Федеральное государственное бюджетное образовательное учреждение
Высшего профессионального образования
Ставропольский государственный аграрный университет
Кафедра иностранных языков и межкультурной коммуникации
«ИНОСТРАННЫЙ ЯЗЫК (английский)»
Методические рекомендации
для студентов-магистрантов 1 года обучения учетно-финансового факультета
Направления: 080100.68 «Экономика»
080200.68 «Менеджмент»
080300.68 «Финансы и кредит»
Ставрополь 2013
UNIT 1. MONEY
PREVIEW
A. In your opinion, which of the following give the best return on your money?
Gold | currencies | a high-interest deposit account |
precious stones | property | antiques and paintings |
stocks and shares | land/real estate | a new business venture |
B. Choose the best answer.
If someone speculates:
a. they take a risk to make a quick profit
b. they make a safe investment for a long - term security.
READING
Read the text.
The South Sea Bubble
The South Sea Bubble is the name given to a speculation in 1720, and associated with the South Sea Company in London. People bought shares in the company expecting to make a huge profit, but the boom in shares collapsed and many investors lost their money.
The South Sea Company was founded in 1711 to trade with Spanish America. The company’s stock offered a guaranteed interest of 6% and sold it well. Unfortunately, Spain allowed the company to send only one ship a year to trade in the area.
The first voyage in 1717 was a success. Then King George 1 became governor of the company in 1719. This created confidence in the business, and soon it was paying 100% interest.
In 1720, there was a boom in the South Sea Company’s shares because it agreed to take over the country’s national debt. It expected to get back its money by increased trade and rise in the value of its shares.
The shares did, in fact, rise dramatically. The stock of the company, which had been around £128 in January 1720, reached £1,000 in September the market had collapsed, and the price fell back to £124. Eventually, with the support of the Government, the shares leveled off at around £140.
The South Sea Bubble had burst and it led to an economic depression in the country.
Tulipomania
The first modern stock market appeared in Amsterdam at the beginning of the 17th century. In Holland in 1630s, there was one of the first and most extraordinary speculative explosions in history. It was not in the stock and shares, in real estate or in fine paintings, as you might expect, but in tulip bulbs. It has become known by the name Tulipomania.
People from all classes invested in the bulbs. Many sold their property so that they could pay for the bulbs they had bought in the tulip market. Foreigners joined in the rush to buy the flowers and money poured into Holland from other countries.
In 1637, the boom in the market ended. No one knows why, but people began to sell. Others followed suit. Soon there was a panic among investors and the tulip market collapsed. Many people who had offered property as security for credit went bankrupt. People who had agreed to buy tulips at inflated prices were unable to pay their debts. When sellers took legal action to recover their money, the courts were not helpful because they saw such investment as a kind of gambling.
It is not surprising that the collapse in prices led to a severe economic recession in Holland.
The Wall Street Crash
The stock market crash in the United States in 1929 was huge and it led to a severe and lasting economic crisis in the world. Many bankers and industrialists lost their money and reputations. Some went to prison and others committed suicide. Share prices on the New York stock exchange had begun rising in 1924, and in 1928 and 1929 they rocketed to unbelievable levels. In spring 1929 there was a break in the rising prices when the Federal Reserve Bank said it might raise interest rates to slow down the boom. However, a major bank, the National City Bank, assured investors that it would continue to lend money to them at affordable rates. Soon the market took off again. People could buy stock for 10% of its value and borrow the remaining 90%. The lending rate varied from 7% to 12%. Almost everyone was optimistic. One economist, at the peak of the boom, said that people generally agreed “stocks are not at present overvalued”.
It all ended on 21 October, 1929. The market opened badly and there was heavy selling. Confidence in the market disappeared. There was a rumour that the big bankers were getting out of the market. Share prices fell dramatically and kept on falling. The boom was over. But its consequences would last for years to come.
Exercise 1. After - reading plete the chart below.
South Sea Bubble | Tulipomania | Wall Street Crash | |
Where did it happen? | |||
When did it happen? | |||
Who was involved? | |||
What happened? | |||
Why did it happen? | |||
What were the consequences? |
Exercise 2. Discuss these questions.
a. What are the similarities and differences in these 2 speculations?
b. What do you think people speculate in during the next 20 years?
GRAMMAR
Articles
There are three articles in English: a, an and the.
There are two types of articles indefinite 'a' and 'an' or definite 'the'.
