come with their own power bases — and this group has more power than most. So how will this team spirit work? "Trying to shoehorn a group of top-level executives into a team can be frustrating. More important, it can be point­less". This, from the Harvard Business Review.

Next, think of the president's self-image as head honcho: He's the delegator-in-chief, a concept that makes some CEOs squirm. (All squirming offered way off the record, of course.) "It's OK to be hands-off, so long as you've defined your ideas", says one corporate CEO. Even the most laissez-faire executives need to "give their team a strategic vision and culture", says another. "Otherwise, it's hands-off without a head". What about compas­sionate conservatism as a guiding principle? "Too squishy", he says. "No bottom line". Ronald Reagan, they all say, was differ­ent. He elevated the art of delegation to a new level of disen­gagement, yet he's remembered for his leadership. Why? "No one ever had any doubt what his point of view was", says a New York-based chief executive. Government? Cut it. Taxes? Cut them. Military? Spend more. Reagan was the architect of a po­litical movement; Bush has no such grounding. The danger for Bush is that his delegated authority may look like authority ceded. As in: Meet Dick Cheney, prime minister.

So how much is too much? If you don't delegate enough, you become Bill Clinton, debating the finer points of climate-change policy late into the night. If you delegate too much, the suspicion is that you are not there at all. In fact, some CEOs argue that the vision-only CEO is an urban myth, anyway — and that Bush had better catch up. "I guarantee you that [General Electric chief] Jack Welch can tell you about the current work­load of his plant in China", says one. Bush staffers say their boss will study details when he has to; ex-Clinton aides promise that will be more often than he thinks. "At some point, you have to really dig in", says Gene Sperling, Clinton's chief economics adviser. "If not, you're delegating the presidency".

Then there's the matter of those pesky clients in Washington, known as members of Congress. They're needy, they're active — and they're competitors. Clinton had two main modes of dealing with Congress: sweet-talk and cave-in. Bush believes he can use his charm to attract support. But charm alone won't cut it. Be­sides, Clinton will undoubtedly be there to second-guess him all the way. Can CEO Bush force his predecessor to sign a noncom­pete clause? Or maybe move out of town?

To be fair, Bush's obsession with his M.B.A. skills is his way of saying other things: that he is not a chaotic Clinton, nor a micromanager like Jimmy Carter. It also says he understands the virtues of organization; he intends to get things done. So how about leaving it at that? After all, what great presidential leader is remembered for his management style?

Exactly.

Comprehension tasks:

1. Find out who/what the following people are: Dick Cheney, Bill Clinton, Colin Powell, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter.

2. Find out what the following institutions are: Harvard, Con­gress, the White House.

Discussion questions:

1. Will Bush's management style work in Washington?

1. according to the Vice President

2. according to a presidential scholar

3. according to a chief executive with government experi­ence

d) according to the author Give their reasons.

2. Which president appears at a disadvantage in his manage­ment style: R. Reagan, B. Clinton, G.W. Bush, J. Carter?

3. How much is too much concerning the act of delegation?

Exercise 7

a) Read the following sentence and underline the relative clause. His staff speaks of a leader who focuses on the big stuff.

What kind of relative clause is it? Why is there no comma? Why is the relative pronoun "who" used to Introduce the clause? Can the pronoun "that" be used instead?

b) Now study the following charts to revise the relative clauses.

Defining Relative Clauses (no commas)

		Person	Thing
Subject		who (that)	that (which)
Object		(that)	(that)

Jack Welch can tell you about the current workload of his plant which/that is in China.

Non-Defining Relative Clauses (commas)

		Person	Thing
Subject		, who ...,	, which
Object		, who	, which ...,

George W. Bush, who is the first president with an M.B.A., promises the country he will'be a "good executive".

Cabinet members often come with their own power bases, which is important and should be taken into account.

c) Put in the relative pronouns, commas and prepositions where necessary.

A.

1. A school makes active children sit at desks studying mostly useless subjects is a bad school. It is a good school only for those uncreative citizens_______ want docile, uncreative children_____ will fit into a civilization standard of success is money.

2. I spoke to NGO disarmament groups______ invari­ably wished to discuss the NPT, and I worked on Security Council Resolution 984 provides security as­surances for non-nuclear weapons states party to the NPT.

3. As a Scot practises law in England, I too val­ue the bonds of friendship, common history and common

interest keep our two countries together and will always be there.

4. A man I was talking to recently told me a joke was very funny but _______I have unfortunately forgotten.

5. Who is attracted to such cults? Generally it has been young people with low self-esteem have done poor- ly at school. Joining a gang is a means of defying the con- ventional world they have been defined as failures. For example, "heavy metal" is the music of failure, and the fact that it is widely despised by those enjoy pop, reggae or soul, is its appeal. The capital of heavy metal is Birmingham ___is one of Britain's least loved cities... On the other hand, by the late 1980s many blacks were wearing totally different clothes had no connection at all with reggae or with black America but were Italian "designer label" suits.

6. Besides colleges and universities offer degrees in traditional fields of scholarship, there are also small arts colleges __________grant degrees to students concentrate in specialized fields such as ballet, film-making.

7. Last night I went to a corporation banquet was unusual for me because I never go to them. There I met Justin _________I work and he introduced me to his wife____ I had never met before.

B.

Further education has been characterized by vocational cours- es for those leave school at the age of 16 but___________ need to acquire a skill lies in the manual, technical or clerical field.

