B. Speak about Management according to the plan

Listening: An interview with a project manager

(Market Leader, Intermediate Business English CB by D. Cotton, Unit 8)

Reading 2: Business Management Styles

A. Do you agree with following quotations?

“People are definitely a company’s greatest asset. It doesn't make any difference whether the product is cars or cosmetics. A company is only as good as the people it keeps”. Mary Kay Ash

“Care about your people and they will care about your business. Forget that and watch profits go down the drain”. Hal Rosenbluth

B. Match these management expressions (1-9) with their definitions.

1) line management	the skill of administering your time so as to work effectively
2) brand management	managing systems in a company so that each department works effectively and produces products of the required standards
3) risk management	direct management of staff level between senior management and junior management
4) asset management	how a company tries to control its brands and brand image
5) time managements	process of dealing with difficult situations
6) quality management	process of assessing and measuring possible dangers and evolving strategies to deal with them
7) middle management	the activity of managing how a company deals with its cash, how quickly it gets paid by customers, pays its suppliers, etc.
8) crisis management	the organizing of large events such as conference and concerts
9) cash management	the managing of money for investment so that it makes as much profit as possible, for a financial institution or for another person or organization

C. Study the topical vocabulary.

to go down the drain	быть истраченным впустую
employee turn-over	текучесть кадров
paternalistic	патерналистский, отеческий
laissez-faire	невмешательство, либеральный стиль руководства
abdication	сложение полномочий, отказ
business acumen	деловые качества
dealmaker	специалист по организации сделок, дилер
collaboration	сотрудничество
legal implications	правовые последствия
flexibility	гибкость
integrity	честность, добросовестность
to exacerbate	ухудшать
to one’s benefit	на благо, с выгодой
to count on	полагаться на

D. Read the text and say what management style you prefer and why?

As a manager, you need to understand what the common business management styles are (autocratic, paternalistic, democratic, and passive). And you need to understand what your style is, and how that style affects business results.

Autocratic. The manager makes all the decisions; a "command and control" (militaristic) management style; focus is on business; doesn't want any people to get in the way; quick decisions; one way communication (from the top down). The cost is in high employee turn-over as employees find this style difficult, and stressful.

Paternalistic. The manager prefers to make all decisions (or most of them) but focuses on what's best for employees. The benefit is that employees feel the business is taking care of them. The cost is that employees don't take care of business - they are uninvolved, have little at risk and expect the “boss” to make all the decisions.

Democratic. The manager wants input from the whole 'team' and majority rules. Often good decisions are made and employees feel involved in the business (the benefit to this style) but the process is very slow and you can't always make everyone happy. Strong two-way communication.

Passive or “laissez-faire” (lets you do your own thing). The manager is disengaged and often hard to find. This type of abdication is often considered by the manager to be delegation. The benefit is that employees often step forward and learn in this environment. The cost is that the direction is scattered and there can be numerous false starts because there is no real manager. Can work in an environment of creative types (independent) or highly technical (such as engineers).

Managers typically use more than one style, depending on the situation. If brainstorming creative new product ideas is today’s focus, then the manager may want to use a democratic or passive style. If a decision about keeping or firing an under-performing employee must be made, the manager may need to use an autocratic or paternalistic style.

Reading 3: Basic Management Skills