Indefinite articles - a and an
A and an are the indefinite articles. They refer to something not specifically known to the person you are communicating with.
A and an are used before nouns that introduce something or someone you have not mentioned before:-
For example: | "I saw an elephant this morning." |
A and an are also used when talking about your profession:-
For example: | "I am an English teacher." |
You use an when the noun you are referring to begins with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u). If the next word begins with a consonant sound when we say it, for example, "university" then we use a. If the next word begins with a vowel sound when we say it, for example "hour" then we use an. |
Definite Article - the
You use the when you know that the listener knows or can work out what particular person/thing you are talking about.
For example: | "The apple you ate was rotten." |
You should also use the when you have already mentioned the thing you are talking about.
For example: | "She's got two children; a girl and a boy. The girl's eight and the boy's fourteen." |
We use the to talk about geographical points on the globe.
For example: | the North Pole, the equator |
We use the to talk about rivers, oceans and seas
For example: | the Nile, the Pacific, the English channel |
We also use the before certain nouns when we know there is only one of a particular thing.
For example: | the rain, the sun, the wind, the world, the earth, the White House etc.. |
However if you want to describe a particular instance of these you should use a/an.
For example: | "I could hear the wind." / "There's a cold wind blowing." "What are your plans for the future?" / "She has a promising future ahead of her." |
The is also used to say that a particular person or thing being mentioned is the best, most famous, etc. In this use, 'the' is usually given strong pronunciation:
For example: | "Harry's Bar is the place to go." "You don't mean you met the Tony Blair, do you?" |
!Note - The doesn't mean all:-
For example: | "The books are expensive." = (Not all books are expensive, just the ones I'm talking about.) "Books are expensive." = (All books are expensive.) |
No article
We usually use no article to talk about things in general:-
Inflation is rising. People are worried about rising crime. (Note! People generally, so no article) |
You do not use an article when talking about sports.
For example: | My son plays football. Tennis is expensive. |
You do not use an article before uncountable nouns when talking about them generally.
For example: | Information is important to any organisation. Coffee is bad for you. |
You do not use an article before the names of countries except where they indicate multiple areas or contain the words (state(s), kindom, republic, union). Kingdom, state, republic and union are nouns, so they need an article.
For example: | No article - Italy, Mexico, Bolivia, England Use the - the UK (United Kingdom ), the USA (United States of America), the Irish Republic Multiple areas! the Netherlands, the Philippines, the British Isles |
Exercise 1.
Put the article a, an or the where it is needed.
1) I like blue T-shirt over there better than red one. |
2) Their car does 150 miles hour. |
3) Where's USB drive I lent you last week? |
4) Do you still live in Bristol? |
5) Is your mother working in old office building? |
6) Carol's father works as electrician. |
7) The tomatoes are 99 pence kilo. |
8) What do you usually have for breakfast? |
9) Ben has terrible headache. |
10) After this tour you have whole afternoon free to explore the city. |
11) My grandmother likes flowers very much. 12) I love flowers in your garden. 13) See you on Wednesday. 14) I always listen to radio in the morning. 15) Alex goes to work by bus. 16) Don't be late for school. 17) Listen! Dennis is playing trumpet. 1 8) We often see our cousins over Easter. 19) She has never been to Alps before. 20) What about going to Australia in February? |
Exercise 2.
Which article a or an can be put before the following words or phrases? Write the words or phrases into the correct column.
apple, ear, animal, thousand times, aunt, book, expensive bike, dog, invitation, European school
Unit 2. INTERNET SOCIETY
PREVIEW
Discuss following definitions and questions.
Spoofing, malware, PIN, investigation, delete information, privacy.
1. Just how much control should people have over their online reputations?
2. Should they be able to demand that an unflattering photo be permanently deleted from a website like Facebook?
3. Does everything people write online have to stay there?
4. What about bank details, addresses - can websites hold onto this information forever?
READING
Read the text.
WHAT IS SPOOFING?
Of the many ways to mislead internet users into disclosing confidential information, none seems to work better than forging emails and web pages to look as if they are from legitimate sources. This is called ‘spoofing’, and the practice has grown rapidly over the past few years.
Email spoofing is the most commonly encountered. The apparent sender address of almost all spam email is bogus. This is because the 'From’ line in an email is not actually used to send it - it's just a piece of text. A specially-written email program can make it say anything at all, so you can't rely on it to find out where an email has really come from.
