Vocabulary 3

^T11

Read and listen to the words and phrases that Joe and Pilar use in the conversation you are going to hear.

1) under thirty-five – віком до 35 років	4) We’d have to pay her twice as much as him. – Нам доведеться платити їй удвічі більше, ніж йому.
2) to hold a post of responsibility – займати відповідальну посаду	5) 90K – 90 тисяч (фунтів або доларів)
3) He’s making half what she is. – Він заробляє половину від того, що заробляє вона.	6)to double – подвоїти
7) What really bothers me – Що насправді турбує мене	13) He has the edge when it comes to motivation. – У нього дещо краще з мотивацією.
8) in the area of finance and banking – у сфері фінансів і банківської справи	14) to weigh up – оцінювати
9)the lack of industrial experience – брак виробничого досвіду	15) boat trip – подорож на човні
10) drawback – недолік, вада	16) Can you imagine it? – Уявляєш?
11)How about drive, ambition, motivation? – А щодо стимулу, честолюбства, мотивації?	17) I’d go crazy. – Я збожеволіла б.
12)to rate – оцінювати

Listening

^T12

1. In the interview room, Pilar and Joe must make a decision. Listen to what they say. Do they find it easy or difficult?

2. Comprehension check.

1. Which of the two applicants (Carlos Vila, Angela Robbiani) does each of these phrases refer to?

1. not as fluent as…

2. if not better

3. is making half what … is

4. the lack of industrial experience

5. has the edge

6. much more ambitious

7. experience is more varied

8. more highly motivated

9. better at working with people

2. Whom have Pilar and Joe chosen?

3. rite the correct name (Carlos or Angela) to fill in the blanks in the sentences explaining why the members of the board made their decision.

1. _____ spoke less fluent Spanish.

2. _____ had no postgraduate qualification.

3. Although _____’s current salary was almost double _____’s, the board felt that it was not exceptional for the field she was in. It had taken _____ five years to double her salary.

4. _____’s experience was totally in the area of finance and banking.

5. _____ seemed more highly motivated.

6. _____ appeared to be more used to working with people.

Unit 7 Selecting employees: part 3

Reading

1. Read text 11 using your dictionary to help with new words.

TEXT 11

Tests

Many organizations use tests during the selection process to identify those applicants who have the specific KSAs needed for the available positions. Human resource managers can use many kinds of tests. The most common are the following:

• Ability tests are paper-and-pencil quizzes, usually multiple-choice, that measure an applicant’s knowledge of specific work content or cognitive ability.

• Performance or work-sample tests verify an applicant’s ability to perform actual job activities identified from a job analysis. Perhaps the oldest example is a typing test.

• Assessment centre tests are programs that typically simulate managerial tasks. One of the most often used simulations is the In-Basket, which simulates 20 to 30 office memos, complete with an organizational chart and relevant company policy statements.

• Integrity tests measure an applicant’s attitudes and opinions about dysfunctional actions such as theft, sabotage, physical abuse, and substance abuse. Companies generally use paper-and-pencil, multiple-choice tests that ask about the applicant’s thoughts and reactions to a number of illegal or unethical situations.

• Personality inventories measure the thoughts, feelings, and actions that define an individual and determine that person’s pattern of interaction with the environment. Two general types of personality tests have been used in selection. One is a multiple-choice questionnaire. The second type of personality test is the projective test, which asks an applicant to write a story about ambiguous pictures or to finish partially completed sentences.

• Physical examinations test individuals for placement in manually and physically demanding jobs. This also applies to testing for the AIDS virus.

There is much evidence that tests can significantly improve selection decisions.

2. Comprehension check.

Working in pairs, answer the questions.

1. What is the purpose of tests in the selection procedure?

2. What is the difference between ability tests and performance tests?

3. What kind of employees are assessment centre tests intended for?

4. In what do personality inventories differ from integrity tests?

5. Which test do you think is easier for evaluation – a multiple-choice questionnaire or a projective test?

6. In what cases can physical examinations be helpful?

2. Read the text again. Find and write down words in the text that mean the same as the following words and definitions. They are in the same order as they appear in the text.

a. frequent	b. question	c. giving you several answers from which you have to choose the one you think is correct
d. to assess	e. connected with recognizing and understanding things	f. to check
g. to reproduce	h. a short written statement containing information about particular subjects, passed between officials in an organization	i. containing
j. scheme	k. morality	l. someone's feelings about something
m. stealing	n. violent or cruel behaviour	o. the practice of drinking too much alcohol or taking illegal drugs
p. individuality	q. a list describing something	r. to establish
s. model	t. surroundings	u. the method of estimating future trends based on the study of present ones
v. not clear, or capable of being understood in more than one way	w. being operated by people rather than automatically	x. needing a lot of time, ability, and energy
y. acquired immune deficiency syndrome: a serious disease that destroys the body's immune system	z. proof

Discussion

Work in small groups.

Discuss the kinds of tests you have just read about. Which of them would be the most appropriate in selecting an applicant for the job of human resource manager?

Pre-reading tasks

Working in small groups, discuss the following.

1. Have any of you had to ask someone to write a reference for you? Were you satisfied with it? Give specific reasons to support your answer.

2. Are references very important in the selection process? Why do you think so?

3. Can personnel managers check references?

Reading

1. Skim through text 12 and think of the suitable title. Can you find in it any proofs of your suggestions?

TEXT 12

A company considering hiring a particular applicant often contacts previous employers or others who know him or her well to verify the information previously obtained. Reference checks can be handled in three ways. The first, and the most often used, is through telephone conversations, in which previous supervisors of the applicant are contacted. Other ways include in-person visits and mail inquiries. The organization may also obtain reference information from investigative agencies, credit bureaux, and public documents.

While checking reference is popular among managers, there is very little evidence to support its use in selection. There are, in fact, a number of reasons why this information would not be useful. First, when an applicant names an individual as a referee, the company assumes that the reference meets a number of criteria: that the referee has observed the applicant in situations similar to those of the job being filled, is competent to make an evaluation, wishes to give frank and honest statements, and is able to express himself or herself adequately. Obviously, many references do not meet these requirements. This is especially true for references supplied by the applicant, which are usually chosen because of prior favourable interaction and anticipation of a positive recommendation.

Another issue is the possibility of legal action being brought by the applicant against a referee who makes negative comments. If the reference provides opinions that are not substantiated by official records, a charge of defamation of character is possible.

For all these reasons, when asked to supply a reference, many human resource departments will only verify factual data of employment, such as dates and job title, and organizations often inform employees of such policies in the event they are asked directly for business references for present or former associates.

2. Read text 12 more carefully. Try to guess the words underlined from the context. Then use your dictionary to check the words.

3. Comprehension check.

Working in pairs, take turns answering the questions.

1. Why may an organization want to get in touch with previous employers of a particular applicant?

2. What means can a company use to make sure that the reference information is correct?

3. Checking reference information is indispensable to the selection procedure, isn’t it?

4. What rules must a referee obey when writing a reference? Do all referees observe these rules?

5. Why may a referee refuse to provide a reference?

6. What kind of information about their present or former employees are many organizations ready to provide?

Writing

Write the summary of text 12.