Oxford and Cambridge were founded in the 13^th and 14th centuries respectfully are easily the most famous of Britain's universities. Today Oxbridge_________ refer to both universities educate less than l/20th of Britain's total student population. Both universities grew gradually, as federations of independent colleges most were founded in the 14th,

There is also a highly successful Open University proyides every person in Britain with the opportunity to study for a degree without leaving their home. It is designed for adults _____________ missed the opportunity for higher education earlier in life and are willing to fill in the gap. Its classes ______________ are conducted through correspondence, radio and television aire sometimes conducted through local study centers __________________is extremely convenient.

Exercise 8

Consult an English-English dictionary and explain the follow­ing phrases:

budget blueprint

ad-hoc government

to shoehorn smb into smth

head honcho

to be hands-off

laissez-faire

to sweet-talk

to cave-in

to second-guess

Exercise 9

Explain what the following people are and translate the nouns into Russian:

chairman cabinet member

chief executive officer delegator-in-chief

boss architect

executive staffer

vice president aide

ex-president chief economics adviser

scholar member of Congress

corporate manager competitor

national leader predecessor

attorney general micromanager

Exercise 10

Translate the sentence.

The danger for Bush is that his delegated authority may look like authority ceded.

Compare the following verbs ending in -cede/-ceed, translate them into Russian and fill in the gaps with these verbs in the correct forms.

to cede to accede to concede to secede to precede to recede to succeed to proceed to exceed

1. Israel declared its support for the US policy of not to terrorists' demands.

2. The government defeat as soon as the election results were known.

3. The speaker paused to consult his notes, and then with his questions.

4. Hopes for their safety fast.

5. A recent poll puts the former Economics minister ahead of the sitting president in a first - round election that would a likely runoff with the socialists.

6. One of the states from the federation.

7. After the First World War Germany a lot of ter­ritory to her neighbours.

8. The expense of the project all the expectations.

9. By the terms of the treaty, a third of their territory to France.

10. In the end the committee - to the request.

11. He his speech with a few words of welcome to the special guests.

12. When the king dies, his eldest son to the title.

13. The chairman gave an account of what had happened and then to the main business of the meeting.

Exercise 11

Find in the text the English equivalents for: ставить перед кем-либо задачу давать кому-либо свободу действий требовать у кого-либо отчета обсуждать тонкие детали концентрироваться на главном управлять сложной бюрократической системой навыки управления

совершенствовать искусство распределения полномочий авторитарная власть выработка идей достоинство

Exercise 12

Learn the following derivatives and use them in the given sen­tences.

a) to account — (un)accountable — accountability — accountant — account

1. Those institutions receive increasingly less amid acrimoni­ous debates about allegedly bureaucratic waste.

Should the government be more to the public?

3. The defendant couldn't for the fact that the jew­elry was found in his house.

4. Their estimate of the cost takes no of inflation.

5. There are demands for an increase in the ministers'

to Parliament.

6. He couldn't run the department on of his

health problems.

b) to manage — manageable — (mis)management — manager — managerial — managerialism

1. He assumed responsibilities, being accountable for the organization's day-to-day running.

2. The company's failure was mainly due to

3. The rate of inflation has been brought down to a more level.

4. The Republican campaign was anxious to use the media to his advantage.

5. The unions have agreed to talks with the over the introduction of new machinery.

6. and technical expertise are often in short supply.

7. The family business has been skillfully for at least a century.

c) to authorize — authorization — authority — authorities — authoritative — authoritarian

1. The official didn't have the necessary to make this sort of decision.

2. The civil servant couldn't spend the money without from Head Office.

3. The department the payment of the bill.

4. The people were not allowed to criticize their country's government.

5. The expert's history of the area will tell you all you need to know.

6. The would not allow illegal immigrants to remain in the country.

7. Only Congress can the President to declare war.

8. This decision was the President's first display of his over Congress.

9. Whoever is in around here is unable to maintain discipline.

Exercise 13

Translate the sentences using the vocabulary from the above ex­ercises.

1. Президент должен выполнять свои предвыборные обе­щания и отвечать за проводимую им политику перед из­бирателями.

2. Должен ли президент концентрировать свое внимание на главном или вдаваться во все тонкие детали своего поли­тического курса?

3. Политик, который стремится к карьерному росту, непре­менно должен уметь планировать свое время, а также обладать организаторскими способностями.

4. Необходимы определенные навыки управления, чтобы руководить сложной бюрократической системой государ­ства.

5. Планирующие голо совать за того или иного кандидата на­деляют образ идеального с их точки зрения политика мас­сой необходимых качеств и достоинств, которые, одна­ко, в реальной жизни крайне редко сочетаются в одном человеке.

1. У кандидата на пост президента обязательно должен быть опыт управления.

2. Наряду с образованностью и эрудицией, лидер должен обладать способностью выдвигать идеи, принимать пра­вильные решения, выступать перед публикой, давать ин­тервью.

3. Лидер нового типа ставит перед вами задачу, затем пре­доставляет вам свободу действий, но в результате в обяза­тельном порядке требует с вас отчета за ее выполнение.

4. Президента хотят видеть волевым, но не жестоким или авторитарным человеком. Жестокость, агрессивность, авторитарность — качества, которыми не должен обла­дать идеальный президент.

5. Наибольшие опасения у граждан вызывают такие каче­ства, как жестокость, непорядочность и некомпетент­ность. По мнению большинства, президент может пере­давать другим полномочия решать вопросы, в которых требуется применение специальных знаний, выходящих за. рамки его компетенции.

Workshop II. LEADERS IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Read the text below to find answers to the questions.

1. How old is the institution of the Prime Ministers in Britain?

2. What qualities mark Gladstone as an outstanding leader of the 19th century?

3. Whom does the author consider to be the most distinguished PM in Britain in the 20th century?