In the past, most spam email contained attachments that could infect your computer with malicious code (‘malware’) when the attachment was opened or previewed. But nowadays, it's more common for spam to contain a link to a malicious website.
Unless you click on the link, you're quite safe. So just opening the email is now less dangerous than it was, and once it's open you can usually see if it's bogus pretty easily - misspelled words, bad grammar and naive phraseology are very common.
But very convincing spoofed messages, supposedly from banks, frequently ask for your card number, PIN and password. These emails can include the bank's logo, and at least one has quoted the bank's real helpline phone number and a warning about phishing emails. But you shouldn't get caught out if you remember that real banks never send emails like this.
Most commonly, website spoofing relies on minor differences in website addresses going unnoticed, particularly in search engine results.
The attackers register a web address which is very similar to a well-known, trusted one, but with some small, easily-overlooked difference. Replacing a lower case 'l' with the digit '1' is a classic ploy. Or they register a website name that is the same as a legitimate site, except for its ending - for example, '' where the legitimate site name is 'site. co. uk' - and use that variant to host the malicious site.
In either case, when you follow the link, you don't land on the trusted site you expect, but on a completely different (usually malicious) one. It may be designed very convincingly to replicate the legitimate site you intended to visit, even to the extent of offering a secure connection for buying. But the secure connection will be to the attacker's website and any card details entered will be stolen.
The best way to protect yourself is to pay close attention to the web address and check that it's correct. In search engine results, for example, the clickable link (which doesn't necessarily directly show the web address) is usually followed by a brief description and a text representation of the web address on a line of its own.
If you right click with the mouse on the clickable link, you can view the actual web address directly. It should exactly match the visible address at the end of the search result (at least up to the first forward slash), and both should be what you expect. Vigilance is your greatest protection.
Exercise 1. Answer the questions.
1. How can you recognize the spoofed e-mail?
2. What operations could compromise your PC?
3. What ploys do the malicious sites apply?
4. What can happen if you follow the suspicious link?
5. What strategy should everyone follow to avoid hardship?
Exercise 2. Fill the gaps using the given words:
ploy, malicious, bogus, infect, contain, frequently, rely on, easily-overlooked
1. Many political parties resort to various electoral ____ during the election.
2. This non-proliferation treaty seems to ____ an artful notation.
3. The tonight’s radio news reported about a ____ embezzlement of a large amount from the most honourable bank.
4. The audit of your department will be conducted as ____ as necessarily.
5. Many small countries ____ foreign trade due to the lack of their own nature resources.
6. My computer went BSOD again – the antivirus couldn’t find the file that ____ all the system!
7. This task seems to be a bit more difficult – many of ruses are ____.
8. Our new secure system will prevent leak of data and ____ transactions.
GRAMMAR
Study the following situation:
Ann is in her car. She’s on her way to work. – She is driving to work.
Often the action is happening at the time of speaking:
Hello, are you enjoying the party?
I’m tired. I’m going to bed now.
We can use the Present Continuous when we talk about changes happening around now:
The population of the world is rising very fast.
Is your English getting better?
The Present Simple is used to describe things in general. We aren’t thinking only about now. We use it to say that something happens all the time or repeatedly, or that something is true in general. It’s not important whether the action is happening at the time of speaking:
I usually go away at weekends.
Compare the following examples:
The water is boiling. Can you turn it off? – Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
Listen to those people. What language are they speaking? – Excuse me, do you speak English?
Temporary situation: I’m living with some friends until I find a flat. You’re working hard today. | Permanent situation: My parents live in London. They’ve lived there all their lives. John works very hard most of the time. |
I always do something and I’m always doing something.
The first expression has the following meaning: “I do it every time”, and the second one means “I do it too often, more often than normal”.
Present Perfect. When we use the present perfect there is always a connection with now. The action in the past has a result now:
He told me his name but I’ve forgotten it.
We often use the present perfect to give new information or to announce a recent happening:
The road is closed. There’s been an accident.
Also we use the present perfect to talk about a period of time that continues from the past until now or isn’t finished at the time of speaking:
What a boring movie! It’s the most boring movie I’ve ever seen.
Have you had a holiday this year?
Present Perfect and Past Simple: the present perfect tells us something about now. The past simple tells us only about past.
Tom has lost his papers = he doesn’t have it now.
Tom lost his papers = we don’t know whether he has them now or not.
Past Perfect: sometimes we talk about something happened in the past, and that is the starting point of the story, e. g.:
Sarah arrived at the party. When Sarah arrived at the party, Paul had already gone home.
We use Past Perfect to describe things happened before that starting point.
Compare:
We aren’t ready. We’ve just had lunch. – We weren’t ready. We’d just had lunch.
Exercise 3. Present Simple/Continuous and Past Simple/Present Perfect/Past Perfect. Use the appropriate tense.
1. We (help) __________ in the canteen this week.
2. (have / you)________ any brothers or sisters?
3. Martin usually (drive) __________ to work.
4. But today, he (take) __________ the bus.
5. Who (cook) ________ dinner tonight?
6. Listen! She (practise) __________ the piano.
7. My friend (play) __________ the guitar every evening.
8. (leave / you) ________ the party now?
9. (love / she) ________ him?
10. (send / he) ________ you an e-mail every day?
11. When I (arrive) ________ home last night, I discovered that Jane (prepare) ________ a beautiful candlelight dinner.
12. Since I began acting, I (perform) ________ in two plays, a television commercial and a TV drama.
13. However, I (speak, never even) ________ publicly before I came to Hollywood in 1985.
14. By the time I got to the office, the meeting (begin, already) ________ without me.
15. My boss (be) ________ furious with me and I (be) ________ fired.
16. When I (turn) ________ the radio on yesterday, I (hear) ________ a song that was popular when I was in high school.
17. I (hear, not) ________ the song for years, and it (bring) ________ back some great memories.
18. Last week, I (run) ________ into an ex-girlfriend of mine.
19. We (see, not) ________ each other for years, and both of us (change) ________ a great deal.
20. I (enjoy) ________ talking to her so much that I (ask) ________ her out on a date. We are getting together tonight for dinner.
21. Jack (enter) ________ the room, I (recognize, not) ________ him because he (lose) ________ so much weight and (grow) ________ a beard. He looked totally different!
22. The Maya established a very advanced civilization in the jungles of the Yucatan; however, their culture (disappear, virtually) ________ by the time Europeans first (arrive) ________ in the New World.
23. I (visit) so many beautiful places since I (come) ________ to Utah. Before moving here, I (hear, never) ________ of Bryce Canyon, Zion, Arches, or Canyonlands.
Find a word or phrase in the text that has a similar meaning:
· Something believable, you can trust it, e. g. someone’s words, message, performance.
C___________
· The word/phrase written with any spelling error is…
M__________
· The state when you’re protected from any harm
S__________
· You did something wrong and now you should face the music.
E___________
· Something obvious that you can see with the naked eye.
A___________
Exercise 4. Make up a dialog. You’re an expert in secure PC systems and you are advertising your product to your partner-customer who has a lot of questions.
UNIT 3.EMPLOYMENT
READING
Read the text.
How to select the best candidates – and avoid the worst
By Adrian Furnham
Investing thousands of pounds in the recruitment and training of each new graduate recruit may be just the beginning. Choosing the wrong candidates may leave an organization paying for years to come.
Few companies will have escaped all of the following failures: people who panic at the first sign of stress those with long, impressive qualifications who seem incapable of learning; hypochondriacs whose absentee record becomes astonishing; and the unstable person later discovered to be a thief or worse.
Less dramatic, but just as much a problem is the person who simply does not come up to expectations who does not quite deliver; who never becomes a high-flyer or even a steady performer; the employee with a fine future behind them.
The first point to bear in mind at the recruitment stage is that people don’t change. Intelligence levels decline modestly, but change little over their working life. The same is true of abilities, such as learning languages and handling numbers.
Most people like to think that personality can change, particularly the more negative features such as anxiety, low esteem, impulsiveness or a lack of emotional warmth. But data collected over 50 years gives a clear message: still stable after all these years. Extroverts become slightly less extroverted; the acutely shy appear a little less so, but the fundamentals remain much the same. Personal crises can affect the way we cope with things: we might take up or drop drink, drugs, religion or relaxation techniques, which can have pretty dramatic effects. Skills can be improved, and new ones introduced, but at rather different rates. People can be groomed for a job. Just as politicians are carefully repackaged through dress, hairstyle and speech specialists, so people can be sent on training courses, diplomas or experimental weekends. But there is a cost to all this which may be more than the price of the course. Better to select, for what you actually see rather than attempt to change it.
From the Financial Times
Exercise 1Read the article again and answer these questions.
1 What types of failures do companies experience, according to the article?
2 What does a fine future behind them (line 31) mean?
3 What advice does the article give to managers?
Exercise 2 In another part of the article (not included here), the writer suggests that selectors should look for three qualities:
a) intelligence and ability b) emotional stability c) conscientiousness.
1 Do you agree? Explain your opinion.
2 Complete the table with the adjectives below. What other words can you add?
astute bright calm clever easy-going hard-working moody neurotic punctual quick-tempered reliable responsible sharp slow |
Intelligence and ability | Emotional stability | Conscientiousness |
Bright | Calm | Reliable |
GRAMMAR
Talking about the future
There are several ways of talking about the future in English. We can, for example, use the simple future tense, the going to form or the simple present tense.
The simple future tense
The simple future tense is used to talk about things which are beyond our control. It expresses the future as fact.
- We will know our exam results in May. I will turn thirty this year.
The simple future tense is also used to talk about what we think or believe will happen in the future. It is commonly used with ‘I think’, ‘I’m sure’, ‘I expect’, ‘I believe’ etc.
- I think Germany will win the World Cup. I think it will rain this evening.
We also use this tense to talk about things which we decide to do at the time of speaking.
- ‘Mr. Smith is very busy at the moment’ – ‘All right. I will wait.’
- ‘There is the door bell.’ ‘I’ll go.’
Going to
We use going to to talk about our intentions and plans – things we are ‘going to’ do.
- I am going to get a good job. ‘Why are you selling your motorbike?’ ‘I am going to buy a car.’ She is going to get married.
Note that the going to form is always used when we are talking about actions or events that are already decided upon.
The going to form is also used to talk about something which seems likely or certain because there is outside evidence.
- Look at the sky. It is going to rain. She is going to have a baby.
Be about to + base form of the verb
This structure is used to talk about the immediate future.
- The train is about to leave. (= The train will leave in a short while.) Don’t go out now. We are about to have dinner.
The simple present tense is used to talk about future events that are part of official programs or timetables.
- The college reopens on August 16th. The train leaves at 6 pm. When does the flight arrive?
The simple present tense is also used to talk about future in clauses beginning with if, unless, when, while, after, until, before, as soon as etc.
- I will call you after I arrive. (NOT I will call you after I will arrive.) We won’t go out if it rains. (NOT We won’t go out if it will rain.) Let’s wait till he finishes his lunch. (NOT Let’s wait till he will finish his lunch.)
Present continuous tense
The present continuous tense can be used to talk about our future plans – things we are planning to do in the near or distant future.
- I am going to Beijing tomorrow. Father is arriving this evening. She is getting married.
Students are advised to use the present continuous (not the simple present) to talk about personal arrangements.
- We are eating out tonight. (More natural than ‘We eat out tonight’ OR ‘We will eat out tonight’)
Be to
The structure ‘be + to-infinitive‘ is often used to talk about official plans and arrangements.
- The Prime Minister is to visit France next month.
Note that ‘be + infinitive’ is used in a formal style. In newspaper headlines, be is often left out. Articles are also left out in headlines.
Exercise 1.
Put in the verbs in brackets into the gaps and form negative sentences in the going to-future.
Example: She ________________ her bike in the afternoon. (not/to ride)
Answer: She is not going to ride her bike in the afternoon. or She's not going to ride her bike in the afternoon.
1) They … the lunch basket. (not/to pack) | |
2) I … somebody the way. (not/to ask) | |
3) Rita … Jim’s book. (not/to borrow) | |
4) We … a T-shirt. (not/to design) | |
5) I … on the red button. (not/to click) | |
6) The girls …. At the boys. (not/to laugh) | |
7) Tim … Sandra’s hair. (not/to pull) | |
8) Andy and Fred … to a song. (not/to mime) | |
9) You … dinner. (not/to prepare) | |
10) He … the hamster in the garden. (not/to keep) | |
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Exercise 2. |
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1) … a kite. (Henry/to fly) | |
2) … sweets. (we/not/to buy) | |
3) … a joke? (she/to tell) | |
4) … the computer? (the boys/not/to check) | |
5) … a pencil. (the teacher/not/to use) | |
6) … the flowers? (you/to water) | |
7) … at 6 o'clock. (my brother/not/to wake up) | |
8) … a T-shirt tonight. (I/not/to wear) | |
9) … breakfast? (Jeremy/to make) | |
10) … a lot of fish in that lake. (you/not/to catch) |
Exercise 3.
Put in the phrases in brackets into the gaps. Use the going to-future. Watch the punctuation and form sentences or questions. Do not forget to put in the subject in each sentence.
Example: _____________________ the trumpet this afternoon? (Jack/to play)
Answer: Is Jack going to play the trumpet this afternoon?
1) … a kite. (Henry/to fly) | ||||||||||||||||||||
2) … sweets. (we/not/to buy) | ||||||||||||||||||||
3) … a joke? (she/to tell) | ||||||||||||||||||||
4) … the computer? (the boys/not/to check) | ||||||||||||||||||||
5) … a pencil. (the teacher/not/to use) | ||||||||||||||||||||
6) … the flowers? (you/to water) | ||||||||||||||||||||
7) … at 6 o'clock. (my brother/not/to wake up) | ||||||||||||||||||||
8) … a T-shirt tonight. (I/not/to wear) | ||||||||||||||||||||
9) … breakfast? (Jeremy/to make) | ||||||||||||||||||||
10) … a lot of fish in that lake. (you/not/to catch) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Exercise 4. Put in the verbs in brackets into the gaps. Use the going to-future. Watch the punctuation and form sentences or questions.
Put in the phrases in brackets into the gaps. Use the going to-future. Watch the punctuation and form sentences or questions. Do not forget to put in the subject in each sentence.
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Exercise 6.
Put the verbs into the correct form (future I progressive).
1. At midnight we (sleep) will be sleeping.
2. This time next week we (sit) … at the beach.
3. At nine I (watch) … the news.
4. Tonight we (cram up) … for our English test.
5. They (dance) … all night.
6. He (not / play) … all afternoon.
7. I (not / work) … all day.
8. (eat / you) … at six?
9. (drive / she) … to London?
10. (fight / they) … again?
Exercise 7.
Put the verbs into the correct form (will, going to, simple present or present progressive).
1. I love London. I (probably / go) will be probably going there next year.
2. Our train (leave) … at 4:47.
3. What (wear / you) … at the party tonight?
4. I haven't made up my mind yet. But I think I (find) … something nice in my mum's wardrobe.
5. This is my last day here. I (go) … back to England tomorrow.
6. Hurry up! The conference (begin) … in 20 minutes.
7. My horoscope says that I (meet) … an old friend this week.
8. Look at these big black clouds! It (rain)....
9. Here is the weather forecast. Tomorrow (be) … dry and sunny.
10. What does a blonde say when she sees a banana skin lying just a few metres in front of her? - Oh dear! I (slip) … !
Exericise 8.
Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate form of the verb.
1. The train ……………….. at 6 pm.
a) leaves
b) will leave
c) leave
2. I will phone you when I ………………….. time.
a) have
b) will have
c) am having
3. I ……………………… my grandparents this evening.
a) visit
b) am visiting
c) would visit
4. Look at the sky. It ……………………. to rain.
a) is going
b) goes
c) will
5. Perhaps we ………………….. Paris next month.
a) will visit
b) visit
c) are visiting
6. Unless we ……………………. now we can’t be there on time.
a) start
b) starts
c) will start
7.The next term ………………….. on September 15th.
a) begin
b) begins
c) is beginning
8. Oh dear! I ………………….
a) will sneeze
b) am going to sneeze
c) sneeze
9. I am sure he ……………………. win.
a) will
b) would
c) will be
10. We ……………………. you one of these days.
a) will be seeing
b) see
c) sees
Unit 4. WORKING RELATIONSHIPS
READING
Read the text.
Working Relationships
There are many working relationships which exist within an organisation and how effective these relationships are can play a significant role in dictating the overall effectiveness of the business. Working relationships can mean those between the company and its customers/suppliers, those between a manager and his workforce and those between colleagues in each department. Regardless of the nature of the relationship, there are a number of key factors which can determine whether these relationships are healthy, productive ones or whether they will have a detrimental effect on the business. It is generally accepted that a happier workforce, one where good relationships are in place, is a more productive workforce. Good relationships are built on a culture of cooperation where each individual is working towards the achievement of shared aims and objectives.
Before effective working relationships can be established, it is important to remember that every one person is unique and, as a result, have differing needs, emotions and objectives. It is impossible to build up a relationship with someone unless you have a good understanding of what these things are and to accept these even if they differ from your own. The most effective way of coming to understand your colleague, your employee or your customer is to establish effective channels of communication with them and to listen to what they have to say carefully. This can lead to mutual respect and understanding being established and is a key factor in developing a good working relationship. If the relationship is a productive one, people will have no difficulty in being open and honest about their feelings. Holding one-to-ones or group meetings are excellent ways of improving communication within a business, as long as each individual is encouraged to make their own contribution to the discussions. It is even healthy to encourage debate on key topics so that each person has the opportunity to voice their making people feel that their view is important and respected by others, more effective relationships can be established.
Working relationships are very important because they can provide you with an ally, someone who can support your cause and who can help you to resolve problems. The relationship has to be a two-way street where you both offer each other advice and support rather than one person doing all the talking and the other expected to do all the listening and advising. It is also important to publicly acknowledge the important role the working relationship plays in any successes that you enjoy. For example, as a manager, it is important to recognise the successes of your staff; by showing them that they are valued, their confidence will improve and they will be more likely to reward you with their commitment in the future.
Trust is a key factor to ensuring the success of any working relationship, as is demonstrating the ability to keep your colleague’s confidences, you will earn their trust and they will therefore reward you with the same courtesy. The minute there is any suspicion of people working against each other or behind their backs, trust will be lost and it can be impossible to regain this. If you disagree strongly with something that a colleague has said or done, it is much better to address this with them directly rather than taking it up with a manager. The same applies to relationships with customers; if you make a promise to deliver a product or service to them within a certain time and to a particular standard of quality, your relationship with them will suffer dramatically if you fail to live up to their expectations of you. If you fail to deliver on your promises, to customers or to your employees, they will find it impossible to respect you and this is no basis for a productive working relationship.
A great deal of time and effort should be invested in the development of working relationships to ensure that they are mutually beneficial and productive. You should encourage your staff and your customers to express their feelings and, if possible, interact with them in a relaxed, informal environment as this can help them to feel more comfortable about voicing their opinions. Listen carefully to what they have to say and share your own feelings with them. Making the relationship work both ways will help to encourage mutual trust and respect. Take stock of working relationships on a regular basis to ensure that all parties feel that they are running smoothly and to resolve any issues before they become significant. And, finally, encourage team building activities across the business in both formal and informal settings. These are pivotal to the development of working relationships where people are encouraged to work together towards the achievement of shared objectives, just as they should be doing for your business.
Answer the questions.
What are the key factors in relationship building?
What role does the holding one-to-ones or the group meetings play?
How could you earn your colleagues’ trust?
In what case can your relationship with customers suffer?
What should you do to encourage your staff or customers?
Exercise 1. Fill the gaps using the appropriate forms of the words:
supplier, staff, dictating, establish, encourage, detrimental effect, commitment
1. Our new CEO is famous for his extreme perseverance and _______ of his terms.
2. Next week’s selection of ________ on a competition basis will be postponed because of piecemeal action.
3. You should call them, they’re recruiting the new ______ .
4. The odd ambition has a __________________ on our project.
5. In order to grow the value we ___________ a new production schedule.
6. The newbie seems to be irresponsible, he does everything not to enter into ____________.
7. The entry in this alliance won’t ______________ the development.
Exercise 2. Find the definitions in the text:
· A state when you have faith in something or someone
C_____________
· A feature of any product that all manufacturers seek after in its greatest extent.
Q______________
· To be negatively affected by something
S______________
· To put time, money or any kind of effort in something
I_______________
· A meaningful, really considerable e. g. result
S_______________
· A factor of prime importance
P_______________
GRAMMAR: PAST MODALS
Past modals have the following uses:
· Possibility about a past situation
The misunderstanding may/might/could have been caused by a lack of communication.
· Advice about a past situation
You should have/ ought to have organized that meeting better.
· Deductions about a past situation
- positive: The team must have been very tired after working all weekend.
- negative: They can’t have done their research properly.
Exercise 3. Study the examples and notice how modals are used to refer to the present and the past. What are the past forms of the following?
must be can’t work might know
Exercise 4. Make deductions about the following past situations.
· He was busy when he set the deadline (time to plan things properly)
He can’t have had time to plan things properly.
· The team didn’t meet the deadline (not enough time).
· The instructions weren’t clear (the team/ confused).
· The team had to work overtime every day last week (not happy).
· All the other teams were waiting for the results of our work (they/ frustrated).
